The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-05
NEW YEARS SERMON.


| LAS a New Years message to you this
| morning. L call your attention to an attitude
of Christ toward his own, Behold, stand
| at the door and knock
There is no writer of the New Testament
| that has been so frequently and constantly
under the fire of criticism as has the author
of the Apocalypse John. In his gospel he
/ gives a reason for his writing. and for his
philosophy in his treatment of the life of
Jesus Christ throughout. In the Apocalypse
his purpose is probably not clearly stated,
but whatever differences of opinion we may
| have as to the full meaning of his varied
that the opening chapters of the book clear
| ly present messages of the everything
Christ to his church and people.
| 1t Is perfectly natural that John, who
| gives US so clearly the gospel of the incar-
nation. the gospel of the divine indwelling
| and OF the divine abiding, should bring to
| the everything Christ. The church was Civ
| Ing evidence of GOODNESS and degenerate
tendencies and we have in the text the
| attitude of Jesus Christ toward His own
| people VINO may have proven untrue to the
| life to which He has called them Under
| lying this Scripture, there is the great fact
| that Christ had been In their lives; that
| was the very burden of the teaching of the
| gospel by John. Christ in them. for the in
carnation is not alone historic fact, but
| a forever possible truth; but now Christ is
| at the door outside knocking for readmis-
| sion TO the life of His own church and
people.
| country, Christian civilization, and in
| our past life Christ has been pre-eminent
i purpose. therefore, this morning taking
| this historical utterance of the text and
| applying 1t TO our own age. / think that
| theoretically there will be little difference
| of opinion to the right of Christ TO have
pre-eminence in all our life but upon care
| full investigation ii will readily appear
that He is not in our life. as professedy
| Christian people, nearly so much as is
| His right. l believe, first, that Christ is
| to-day standing at the doors of our schools
| of science and seeking admission and fuller
| recognition. How readily, as Christian
people, we think of Him and speak of HIM
| as Lord of all; and we are ready to quote
| the statement by John that by Him all
| things were made that are made. and by
| Him all things subsist; and yet, in
| Christian America science is markedly ma
| terialistic in its spirit and tone. Indeed,
| IT is gone so far as to assert that it is not
! its function to deal with those phenomena
| of life of which Christ is unquestionably
| lord and king. Science will coldly cal
| history from the rocks, wrest secrets from
| the sea, delve after the dynamic forces of
| life, analyze the functions, parts and pow
| ers of all animate creation, and too often
| boldly affirm that, in all the realms, life
| is nothing other than matter more or less
| highly organized. In the regularity of the
| seasons. in the movements of the stars
| back of the wonderful mechanism and mi
nutae of life, science all too frequently
fails to recognize our Christ as upholding
| all things by word of his power; and thus
| failing to recognize the divine personality
/ as the source and sustainer of all life, is
| often dangerously unchristian. and we feel
| in our souls that Christ stands at the door
! calling for fuller recognition.
CHRIST AT THE DOOR
again, Christ stands at the door of
| our whole educational system. America
rightly boasts of her system of public edu-
cation, yet there is no student of the his
tory of our country but who knows that
in the earlier years of our national life,
and back to colonial times, Christ had a
large place in the education of our people.
| The men who laid the foundation of our
| public school system were men who recog-
| nized Christ as Lord, and a qualification
| for every teacher was that he should be
| loyal to Christ. 1t is not so to-day. But.
] while L do not believe many of the things
| that are said as 10 the godlessness of our
| public schools, / am confident there can
be no gainsaying the fact that, in the
| name of liberty. a boisterous and insistent
| minority of our people have largely sue
ceeded in pushing Christ and Christian
thought and conceptions of life from rom. our
| The Meaning Of Education President
| Butler. of Columbia University. says that
education until very recently, although it
played that part in narrow, illiberal and
uniformed spirit. The progressive adj
| vance of religious influence during the
nineteenth century has aresulted i'm greatly
| altering the relation of religious influence
| and education-and the development of a
/ public educational conscience which has
| led the state to take upon itself large
| share of the responsibility for education,
has brought about the practical exclusion
| of the religious element from public educa-
| ton. This is, indeed. true In France and
in the United States. The result of this
condition of affairs is that religious teach
ing is rapidly passing out of education
tirely and the familiarity with the Eng
lish Bible as the greatest classic of our
day, that every cultured man owes it to
himself to possess. is becoming thing of
| the past He then deplores this loss and
advises and urges that the family and the
church take up more Systematically and
| strenuously the religious element OF human
! culture. Not alone in our public schools.
| but also in church schools and other
of which were founded by Christian men
and in Christ's name, is it sadly true that
Christ is not in the life of the institution
| as in former days. Indeed, as touching
some of the historic schools of our country,
young men and women may come from
them with honors, while at the same time
not open hostility to Christ and His
| church. We are having a great deal of
| the culture of the college with Christ left
out. and yet. President Thwing has well
said. One misses in the culture of the col
| lege the noblest elements If he leave out
| religion religion gives sky to the stu
| gives inspiration and spirit of hopeful
| ness; 1t enlarrges, broadens, deepens. The
l student VINO Is nobly religious is, other
| things being equal. the finest beneficiary
| and finest benefactor of the college,
CHRIST CROWDED OUT.
again see Christ standing at the doors
Of industry and business / think there
can be little difference of opinion that
wherever the fault may lie. Christ has been
| crowded out OF the vital relation existing
| between capital and labor. Never in the
| history of our race has there been such an
| tagonism, and such vast organizations for
| purposes of victory for one side or the
| other in these days. Amid all the bab-
| BILE and confusion of voices, hear the gem
| tie but persistent knocking of the Son of
| God, the perfection of Man, as he seeks
| admission into the business world. One of
the most hopeful movements for the recon-
| Citation and unifying of the interests of
| capital and labor has been the action of
| such men as Mr.. Mark Hanna-men, SYM
| pathetic TO the interests of both capital
| and labor. but Christ. II he shall be adj
| mitted. can come nearer TO both parties to
| the controversy than any other being AS
| the Son of Man. He will touch men on
| both sides of the controversy, not as mill
lionaires. or as mechanics. but as men He
| knows and well appreciates the rights of
| both. II you speak of the interests of capt.
| tai, Christ Is Lord Of All. The wealth OF
| these Is His. II you speak Of labor He MAS