The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-11-24
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
DECLARED NONSENSE
Mr. Pearson Says there's no
Sense In It.
100 MUCH BACKSLIDiNG
inconsistent Church Members Retard
the Gospel More Than Infidels
WILFUL BACksLIDlNG is MORAL Perjury
Upon The Subject Of Blaspheming, Evangelist
Pearson Preached Powerful Sermon
Last Night 10 Large
Congregation.


The congregation at the revival ser
vices, conducted by Evangelist Pearson in
the Presbyterian church, increases every
night. Last night was the largest con-
gregation of the week and the people paid
marked and serious attention to the
preaching of the Word.
the preliminary service of praise and
prayer was followed by one of the most
impressive sermons yet preached by the
evangelist.
The text was from jeremiah 1922: RE
turn We backsliding children and / will
heal your backsliding."
There are many kinds of backslding-
one way is to backslide in heart, in doc
trine, in life, in character, to be an open
and outbreaking backslider. There never
lived man who did not backslide to some
extent.
There are five questions to be asked and
we will let the Book answer them:
1. HOW DO WE BEGIN TO BACK
SLIDE?
:. WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND AS A
BACKSLIDER?
3, WHY SHOULD THE BACKsLIDER
RETURN?
4. HOW CAN THE BACKsLIDER RE
TURN?
5. HOW CAN BACKsLIDING BE PRE-
VENTED?
Now to the law and to the testimony.
The child of God can remember when he
was filled with love. He grew cold and
out of fellowship and cared very little
for communion with Gods spirit.
HOW DO WE BEGIN TO BACKsLIDE?
There are two ways that are common:
]. NEGLECT OF THE SCRIPTURES.
In Matthew la it is said Man cannot live
by bread alone but by every word that
proceedeth from the mouth of God" If
you keep physically strong, you must eat,
you must digest your food and transmute
it into bone, brain and muscle If you
develop moral muscle, and your spiritual
life strong, just so precisely must you
feed upon the Word. Suppose a man
should eat only one meal week. He
would not be able to work. The trouble
with the church is that many go a
whole week without feeding upon God s
blessed Word. Is it any wonder that they
are puny, spindling, trifing, starving,
worthless Christians? The Bible says we
are born of the Word, and you cannot
lead a spiritual life without the Scrip
lures. Peter speaks of Christians who de-
sire "the sincere milk of the word" When
we are converted we are babes in Christ
and we will remain babes forty years if
we do not feed on the milk of the word
What are you feeding on? Sunday New
York Journals and Worlds-not fit to go
in your house-novels. fiction and such
stuff. Yet you do not have time to study
Gods Word Upon such food backsIiding
is irresistible. Good books and papers are
all right, but the trouble is we read moth
ing more. Book clubs are good enough in
their way. but it would be better to have a
Bible Club. BY the Word of God we
are sanctified Unless we are armed with
the Word we have no weapon with which
to fight the world, the flesh and the devil
THE sword of the Spirit is our weapon
When you go out unarmed, are you sur
prised that the world, the flesh and the
devil get you down?
Preachers are liable to backslide if they
study the Word in order to preach and
expound it without feeding upon it. Why
are some preachers taken off their feet
by all the new issues than come along
like the Christian Science-nonsense that
has no sense in it? Why? Because they
are not we'll grounded. A 24-year- old
young lady, public school teacher. did not
know who were the Children of Israel
There is an appalling neglect of the
Word
2. FAILURE TO WATCH AND PRAY,
Matthew 26:40: could We not watch with
me one hour" Watch your weak places.
We all have weak places. Be on your
guard. The devil sets the same old trap
in the same old place and catches the
same old backslider because he does not
watch.
THE SECOND QUESTION.
WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND AS A
BACKSLIDER?
l. There is no JOY in your religion.
David said in the 51st Psalm, Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation" Sin
ners can be happy, consistent Christians
can be happy, but the backsliders is with
out Joy.
The backslider gives an occasion to
tile enemies of God to blaspheme his
name. The great hindrance to the church
is not 1rf@oiHv--it is in consistent back
sliding church members. The sinner sees
the church member practising dishonesty,
frequenting places where he ought not to
be seen, retailing gossip and SANDER,
going on Sunday excursions. He gives
an occasion to blaspheme, and \the sin
ner says: Il am as good in my life as
that church member and am not a hypo-
critic either"
The spies who brought evil reports
from the Land of Promise died that day
on the plains Sometimes God removes
men before their time because they are
an occasion to blaspheme. The church
member who wilfully. persistently, con-
tinuously backslides brings false report
The Christian who finds his happiness in
worldly pleasures says to the sinner: 81
have tried the church 1t is dry. 1t does
not bring pleasure or happiness. If you
want to have good time, live as the
world lives" This is moral perjury. 1t is
4 SANDER of Gods word
THE THIRD QUESTION.
WHY SHOULD A BACKsLIDER RE
TURN?