The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1950-03-23

MS plan was as
ambitious as If a
modern evangelist
would write to some
church in India: II W. fireman
aim to visit Iceland and Japan,
and call OIL you on the way out"
Bond Voyage
OAUL EXPECTED to 60 to Rome
free man. his ticket $50 to
speak, reading on through Spain.
Actually that was the end of his
run, He went there under military
guard, prisoner under sentence
The story is all there in Acts, how
first he was jailed for protection
from blood-hungry mob, then
kept in jail on general principles
(Which is to say, the governor kept
hoping he would pay well for an
acquittaD. and finally appealed to
Rome. the highest court Of the
empire. Appeals were expensive
and slow. then as now.
But Paul must have come to
look at his imprisonment, false
as It was. as q heaven-sent OPP
portunity to make that journey
TO Rome. II was . gilt-edged
accident insurance. Free, he
might never escape the plot
tiers and reach Rome alive.
Chained, the efficient Roman
army would see that he ar
rtved-and he did.
Four pairs Of eyes were on him
night and day. No plotter could
stick him with 4 dagger or shove
him overheard. Scatter some
! -ir-breadth escapes to be sure
he was delivered safe and sound
In the very city Of WHICH he had
been dreaming all these years.
The Church 1t the Hub
OF the World
THERE is NOTHING At al in
= the New Testament to indicate
that the church At Rome was con-
sidered, by Paul or any one else.
as The Church. or the Mother
Church There is no claim that Il
was founded by St. Paul. still less
by st. Peter.
1t grew, as other churches grew.
by infiltration Christians who
moved to the big city would get
together. and there the church
would be- Yet. of course. he Ro-
man church was important.
It was important because II
was at the hub Of the civilized
world. Paul did not seem to
mind II in the least. that ne
could work only inside his
prison, or confined 10 quar-
ters."
Writing from MS jail cell to the
Philippians. he mentions converts
from the army and from the i'm
perial slaves Caesars house.
hold" in Phil 4:22 does not refer
to the Emperor's family. but to
the rctinue Of palace slaves.) We
know from the letter to Philemon
that Paul converted at least one
jailbirda named Onesirnus.
The True Church Is A
Marching Church
DAUL KNEW that . soul u
. soul. sitting In the emperor's
chair or waiting at the emperor's
table. God is no respecter Of per.
sons. But he also knew that these
Christian soldiers would not al
ways stay in Rome: that even
Christian slaves would be sold
down the river; that the restless
feet which brought their owners
to Rome would take them away
again. Great cities are like that.
Putting down Christia nifty in
Rome was not like putting .
single seed Into . sheltered
corner u the garden. h was
hke scattering . handful u 4
- ~ breeze, - - carries
faT and vide. Paul's vislon =
stln tie visien - Tie church
g ~ best. IAs true church
marches sn. alsng ~ high
reads s1A byrsaAs u H.
vsr1A
We shall never b. content With
Q MARROW. sheltered Christianity.
We cannot be satisfied with half
world religion. Only world Chris
naniiv matches the grandeur q The
New Testament ideal.
Mr.. and Mrs. W. A. Henley
visited in Lexington Sunday af-
ternoon.