Connecticut western news., 1900-10-04


 the learned professions. 10000 people who can tell what Justification is. l | will read you the definitions: "Justifi- cation Is purely q forensic act, the act | of a judge sitting in the forum, in which the Supreme Ruler and Judge, | who Is accountable to none and who alone knows the manner In which the | ends of his universal government can l best be obtained, reckons that which was done by the substitute in the same manner as If 1t had been done by | those who believe In the substitute and ! purely on account of this gracious method of reckoning grants them the , full remission of their sins"
 | Now, what is justification? I will tell you what justification is-when a i sinner believes, God lets him off. One summer in Connecticut I went to a large factory, and l saw over the door 1 written the words, No Admittance." | I entered and saw over the next door. 1 "No Admittance." Of course l enter ed. I got inside and found 1t a pin ! factory, and they were making pins very serviceable, fine and useful pins. i So the spirit of exclusiveness has prac- | tically written over the outside door ] of many a church, "No Admittance." l And If the stranger enters he finds 1 practically written over the second l door, No Admittance," and if he goes In over all the pew doors seems writ i ten, No -Admittance," while the min ister stands in the pulpit hammering out his little niceties of belief, pound | hA fnn of Oi l making pins. In the most practical, common sense way and laying aside | the nonessentials and the hard defini- tions of religion go out on the God giv- en mission, telling the people what they need and when and how they can | get 1t.
 Save the Skepttcs.
 | Comparatively little effort as yet has been made to save that large class of persons In our midst called skeptics, | and he who goes to work here will not be building upon another mans foul- | dation. There Is large number of them. They are afraid of us and our churches, for the reason we do not know how to treat them. One of this | class met Christ and heard with what | puluOS OSduty uhu success Christ dealt with him: ''Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and | with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This Is the first and great | commandment, and the second Is like unto it-namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as myself. There Is none other commandment greater than l these" And the scribe said to him, Well, Master, thou hast said the | truth, for there Is one God, and to love | him with all the heart, and all the un- | derstanding. and all the soul, and all l the strength, Is more than whole burnt ! offerings and sacrifices" And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly he said unto him, 'Thou art not far from the kingdom of God" So | skeptic was saved in one interview. But few Christian people treat the skeptic in that way. Instead of taking hold of him with the gentle hand of love we are apt to take him with the pinchers of ecclesiasticism.
 You would not be so rough on that man If you knew how he lost his faith in Christianity. I have known men skeptical from the fact that they grew | up in houses where religion was over done Sunday was the most awful day | in the week. They had religion driven | into them with a trip hammer; they were surfeited with prayer meetings; they were stuffed and choked with cat echisms; they were often told that they were the worst boys the parents ever knew because they liked to ride down hill better than to read Bunyan's ''Pn- grim's Progress" Whenever father and mother talked of religion they drew down the corners of their mouth and rolled up their eyes. If any one | thing will send a boy or girl to ruin sooner than another, that Is 1t. If l had such father and mother, I fear should have been an infidel.
 | Grounds For UnbeIief.
 Others were tripped up to skepticism from being grievously wronged by some man who professed to be a Christian. They had partner in business who turned out to be first class scoundrel, though a pro- fessed Christian. Many years ago they lost all faith by what happened in an oil company which was formed amid the petroleum excitement The com
 pany owned no land, or, if 1t did. there was no sign of oil produced; but the president of the company was a Presbyterian elder and the treasurer was an Episcopalian vestryman, and one director was Methodist class leader and the- other directors prom inent members of Baptist and Congre- gational churches. Circulars were got
 put telling what fabulous prospects opened before this company. Innocent men and women who had a little money to invest and that little their all, said: "I do not know anything about this company. but so many good men are at the head of 1t that 1t must be excellent, and taking stock in 1t must be almost as good as Joining the
 church." So they bought the stock and perhaps received one dividend so as to keep them still, but after awhile they found that the company had reorgan- ized and had a different president and different treasurer and different d. rectors. Other engagements or i'll health had caused the former officers of the company, with many regrets, to resign. And all that the subscribers of that stock had to show for their invest ment was a beautifully ornamented certificate. Sometimes that man, look Ing over his old papers, comes across that certificate, and 1t Is so suggestive that he vows he wants none of the re- ligion that the president and trustees and directors of that oil company pro- fessed.
 Of course, their rejection of religion on such grounds was unphilosophical and unwise. l am told that many of
 the United States army desert every