The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-07-11


is true ln some places There are so-called
Christian churches where men preach any
thing but the gospel They are n disgrace
Tn the profession and a dishonor 10 Christ
lt is, however, my privilege To know as
many ministers as the most oil men, and
/ know comparatively few ina all this great
company who preach anything but the
gospel OF Christ. II ~ true, however, that
the world feeds upon dry husks Remem
Der the story of tho prodigal.
Eight-'I am just as good ne the mem.
bers of the church, why should ! attendy'
But that is not at all the question that
should be considered by the writer Of this
letter He may be az good as some mem-
bers of the chUcch, but is not 1t little
strange that men who take this position
always pick out the weak members and
line up beside them. Why not take the
strong characters of the church instead
The question is fHow does your life com.
pare with that of Christ" He is the
IDEAL
Ninth-"The reason why am away from
the church is because when / attend the
sermon rebukes my manner Of living"
Then / beseech you, in the name Of Christ,
change your life, and to the Tdan who
writes this letter l send out a special plea
that God may lead him speedily to Him
self
Tenth p "If I should attend church."
writes another young man. 81 should have
to give up my evil companions. and I am
not prepared now to do that" IL is an
awful thing for any young man to say that
his love OF certain companions binders his
desire to be right with God, and the writer
OF this letter presents the strongest reason
why he should turn quickly into the
straight and narrow way that leads 10 life.
Eleventh-"lhe secular side of life APP
peals so strongly to me that / find my
spiritual interest is becoming deadened,"
writes a man who used to be a member of
the church, "and for this reason / am not
attending" IL is easy to understand how
men who live in a great city would say
this, and I wonder sometimes when / see
men in their place of business and in the
Stock Exchange that they can be as good
as they are. 1t is an alarming condition.
and sooner or later such men will find
themselves hopelessly enslaved and lost.
These are the reasons presented. 1t
would be better for us to call them eX-
cuses, for excuses are very different from
reasons. An excuse is a subterfuge behind
which men hide; reasons are entirely dit
! ferelt. A few reasons have been given IN
! the above remarks but the most of them
! are excuses pure and simple,
H.
It is said that an honest confession is
good for the soul, and there are some
/ things that we as members Of the church
/ and as pastors of the church might as well
| acknowledge first as last.
! First-We ought to recognize that men
cannot be driven to the church, but they
may be attracted. They will not go simply
! because it is their duty or because the
| Bible tells them to go, but they may be
| won and we ought to remember that the
/ average church building, shut up for the
week, with the undertaker's sign the most
! prominent upon its exterior, is not attract
| i've to the un-church people. The inside Of
| the building may be beautiful, but doubt
! less they do not think that.
Second-With each new generation new
conditions present themselves Within
twenty-five years the methods of business
have entirely changed and indeed within
ten years a new order of business prevails,
and the church must keep up with the
times The old truth is sacred and can
never be changed. God pity that man who
tries to present a new truth which cannot
be found in the word Of God, but old
methods may be absolutely valueless, and
we have q Scriptural warrant for changing
our methods every Sunday until we have
| one that will win the Indifferent. This
3
til, in the parable of the lost sheep, the
lost piece of money and the lost boy, for
the Shepherd searched, and the woman
looked, and the father waited until the
lost was found
The Emperor of Russia in passing
through his palace with a distinguished
visitor one day was asked as they looked
out the window why q sentinel was stand
ing at certain place on the grass. The
Emperor asked the sentinel of the day
and he did not know, and then he ques
toned the gentleman in command Of the
forces, and he could not tell but when the
records were studied it was found that
years ago the wife Of the Emperor had no
ticed bunch of wild flowers growing there
and had asked a sentinel to stand there
and guard them The order had navel
been reversed, and for years and years the
soldier had, been standing there, and there
are many people in these days who stanc
guarding some withered flowe. in the shape
of an old method or an old tradition in
stead of shaping themselves to the times
and its sweetness, and we with sucl
ought to make encouragement apparent tt
lost men.
Third-We have to preach to com
posite man. If a church makes its plans
to reach the rich only it is not Christian
whatever else it may be; if it plans sim
ply to reach the poor it is not as Chris
would have it. The distinction made be
tween rich and poor are TO be despised; tn,
gospel is for all. There is not more cleo
tricity to-day in the world than twenty
five years ago, and not more in America
/ than in the heart of Africa, but Edison
harnessed it and makes it useful, and tina
is the need of the day for the church. Oh
for some man who can take the old pOsDe
turtles and make it attractive We flint
men with the influence of the week o
business upon them, and he is the bes
! preacher who finds men as they are an,
! then leads them to Christ. There are som
preachers more particular about their pre-
nunciation than about the lifting of a SOU
into the kingdom of God, but we ar
! thankful that these are few in number.