The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-17
SAYS THE GOSPEL IS UNIMPROVABLE Rev. Eaves Takes Text frsm
 Galatians TRUTH IS THING SOUGHT Supreme Question About Gospel Is Not "Is It Pleaslng7" "ls It Probable"
 "Is It Modern2" But
 "ls 1t TrueT
TRUTH IS THING SOUGHT


 Congregational church spoke yesterday
 morning on "The Unimprovable Gospel;
 taking his text from Galatians l. 6-9, with
 special emphasis on the words: If any
 man preach to you another gospel let
 him be aceursed." He said in part: An
 other gospel. Why not? This is an in-
 ventive age. Why not make all the
 gospels you need, spinning them as
 spider does her web, out of your own
 brains and bowels? This is liberal age
 Surely nothing could put Paul more
 hopelesly out of sympathy with us of the
 20th century than this display of narrow
 and intense theologyl To anathematize a man because his opinions differ from yours Paul, haven't you imported your old sectarianism into your new apostolate?
 Do you know what manner of spirit you are of?
 My friends, to judge rightly here we
 must face the central question of mod ern thinking: Is there an authoritative
 gospel? Is there a gospel which can not be farther improved? Must every age trim up the old doctrine and made a new doctrine for itself?
 I humbly offer three or four consider ations:
 l. Certainly every age must have gos-
 pei for the times "The old time religion
 may have been good enough for Moses
 and Adam and Mary Jane, but 1t isn good enough for you if you are living
 creature higher than clam. No religion is good enough for you or me unless It
 nd Christ
 broke from the "old time religion be-
 cause it had become wretched lie and
 delusion A gospel for the times must
 fit the times.
 ?. On the other hand before you make a
 new gospel it is your business to De
 quite clear as to the contents of the oId gospel. Get rid of traditional misunder-
 standing by all means, but give the Paul inc gospel the square deal of an honest
 attempt to grasp it.
 B. Consider this: That thousands of the
 dearest, shrewdest minds in the world
 today accept and rejoice in the gospel
 which the apostles preached. There is no
 jumped-up modern theological pudding,
 made by mixing one teaspoonful Of Blole
 with three quarts of conceit and unmeas-
 ured gallons of ignorance. And they
 have come back to the primitive gospel,
 convinced that it cannot be improved
 upon.
 4. For the one absolutely essential thing about gospel is that it be true. Any priggish and conceited sophomore, any
 noisy and blatant demagogue, eould con coct a pleasing set of religious opinions But where will they be in the terri IT fn f1,o .atae n furnace of temptation, or Under the sor' row of a broken heart?
 Be fair to Paul, with his fierce intensity. The supreme question about the gos-
 pei is not ''is it pleasing?' or ''is 1t pos sible?" or .'is it modern?' but the su- preme question about your religious oplh- ions is Are they true?' That was the question in Galatia, and Paul was con [ vinced of the answer. He believed that his was the only gospel with the name. | 1t was the love of men that dipt his | pen in fire and made it drip anathemas | For he knew that the substitute gospe ] in Galatia was no gospel at all. In the | end it would kill the church, put shackles l instead of wings on human souls, damn instead of save, poison instead of heal | Is there a broad and generous mind tc whom all gospels look alike because none | are of any value? At least let that 1 man be generous and broad towards this | apostle and say, Yes, he believed lti | of that belief which was PauFs mes
 sage to the Roman empire and to the
 world. I give you the briefest summary | under four heads:
 | 1. By revelation to his inner soul Pau
 preceiyed that the crucifed Jesus was l his Lord and King No Oriental despoi 1 was ever honored by his lowest as this l freeborn Jew honored the crucified car l penter of Nazareth. Not as dead nero | or martyr but as a living monarch, | Paul served Jesus Christ. There's nothing | of the pr. Dowie or the Mohammed 1T l their Pauline claim. He claims no glory, l but to run a captive at Christs triuinphal 1 car and to die in celebration of Christ | imperaism No stained glass windows for Paul, no pedestal for him. Give him the glory of going on, though his only gain on earth be the blindfolded eyes, the barred neck, the bent head, and the short, fierce swish of the Roman gladium.
 Not he was king, but Christ was king. Shall any dare to preach another gospel | than this of the kingship of Jesus Let him be anathemai For his gospel is a gospel of. mud.
 | 2 Kin to this first article of his creed | was the revelation to PauPs inmost- | heart that the death of Jesus was the | end and hiding of human sin. Cross of | no cross, Jesus was Son of God. By dying ne nad purcHdScu every HuAHo' soul By dying he had tasted death for | every man. By dying he had closed an | epoch and begun a new empire, wiping | out in blood the law of retribution and 1 writing as a palimpsest, the law of | love.
 ] You call that mere theology" perhaps. l But sin is a fact. And if you can ger | beauty without strength, you can perhaps | get religion without theology or theology | without hard actual facts.
 I don't pretend to explain it. I sim | ply state this second conviction of the | apostle that the death of Jesus was | the end of sin.
 | 8. Pauls gospel included tremendous | conviction that they who so believed in l Jesus received His spirit and have power | to live His life. Past the cross, they are | free, no longer slaves of form or of | conscience, but children of God 1 4. And his final article was the coming | of a new kingdom. of which these were | the first fruits. He expected Jesus to | come again and reign on earth, banishins | evil and violence. Paul thought of him | self as herald of the approaching King
 and the gospel was the herald's cry: "Behold your King cometh!" Can this gospel be improved?
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