The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-09-22

SERMON BY
REV. JOHNSON
USES POLICE PARAPHERNAllA
TO ILLUSTRATE SERMON -
breaches UNITY AND CHAR.
ITY IN DEALINGS.

Without intending it, Elder John
son OF the Christian church preached
rather a sensational sermon Sunday
morning He had placed on his pull
pit revolver, sword, policeman $
billy and handouts, and with these in
plain view read for his text, > Cor
1914: For the weapons of our war
fare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of
strongholds."
The purpose of the sermon was
to show that while christianity did
not disparage the state or hinder
it in the exercise of its proper func-
tions. The church had a mission
distinct from and vastly above that
of the state. That Christ and his
apostles did not go forth with sword
and shield and spear to establish
the church, redeem society and bring
sinners home to God, but used an
armOr Of entirely different character
and dwelt upon the means and agen-
cies which God had appointed for
the conversion of sinners and the
regeneration Of society.
He affirmed that the church stood
infinitely above the state and all the
institutions of men: that while the
church might help the state indirect
ly, and did help it by improving and
elevating its citizenship, it never
had, except to its own hurt, sought
the aid of the tsate with its carnal
weapons to establish and extend
the kingdom of God in the world
But the main point in the discourse
was that the church in Ardmore
was not alive to its exalted mission,
that it had never employed to the
fullest the means, agencies and op.
portunities which God had given it,
for the regeneration of our commun-
ity. 1--WE have hired professional
evangelists 10 do the work for us"
said Rev. Johnson, "and in the main
contented ourselves with paying their
salaries, singing when the spirit
moved us and with folded arms
watching and admiring the skill with
which they preached the gospel and
manipulated their recruiting machin
cry.
1--WE have never tried out the di
vine plan of personal evangelism. A
few have been enlisted in personal
work, but our forces are largely
latent -
"If all the clean, strong men of our
churches could go to some of those
men who are in a bad business, not
with policemen, not with guns and
handouts and threat of prosecution,
but with tears in their eyes and
with love in their hearts, and could
plead with them earnestly, prayerful-
ly and persistently to be the kind OF
men they are capable of being, the
kind God wants them to be, to get
into better business, promising them
encouragement, patronage, and, if
need be, financial help. many Of
them could be led to better lives,
their talents and capabilities made
useful instead of detrimental, to So
ciety
Some of these men are not wholly
hardened. They love their families,
they have good impulses and are
still responsible to the right kind of
appeal.
Whatever the state may do, the
church can not use the shotgun pol
icy. Have we as churches exhausted
our resources?
do we still believe that the gospel
is the power of God unto salvation
and that the weapons of our war
fare, though not carnal, are never
theless mighty through God to the
pulling down of strongholds."
Rev. Johnson's sermon was not
written and We were unable to get
anything but an outline of it. He
declined to write it out for publica-
tion as it would lose half its force
by being separated from its sur
roundings and from the object les
sons used in connection Herewith.