News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-02-01

! power for TINS task of witnessing
| came from the amounting of the Holy
| Spirit which made the witnesses or
Christ ready to suffer even unto death.
They became a band of holy and wise
| propagandists. Even of the rank and
file it is written that they went
everywhere, preaching the Word" In
| this way, the early Christian church
grew rapidly.
Rev. Ernest Hall of Korea writes
that the secret Of the rapid growth
of the church there is the same as in
the apostolic days, the power Of the
Holy Spirit in the witnessing of dis
ciples by life and lips-and the scatter
ing of Christians everywhere to plant
the gospel seed in other hearts. Mr..
Hall says: 1.-THE Koreans are taught
that every Christian must become
witness to his or her own people. At
any cost the story of Christ's love must
be told to those who have never heard
it. When a man asks for admission
to the church, he is asked if he has
done this, and If not, is kept waiting
until he can give evidence Of the
vitality of his Christianity"
From this principle there has been
a woeful departure. The church is liv-
ing on "easy street." saying: II am rich
and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing" Oh, for a voice in
the wilderness, a voice loud and clear,
authoritative and compelling, a propa-
gandist for the cross in the fulness
of its symbolism and significance. OF
course such an one would be regarded
as fanatic, but as one of our editors
recently remarked: "All the ages were
born of fanatics. History is a stag
nation in politics and religion, until
the fanatic comes and stirs the slug"
gish waters" Europe lay in the sleep
of death relgiously until three or four
fanatics in the persons of Huss, Luther,
Zwingli and Calvin came along. These
were all fanatics of the deepest dye.
They were all "crazy" to their COM
temporaries. Epithets such as
"frenzied" dangerous men," were
constantly applied to them. Luther
was referred to as that mad friar";
and that mad priest" Italy had stood
in complete indifference to religion
until the fanatic Savonarola arose. He
was called mad because he disturbed
the established order of things. In
the religious history of England, the
great revivals came only when the
fanatics like Wycliffe and Wesley and
Whitfield appeared; and in our OVID
land, there were those who called
Dwight L. Moody fanatic. We are so
afraid of fanaticism, that even holy
and proper enthusiasm is often decried
and discounted, but without this en-
thusiasm there can be no progressive
and aggressive propaganda for Christ.
All followers of Christ need the
martyr spirit, which characterized the
Christians of the early church, so that
the commission of Christ to witness
for Him may be speedily fulfilled.
There are various ways in which this
can be done. Some can do 1t through
lives that illustrate the redeeming
power of Gods grace, by holy lives
that point directly to Him and are
with His spirit and patience.
Others may witness through an I'M
faltering testimony without apology or
sense of shame.
Personal soul winning may also be
considered as another form of service
requiring the martyr spirit A Korean
Christian in Seoul was cast into prison
because his son had committed an of
Tense. He was put into a cell along
with eighteen criminals, and kept there
for five months without opportunity
TO clear himself When he came out
at the end of five months, the eighteen
criminals were eighteen Christians
This remarkable instance of devotion
related by Dr. Heber Jones, one of the
first missionaries 10 Korea, was given
not as n solitary and extraordinary
specimen, but as a type of Korean
Christianity.
Christian effort and enterprise also
all for this same holy enthusiasm
md spirit of the martyr. Without IL
here cannot be the initiative and
laring that mark the apostolic period
ind which Is sOrely needed now.