The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1916-11-30

hinges on what James means by "re-
llgion." The word he uses is really
equivalent to worship. AS Coleridge
says: ''The outward service of nm
cient religion, the rites. ceremonies,
and ceremonial vestments of the law,
had morality for their substance. They
were the letter of which morality was
the spirit; the enigma Of which NOR
ality was the meaning. But morality
itself is the service and ceremonial Of
the Christian religion" james is not
to be understood as putting the out
ward aspect Of The divine life against
lis inward aspect. To make him say
that benevolence and personal purity
are religion, In the present-day sense
of the word, would be like saying that
n mothers love Is washing and feed
ing her child These deeds are only
the fruit Of her love, just as the ire
llgiOn" Of the text is the fruit Of re-
llgion In the soul. And while james
states that true worship consists In
benevOlence and purity, he would not
discourage the worship Of the sane.
tuary; only, he would insist that what
we do outside the sanctuary is tho
actual test Of us.
The men who especially appeal to
this age are such as Chinese Cor
don, the Soldier saint" who put dowD
the TAPPING rebellion, saving thou
sands Of lives; who opposed slavery
In the Sudan, gave TO the fatherless
and widows all he had, and died a
martyr of Khartum; yet he was a
member of no church, but communed
as opportunity served in Greek and
Roman Catholic churches; moreover.
did not accept the orthodox view as
to future punishment. Or, such men
as the seventh earl of Shaftesbury,
who cared for the interests of factory
hands, chimney sweeps, cOstermOngers
and the imbecile; Doctor Barnardo. the
builder of homes for the waits of Lon
don; or Doctor Grenfell. working
among the deep-sea fishermen of Lab
radOr, spending himself to relieve
their sufferlngs, opening hospitals, CO.
operative stores and other agencies
for good.
Relation to Others.
These men really "vlsited" the IA
therless and the widows In their af-
Fiction, caring for them personally.
Gordon taught the ragged schools and
was not content till he had placed
the boys where they might hope for
success In life; many were sent to
sea and he had chart on his wall
stuck with pins, showing where the
vessels containing his "kings" were
He would sit down at the bedside of
old women In the almshOuse and read to
them. The earl Of Shaftesbury would
take lantern of nights and seek out
the lowly on London bridge to help
them.
Relation to Self.
Our text also requires that one be
"unspotted from the world" Dean AL
ford defines the world MS "the whole
earthly creation, separated from God
and lying in sin, which, whether as
consisting in the men who serve 1t, or
the entlcements which it holds out to
evil lusts, is to Christians a source of
continual deilement." 1t Is human
society in its ungodly bias. To refer
to Gordon alone, he refused honors
from the Chinese government because
It had broken faith with rebels In the
TAPPING rebellion. numbering some
who had been promised immunity. An
African boy said Gordon could see In
the dark because he had the light In
him.
Relation to God.
Moreover, all this service must be
done as "before our God and Father"
1t must please him, and 1t is not strict
ly true to say the service of humanity
Is the service of God, for 1t Is not al
ways so. "This Is the work OF God
that ye believe on him whom he hath
sent" The first requirement for serv-
ice is life; "ye must be born again"
Even the deacOns who served tables
In the New Testament must be men
"full Of the Holy Ghost"
We are nor disturbed by Gordon's
Views on church fellowship and fu-
ture punishment, for he was not lnfal-
llble. We are more interested to
learn that, as result of his early
training, the divine life came into his
soul while he WIS In China. The earl
of Shaftesbury was deeply devoted
evangelical Christian. Doctor Bar
nardo was fruit of the revival
in Ireland in 1S59-1S6l, and cared for
the souls of the waits of London as
well as for their bodies. Doctor Gren-
fell traces all the good In his life to
n. L. Moody and especially to serv-
ice he attended where he found q faith
and reality which he coveted and at
last obtained. He says II am brick
In the superstructure which has grown
up through Mr.. Moody on the founda.
ton of Jesus Christ, and am out In
Labrador working" While giving
praise even to humanitarian work con-
Quoted without reference to the Cos
pei, he says. II can only say still, !
have found faith In Jesus Christ ms
Son Of God makes men do that which
nothing else did. and bear and suffer
with equanimity that which nothing
else would