The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-04-18


paper we may read heart burning ac-
counts of the unutterable misery OF
multitudes of our poor, and the story
OF how one man 10 attempting to con-
troll the supply of the diamonds, or
the gold, or the steel, or the rubber.
or the railroads OF the earth.
Thus, in briefest, are described
some OF the conditions that make the
social problem so disconcerting. Let
us consider now our duty as men and
women who love our Lord to carry
His gospel OF light and of life to
world that is so sorely In need of 1t.
The prime duty of the church. here
as elsewhere. is to instil into the
hearts and minds OF men the neces-
sity and the Joy of the presence of
the saving power of the Holy Spirit
In the individual life. That's the
spiritual function of the church. The
ethical duty of the church is to Inn
press upon mankind the true relation
I of man to man and to God
| In order to impart her fullest influence
! It is necessary that the church be filled
| individually and collectively, with the
deepest grace and the noblest love
for man. BY the exercise Of the true
principles of the Christ ideals in the
commonplaces of life, the charge OF
Inconsistency must be nullifed. As
a body and as individuals the church
] must be a brotherhood which. meas
ured by its own ideals, is worthy.
To the church do the people look for
the purest, the most unselhsh leader
ship. That the depth of the spiritual
| life within the church is a sure indi.
cation of the height of the morality
of the people is demonstrated by the
ages past. Upon us as Christian
men devolves the privilege so to mold
the national mind that the law of
the universal brotherhood of man
may become the law of our national
| and international life. We must con-
vince the poor of their duty to the
/ rich; we must convince the wealthy
! of the dignity of labor. Ours is the
! obligation to hasten the millennium
[ of peace through the universal appli,
/ cation of the law of love. To accom-
! plish this purpose we must obey, in
[ our daily lives, that command of the
Master, Thou shalt love the Lord
/ thy God and thy neighbor as thy
self" d"
The church must exercise her pre-
| rogative as the natural leader in all
moral reform. That reform which
has not the support of the church
must sooner or later fail. She must
insist on a clean public conscience as
the logical sequence of her demands
for purity in the private life. 1t is
not the province of the church as an
ecclesiastical body to claim temporal
/ supremacy over the government of
the city or the nation, but it is her
duty as composed of voting individ-
! fA ta 10
demand, that municipal and national
government be undefiled. The poll
tics of our large cities will be only
so bad as the church cares to allow.
In a country where the citizen is
king and the ballot alone is supreme
strenuously to maintain the honor of
the sovereign people should be the
high aim of the church.
The church must, however, keep
strictly in mind the prime object OF
| her existence. Her mission 1t is to
preach the good news throughout
the world In the cities is her mis-
sion most difficult to fulfil. Here, by
| reason of the multitudinous obsta.
/ cles that beset her path, she must
! use extraordinary measures to reach
/ the people. 1t Is not enough that the
spiritual needs OF the immediate con.
gregation of any church be minis
tered unto. That the pastor preach
regularly twice upon the Sabbath
! that the exercises of the Sabbath.
school progress without interruption,
| that the prayer meetings occur as is
their wont, that the church be prompt
! In her financial affairs, is not enough,
| A yearly contribution to missions in
the foreign fields and the support OF
city missionary do not constitute
! the whole responsibility of any
( church.
The grace of the gospel is for all
men, Unto all men must the tidings
be told. To the unhearing and the
uncaring must the inspiration OF the
infinite Son be carried. Christianity
must be proven a practical force In
the common life. For the Christ life
is practical life written large AS the
only correct system of right living
as the ultimate scheme of salvation
must the gospel be presented to the
people. To them we must show that
the promises of Christ are real, thai
Christianity is a synonym for broth
erly love, for the deepest consecra
ton, for the highest purity of life
and motive, that . Christianity Ii
1 Christlikeness.
The church must carry to the mul
titudes of the unsaved a gospel unsul
lied by her own insincerity and in
consistency. Her creed must be sim.
pie, her differences dismissed. Hel
forces must move in unison toward
the common end. Sect and party
strife must be eliminated. 1t may
be that the great divisions always
will exist. Always the Catholics ano
the various Protestant denominations
But like mighty army in which the
different regiments have each theiI
duty and their position under a com
mon generalship, so must the church
in waging the peaceful battles OF the
moral war march, side by side, sect
by sect. creed by creed, in full pano
ply and with solid front, forward &c
the victory under the common lead
ership of the King of Kings, who Is
Christ the Lord.
And now q word upon the manner
of the preaching of the good news.
The gospel should be preached at
tractiyely. Water street missions
and Salvation Army rooms may suit
the preferences of that class to whose
spiritual natures the workers may
wish to appeal. Wonderful is their
influence and to them be all honor
The average self-supporting poor
man, however, does not care to feel
under any obligation to the richer
portion OF the community for his
spiritual sustenance. He feels, and
an TOO sadly wnn some Justification
| that the missiOn-tha very name OF