The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1904-09-29
4 SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. w. S. RAINsFORD, D. D.

REV. w. S. RAINsFoR0, D. D.
Subject: The Love of God-The Christian
Church is Placed In Trust by God
With the Cospel-Let Us Try to Give
1t to the World.
Rainsford, D. D., rector of st. Georges Z.
E. Church, Manhattan, preached at st.
Peters Church, State and Bond streets,
in this borough, at the evening service Sun,
dav. His subject was ''The Love OF God,
and he said:
People are saying to-day that the church
does not occupy as important place III
the thoughts Of men-that it has not as IN
fuential place in our nation or IN society
as it used to have. l 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 grea tness of her
deeds in the past. Whatever success or
shortcomings there NAV have 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 dlrec-
tions in search of the truth. When those
who have got anything to do can do 1t;
when those who have got anything to, say
worth saying can say it, and when those
who have got anything to be can be 1t, out
there is no mercy for the sham. When, IN
the future. they come to criticise our time
it will evidently be criticised as an age OF
truth, and it's spirit will be spoken OF as
the spirit of truth; it will be criticised
from all other ages as 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 que;ss-
ton that we want to ask ourselves. lndl-
vidually and collectively, Is this. Nhat
have I got to give to the world: What Is
it the church has got to give to the world
I am inclined to think, if were allowed
to see YOU, one by one, and ask you to put
down what it is on paper: What you as an
Individual and as, Christian have got to
give to the world, and the church as
community? there might be great deal OF
uncertainty. That this question Is one that
deserves very clear answer there Is no
doubt, and everybody ought to know what
IQdG answer SttOUIO pS. AAiS@S - AN N~
ner of doubt what the church has got to
give to the world; what the individual
Christian has got to give to the world. 1
want to talk about that tonight.
We, the Christian Church, are placed in
trust by God with the gospel. That is
what we have got to give to the world. II
we are Christians we believe the world
cannot get on without that gospel: We
use the word gospel IN very slipshod way
If we are Christians we believe that not
only can not the world do without the. gos-
pei, but that business and politics and the
United States democracy in this Western
Hemisphere cannot 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 trife in the plate; not by: repeating a
creed or two, but to 60 back to their work
and see If they cannot take the gospel
with them there. They say, Business IS
one thing, and religion is another" Men
that talk that way have got to step ASIDE;
they are no help either to the church or the
world. They are mislea ding; they are the
people that tend to make the whole thing
a sham, because the world won't tolerate
and rightly so, religion that can conhne
itself to certain times and seasons and that
can satisfy itself by obedience to certain
consciences on Sunday, and perhaps once
aSweek thrown in. We have got definite
charge for the world, and that is the gos-
pei Of Jesus Christ.
That being so, let me lead you to another
question, and as I. put it l shall seek to
answer it: What is the gospel OF Jesus
Christ? Again 7 think you will agree WITH
me, and perhaps more than before: II
were to be allowed to ask the question m
dividually, What is the gospel? and ask
for a definite reply, what a great variety
of answers would be given; and many
would hesitate As Christians we certain
" ought to be able to say what the thing
is we stand for, or we stand for nothing;
to saw what we mean by the gospel, or the
world won't believe at all. In churca, IT
we have one great thing in common which
we all hold, not because we are various
sects, but because we arc Christians, we
have got to find out what that Christian
thing is.
One of the great difculties-one chief
diffculty-is this: That men, IRON the
Lerd's own day to the present, IN the ma
ture of things add their program to the
gospel-tack on their programs. We are
mean our own thinkincs about the gos-
pei. It is right that every believing man
Should have his own thoughts and theory
as to the why, and the how, and the when
of the gospel But my idea OF why the gos-
pei was given, my idea as to how the Cos
bel is given and my idea as to when the
Gospel will be fulfilled is all right. should
have that right to think my. own thoughts
about these three things, but if I am trying
to fnd light they will be Improbable, and
it would be impossible to stand m the day
light and not answer the questions how,
WHY and when. But my how, why. and
when, even if were the most learned and
holy of men in the city of New York;
woald not necessarily be the gospel OF
Jesus. Thc point for us to agree upon IS
net the how and why and when, but, What
is the gospel? What is it We have distinct
" in charge for men and have cot to give
men, and about which it is legitimate that
we should say, now, why and when. AS l
say, Sne tendency is rather to tack on our
praram, and that is where the difficulties
come in, for in the age in which we live
people are rather given to finding out what
is gospel and what is program. Episcopa-
Gans do not believe in the gospel without
bishop; the Presbyterians do not believe
in the gospel without the Presbytcry; the
Baptists do not believe in the gospel with
out baptism, even in the middle of winter
in frozen streets; the Methodsts do not
believe without Methodism, and so on.