Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-03-17

powers IOr gOOd Chdt are Dreamed OF
God? When will we believe that any move
points of test, if adapted in its twentieth
point unto the blessing of men, is worthy |
Of our tolerance, even our sympathetic re-
gard.
Even religious bodies quarrel among |
themselves in defining orthodoxy, and de- |
nominational respectability, instead of |
praying together for the salvation of the |
church pass bv on the other side of the |
road when Christians inside the church I
forget the purpose Of their existence. The
thumbscrew, rack. fagot and stake are
looked back upon as relics Of barbaric |
age, but their spirit still lives. Every one |
of the leading denominations have within
ten years either prosecuted, else made it
who saw more clearly and spoke more
fearlessly than the rank and file. The
Methodist Church in our leading New Eng
land city is to-day exalting the spirit of
the Pharisees instead of the spirit Of the
Wesleys in trying to excommunicate its
leading scholar, just as Presbyterianism a
scholar went back dangerously near the
standard Of $50 years ago, raised by its
illustrious ancestor, John Calvin, who in
1858 burned Servetus at the stake in Cen
eva for doubling the equality of the per-
sons of ''the Trinity" and the validity Of
infant baptism. Christ dealt more loving
His side and loved him into the necessary
belief: Phariseeism, on the other hand,
crucifed Christ and stoned Stephen to
death. Loving as brethren those within
the church; tolerant as Christians toward
those without is the ideal that should rule.
How refreshing to reflect upon such a
passage OF Scripture as that which stands
o. of -1a
for religious liberation and sets before US
a standard Of religious liberty it would be
we'll to live up to. We are so inclined to
become narrowed in our views of truth;
we are so prone to live under the shelter
of some creed that the vistas of truth
stretching ahead of us everywhere become
narrowed and hidden, and before we arc
aware of it the peculiar dogma we cherish
or the certain fact we advocate is magni-
fed into identification with the truth it.
self. There is at least danger here. Thus,
how needfM to be often carried out into
the broad field the Gospel opens up. Look
at the scene revealed here. Jesus is hav
ing another of His oft-recurring talks with
the Pharisees: but. as of old. they do not
understand Him. He is a fanatic. or at
best. stubborn partisan. who, while pro-
Tossing to lead them into larger freedom,
seems only to break up their honored in-
stitutions. SO this peculiar saying falls
from His lips. As He speaks. how precious
ers through the old loved fields, out under
the blue Sky, their life and His identified.
bound together by common fidelity OF
| truth. But even this freedom seems mar
| row in view Of what is yet to come. These
are My sheep, He saws, and for them I lay
| down My life; but also other sheep have
which are not of this fold, and as we con-
template the words. the range of our Wis
ion is extended, the fields through which
they pass widen. the visible horizon that
| hemmed us in lifts. the blue dome Of the
heavens expands until we see all truth
loving souls everywhere, known by pany
a different name, coming III as the sheep
fold opens to receive them. And we turn
our steps homeward. resolving in future to
| be more tolerant for the Master $ sake.
! A few weeks ago an attendant upon our
| church, a lover of truth, believer in
| Christ. but who had never made an open
profession Of religion, asked me what
thought constituted Christian. and If
| did not think it meant to be d church
member. and Baptist Church member. It
was that earnest question that called forth
! these sermons. What constitutes Chris
| tian? No progress can be made in our dis
cussion until we settle that question. Is it
TO be a communicant of any church? IS it
to subscribe to any creed? hundred
times no! All trustworthy sources make it
| " Dc d UciicFCi Ill w Hat uD
| YOU mean by belief in Christ? Well, what
do you mean when you tell a person You
believe in him, that YOU believe he is a
good citizen, a faithful husband. a loving
father? You may believe in him as all
! that. vet not be willing to trust INN with
a dollar out of your sight. or open Your
home to him as Il friend You honor him
not most unless willing to trust him with
money uncoupted. your good name. the
very secrets OF your heart a belief that
does not express itself in confidence does
not count for much All else is cold, i'm
/ personal opinion. You must not offer
Christ less than you would your friend. \
belief in the historic Christ only never
saved soul. any more than belief In
Caesar or Luther or Washington. even
though you believe Him as more than a
teacher sent from God, more than a pro
phet, even the very Saviour Of the world
Just as friendship is more than an intellec-
tual opinion, even 4 possession OF the lie.
Just as love, the divine essential in all
true living, without much society, is Il
self-centred. self-circumferenced conglom-
Grafton. and the home den. DENYING its
own existence, is virtue of the heart In
stead Of a secretion OF the brain; relig.
ion has its abiding place in the heart, else
nowhere in the life at all.
To be a believer in Christ then is nc
!, different than to be a believer in man
. Tell him whom you profess to call your
: friend you believe in him. When you vii
not contide in him, when in perpiexjty yor
!, seek another's counsel and in sorrow an
, others svmpathy. and you have insultee
faith, and friendship has become in you1
hand an empty name If you believe in {
man trust him as all men demand yo,
should You say YOU love? Show it by
: loving. and manifesting the selfdenial low
demands. else your profession is sound
ing brass, an empty name, dastardly at
! fair.
| DO YOU believe in Christi Show It h!
: la loving trust Otherwise, you believe or /.
e intellectually. and that means YOU d.
+ not want to have much to do with Him
5 1t means self first and aiways. And
$ percnance you start to follow Him from 81
s superficial motive be not surprised il tn
l first time His demands conflict with YOU
/ plans YOU turn traitor and swear yo'
: never knew the man. The test is. M
: sheep hear Ny voice and [ know them ant
: they follow Me That is the test--to hea
> His voice and follow Him..
! Now, what is the purpose of a charcE
!. and in how far does church membership
t constitute a Christian: Church membe,
: ship constitutes Christian just so Jar a
e a Christian constitutes clirca me,nDes
5 No church. whatever its name and inHt
t ence. has OF itself power to make ma
r a Christian. unless the Roman Church. an
J. that is only in its own estimation. VI
=. | r.. ;p+, ono or the other. of two errors