Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-03-24
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. ROBERT MACDONALD.
Subject: "Christians Outside the Church,
MANY Man is Losing His Soul Be-
cause He Cannot Believe in Jonah and
the Whale-Harmful Preiudices.

MANY Man is Losing His Soul Be-
cause He Cannot Believe in Jonah and
the Whale-Harmful Prejudices.
BROOKLYN, d. Yin the Washington
Avenue Baptist Church Sunday morning,
the pastor, the Rev. Robert Macdonald,
delivered the last of the series of sermons
on christians Outside the Church." the
special subject being, Reasons Why Those
Outside the Church Stay Outside" The
What? despise ye the Church Of Christ?'
Mr.. Macdonald said:
No church has power to take a man to
Heaven beyond the power he has himself
to gain entrance there. And whether or
not he has the necessary ability depends
upon whether or not he is taking up his
cross and following in the steps of Jesus
Christ. Heaven is state of blessedness
rather than a locality beyond the stars, and
must come to us before we can go to it,
Whatever else is implied in following Jesus
church membership is .acluded. Jesus
commanded baptism. To, illustrate His
meaning He Himself was baptized in the
Jordan. His reason was ''for so it becom-
eth us to fulfill all righteousness" If He,
the perfect man, thought it necessary to
fulfill all righteousness, think not for mo-
ment that any one of His imperfect follow
baptism to be the likeness of Christ's death
and resurrection. Ii we have been united
with Him in the likeness of His death, we
shall stand in the likeness of His resurrec-
tion. All denominations make baptism the
door of entrance to the church. At Pente-
cost 5000 We're added through baptism in
per" ''This is My body which was broken
for you," is the Redeemer's word. The
apostle to the Church of Corinth commends
its perpetuation a memorial to their
Lord: Baptism and ''the Lords Supper"
are then very significant and belong to the
Christian Church. Not to join the church
of the spiritual life so full of sacred
meaning. All Christians should embrace
both as precious memorials of the Saviour s
death. To embrace these is to join the
church. To neglect them is to despise the
church. Worse than that. To neglect
profess to serve. Even further, it is to
show disregard for your Lords dying re.
quest, 1<This do in remembrance Of Me-"
You would submit to much inconvenience
to comply with the dying wish of an
earthly friend. But your Lords dying re-
quest is ignored; How can you expect to
grow spiritually? How can you ever hope
to hear God say, ''This is NY beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased" Instead of
pleasing your Lord, you offend Him. You
| never thought it was so serious a matter
before, did you? Sleep not this night un-
| til you possess as well as profess the Lord
Jesus: Be an out and out Christian. Sym
| pathize with and come into that organiza-
ton that is perpetuating these sacred
! rites. Keep not isolated from the one or
/ ganization that God has set up for the re-
demption of the world.
| Now for these reasons you stay out and
feel justified in so doing.
| You object to the creed of the church.
| Creeds are forms, and you detest the for
NAL. Yet 1 know of no one who needs
| forms more than you who raise this pro-
test; your religious life is so slack. That
which you need above all else is to con
form to worthy ecclesiastical order, for
you are amazingly disorderly, religiously y
speaking. For others that may be a good
excuse, but hardly for you. We all admit
| that no creed is as important as the life it
| contains, just as no cradle is as important
as the babe rocked there, and as no suit OF
clothes is as important as the man who
wears them. Nevertheless a Christian or a
church without a creed is like an engine
without a track-little progress can be
made. There is neither ideal nor practica
! existence without belief, and what mar
believes is his creed. And his creed is
the channel through which the very water
of life flows into his thirsty soul. Block
up the channel and the water becomes
creed. Thou only art to blame. A grow
ing man, it is true, needs an expanding
creed, and woe unto him whose creed i:
not expressive of the word Of God and the
revelation in Jesus! We must admit tha h;
as s many % Christian ST n is o1oe Kept outside % tn.
man is in the church for the creed's sake
Such a man is as devoid of vital hold OF
Christ as is an Egyptian mummy deat
10000 years. Creeds are curse when the!
take the place of the life: and more thar
one church in Christendom has lost it
| -. -, ,1x- ~, Rot4
stay out of church like that and retain
your life than, entering in, lose. it. Suci
church is, however, an exception to tn
rule that does not strengthen the life. o
every member within its fold, if they Civ
it the opportunity SO to do. It is our falls
plored. Our question is, What bene6
will we derive?" Our question ought t.
be, "What opportunity will it provide t
render benefit to my fellows less favore'
than myself" Our Christian profession
4 sham that does not interpose God an
PRODUCES us to God and estranges us fror
self. Not for sells sake, then, but TO
Christ's sake do we join the church
| When we become new men in Christ Jesu
we take as lnstinctively to the church a
does the duck to the water or the bird t
the air.
A second reason I have heard you Civ
for remaining outside the church is becaus
its members are not good enough. Yo
look for perfection. You find imperfectior
You are at fault; not the church. You e.
pect too much. Come into the churc
and it will not be many months before yo
wonder how Satan ever SO got possessio
OF your mind as to beguile you into e.
pecting perfection of church members. Br
you will also find them much more Chris
like than you expected-not in absolut
holiness, but in desire for more righteou
ness in their lives and in the world. Hes
the apostle exclaim that life is battl
; field: '"'Fight the good fight OF faith
Life is race course, so run that you ma
attain Read his letters to the churches
| disputings, contentious among you. Thes
priceless letters to the Corinthians woul
| never have been written had it not bee
| So Had the church at Ephesus been pc
| feet no letter to the Ephesians would ha,
been penned. Put away lying is his cor
mand. Let him who stole steal no NOR
Let all clamor and wrath and envy be p'
| away from YOU as becometh saints.
, Were the church OF to-day perfect
!: would be very insipid. No struggles to
good. No fighting temptation. l, for on
would prefer to be out of it. l wou
sooner be imperfect, with desire for no
ness, than be perfect, and know it all al
be it all, and never have desire for an
J thing worth while. would go 80 far as
thank God for an imperfect church, ju
L.