Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-04-22

sayings of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand"
st. Matthew, vii. rs.
+ 4, r
The Christian religion is not mere
ly philosophy. 1t is a divinely re-
vealed rule of life. The Church is not
a university. 1t is technical school.
The function of the preacher is to
teach men how to take the raw ma
terial of life and build it into charac-
ter.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ
lays down the great fundamental prin-
ciples which should guide His follow
ers. He closes by telling His hear
ers that those who not only bear His
words but do them are like wise
man who built his house upon a rock.
When "the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house" it stood. But
those who hear without attempting to
practice are like a foolish man who
built his house upon the sand. When
the time of testing came his house
fell. There are many such to-day,
men and women whose religion is
that of hearing only.
There is story told of a certain
new farm hand who was instructed
by his employer to feed his fayorite
horse some corn ION the ear" He
was discovered some hours later en-
deavoring to pour the grain into the
ears of the unfortunate animal We
cannot get any vital religion through
the ears only. The truths of Chris
tianity must be digested and made a
part of our very life before they can
nourish us. The only way to accom-
plish this is to practice them. Many
Christians fail when temptation comes
because they are only hearing Chris
tians. They go o church regularly.
They are familiar with the tenets of
the particular religious body to which
they belong, but they have never prac-
ticed what they hear. They are like
students at a technical school who
have listened to many lectures about
the general principles and tools of
their trade, but have never actually
taken those tools in hand and expert
mented with them
The man who thinks that merely
hearing the gospel preached makes
him a Christian and will bring him
salvation has a bitter disappointment
in store. st. James says, BE we doors
of the Word, and not bearers only, de-
ceiVing your own selves" Hearing is
eth by hearing" Faith is important
as a foundation. But faith without
works is dead" One cannot erect a
substantial building without good
foundation, but how sad it is to see a
strong foundation with no superstruc-
ture built thereon. Such sight
speaks of failure, of disappointed
hopes. Many a man has been disap-
pointed in his religion because his
Christianity has consisted of faith
without works, foundation without a
building, hearing without doing.
ASI Us NC pIdCCICdl. LIZ uOC NC nhO
the man who built his house upon the
sand. Join the ranks of the real dis
ciples. Be learners. Handle the tools
of your religion. Practise the con-
struction of character Begin by put
ting at least one principle of Christi
anity to use. Do at least one kind act
each day. Try to conquer some one
fault. Go to some Christian leader
and ask him to allow you to help in
his work. He will give you an oppor-
tunity. And as you become more ia
miliar with the tools of your Christian
profession God will set you harder
tasks and will give you at the same
time greater joy in your religion. Your
spiritual house will be founded upon
a rock.
Tapder Of Cufforinn