The Washington herald., 1918-02-03

Moody, the shoe clerk. to become the
greatest evangelist of the past CEN
tury. He caused two continents to
consider things spiritual.
From the ranks OF professional base
ball God brought forth a man in the
person of William A. Sunday. who
has preached to more people and
brought more souls to Christ than any
other man in all the history of Chris
tianity. Often from the weak thinks
of this world God calls forth those
who are to become a mighty power in
his kingdom. Thus Amos was called
to prophesy a famine in the land. Not
famine of bread. which was very
common in that country, but one
even greater. "a famine of Gods
Word" Failing to SOW good seed will
bring forth a famine of material
things and failing to preach and fail
ing to teach the pure word OF God
will bring forth a famine of spiritual
things. Some think upon such a period
we are now entering and there are
some reason for so thinking. A great
many teachers and preachers have
taken the vitality and life out of the
word of God.
tionalism that has led that nation into
the rankest OF materialism and inf
deity. there are those in America who
would do away with the truth and au-
thority of Gods message to men. II
there is no higher authority than that
OF man then man becomes an author
ity unto himself and may enter upon
a world conquest for power and
possession with impunity. This famine
OF the divine authoritative power of
the word in Germany has been a vital
cause of the present world conflict.
II America shall lose the power OF
Gods word. we may expect the same
influence and principle to soon obtain
here. If the Bible is not the word OF
God with authority and power there
is no use to study that book
Well may the gymnasium take the
place of the Sunday-school and the
swimming pool of salvation. It seems
often that this doubt and disloyalty
to the word is growing in our land.
We have had a recent illustration of
this in our own city, the Capital of
our nation, when an order was given
to close two-thirds of all our churches
and Bible schools on the Lords Day
when the theaters and moving-pic-
ture shows were allowed to run wide
open on that day that should be a day
kept sacred unto the Lord. The
churches were not to be allowed to
remain open a few hours on one day
of the week to teach the children and
grown people the divine word of God,
but the places of amusement. many
Of them showing pictures and putting
on programs that would be disgrace
full on any day, were open on the
/ Lords Day and five other days each
week.
Have we come to a time when there
is to be a famine of the Word of God?
Is it true that during these days of
awful stress and unrest when the cas-
ualty lists are beginning to come from
the battlefields across the sea that it
is more important that the people
should be amused than taught the
word of God? Is the playhouse more
necessary than the house Of prayer?
VIII the Gayety burlesque and other
shows be more helpful to the sorrow
ing hearts of mothers and fathers
whose sons are dying upon the field
of battle and in the hospitals of a
foreign land than the consolation of
Gods word and prayer? The divine
worn IedcneS the Il tatnernOO0 OF GOQ,
the redeeming love of our Saviour;
the vital communion of the soul with
a Supreme Being. God is not merely
a principle, an influence, but a living.
loving personality. The Bible is not
book of doubtful history and au-
thority. It does not teach only a set
of rules OF ethical culture, but a pow
er from above to give life and light
to lost souls. Atonement, salvation.
conversion, resurrection. life eternal
and the great doctrines of life are the
fundamentals of that message. When
these are neglected there will GER
tainly be a famine Of the word of
God.
The Church of Christ today must
stand for salvation from sin and
death. The people want the pure
gospel. Nothing else will take its
place. Moving pictures, opera sing
ing, rhetorical lectures are but poor
substitutes for the crying soul need OF
these days of sadness and gloom.
Amusement is a poor substitute for
the soul anguish of a heart broken
and bleeding by the loss of a loved
one on far away fields of battle. The
lusts of this world cannot satisfy the
soul OF man A starving man cannot
be fed with the clay of the earth,
neither can a famishing soul be satis-
fed by material things.