Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1919-03-13
REV. j. A. PINE EXPLAINS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF CHRIST
IAN PEOPLE
MANY QUESTIONS ARE ASKED
Followers of christ Must Become Lead
ers in All Vital Interests, Says
Preacher

BY Rev. j. A. Pine
In these days of unrest and change,
one of the topics of national vital in
terest is the church. What shall the
churches be and do in the future9
The world is recognizing, as never be-
fore, perhaps the essential and vital
function of the church as a bulwark
of the moral and righteous life of the
nation. The working ideals of our lib
critics, our democracy, and our peace
must be interpreted by the Teacher
of Christianity. But Christianity IL
self will always be interpreted by the
lives of its adherents. The church is
as strong or as weak as the humanity
that constitutes it.. If Jesus, the
Christ, is to be the leader of the world
in the twentieth century, He must
have the supreme control of the lives
of the members of His body, the
of the members of His body, the
will pass muster in this matter In
the days that are coming, the man or
woman who is not willing to accept
the responsibilities and conclusions of
the Christian faith in his life viii be
counted against Christ, whether he be
churchmember or not. He will be
branded the thief of slackers, who
believes the teachings of Christ and
the Bible, and yet is unwilling, for
any reason, to put them to practice.
Questions Asked of Church
Today the world, Christian and pag-
an, is turning to the church in ques-
tioning attitude Her best friends are
in deep solicitude whether the church
OF Christ possesses the strength !of
faith, and courage of conviction, the
unselfshIess of service, the unity
necessary to speak out the great NOR
al, industrial and political issues of
the day. Will she undertake the re-
sponsibilities Of leadership in all the
vital interests of our time? In other
words, the followers of Christ must
go over the top" in the battle o.
church shall forget her divinely APP
pointed tasks in the salvation of souls
and the building of individual Christ
ian character, but the Interpretation
of these in all vital elements of every
day life. The church has no temporal,
political rights or privileges of any
rights. The most dangerous and re-
pulsive of all evils, both for the, state
and the church, herself, would be the
assumption of anything of that kind.
But the church does have the right to
the moral leadership of the world.
She does have the right to speak out
her declarations of what is right and
Christian in all the political, social
and industrial questions and interests
of the time. If the followers of
Christ are doing the things He tells
them to do, they viii be inevitably ex-
pressing their Christian standards Of
and human sympathy in
business and industrial laws and III
social and political reforms.
Must Speak in Unison
But if the church expects to be
heard in the great issues that stir the
passions of men, she must speak out
with one voice. Through jangling,
and nnholy divisions of
UNCONVENTIONAL partisan church life,
the church of Christ has lost her pow
er to speak to the needs of the world.
Standards of Christian life have been
lowered; in many quarters men have
turned in disgust and contempt from
her; the very sincerity of the claims
of the church is doubted; and doubt
as to the truth of Christianity is found
everywhere. In this Christian era
men and women have betrayed their
Lord. Issues of secondary, or scarce
Iy no Importance, have been raised IN
The church False issues have received
Continued on Page 81