Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-08

carried on to this day. now reachins
you and me. 1t rs our duty to carry
on, that we might season and keer
the world from rotting in its corrup-
ton.
Grave Danger of Loss
But if the salt have lost his SAVIOR.
There is a grave possibility Of the
salt losing its " That point to
us is the point of Christians losing
their penetrating pungency; their pow
er lover sin and all that distinguishes
them from the men whom they are to
better. / know that there are men
and women in every communion who
are laboring to keep themselves I'M
spotted from the world. but / know,
too. that from the condition of the
world about us. there are men apd
women in every communion whose reli-
giOn has next to no influence on their
conduct and does not even keep them
from corruption, let alone making them
purifying influences. Again. there can
be no doubt that all around and even
shared by us is the cold fervor in
Christian devotion. There is a dis
tinct loss of heat. There are some
among us who have had a far more
vigorous Christian life than We have
toduy VINO were lar mOTt dlIdIue VIII
the love of God than we are now.
There is not reason for this except
the decrease. with age, of emotion
and the inclination toward principle.
Thus we plan and say a lot of things
that we don't do. The fact is that
We are permeated with the things of
the world and. as Christ puts it. The
salt has lost its savor.' In many hearts
r. rnfopcpu 70 ia (brcAo, &hara ~
the blood of prejudice in currents so
strong that the principle of Christian
love is stifled and drowned. In many
a court the judge has melted out an
unfair decision to a man because of
the color of his skin. but the judge
occupied the deacon's chair just the
same. From many pulpits the gospel
of love is preached and yet the preach
er. sorry to say. would not care to be
seen talking to his apparently inferior
brother or walking by the side of one
whose skin is of a different hue. Why
these things? answer, why the few
err conversions today? The salt has
lost it's SAVIOR. The very influences
to whom men look for guidance are
so mixed up with the world that it has
lost its converting power.
Can Regain Influence
'Wherewithal shall it be salted?' If
the Christian loses his influence to
whom then must WI look for a season
ing of right? If the church is meant
for the purifying of the world and the
church itself needs purifying, is there
any other power in the world that will
do ita If the one thing that is in
to preserve the meat loses its
power is there any other agency that
will save that thing? We would say
no if we simply looked about for a
material aid. But Christ never in
tended to create a state of despond-
ency among His disciples by saying
that if a man loses the influence of his
Christian life; if the salt has lost its
SAVIOR that he cannot win it back.
We can win it back by going again
to the power and source from which
received it at first. There is no
in the way of the penitent
returning to the fountain of all power
and purity, nor of the full restoration
Of the lost SAVIOR if he will give himself
wholly unto the will of God. the source
Of the SAVIOR. Years after this sermon
was preached by Jesus Christ, Peter
in the hall of Christ's Judgment
and denied Him to men. but seeing
his mistake and the loss that he would
inevitably sustain, he let his fear be
buried with the crucified Christ and
Him in the newness of life on
the resurrection day. Judas became n
veakling to the influence of men that
might be shown how the salt can
be made to lose it's SAVIOR and his was |
The end of all s~altless salt. To be
under the feet Of men,
Friends, if We have failed in doing the
very thing for which we were saved to
10. we have failed altogether. Unless !
we get back close to God we will get
and further away from Him. |
he corruption will deepen. our cold |
aess will become colder, we will lose
more and more of our influence and
show Il less likeness and purity of
Christ until we are dead. spirit