The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-06-23

Many of our dear Christian friends
say, What lack we yet? Have we not
really attained the goal of our Church
| ambition? Should we build finer edi-
fees or pay larger salaries? are we
not straining ourselves with collections
at every turn? What more could God
ask of us? I'VE are rich and increased
in goods and have need of nothing"
Revelation iii, 16-19)
In reply we may suppose the Lord to
ask, Where did l give you instruction
respecting these things? Where in my
Word did you find the suggestion that
what desired you to do in the world
was to erect great church edifces
piles of stone and iron and mortar,
polished woods and stained glass?
You are not rightly reading my Word.
However good in intention, you have
failed ia brightly bride the Word of
TruthE The Temple respecting which
l gave instruction is the spiritual one,
the Temple Of the holy Spirit-the Body
of Christ which is the Church. |
fear that you have forgotten the
true temple of God while rearing
so many temples of earthly ma
terials Concerning the true Temple
l instructed you that the temple
Of God is holy which temple We are
Giving stones" being shaped and pol
ished for the habitation Of God
through the Spirit" Show me what
you have accomplished in this way
Show me to what extent you have
rightly divided my Word. and prop
erlr instructed mankind respecting my
glorious character and my great Di-
vine Plan of the Ages, Show me
frutage Of the glorious message,
How many in all the millions that
you report are New Creatures in
Christ Jesus" who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit" Let me
hear the message of my love and
grace in Christ as you are procIaiming
it. What mean these sectarian di-
visions amongst you? Why are there
so many Church edifices and so few
sanity worshipers? Who authorized
you to put these creedal fences be
tween my people to divide the flock?
Know We not that l said, there is one
flock and one Shepherd? Why have
you so neglected the spiritual interests
of my flock and their instruction in
Righteousness? Why are you 50 unable
to rightly divide my Word?
Instead of coming together as one
Church Of the Living God whose names
are written in heaven you have divided
into hundreds of sectS and parties In
stead Of taking my Word as a whole
and rightly dividing its teachings as
between the different ages and dispen-
sations of my work, you have divided
my Word i'll a sectarian manner. one
sect has made one selection from my
Word and another sect has made an
other selection. Thus We array one
part of my Word against another part
of it, and hence get into confusion
and conflict What have you to answer
for these things?
With shame Of face we must all ac-
knowledge that I'VE have done those
things which we ought not to have
done and have left undone those things
which we ought to have done, and
there rs no help in us" The proper
thing for US to do, dear Christian
friends. is to get down upon our knees
before the Lord and in contrition of
heart to acknowledge that we have
wrought no deliverance in the earth
isaiah XVI, 1S; that our sectarian
differences are our shame; that the ig-
norance that we have all been in re
speeding the Word of God is humil-
iating. Now that our eyes are open
so that we can comprehend as never
before the harmony of Gods message
from Genesis to Revelation, it means
a rich feast and blessing to our souls.
The Word of God becomes more pre-
cious to US daily as we become able
to comprehend it. Our duty is to fly
to the assistance Of our dear brethren
and sisters in Christ, of all denOmina-
lions, and to call upon them to join
with US in a determined stand for
righteousness, for Truth, for God and
for his Word.
We must show them that ignorantly
we and they have dishonored our God
by Misrepresentation of his character
and misrepresentation of the real
teachings of the Bible. We must point
them to the fact that the Bible does
not teach that all mankind except the
ELECT" saints will be consigned to an
eternity of torture at the hands of fire
proof demons. We must show them
that the election of the Church during
this age-a sanity little flock-does not
mean injury to the non-elect. That,
on the contrary, it is the Divine pur-
pose that the elect saints with their
great Redeemer in glory shall consti-
tute Gods Kingdom. That his King
dom when established will bind Satan.
put down sin, Danish ignorance. error
and superstition and uplift mankind by
restitution" by resurrection processes.
up, up, up. to all that was lost in
Eden by disobedience and to all Sc
cured for Adam and his race through
the great transaction at Calvary (Acts
iii, 19-2D.
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth"
Alas. how many intelligent people
have turned aside from following
Christ and from hearing the voice of