The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-31

gift Of religious liberty, state and
church are to be kept distinct. But it
is forever made the function of the
church to make the men who are to
make free government.
1--WE are not assembled primarily,
my brethren, to discuss denomination
al questions or to promote denomina-
tional interests. We are assembled
primarily to discuss the diyinely ac-
credited methods of promulgating the
pure and redeeming Christianity OF
Jesus Christ throughout the common
wealth of Massachusetts; for the glory
of God and the making of men in the
likeness of God-for the further pur-
pose of maintaining and perpetuating
free civil government ordained of God;
and secondarily for the purpose of in
curing as to our particular opportu-
nifty and responsibility as a battalion
in Christ's army for the distinct ful-
fillment Of these purposes.
Our brethren who have studied
most intimately the present situation
in our commonwealth, and who have
keen vision to read sober lessons for
the future out of the history of the
past are coming to virtual agreement
on three plain propositions.
THAT Christian stewardship in
wolves an accounting to Jesus Christ
of all material possessions.
"That Christian Stewardship involves
an accounting to Christ of the net pro-
duct of personal character and power.
That Christian Stewardship involves
the closest possible unification of our
forces in the great work conquest and
upbuilding for our own mastery.
The successful prosecution of the
work committed to our own denom1na-
ton in the Commonwealth gives no
promise of highest fulflment until all
! of these fundamental New Testament
| teachings have become vital and eff
Client in the working faith of our
| Christian fellowship. Let us think for
, a few moments on these things.
| Christian Stewardship involves an
| accounting to Jesus Christ of all ma
| terial possessions. Resources entrust-
| ed to us:resources accumulated by us,
are to be accounted for to our master.
| All Christians stewards are under d.
vine appointment to assist in conquer
| ing this world for Jesus Christ One
| reason why we hardly keep in sight of
| the enemy we are expected to capture
| is because the munitions of war are so
| inadequately supplied.
| 1t has been divinely ordered that the
| financial cost of redeeming and fash
! Joining human souls into the likeness of
Christ shall be great. true home
life is costly. Christian education gen
| uine Christian culture, is costly Per-
anency of religious teaching power and
character making power are costly.
This is one of the primary tasks fol-
which Christ has appointed and COM
missioned his stewards. Am l remind
ed that the gold and the silver already
| belong to God: that the cattle on q
| thousand hills are his; that the album
dant harvests are the result of his in
crease. Even so, but have you con
sidered this? Not an ounce of ore is
minted not grain of wheat is made
serviceable for man or beast, not
sacrifice can be laid upon his altar
until it has been sought out ant
brought forward and consecrated by
human hands, trembling with the de
votion and love of human hearts. Tt
this end has He taken into co-partner-
ship with Himself every redeemed dis
ciple as steward or manager OF Dotf
! material and spiritual interests. In
Christian Stewardship the dividing line
between the. secular and the religious is
invisible and non-eXistent.
One form of stewardship I should
| like to see tried in five of our cities.
| First of all, a very clean and decent
| tenement district provided, and kept
clean. In this district an industrial
school with provision for every real
| WANT, IIGID lnt anu hiliNNi b "a
| ten to the teaching of useful hand
| craft in the home and shop and store,
| remembering Colonel Parker's illumi-
mating motto-"That the whole boy is
to be sent to school," That means that
every child has a physical intellectual
| and moral nature. / would have the
| children taught to play-to sing-to
study-to work-to worship. This dis
trict should have church; not howell
M ha1 hit q oh a
| of Roman Catholicism, but antedating
| Roman Catholicism and initiative of
| divine ideals that always demand the
| fitting and the true for Gods service.
Is there any man among us who would
| not like to see this experiment tried?
Remedies are at our command.
Christian Stewardship can apply them
if it will. 1t certainly will if it can be
aroused to see the need and the pos
sibility, under God, the certainty of
satisfying the need.
We verify seem to think that be-
cause the alert mind of the great
teacher drew a certain lesson from the
then customary methods of Palesti-
MAN farming, that twenty centuries
afterward nothing can be gotten out
of that teaching apart from crooked
sticks for plows. and lazy bullocks for
power. Such reasoning is falaciouS-
the whole of it. 1t begins with false
premises, and continues with undis
| tributed middles, and arrives at false
conclusions. When has almighty God
intimated that He could not make use
of generous material resources for the
upbuilding Of His Kingdom? / suppose
He could profitably employ two million
of dollars in missionary work in Massa-
chusetts within twelve months. He
can and does choose weak things to.
confound the mighty, but invariably
in such an issue the confounding con-
sists in the human choice, not in the
unattended human weakness.
Fathers and Brethren-It is time to
consider in all seriousness If the barren
condition of many of our fields of la
Dor is not due to the Withholding of
vital seed that costs money; of intelli-
gent tilling and nurture that costs
money; of patient and self-sacrificing
devotion, do you wish me to add? Ger
tainly, and that also costs money, and
much of it, The spiritual tOiler does
not live who is so etherially spiritual
as to be able to live without food and
raiment.
But 1 wish now to say. and it would
rebound to the glory of God If it could
be believed. that in all aggressive goth
century labor for Jesus Christ, in pub
fishing his gospel, in catching men
alive for his kingdom, in capturing ar
miles of aliens and in disciplining them
for service and conquest, Gods stew
ards must give as they have been
prospered. If they are to see the work
of God prosper in their hands. Nota-
BILE instances there are no doubt who,
as good stewards of the manifold grace
of God, seek prayerfully and intelli-
gently to do this thing. AS a Christian
Northumberland without reproach-
as Christian denominations our shame
is that these instances are notable.
1 am at this moment speaking Of
20 900 Baptist Church members in the
state of Massachusetts who with a
very large constituency, numbering N