The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-09-05
AS TOLD BY THE PARsoN.

1t was at the Monday morning minis
| tiers conference. There had been rather
q heated discussion on the question OF
liberalism in the church. More than half
of those present had declared that the
spirit o. the past was being lost
Let as all go bach they had said. 'to
the rock OF Calvinism. Men are more
easily led by fear than by the promise
that there is hope for them. even though
they be bad. Thunder the old doctrine al
them Sunday after Sunday. No man who
has any bad ia his life can be saved It's
impossible.
1t is the liberal preachers, some OF
whom are with US today, who are respon-
sible for the church being moved from old
TO new foundations and. as we believe,
to the damnng OF the souls OF the many
vhe are not told that no matter how
small the vice may be that unless il is
rooted out at once and for all time, then
hell yawns for the soul of the vicious"
short. swarthy man who had obeyed
the scriptural injunction 10 take a lower
seat, but had net been asked to go Up
higher. rose to his feet when the last OF
the speakers had aaished- Brethren,
he said. there are some ot US OF the So
called liberal school who have been much
condemned because too few OF our Sun
day sermons have been founded on texts
Ike. There is wrath. beware" and
The day of the Lord cometh with
wrath" and have chosen the tenderef
texts with which the Bible abounds.
Il am net yet 80. and yet for twenty
five years I preached almost daily the
dc ctIine OF wrath 10 the exclusion of the
gospel of mercy. There are too few of US
who believe that there can be some good
in the sinner, and there are too few OF
us. It IS my honest conviction. who do
not think that by calling a man names
we can do something for his seHl. There
Is too much curse and too little bless
ing
Yes. I am a convert to liberalism, if
liberalism yeu wish 10 call ii. / was
oEce IN the mood 10 tell a man If he
smoked cigar he would smoke eternally.
/ had charge Of a mission in a Texas
town. II wasn't tough town particu-
larry. I had a large congregation and
hiHety -hundredths OF the mem
hers liked the old-fashiSnsd sermon based
or statements that only one in a thousand
could flee from the wrath To come be-
cause of his sins. You see good many
people believe that they are the ones in a
thousand that are going to escape ana as
rule the wrath is TO strike the other
People.
There was a man who used to attend
my Friday night meetings. He was the
best dressed man in that Texas town. He
had a face expressionless save when the
music began. and we did have good mu-
sic l knew that man TO be a gambler.
and | directed by sermons at him. ! said
that there was no good in anybody that
had a single vice. That's the old-fashion-
cd doctrine. you Know, brethren. | said
that God liked nothing better than the
work of destroying the wicked.
Il said that good works were delusien
and snare If there was a single vice
In the life. L said this because l had A
suspicion that the ten dollar notes which
were found in the contribution plate on
Sunday came from the man against whom
l was hurting inveetives. | never had
seen ten-dollar note in the plate before
the mans face appeared in the congrega-
ton ! found out finally that the ten
dollar notes did come from this man.
who was a gambler. I sent the money
back 10 him with a letter saying that the
gedly could not accept the wages OF
sin.
There, brethren, l was probably right
as far as the ethics of the case go, but
J could have put 1t in gentier words and
perhaps have saved his soul To God The
How struck home, and the gamblers face
appeared no more in Abe accustomed pew
] had lost my chance of doing the Mas
ters work.