The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-10
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL,
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

Cfe-s-e-s-s-s-e-e-s-s-s-e~s -s~e-e-e-e-e-e"s~eOOO
Brooklyn, Feb. 6.--The fourth and
final meeting for the consideration
of doctrinal surrenders necessary to
Church Federation was held today,
Brooklyn's largest auditorium, the
Academy of Music, being crowded.
Pastor G. T. Russell of the Brooklyn
Tabernacle, delivered the address as
follows
Having viewed during the past three
Sundays what the leading denomina-
tons would need to sacrifice in the in
terest 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 a 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 l 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 l explain that the term Church
Militant signifies the Church in war
fare, struggling with the powers Of
evil, while the Church Triumphant sig
mites the Church victorious, glorious,
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 Christen-
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
pute this premise We must learn to
recognize the Church of Christ from
the same viewpoint as does the Head
of the Church. We must learn the
force of st. Peters words to Cornelius,
"Of truth l 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 Y, "a, 35).
Taking, therefore, the Scriptural
view of the Church, we recognize 1t
as the Body of Christi of many men,
bers, over which he is the Head. 1t
is composed of consecrated followers
of Christ irrespective of all denomina-
tional lines-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
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" (Hebrews xii. %
Timothy iii, 49, 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 Churcl
of the New Testament, let us motto,
that there Is a nominal Church ais,
and that we are not competent to full!
determine which are the real ant
which are the nominal Christians ex
cept by the test which our Lord ha
given-"by their fruits ye shall know
them" While the real Church of full,
consecrated believers, faithful to tn
Lord and his Word and the principle
of righteousness, is represented by
very small number, there is nomina
Church related thereto as is shell t.
the kernel Of nut. The nomina
Church includes those whose name
or whose attendance on worship nipple
relationship to Christ without having
gone the length of a full faith-accept
ance of him in sacrifice, perhaps with
out having fully turned from sin evel
in their hearts, and without having
made full conservation to serve tn
Lord. This nominal class may be sui
divided into believers who are favor
ably disposed toward Christ and RICH,
eousness; others who regard tn
Church as merely moral club dc
signed for social and moral benefit O
influence upon the world, by counter
acting sinful influences; still Others
bitter at heart, sinful and selfish, hay
ing no faith whatever in Jesus and n
care whatever for morality and us
.----------------------