Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1912-10-05
Pastor RusseIPs Sermon

10 higher nature. So, says the Apos.
tie, Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for, but the election
obtained 1t and the rest were blinded"
Only the few had suHiciency of faith
to make use of their knowledge
"lf Our Gospel Be Hid"
st. Paul declares that the Gospel is
hidden from some during this Age,
namely, from the perishing ones whom
Satan hath blinded and these surely
are the vast majority of the race. As
Jesus declared to His disciples, "Bless-
ed are your eyes for they see and yoUr
ears for they hear" And thus 1t has
been all down the Age for more than
eighteen centuries Only the few have
been so highly favored by birth and
environment. etc, as TO be able to see
and able to hear and appreciate the
glorious invitation Of this present time
Furthermore, Gods providence has
been exercising apparently a discriml-
nation In the sending of the Gospel
Message, 1t went not alike to all parts
Of the earth. Beginning with Israel
in Palestine 1t moved northward and
westward to Greece and to Italy, and
thus spread through and amongst the
savage tribes Of Europe, namely, to
such as had "ears to hear" the Divine
call to Jolnt-heirship with Christ In
the glorious Kingdom soon to be es-
tablished. From Europe this Message,
this knowledge, came to America; and
now, within the last century In par
ticular, 1t is reaching some of the
many millions Of India, China, Japan,
Africa, etc, but still with the same
limitations, 1t appeals only to COM
paratlvely few In any natlon-"He that
hath an ear to hear, let him hear"
mot Of Yourselves"
All, yes, we can see a force In the
Apostles words, mot Of yourselves"
It is indeed for ourselves to exercise
faith when the knowledge comes to us,
yet faith being impossible without
knowledge, we were dependent upon
God for It, How thankful we should
be, how appreclativel How sympa-
thetlc we should be toward those who
have not been so highly favored with
knowledge or whose condition has been
less favorable to the cultivation Of the
hearing ear and Of the understanding
heartl Truly God is electing and Sc
lectlng, testing and proving the mem
bers of the Church Of Christ
Another phase Of the subject well
worthy Of our notice is that our faith
is largely a matter of development;
first the seed, then the blade, then the
ear, then the ripe corn. When God
gave us the first impulse toward a
knowledge of Himself and Of His pur-
poses, that was the seed from which
faith might germinate If 1t fell into O
heart or. mind that was good soil fol
1t. And even those whose hearts are
good soil for the Message of Gods
grace and the Kingdom invitation fine
that they greatly need a certain Di
vine supervision, watch-care, in Ordel
to bring forth fruitage such as the
Lord will be pleased to accept.
What would any Of us be today
without the grace of God assisting us
in faith and in obedience2 Surely the
original faith would long since have
withered and died. We must still say,
BY the grace of God we are saved
through faith, not of ourselves. 1t is
the result Of the knowledge granted and
the Divine blessing poured upon us.
Growing In Grace, Etc.
In full line with what we have con
sidered is the Apostolic injunction that
we must continue to grow In grace
and In knowledge and In faith and In
love, and to the extent Of our ability
in obedience and good works. And
this growth in grace, this growth in
faith, signifies continued and further
growth In knowledge. For instance
the promises Of the Bible contain the
spiritual food upon which we as New
Creatures must feed in order to grow
up to the required likeness Of Christ
in order to be fitted and prepared In
character d-faith-developmen for a
place In the Kingdom.
It should not surprise us, therefore,
to find the Scriptures clearly teaching
that the Bible contains nourlshments
exactly adapted to our requirements.
st. Paul illustrates this matter by say
ing that in the beginning Of our ex-
periences we, as new born babes,
should "desire the sincere milk Of the
Word that we might grow thereby
grow in grace and in knowledge and
faith and obedience. But he admon-
ishes us also that we should not al
ways continue to be babes, feeding
upon the milk Of the Word, but that
by the use of It and the strength that
is derived we should become strong In
the Lord. become manly. attaining
unto the full stature Of manliness as
members Of the Body Of Christ. And
for this additional strength the Apos-
tie tells us that we need more than the
milk Of the Word-we need the "strong
meat" Of Gods Word. Of Gods prom.
ises. that we may grow thereby. And
again, In all this finding and using OF
the "meat in due season" we are in
debted to God.