The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-08-20
HER REAL STATUS.
OUR REGULAR SUNDAY SERMON.
The Church Has Forgotten Her
Proper Status In the World-A
Touching Appeal.

Proper Status In the World-A
Touching Appeal.
New YORK CITY.-The Rev. Charles r..
McNally, the pastor OF the Sixth Avenue
Baptist Church. preached his first sermon
in his new pulpit Sunday morning. his
subject was "Presen; Day Incarnation.
He took his text from First Corinthians
xii:27: I'VE are the body of Christ and
severally members thereof" Mr.. McNally
said:
throughout the land, with somewhat of
a wall. the question is being asked. what
ails the church? That she is sick seems
| to be a foregone conclusion. The religious
| periodicals and some Others are quick to
give a diagnosis of the case. 1t IS because
the pew has been elevated educationally.
1t is because the ministry has lost self-re-
spect and prestige. 1t is because men
| everywhere are too busy to attend to the
! concerns of the soul. or because Christian
ity is so "other worldly it is not sufficient
ly practical for the practical life or to-day.
| Many other reasons are given for why the
church lacks power.
Is this charge against the church just?
II statistics may be trusted. it is. The last
religious returns for the nation disclose the
lamentable fact that Christianity has made
no gain that even her warmest friends can
| call proportionate to the increase of popu-
| lation and the mighty development of com
mercial interests. In the city as well as IN
| the rural districts, the preachers Of the gos-
pel are finding it hard to get enough PEG.
! pie to take q hold OF church affairs to make
the church live with a commanding intlu.
ence in the community. The land IS full
of reports of mans greed, his tricks OF
trade and other disregard OF sacred oDllga-
| tons. Men are looking to the church to
stem the tide OF moral recklessness. 1t
must be frankly conceded that the church
has seemed to be powerless to arrest the
| drift. The masses OF the people pass hen
| doors or rarely enter. Her hold upon pub
lie morals does not seem to he very strong.
| Her ability to mold the ethical life of the
world does not seem to be adequate to the
needs. II the conditions are what they
seem to be. If the church is really failing to
| enlighten the world by the ethical stand
ards of Jesus Christ, something, Is surely
wrong. and the church should quickly
awaken to a realization of her real condi-
| ton, and take measures to strengthen her
| hold IDOL the life of the nation.
Where does the difficulty lie? l believe
in this: The church has too much forgotten
what her real status in the world is. She
has in her effort to solve the mighty prob
lens that the last few generations have
| presented to her, gone away from the SIM
pie teaching and simple method Of Christ,
her founder. The ministry has too much
given itself to the work of education, OF
culture. of reform. The pew has too much
demanded these things. The result is the
hearts of men have been spiritually starved.
| Many who would have waited on the min
istrations of the church have forsaken her
because their spiritual natures were not
satisfied and developed. Education, esthet-
les and reform they could obtain from the
| schools and the papers OF the day.
1t must be remembered that Christ:
| while incarnate. gave Himself to none OF
| these things. He devoted His entire min
istry 70 lodging in the minds OF His dlscl-
pies the fact that He was in the world for
one purpose and that to save men from sin.
To the end that He might save the sinner
from his sin He devoted all His time, he
gave all His energy, and sacrificed His life.
The mission OF Christ was primarily not a
mission of education or reform. it was a
mission of salvation. 81 come-to call sin
ners to repentance" "The Son Of Man is
come to seek and to save that which was
lost" "This is a faithful saying and wor-
| thy of all acceptation, Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners" When the
| church will concentrate her efforts upon
this one thing-the saving Of sinful men
and women from the power of sin-the
questions of education and reform will take
| care Of themselves.
The status of the church in the world is
pointed out by Paul in the words OF our
text. "Ye are the body Of Christ" and sew
orally members thereof. If Christ gave
Himself while in the flesh to saving men
from sin by manifesting to them the life OF
| r-1 80 4lok.lolu- tha ohrrnh-in which
He is willing to incarnate. Himself, co het
ter that to devote its undivided attention
and energies to the salvation OF men. by
the manifestation of the life and will OF
God? The church is the body of Christ.
In it He has incarnated Himself. What
Christ was in the world while in the flesh
| that the church must be in the world to-
day. What Christ did for the world while
in the flesh that the church must do for
the world to-day. "Ye,. as a church and
as individual members Of the church: are
the BODY of Christ" Ye must be Christ
to the world. Except the church as o body
and the several members thereof as innl.
| yiduals live as Christ in the world, the
world will never know Christ.
Paul. the master mind. could use such a
| figure with such potent power. Of all hls
| figures there is pernans no other more e!ao-
orately worked out or more carefully APP
piled. The body is not one member, but
many, and the man. members only, one
| body. So is it with the church, and the
church is the body of Christ.
Observe that this figure permits, OF a de-
tailed analysis. While the church is the
body OF Christ, it Is only the body. that IN
which Christ has inearnated Himself.
I. Christ is the life of the church. He
is the inner vitalizing spirit. which ami
mates and directs. The church which rec
ognizes this has by this very recognition
marvelously vitalized Itself.
There are two kinds of churches-the
man-led and the Christ-!ed. The man-led
| church gives itself to hero worship and
leans on the arm of flesh. The Christ-led
| church gives itself to the worship OF Christ
| and leans hard Oh the arm Of God. You
may be able from the history of your city
to supply an illustration of the fact that
| there have been churches where the preach
CT has been the church. When the preach
er has gone the church has gone. Mark
| such a church as one that has been man.
led. The church ha3 looked to its pastor
| for vitality and TO lead it. What the heart
is to the body that is Jesus Christ to His
church. From Him through the agency OF
thn Holy Shirt IL receives the IMPULSE OF