The Pleasantville press., 1912-12-25


t(PASTOR RUSSE[Dl foolish preaching
- and 1.-The foolish
ness of preaching which our text de-
clares is of Divine arrangement The
many topics of interest and profit to
humanity all have 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.
a. The Church lost the real Gospel
during the Dark Ages. and few Chris
tian people have yet recovered it. The
word Gospel, as all agree. signifies
good tidings. 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 our race Is it
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.
(2l Responding to the growing senti-
ment of intelligence the ministers of
the various denominations of Christen-
dom have ceased to preach bad tdings
of great misery for all but 1.-The 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
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 church, osten-
sibly as 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 unpreached
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 preaching?
(3) 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
ity. 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. de elves himself
He who thinks that such messages will
have sanctifyingpower in the hearts 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 gos
pels deny that man ever fell from the
likeness of God. and equally deny
therefore that he needed Redeemer
and that be has 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
md 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 tidings
Of great joy. which shall be unto all
people" contains not a single word re
specting an eternity of torture at the
hands Of fire-proof demons It contains
not single word which would dis
credit the Wisdom. Justice and Love
of the Father above. whose tender mer
cies are over all His works and whose
salvation is yet to be extended to the
ends Of the earth.
The True Gospel, acknowledging that
humanity has come justly under pen
atty or curse of death, sets before the
groauing creation glorious hope 1t
prcsAaims, as Jesus did, that the tine
Is coming when the curse shall be re-