Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-03-14


how stained was her life Christ said
unto her: Thou hast well said. l have
no husband. For thou hast had five
husbands. and he whom thou now hast
Is not thy husband" She was > WON
an at that time living in open adultery.
Yet it was to such 4 social outcast as
this tE2t Christ offered the water OF
life" II uGs to such a human being
as this that Jesus revealed himself and
permitted her to become gospel mes
senger to summon her people to hear
his discourse.
DO ms Christ Did.
o We evangelists and gospel preach
ers, why do we spend most of our time
trying to offer the dread Of Iife' only
to the respectable" sinners of society.
who will not receive it? Why do we
not do as Christ did-go into the en-
emy's country and talk with the out
casts by the Samaritan we'll, who are
willing-oh, so willing-to receive the
gospel if we only go to them In Christ's
name? Like the Samaritan woman,
have not the greatest sinners believed
in Christ and sometimes become the
greatest Of his disciples and martyrs!
Have not the Peters who denied him
thrice and the Pauls who were once
the greatest prosecutors Of his follow
ers been willing to seal their testi-
mony for Christ with their lifeblood?
Who was Richard Baxter, who wrote
Saints RestY' Once a notorious sim
ha
dreamer Of immortal dreams? Once a
notorious sinner. Who was Father Tay-
lor, the great sailor preacher of Bos-
ton? Once a notorious sinner. Who
were Harry Munroe and Jerry Nc
Auley and Peter Cartwright and John
Somerville and John B. Cough? All
once notorious sinners. All, it is worth
while for us to take a long journey if
we can only send forth a woman of
Samaria" as a messenger of Jesus
Christ. 1t is worth while to go long
distances-aye, a very long distance
if, like the good Ananias, we can only
say to the chief Of sinners, Brother
Saul, the Lord. even Jesus that appear
ed unto thee in the way as thou cam
est, hath sent me that thou highest
receive thy sight and be filled with the
Holy Ghost" 1t is far easier for Jesus
Christ to save a seventy deviled sinner
who knows that he is all wrong than to
save a so called respectable" sinner
who thinks that he is all right.
Christ was the Saviour Of the social
outcast at the Samaritan well. Yet
the strange fact remains that most
Christian evangelists seem to act upon
the supposition that it is easier to save
the so called little sinner than the
big. We seem to be unwilling to reach
out after the outcasts. Mr.. Beecher in
one of his sermons tells how reform
ed criminal, an ex-convict, who had
been a counterfeiter, once came to him
in complete Encouragement. "Mr.
Beecher," said he, "the good people
will not have anything to do with me.
l seem to receive sympathy from none
but the worst of folks" Oh, We work
ers for Jesus, carry the Dread Of
life" to those who know they are hun
| gered and water of life to those
who know they are athirst! Seek the
seventy deviled social outcasts down by
| the Samaritan well.
Ecclesiastical Prejudice.
Another reason why Christ must
needs go through Samaria" was that
| he wanted to reprove ecclesiastical and
religious prejudice. The disciples Of
| John the Baptist and of Jesus were an
| tagonistic and jealous of each other,
| just as the Episcopalians and the Puri-
tans were bitter during the third year
| of the Plymouth settlement. They
were bitter in the same way that the
Established Church and the Methodists
were bitter against each other during
John Wesley's life. They were bitter
as the Baptists and the Presbyterians
were bitter against each other in this
country 100 years ago. The disciples
of John the Baptist angrily declared
| that John had baptized more followers
| than Jesus Christ, while the followers
of Jesus angrily replied that Christ had
baptized more disciples than John. 1t
was in order to stop this bitterness that
Jesus left Judea and started north to-
ward Lake Galilee and went by the
way of Samaria. christ was ready to
do almost anything to stop the internal
dissensions among those who would ul-
| timately accept him as their Saviour
| and their Christ Cannot we all realize
that no church can rightly accomplish
a sanctifed glorious work for the Mas
ter unless that church has complete
gospel harmony within its own ranks?
Absolutely necessary is it for Chris
tan people to love one another before
they can as church welcome the man
of the world into their midst with the
'everlasting peace of the gospel" And
yet, my brother, there are scores and
] hundreds of churches in this land
| which are practically source Of Gis-
&: sension. to the world instead of Chris
tian harmony. They are rent and torn
into factions by internal strife. The
Young Peoples society is pulling
| against the session; the session is find
ing fault with the board of trustees;