The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-04-26

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When men are urged, from pull
pit or by pen, to become Chris
tians, the real meaning it tha
they are urged to become gooC
! Christians.
They are not to dream tha
Christianity is voluntary matter
which they can accept or reject a
will, and be blameless. The
point of the preachers persuasion
is, not to get man to adopt a re
sponsibility which. is not his unit
he does adopt it, but to get him tC
rise to a responsibility which is his
in any case. He seeks to persuade
a man to meet his life. as that life
was given. He urges him to accept
things as they are and since he
is tried and will be forver tried by
Christian law, warns himto take that
out law as the measure of his life,
just as God gave it. 1t is one OF
the prevailing deluslons, (and one
fear, which the common pulpit
seldom reaches) to suppose that a
man is free to accept or refuse the
responsibilities of the Christian
life. that THE PROCESSING of
Christianity" is the taking up of
new and quite voluntary duties. /
distinctly declare this to be de-
lusion, and such a shallow delu-
sion, that it will stand no test. 1t
is a fiat contradiction Of human
life and OF the facts of human
life, that stare us all in the face.
By Gods divine ordering of
human, life, we are elected to
Christianity. Why, we cannot
tell.
1t is His good pleasure. 1t
is the fact, that is all we know
about it, and all that, as sensible
people, we should care to know.
Our plain business is to make the
election Sure. / put this matter
designedly in this commonsense
and practical view, because am
speaking to commonsense and
practical men. l put itso, because
it has been SO sadly confused in
the minds of so many.
Men need to look at things as
they are, and measure life by its
plain, visible measures. They
need to be warned nor to cheat
themselves in religion, as they
would nor dare to do in any ccm-
mon matter.
And plainly and practically,
every man who listens to me this
night is under every duty and
every responsibility of Christianity
as he is under every duty and
every responsibility of citizenship
in the land His wise way, his
only manly and honest way, is to
stand up bodily, trusting in the God
who put him where he is, and ac-
cept the work and duty laid out
before his face.
Men in thousands are living
poor, fragmentary, fruitless, fail
ing lives, because. like towards,
they are shirking the ebounden duty
of their place, and shutting their
eyes to things as unalterable as the
of the stars.
It is not, then, for you, my
brother, to decide whether you will
be Christian man or not. This
only is left you to whether
you will be Christian man in
truth and reality, or whether you
wsll fight the purposes of God iii
putting you here, and spend your
life in fruitless efforts, to be as
near heather as you can. Fruit
less efforts, do you be sure Of that,
for your place is fixed, and, by the
law OF Christ, here and everywhere
and by that only, can you be
measured, and your life be tried.
This is the lesson, as read it,
if your observance here tonight.
Not only to proclaim as He did, |
the doctrines that are to regenerate
humanity"-but to recognize our
for the promulgation
Of those doctrines by building them
into our own individual lives.
Then will the New word and the
New Law" btqueathed by him to
us. and to every soul to whom his
voice has reached, sustain and
comfort us, and bring us face to
face with Him hereafter, as CO.
Iaborers with him for the progress
and advancement Of Humanity"