Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1912-07-11

to Damascus. When God drew aside
the veil which hides the earthly from
the heavenly. and gave him glimpse
of the risen and glorified Jesus. he
learned more theology In one moment
than In all the years he had spent at
the feet of Gamaliel. That little reve-
lation of Jesus wrought a revolution In
Saul. That Ia what revelations are
for. AS soon as he became acquaint-
ed with Jesus he felt that every one
else ought to know him. That price
less knowledge was a sacred trust,
and he was a debtor to every one who
knew him not.
Revelation Works a Revolution.
Something of the same kind occurs
at every true conversion. We realize
that our relation to this world has
changed almost as much as our rela-
ton to God. This is lost world, and
while we are still In 1t, we are no
longer Of It. We belong TO the life
saving service, and II is our business
to help seek and save the lost. And
so as we go through life We no longer
ask, How much can we get out OF
this world?" but rather, How much
can we put into it?" And with Jesus
Christ to draw upon, every one OF us
has more to give to the world than
the world wide world has to give to
us. "Im a child of the king, I'm a
child Of the king" The obligation to
serve our day and generation Is
threefold one. 1t arises from the
commands of the Lord Jesus. No
one can read the New Testament
without noticing that he expects ev-
cry one of his followers to become
soul-winner He taught the world
thirty years by example and three
years by precept. Then, at the close
Of his earthly career he uttered one
command, GO We into all the world,
and preach the Gospel to every crea-
ture." That command remains In
force to this day.
One sinner thinks that he Is not
very bad, another is afraid that he
cannot hold out, while others have
doctrinal difficulties of various kinds
And what is worse still, most of them
are not quite ready TO do their duty
when they see II without more or less
persuasion.
The changed religious conditions
require it. Formerly 1t was custom
airy for people TO attend church.
Indeed, one was hardly counted re-
spectable unless he did. That day
has gone by. The world no longer
comes to the church for the Gospel.
The majority of the people today do
not attend church. One reason for
this is the strenuous life which many
lead. They work so hard through
the week that they consume seven
days strength In six days time.
When Sunday comes they are so ex-
hausted that they think they cannot
attend church. In many churches
also the Gospel Is no longer preached,
but only a cheap substitute for II.
Could Jesus Enter the Average
Church?
II Is said that a poor man once APP
piled for admission to wealthy
that he would add nothing to their
financial strength or social standing,
and recommended that he walt
while. To their surprise he soon APP
peared again. At loss what to say,
one OF them suggested that he talk
with the Lord about the matter. The
man meekly consented and went
Tn, he hn
before the committee again. They
were now at their Wits end, but. de-
termined to contest every step Of the
way, they inquired, Brother, did you
talk with the Lord about this mat
ter" did" And what did he
say" "He told me not to get dis
couraged, but to be as patient as I
could He said he had been trying to
get into this church himself ever
since 1t was organized. but that he
had not succeeded yet" This story
may seem little exaggerated, but 1t
is to be feared that there are not a
few churches where such an inter-
view might occur.
For these and other reasons a large
part of every community practically
ignores the church. This being the
case, there is only one alternative;
the church must carry the Gospel to
the world, for the Gospel they must
have. But who Is to do IL? The lay.
men and women. They know the
people, they meet them In the shops.
and stores, and on the street. They
4 l.
minister cannot. This Is the New
Testament idea. "To every man his
work"