Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1904-05-07

hear every preacher OF note In London
and that there was not one whose dis
course indicated whether he was fol-
lower Of Confucius or Mohammed or
of Christ. The Established church or T,
that time believed in carrying the ply
lacteries upon the forehead, but not
In practlcing Christ's spiritual lessons
IN the life. 1t was 80 given over 10
Journalism and rites and ceremonies
that It had no warning to giTe even to
men in its pulpits who. like the Pharl-
sees Of old, were whited sepulchers,
fair to the eye, but within harborlng
decaying corpses and whose private
lives were repulslye stencil. 1T Is
the inward witness, son. the inward
Witness" spake the dying father, Sam
uel Wesley, to his son John-"this is
the strongest proof Of Christianity.
So John Wesley and his followers res
olutely set their faces against the prev
alent sins Of that day. They yehe-
mently declared that the Christian
church should not only have n pure
creed, but that its members should be
men Of pure private lives. In the high
spiritual standard set before the indi-
yidual church members we find the
chief cause Of the marvellous develop
ment Of the Methodist church.
No Compromise with SIN.
My brother II is OF vital Importance
that all Protestant churches realize
that they are making a fatal error
when they In any way compromise
their high spiritual standards by al
lance with sin. The higher the stand
ard Of the Christian church the great
er will be it's success. We do not need
today churches that honor winebib-
bing ministers. We do not need
churches which, when they have
church sociable, tell their young peo-
pie they may dance and play cards. We
do not desire churches whose members
in their everyday actions are nowlse
different from the people OF the world.
One OF the reasons why the Christian
Endeavor society, Of which Francis E.
Clark is the president. Is numbering
It's members by the hundreds OF thou
sands and the millions Is because OF
its ironclad pledge. John Wills Baer,
who for so many years was secretary
OF that young peoples Christian or
| ganlgation, was right when In my
presence some years ago he declared,
'srhe high standard Of the character
of the Endeavorers is due 10 the high
standard OF the society's pledge" You
can never raise sin struck world II
you are waliowing In the sinful mud
of the world yourself Like John Wes-
ley and the Methodist church, lift the
world out Of sin by making your
! Christian standard as high as heaven
and as pure as Christ himself. 1T Is
tie inward witness, son, the inward
rItness-this is the strongest proof or
,hristianity." 1t is the inward wit
.ess OF the purity Of its members
! -yhich accounts for the multiplying
flowers of the Methodist church Of to-
| lay. Methodism came into the world
as a protest against prevalent sin.
This fact alone does not tell all the
rstory OF It's marvellous multiplying
power There are many other reasons
for the growth of Methodism. One OF
the chief OF these Is the fact that John
Wesley was the emancipator OF the
laymen. as Martin Luther was the
emancipator of the Bible. The English
ecclesiastic opened the dumb lips oi
the pew. The German reformer broke
the iron clasps holding together the
lids OF the word of God, which barred
TO all but ordained priests access tc
the life giving message that God sem
for the deliverance OF all his sinfu
children. John Wesley said to the
blacksmith at his forge and the cob
bier on his bench and the wife In hel
kitchen: "Go forth and be my evangel
lists. You may not be graduates Of
theological seminaries, but you cal
testify Of Cbrist's love. Martin Lu
ther said: There, laymen, is the opeI
Bible. Read It. Ponder it. Study 1t
Read 1t with your own eyes and kiss
with your own lips" Do you w.nde
that when John Wesley built the Meth
odist church upon an open Bible ant
then in public meeting set all his peo
pie testifying Of Gods word and low
he became one of the greatest gospe
reformers Of the ages?
sneers For Wesley.
John Wesley because he sent fort
the common people preaching ant
praying everywhere was In derisiol
: called Methodist" He was sneere
at because In his day custom dictates
that no man should pray in public III
, less he read his prayer out OF printe
prayer book or speak for Christ unles
he was entitled to wear a cassock an
, | bands of an ordained priest. But job
Wesley removed these restrictions 70
the Methodists and sent the layme
r forth preaching and praying, as In tn
. latter years Archibald TAFT archbisho
Of Canterbury enlisted the service
. Of unOrdained workers In variou
Z | DTdHCutS VI IhulNh oNA'Ah NhN ~~ANN
/. for himself the title given him in scor
q by Jealous clergy Of "the arcl
bishop Of the laity." There, upon b
Z monument In old Canterbury, is chi
e eled in the most beautiful Of epitaph
o "The one desire Of his life was
!. make the Church Of England III
|. church OF the people" Oh, my friend
t let us hold fast this liberty Of servic
l. The work Of propagating the gospel
8 not committed exclusively to any or
;. class or profession. The laborers SCI
/. forth by Wesley in the eighteenth cel
e tury, like the laymen enlisted by Arcl
l. bishop TAFT In the nineteenth, had
Il work to do, and right earnestly an
+ successfully they did 1t. Let us neve
allow the pew to again be shackled an
its lips sealed with the silence