The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-07-20
"GOD'S LOVE FOR MAN"
An Eloquent Sunday Discourse By Rev
DR.. Robert Rogers.


.na1 he gave MS only Deg0tten Son, that
whose beieveth on Him, might not perish,
but have everlasting life" and Mark tx "a |:
Lord, | believe, help Thou mine unbe-
het. DIR. Rogers said among other things:
IL begin our thought this morning with
the great declaration Of the beloved Apos.
tie John who. better than any other of
Christ's disciples, understood the vital
meaning underlying the Masters life. Jesus
was to John distinct personality with
whom he was acquainted, a man among
men, but He was more than this, He was
also at the same time the love Of God in
carnate in this Mans nature, so that He
represented the nature of God, and His
feeling and desires and purposes toward
mankind. God loved the world. Now, af
ter beginning with this thought, L have
taken another verse from Scripture, to in.
dicate mans attitude of mind toward
Johns declaration, Lord, L believe, help
Thou mine unbelef."
Johns statement is condemned but
very complete outline of what the Chris.
tian religion aims to teach men. 1t is the
message of the Christian Church that Jesus
Christ is the personal demonstration OF
Gods love for man. The life and words
OF Jesus are the illustrations of how God
loves and how He acts toward man, and
also what God desires that man shall
think and do toward God and toward his
fellow man.
=, Now, this kind of thinking leads us into
the acknowledgment of the supernatural.
1t brings us to the admission that our Di.
vine Father loves man, and teaches him.
and guides him by laws and standards
winch lie reveals to man according to his
needs. In other words, the Christian re.
hgion stands for the presence of God in
TINS lie we are now living, and that He
mas help to give to man, and demands to
make of man.
There are countless men and women
VINO believe implicitly in this statement Of
Gods presence ruling over life, and who
hive in their belief, Offering up themselves
TO divine guidance, regretting their sins
ana implorng pardon in perfect faith that
It will be granted There are, on the other
hand, some perhaps, who say they have
no belief in the divine and spiritual, and
who would place themselves outside of the
declarations of the Christian religion. but
! believe, this number to be few and grow.
ing smaller every day, as the fuller vision
OF the world and its rich spiritual meaning
dawns upon. their intelligence. But there
IS another large class with whom l am
specially concerned, who believe and vet
do not believe. They would not deny The
Christian faith, neither are they ready to
give their full allegiance to it. There is a
multitude OF such people among our men
and women, and may we not ask seriously
why, is this the case? Is it because Christ;s
teachlng and His life are so hard to be un-
derstood. Are some kinds so constituted
naturally, that spiritual things can make
no effective appeal to them?
Ii we were for a moment to admit this
1t would destroy the greatest power which
we believe inherent in Christ'e religion.
namely, that to every man, bond or free
piack or yellow, barbarian or Scythian,
jew or Gentle, learned or unlearned, rich
or poor. it has the power of entering into
ms heart and Transforming his life There
is no respect OF persons with God, 1 grant
you that Christ found that there were GER
tam places where even He could not pre-
sent His message with conviction, but the
cause OF Ills failure was the hardness of
mems hearts and not the difficulty of
comprehendng His gospel, and this same
reason will be found to hold good in these
days. '1'''
Atheism is no longer supposed to be q
necessary adjunct of the scientist. but on
the contrary, the men who are opening the
widest visions of new truth to the world in
IIhese days and teaching the profoundest
lessons to mankind are men who are sin.
cere believers in the message of Gods
presence as revealed by Jesus Christ. or at
least are able to say with earnestness.
lord, believe, help Tnou mine unbelief."
When we come to consider our own lives
ana those oI the ordinary men and women
around about whom we can understand.
what Is 1t that prevents the message OF
Jesus Christ from having the effect upon
US all that it ought to have?
There has been for the past few years n
warning sounded that men are not attend
ing our Christian churches, and the rea.
sons are being given in various ways. CIer
gyHeh are undressing; churches are cold,
uhinsplrlng. places; doctrines are anti.
quated and illiberal and meaningless to
man in the struggle for life. PERHAPS
!here IS truth in all these statements; il
y not diilcult for even stupid man to
nnu plausible excuse for anything he
cares to do, or to leave undone. Parents
VINO are bringing up children, teachers
VINO are educating them, understand the
readiness OF plausible excuses.
Dut these excuses, whenever given. are
not the real reasons why some men do not
sttend church Let me say, first, that |
Deheve 1t Is open to demonstration that n
larger number of men are interested in
the work OF the church and attending its
services and obeying its inspirations than
az any other time in history. And what
ls more important, they are attending
churches Willingly without the compulson
OF ancient times when heaven and hell
were regarded as in the sole power of tho
church, and men were afraid to absent
themselves. Our Y. NJ. c. AS were never
30 prosperous. The religious nature Of our
college students was never more genuine
than IN our own days.
But 10 speak OF those who are not at.
tending our churches. is it not because
they have never had a true vision of the
vital reality and practicability of Christ's
messages! The great majority of men in
tins country, at least, are nominal Chris.
tians.. They send their children to Sunday
school, they like to have their wives and
sisters IN union with the church. and ii
asked whether they themselves believe in
the teachings of Christ and His Church,
would either eyade the question or else saw
they could follow Christian precepts with.
out attending church. Is not the fault of
lack OF attendance on Christian worship
due rather to the manner of life we are
living than to a definite unbelief in the
virtue of the Christian religion? They are
so much absorbed in the struggle for
money that they have neither time nor
desire to- see anything else. Every one Is
hunting for it, the business man, the poll
tician, the professional man, the laborer.
the coachman, the waiter, the conductor
the porter, the barber, the messenger. the
clergyman who is paid for burials and bap.
tisms, the corporation. This one craze
seems to leave no part of American So
ciety intact, rich and poor, high and low,
alike, are infected with this disease, which
IL sapping all the spiritual and moral en-
ergy of the generation.
The church is not the only place from
which, such men and women absent them.
selves. Our lectures on history and travel,
and science and art are giving up their
business because the cry has gone forth
that men will not attend lectures. The
literature that appeals to people is not that
. which lifts the mind and heart to higher