River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-02-04

vi oolNal W
character must live and die in doubt
about his salvation, unless his assur-
ance is based upon low standard of
character necessary for salvation or
upon a pharisaical spirit which es-
teens himself better than he is. Sal
walton by character really fills with
despair all who by sin have lost their
characters, while salvation by Christ
restores character and fills the soul
with hope of a perfect character by
and by.
The CreedIess Greed.
The liberalism that magnifies char
acter at the same time magnifies
creed. We are told that it matters lit
tie what a man believes provided his
character is good. AS if a man with
bad creed could have good charac-
ter. GAS a man thinketh, so is he" is
the Biblical statement; fact as wide
as the human race. And when the
apostle wrote, IF there be any virtue,
think on these things" he was giving
formula for making virtuous charac-
ter. Those, however, who make war
on creeds really have a creed which
they use as a battering ram against all
other creeds. Their creed is that you
should have no creed. They believe
that you should not believe. Their
any conviction.
Salvation by Niceness.
Salvation by character has, in some
quarters, been reduced to salvation by
niceness. People are nice, in that they
have fine social qualities, good literary
and musical tastes, amiable and patri-
otto dispositions, write readable books
and make entertaining speeches, and
thus they bring God under obligation
to save them, though they reject with
scorn the one name 'given under
heaven whereby men must be saved, -
and though they throw into the waste
basket of rejected creeds the atone
resurrection.
Sociology VS.. Theology.
Another fruit of liberalism is the
substitution of sociology for theology
Young men are taught in some of ou1
universities that mans relation to man
is more important than his relation to
God Indeed, that mans relation to
God is determined by his relation tc
his fellows. We are urged to seek sal
walton of society without reference tC
personal salvation, which they tell US
is essentially selfish. All of which has
gone far toward destroying the sense
of God and obliterating the spirit OF
worship. We are urged by this school
of thought to make the best of this
world and help others to get the most
out of it, and the future world will take
care of itself.
This elimination of theology from
sociology has left man without the
highest and hottest motive for helping
his fellows. Christians who have be.
come possessed with the spirit of him
who, though rich, for our sakes became
poor, who was filled with such love for
man that he gave his life a sacrifice
for their salvation, are better fitted for
sociological work than those who
prompted by their self-love and love
LII OIhOIO1 OL11J OOOh W AlApiONC oONL
ETY.. The best sociological work can be
done by those whose love OF God has
sanctifed their love for man. To ig.
more theology while we exalt sociology
is to cut man off from the true source
of social order and strength
Another fruit of liberalism is the
vain attempt to save the lost by the
life of Christ without regard to his
death. The Scriptures, 1--WE shall be
saved by his life must be viewed in
connection with the context which
reads, eff when we were enemies we
were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, much more being recon
ciled we shall be saved by his life
(Rom. 5:10.). Reconciliation by death
must precede salvation by life, and the
man who seeks salvation by the life OF
Christ without the reconciliation by
his death is like one trying to cross q
river on bridge built half way across,
while the half that is built is on the
other side of the river The theory of
salvation by the life of Christ ignores
the argument of Paul in his letter to
the Romans that righteousness is pri-
marily right relation-that we must
first get right with God before we can
be or do right. The pastor or evangel-
list who breaches salvation by the life
of Christ has gospel for Christians,
but no gospel for the lost. Under such
preaching evangelism has languished.
=.