The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1910-02-18
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL,
Pastor BROOKLYN
Tabernacle.

of doctrinal surrcnders necessary to
Church Federation was held today,
Brooklyns largest auditorium, the
Academy of Music, being crowded.
Pastor c. T. Russell, of the Brooklyn
Tabernacle, delivered the address as
| follows
| Having viewed during the past three
Sundays what the leading denomina-
| tions would need to sacrifice In the in
tcrest of Federation, we come today to
| the final discussion of this series-The
| Church Militant and Triumphant and
her interest In the Federation move
ment. Let us endeavor to take so
broad n view of this subject that there
will be no room for disagreement on the
part of true Christians of any denomi-
nation.
Unnecessary as it may be to explain
to this large and intelligent audience
the significance of our topic, The
| Church Militant and The Church Tri-
umphant, | must think beyond the
thousands present of the millions who
tomorrow will receive reports of this
discourse from that great channel of
the worlds progress, the secular Press.
| Hence | explain that the term Church
| Militant signifies the Church in war
fare, struggling with the powers OF
evil while the Church Triumphant sig
1 II. ~rt1.
| joined with her Lord, the Heavenly
| Bridegroom, as his Bride and Queen
| in the great Millennial Kingdom soon
to bless and uplift the world Of man
| kind. | should further add that while
| in this discussion we have considered
| the various denominations of Chrlsten-
dom and their Creeds, we must today
| ignore all human systems and creeds.
| We must take the broad, general
| ground of the Scriptures and recog-
| niZe only one Church.
Nor may we make the mistake Of
| saying that the one Church is one Sect.
| No sect, no denomination, however
great and influential and numerous
| and rich, either in sordid or historic
| wealth, can be conceded the right to
appropriate the name which our Lord
gave to all truly his disciples Surely
none Of us is sectarian enough to dis
| Dute this premise. We must learn to
Recognize the Church of Christ from
the same viewpoint as does the Head
tof the Church. We must learn the
| force of st. Peters words to Cornelius,
"Of truth perceive that God Is no
| respecter of persons: but in every ma
| ton he that feareth him and wOrketh
| righteousness Is accepted with him"
| (Acts X, "a, 35,
Taking, therefore, the Scriptural
| view of the Church, we recognize it
| bers, over which he Is the Head. 1t
is composed Of consecrated followers
| Of Christ irrespective of all denomina-
| tional lncs-thOSe who. turning from
sin, accept Jesus as their Redeemer.
through whom they have forgiveness
Of sins and reconciliation to the Father
| those who have become disciples Of
| Christ, taking up their cross to follow
| him and who have received the beget-
ting Of the holy Spirit. Who could
dispute that these are the Church Of
Christ? Who shall say that they must
| belong to this Communion or that, or
lose their relationship to the Head.
Christ Jesus? The apostles never re-
| ferred to Baptist Christians, Methodist
| Christians, Catholic Christians, Pres
| byterian Christians. etc. but merely to
these whom we have described and
| whom they styled saints-'the Church
! Of the living God, whose names are
written in heaven" GIebrews xii, %:
| Timothy Iii, 15). Let us keep strictly
within the lines of Gods Word and
avoid the errors of the past. Let us
today consider this Church as the
Church Militant and prospectively the
Church Triumphant.
The Church Militant.
| If we all agree that we have before
our minds the real Church, the Church
of the New Testament, let us notice
that there is nominal Church also
and that we are not competent to fully
determine which are the real and
which are the nominal Christians ex-
cept by the test which our Lord has
given-"by their fruits We shall know
them" While the real Church of fully
conSecratcd believers, faithful to the
Lord and his Word ana the principles
of Righteousness, is represented by a
very small number. there is nominal
| Church related thereto as is Il shell t.
| the kernel Of nut. The nominal
| Church includes those whose manner
or whose attendance on worship implies
a relationship to Christ without having
| gone the length of a full faith-uccept-
ance Of him in sacrifice. perhaps with
out having fully turned from sin even
in their hearts, and without having
made Il full conservation to serve the
Lord. This nominal class may be sub
divided into believers who are favor
ably disposed toward Christ and right
eousnesS; others who regard the
Church as merely moral club de
signed for social and moral benefit or
/ influence upon the world, by counter
acting sinful influences: still others.
bitter at heart, sinful and selfish, hav.
ing no faith whatever In Jesus and no
care whatever for morality and us,