The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-08
FAITH THE VICTORY THAT
OvERCOMES THE WORLD.
The Reverend James n. Crutcher
Says 1t Is the Result of Unbe-
lief and the Investigation
of Gospel Facts.

of Compton Heights Christian church.
preached yesterday morning on, Faith and
Doubt" taking as his text. John V. 4:
the world. even our faith"
He sal: Jesus was not dreamer. He
was not a theorist. He gave the impetus OF
fact to Christianity. Facts solve doubts;
they settle theories. One fact will put q
thousand theories to flight and two will
stampede ten thousand traditions. The
fact. Paul said. Then If Christ be. not
risen, your hope Is vain The facts Of the
gospel form the basis of our faith. Twenty
centuries of martyrdom and pain and con-
sequent victories inspire us to nobler
fatth-a faith that has been tested by every
human III: Thousands have screamed in the
midst of death agonies. believe. o
Christ and though superstition and tradi-
ton would stop their ready. swift and
tuneful tongues the things that happened
to them have fallen out rather to a furtlI,
erance Of the gospel The world has HAD
and prophet and saint have feared none OF
those things that kill the body. but are
unable to kill the soul Their heavenly
Tlssot could not paint scenes of gay French
life after he had had a vision Of the suffer-
ing Christ. Henceforth,. his life must be
dsyeed to these who know most apSa
reaches out through the darkness. anu
takes hold of the hand Of God will not
permit a careless handling of divine things
1t touches the world to bless, and to bring
joy and gladness to hearts of stone as well
as praise to lips that have been dumb.
But this faith does not come In an In.
stant 1t is growth. It is the result iof
ton OF gospel facts and their acceptance.
At first it Is without form and void a
man does not know why he believes what
and doubt give way to wavering faith,
and, as the days go by, the heart adds to
Its faith courage. and to courage knowl-
hope that is in him. Formerly he was as
unstable as water but now the dry land
has appeared that which forms the basis
of his faith. Every faith must be tried as
by fire. To possess eonquering faith.
man must expect as Doctor Storrs said.
long tolls and many disasters, in cardna-
ties with giants and spasms of fear in the
heart OF the church. But he looks for its
ultimate triumph. for the final illunina ton
sunrise after nights OF tempest and linger.
ing dawn. To him everything Is sign of
promise. and he knows nothing of despair.
of God calling to duty. Conflicts on blood
stained fields in distant lands are to him
the sesame Of new opportunities. To him 1t
all means the Fastening Of the brighter
age to be-
THE main headings of history never
change. We are often impressed with the
broad sameness of humanity.hunger and
death, pain and rejoicing. doubt and faith.
Human hearts evermore Dulsate to. the
great needs the oes
d aens into Men the DsRreh ages ana ces
have. SHRINK back before that appalling
the road Of journeying humanity! Around
its base the tides of the generations divid-
ing. as part the long;raeing bill Lys of the
cha MIC student. artisan all know what It
means to question the sages or the stars or
ones own soul for the light that would
show the dark path to be an unreasonable
circle of praise and glory. 1t is true. says
Drummond, that all truths are doubtable.
There is no absolute proof of any of them
Then why should man not be led to intel
"There lives more faith in honest doubt.
believe me. than in half the creeds." Unbe-
lief will not. doubt can not. believe. One Is
obstinate, the other anxious and honest:
one is contented with darkness, while the
other strains aching eyes for some clear
CLEAN from the mountain peak toward
which hope impels US to look: one Is volun-
tient with doubt. Thomas doubted until he
had his proofs. and then, My Lord and my
God!' Peter saw the winds boisterous' and
began to sink. but Jesus raised him out OF
the sea. Nicodemus and Philip could not
and the Master showed them
things heavenly The Bereans searched the
scriptures daily to see If certain things were
true Their testimony had more weight than
il they had accepted mere hearsay. Igno-
rance is not bliss in the Kingdom of heaven:
II ye know these things. happy are We II
We do them The happiest man In the world
IS he who possesses a faith that has come
up through great tribulation.' and as the
days pass into years he beholds the woii-
1rous triumph of the Prince of Everlasting
secret sins, outward temptation and ALI
manner of evil and faith Is to him the vic
tory that overcomes the world