The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-04-14
 3 DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON !


 EWITT TALMAGE, D. D.
 to be able to spread the gospel further and preach Jesus Christ to the people of Corinth Even in his food he economized in order that he might become a flaming evangelist. Oh, my brother are We con secrating our pocketbooks, our whole lives, our every desire to bring the mes sage of the cross nearer to the hearts of men, as Paul did in the market place of Corinth?
 But, though Paul was not like a spir itual weathercock, easily turned this way and that by every popular wind, my text proves that he would change when there was sufficient reason. Paul was ready and willing to yield about non-essentials if thereby he could win the good will of his fellow men and by that good will make men more willing to heed his mes sage. He was not one of those ecclesl- astical sticlklers who want to put the
 whole world into religious straitjacket and compel others to think as he thought and do as he did. You know there are some people born in this world who never have any respect for the individuality of other people.
 They are so convinced that theirs is the right way to worship God that they
 demand that their fellow men worship Him in the same way, with the same liturgy and using the same hymn book ! and with the same rites. They say, If you do not do as l do and wear my eceles- astical gown and my surplice, hood, cas- sock and stole then you are not true Christians" Now. it was men of this kind
 who were worrying Paul about this trifle of the meat that had been offered to | idols. As he told them, an idol was nothing in the world" and the meat oI- fered to it was not harmed by being of | fered. But he saw that opposition to them diverted their thoughts from the | higher questions of faith and holiness, so he yielded to them that they might be free to think of the essential things. Some of the questions of ritual that men dispute | about now are of the same character as | this of the sacrifeal meat. We may well
 be as charitable about them as the apostle | was.
 Non-Essentials.
 What is the good of you and l fight 1 ing about the apostolic succession or the l Episeopalian church2 What is the good of our fighting about whether priest l should or should not wear gown In | the pulpit? What is the good of entering into an eternal dispute of whether we | should have liturgy in the Presbyterian
 church or no? l tell you these things are all nonessentials. They are nonessen-
 tials as 800 other facts over which the
 ecclesiastical world is fighting today are
 nonessentials. The longer l stay in the
 ministry the more 1 believe that what i Richard Baxter wrote over 200 years ago
 is true. Listen while I read it. "The older I grow the smaller stress lay
 on those controversies and cuiosities Of | the Bible as finding greater uncertainties
 in them than l first discovered and tind- | ing less usefulness where there is the l greater certainty. The creed, the Lords
 prayer and the ten commandments are now to me as my daily bread and drink,
 and as I can speak and write over them again and again so l had rather read and
 hear of them than of any of the school
 niceties. And this I observed also with Richard Hooker and with many other
 men," Had Baxter thought to put it in l he could have ended that beautiful sem
 tence thus: And this I observed also
 with Paul and with many other men" | If I was called to a church where the | pastors for generations were accustomed I to wear a gown and the people liked it, I would wear a gown. It is a nonessen- tial. If new church member should
 come to me and say, Pastor, the more
 I study the Bible the more l believe that
 immersion is the true baptism" l should
 say: Very well. Come; we will go to
 a Baptist church, and I will immerse
 you there" If an Episcopallan should
 come to me and say, T believe in the
 apostolic succession of the Episcopal
 church,, I should at once reply "All
 right, my brother. You are my brother,
 though we differ on that subject. wish you godspeed. I do not care much l whether you believe in the apostolic suc-
 cession of the Episcopal church as long
 as you believe in Jesus Christ as the son
 of God and you do accept Him as your 1 pardoning savior" The doctrine of the
 atonement of the cross we hold to with a
 viselike grip of Paul. May God help us l to let all the nonessentials go.
 Pau's Reason.
 But there was still another reason why | I think Paul said q will eat no meat" 1 What might have been a nonessental to l Paul in his spiritual life might have been 1 more than @ nonessential to some one
 else. Therefore I think I can hear Paul | say to himself when this question came up: "Of course if l give up eating this
 sacrlficial meat l shall have to work 1 harder than I otherwise would. I may l have shorter hours for preaching. I may | even have to work at my tentmalSing l trade when I return home at night. But what of it? Again I say, what of it? | can afford to go to any extreme rather than put a spiritual stumbling block in l the way of my fellow men. If meat make
 my brother to offend, l will eat no meat as long as the world standeth." And l Paul was right My brother, are you
 ready to firmly and unequvocally refuse | to throw any spiritual stumDllng Dlock l in the way of your fellow men?
 1 Certain amusements in themselves are l harmless, but those amusements on &C., l count of their evil associations may be I most pernieious to others, and especially | to our young folks a whole When I l was a lady. my father hired for me | beautiful western mustang As d riding l pony he was simply perfection. He could run like deer over the toughest roads, l and he was as sure-footed as an Alpine | goat. In the few months I had him 1 | learned to love that pony as an Arab does his thoroughbred. He would fol- low me around like a dog and he would
 carry me like the wind. I begged my
 father to buy him. He was only a mus tang and not of much value, and the
 owner was willing to sell. But my father
 answered: "No. You can have him as long as you are in the country, but you cannot have a horse in the city. I know how you love the beast. Horseback rid ing is one of the most exhiarating and healthful exercises, but when a young man owns a horse in the city the temp tatons of the stable and of the road taverns are too strong. When young man rides horse in the city he too often rides into sim Horseback riding in itself is no harm. Theatregong for you may be harmless but what are the surroundings of the average theatre? If you as church elder, if you as church member, if you a Sunday school teacher go to the theatre, do you not see that the example you may be set ting may encourage some to go who are not morally and spiritually as strong as you are? Do you believe Jesus Christ