The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-03

| perish," for the Bible distinctly declares the necessity of believing in Christ as a Saviour and in Christ alone.
 Lax In Business Principles. But we also find these modern Laodi- ceans wonderfully negative in reference to their business principles. Every Sum day morning they may be found wend- | ing their way to their church pews. Ev | cry Wednesday evening they may attend the midweek prayer meeting. But the | way they act inside the church and out | side of the church may have no more similarity than the nature of a striped furred leopard can be compared to the affectionate whinny of the Shetland pony | whom your children are betting at the barn door. Now, I am not asserting that these modern Laodiceans have no busi- ness principles. l am not asserting that these men are any worse than their bus mess associates, but I do assert that they will be just as dishonest as they can be in their financial affairs and yet preserve their social responsibility. l Some time ago l was turning over the pages of popular magazine. There I saw perhaps half dozen pictures of men who are among the so-called respectable thieves of this country From an old Californian many years ago I had heard | about men stealing thousands upon thousands of acres of land from the United States government, but then 1 did not believe it, because I lived in the crowded east. But after I came west and learned of the vast distances of those unoccupied lands I began to realize how 1t was done. In that magazine the writer not only gave the names of the plunder- CTS, but also told the numbers of acres stolen by each of these individuals whose pictures he presented. I go to one of these men and say: How did you get this land? Why is it yours7' "Oh," he says, T fenced It in" Why did you fence 1t in? Did you have any right to do so?" No" he answers, except the right of taking government land, as hun dreds and thousands of others have taken their land" Thus when I go into the business world I find thousands of modern Laodiceans who care not how dishonest they are if they do not fall into disrepute by being more dishonest than their fellow men. The question of right or wrong enters not into their financial makeup. The question with them Is. 'Is 1t feasible, from a reputable business mans standpoint, to steal this or that or the other thing and not be socially degraded?"
 Must Be Positively Honest.
 What Is true of some dishonest bus mess men is absolutely true in reference to some dishonest political candidates. l see the political strife going on in a
 
 into such disrepte that in order to win at the polls It's leaders decide to nomi- nate one who is not of their kind So they go and offer the nomination to a well known Christian church member. In nine cases out of ten what does that nominee do? Does he go to the polls and bribe voters? Oh, no! That would not be honest. But he does commit crime in the sight of God just as henous. Instead of coming out f1at-footed for an honest election he becomes modern political Laodicean. He shuts his eyes to the dis honesties that are being done in his name. He says, q am not responsible because I simply remain silent at this political corruption" Now, my friends, these teachings of my text practically mean this. A man must be positively honest in all his financial dealings He must be positively honest in seeing that all those who work in his name are act ing honestly, else God will have none of him. Mere negative responsibility in Gods sight does not measure up to his stand ard.
 I find, too that the appalling spiritual negativeness of the modern Laodicean Is most frequently demonstrated in mans relation to the amusement question. Where there is one lukewarm Christian who will dishonor Christ in his financial dealings there are five, ten, fifteen or even twenty who will dishonor him when the days work is done or when out on summer vacation. And the amusement sins of the American Laodicean at home are as nothing compared to those Amer ican Laodiceans sins when they are travelling In Europe or Asia or In Africa or in any foreign land. Let me illustrate my thought to you in a practical way.
 We are American tourists in Spain, or, bringing the statement a little nearer home, in Mexico. Sunday morning has rolled around. What are you going to do? Will you attend the Protestant church, as you would do if at home? "No." you say, T guess not. I have tickets for the bullfght. Why, one of the finest matadores in the world is going to fight today. I will never get another chance to see him." Is that so? What if you do not get another chance? Ought you to go and see one of the most brutal exhibitions in the world where men and horses are often horribly man gled? Because other people do wrong in Spain and Mexica can you afford to do wrong on the question of your vacation amusements?
 Sunday at home comes around. The communion of the Lords supper is to be celebrated at your church. party of friends Is going down to the beach. What are you going to do? Stay away and go to church as you ought, or go off on Sabbath dissertation? l know of an elder OI one or the largest HreSDyterlan churches of the west not only staying away from church on the Sabbath day, but when the members of his church were assembling for communion he rode past that church on the top of a tallyho to take some Of his eastern friends out to see the city sights As a church officer, do you ever sin thus? Wednesday even ing comes around. It Is prayer meeting night A card party or a dance is to be given the same evening. Which will you choose to attend? These illustrations are not imaginary. These conditions meet us as church members almost ev- cry month of our lives. In deciding how we shall solve the amusement question, nearly all of us decide whether we will be positive Christians or negative mod ern Laodiceans. cursed by a lulxeWarm allegiance to God. Gods loathing for such characters is unmitigated. In eff feet he says: "The murderer She blas- phemer, the thief and the social outcast are not so injurious as you are. Men know them for what they are, but you misrepresent religion, you commit the outrage of misrepresenting me to the world. You should be the light of the | world, but you are misleading lights" | Let me read to you Gods own words in reference to the ancient church of Laodi- | cea: T know thy works thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou vert | cold or hot. So, then. because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I | will spew thee out of my mouth", Could any denunciation be more power fully expressed?
 A Dying Church.
 | Oh, that today the churches of the | Lord Jesus Christ would become more positive upon the questions that are