The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-07-18

| szzW James doctrine
l----e-.S>s.- >s.--zs Of works. The
kind of faith Paul insisted upon pro-
duces the kind of works james re-
quired. However, we believe Paul re-
fers in the text to the very beginning
of faith, as when Jesus says: This
Is the work of God, that ye believe on
him whom he hath sent" (John G:2O.
How Is Soldier or Sailor Saved?
There Is great need of insisting on
the necessity of faith In Christ to the
beginning of the Christian life. Men
have always been prone to put their
own efforts In the place of Christ anu
faith in him. This temptation arises
today In n new form in the case OF our
brave soldiers and sailors. It Is easy
to believe the lie of Satan, that If they
die for their country II assures them
safe entrance into heaven. we
would not say one word which would
suggest lack of appreciation for the
heroic deeds Of our fighting men, But
II Is no kindness to delude them with
false hope, especially when n solid
hope In Christ Is offered so freely by
God II requires more than physical
death TO atone for sin. Even In the
case Of our Lord, his physical suffer
lngs on the cross, dreadful as they
we're, were not the chief element In
his atonlng work. His cry, "My God,
my God. why hast thou forsaken me"
suggests an anguish Of soul which we
cannot fathOm. Indeed, he seems 10
have experienced something of that
sense of desertlOn by God which en-
ters into the final doom OF the lost,
But now, having spoken of that
faith In Christ which begins the Chris
tlan life, Paul goes on to speak Of the
"labor of love" Love tolls on when
faith might pause.
The New Testament Hope.
Finally, he refers to the patience OF
hope;" that Is, It's endurance under
trial. Even love ceases to labor If Its
task seems endless, and here Is where
the value OF hope Is seen. Especially
does the hope of Chrlst's personal
coming inspire patience, and doubtless
It Is this hope which Is here referred
to. Indeed, Bishop MOule maintains
that wherever "hopc" Is used In the
Greek Testament with the article Gas
It Is here) II refers to "that blessed
hope" of Christ's appearing.
The apostle speaks Of the same ele-
ments Of the Christian life In the re-
naming verses of the text. For eX-
ample, he says: aye turned to God
from idols :" to turn to an unseen God
from idols, which they could see, was
n "work of faith" Then the Thessa-
! lonians began "to serve the living ana
true God" which corresponds to the
labor Of love" Finally, they learned
"to walt for his Son from heaven"
corresponding to "the patience Of
hope"
A Lack in Christians Of Today.
Converts In the present day exhibit
the first two elements, "the work OF
faith" and "the labor Of love-" but
seem deficient usually in the last ele-
ment, "the patience Of hope" We do
not deny they have hope Of future
life. but they do not usually learn "to
walt for his Son from heaven" which
was the distinctive hope of the early
church.
Our conviction In this matter Is
horne out by the testimony of n great
New Testament scholar, Prof. James
Denney of Scotland. He says: ut
(the second coming) was the great OBJ
ject of Christian hope. Christians not
only believed Christ would come
again; they not only expected him to
come: they were eager for his coming.
How long, O LordT they cried In their
distress. Come, Lord Jesus, come
quickly was their prayer" He adds
at Is n matter Of notorlety that hope
in this sense does not hold its ancient
place in the heart of the church"
Discovery Of Some Chinese Christians.
But II does not require the learning
of the scholar to see the place occu'
pled by Christ's coming in the hope OF
the early Christians. The simplest
render of the New Testament must
perceive this. A missionary from
China reported that all the native
Christians in her district were wait
ing for Gods Son from heaven. Some
one inquired who had taught them this
doctrine. "No one" she replied, "they
have the New Testament In their hands
and have seen 1t for themselves"
why has this hope been so largely
lost in the church? Several answers
might be given but one Is that there
has been msapprehension In the
whole matter. The coming of Christ
is associated in most minds with judg
ment and wrath, and we naturally DC
not dwell upon 1t rs so conceived. Bui
there is certainly something wrong
with this conception, for the New Tes
lament speaks of the appearing of the
Savior as "that blessed hope" True
Christ's comiug will bring judgment
and wrath TO his foes, but our text
tells us that Gods Son will deliver his
people from ''the wrath to come
Hence, as Philippians 3:20 puts 1t, We
.looS for the Savior" rather than the
Judge, and certainly we should be
among those who ''love his appearing