Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-05-31
By Bishop
Warren
a. Gambler
Heart Disease Destroying
the Communion of Saints

love and allegiance to their common Lord.
There is a magic, talismanic power in
the name of Christ, ana in the name of
Jesus, who is the Christ, which like the
touch of nature that makes the whole
world kin, conVinces every Christian of
a community of origin between all who
love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity,
of an origin that can not be broken by
the accidental severance of the Churches.
any more than those who are united in
common friendship, or bound to COM
mon friend, can be severed by the flight
of time, or by the pillows that wash d.
vided continents. The communion of
saints then is a communion which they
have with one another, through their
union with a common center and common
object of love. Just as any point on
the circumference is united by an invis-
ible line to the center, and may be united
with any other point by line passing
through the center, or by two lines meet
ing in the center, so also is the union
of the saints in Christ. He is their in
visible Head, to whom they one and all
are Joined by invisible bonds of faith
and love; and as nothing can separate
between Christ and those whom He calls
His own, so nothing can separate be-
tween those who belong to Christ, be-
cause they are united one with another,
by being one and all united to Him"
Herein is our difficulty: We are not
making enough Of being really and vital
ly united with Christ We make much
of the mechanical organization and little
OF the interior spiritual life. We bring
young people into the church by the
registration of decision days and the
ceremonies of ritual confirmation" rath-
err than by the Transforming power of
ThnU fail 70 aDDre-
ciate the sinfulness of sin, and by con-
sequence they do not rightly value
Christ's great salvation. They have no
common experiences of penitence ana
pardon, and hence they can have no real
spiritual fellowship one with another
We make Church members, rather than
saints, and for the communion of saints
we substitute congregating In mouse 10
hear a man, more or less competent 10
discuss the subjects he elects TO treat,
talk about matters more or less related
TO morals and religion The hours which
we thus spend in the building which we
call the church are seasons OF enter
tainment and "ethical culture" rather
than seasons of worship and the COM
munion of saints. Hence social distinc-
lions, financial standing, political promi-
nence, and personal peculiarities stand
out as prominently In the Church as IN
the world, and exclude the possibility OF
that fellowship in which every earthly
feature and characteristic of life Is
eclipsed by the glory of the supernatural
experience of redemption in Christ Jesus
in which all alike participate. Therefore
we talk of fashionable Churches" and
peoples Churches, '-monstrous descrip-
tiyes when applied to the Church Wnicn
do not shock US because we note more
consciously the facts OF fashion ana
democracy than we experience pro-
foundry the unearthly life which pro-
ceeds from personal knowledge OF our
Risen Lord. Such terms can nave no
place In the vocabulary Of an apostolic
Christianity They belong to the dialect
of a Christianity which mas oenleo us
! Lord. and whose speech betrayeth 1t 10
an accusing world what time 1t seeks to
warm itself by the fires Of discredited
ecclesiasticism.
Wesley and his contemporaries restored
Christian fellowship by restoring Chris
tan experience There is no other way
TO accomplish that great result. we can
not have the communion or SAINTS uh-
less we have the saints, and when we
have the saints we can not fail to nave
their communion one with another. Ihe
aspirations, struggles, and triumphs OF
sniritual life bind human souls together
as nothing else can Does haturai pn "a -
bind men together in the tender bonos Oh
brotherly lover Much more does the new
birth bind them together. DO oonds Oh
comradeship spring up between soldiers
who have engaged together In the same
campaigns, sharing the hardshlps OF the
camp the WEAKNESS OF the march, ah'l
the nerils of the battle? Much more does
the Christian warfare unite the soldiers
Of christ in indissolubls fellowship.
The decay of Christian fellowship IN
orr aav "a more a symptom than dls-
ease. It points to deadly malady at the
1,arv center of the Church's life IL
shows heart disease. The circulation Is
had because Of fatty-degeneraton OF the
! a reactions. The members are cnllleo De-
cause there are concreuons tornieo aoou'
the cardiac valves.