Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-10-06


as If a physician should talk to an or
dlnary patient about the pericardlun
and intercostal muscle and scorbutlC
symptoms. Many Of US come out OF
the theological seminarles so loaded
up that we take the first ten years to
show our people how much we know
and the next ten years to get our peo-
pie to know as much as we know, and
Mt the end we find that neither Of us
knows anything. rs we ought to know,
Here are hundreds Of thousands OF
SHINING, struggling and dying people
who need to realize just one thing
that Jesus Christ came to save them
and will save them now. But we got
into a profound and elaborate definl-
tion of what Justification Is. and after
all the work there are not, outside of
the learned professions, 10000 people
who can tell what justification is.
will read you the definitions: "Justifi-
cation is purely 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
best be obtained. reckons that which
was done by the substitute in the
same manner as II 1t had been done by
those who believe In the substitute and
In nf ri ON
method of reckoning grants them the
full remission of their SINS"
Now. what is justification? I will
tell you what justification is-when a
sinner believes. God lets him off. One
summer In Connecticut l went to a
large factory, and | saw over the door
written the words, mo Admittance."
l entered and saw over the next door,
mo AdmIttance." OF course l enter
ed. got inside and found 1t a pin
factory, and they were making pins
very serviceable, fne and useful pins.
So the spirit of exclusiveness has prac-
tically written over the outside door
of many a church, mo Admittance."
And II the stranger enters he fnds
practically written over the second
door, mo Admlttance," and II he goes
In over all the pew doors seems writ
ten, mo Admittance," while the min
lister stands In the pulpit hammering
out his little niceties OF belief, pound
ing out the tecbnicalities of religion,
making pins. In the most practical,
common sense way and laying aside
the nonessentials and the hard defini-
tlons of religion 90 out on the God CIV
en- mission. telling the people what
they need and when and how they can
get It.
save the skeptics.
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 foun-
dation. There is large number Of
them. They are afraid Of US and our
for the reason we do not
know how to treat them. One Of this
class met Christ and heard with what
aud pathos and beauty and
sucCeas Christ dealt with him: "Tnou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind, and with all thy
This is the first and great
and the second is like
unto it-namely, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. There Is none
other commandment greater than
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-
derstandlng, and all the soul, and all
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 a
skeptlc 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 eccleslastlcism.
You would not be so rough on that
man II you knew how he lost his faith |
In Christianity. have known men
skeptical from the fact that they grew
np 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
pchlsms; they were often told that they
we're the worst boys the parents ever
knew because they liked to ride down
hill better than to read Bunyan's "Pil-
yrim's Progress. Whenever father
and mother talked of religion they
drew down the corners Of their mouth
and rolled up their eyes. II any one
thing will send boy or girl to ruin
sooner than another, that Is II. II l
had such father and mother, 1 fear I
should have been an infldel.
Grounds For UnDeIier'
Others were trlpped up to skepticism
rom being grievously wronged by
some man who professed to be
Christian. They had a partner In
business who turned out to be /
irst class scoundreL though a pro-
'essed Christian. Many years ago they
ost all faith by what happened In an
,il company which was formed amid
he petroleum excitement The COM
Dany owned no land, or, II 1t did,
here was no sign Of oil produced; but
he president OF the company was a
Presbyterian elder and the treasurer
vas an Episcopalian vestryman, and
,ne director was Methodist class
eauer ana the otner directors prom
nent members Of Baptist and Congre-
rational churches. Circulars were got
,ut telling what fabulous prospects
opened before this company. Innocent
men and women who had a little
money to invest, and that little their