The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-07
UNITY IN ESSENTIALS
BETTER THAN DOCTRINES.
Doctor Crutcher Would Have Min
insters Talk of Things That
Are Closer to Life.

The Reverend J. y; Crutchsr; pastor q
preached yesterday morning on the theme.
from Ephesians ". Is: II therefore,. as
the prisoner of the Lord. beseech you that
ye walk worthy Of the vocation wherewisn
ness. with long suffsring. forebearins one
another in love: endeavoring to keep the
Thsi. IF II a tine s Sedy and m '' one n spiGi,. OF .r Rsas .:
ye are called in one hope of your calling.
one Lord, one faith, one baptism. one God
ana sht ali and Gt IN hli; YOU Mh an. Is a. ae0 ssid al ana
Many Of the authoritative creods in the
religious world voice differences that have
ence of sin and the preciousness Of the
worlds redeemer. Creeds sometimes are
aimed at other creeds, They are often born
sectional prejudices. Made by theologtans,
they require Interpretation by professors OF
divinity. Niceties OF doctrinal discrimina-
tion are not appreciated by the average lay.
man. He knows that sin is here. He sees
lust holding high carnival In all Of the
departments Of life; He asks for a remedy:
every earthly need Of the race. The father
has certainly, provided better things for the
not satisfy the hunger OF thai Wh,cS S's :.
highest and hottest in man Creeds hays
not the drawing power Of the physicians
misery and wretchedness of a sinful nfe
They may serve very well a. documents to
place in the archives of a denomination.
SATISFY sis they heal al TN They n make glad dh ne
sEieviIns heart Of the man who has lived :
Much energy has been wasted in en-
phasis upon nonessential things Opinions
have become paramount Nonimportant
absolute requirements. Children cry for
bread and receive stones-coid and nerve
tss zd ENDS IN !nsin rs the ,G;essine r, Of 5oS:::
Of eating and drinking; these have become
tests of fellowship. Men nave been taught
than to make their lives prayers. That the
burning of incense Is equally as we'll pleas
ing to God as that incense that rises from
divine grace and power.
Jesus taught that these things, borrowed
from Judaism. should, not have a n impor-
which goeth into the mouth Of q man. but
that which cometh out Of the mouth; this
detileth the man. Mark emphasizes this by
adding. Let him that hath ears to hear.
hear Again, Paul wrote the Romans. The
kingdom of God Is not meat and drink W.
are told that certain days are more holy
than other days. The observance Of these
days Is a test of fellowship. Yet the letter
TO the Galatians shows the nonimportance
times. and years. and in commenting on
this the writer fears that his labor was IN
vain. II their vision only permitted the out
might have continued under Moses. Tt
no man judge you, therefore, In meat, or In
drink. or in respect of an holy day, or the
new moon. or of the Sabbath days. which
are a shadow of things to come. Col. Il.
l6-lI. They had the shadow, We have the
substance. They paid tithes of mint, aniss
and cunm1n, We possess weiShtier things
judgment, mercy and truth.
In my text We have a hint concerning
the things essential. They are things on
which Christendom might agree. They are
attested by many infailible proofs.
The Atheist is not omnipresent and
where he Is not God may be- He II not
omniscient, and the one thing he does not
know may be that there Is a God. When
he becomes both he will be a God. Until
he does. We refuse to accept his opinions.
We believe God Is adequate to. the crea-
ton of the universe We see the lone hut
in the mountains or on the prairies. and we
know that it is the work of man-though
nature all around may give no other sign
of his presence. Nature indicates It's maker.
The heavens declare the glory of God, the
armament showeth his handiwork.' Belief
in him is the foundation OF all religious
thinking and all divine living.
And so Is our faith concerning Jesus
Christ. Peters confession Is the rock upon
which the church Is built. Enemies may
assail US on nonessentials and with seeming
! success. but II we remain on the specific
proposition Of the New Testament Church.
we may be sure that the victory IL ours
I through our Lord Jesus Christ"