Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-08-09

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are to he its members. The church,
according to New Testament ideals, Is
| composed only Of those who know
| Christ in a regenerated life. This kind
of membership it must have, If 1t Is
| to be true to the ideals which we have
already set forth. And II it shall have
this kind of a membership, the church
must seek to prepare 1t, by being an
evangelizing agency for those who are
within its reach This church Is then
to be a spiritual birthplace. You are
to seek to win souls to the Lord.
(2). The growth in grace and Chris
tian knowledge Of those who are al
ready members. To be ali effective in
strument Of Christ every church must
seek the spiritual development Of its
members. We are born into the king
dom of God not strong men, but babes.
And the church is the foster mother
to whom these babes are intrusted,
that they may grow into strong. spir-
itual men and women. What the young
people who are now in this church
shall mean to the kingdom Of God as
moral forces, will depend upon the in
fluences which this church shall bring
to bear upon them. The shaping OF
precious lives Is committed to its care.
(3). The training for service of those
who are members Of the church. II
there are to go out from this church
men and women, who are trained for
service, then the church must train
them. If there are to be liberal givers
in the future, If there are to be trained
Sunday school workers, II there are to
be those who will be soul-winners and
leaders of public meetings, this church
must train them for such service. The
inefficiency today in all Of our church,
es Is due to the fact, that in the last
generation this work was neglected.
The reason why the church is no more
effective instrument in tearing down
the strongholds Of Satan and building
up the kingdom of God at home and
abroad is that this work has been neg
lected.
(4. The corrective discipline Of
those who are members. In every
church there are those who go astray.
And here the church has the task, un-
der Christ, Of winning such ones back
to a life of consistency. This Is much
neglected work in our churches. And
the church has suffered and been shorn
Of it's strength because Of the neglect.
1t Is both a privilege and duty thus
to be mutually helpful to each other, to
warn and to admonish each other, and
in the name of Christ with tenderness
and love to seek to win back erring
ones, considering ourselves the while,
lest we also be tempted. Exclusion Is
the admission of the church that 1t has
failed with that individual. 1t Is there
fore to be resorted to only when every
thing else has failed. But IL nothing
will restore, it is plainly the duty Of
the church to withdraw fellowship
from those who walk unworthily.
These are duties which rest upon the
church toward its own members. 1t
thus has relations to God and there
are mutual relations which exist among
the members, all Of which we must
consider II we would know how to be-
have ourselves in the church Of God.
3. Its relations to the SHINING, sur
fering world.
The church is in the world and has
a mission to 1t. AS the instrument OF
Christ his mission to the world Is the
mission to the church. When He spoke
in the synagogue at Nazareth, to His
own people, Christ declared His pro-
gramme In this world. Following Is
the passage which He quoted from the
prophecy of Isaiah, saying: This day
is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The Spirit Of the Lord Is upon me, be-
cause He hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor: He hath sent
me to heal the broken hearted, to
preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering Of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty them that are bruised, to
preach the acceptable year Of the
Lord" This was His programme. In
His prayer in the upper room on the
night of His betrayal he said, LAS thou
hast sent me into the world, even have
also sent them into the world" The
mission of Christ is the mission Of His
He left behind, IL the task which He
assigned to His church. Thus we see
signed to his church. Thus we see
that there are obligations Of binding
duty which rest upon the church with
reference to the SHINING, suffering
world in which He left 1t.
And now, having seen what manner
of organization the church is, as ii Is
related to God and to men, we are
ready to consider the more practical
question of how we ought to behave
ourselves with reference to 1t. Let us
seek to find bow we can help 1t the
better to do its work.
ii. Our Conduct in the Church.
The honor of any church Is in the
keeping Of its members. What the
world shall think of it will depend on
how they live. What 1t shall accom-
plish will depend upon their services.
This being true what can we do the
better to enable the church to do its
| work?
l. We ought to acquaint ourselves
with it.
/ Knowledge Is the secret of efficiency.
| The chief reason why so many people
are so little interested in the church
| of which they are members is because
| they know so little about 1t.
Let me urge then that you
know what your church stands for.
1t stands for something distinctive.
1t has a peculiar message and mis-
sion, and ii Is your duty to know
what it's message Is. Every member
ought to know the general and the dis
tinctive doctrines for which his church
stands. Conviction lies back Of all
human action. And there can not be
either loyalty or strength without II.
Let me urge, then, that you carefully
read your Bibles to find what they
teach. Make yourself acquainted
| with the dOctrinal statements of your
church, and diligently compare them
with the Word of God to see whether
they are we'll founded. Believe some
thing with all your heart, and then
be ready to stand for what you be-
| lieve.
2. Study the work which your
church is doing
Know what it is seeking to do at
home and abroad, and acquaint your
self with the agencies through which
1T is working. This seems a very
commonplace and a very needless
thing to say; and yet there are many
OF the members of our churches who
do not know the simplest things
about our denominational interests.
And yet, this knowledge is not diff
cult to acquire. If you would be
more than figurehead in the church,
/ urge you that you acquaint yourself
with every phase Of its life. In this
way alone can you be an efficient
member. and help it to do its work.
3. Attend upon the services of
\yOur church.
This is necessary for your own good.
In the development of religious life,
1--we need just the stimulus and help
which church attendance gives. The
religious life Is not a native plant in
|earthly soil. 1t is an exotic, trans
planted from the heavenly world. 1t
Dneeds the shelter and warmth of an
Intbar clima And the church Is Gods