The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1908-02-07
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.NuSe-S1Se5SSl~e-HN
ga SERMON NE2&
pY THE REV N&sk
'lAWHENDtHS0NW'
Theme: The Call cf Cod 10 the
Church of Christ.


held street. the Rev. Ira Wemmell
Henderson, pastor. took as his theme
1.-THE Call OF God TO the Church OF
Christ" The text was Phil. 1917:
stand fast in one spirit, with one
mind striving together for the faith
Of the Gospel; and in nothing terri
eed by your adversaries." He said:
Let us unfold the text and trans
late It with care for the richness and
exactness of meaning that IL en-
closes, that the authorized version
which We have read hardly sets forth.
Stand fast persistently In one spirit.
with one mind striving together for
the faith OF the Gospel: and In moth
Ing scared by your adversaries. The
apostle admonishes the people or
God TO stand fast steadily not spo-
radically, TO be OF singleness OF mind
and heart and soul I'm their devotion
10 the work OF the living Christ, to
strive together with the best OF team
play for the truth, 10 be unafraid of
their opponents. The figure IS that
Of q frightened horse. Be not scared
like a runaway.
This is the word OF Paul to the
saints in Christ Jesus which were at
Philippi. 1t is the call OF Him who
sitteth between the cherublm TO His
church to-day. This is the summons
OF God to those who are His people
In the bonds OF Christ. He promul-
gates the plan for Christian action.
He elevates an ideal for service. He
asserts the positive and negative du-
ties that relate themselves TO Chris
tianity. He stipulates what is 10 be
the aim and what is the measure OF
the efficiency OF the church of the
living Lord. The text affords as
good a program for the guidance of
those who are banded in the in
terests of the proclamation and ad-
yancement of the Kingdom OF God as
could we'll be devised.
And we may safely assert that II
Is because the church has too largely
relinquished her grasp upon this pro-
gram; lost. too largely, her con-
sciousness OF the mandatory respon-
sibilites that God has laid upon her.
her vision OF her divinely endowed
ideals, her unanimous fidelity to the
plans and the purposes and inspired
activities OF Emanuel. that she has
to a lamentable degree ceased TO
command either the influence, the
respect or the love that within the
memory of many man alive was
hers. And | believe that the moral
and spiritual unhealthiness that is
manifest in America is direct re-
suit OF the desultory and flaccid allie
glance that the church has granted
TO her God.
We have been too much afraid Of
our enemies and too uncertain OF
ourselves. We have over-empha-
- hn ~ on
trenched evil, and by implication dis
counted the capacity OF the Deity
successfully TO energize His people
and to realize His will In them. We
have been silent when We should
have spoken fearlessly, and voluble
when silence better would have
served the time and the Kings busi-
ness. We have, especially in the
Protestant Church, let Christian lib
erty degenerate till in many quarters
IL has become synonymous with
irreligious license. We have eX-
changed prophecy for time-serving
and truthfulness for popularity, 20
an extent that is as disastrous as It
IS disreputable We have lost the
note OF authority. And in our
scramble TO find the bait that will
lure the world toward God and that
will draw men so far under the In
fuence OF the church that we shall
be able TO demonstrate the good
heartedness OF the Gospel and Of the
Christian life we have become such
good fellows that we have lost our
aim. missed the heart of Christian
service and Of Christian faith.
The call OF God to His church
means little TO multitudes OF people
who are on the rolls OF the church
visible because they haven't listened
long or intently enough TO Him 20
know what He thinks or says or
wants. II is not strange that they
do not "stand fast in one spirit, with
one mind striving together for the
faith OF the Gospel" How could IL
be otherwise? Faith Is simply
catchword with them; the meat Of
the Gospel is mystery that they
have taken little effort 20 master:
hard fight Is the last thing that they
want; salvation means about as much
10 them as changing their clothes.
DR.. Newman Smyth is not far
wrong when he asserts that new
order OF things will, In Gods provl-
dence, supersede our present Chris
tlan religious systems. II we are 10
Judge them by the fidelity OF the
majority OF their members TO the
exact Gospel OF God I'm Christ, tho
sooner the churches OF Christ, as at
present constituted. are superseded
by a nobler order the better for the
world.
Primarily the church must de-
clare and elucidate the deepest spiri-
tual truths Of the Kingdom Of God
without which there can be no found
cd or balanced ethics. Che must
stand az the evangel Of Cod speak
ing with authority that truth iu
Christ. under the guidance Of Che
Holy Spirit. which is wpramciy suf-
Ciert for tIe salvation Of The souls
of'mea. she lra. deal first with ''.
souls of mon i1 the.r relation sH.u
with The Father. Spirituality Is ..
f..la.a. rna revelation and lr..'.
cation OF eternal spiritual mys ....
The caII OF Cod t0 ffo Church ~
Christ to-day is mo different '1 .-
s.lra thru it was 10 the mon and
.H #..