Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-09-26

SER the question AN now dSkiuB you,
How is it that such crowds attend
your services, even in this sultry, sum-
mer weather, when the summer re-
sorts and seashore pleasures would
call them elsewhere, and while many
of our leading and able ministers, sup
ported by talented choirs. have small
fundamentally, forty, fifty or so?
What is your explanation
l replied. MY brother. | believe we
are witnessing a fulflment of the
Scripture which says: There shall be
a famine in the land! Not famine
for bread, nor a famine for water, but
q famine for the hearing of the Word
Of the Lord amos viii, III. The pub
lie are getting their eyes too widely
opened to ever again respect the God
whom Brother Calvin pictured-a God.
All-Wise and All-Powerful, but thor
oughly unloving, who foreordained and
predestinated a sanity handful to
glory, and the insanity thousands of
millions to an eternity of torture. We
once believed those things, but the
new morning of Gods grace in Christ
Jesus is gradually scattering the dark
ness.
Neither can we longer believe with
Brother Wesley that our God is good
and loving, and would like to save ev-
erybody if He could, but was unwise
in His creation of man, and is lacking
in power to direct the matter now.
The people are hungering for some
thing better-for something consistent
and rational and in accordance with
the Bible declaration, that Divine JUS
tice, Wisdom, Love and Power are CO.
ordinate-that God is Love, and is as
just and wise and powerful as He is
loving. The people need to be shown
theology which will accord with this
Divine character and with the Divine
statement that known unto the Lord
are all His works from the beginning
of the world and again: My Word
that goeth forth out of My mouth shall
not return unto Me void, but shall ac-
complish that which l please saith
the Lord, and shall prosper in the
thing whereto ! sent it.
Bible Doctrine of Election
Christian people need to believe the
Bible doctrine of Election, but must
see it in a different light from that
which Brother Calvin threw upon the
subject. They must see election from
the Bible standpoint-the election of a
sanity Church, little fiock," "a roy
oil n fO no
Bride Of Christ. and His joint-heirs.
They must see that this "elect" Church
with the Redeemer Is Gods appoint
ed channel for the blessing of the non
elect world They need to be shown
clearly that the sanity few. gathered
first from the Jews, but subsequently
completed by additions of those of
sanity character of all nations, are
with Christ to become the great Seed
of Abraham. the great Messiah. Abra-
hams spiritual Seed. like the stars
of heaven" 1t must then be shown
why this spiritual Seed has been call
ed" elected" selected from amongst
pose of blessing the non-elect, the
masses of Adams race, in harmony
with Gods promise to Abraham-"1n
thy Seed shall all the families of the
earth be blessed"
st. Paul refers to this spiritual Seed,
saying. And to thy Seed, which is
Christ" and IF ye be iChrist's. then
are We Abraham's Seed and heirs
according to the promise" Galatians
iii, 16, 29I. All these are Heirs of the
great promise that has not yet been
fulfilled The fufilment waits until
the completion of foreordained num-
Der, an elect 'little flock" of the saint
~ few. Then these. changed by the
power of the First Resurrection, from
human nature to divine nature OIL Pc
ter i, A., will constitute the glorious
Kingdom of Messiah. The Kingdom
blessings will go first to Abraham's
natural seed. and through them to all
nations.
Gods character is so great, so grand,
that, if seen by men, it would be rev.
ereneed. Gods Plan of Salvation is so
grandly beautiful that. when rightly I'M
| derstood and cOmprehended, it proves
more fascinating than any novel.
The world has been kept away from
| God and from the Bible by the machi-
! nations of the Adversary. He has had
much to do with the formation of our
| creed idols. Seeing men breaking away
| from error. in the Reformation time,
| and cropping after the Truth, Satan pre-
scented himself "as an angel of light
| and misguided our fathers into the for
nation of their various creeds. This
| is corroborated by st. PauPs words,
'"The god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them that believe not.
lest the glorious light of the goodness
of God, as it shines in the face of Jesus
Christ our Lord. should shine into
their hearts QI Corinthians iv, ~.
The Adversary did not wish us to see
with "the eyes of our hearts" the glori-
Gus character of our Creator, His love
for mankind and His glorious provision
for u.s. He wished, on the contrary. to
blind us with prejudice, to turn us
away from God and from the Bible.
! And surely his plan has been measur-
ably successful.
Nevertheless, Satan has gained no
real victory, he has in no way him
dered the finding of the "elect !"
Rather, we may assume that these
various, binding influences and STUN
bling stones have bur served to prove,
to test the love. loyalty. faith and
obedience of the "called and chose2
and faithful"
If we have seen why the world is
going pleasure mad, and il we have
seen the steps which shouid be taken
to guide the well-inteuuoned into the
ways of the Lord, let us, my beloved
hearers, not only be faithful ourselves
to the Lords way. but let us lift high
the Royal Banner of our God and of our
Savior, and SHOW forth the praises Of