The Penn's Grove record., 1904-03-18

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
text was from | Corinthians, kip:
What? despise We the Church of Christi"
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 a 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 included. Jesus
commanded baptism. To illustrate His
meaning He Himself was baptized in the
Jordan. His reason was "for so it beeom-
eth US to fulfill all righteousness" If He,
the perfect man, thought it necessary to
fulfill all Righteousness. think not for a mo-
ment that any one of His imperfect follow
ers can be excused. Paul in Romans shows
baptism to be the likeness of Christ's death
and resurrection. Ii we nave been united
with Him in the likeness of His death, we
shall stand in the likeness of His resurrec-
lion. All denominations make baptism the
door of entrance to the church. At Pente-
cost 1000 were added through baptism in a
single day; Then there is .the Lords Sup
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 as a memorial to their
Lord. Baptism and Hthe Lords Supper"
are then very significant and belong to the
Christian Church. Not to join the church
is to despise these helps to the cultivation
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. 10 neglect them is 10 despise the
church. Worse than that. To neglect
them is to disobey your Lord, whom you
, profess to serve. Even further, it is to
show disregard for your Lords dying re-
quest, '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-
quests ignored. How can you expect to
grow spiritually? How can you ever hope
to hear God say, This is Ny beloved Son
in whom ] 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 I'M
til you possess as well as profess the Lord
Jesus: Be an out and out Christian. Sym
pathize with and come into taat 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 | 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, religious,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 10 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 practical
existence without belief, and what a man
the channel through which the very water
of life flows into his thirsty soul. Block
up the channel apd the water becomes
stagnant. But that is not the fault of the
creed. Thou only art to blame. A grow
ing man, it is true, needs an expanding
creed, and woe unto him whose creed is
not expressive of the word of God and the
revelation in Jesus! We must admit that
as many a Christian is kept outside the
church because of its creed, so many a
man is in the church for the creed's sake.
Such a man is as devoid of vital hold on
Christ as is an Egyptian mummy dead
10000 years. Creeds are a curse when they
take the place of the life, and more than
one church in Christendom has lost its
life and is clutching only its creed. Better
stay out of a church like that and retain
your life than, entering in, lose it. Such
a church Is, however, an exception to the
rule that does not strengthen the life Of
every member within its fold, if they give
it the opportunity so to do. 1t is our false
thought about the church that is to be de-
plored. Our question is, "What benefit
will we derive?" Our question ought to
be, What opportunity will it provide to
render benefit to my fellows less favored
than myself" Our Christian profession is
a sham that does not interpose God and
humanity In place of self. Conversion In
PRODUCES us to God and estranges us from
self. Not for selfs sake, then, but for
Christs sake do we join the church.
When we become new men in Christ Jesus
we take as instinctively to the church as
does the luck to the water or the bird to
the air.
A second reason l have heard you give
for remaining outside the church is because
its members are not good enough. You
look for perfection. You find imperfection.
You are at fault; not the church. You ex-
pect too much. Come into the church
and it viii not be many months before you
wonder how Satan ever so got possession
of your mind as to beguile you into ex-
pecting perfection Of church members. But
you will also find them much more Christ
like than you expected-not IN absolute
holiness, but in desire for more righteous
ness in their lives and in the world. Hear
the apostle exclaim that life is a battle
field: ""Fight the good fight of faith"
Life is a race course, so run that you may
attain. Read his letters to the churches
disputings, contentious among you. These
priceless letters to the Corinthians would
never have been written had it not been
so. Had the church at Ephesus been per-
feet no letter to the Ephesians would have
been penned. Put away lying is his COM
mand. Let him who stole steal no more.
Let all clamor and wrath and envy be put
away from you as becometh saints.
Were the church of to-day perfect it
would be very insipid. No struggles to be
good. No fighting temptation. ], for one,
would prefer to be out of it. l would
sooner be imperfect, with a desire for holi-
ness. than be perfect, and know it all and
be 1T all, and never have desire for any
thing worth while. / would go so far as to
thank God for an imperfect church, just
as ! have many a time thanked Him / was
a member OF a sinful race, with Jesus as
Redeemer, than of a sinless race and know
Him not. The church holds to its mem
bers that relation which the school does
to the little boy. As it trains him for a
Hch intellectual existence by and by, so
the church trains for rich spiritual exist
ence by and by. The most important
condition of both is unwilhngness to be
taught. The church, in its relation to the
world is as a regiment, with Jesus, the
great victorious Commander, leading the
way. In relation to its membership it is as
a training school, where we are trained for
service and fitted for living in time and
eternity. You'll not stay out of the
church then longer because Of this very
ERRONEOUS idea, that its members ought
to be perfect, for you got the idea not
from the Word of God, but from your own
evil imagining. Even when the Master
said to His disciples, "Be perfect, as your
Father In Heaven is perfect" He really
said, be complete as He is, and when He
asked the rich young man if he would
be perfect, to follow Him, He really said.
it you will be full grown, if you would
cease to lack the one thing you now lack,
come and follow Me. The reason then