Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-04-27

mas gone 10 making dfsucrreOtypes and
photographs IL Is the same old water.
but I'm our century II has gone to run
ming steam engines. Ii is the same old
electricity. but in our time II has be-
come lightning footed GRAND boy.
80 II Is the old Bible. but new applica.
tons, new uses. new interpretations.
You must remember that during the
last 30c years words have changed
their meaning. and some OF them now
mean more and some less. l do not
think that john Calvin believed. MS
some say he did. In the damnation OF
Infants. although some of the recent
hot disputes would seem TO imply that
there Is such a thing as the damnation
OF Infants. "A man who believes. in the
damnation OF infants himself deserves
TO lose heaven. l do not think any good
man could admit such a possibility.
What Christ will do with all the ha
bicS in the next world conclude from
what he did with the babies In Pales.
tine when he Rugged them and kissed
them When some of you grown PEG
Pie so out OF this world. your doubtful
destiny viii be an embarrassment to
ministers officiating at your obseauics.
who viii have to be cautious SO as not
TO hurt surviving friends. But when
the darling children go there are no
ifs or butts" or gueSses.
We must remember that good John
Calvin was losciap and n metaphysi-
clan and by the proclivitics of his ma
ture put some things In an unfortunate
way Logic has its use. and metaphys-
les has Its use. but they are not good at
making creeds.
Harmony Not Necessary.
What n time we have had with the
dogmatics, the apologetics and the her
meneutics, The defect in some of the
creeds is that they try to tell us all
about the DEGREES of God. Now, the
only human being that was ever COM
potent to handle that subject was Paul.
and he would not have been competent
had he not been inspired. l believe In
the sovereignty of God. and believe
In mans free agency, but no one can
harmonize the two. 1t Is not necessary
that we harmonic them. Every ser
mon that | have ever heard that at
tempted such harmonization was TO me
as clear as, a London fog. rs clear as
mud My brother of the nineteenth
century. my brother of the sixteenth
century, give US Paufs statement and
leave out your own. Better one chap
ter OF Paul on that subject than all OF
Calvin's institutes, able and honest and
mighty as they are. Do not try to
measure either the throne of God or
the thunderbolts of God with your lit
tie steel pen. What do you know about
the decreesG You cannot pry open the
door of God's eternal counscls. You
cannot explain the mysteries of Gods
government now. much less the mystic
ries OF his government five hundred
quintillion years ago.
move for creed for all our demon.
nations made out of Scripture quota
tions pure and simple. Tint would
take the earth for God; that would be
imprcgnable against inhdelity and
| Apollyonic assault; that would be be-
yond humnu criticism. The denominn-
ton. whatever its name be, that can
rise up to that VIII he the church OF the
millennium. will swallow up all other
denominations and be the one that will
he the bride when the Bridegroom com.
eth. Let us make IL simpler and plain
or for people TO get into the Kingdom
OF God. DO not hinder people by the
Idea that they may not have been elect
ed. DO not tag on TO the one essential
OF faith In Christ any OF the innumera.
bic noncsscntials. A man who heartily
accepts Christ Is n Christian. and the
man who docs not accept him is not n
| Christian, and that Is all there IS OF IL.
| He need not believe I'm election or rcn.
rotation. He need not believe I'm the
eternal generation OF the Son. He need
not believe In everlasting punishment
He need not believe In infant baptism
He need not believe In plenary lnspIra
ton. Faith In Christ is the criterion
Is the test. is the pivot. Is the irdis.
pcnsable.
But there arc those who would add
unto the tests rather than subtract
nom them. There are thousands who
would not accept persons into church
membership If they drink wine or II
they smoke cigars or IL they attend
the theater or IL they play cards or II
they drive fast horse. But do not
substitute tests which the Bible does
not establish. There is one passage of
Scripture wide enough TO let all In who
ought IN enter and TO keep out all who
ought To I've kept out Believe In the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved Get a mans heart right, and
his life viii be right But now that
the old creeds have been put under
public scrutiny something radical must
be done. Some would split them, some
would carve them, some would olongate
them. some would abbreviate them. AT
the present moment and In the present
shape they are a hipdrance. Lazarus
Is alive, but hampered with the old
graveclothes. IL you want one glori.
Gus church. free and unincumbered,
take OH the cerements OF old ecclesias-
Teal vocabulary. Loose her. and let
her Goi
In the shadows.
Again. there are Christians who are
under sepulchral shadows and fears
and hoppled by doubts and fears and
sins long ago repented of. What they
need Is 10 understand the liberty OF the
sons OF God. They spend more time
under the shadow OF Sinai than at the
base OF Calvary. They have been sing.
lag the only poor hymn that Newton
ever wrote:
lis point long 10 know;
OF II causes anxious Thoughts
Do love the Lord or nof
Am his nots
Long to know, do your Why do you
not find out? Go to- work for God. and
you Will very soon find out. The man
who Is all the time feeling his pulse
and looking at his tongue to see wheth-
or 1t Is coated is morbid and cannot
be physically we'll The doctor will
say, go out into the fresh air and In
to active life and stop thinking OF your
self. and you VIII get we'll and strong"
So there are people who are watching
their spiritual symptoms, and they call
1t self examination, and they get weak
er and sicklier in their faith all the
time. Go out and do something nobly
Christian. Take holy exercise and
then examine yourself. and instead
or Newton's saturnine and bilious
hymn that l first quoted you will sing
Newton's other hymn: