Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-01-17

BISHOP WARREN A. GAMBLER
twelve, BE of good cheer; I have over
come the world"
We can never overcome the world By
Stoical Devotion to set Of abstract
principles. BY that process, we merely
overcome one world by attaching our
selves to the forces Of another which is
often quite as base as the one against
which we take up arms.
But by the apprehension of a Person
as divine and by clingipg to Him with
fervent devotion we overcome the world
We may see this more clearly by con-
sidering it in connection with one of the
worlds most powerful instruments OF
warfare-ridicule. The best antidote to
ridicule is devotion to a loved and rever-
ed person The world may ridicule one
away from an abstract principle but
never from loyalty to a loved and loving
friend The remedy for worldliness,
therefore, is magnifying Christ as our
personal Saviour and Friend.
The great worldlinessr of this age. when
the ends of the earth have come on
every man, must be overcome by exalt-
ing Christ far above all principaltyl
and power, and might, and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in
this world. but also in that which is to
come" (Ephesians i:21l
II was this magnifying Of the person
of Christ which gave the Apostles VIC,
tory over the world of their age. II
was the power of love to a personal
Saviour and a real God which paralyzed
the arm of persecution lifted against
them and turned into honour the humil-
iation and contempt which men poured
upon them. When the prosecutors OF
Peter and John saw the boldness of the
apostles before the S@nhedrim rthey
took knowledge of them that they had
been with Jesus" And in the life of ST.
Paul Christ occupied the same com
handing place; to the Philippians he
wrote: II count all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Chris
Jesus my Lord; for whom / have suffer
ed the loss of all thing and do count
them but refuse that l may win Christ.
over all the pages of apostolic history
the. majestic figure of Christ moves In
commanding splendor and power.
And the same spirit of controlling de-
votion to Christ persisted into the post
apostolic age. When the aged Polycarp
was entreated to reviIe Christ by the pro-
deeply impressed by the venerable ap-
pearance Of the sanity bishop. wished
II possible to save his life. the noble
martyr replied. Eighty and six years
have ! served Him. and He never sdi,
me wrong; How can / now blaspheme
my King and Saviour?' In such faith
he went bravely to the stake and was
burned, enduring martyrdom ''as seeirs
Him who is invisible"
The aenemic life of much of present
day christianity has come from making
too little of Christ. The power of His
Person is not felt. and hence there il
worldliness in both the pulpit and the
pew. On all sides we see a domineerinb
world lording it over a servile religion
which echoes the sentiments and does
the bidding of its mundane master witt
contemplate slacrity.
There are pulpits which cry perpetual
", What does the age demand of the
Church, What sort of christianity dc
our great times call for? Let us make
haste to state our faith in terms OF tae
modern mind. ETC."
There are also super -calendared'
churches. perpetually prating of being
''up-to-date" whatever that may mean
And both the men who fill these pulpits
and these churches make little Of Christ
They are satisfied with an atheistc NOR
ality provided they can secure ethiea
conditions which rise to the level of con-
ventional decenoy; that result achieved
they are well content to leave Christ and
His atonement quite our OF the account
They deny His supernatural birth al
one end Of his earthly life and explain
away his supernatural resurrection and
ascension at the other. They think to
make faith vigorous by putting it upon
a minimum ration of truth.
That sort of preaching and that sort
of christianity can not overcome the
magnihed worldliness OF our age 1T may
be the sort that the times call for: but
III Is not the sort which the times need.
Our age is a great age. and just be-
cause IT Is great age il needs a great
gospel No pale-faced, bleached gospel
can master the world OF today The
situation calls for mighty preachers.
and there never was mighty preacher
who was not mighty believer From
David down their cry has been II be-
Iieved. and therefore | spoke Ingenious
doubters are always pulpit pigmies and
clerical paralytics. This ponderous. pow
erful age calls for something more po-
tent than men of palsied and pauper-
lied faith.