The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-03
PREACHED TO SAINTS
REV. DIR. JORDAN THINKS THEY
CAN BE MORE SANITY STILL.
STANDARDS ARE TOO Low.
CHRISTIAN THINKING AND LIVING
SHOULD BE ON HIGHER PLANE.

saints, DR.. Jordan viii Handle the
More Numerous Body of sinners
Next Sunday NiSht-The Impress OF
Rev. Sam JOnes-Bnd Men Howl
When Their Profits Are Taken.
The Clubs Attacked-PIace for
Christians When DweIIers in Glass
Houses Begin to Throw Stones.
Rev. DR.. John D. Jordan preached at
the First Baptist Church last night a SER
mon that showed in subject and treatment
the impress of Rev. Sam Jones' recent
evangelical labors in Savannah 1t was
the first of two sermons DR.. Jordan had
announced upon Some Reforms Needed
in Savannah" and was addressed prima-
rily to the saints of his congregation and
the city.
Next Sunday night DIR. Jordan, still
continuing the discussion of the same
general subject, will address what he has
to say principally to the sinners. If those
for whom the message is intended turn
out to hear it in the same proportion as
did the saints, who practically filled the
main auditorium and the balcony of the
church last night there will have to be
overflow meetings to accommodate the
crowds According to DR.. Jordan and
others, and nobody has yet been hardy
enough to deny the assertion. the sin
ners in Savannah are in an overwhelming
majority.
The Scripture lesson last night was
taken from the sixteenth chapter of Acts,
which describes, among other things, the
experience Paul and Silas had in Philippi
| There they found a damsel possessed of
spirit of divination, whose abilities as
a fortune teller or soothsayer had brought
her masters much profit She and her
masters had followed the apostles about
for many days, the woman proclaiming
that they were men of God and spoke
truth. TO this course her masters inter-
posed no objection.
Finally. Paul commanded the spirit to
leave the woman, and it had come out
of her the same hour. Distressed and an
| gered that their method of making a liv-
| ing had been interfered with, the wo-
mans masters had complained to the
! magistrates, and the apostles had been
taken, beaten and finally cast into the in
ner prison of the city, where they were
fettered to the stocks. From this bibli-
cal story, DIR. Jordan drew the lesson he
had for his congregation last night.
Since 1 have lived in Savannah" Dr.
| Jordan began, Il have always tried to be
| conservative and reasonable, and l eX-
pect to try to continue so to be as long
as 1 remain in our city, and as long as
l remain on earth. The scripture les
son 1 have read tells US of an experience
of the Apostle Paul in Phlippi, where he
found a fortune-telling woman, who
| seemed to be under the business manage
ment of certain men, who used her as a
means of getting gain.
For days she kept following after Paul
and Silas, saying, These men are the ser
wants of the most high God, which shew
| unto us the way of salvation To her
saying this thing her masters did not OBJ
| jeot. When Paul cast out the spirit how
ever, and they saw that a valuable asset,
| the womans ability a. soothsayer had
| been destroyed, and their business inter-
| ests interfered with, their attitude
| changed, they complained to the magis-
trates and had the apostles thrown into
prison.
THE same spirit that existed nearly
nineteen hundred years ago in Philippi,
said DIR. Jordan, exists in every Ameri-
can city and in every city in every coun-
| try on earth to-day. The evidoers, the
persons who get money dishonorably and
| dishonesty, are willing to let the preach
ers preach, with al the force and power
and eloquence they can command until
they begin to interfere with their PERM
| ciouS business. AS long as the preachers
say nothing against Them they are will
ing to tolerate, even to approve and COM
mend But whenever we open our mouths
to condemn their wicked and corrupt
| practices, their attitude is changed and
they would treat us, if they dared, as
they treated Paul and Silas in Phlippi
nineteen hundred years ago. The polite
ians are not satisfied with attempting to
throttle the preacher in his pulpit; they
would paraliZe the efforts of the layman
in the pew.
Il am not a political preacher and never
intend to be, but 1 hope the time will
never come when 1 shall hesitate to at
tack anything that condemns the right
or uphods the wrong"
DR.. Jordan explained at this point OF
his sermon that his remarks were intend
ed principally for the saints, for the
Christian men and women of the city He
| had something to say first to those who
| though they are Christians so far as pro-
fession and belief are concerned, are not
affiliated with any church in the city
DR.. Jordan said there were multitudes
of men and women in Savannah, who were
u
had not affiliated with their churches
since coming 90 Savannah, or else, while
protesting Christianity and believing in
its doctrines and trusting in its promises
had never united themselves with a
church anywhere. To the members OF
each of these classes he had arguments
and appeals to show they should ally
themselves with The church of their choice
and take a stand for the right.
"A reformation is needed among the
unafl1liated Christian men and women OF
Savannah, They should ally themselves
with the church of God and fight it's bat
ties. How can they stand idly by and
see right grapple with wrong, truth fight
with error, and righteousness with I'M
| righteousness, without doing what their
duty tells them they should do?
| Go TO the church of your choice, you
unafiiliated Christians acknowledge your
error and take a stand for God and the
right. This city never needed the help OF
consecrated Christian men and women
more than II does to-day. and perhaps
never In the history OF our city have the
people been lining up more universally for
the fray II YOU want TO be a soldier and
do soldiers duty I'm this noble work OF
Christian chivalry. now is your opportu-
nifty and the accepted and acceptable
| time"
This was DR.. Jordan's message to those
not affiliated with any church. For the
| church members he had another, not less