The Penn's Grove record., 1904-09-30

E. Church, Manhattan, preached at St.
Peters Church, State and Bond streets,
in this borough, at the evening service Sum
day. His subject was "The Love of God"
and he said:
People are saying to-day that the church
does not occupy as important a place in
the thoughts of men-that it has not as in
huential a place in our nation or in society
as 1T used to have. | speak, of course, of
the whole Christian church, and one thing
is sure and that is that the church cannot
hold her own by simply asserting, however
loudly or persistently, the greatness of her
deeds in the past. Whatever success or
shortcomings there NAV nave been in an
cient times, one thing Is certain, and that
is that we live in an age when men almost
violently are seeking the truth: when the
keenest sort of light is turned in all direc-
tons in search of the truth. When those
who have got anything to do can do it.;
when those who have got anything to say
worth saying can say it, and when those
who have got anything to be can be it, but
there is no mercy for the sham. When, in
the future, they com to c~riticise our time
it will evidently be criticised as an age of
truth, and its spirit will be spoken of as
the spirit of truth; it will be criticised
from all other ages as a time when men
made great sacrifices for the truth and
when great glory was gained in discover
ing and obeying the truth. There is no
argument among thinkers whatsoever about
this.
From this it follows that if we Chris
tians have not got something real to give
to the world, to society, to the United
States, at this time we are really going to
lose our hold and position; and the ques-
ton that we want to ask ourselves. indi-
vidually and collectively, is this. What
bouo mot ~ rive 70 tho Tr0rlAT What i1
it the church has got to give to the world?
l am inclined to think, if l were allowed
to see you, ons by one, and ask you to put
down what it is on paper: What you as an
individual and as a Christian nave got to
give to the world, and the church as a
community? there might be a great deal oil
uncertainty. That this question is one that
deserves a very clear answer there is nc
doubt, and everybody ought to know what
ner of doubt what the church has got to
give to the world; what the individual
Christian has got to give to the world.
want to talk about that tonight.
We, the Christian Church, are placed III
trust by God with the gospel. That il
what we have got to give to the world. il
we are Christians we believe the world
cannot get on without that gospel. We
use the word gospel IN a very slipshod way
IL we are OuElSLld0s we DeileNe lndb UOl
only can not the world do without the Cos
pei, but that business and politics and the
United States democracy in this Western
Hemisphere canno do without the gospel
A great many people believe that, but
when we ask them to put it into practice
not only by going to church, not by putting
a trifle in the plate, not by repeating {
creed or two, but to go bac6 to their worl
and see If they cannot a k the gospe
with them there. They say, Business il
one thing, and religion is another" Mer
that talk that way have got to step aside.
they are no help either to the church or The
world. They are misleading; they are tht
people that tend to make the whole thing
d sham, because the world won't tolerate
and rightly so, a religion that can confnl
itself to certain times and seasons and tina
can satisfy itself by obedience to certain
consciences on Sunday, and perhaps onc'
a week thrown in. We have got a definite
charge for the world, and that is the Cos
pei of Jesus Christ.
That being so, let me lead you to another
question, and as l put it l shall seek t
answer it: What is the gospel of Jesu,
Christ? Again | think you will agree will
me, aud perhaps more than before. If
were to be allowed to ask the question in
dividually, What is the gospel? and asl
for a definite reply, what a great variety
of answers would be given; and many
would hesitate. As Christians we certain
ly ought to be able to say what the thing
is we stand for, or we stand for nothing.
to say what we mean by the gospel, or the
world won't believe at all. In a church, /
we have one great thing in common which
we all hold, not because we are various:
sects, but because we are Christians, W.
have got to find out what that Christian
thing is.
I One of the great dificulties-one chic
dificulty-is this: That men, from thu
Lords own day to the present, in the ma
ture of things add their program to tn,
gospel-tack on their programs. We ar,
all so made that we must have a program
l mean our own thinkings about the gos
pei. 1t is right that every believing mai
should have his W thoughts and theor!
as to the why, and the how, and the wheI
of the gospel. But my idea of why the gos
pei was given, my idea as to how the COS
pei is given and my idea as to when thu
gospel will be fulfilled is all right. / SHOULD
have that right to think my own thought
about these three things, but if | am trying
to find light they will be improbable, anC
it would be impossible to tand IN the day
light and not answer the questions how
why and when. But my how, why an
when, even if l were the most learned ant
holy of men in the city of New York
would not necessarily be the gospel o
Jesus. The point for us to agree upon i
not the how and why and when, but, VIVA
is the gospel? What is it we have distinct
ly in charge for men and have got to Civ,
men, and about which it is legitimate tina
we should say, how, why and when. As
say, the tendency Is rather to-tack on on
pragram, and that is where the difficuitie.
come in, for in the age in which We llv'
people are rather given to finding out wha'
is gospel and what is program. Episcopa
lians do not believe in the gospel without
bishop; the Presbyterians do not believe
in the gospel without the P~resbytery; the
Baptists do not believe in the gospel with
out baptism, even in the middle of winter
in frozen streets; the Metho1ists do no
believe without Methodism, and so on
There is so much program that you car
scarcely see the gospel. Men say: Il dc
not know which is gospel and which il
program" 1t is absolutely essential thai
we are to give something to the world oil
we won't amount to anything aad the
world will push us aside. We must bt
men and women proclaiming and trying IL
live by the gospel.
What is the gospel? l am going to repeat
a verse that seems to embody the spirit O.
Jesus: God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whose
ever believeth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life" The man who
wrote the gospel of st. John 1--WE do not
know who he was) knew the very essence
of the gospel, and | think everybody agrees
with him-the Presbyterian, the Baptist
the Methodist, the Episopalian-everybody
believes that it is the very heart Of the
gospel of Jesus That is the very essence
of the dear Lords love and life and teach.
ing. 1t is what He began to preach. went
on to preach, died to preach and rose
again to preach.
That verse says three things. First,
"God loved the world" You say: Il know
it." No, you don't know it. 1t is a tire.
mendous thing to know. You say: II be-
lieve it." | hope SO, but it is a very hard
thing to believe. God loved the world
That does not mean, God loves me; God
loves the United States 1--WE Americans act
as if that was what we profoundly be-
lieved). Good loved the world does not
mean the elect. me and my wife. my son
John and his wife; we four. no more,
amen" Not the people we like, but the
heathen Chinee. 1t does not mean simply
that God made this world-that is wonder
ful-but the gospel says the world is not
simply a-law world, but it is a love world.
If any man says it is easy to believe, he
does not know much about it. lf you lose
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