The Penn's Grove record., 1908-09-25
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A SERMON ASEG&
~ THE REV. Ax@8
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not the things which l say?"-
Luke 6:46.
Jesus is either a force or a fraud.
His word is truth or 1t is nonsense:
His gospel is either the supreme phi-
losophy Of life or the quintessence
of Stiffness. He is either to be fol-
lowed or not to be followed. If He
Is to lead we must do His will. He
is a captain whose commands are
commendable and practicable or an
untrustworthy leader to obey whom
is the sheerest senselessness. There
is no middle ground. Christ Is a wise
mantle eternal wisdom OF God
or a fool; a visioned statesman or a
visionary; a religious leader beyond
fantastic enthusiast who ever lived.
The church of the living Christ
through a 1000 years has pro-
claimed Him the ~incarnate mind Of
God, the glorious embodiment of the
eternal wisdom, the supernal leader,
the only true guide, the mentor of
the mind as the Saviour of the soul
of man. Saints have sung of His
beauty, philosophers have yielded
homage to the purity and profundity
of His thought, sages have reveled in
His wisdom, martyrs have died for
Him. We have declared Him Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the
end, the ultimate both as to inception
and fnality.
And yet we fail to practice His
truth, to apply His principles, to
obey His mandates, to trust His
word, to live the life that He counsels
as the only life that e~ternally is
upon a pedestal of dominating prom
inence, and then we laugh at Him.
We join His church, and then we
misrepresent Him. We swear fealty
under His control, and then we de-
sert Him in every hour of the test.
And then we wonder why men of
the world have no use for eccleciasti-
cism, though they cheer the Christ.
We are amazed at the paltriness of
the church's grip as an organized in
stitution upon humanity compared
with what it ought to be; while the
sweep of the influence of Jesus is be-
coming universal. We are astounded
that in an age when the Lord of Life
receives greater homage than ever in
the reach of years, the church Of the
Lord-the organized body that bears
His name-is being weighed in the
balance of intelligent criticism and
declared wanting.
But it is not strange. Too long
have you cried, Lord, Lord" The
world demands performance as well
as protestations. 1t tires of the pla-
titudinous. 1t expects men who pro-
TESS to love the good to be something
more than pious. For the p~iousness
of the day is almost synonymous
with the most dangerous impious-
ness.
Bad men have a suspicion that bad
men will be bad. They expect good
men to be good. They detest pious
talk and a pious mien that gets no
further than words and LOOKS. And
they are right.
Laodicean Christianity is as trait
orous as it is inefficient. 1t denies
that in which it processes to believe.
1t betrays its Lord with a kiss. The
world has no use for it and we ought
to have none. A world that could
it with equanimity
wouldn't be worth saving. What
shall we say Of a church which too
largely practices it?
Too much have we cried, "Lord,
Jesus says, "Ye are My
friends If We do whatsoever l COM
mand you" Have we done His will?
Jesus says: Love your enemies;
bless them that curse you; him that
taketh away thy cloak forbid not to
take thy coat Also" And Jesus a
ticed His proclamations. He was the
friend of God. He did the will of the
Father. They crucified Him. He be-
sought forgiveness for His persecu-
tors.
And yet in a land blessed as is
ours with the heritage of twenty CEN
of Christian teaching, cultured
and controlled under the gospel of
Jesus, the best theory of peace that
we can practice is that which bids us
be prepared for war. The very
which sings the praises of the
prince OF peace is strangely silent be-
fore the militarism of our age. Pre-
paredness for war has vet to be pro-
zen a guarantee of peace. Indeed it
has been quite otherwise. 1t is
neither effective nor necessary. 1t is
purely expedient and never final in
or in practice. Jesus way is
a better way. If all the ornaments
Of the world were wrecked there
would be a surer guarantee of peace
than there is to-day and greater pros
Jesus theories have never had an
honest opportunity to prove their
worth. Those that have been tried,
however little, have revealed the wis
lom of the Lord. Where nations
nave ceased to war and have brought
heir difficulties to the bar of divine
y guided counsel there have they
the best results. The individ-
lal who follows in the footsteps of
lis Saviour and forgets injury, for
gives injustice, requites good for evil,
nay seem impractical, but he is the
1appiest as the most honored among
sons of men. The mar who sub
mits to persecution while his trust
in God may lose his head;
he will not lose his soul. External
forces cannot steal away that life
eternal which is the gift of God.
The church must either follow
Christ or it must cease to be. The
for its existence is resident in
Its recognition of His authority. The
secret of its ancient power lay in it's
Willingness to do His will. And as
the guiding spirit in a larger era
gives her visions of wider ministry
and impulse to a service the like of
which she has never known she must
move on with fidelity and fervor or
be d~iscredited and disowned.
The church is not the kingdom
save as the church labors for the
consummation of the kingdom. 1t is
not an end in itself. 1t is a means to
the attainment of divine conclusions.
The trouble has been and is that we
mistaken theology for Chris
tianity, the organization for the life,
the membership roll for the test of
membership. Quite otherwise is the
mind OF Christ. The test of member
is not how warm we make seats.
or how loud we sing, or how vehe-
mently we pray. The final testing is
the testing of service. Do you work
as you pray? Do you warm hearts
as well as benches? Do you make
souls to rejoice? Do you regard
yourself not as your brothers keeper
so much as yOur tho hrotbo,o