The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-05-08

Identify any existing church as th'
9re true church Of Christ The
/ church ~ Jesus Christ includes an o
tie true believers. Does any one Of
Y the visible churches include an OF
! the believers Does any church In
, cslde only reeenerate men and women
RS ifs members There IS no visible
church that is not TOO narrow because
It does not include all believers, 10 be
the true church: there is no visible
church thai Is not too broad to be
the one true church. Too broad be
carse il includes men and women who
are not true believers.
There rs no visible church that can
lay claim to being the true church
of Christ because in every church
there are some members who are not
sincere Christians and true believers. "
Here Bishop Hoss paused to take UP
the claims of the Roman Catholic
Church. the Church Of England. the
Baptist and other churches which lay
great stress upon apostolic succession
and which aver that they are the true
church. and disposed of the claims of
each with mastery argument, con-
vincing logic and earnest eloquence.
Not one word was said to wound the
feelings of the most sensitive mem
bers of the denominations mentioned.
high tribute was paid to all, the
Bishop doing particular reverence to
the Church of England, his eulogy OF
the great men of that church being
one of the most eloquent periods Of
his address. Concluding this feature
of his discourse, the Bishop, with dra-
matte emphasis and burning eloquence
exclaimed Our union with Christ
is not outward and visible and his
torical. but it is invisible and spiritual.
We know Christ not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. And by this we
have access unto him. The church OF
England is true church, but it is not
the true church, the Baptist church is
a very large part of the true church,
Int If is not the true church. Not all
Of it.
THE church is where the Christians
are no matter what the denomination.
The Presbyterians are not the true
church of Jesus Christ, but they are
the Tenth Legion of the great army
of protestant christians.
Neither the Methodists nor the
Presbyterians put forward any claims
to being the true and only church.
The Methodist church is not the true
church for if it were then for more
than sixteen centuries the people were
without a true church for the Metho-
dist church was not visible organlZa-
ton until 1899 We make no claim to
APOSTOLIC succession, but we are by
the Grace of God and the power OF MS
Holy Spirit in touch with the spirit
of Christians of all the ages. 1t is a
true church by the millions OF souls
that 1t has garnered to the eternal
throne. it is a true church to these ,
United States. Before the echoes OF
the axes which felled the timber to
erect the rude cabins of the pioneer
had died away in the forests the
Inherent Methodim preacher came
and preached the gospel of the living
God It has helped and blessed us
and thown it's arms around us and we
love it. God forbid that there is
Methodist who does not love his
church.
"The man who says that he is look
ing for the true church is not honest,
but he is merely lodging; he does not
want to find true church or any
church. The true church was never
beheId by human eyes and never will
be, but it is real God was never
seen by human eyes. But he lives
and rules the universe. Denomina-
-ionalism is founded in reason as well
as in righteousness. Universal pro
-estantism would become proud ana
arrogant. a prosecutor, then corrupt
Uniformity is desirable, but liberty is
better.
Finally the purpose of the temple
If God. For what is it erected? 1t is
o furnish home for the deity to
which it is dedicated. The christian
church was built to be the eternal
emple of God, the habitation Of his
everlasting spirit
The congregation sang Come 0
Thou God of Grace and was dis
missed on Bonded knees.