Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-11-21

We must go out into the highways and
the hedges and compel them to come in
We will tonight as soon AS the bene-
dictlon has been pronounced have an
after meeting. AS members of this
church we Will distribute ourselves
through the aisles and buttonhole every
man. woman and child. SO that no one
shall leave the building without having
n special invitation for this after meet
ing" there Will be no disappointment
I'm the spiritual results Why? Because
the church members themselves are
asking their friends and the strangers
to meet Jesus Christ in a specified
place at specified time. General in
vitations in reference to the gospel
banquet as well as TO an earthly home,
as a rule, are worse than no invitations
at all.
The Fault OF the Pews.
So. today. | lay the blame for the
lack of spiritual results I'm our
churches far more upon the pews than
l do upon the puiplts. God knows,
do not believe that our ministers are
perfect men, but most OF them arc
earnest men. intense men. They would
do anything In their power to bring
immortal souls to Christ. But the
trouble is when the average minister
OF the gospel announces an after meet
ing, where sinners can be brought face
to face with Christ. nine-tenths, aye.
ninety-nine- hundredths OF all the
church members will get up and put
on their hats and go home. They will
not only by their actions refuse TO
personally extend an invitation to the
men and women who are sitting by
their side. but they will absolutely re-
fuse TO 80 into the after meetings and
talk With sinners who are trying to
find Christ. This charge which l make
against the church members I mako
not only against the laymen, but also
against the church officers. I make IL
against the elders and the deacons and
the trustees. l make II in the strength
of the overwhelming fact that you
derelict church members cannot find a
great evangelistic preacher who is ac-
complshing any great good for Christ
who is not backed up by praying.
eonsecrated band Of earnest church
workers. Vet you can find today
church after church In our land that
Is nothing more or less than q slaugb-
ter house for ministerial usefulness.
Their pastors will win great spiritual
successes before they come to them,
and those pastors will win great spir-
itual successes after, they leave them,
but while they are In those spiritually
dead churches the pastors will stumble
about blinded and helpless, as did the
mighty Samson, bound with letters of
brass, with his two eyes out, grinding
about in the prison house Of GAIA.
Those evangellstic ministers are spir-
itually helpless I'm such churches be-
cause the people, the common church
members, Will not unite as a working
force and personally present the gospel
OF Jesus Christ to the strangers who
come among them. Instead of derid-
ing and Understanding the power of
the ministry, II is high time for some
one to thunder a philippe against the
Indifference OF the selfish church men,
bers who refuse to spiritually support
the pulpit, as the pew always ought
loyslly TO do.
The gospel invitation should be prc-
scented by the church members to their
friends and TO the strangers wherever
they may be found, because the vast
majority of sinners never enter the
church ut all. Therefore, IL they do
not have Christ presented to them on
the street. In the Office. In the railroad
trains and even in the kitchen, they
Will never be invited at oil. Mr. Beech
or once powerfully said, 1.-THE longer
i live the more confidence I have In
those sermons preached where one man
Is a minister and one man is the con-
gregation, where there Is no question
as TO who is meant when the preacher
says Thou art the mann" 1 believe
MIR. Beecher was right when he made
that statement, but I believe he was
right even In larger sense. The Ion
ger live the more confidence have In
those sermons that arc preached where
one man is a minister and one man Is
congregation. because such n gospel
service can be held everywhere. II can
use the mechanics bench for n pulpit;
IL can have the iceman's cart for
moving tabernacle; 1t can carry the
Bread OF Life to the sinner who would
otherwise never be willing to receive
that bread over the pulpit desk. Be
sides, the minister in such case does
not have to be an ordained theological
student, but need be simply an earnest
consecrated layman pleading for Christ
with the sinner who is standing by his
side I'm the village store
Saving n Sinful World.
II all church members were to be- |
come earnest and consecrated evangel- |
lists, IL would not take very long for |
this whole sinful world to see the sun
rise burst OF the millennIal dawn. Sure |
ly 1t would not be too much to expect |
that one such evangelist rs Mr.. Beech |
er described should at least win one |
soul a year for Christ, yet DIR. William |
Morley Punshon, the great English |
Methodist, once made the startling |
statement: IF every disciple today |
were to call only one person to Christ |
each year and that one were to call |
one other. how swiftly the world would |
be wholly convertedi There are today |
millions Of true believers in the world |
But IL there Were only 100 see how |
quickly the work would grow. In less |
than twenty-five years the world would |
be converted, for this would double the |
number OF disciples each year." After |
such an impressive statement, will any |
one say that the gospel invitation, |
which can be given daily by the church |
members. would amount to but little
In the salvation of sinful world?
To show the Importance of Chris /
tfan layman's work I cannot do better
In closing this sermon than quote two |
illustrations from the personal expert
ence of IL. Clay Trumbull, the well |
known editor OF the Sunday School |
Times. Mr.. Trumbulls early life was
spent in Stonington, Conn. There !
great revival swept the town, and |
many Of the companions OF his youth |
Joined the church, among whom was /
young man who was one OF his most
intimate friends For many years
these two as boys and young men lived |
near each other, but his Christian |
friend never spoke to him about reii-
ell.