The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-12-31

many topics of interest n pront 10
humanity all nave their time and place
But the preaching of the Gospel has
an exclusive right of way in the Church
of Christ If some claim that the peo-
pie will no longer attend Divine serv-
ice to hear Gospel preaching, we reply
that there are three reasons for this.
% The Church lost the real Gospel
during the Dark Ages, and few Chris
tan people have yet recovered it. The
word Gospel. as all agree, signifies
good ttdin0s. a message Of joy; but the
message handed down to humanity
from the Dark Ages has been the re-
verse of this-bad tidings of great mis-
cry for nearly all of u race. Is 1t
any wonder that the great majority
are disgusted with the horrible mis-
representations of the creeds? Man
kind have trials and difficulties enough
In the present life, and need encourage
ment to hope for better things in the
life to come.
(2) Responding to the growing senti-
ment of intelligence. the ministers of
the various denominations of Christen-
dom have ceased to preach bad tidings
Of great misery for all but 4the very
elect" Nearly all ministers. gradu-
ated within the last twenty years, lost
all their faith in the Bible as the in
spired Word of God. in the theological
seminaries, where they were taught
unbelief. under the name Of Higher
Criticism; where they also were taught
to consider it honorable to stultify
their manhood by accepting ordination
and salary for serving a denomination
whose published creed they disown
and despise. In the same seminaries
they acquired the thought that it is
right and honorable to receive title.
honor and salary from a church, osten-
sibly as a Christian minister and Bible
exponent, and then to use the oppor-
tunity to undermine the faith of the
church and to destroy confidence in
the Bible as the inspired Word Of God
Under these conditions. what shall
these ministers preach instead Of the
Gospel of Christ. which they no longer
believe? Is it any wonder that they
preach those things that they ought
not to preach. and leave u~npreached
those things that they ought to preach?
Not many of their hearers care for
scientific disquisitions; not many of
them care to hear commonplace essays
on good morals. So how can such min
listers avoid foolish ~preaching7
81 Not content with undermining
the faith of the people who trust and
honor and obey them, these ministers
mix their higher critical views and
evolutionary views with diluted moral
fly, and serve this as instead of the
Gospel of Christ He who thinks that
such a message will convert a mind
from sin to righteousness, from unbe
lief to faith in God. deceives himself.
He who thinks that such messages will
have a sanctifyingpower in thehearts Of
Gods people. equally deludes himself
No Gospel Without Redemption.
The essence of the Gospel of Christ
is that He died for sinners. the Just for
the unjust. that He might bring man
kind back to God. But the false Cos
pels deny that man ever fell from the
likeness of God. and equally deny
therefore that he needed a Redeemer
and that he has a Redeemer. Such
spurious gospels. which leave out the
very core and essence of the Divine
Message. are false. by whatever honor
able channel they may have come We
may be sure that they are of the Ad-
versary himself; for they make void
the Word of God, the death of Jesus
and His resurrection. and His coming
again to give TO mankind the glorious
blessings and privileges bought with
His precious blood.
The True Gospel. the good idings
of great joy. which shall be unto al
people" contains not a single word re
specting al eternity of torture at the
hands of f~ire-proof demons. 1t contains
not a single word which would dis
credit the Wisdom. Justice and Love
of the Father above. whose tender mer
salvation is yet to be extended to the
ends of the earth.
The True Gospel, acknowledging that
humanity has come justly under a pen
atty or curse of death. sets before the
grooming creation a glorious hope. 1,
proclaims. as Jesus did. that the time
Is coming when the curse shall be re
moved. and when God through the
Messianic Kingdom ''will wipe away
all tears from of all faces" isaiah
XIV. 81 1t proclaims, as Jesus did, a
glorious prospect for all who desire to
come into harmony with God; and a
Just penalty. or stripes, upon all those
who sin wilfully against light and
knowledge and opportunity. 1t pro-
claims that a New Day is 1awning, in
which the Lord will give beauty for
ashes. and the oil of joy for the spirit
of he~ayiness.'
The True Gospel includes the Cos
pei of the Kingdom"-that the Divine
arrangement now is for the selection of
the Kingdom class from amongst men,
to be heirs of God and jolnt-heirs with
Jesus Christ in His Messianic King
iom. 1t proclaims the honorable work
Of the Church as the Kingdom of God
by and by, to judge, rule and bless all
the families of the earth. 1t proclaims
6AoO AhAl II D0A1OGA WIZ VIII attdln
to this Kingdom glory is limited-a
Little Flock, to whom it will be the
Fathers good pleasure to give the
Kingdom. luke xii, 32.) 1t exhorts
the making of "our calling and cleo
ton sure to a share in that Kingdom.
Is Gospel Preaching L~osieai7
Let us notice the worlds viewpoint,
which causes the Gospel Message to
appear foolish to them. To the world
ly-wise it looked very foolish, indeed,
for Jesus to go about Palestine with
twelve disciples, performing some mir
acles and inviting chiefly the poor to
become His followers, leaving business
and other pursuits. "Ah," says the
world, "how impractical was Jesus,
and how foolish was His messagei A
business man would have laid a good
foundation for his work by making
friends with the Scribes. the Pharisees
and the Doctors of the Law, and utiliz-
Ing their influence with their hold upon
the people"
But, we ask. how then would the
Scriptures have been fulilledf Who
would have crucifed Christ. or have
caused His death? There would have
been no re onciliatiou possible for man
kind It is well for US that Jesus did
not follow the suggestions Of worldly
wisdom Truly the wisdom Of this
world is foolishness with God" even as
the Wisdom of God is foolishness with
the chisfren IF this world
II is -,'t. wisdom got In