Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-01-26

words, No admttance." OF course |
went in, and, coming to the second door,
| saw the words. No admittanee." Get
ting clear on into the factory. saw they
were making pins, useful pins. aud moth
ing but pins So think there is some
times an exclusiveness among some of
the churches. The outside world comes
up and looks at the door. and there is
something which seems to say, NO adj
mlttance, and the world comes up to the
pew door and sees written over it, mo
admittance,' and looks ut the pulpit, and
there is something there which seems TO
say. NO admittance," while we stand iu-
side of the same churches hammering out
our little niceties of religious belief. max
ing pins. Oh for deeper appreciation of
the sentiment of my text, Other sheep l
nave which are not of this fold"
L have to remark that the heavenly
Shepherd will find many sheep amid the
non-churchgoers. There are cougrega-
tions where they are all Christians. and
they seem to be completely finished. and
they remind one Of the skeleton leaves
which 10y chemical preparation have had
all the greenness and verdure taken off
them and are left cold and white and del
lcate, nothing wanting but glass case to
put over them. The minister of Christ
has nothing to do with such Christians
but 10 come once a week and with ostrich
feather dust off the accumulation of the
last six days, leaving them bright and
crystalline as before But the other kind
of church is an armory, with perpetual
sound of drum and fife. gathering re-
cruits for the Lord of Hosts and saying
TO every applicant: DO you want to be
on Gods side, the safe side and the hap
by sideE If So come in the armory and
get equipped. Here is bath in which
to be cleansed Here are sandals TO put
upon your feet. Here is n helmet for
your brow. Here is a breastplate for
Your heart. Here is a sword for your
right arm, and yondcr is the battlefield.
Quit yourselves like men,"
There may be some here who say. Il
stopped going 70 church ten or twenty
years ago Is it not strange that you
are among the first that / address to-
day? / know all your case. You have
not been accustomed to going into the
house of God. but have surprising an
nouncement to make to you. You are GO
ing to become one Of the Lords sheep.
"Oh, you say, 1T is impossible You
do not know how far am from anything
of that kind" ! know all about it.
haze wandered up and down the world,
and | understand your ease. / have
still more startling announcement to
make in regard to you. You are not only
going to become one Of the Lords sheep,
but you will become one now.
do not know how you came to reject
Christianity. 1t may have been through
the inhdel talk of some young man in the
store or shop or factory. II may have
been through the trickery of some pro
fessed Christian man who Disguised you
with religion. 1t may be that thirty years
ago you lost all faith by what happened
in an oil company which was formed
amid the petroleum excitement. The com
pany owned no land, or if they did there
was no sign of oil produced. But the
president of the company was presby.
terian elder and the treasurer an Epis-
copal vestryman. and one director was
a Methodist class leader and the other
officers prominent members Of Baptist
and Congregational churches Circulars
We're got ont telling what fabulous pros
poets opened before this company The
circular had all the hucs Of earth and
sea and sky. The letters famed with all
the beauty Of gold and jasper and anne
thyst. innocent men and women who
had n little money to invest and that lit.
tie their all said, II do not know any
thing about this company, but so many
good men are Mt the head of it that it
must be excellent and taking stock in II
must be almost as good as joining the
church" SO they bought their stock and
perhaps received one dividend to keep
them still. But after awhile they found
that the company had reorganized and
had a different president, different
treasurer and different directors Other
engagements or an overcoming modesty
had caused the former officers of the COM
pany, with many regrets, to resign, and
all that the subscribers of that stock
had to show for their Investment was a
beautifully ornamented certificate. Some
times that man, looking over his old pa
pers, comes across that certificate, and
il is so suggestive that he vows he wants
none of the religion that the president
and directors of that oil company pro.
fessed.
Or you may have become skeptical
from the fact that you grew up IT. n
home where religion was overd0ne Sun
day was the most awful day in the week.
Yon had religion driven into you with
a trip hammer. You were surfritrd with
prayer meetings. You we're stuffed and
choked with catechisms. E0u were Of
ten told that you were the worst boy
your parents ever knew because you
liked TO ride down hill better than to
read Bunvan's 'Pilgrim's Progress"
Whenever your father and mother talk
ed religion they drew down the corners
of their mouths and rolled up their eyes.
If any one thing will send boy to ruin
sooner than another, that is it.
Why Reject Christianityy
But / do not stop now to know how
you came into rejection Of Christianity.
You frankly tell me that YOU do reject it.
You do not believe that Christ is a divine
being although you admit that he was
very good man, You do not believe that
the Bible was inspired Of God although
you think there are some very fine things
in it. You believe that the Scriptural de-