The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-03-04
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
"PRESENT.oAY lMCARNATIoN."
The Rev. C. II. McNaily Gives an An
swer ia the Question: what Aus the
Church ?"-She Has Forgotten Her
Real Status In the World

Church ?''-She Has Forgotten AIeK
Real Status In the World.
New York CITY.-The Rev Charles X.
McNally, the pastor of the Sixth Avenue
Baptist Church preached bis 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
seyeral'y members thereof" Mr. McNally
said:
Throughout the lard, wit.s somewhat OF
wall the question is being asked. What
ails the church? 'sThat she is sick seems
to be foregone conclusion. The religious
periodicals and some others are quick 20
give diagnosis of the case 1t is because
the pew has been elevated educationally.
1t is because the ministry has lost seif-re-
spect and prestige. It 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
" practical for the practical life of to-day.
Many other reasons are given Tor why the
church lacks power.
Is this charge against the church 1ust:
If 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 corn
mercial interests. In the city as well as in
the rural districts, the preachers of the Cos
pei are finding it hard to get enough peo-
the church live with commanding intiu-
ence in the community. The land is full
of reports of mans greed, his tricks OF
trade and other disregard Of sacred obiga-
tions. 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 her
doors or rarely enter. Her hold upon pub
lie morals does not seem to he very strong.
Her ability to mold *he ethical life of the
world does not seen D be adequate to the
needs. If the conditions are what they
seem to be, if the church is really failing to
enIighten the world by the ethical stand
ards of Jesus Christ, something is surely
wrong, and the church should quickly
awaken to realization of her real condl-
hold upon the life of the nation.
Where does the difficulty lie? / 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
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
It must be remembered that Christ:
while incarnate. gave Himself to none of
these things He devoted His entire min
istry to lodging in the minds of His disci-
pies the fact that He was in the world for
one purpose and that to save men from sim
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.
ners to repentance" "The Son Of Man is
come to seek and to save that which was
lost" ''This is 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 thins-the saving OF sinful men
and women from the power of sn--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
orally members thereof Ii Christ gave
Himself while in the flesh to saving men
from sin by manifesting to them the life of
God, can that body-the church-in which
He is willing to incarnate Himself, do bet
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 dbO for
the world to-day. "Ye," as church and
rs individual members of the church. ''are'
the body of Christ" Ye, must be Christ
to the world. Except theechurch as a body
and the several members, thereof as ih4l-.
viduals live as Christ in the world, the
world will never know Christ.
Paul. the master mind could use such, .
figure with such potent power: OF all ftis
figures there is pernans no other more eiab-
orately worked out or more carefully APP
piled. The body ia not one member, but
many, and the man. members only one
body. So is it with tile church, and the
church is the body of Christ
Observe that this figure permits Of 81 de-
tailed analysis. While the church Is the
body Of Christ it is only the body, that in
which Christ has incarnated Himself
/. Christ is the life of the church. He
is the inner vitalizing spirit which ani-
mates and directs The church which rec
ognizes this has by this very recognition
marve1ously vitalized Itself
There are two kinds Of churches-the
man4ed and the Christ-ied. 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 on 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
err has been the church. When the preach
er has gone the church has gone. Mark
led. The church mas looked to its pastor