Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1905-08-31
PAUL,s Gospel.

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PAUL's GOSPEL
ny Rev. TAomaS yates.
Text - "Remember Jesus Christ,
raised from the dead, according TO my
gospel, Timothy 2;S
You viii notice the intensity OF the
posSessive pronoun. II glows with
passion; II makes the text tncandes-
cene--"My gospel" 1t is not proprIe'
torship; It Is Identification, II seems
like egotism; 1t Is really uttermost self
surrender, Ii Is not possible TO sepa'
rate the man from the message' they
are one, fused In a grand anu grow
lug experience. lie had n message,
and the message was in the grain ana
the tihre of nis being. lie has writ
ten sentence OF It to his friend, ana
then, as II impatient lest what he has
written should bear, even for an in
slant, the look OF an lmpersonal utter
ance, he hastens with u kind of happy
pride In selt.commlttal TO give him
self away ON it--"Accorling to my
gospel" The weight and the impact
OF a transformed personality Is thrown
into the utterance. You feel the thrill
OF terrific conviction IN this little pos
sessiye; II ylbrates with energy. what
ever the gospel Is, II Is become to this
man conservation, n passion, an en-
thusiasm, aud, II need arise, II will
become a martyrdom, II Is little won
der that the world thought this man
a provocative man, or that few men
In human history have SO compelled
the world to take count Of them,
Paul has one great certainty: he IL
certain that he Is right The audaclous
faculty of mounting a pulpit Is the
inevitable expression OF any audacity,
the audacity of knowing that he Is
right. He Is sure about some things
that really matter; he is on the ground.
4 urther the audacity Of knowing that
he Is right this man adds another
audacity, that of believing and say
ing that the fact of his being right
Il gSod thing for the world. The
Gospel is not true news only, but good
news. The thing about which lie was
right was not to be neglected without
impoverishment II Is OF passionate
moment 20 men; 1t concerns their
highest welfare; 1t is a Gospel Of
good tldIngs. and he who has II is un-
der necessity to preach It. This man,
then. is finely revealed in this little
phrase that he has added like a post
script. Such man Is always a chal.
lenge, never more a challenge than to-
day, when the temper Of our time
does not encourage 1t.
He is sent to guard the church and
to hold forth the good news in Ephe-
sus, where the splendor and the AFRO
gance Of paganism had made the
place a proverb. One hesltates TO
paint the picture Of that city as II
was, the home of superstition and sor-
Gerry. the citadel OF the most immoral
and lawless of idolators.
Do you wonder that the restlessness
and superstition outside worked slow
and subtle mischief withinS Is II any
wonder that, with that atmosphere
soaking into their life, 1t was easy to
drift from the realities Of religion?
MY brethren, we need n deep, eff
fectlve force lodged at the heart o!
our church life, at the heart Of is
pulpit ministry. at the heart Of al
Its varying work. The only justifca'
ton for church is that 1t shall have
something at the heart Of 1t, of which
It says, with a passionate joy OF pos
session, MY Gospel" which 1t exists
to utter. This very church fabric is
not here for any beauty 1t has, bu
for the good tidings 1t brings. 1t /:
not memorial; II Is witness. Al
the heart of the church's life, feeding
the church's life. the power Of IT.
ministry, the burden Of its mission
lies the great force of an organic rc
lationshlp with a Divine Lord, an in
tensely personal relationship, realiz
able and actual. with every believer.