The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-04-01
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. ROBERT MACDONALD.


BROOKLYN, NAY.-In 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
text was from / Corinthians, xi:22:
What? despise We the Church of Christi"
| Mr. Macdonald said:
No church has power to take 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 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 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
ers can be excused. Paul in Romans shows
baptism to be the likeness of Christ's death
and resurrection. If we have been united
with Him in the likeness of His death, we
shall stand in the likeness of His resurrec-
ton. All denominations make baptism the
| door of entrance to the church. At Pente-
cost 5000 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 ''the 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 Saviours
| 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-
guest, 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
in whom l am we'll pleased" Instead of
pleasing your Lord, you offend Him. You
never thought it was so serious matter
before, did you? Sleep not this night I'M
I'll you possess as well as profess the Lord
Jesus Be an out and out Christian. Sym
ton that Is perpetuating these sacred
rites. Keep not isolated from the one or
ganization that God has set up for the re-
demption oS 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 l 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, rehgously
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 Christian or
church without a creed is like an engine
without track-little progress can be
made. There is neither ideal nor practical |
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
stagnant. But that is not the fault of the
creed. Thou only art to blame. A grow
ing man, 1T 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 man is as devoid of vital hold on |
Christ as is an Egyptian mummy dead |
l0OO0 years. Creeds are curse when they |
take the place of the life, and more than
one church in Christendom has lost it's
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
church Is, however, an exception to the |
every member within its fold, if they give
1t 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 benstit to my fellows less favored
than myself" Our Christian profession is
sham that does not interpose God and
humanity in place of self. Conversion in
PRODUCES us to God and estranges us frNn
self. Not for selfs sake. then, but for
Christ's sake do we join the church.
When we become new men in Christ Jesus
we take as instinctively to the church as
does the duck to the water or the bird to
the air.
A second reason l have heard you give
for remaining outside the church is because
us members are not goOQ 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 1t will 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 BATE
field: '"Fight the good fight of faith"
Life is a race course, so run that you may
attain paad his lattarS RI Tho ohuyohas- |