The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1915-07-30

highway gathering. by IHlS is Heah'
che preaching of the gospel, not mere
ly by the ordained ministry, but by
laymen as we'll, who know by expert
ence the redemption which is In Christ
Jesus our Lord.
These beautiful summer days and
evenings afford unusual opportunity
for this in the utilizing of our parks,
and vacant lots, and church steps and
street corners for reaching multitudes
with the bread of life. The prophets
of the Old Testament were open-air
preachers. Jesus Christ and his apos-
ties were open-air preachers. Some
of the greatest evangelists in all
the days were open-air preachers.
How could Whitefield and the
Wesleys have reached the masses
when church doors were closed against
them, unless they had taken to the
open air? What an open-air preacher
was Gen. William Booth! Today many
of the ablest Christian laymen OF
Great Britain, as well as the clergy,
are found standing on improvised plat
forms at the street corners telling out
the gospel of salvation, and urging
their fellow men to accept the offer Of
atonement through Jesus Christ.
l. This is enjoined upon you, Chris
tian brethren, as duty to God and to
your neighbor. Remember the words,
go ye into all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature;" "Ye
shall be witnesses unto me-" These
commands are. not to ecclesiastics
merely but to all the disciples of
Christ. And then what shall we say
of the command, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself?" Have we ever
felt, or shown, that love until we have
actively interested ourselves in the
salvation of our neighbor? To feed
him when he is hungry, or clothe him
when he is naked, or visit him in sick
ness, or comfort him in his aff1iction is
not enough, except as we try to save
him for eternity.
g 1t is enjoined upon you as per-
sonal advantage in the sense of devel-
opment and in sense of reward. If we
want to grow in the spiritual life we
want to exercise ourselves in its min
istry If we would know more of the
love and the power of God towards
ourselves, we must experiment with
what we now have in dealing with
others. In this, as in that which is
more material, the principle holds
good, "Give and it shall be given unto
YOU" And then what about our re-
ward in the future as well as in the
present? At the final reckoning of re-
deemed souls the same rank and glory
will not be given to the indolent and
unfruitful as to the earnest and self
denying. The same Scripture which
says in one place, Look unto me and
be We saved" says in another Look
unto yourselves that ye receive full
reward!" They who turn many to
righteousness shall shine as the stars
forever and ever"
5. 1t is enjoined upon you as po-
litical necessity. This may be regard
ed as the weakest and most selfish of
the arguments, and for that reason
should have come first rather than
last, but there are special reasons for
stating it at the last. What political
and social problems are pressing upon
the attention of thoughtful citizens,
and especially Christian citizens, at
this time! In all our great cities the
needy classes are multiplying every
year, and with them those who repre-
sent the ignorance, immortality and
crime of all great populations. The
conflict between capital and labor, and
employers and employees, is losing
none of its intensity, now rumbling
ominously like some far-off earth
quake, and now breaking out into the
volcanic eruption of the disastrous
strike" At the other extremity look
at the luxury and extravaganza, the
heartless worldliness and the grasping
selfishness of many of the so-called
upper classes" Ad then the strain
of these days in maintaining a strict
neutrality with reference to the awful
European war.
These things threaten the life of our
nation, the peace and prosperity OF
our homes, and are a startling chal-
lenge to the Christian church. We
must go forth on new crusade. We
must go out into the highways and
gather together all, as many as we find
both bad and good. We must give our
selves enthusiastically to the work by
prayer, by money, by personal en-
deavor. The Gospel is the only rem
edy that can meet these evils for all
are symptoms of common disease,
and that is sin. What can eradicate it
save the washing of regeneration and
the renewing of the Holy Ghost?
Other agencies have only skinned and
filmed the ulcerous sore" and left the
constitutional, ailment to break out in
another place. Nothing can purify So
ciety but that which purifies the indi-
vidual heart. and nothing can do that
but the cleansing blood of Jesus ap
piled by faith in his precious name.