Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-08-18

not believe the doctrine of election"
81 never asked you to believe the doc
trine of election again said DR.. Pal
mer. what, then, do you want me to
believer" "As a minister of the Pres
byterian church." DR.. Palmer replied,
81 have to accept the Confession Of
Faith, but you as lay member only
have to believe two great doctrines.
The first is, that man is sinner. You
believe that? The second is, that Jesus
10 a Saviour and died for your SINS
You believe that? AS a believer in
those two great doctrines. l want you
to throw yourself upon the mercy of
Christ, and you can be saved. This is
all the Presbyterian church or any
other Protestant church demands of
you for membership" DR.. Palmer was
right. You may not understand all of
the Bible, but you do understand and
believe enough to make you acceptable
for membership in Christ's church.
You do believe in the atonement. You
do believe that Jesus died to save you.
Throw away your doubts! Hold to
your beliefs! The gospel church life
boat is too fine a craft to be scuttled
merely because we know not all the
planks out of which its hull was built.
Come into the church lifeboat today
on the simple faith that it's keel was
made from the straight beam of the
Calvary cross.
Another Reason Answered.
"Well," remarks another man, 81 do
not join the church because of the in
constituencies of it's members. Some
profess one thing and practice another.
They say Christians ought to be kind
and loving and gentle and helpful to
their fellow church members. Then
they demonstrate that some of the
worst fights on earth are church fights.
The elder who prays the loudest in
prayer meeting may be the farmer who
never comes out second best in horse
trade, and the gossip of the sewing
society is just as merciless as the Cos
sip at the club or in ballroom. AS
long as the church is filed with hypo-
critics 1 do not want to join it."
Stop, my brother! You know that
some of the very best men in every
community are members of the differ
ent Christian churches. You know, as
we'll as l know, that though some of
| the church members may be hypO-
critics the vast majority are men and
women who have banded themselves
together for the purpose of prayer and
communion with God and of trying to
make their fellowship better and purer
and truer and more Christlike. There
are thousands and tens of thousands
of church members who are no more
hypocrites than your Christian father
and mother, who were also members
of Christian church, were hypocrites.
To demonstrate how much you really
respect the Christian church, though
you may not know 1t, would like to
ask you question. If you were strand
ed as a young woman In a distant
city, without money or friends, tc
whom would you go for help? To the
saloon keeper? To the rich brewer,
No, no! Without doubt you would &c
straight to some Christian ministers
home You would go to him, just al
many young men and women have
come to me, and you would say, my
father and mother are members of DR.
So-and-so's church, in such and sucl
town. l have no money. l want tt
get home. Will you help mel? II
have you realize how much you respec
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ
would picture you stranded as ship
wrecked sailor upon a strange coast
What would you most prefer to see
fortress, kings palace, an army en-
campment or the steeple of Christian
church? You know as well as ever.
intelligent man or woman knows tina
the community which lives under tn
shadow Of the church spire is a Go
fearing community. The communit
which does not protect the Christia
church is an unsafe community
| which to dwell, and there is no exceI
ton to the rule.
What the Church IL For.
, When you criticise the sincerity @
certain church members, you shoul
not forget that the church of Chris
was instituted for the imperfect a
well as the perfect, for the moral criI
Piles as we'll as for those who are spil
: itually whole. In the church there ar
| to be found members like man whoI
2 a friend of mine was one evening d,
e Tending. Howard Crosby came to tn
e gentleman and said: Doctor how ca
y you like such man? You know he
@ not what he ought to be-" My frien
J. turned and said: ''Dr. Crosby, If yO
l. had little child who had lost an ey
:, or was deaf or who was born Ian
!; would you despise him on account
d his infirmity? Well, my friend is
IS moral cripple. do not like him b
% cause he has lost one eye and one Il
IT and one arm, but l do love him
d cause, by the grace of God, he is tr
l. ing to struggle against his daily tenn
s. tations and his spiritual deformities
v So you will find in the church Of O.
% today moral cripples. They are stru
n | cling every day of their lives again