Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-22
NICHOLSON REBUKES
CHURCH MEMBERS FOR
HYPOCRTTTCAL WAYS
angelist Lashes Christians
Wanting in Spiritual Clean
liness at Darby
Meeting
Top WORK TO BEGIN

singing words Of rebuke were hurled
% the faces Of hypocritieal church mem.
Of Darby and neighborlng towns
e. afternoon by Evangelist William p.
ehoison in the Darby tabernacle, when
preached his first weekday afternoon
rinon. He may have struck home with
rapid.ilre assault on sin and the devil
side the church, but IL he did, the church
embers were not eager TO make it known.
It then his quick, Irish wit and amusing
Srases were intermingled with his serious
inbardment of their shortcomings and
tat probably helped to keep them in n
,od humor At any rate they laughed
I'd applauded heartily even though his
rusts at their hypocrisy were far from
,mpIlmentary.
card playing, "long tongue" gosslping
rashy novels and the substitution Of rit-
lai or as he put it "formality" for spirit.
tfalp in worshiping, in the churches, all
came in for their share OF the assault.
Doctor Nicholson preached on 1.-THE
'hristian Life-Empty," and asserted that
he one great reason why there has been
% lIblB OIL lllt ItNlNdl SDlliN ia ia'h'AS
,hurches and the reason why the saloon
and sin had been permitted to exist near
the churches was because worldly pleas
Tres and devils food" have been crowd
ing into the lives of church members.
HIS TEXT FROM HOSEA.
His text was Hosea X, /, "Israel is an
Empty Vine. He Bringith Forth Fruit
Unto Himself"
''when we speak of life being empty"
he said, 1--WE do not mean that there is
nothing in that life. In n very real sense
life cannot be empty. We cannot live
in vacuum. What we mean is that many
life is. filled with that which was never
Intended to fill 1t, and in that sense is
empty There are many Christians to-
day who, in that sense, are living empty
Christian lives. They are filled with
everything excepting those things they
were intended to be filed with. Let us
consider some of the things Christians
are commonly filled with"
At this point Doctor Nicholson began
his TRADE against the worldly pleasures
that are crowdng out the spiritual from
the lives of the men and women who
should be shining examples for the un-
saved to follow.
some are filed with worldly pleas
ures." he shouted. "They have no place
or time for the things Of the Lord. Their
whole life is taken up with worldly pleas
ure. and they have no room for the very
things they were saved to be filled with
Theatres and card parties and social func-
tions engage all their time, and the Lord
has such a small place in their lives. 9th
ers are filed with selfishness They have
no time for anything else, and the whole
philosophy of their life is What shall I
eat; what shall I drink, and wherewithal
shall be clothed?' Others are filed with
sin. They know more about sin than p'about
the Lords power to save from sin. They
never get rid of it or overcome II. Others
are flied with unrenewed dispositions,
such as bitterness, hatred and jealousy.
Others are filed with business and the
malSing-of money, not that the Lord makes
a, man any the less a good and diligent
business man, but he is not to be filled
with it."
CARES AND WORRIES.
The evangelist then proceeded to point
out some more things that fill the lives of
many church members and crowd out the
desire to live the real Christian life and to
help win men from sin. Among those he
mentioned were cares and worries, sorrow,
philanthropy temperance, intemperance,
politics, self-development, self-control and
self-conquest.
The preacher blamed this condition en-
tirely on imperfect surrender, deficient
faith and the neglected communion. And
he insisted that. If Darby Is to have n sue
cessful campaign and many persons are
TO be led through the sawdust trails and
away from sin, booze and the paths of the
devil the church men and women must
themselves be revived
Loud amens were heard in all parts of
the tabernacle and many persons gave
assurance that they would pray harder
and try to live nearer to the Master and
become faithful personal workers to help
the evangelist to lead hundreds to the
glory rows"