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 Copyright ]\^° 
 
 COHfRIGHT DEPOSm 
 
THE CHRIST OF 
 THE CHURCH 
 
 Sermons, Lectures and 
 Illustrations 
 
 BY 
 
 J. V. COOMBS 
 
 u 
 Author of "Religious Delusions/' "Campaigning for Christ/' 
 "Christian Evangelism/' "Normal Elocution/' etc. 
 
 Cincinnati 
 
 The Standard Publishing Company 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1916 
 THE STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 / 
 
 ^K^"" 
 
 / 
 
 FEB 16 1318 
 
 V- 
 
 iGI,A420817 
 
 7pp J. 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 TTfO the fifteen thousand Christians that' 
 I have enlisted under the banner of 
 Christ this volume is affectionately dedi- 
 cated as a token of love and fellowship. 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 7 
 
 I. 
 The Christ of the Church , 9 
 
 II. 
 Why the Jews Rejected Jesus 35 
 
 III. 
 Rightly Dividing the Word 51 
 
 IV. 
 What Think Ye of Christ? 58 
 
 V, 
 Moral Law and Positive Divine Law 68 
 
 VI. 
 
 The Basis of Christian Unity 74 
 
 VII. 
 Service 95 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Gorgeousness in Worship 101 
 
 IX. 
 Christian Baptism 109 
 
 X. 
 
 All Authority is Given unto Jesus 137 
 
 5 
 
6 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XI. 
 What Must the Sinner Do to be Saved? 147 
 
 XII. 
 The Dangers of Revivalism 153 
 
 XIIL 
 The Last Salute on Evangelism 160 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Troubles, Real and Imaginary — A Lecture. . . 168 
 
 XV. 
 Lecture to Men 177 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Christ in the Home — A Lecture. 190 
 
 XVIL 
 Our Plea 200 
 
 XVIIL 
 Faith and Opinion. 213 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Fragments 216 
 
 Vacant-lot Evangelism. 216 
 
 Proof Furnished Proved 219 
 
 The Circle Sermon 225 
 
 The Interpolation Fallacy 228 
 
 We Must Go Where the Denominations 
 
 are Thickest 231 
 
 XX. 
 
 Illustrations and Sayings 234 
 
PREFACE 
 
 I have spoken in every State and Territory 
 in the Union, and preached about nine thousand 
 sermons. In addition to my regular evangelis- 
 tic work, I have delivered nearly one thousand 
 lectures, public addresses and Commencement 
 orations. About fifteen thousand people have 
 been added to the church under my ministry. 
 Many of these people, the best friends I have 
 on earth, have urged me to give to the public 
 a book of sermons and lectures. 
 
 I have granted their request, and here offer 
 this book of sermons, lectures anl illustrations. 
 Through this book I hope to renew my com- 
 panionship with those who are dear to me. 
 
 J. V. Coombs. 
 
I. 
 
 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for 
 it."— Eph. 5 : 25. 
 
 "Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house." 
 —1 Pet. 2 : 5. 
 
 The man of Tarsus, breathing threatening 
 and slaughter, was on his way to Damascus, 
 when Jesus appeared unto him and said, '*Why 
 do you persecute me?'' '*Who are you?'' was 
 the reply. **I am Jesus, whom you persecute." 
 Paul was startled. When had he persecuted 
 Jesus? To his wonder and amazement, he 
 realized that Jesus is living and is identified 
 with the church, and that to persecute the 
 church is to persecute the Christ of the church. 
 
 From that time until his death he had but 
 two themes, the church, and the Christ of the 
 church. He ransacked his vocabulary of words 
 to find figures to exalt, adorn and beautify the 
 church. In his most matchless flights of 
 oratory, his theme was the church. He saw 
 the church as the household of God, the whole 
 family in heaven and earth, the temple of God, 
 the body of Christ, the pillar of truth, and last 
 the loving bride of the Redeemer. 
 
10 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 It dawned upon him that to ignore the 
 church is to ignore the Christ of the church, 
 and to persecute the church is to persecute the 
 Christ. Happy are we if we see these great 
 truths as Paul saw them. I have no sympathy 
 with the sentiment that applauds the name of 
 Christ and hisses the church. To hiss the 
 church is to hiss the Christ of the church. 
 Neither do I have any patience with that other 
 sentiment that is often manifested in some of 
 our union revivals, that a man can be a Chris- 
 tian and not in the church. It is nothing un- 
 usual to hear men say, *'0h, yes, I am a Chris- 
 tian, but not a member of the church.'' That 
 is false; every Christian on earth is in the 
 church. To be a Christian is to be in the 
 body of Christ, the church. To ignore the 
 church is to ignore the Christ of the church, 
 to neglect the church is to neglect Christ, 
 and to be out of the church is to be out of 
 Christ. 
 
 The church is a divine institution, perfect 
 and above criticism. The church includes all 
 who are followers of Christ, and excludes all 
 who are not. The word ^^church,'' in the New 
 Testament, refers to all believers in Christ. 
 Until Paul came exalting the church in figures, 
 the divine writers referred to it merely as ''the 
 church." It was not modified. 
 
 'Tell it to the church" (Matt. i8 : 17). 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 11 
 
 **Great fear came upon the church'' (Acts 
 
 2:47). 
 
 '*There was a great persecution against the 
 church" (Acts 8:1). 
 
 *'They assembled with the church" (Acts 
 II : 26). 
 
 ''Christ also loved the church, and gave him- 
 self for it" (Eph. 5 : 25). 
 
 ''Unto the angel of the church at Sardis" 
 (Rev. 3: i). 
 
 These writers do not limit or qualify the 
 word "church." It was not the church of 
 Christ, or Baptist, or Lutheran Church; just the 
 church. Were it not for our divided condition 
 it would not be necessary for us to say the 
 Christian Church, or Baptist Church, or the M. 
 E. Church, but merely the church. Then we 
 would say the church at Danville, the church 
 worshiping on Walnut Street in Cincinnati, the 
 church at work on Main Street, the North Park 
 Church. I am not sure but that we, as a people, 
 would have less annoyance if we had used just 
 the word "church" to designate this movement. 
 
 The church includes all that the Christian 
 church includes. "Christian" adds nothing to 
 its meaning. But the objector will say: "Oh, 
 there are other religious societies that claim to 
 be churches. There would be no distinction. 
 We would have to explain all the time." True, 
 but do they not claim to be churches of Christ 
 
12 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 also? Do we not have to explain all the time 
 when we say **Christian church''? The other 
 religious societies limit and qualify all the time 
 by saying M. E. Church, Lutheran Church, 
 Presbyterian Church. They never use the word 
 without qualifying it. Let them qualify it. We 
 use the word without qualification. We speak 
 of the church as the temple of God. Jesus pur- 
 chased the church with his own blood (Acts 20: 
 28). The church exhausts the Bible meaning 
 of the word. The church was the kingdom of 
 which the prophet foretold, that David sang 
 about, that Daniel saw in a vision, and the pearl 
 that the merchant sought. If we had always re- 
 ferred to this current Reformation as the 
 church, everybody would understand it, just as 
 well as when we say the church of Christ. 
 
 The church is a spiritual house, hence per- 
 fect. It IS the body of Christ and there are no 
 defects upon his body. It is the temple of God, 
 and Paul says, **The temple of God is holy" — 
 perfect. Jesus loved the church and gave him- 
 self for it. It is *Vithout spot, wrinkle or 
 blemish" (Eph. 5:25). Jesus is the Head of 
 the church, hence he controls it and owns it. 
 The Head is perfect and so is the body. The 
 church is the bride of the Redeemer and hence 
 above criticism. To criticize the church is to 
 criticize the Christ. You can not separate Jesus 
 from the perfect gospel, or the gospel from the 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 13 
 
 perfect church. Neither Jesus nor the divine 
 writers ever once criticized the church. The 
 criticism was upon the angel of the church, the 
 preacher. Jesus and Paul criticized severely 
 the individual member and lukewarm congrega- 
 tion, but no fault was found with the body of 
 Christ, the church universal. 
 
 The local church in Ephesus was not above 
 criticism. We must make a distinction between 
 the local congregation governed and controlled 
 by men, and the church universal managed by 
 Jesus. The church universal is a spiritual house, 
 headquarters in heaven, and no abiding-place on 
 earth. It can not transact business or own prop- 
 erty. It has no authority on earth. All author- 
 ity is in the Head of the church of Christ. It 
 is controlled by the Master. The local congre- 
 gation is managed by men, hence it may blunder 
 and be criticized. All criticism made by the 
 divine writer was made upon the individual or 
 the local congregation. The local congregation 
 at Laodlcea, like Ephesus, had become luke- 
 warm and needed reproof. In that congrega- 
 tion there were some saints, some who had for- 
 gotten their first love, and others who had crept 
 in, and had never been adopted into Christ, 
 hence did not belong to the church of Christ. 
 
 A thing may be In the body and not part of 
 It. An Englishman may be In the United States 
 and not a part of this government. Christ's 
 
14 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 disciples were in the world, but not of the 
 world. The bullet in the body of Roosevelt is 
 no part of his body. Poison may be taken into 
 the body, but is no part of it. Food may be 
 taken into the body, but is no part of it. It may 
 be assimilated and become a part of the body, 
 or it may decay and be cast out as waste. A 
 man may be in the local congregation and yet no 
 part of the church universal. Some people may 
 have entered the church universal, but have lost 
 their first love. They are no part of the active 
 body. They may be warmed into action and 
 regain their first love, or they may lie there as 
 dead matter and be cast out and lost. Speak 
 well of the church; it is the medium through 
 which Jesus reveals to mankind his will, love 
 and mercy. To ignore it is to ignore Christ. 
 There is no hope for the triumph of Christi- 
 anity outside of the church. 
 
 THE RELATION OF THE CHRISTIAN TO THE 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 The Christian should realize that he has 
 enlisted in a mighty army, whose only purpose 
 is tQ conquer the whole world for Christ. If 
 we can catch the matchless vision of the church 
 as Paul did, we will realize that our chief con- 
 cern is to build up the church. The church is 
 the mighty temple of God. Christians are 
 small temples builded in the great temple. The 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 15 
 
 apostle said, **Know ye not that ye are a temple 
 of God?" We build houses out of brick. 
 Christ builds temples out of immortal souls. 
 Peter tells us that all believers are living stones, 
 put into a spiritual house, the rSurch. We have 
 a permit from Heaven to build up the church, 
 and the Master gives us the plans, specifications 
 and orders. Material in abundance is on every 
 hand, but each piece of material must be 
 handled singly. 
 
 Men must be redeemed one at a time. You 
 can not convert men in masses. Men can not 
 be saved by battalions. You can not drive men 
 into the church by squads. The living stones 
 must be polished and placed in the temple with 
 care. The Babylonians builded the great wall 
 sixty miles in circumference around the city, but 
 each stone was handled separately. Our brick- 
 layers, as did the Egyptians, lay one brick at a 
 time. No invention has changed the custom. 
 In building this temple of God the builder must 
 handle each piece of material. Some may point 
 to Pentecost. Who is it that has not pointed 
 to Pentecost? The Holy Roller, for his Holy 
 Ghost fire; the evangelist, for his lust for num- 
 bers and enthusiasm; the mystic, for his spiritual 
 baptism, and the fanatic, for his frenzy — camp 
 around Pentecost to justify their practice. Pen- 
 tecost was no exception. Jesus and the apostles 
 had prepared much material for the first temple- 
 
16 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 raising. Peter, James and John began the build- 
 ing of the church by handling the converts one 
 by one. Every convert to Christianity was bap- 
 tized by one of the preachers present, and 120 
 were there. 
 
 In the Middle Ages tribes were baptized by 
 battalions, and it was this rock that almost 
 wrecked the ship of Zion. Under the preaching 
 of Jesus and the inspired men, the individual 
 was prominent. When he came from the 
 wilderness two men said to him, '*Where do you 
 live?" "Come and see," was the reply. There 
 by night he talked to two men. To Philip he 
 said, 'ToUow me." He asked lowly Nathaniel 
 to come down from the fig-tree. To the poli- 
 tician and officer, Matthew, he said, 'ToUow 
 me." He spent the night on the hillside with 
 Nicodemus, and held a long conversation with 
 the two disciples on their way to Emmaus on 
 the first resurrection day. 
 
 Peter began his work by taking one man, a 
 cripple, by the hand at the Beautiful Gate, 
 Philip preached to the one traveler on his way 
 to Africa. Paul heard one voice saying, "Come 
 over into Macedonia." He preached to Lydia 
 on the banks of the river, and to the jailer In 
 his house. In erecting the temple of God the 
 material must be handled separately. The 
 preacher who spends all his time building up an 
 audience, finds he has not fed the church. Build 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 17 
 
 up the church, not the audience. Devices and 
 display may crowd the house with the curious 
 and pleasure-loving masses, but the preacher 
 will wake up and find he has builded an audi- 
 ence instead of a church. The popularity of the 
 preacher is of more importance to some than 
 the enhancement of the kingdom. The preacher 
 who writes himself large and the church small 
 will never build up a church. 
 
 Building large church houses is not enlarg- 
 ing the temple of the Lord. Gorgeous temples 
 and extravagant display characterize paganism; 
 simplicity, Christianity. The pagan temple 
 in Babylon seated one hundred and twenty-five 
 thousand people. Paganism shouts, '^Great is 
 Diana of the Ephesians !" The Parthenon and 
 Pantheon appealed to the vanity of Greece and 
 Rome. Catholicism borrowed from paganism 
 this ostentation and extravagance. They lavish 
 millions upon the Vatican, St. Peter's, and gor- 
 geous decorations. The Episcopalians copied 
 the Catholics, and we ape the Episcopalians. 
 The ancients tried to build a temple to the sky. 
 We borrow the vanity, and point steeples to the 
 sky. That is pagan. 
 
 Years ago, as I was going down Fifth 
 Avenue in New York, I heard the chimes of 
 church-going bells, and saw the sun glittering 
 on the gold-covered steeples. Then I realized 
 that not over ten blocks from that church, which 
 
 2 
 
18 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 owns over seventy million dollars' worth of 
 property, there were one hundred thousand peo- 
 ple — human vermin crawling in filth and steeped 
 in sin — who had never seen a Bible or been in- 
 side of a church. Then I said, '*Tear off the 
 million dollars' worth of gold and send the 
 gospel to these people." If this seventy mil- 
 lion dollars, wrapped up in this one church, 
 could be set free, it would erect two hundred 
 good churches, employ two hundred preachers 
 for twenty years, and assist in alleviating pain 
 and want. The servant of Christ is to do some 
 good every day. '^If any man would come after 
 me, let him take up his cross daily." A servant 
 of God has no right to pile up his millions by 
 unlawful means, and then give a few thousands 
 to a college, library or missionary society and 
 think he is doing his duty. 
 
 A man will close mortgages on the homes 
 of widows, defraud the weak and corner the 
 food for the poor, and, when his career of cruel 
 oppression is over, will endow some college and 
 think that that will pay the debt. I do not 
 believe one word of it. He has never paid the 
 debt that he owed to them whom he defrauded. 
 Those debts are unpaid. As patriotism is the 
 cloak under which scoundrels and traitors lurk, 
 so charity has been the hypocrite's price of his 
 soul. God will not accept indulgences. The 
 priest accepts the money and forgives the sin 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 19 
 
 of the giver. The man who has outraged jus- 
 tice makes a large contribution to schools and 
 missions, and the avaricious applaud and give 
 him a passport to heaven. 
 
 In sending his message to the church at 
 Laodicea, Jesus rebuked the worldly for their 
 extravagance and display. Notice this fact: he 
 never condemned the church, but rebuked the 
 angel of the church, who was merely the 
 preacher. The criticisms were upon the min- 
 ister and the members. They had forgotten 
 their first love. To condemn the church is to 
 condemn his bride. He rebuked the minister 
 and the local congregation, not the church 
 universal. 
 
 The angel, no doubt speaking for the church 
 of Laodicea, said, **I am rich, I have gotten 
 riches, and I am in need of nothing.'' They had 
 a great church home, paid for, out of debt, and 
 had need of nothing. Ask them to have a series 
 of meetings to deepen spirituality or evangelize 
 the community, and they would have cried, '^We 
 need not these things; we are rich; go to them 
 that need help." We read of churches burdened 
 with debt; here was a church burdened with 
 wealth. Hear what Jesus says of the Laodi- 
 cean, "Thou art wretched, poor, blind and 
 naked" (Rev. 3:14-22) — so blind that they 
 could not see their nakedness and tattered rags. 
 If our secretaries or evangelists had visited this 
 
20 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 church, they would have reported it one of the 
 most remarkable and marvelous churches in 
 the brotherhood, and shouted praise from every 
 convention hall. We see the dollar and out- 
 ward appearances. Jesus saw the heart. These 
 Laodicean brethren had everything but Christ. 
 Lacking Christ, they lack everything. He says, 
 *'I stand at the door and knock/' No one let 
 him in. The doors closed against him. Rastus, 
 a colored brother, wanted to join a white 
 church; the preacher said: '*Rastus, you take 
 this to the Lord. Ask him about it and get his 
 answer." The next day Rastus came back all 
 in smiles, and said, *'It's all right, parson; I took 
 It to the Lord and he gave me an answer." 
 *'Well, what did he say?" *' Jesus said, *Never 
 mind, Rastus; I myself have been trying to get 
 into that church for twenty years, and I can't 
 get in.' So, parson, I will just stay outside 
 with Jesus." They had the door shut against 
 Christ. The next sentence is one of the saddest 
 in the New Testament. *'I stand at the door 
 and knock; if any man hear my voice [he calls 
 to them] . . . , I will come in to him, and will 
 sup with him, and he with me." To be a host 
 of Jesus. What a privilege! They had Jesus 
 shut out. Suppose fifty men had opened the 
 door and took a stand with Jesus. What would 
 have been the result? Those fifty men, with 
 Jesus, would have been the church at Laodicea, 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 21 
 
 and these fifty men, in fellowship with Christ, 
 would have excommunicated the whole congre- 
 gation. If the ones excommunicated want to 
 come back, all they have to do is to come back 
 to the Christ and the fifty men. Campbell 
 Morgan says, **One man with Christ may excom- 
 municate a whole church." "Thou hast a few 
 names in Sardis that did not defile their gar- 
 ments: . . . they shall walk with me In white'* 
 (Rev. 3:4). Those servants arrayed in white 
 constituted the church in Sardis. The church 
 met in the house of Philemon. When the breth- 
 ren left his house, the church departed from his 
 house; to remove the candlestick from the com- 
 munity is to remove God's people. 
 
 In the house of Philemon there were in all 
 probability many who were not Christians, who 
 came to hear the gospel message; but when the 
 brethren departed, the church of Christ had 
 gone out of his home. Wherever Christians 
 meet for worship or work they constitute the 
 church of Christian worship. If one hundred 
 Democrats meet to transact business, it Is the 
 Democratic party at work. We generally think 
 of the church as a spiritual house, free from 
 organization. Where organization, combina- 
 tion and office-seeking begin, simplicity and 
 brotherly love go out. The local church has 
 organization and officers; whenever the mem- 
 bers of the body of Christ begin to exercise 
 
22 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 authority, departure from the old path begins. 
 In that Laodicean congregation there were, in 
 all probability, many who had attached them- 
 / selves to the assembly for personal reasons. 
 These fifty Christian men, women and children 
 who were obedient believers composed the 
 church. If these fifty had departed, the church 
 of Christ would have been removed, and one 
 thousand Laodiceans might have been left, but 
 the church would have gone out, the candlesticks 
 would have been removed. Some people tell 
 us that all religious societies are churches of 
 Christ. The New Testament uses the word 
 **church" with two meanings. First, the great 
 universal church, in which all are Christians 
 of whatever name or age in which they lived. 
 Again, in reference to the local congregation. 
 Paul speaks of the church of Christ and the 
 local churches. When we say the Catholic 
 Church, we do not use the word in a New 
 Testament sense. The Catholic Church is 
 neither the church universal nor the local con- 
 gregation. It is, therefore, a mere hierarchy, 
 not the church of Christ. It was not the church 
 that murdered sixty million people in the Mid- 
 dle Ages; it was the hierarchy. The church had 
 nothing to do with it. 
 
 The church of God includes all of God's 
 people and rejects all who are not. All Chris- 
 tians are in the body of Christ. With this 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 23 
 
 understanding of the word, let us test the propo- 
 sition. Can a man be a Christian and not be a 
 member of Christ's church? No. Can he be 
 a Christian without belonging to the Moham- 
 medan Church? Yes. Therefore, the Moham- 
 medan Church is not Christ's church. Can a 
 man be a Christian without belonging to 
 Christ's church? No. Can he be a Christian 
 without belonging to the Mormon Church? 
 Yes. Therefore the Mormon Church is not 
 the church of Christ. Can a man be a Chris- 
 tian without being a member of the Universalist 
 Church? Yes. Therefore, the Universalist 
 Church is not the church of Christ. Can he be 
 a Christian without being a Catholic? Yes. 
 Therefore, the Catholic Church is not Christ's 
 church. Can a man be a Christian without be- 
 longing to the Lutheran Church? Yes. There- 
 fore, that church in itself is not Christ's church. 
 Here is a Congregational church of one 
 thousand members. Six hundred of these men 
 have been taken into the family of God. These 
 six hundred constitute the church of Christian 
 worship, and working with the Congregational- 
 ists. If these six hundred depart, they leave 
 behind them four hundred Congregationalists, 
 but the church of Christ has gone out from 
 them. No one is a Christian who has not been 
 adopted into the family of God. Let me take 
 another illustration. A preacher goes to Persia 
 
24 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 and preaches God's word. One thousand men 
 and women accept the divine message and are 
 baptized into Christ. If they have done these 
 things honestly, they are Christians and in 
 Christ's church. They begin to work and wor- 
 ship and they constitute the church of Christ 
 in Persia. But another man comes among them 
 and says, ^'I am a United Brethren preacher; 
 we are all working for the same cause, but I 
 want to organize a United Brethren church.'' 
 Five hundred of the Christians only form a 
 United Brethren church. Now, what are these 
 five hundred who departed? They were Chris- 
 tians when they departed and are Christians yet, 
 but they are now United Brethren also. They 
 wear two names and belong to two churches. 
 They are bi-religionists. What about the five 
 hundred that did not depart? They are still 
 Christians only and belong to Christ's church. 
 They compose a congregation. If five thousand 
 congregations assembled for work and worship 
 in America, they are churches of Christ only 
 and not denominations. But if one thousand 
 people unite with the United Brethren Church 
 and are not baptized into Christ, they are 
 United Brethren only. It is possible for three 
 classes to exist: i. Christians and United Breth- 
 ren. 2. United Brethren only. 3. Christians 
 only. 
 
 Some belong to Christ's church only, some 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 25 
 
 belong to Christ's church and the United Breth- 
 ren Church, and some are United Brethren only. 
 As the Catholic Church is a human organiza- 
 tion, a man may be a member of it and not be 
 in the church of Christ. A man can get into 
 Christ's body (the church) only by adoption. 
 No congregation is the church of Christ unless 
 it fulfills the divine pattern. 
 
 THE CONDITION TO MEMBERSHIP IN THE 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 In order to become a Christian one must 
 comply with the conditions for membership. 
 All governments have naturalization laws. 
 Every secret society has its ritual, and the order 
 of initiation must be complied with. ''Repent 
 ye, and believe in the gospel" (Mark i: 15). 
 ''To them that believe on his name he gave 
 the power to become the sons of God" (John 
 1 : 12). Belief is the first condition in entering 
 the church. Again Jesus says, "Whosoever shall 
 confess me before men, him I will confess before 
 my Father who is in heaven" (Mark 10:32). 
 In giving directions he says, "Repent." Hear 
 him once more. "Go ye into all the world and 
 preach the gospel to every creature. He that 
 believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 
 16: 15, 16). Jesus says that in order to become 
 a Christian one must believe, confess, repent and 
 be baptized. This is the clearest and shortest 
 
2(> THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 ritual given to the world. In speaking of this 
 process of becoming a Christian, Paul compares 
 it to the laws of adoption (Rom. 8:15-17). 
 He says, **If children, then heirs." There are 
 two ways to become heirs — by birth and adop- 
 tion. Jesus was the only begotten Son of God. 
 We are children by adoption. 
 
 Here is a man who has a little girl. He 
 thinks she needs a playmate. He goes over to 
 the orphans' home and gets a little boy. He 
 goes before the proper authorities and adopts 
 the child. On his way home he says to the boy, 
 **You call me father;" he is the boy's father by 
 adoption. '^You call this woman mother;" she 
 is his mother by adoption. ''Call this little girl 
 sister;" she is his sister by adoption. The boy 
 and girl grow to manhood and womanhood. 
 The father and mother die without making a 
 will. How will the property be divided? 
 Equally, of course. The girl is his heir by birth, 
 and the boy by adoption. They are joint-heirs. 
 
 Another man wants a playmate for his girl. 
 He goes to the orphans' home, secures a boy 
 and takes him home without complying with the 
 laws of adoption. He says to the boy, ''Call 
 me father." He is not the father of the boy 
 by birth or adoption. The father and mother 
 die without making a will. How will the prop- 
 erty be divided? The boy will not get one 
 penny, unless it is through the mercy of the girl. 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH Zi 
 
 He has never been adopted. Millions of peo- 
 ple, this day, claim God's promises who have 
 never been adopted. God in his mercy may 
 save some of them, but the promises are not for 
 them. Jesus says, 'Why call me Lord and do 
 not the things I say?" He says we need not 
 pray, sing and tell him how much we love him, 
 unless we keep his commandments. *'If you love 
 me, you will keep my commandments." So sim- 
 ple are the steps into the church that many 
 preachers have ceased to preach them. The 
 simplicity of the gospel is too common. They 
 want to preach sermons that please the vain 
 and worldly. 
 
 Jesus says, *'Repent ye, and believe in the 
 gospel" (Mark i: 15). Can a sinner be saved 
 without believing In the gospel? No. Can he 
 be saved without believing Mormonism? Yes. 
 Therefore, Mormonism is not the gospel. Can 
 he be saved without believing the doctrine of 
 Christian Science? Yes. Therefore Christian 
 Science is not the gospel. Can he be saved with- 
 out believing Adventism? Yes. Then, Ad- 
 ventism is not the gospel. Can a man be saved 
 without believing Methodism? Yes. The 
 Methodists admit it. Then, Methodism, per se, 
 is not the gospel. The gospel Is the power of 
 God to save men. In order to become a Chris- 
 tian a man must believe In the gospel and obey 
 the commandments of Jesus, believe, repent and 
 
28 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 be baptized. When he does these things he is 
 in Christ, and formally right. He must now 
 cultivate the fruit of the Spirit — ^peace, joy and 
 love. In these days we hear much about a man 
 being formally right and spiritually wrong; sub- 
 jectively right and objectively wrong; right in 
 obedience, but wrong in life. It is important to 
 notice that no one is commanded to cultivate the 
 fruits of the Spirit until he has been baptized 
 into Christ. The apostles commanded them to 
 stand fast who have been made free; now, after 
 they had become Christians they were admon- 
 ished to strive for peace, joy and love. The 
 command to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit is 
 to them who are formally right. Can a man be 
 spiritual who is not in Christ? Obey, then cul- 
 tivate. Be right in form and in life. No one 
 has the spirit of Christ until he has put on 
 Christ. God has called us to preach a full gos- 
 pel. Martin Luther was called of God to 
 preach to the Catholics, John Wesley was sent 
 to reform Episcopalianlsm, and we are called to 
 preach to the denominations. Luther would 
 have been a recreant unless he went where the 
 Catholics were the thickest. We must go where 
 the denominations are the most numerous. I 
 am afraid many of our home and State secre- 
 taries have never caught this vision. If there is 
 a town of five hundred people and five churches, 
 and another town of the same population and 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 29 
 
 one church, we must go where the five denomi- 
 nations are. One church in the town can take 
 care of the religious interests of the community 
 better than five. We must go there and thin out 
 the five and make one. We must go where the 
 denominations are the thickest. We are needed 
 in Boston and Peking. We must preach to the 
 denominations as well as to the heathen. Luther 
 might have gone to Morocco or Finland, but he 
 would have done little good. Our mission is 
 not to Africa only, but to the denominations in 
 America. As goes America religiously, so goes 
 the world. The best way to save China is to 
 make a united church in America. 
 
 THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 The church will accomplish the purpose for 
 which Jesus sent it into the world. To many 
 people the church means nothing. Some ridicule 
 It, while others look upon it as an organization 
 that has outlived its usefulness. The church has 
 not reached its noon. Men may scoff at it, yet 
 there is more moral power in the little fingers 
 of the church than there is in all other organi- 
 zations on the earth. The church is the institu- 
 tion through which Jesus reveals his mercy, love 
 and truth. It is the mightiest force for good 
 on earth, and it will triumph. 
 
 Brilliant scholars may criticize; philosophers 
 rage; dreamers imagine vain things; flags of 
 
30 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 republics may be torn to tatters and empires 
 may crash — but the church of Christ will sit 
 upon the white horse and go forth to conquer. 
 
 The. prophet said, '*He shall not fail." 
 Jesus said, **A11 power is given unto me," and 
 he will use that power to demolish the enemies 
 of the cross. 
 
 But the triumph of the church has not yet 
 come. Great battles are to be fought, difficul- 
 ties to be removed, and obstacles to be sur- 
 mounted. Vice still runs down our streets; deg- 
 radation is found in garret and cellar; crime 
 and lewdness are found in all high places; cor- 
 ruption and fraud stalk through the land; irrev- 
 erence grins at things sacred; our divorce mills 
 are grinding day and night, and our homes fur- 
 nish the grist; and nine-tenths of the race are in 
 rebellion against the King of kings. 
 
 As we see these mighty forces combined 
 against the church we may pardon the pessimist 
 for sounding the alarm. I like the pessimist, I 
 admire the optimist. Both are needed. The 
 pessimist is a realist, the optimist an idealist. 
 The pessimist is objective, cautious and careful; 
 the optimist is subjective, reckless and daring. 
 The pessimist is a sentinel on the outposts 
 guarding the interests of humanity; the opti- 
 mist is the headlight In the world's progress. 
 The pessimist sees the storm signals and re- 
 mains in the harbor; the optimist says, ''We can 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 31 
 
 weather the storm; launch out" The pessimist 
 says, **Things are going to the bad;*' the opti- 
 mist says, ''God's in his heaven, and all's right 
 with the world." The pessimist sees the wrongs 
 of the weak, and the woes of the oppressed, and 
 the hideousness of sin, and cries for help; the 
 optimist sees the stars and hears music in the 
 clouds. He looks too high to see misery, want 
 and woe, hence all to him is well. When France 
 was on the border of destruction, Rousseau said 
 there was no danger and France was a paradise. 
 In a few years France was deluged in blood. 
 The pessimist longs for the good old times of 
 the past; the optimist says, ''Cast fogy follies 
 on the dumping-ground of the past; live for the 
 future." The pessimist longs for the old songs, 
 hence sings : 
 
 "How tedious and tasteless the hours 
 When Jesus no longer I see." 
 
 His theology has the same dolorousness ; he 
 whines : 
 
 "You can and you can't ; you will and you won't. 
 You'll be damned if you do, and you'll be damned if you 
 don't." 
 
 The pessimist pleads for simplicity in wor- 
 ship. The optimist says, "Give us brass bands, 
 orchestras, a hired choir, a dandy preacher and 
 a big audience," and the candlestick is removed 
 from the community. The pessimist tells us 
 
32 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 the world is growing worse; he proves it. The 
 pessimist tells us that wickedness is on the in- 
 crease, and the optimist tells us that righteous- 
 ness is covering the land. Both are true. There 
 is more righteousness. The world is growing 
 worse. Look at the east, where Christianity 
 was born. Once millions of Christians were 
 there. Now paganism has it all. Growing 
 worse. Then Constantinople, Carthage, Alex- 
 andria and all northern Africa, with the schol- 
 ars of the world, were on the side of Christian- 
 ity. Growing worse. In 1830 there was one 
 divorce in about two hundred marriages, now 
 one in thirteen. Murder, lynching, suicide, riot, 
 political corruption and intoxication are increas- 
 ing more than the population. The United 
 States leads the world in suicides, murder and 
 political corruption. 
 
 We are growing better. Mercy is on the 
 throne. Christianity enters the home of the 
 poor. Cruelty will not be tolerated. Growing 
 better. But why discuss it? Jesus tells us that 
 long ago. He says, '*The tares and the wheat 
 shall grow up together." More wheat, more 
 tares. The wheat is growing larger, and the 
 tares will grow larger till the end of the age. 
 Paul tells us that evil will wax worse and worse. 
 Evil and good will grow together until the har- 
 vest, then the angels will come and take the 
 business of the world in hand. Skeptics may 
 
THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 33 
 
 scoff, vain men may criticize, and the ungodly 
 may scorn, but the church will triumph. In the 
 march of events the church has been an angel 
 of mercy. 
 
 I look, and the past rises before me in 
 majestic grandeur. I see old Adam driven out 
 of Eden, Joseph on the banks of the Nile, Neb- 
 uchadnezzar plundering Jerusalem; by the river 
 of Babylon the Jews sat down and wept when 
 they remembered Jerusalem; Alexander has un- 
 tied the Gordian knot; Cassius and Brutus com- 
 mit suicide, and Augustus becomes universal 
 emperor of all the world. Then follows the 
 wilderness preacher on the banks of the Jordan. 
 The year 310 A. D. is here and Constantine is 
 the first Christian emperor; I see the Goths, 
 Visigoths, Ostragoths and Vandals devastating 
 the land. Attila, the scourge of God, with his 
 million hideous-faced Huns, is sacking the Im- 
 perial City. Then 476 arises above the hori- 
 zon and Rome falls; the age of darkness has 
 come and the fifth century closes in all its 
 blackness and chaos. Next, 732 arrives and 
 Charles Martel, with his hammer, drives the 
 Arabs behind the Pyrenees, and Tours is made 
 immortal. The eighth century closes with Char- 
 lemagne as emperor. The year 121 5 is here 
 and King John cries, "I am king;" the pope says, 
 "I am king," but the Magna Charta came. In 
 1492 the Moors are expelled from Spain; 15 17 
 
34 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 comes, and Luther nails his thesis to the cathedral 
 in Wittemberg. Later Calvin is heard in Geneva, 
 and, buffeted by the fierce Atlantic storms, the 
 Pilgrims land at Plymouth rock. I hear the 
 scratch of the pen and the Declaration of In- 
 dependence is here, the Constitution has come, 
 a new nation is born, and the world is amazed. 
 The year 1799 is draped in mourning and 
 Washington is laid to rest. Now we hear the 
 roar of cannon, the marshaling of armies, and 
 the American conflict begins. We follow the 
 armies to Gettysburg, Atlanta and Richmond. 
 Lee surrenders to Grant and the whole nation 
 rejoices. We come to 1865 ^^^ we hear the 
 hiss of the assassin's bullet; Lincoln falls and 
 the world stands aghast. But you may combine 
 all these events and they are not equal to that 
 wonderful event when the angel announced, 
 *'Unto you is born this day a Saviour, who is 
 Christ the Lord.'' 
 
11. 
 
 WHY THE JEWS REJECTED JESUS 
 
 The saddest announcement that ever passed 
 from earth to heaven was that Adam had sinned> 
 and brought death Into the world. The sweet- 
 est news that ever flew from heaven to earth 
 was that Christ had come to take away sin and 
 destroy death. 
 
 At the birth of Jesus the whole world lay 
 hushed in peace. In the great struggle for the 
 mastery Sulla, Marius, Cassius, Brutus, Caesar, 
 Antony, Cleopatra, had fought, gained, lost and 
 met their fate, and at last Augustus had won the 
 prize, and had become monarch of all the civil- 
 ized world. 
 
 Twenty-nine years before the coming of the 
 Christ, the closing of the temple of Janus an- 
 nounced that the e^rth was at peace. 
 
 Everything, however, belonged to Rome. 
 The Mediterranean was her property. Au- 
 gustus was sole lord, and all nations reposed in 
 peace under the shadows of the Roman eagles. 
 
 The Jews had been a secluded people. 
 Hemmed in on two sides by the deserts, on the 
 third by the mountains and on the last by the 
 
 35 
 
36 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 unknown sea, they were free from the idolatry 
 and immorality of heathenism. The Jew mar- 
 ried only a Jew. He shunned social relations 
 with foreigners. He shrank back from the bar- 
 barian as from one possessed of leprosy. The 
 Jews deemed him wise who knew all of Ju- 
 daism and nothing of heathenism. They refused 
 to learn the language of the foreigner or to 
 teach Hebrew to the stranger. The rabbi said 
 two of the most degrading and meanest things 
 to do were ( i ) to feed pigs ; ( 2 ) to study 
 Greek. They lived for self alone. 
 
 When they saw Romanism encroaching upon 
 Judaism, this dislike rapidly deepened into in- 
 tense bitterness. Invaders march through the 
 land. Despised heathens sit upon the throne 
 of David. Idols are lifted up in holy places. 
 The bugles of the enemy resound from moun- 
 tain to sea. Judea trembles beneath the tread 
 of the Roman legions. Insolent Gentiles scorn 
 the Jew in his own city. Hated Romans pollute 
 the holy temple. Jewish blood flows through 
 the streets of Jerusalem. Unappeasable hate 
 and bitter revenge fill the heart of every Jew. 
 Under these circumstances, what kind of a king 
 will satisfy the Jew? 
 
 The Jew could point back to fifteen hundred 
 years of splendid history. He could tell you of 
 Abraham, Moses, Joshua and Solomon. He 
 could point back to kings like David, and proph- 
 
WHY THE JEWS R EJECTED JESUS Z7 
 
 ets like Daniel, Now he saw his nation crum- 
 bling into ruin, and darkness gathering. But 
 through this darkness a ray of light penetrated. 
 As the Jew had no present, he lived in the 
 future. For ages he had expected the coming 
 of a great Deliverer. Prophets had told of 
 him. Other nations expected a new king. The 
 Egyptians heard of him. The Wise-men of the 
 East, the followers of Zoroaster, looked for the 
 coming of a great king, to rule over Israel, 
 whose kingdom would surpass that of Solomon. 
 The Arabians, watching the stars by night, 
 talked of the king that was to reign in Judea. 
 Many rabbis thought that the Messiah had 
 come and was only waiting for the conflict. 
 Surely he will now come and restore Israel. 
 
 Under these surroundings, what kind of a 
 king will satisfy the Jews? They believe that 
 he must be a national hero, born in a palace, 
 with angels kneeling before him, the scepter in 
 his hand, the sword by his side, and glory 
 gleaming from his brow. He must come from 
 the most illustrious parentage, glittering in celes- 
 tial emblazonry. He must gird on his heavenly 
 armor, order battle against the enemy, slay their 
 chief captains and kings, and make the moun- 
 tains and valleys run red with the blood of the 
 slaughtered foe. He must be a king of revenge 
 and vengeance. 
 
 This was the Jew's conception of the coming 
 
38 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Lord. But how different from their expecta- 
 tions ! 
 
 Yonder from the despised village of Naza- 
 reth comes a poor carpenter and his espoused 
 wife. They put their faces southward, pass the 
 Holy City, cross over the valley and are now 
 climbing the rocky road to the hamlet of Beth- 
 lehem. Will the Jew accept such a king? 
 
 They are now on historic ground. Here, 
 seventeen centuries ago, Jacob buried his be- 
 loved Rachel. Here Boaz courted and married 
 Ruth. Here David sang and lived. Joseph and 
 Mary take lodging in the stable. In a manger 
 in this lowly place a Christ is born. 
 
 South of Bethlehem is a valley where many 
 sheep are kept for the sacrifices. The shepherds 
 sleep in the open and keep watch over their 
 flocks by night. ''And there were shepherds in 
 the same country abiding in the field, and keep- 
 ing watch by night over their flock. And an 
 angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory 
 of the Lord shone round about them: and they 
 were sore afraid. And the angel said unto 
 them. Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you 
 good tidings of great joy which shall be to all 
 the people : for there is born to you this day in 
 the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the 
 Lord. And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall 
 find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and 
 lying in a manger. And suddenly there was 
 
WHY THE JEWS R EJECTED JESUS 39 
 
 with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host 
 praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the 
 highest. And on earth peace among men in 
 whom he is well pleased" (Luke 2: 8-14). 
 
 The whole valley becomes a grand camping- 
 ground for the angelic host. The shepherds no 
 doubt look at each other confused. Quickly 
 they leave their flocks and enter the inn, and be- 
 hold the new-born King. After waiting four 
 thousand years for their deliverer, will the Jews 
 accept a king born under these circumstances? 
 
 Turning toward Jerusalem, we see some 
 peculiar strangers entering the city and asking, 
 * Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" 
 The question confuses the people. They say, 
 *'Do you want to see Herod the king?" 
 'Where is he that is born King of the Jews? 
 for we saw his star in the east, and are come 
 to worship him." 
 
 Rapidly the news sped to Herod. Quickly 
 he calls the Sanhedrin together and demands of 
 them where the Christ is to be born. They say, 
 "Yonder in the village of Bethlehem." 
 
 The Wise-men, guided by the star, go and 
 behold the new-born babe. Born in a manger, 
 announced first to the ignorant shepherds, and 
 second to the heathen, will the Jews accept such 
 a king? Yes, if he will come to Jerusalem 
 heralded by legions of angels, they might accept 
 him. 
 
40 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 But lo, he is lost sight of, as far as the 
 world is concerned, for thirty years. Though 
 all Jerusalem and Bethlehem are excited, in 
 thirty years all is forgotten. 
 
 Yonder in the wilderness, on the banks of 
 the river Jordan, stands the lowly Nazarite in 
 coarse garments, crying: '^Repent, for the king- 
 dom of heaven is at hand. Prepare ye the way 
 of the Lord." Jesus comes all the way on foot 
 from Nazareth, and demands baptism at the 
 hands of John. 
 
 John, for the first time in his life, hesitates. 
 Jesus says, **Suffer it to be so now, for thus it 
 becomes us to fulfil all righteousness." John 
 hesitates no longer. Leading Jesus down into 
 the water of the Jordan, he baptizes him. 
 
 "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went 
 up straightway from the water: and lo, the 
 heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the 
 Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming 
 upon him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, 
 saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
 well pleased" (Matt. 3:16, 17). 
 
 Geikie says: **He went down into the water 
 Jesus, the son of Mary. He came out of the 
 water the Christ, the recognized Son of God." 
 
 Quitting the banks of the river Jordan, he 
 mingles with the poor at Cana, the fishermen at 
 Capernaum, and hence to Jerusalem for the 
 first time to attend the Passover. Will the 
 
WHY THE JEWS R EJECTED JESUS 41 
 
 Jews accept him now? As Jesus enters the 
 temple he hears the wild shouts of those who 
 sold doves and sheep. Indignant at seeing the 
 temple polluted by trade, he turns over the 
 tables and scatters the money on the floor. 
 Will they now accept him? 
 
 The Jewish Passover was the most exciting 
 assembly that ever met on earth. The Olympic 
 games of Greece, the gladiatorial combats of 
 Rome, the chariot races of Antioch, are not to 
 be compared in passionate enthusiasm to the 
 excitement of the Jewish Passover. 
 
 The gathering of pilgrims from every nation 
 under the sun, the meeting of friends long 
 separated, the greeting of parents and children, 
 the voices of one thousand singers, the fluttering 
 of banners and the waving of plumes make the 
 Jewish Passover the most wonderful of all 
 gatherings. 
 
 The housetops are covered over with the 
 boughs of trees and afford lodging for the pil- 
 grims. All houses are full, and the Mount of 
 Olives is covered over with the tents of the 
 pilgrims. 
 
 Josephus tells us that between the hours of 
 three and five in the afternoon, by actual count, 
 256,000 lambs were slain, and not fewer than 
 2,700,000 people partook of the feast. 
 
 All day long Jesus elbowed his way through 
 the crowded streets. He went healing the sick 
 
42 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 and encouraging the weak. For any one of 
 prominence to have approached him by day 
 would have brought both into unnecessary 
 notoriety. 
 
 History tells us the greatest interview ever 
 held on earth was held in the river Neiman in 
 Prussia. Precisely at one o'clock, amid the 
 booming of cannon and the cries of the dying, 
 two boats pushed off from opposite sides of 
 the river. When in the middle of the river, one 
 man from each boat stepped upon a raft. One 
 was Alexander of Russia and the other was 
 Napoleon of France. History says they met to 
 settle the destiny of nations. The interview 
 lasted two hours. But all the matters arranged 
 by Alexander and Napoleon have been reversed 
 and forgotten. 
 
 Go back eighteen centuries, and here is an- 
 other interview held by night, between Jesus 
 and Nicodemus. It was held in the silence of 
 the night. But this interview stands to-day, and 
 is in the hearts of millions. 
 
 After the day of excitement had passed, 
 thousands press out through the eastern gates. 
 No doubt Jesus passed over the slope of the 
 Mount of Olives to the house of a friend, or 
 perhaps to a tent, to spend the night. 
 
 Nicodemus could not sleep till he had 
 learned more about this new teacher. Leaving 
 the house at night, he takes the dark streets in 
 
WHY THE JEWS REJECTED JESUS 43 
 
 order to avoid discovery. Stumbling over beasts 
 of burden and waking up half-sleeping pilgrims, 
 he passes over Kedron and takes the zigzag 
 path up to the place where Jesus was. 
 
 He came to learn how he could aid Jesus in 
 this new kingdom. He never dreamed but what 
 he was a member of the kingdom. He was a 
 Jew, and Jesus was the king of the Jews. Jesus 
 knew his thoughts and said, ^'Verily, verily, I 
 say unto you, Except ye be born of water and 
 the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of 
 heaven.'' 
 
 This startles Nicodemus, and he became a 
 silent listener while Jesus went on to explain the 
 nature of his coming kingdom. He told Nico- 
 demus that his kingdom was to be founded on 
 love. '*God so loved the world that he gave 
 his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
 on him might not perish, but have everlasting 
 life" (John 3:16). 
 
 This interview by night closed. So far there 
 has been no open conflict, but the muttering of 
 the coming tempest is near at hand. On his 
 way to Jerusalem Jesus enters the porch around 
 the pool at Bethesda, one of the eleven pools 
 in and around Jerusalem. This pool was 165 
 feet long and forty-eight feet wide. It was fed 
 by mineral springs, and at certain seasons these 
 springs were intermittent. When the water 
 from the mountain pressed down, the bubbling 
 
44 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 of the water was looked upon as miraculous, 
 and the story went that an angel had troubled 
 the waters. The fame for curative purposes 
 was well known. So at special seasons many 
 sick gathered here. We can see the pale-faced 
 woman, or the paralytic with half of his body 
 dead and praying to God that the other half 
 would die, or that both together would live. 
 Here are cripples, lame, blind and palsied. You 
 hear the cries of many and the groans of others. 
 A silent stranger enters. He selects the most 
 pitiable person, an infirm man who had been 
 dragging his crippled body to the pool for 
 thirty-eight years. He had no friends. For 
 thirty-eight years he bore the pain. Jesus looked 
 upon him and says, **Wilt thou be made whole?'' 
 Made whole? Why, it seems like mockery to 
 ask. Why had he dragged himself there? 
 
 The infirm man said, *'Sir, I have no man, 
 when the water is troubled, to put me into the 
 pool, but when I am coming another steppeth 
 down before me." Jesus said, **Take up thy 
 bed and walk." New life went coursing through 
 his veins. He threw his matting over his arm 
 and departed. When the Jews saw him carry- 
 ing his bed on the Sabbath, they rebuked him, 
 and he told them who had healed him. 
 
 Such an act of tenderness should have been 
 approved by all. At once the Jews accuse Christ 
 of breaking the Sabbath, and they begin to plot 
 
WHY THE JEWS R EJECTED JESUS 45 
 
 against him. Pharisee, Sadducee, rabbi and 
 priest, forgetting their hate of one another, con- 
 spire to put Jesus to death, and they never fal- 
 ter in their design until, two years later, they 
 see him die on Calvary. There is no crime so 
 appalling but may be committed in the name of 
 religion, no meanness too ghastly for religious 
 hate. Pity, charity, goodness and love surren- 
 der to remorseless hate, revenge and religious 
 bigotry. 
 
 In the name of religion, the Inquisition 
 burned its thousands. In the name of religion, 
 persecution slaughtered men and women like 
 savage beasts. In the name of religion, men, 
 women and children were executed for witch- 
 craft. In the name of religion, pious Christians 
 have been cast into dungeons, robbed of home, 
 friends and light, because they would not lie and 
 profess faith in creeds of men. 
 
 Jesus quits Jerusalem, but is followed by the 
 spies to Galilee. He goes on In his work of 
 mercy. At his word the dead arise. With his 
 command, '*Hold thy peace," the demons fled. 
 The paralytic left his couch at the sound of 
 *'Take up thy bed and walk." We see him 
 raising the dead, healing the sick, cleansing the 
 leper, walking on the sea, weeping at the grave 
 of Lazarus, and mingling with the poor. 
 Driven from Bethlehem by the wrath of a sus- 
 picious king, expelled from Nazareth by those 
 
46 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 who should have been his friends, rejected in 
 Capernaum, denied the three homes of his 
 birth, residence and adoption, he now comes to 
 Jerusalem to die. Will the Jews accept him 
 now? 
 
 As he passes Jericho the blind man was 
 healed. Bartimeus had gone out here day after 
 day to beg alms. No doubt he had heard of 
 Jesus. Some one had told him to call upon the 
 wonderful prophet. 
 
 See him coming out of the city, feeling his 
 way along the stone wall. He pauses, turns his 
 sightless eyeballs upward, listens. He hears the 
 tramp of feet and the shout of the multitude. 
 He asks what that means. The answer came, 
 "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." At the sound 
 of his name Bartimeus rushed forward and 
 said, '*Thou Son of David, have mercy upon 
 me." Quickly his eyes were opened and he fol- 
 lowed the throng. 
 
 Zaccheus climbs into a tree only to hear the 
 welcome words, *'Come down; I will abide in 
 thy house." On his way to Jerusalem to be 
 crowned, yet Jesus has time to encourage sin- 
 ners. 
 
 When he enters Jerusalem the multitude is 
 wild with enthusiasm. Perhaps even yet, if he 
 had come out on the porch of the temple and 
 proclaimed himself king, the Jews would have 
 accepted him. But he turned away from the 
 
WHY THE JEWS REJECTED JESUS 47 
 
 temple and took his twelve unlettered Galileans 
 out to the slope of the Mount of Olives. Then 
 he said, **Tarry here until I go and pray." 
 Taking his beloved trio, Peter, James and John, 
 he went a little space farther and said to them, 
 '^Watch." He went yonder and prayed; when 
 he returned he found them sound asleep. What 
 a picture for an artist! The Son of God ago- 
 nizing in the garden, while his disciples sleep. 
 On his return the third time he said, "Sleep on 
 now," and in the very next sentence, *'Arise, let 
 us be going." Sleep on to the past. Arise as to 
 the future. 
 
 Jesus had made war on the teachings, tra- 
 ditions and customs of the Jev/s. He calls them 
 blind guides and hypocrites. His teachings, if 
 accepted, will destroy their entire system of 
 religion. They plan now to kill him instead of 
 following him. All hope of reconciliation Is 
 now gone. He is accused, tried, sentenced, 
 dressed in a mock robe, and spit upon. Yet he 
 murmured not. He could have called legions 
 of angels to his aid, but he never used his miracu- 
 lous power for his own benefit. He hungered in 
 the mountain, yet he fed the multitude. See 
 him now, forsaken by all, scorned, buffeted and 
 led out to be crucified. 
 
 See him on the cross. He murmurs not. In 
 his agony he says, ^'Father, forgive them." He 
 asks for one drop of water. This is rejected. 
 
48 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 The earth trembles and the sun refuses to shine 
 upon such a scene. 
 
 We now follow him to the grave. He has 
 been conquered. Rome seems victorious. He 
 is dead. He seems to be weaker than Jewish 
 law and not able to combat Roman authority. 
 His disciples are scattered, and the Jews have 
 accomplished their designs. They will never 
 accept the teachings of the one they put to 
 death. The disciples are discouraged. See 
 them scattering. They had seen their Master 
 die, knew he was buried, and all is lost. Peter 
 said, ^*I go fishing." They once had a Lord, 
 now he is dead. 
 
 Yonder, out of the western gate, go two 
 disciples. They are on their way to their homes 
 in the little village of Emmaus, eight miles west 
 of Jerusalem. The path over which they must 
 pass is the most dreary and desolate of all that 
 lead out of the city. They must pass over two 
 miles of barren earth and naked slabs of rocks. 
 Having passed over this rocky platform, they 
 reach the top of the ridge, and take the last 
 look at the beloved city, and brush away a tear 
 as they think of all they have suffered and lost. 
 While on the journey they said, 'We thought 
 he was to redeem Israel.'' 
 
 As they journeyed on, a stranger came up. 
 They were so busy with their sad thoughts that 
 they did not notice the stranger. The Saviour 
 
WHY THE JEWS R EJECTED JESUS 49 
 
 saw their faces were sad and their hearts were 
 sorrowing. He entered into conversation with 
 them as all three walked on. They heard his 
 footsteps as their own. When he explained the 
 Scriptures, "their hearts burned within them." 
 
 The sun has gone down behind the gray hill- 
 tops; daylight is changing into twilight, and 
 magic twilight into darkness, when they arrive 
 at the village. As the shadows are gathering 
 around them they say to the stranger, "Abide 
 with us." Well that they asked him, for Jesus 
 only dwells with us when we ask him. 
 
 The three strangers sit down in this lowly 
 cottage and bread is brought. The mysterious 
 stranger lifts his hand and breathes the blessing, 
 when suddenly the two disciples are startled; 
 perhaps they see the prints of the nails in his 
 hands and hear his words. It is he, the risen 
 Lord, and they have been walking with him all 
 the way. Their sadness is turned to joy. They 
 are ready to fall at his feet, when suddenly he 
 vanishes. No doubt they wonder, but at once 
 they decide to go back to the city, through the 
 darkness of the night, and tell the brethren the 
 glad tidings of great joy. 
 
 The journey backward is an easy one, for 
 they carry news of the greatest victory ever 
 won — victory over death. They hasten over 
 the valley and rocky roads. They pass through 
 the gates without trouble, for during the Pass- 
 
50 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 over all gates are open. They hasten on. Oh, 
 they are anxious to be the first to tell the good 
 news. On they run, but when they are entering 
 the temple they hear the apostles shouting, *'The 
 Lord has risen, and appeared unto Simon." 
 The glad news had outrun them. Quickly they 
 enter the temple and the doors are locked. 
 They had scarcely finished telling their wonder- 
 ful story, when, behold! they are terrified! The 
 doors are locked, but there stands their Master. 
 In the hush of silence they hear the voice of 
 their Master, saying: ''Peace be unto you." 
 The first announcement to the shepherds in the 
 valley was "Peace." When the storm came on 
 the lake, Jesus said, "Peace." Now he comes 
 from the grave and his first utterance is 
 "Peace." 
 
 Yonder on the mountain he gives to the 
 chosen disciples the last instruction. Standing 
 on the mountain, he takes the last fond look at 
 his disciples and says, "All power Is given unto 
 me in heaven and in earth." The Jews will 
 never accept such a king. 
 
III. 
 
 RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH 
 
 Paul admonished Timothy to rightly divide 
 the Word of truth (2 Tim. 2: 15). 
 
 If the Word of truth were properly divided, 
 Adventism, Mormonism, and other follies, 
 would disappear. Many can see no difference 
 between the law and the gospel; the Old and 
 the New Covenant, Christ and Moses, the new 
 and the old dispensations. God has made three 
 covenants with man. The fleshly covenant was 
 made with Abraham. If their people kept the 
 fleshly covenant (circumcision), they were to 
 be heirs of Abraham. The property covenant 
 was made with Moses. The Jews kept that 
 covenant. Jesus made the spiritual covenant 
 with us; by keeping that we are heirs of God. 
 
 After preaching on ''The Three Covenants," 
 in a Southern city, a woman came to me and 
 said: ''I don't believe what you said. You told 
 us all the Bible is not binding upon us. I believe 
 the Bible is binding upon me from the beginning 
 to the end." I replied, *'You don't believe 
 that." She said, 'T do." I said, 'Tou don't," 
 and that is a fair religious argument. I said to 
 
 51 
 
52 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 her, ''Now take your Bible and read Gen. 17: 
 10-14/^ She read that God commanded every 
 male child to be circumcised at eight days of 
 age. I asked her if she had any boys. She in- 
 formed me that she had four. I said, ''How 
 many of them have you circumcised?*' She re- 
 plied, "Not one." I said, "How do you get 
 around this duty if the whole Bible is binding on 
 you from beginning to the end?" She said, 
 "Well, well, well, I never thought of that." I 
 continued: "Read Lev. 1 1 : 7, 8. It tells you not 
 to eat swine. You had pork for dinner. How 
 do you get around that difficulty?" She replied, 
 "Well, well, well." "God commands the offer- 
 ing of bloody sacrifices (Lev. 23:19, 20). 
 How many have you offered?" She replied, 
 "Not any." "How do you get out of this 
 trouble?" She gave me the same answer, 
 "Well, well, well, I never thought of it that 
 way." "God commanded that you should do no 
 work on Saturday; if you picked up sticks to 
 build a fire, you would die. Did you ever pick 
 up sticks to build a fire on Sabbath?" "Oh, 
 yes, I must, or I would die," she replied. "How 
 do you reconcile the breaking of this command- 
 ment?" She gave me the same answer. I con- 
 tinued: "Go with me to the New Testament; 
 John 13 enjoins upon us to wash feet Have 
 you been washing the saints' feet?" She gave me 
 the same answer. "Now read i Thess. 5 : 26. 
 
RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD 53 
 
 Paul tells us to greet the brethren with a kiss. 
 Have you been kissing the brethren this year?'' 
 *'0h, no, I could not do such things as that." 
 '*How, then, do you get out of the practice if 
 you believe that all the Bible is binding upon 
 you?" She replied, **Well, I never thought of 
 it in that way." 
 
 What was the trouble with the woman? 
 Just what troubles half of the religious world — 
 not knowing how to rightly divide the Word 
 of truth. The first seven commandments I 
 gave her were Jewish laws and had no binding 
 force upon any one except the Jews. The other 
 seven were merely custom, and custom has no 
 binding force. Paul told a few shaved-headed 
 women in Corinth to keep silent in that as- 
 sembly. He never commanded women of this 
 age to keep silent. 
 
 We must make a distinction between the law 
 and the gospel, the Old and the New Covenant, 
 Christ and Moses. 
 
 There are three great dispensations in the 
 Bible — the Patriarchal, Jewish and Christian. 
 Under the Patriarchal we have the family, 
 under the Jewish the state, and under the Chris- 
 tian the church. We are not under the law, 
 but the gospel. 
 
 The whole Jewish law was nailed to the 
 cross, and hence has no binding force upon us. 
 The Ten Commandments were defective. A 
 
54 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 man may keep the Ten Commandments and be 
 lost. 
 
 But here comes the objector, and he says, 
 "If the Ten Commandments are gone, can a 
 man lie, steal and murder, and not sin?" How 
 foolish this question. It was a sin to murder 
 before Moses gave the Ten Commandments. 
 It would have been a sin if Moses had never 
 given the commandments. Moses merely put 
 the Ten Commandments into the Jewish law and 
 fixed a penalty. As the penalty has been re- 
 moved the law is dead. The Decalogue, as a 
 code, is abolished. Many of these laws have 
 been enacted into the New Covenant and hence 
 are binding. In Indiana we had the old consti- 
 tution till 1 85 1. Then our new constitution 
 came into effect. Many of the laws in the old 
 constitution were put in the new. They are 
 binding upon us, not because they were in the 
 old, but because they were enacted into the new. 
 Nine of the Ten Commandments have been en- 
 acted in the New Covenant and are hence bind- 
 ing. The Fourth Commandment, '^ Remember 
 the sabbath day," is not re-enacted, and hence 
 is not binding. Under this dispensation we are 
 never commanded to keep the Sabbath. The 
 Sabbath was a Jewish institution and hence not 
 binding upon a Christian. The penalty for vio- 
 lation of the Sabbath was physical death (Ex. 
 35:2). To pick up sticks was a violation 
 
RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD 5S 
 
 (Num. 15:32-36). The Sabbath was the 
 seventh day, or Saturday. It was, Is and al- 
 ways will be Saturday. To call Sunday, the 
 first day of the week. Sabbath, is as ludicrous 
 as to say, **A Wednesday night prayer-meeting 
 on Thursday afternoon." No divine writer 
 or sacred historian ever called the first day of 
 the week Sabbath. It is not the Sabbath; it is 
 the Lord's Day. Not a day of idleness, but a day 
 of devotion and service. Now, don't go out and 
 misrepresent me. We believe in commemora- 
 ting the Lord's Day. We are intensely opposed 
 to the desecration of this day. This is a day 
 of worship, service, prayer and devotion, not a 
 day to visit, idle away or spend in worldliness. 
 Give it to the Lord. 
 
 Some say: ''Can I not be saved like the thief 
 upon the cross? Jesus said to the poor woman, 
 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.' Can I not be 
 saved in the same way?" No, certainly not. If 
 they were saved in heaven, they were saved 
 under the Jewish dispensation; Jesus had not 
 made his will. Now, I will illustrate this so 
 plain that the boys and girls can understand me, 
 and then I will simplify it till their mothers and 
 the preachers can comprehend It. 
 
 Here Is a man with six children. He wills 
 to one $4,000; to another, $4,500; to the third, 
 $3,500, and to the remaining three, $3,000 
 apiece. One of the boys meets with some ca- 
 
56 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 lamity, gets married or meets with some injury. 
 The father gives him $i,ooo. Has he any 
 right to do it? Why, certainly; the testator is 
 alive. He can dispose of his property as he 
 likes. Another boy starts into business; he gives 
 him $500. Any way to prevent it? No, the 
 testator is alive; he can destroy or change his 
 will at his pleasure. But finally the father lies 
 down and dies; how can the children gain the 
 blessings of the will? By complying with the 
 conditions of the will. Suppose some one tries 
 to get part of the estate without complying 
 with the will, what is he trying to do? He is 
 trying to break the will of his father. Again, 
 the will may contain the condition that noth- 
 ing may be added or taken away from it. If 
 any attempt to change the will, he will disin- 
 herit the one who makes the attempt. 
 
 When Jesus was here on earth he had not 
 sealed his will. All authority was his. He 
 could heal the sick, raise the dead, and offer par- 
 don to any one. But finally he made his will 
 and sealed it with his own blood. Then the 
 executors made known the terms of the will. 
 
 Now, how shall any one secure the blessings 
 of the will? Every one Is ready to answer, 
 ''By complying with the terms of the will." 
 Suppose some one tries to get into Christ with- 
 out complying with the conditions. What is he 
 trying to do? He is attempting to break the 
 
RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD 57 
 
 will of Jesus. Jesus said: ''If a man tries to 
 climb up any other way, he is a thief. Why 
 call me Lord and do not the things that I say?" 
 
 Many are trying to get into the kingdom 
 without complying with Christ's will. The 
 terms of the will were made known to the 
 apostles. These terms are belief, repentance 
 and baptism, and a life of service. If a sinner 
 wants to know what to do to be saved, let him 
 go to the New Covenant. 
 
 The Book of Acts gives the history of fif- 
 teen hundred conversions, and they are all alike. 
 Every man that ever entered the order of the 
 Oddfellows complied with the same ritual that 
 all the others did. All foreigners that have be- 
 come citizens of this country have complied 
 with the same law. Every man that has entered 
 into Christ has complied with the same ritual. 
 The law of adoption must be complied with by 
 all. 
 
IV. 
 
 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 
 
 "What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he?" — • 
 Matt. 22 : 42. 
 
 The Jewish Passover was the most match- 
 less assembly that ever met on earth. Josephus 
 says: **Between the hours of three and five in 
 the afternoon, by actual count, 256,000 lambs 
 were slain for the sacrifice, and 2,700,000 peo- 
 ple partook of the feast." Yonder they come — 
 from the banks of the historic Euphrates, from 
 the classic shores of the Dead Sea, from old, 
 dried-up Egypt; the Orient and the Occident are 
 all here. Yonder come mothers and fathers, 
 greeting the children after long absence; stran- 
 gers looking for the first time upon the wonder- 
 ful temple. Yonder come one thousand priests, 
 singing their hymns, fluttering their banners and 
 waving their plumes. 
 
 All day long Jesus mingled with the mad- 
 dened multitudes. He went about healing the 
 sick, cleansing the lepers and encouraging the 
 despondent; yet the Sadducees and Pharisees 
 conspired to destroy him. They tried in every 
 way to trap and confuse him. The Sadducees 
 
 58 
 
WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST 59 
 
 asked in regard to the woman who had seven 
 husbands, **Whose wife will she be?" Jesus 
 answered that in the resurrection there is neither 
 marrying nor giving in marriage. Seeing he 
 had put the Sadducees to flight, the Pharisees 
 asked, "Which is the greatest commandment in 
 the law?" The Master replied: "Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with 
 all thy soul and with all thy mind. The second 
 is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself." He had defeated both. Trying to en- 
 tangle him, the Pharisees formed a combination 
 with the Herodians and asked, "Is it lawful to 
 give tribute to Caesar?" If he had said "Yes," 
 all the Jews would have abandoned him. If he 
 had said "No," he would have been in rebellion 
 against Rome. Say "Yes" and have no friends. 
 Say "No" and be put to death. He replied, 
 "Whose image and superscription is on the 
 coin?" They replied, "Caesar's." Then he sent 
 the dagger of criticism to the heart, "Render 
 unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render 
 unto God that which is God's." Pay your taxes 
 and don't complain, then do your duty toward 
 God. They were silent. Jesus then became 
 the questioner. He asked, "What think ye of 
 the Christ? whose son is he?" They gave the 
 schoolboy's answer. Every Jewish boy was 
 taught that the coming Lord would be the son 
 of David, so they said, "The son of David." 
 
60 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Then the question, **How then does David call 
 him Lord?'' They dare not answer according 
 to their own prophets, and from that day they 
 asked him no more questions. They attempt 
 argument no more, but will now resort to force. 
 From that time till his death upon the cross 
 Jesus was constantly under the eyes of spies. 
 
 What think ye of Christ? What do the his- 
 torians say? Jean Paul Richter says: "The life 
 of Christ concerns Him who is mightiest among 
 the holy, and holiest among the mighty." Napo- 
 leon says: **Jesus has builded a kingdom upon 
 love that shall survive all other empires." The 
 centurion said: **Surely this is the Son of God." 
 Pilate says: "I find no fault in him." Thomas 
 said: '*My Lord and my God." Peter declared 
 that Jesus was '*the Christ, the Son of God." 
 I am interested in what historians, his enemies 
 and his friends have to say of Christ, but what 
 do you think of him? 
 
 The story of Christ comes to us not by tra- 
 dition, but by the historical evidence of faithful 
 witnesses. Marcus Dods says: "In point of 
 fact, the majority of events of past history are 
 accepted on much slenderer evidence than that 
 which we have for the resurrection. The evi- 
 dence we have for It is of precisely the same 
 kind as that on which we accept ordinary events; 
 It IS the testimony of persons concerned, the 
 simple statement of eye-witnesses and of those 
 
WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST 61 
 
 who were acquainted with eye-witnesses. In 
 short, the evidence can be refused only on the 
 ground that no evidence, however strong, could 
 prove such an incredible event. It is admitted 
 that the evidence would be accepted in any other 
 case, but this reputed event is in itself incredible. 
 This seems to me quite an illogical method of 
 dealing with the subject. The supernatural is 
 rejected as a preliminary, so as to bar any con- 
 sideration of the most appropriate evidence of 
 the supernatural. So long as the miracles of 
 our Lord are not recognized as an essential part 
 of his revelation, so long will they be felt to be 
 a hindrance, and not a help, to faith. But Jesus 
 evidently considered miraculous works of heal- 
 ing an essential element in his work, and who- 
 ever feels uneasy about the miraculous, and 
 fancies that perhaps it would be well to yield 
 the point and surrender miracles, must be look- 
 ing at the matter with very different eyes from 
 which our Lord viewed it." 
 
 These men — Peter, James, John, Luke and 
 others — were witnesses to be trusted. They 
 had no inducement to tell a false story. They 
 could not have been mistaken. Professor Orr 
 says: *'It is to be remembered that the apostles, 
 with numerous other eye-witnesses, lived for 
 years together at Jerusalem, continuously en- 
 gaged in the work of instruction; that during 
 this period they were in constant communication 
 
62 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 with each other, with their converts and with the 
 church which they founded; that the witness 
 which they bore necessarily acquired a fixed and 
 familiar form; and that the deposit of the com- 
 mon tradition which we have in the Gospel, has 
 behind it, in its main features, all the weight of 
 this consentient testimony — is therefore of the 
 highest value as evidence." 
 
 Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary 
 Magdalene, and many other infallible witnesses, 
 bore testimony of the resurrection of our Lord. 
 
 A. N. Gilbert gives a very excellent sum- 
 mary of the appearances, which follows: "The 
 tomb was opened by an earthquake, and the roll- 
 ing away the stone Sunday morning (Matt.), 
 visit of the women (all four). Mary Mag- 
 dalene receives the message for the disciples 
 (Matt., Luke and John). He appears to other 
 women (Matt., Mark and Luke). Peter and 
 John visit the tomb and find it empty (Luke and 
 John). Mary Magdalene sees Jesus (Matt, 
 Mark and John). Mary Magdalene tells the 
 disciples (Mark and John). The guards report 
 to the chief priest (Matt). He appears to 
 Peter (Luke and i Cor.). The walk to Em- 
 maus (Luke). He appears to the ten after the 
 return from Emmaus (Mark, Luke and John). 
 Seven days later he appears to the eleven 
 (John). He appears to the disciples in Galilee 
 (Matt and John). And again in Jerusalem 
 
WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST 63 
 
 (Luke and Acts). The appearance of his as- 
 cension (Mark, Luke and Acts). And last of 
 all, he appeared to Paul (i Cor.). Although 
 no one saw his resurrection, the circumstantial 
 evidence is so complete that no room is left for 
 doubt." 
 
 Men have their lives written after they die. 
 The life of Jesus was written fifteen hundred 
 years before he was born; written in prophecy; 
 read by Greek, Roman and Jew. Five hundred 
 prophecies refer to Jesus. About 105 times the 
 Old Testament tells us what Jesus would do; 
 105 times the New Testament tells us that these 
 things were done. The one — the Old Testa- 
 ment — was prophecy. The other — the New 
 Testament- — was biography. Prophecy is his- 
 tory before it occurs. 
 
 PROPHETIC ARROWS. 
 
 Suppose five men would stand here to-night, 
 each with a quiver of ten arrows. They desire 
 to shoot the arrows into the center of the target. 
 They do not know where the target is. It may 
 be here, yonder or there. Man No. i stands 
 at a station fifteen hundred yards from the tar- 
 get. He sends his ten arrows out into the 
 darkness. Man No. 2 advances and stands at 
 a station one thousand yards from the target. 
 He sends his arrows out into the inky blackness. 
 No. 3 stands eight hundred yards, and No. 4 
 
64 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 six hundred yards from the target. No. 5 and 
 last advances and stands but four hundred yards 
 from the target. They send their arrows for- 
 ward. You call for lights, and all fifty arrows 
 are in the center of the bulFs-eye. What would 
 you say about such an occurrence? You would 
 say such a thing could not take place by chance. 
 Let us call up a few prophetic arrows. 
 
 Moses stands fifteen hundred years from the 
 coming of the Lord. He sends his arrows into 
 the future, which is inky blackness. He tells us 
 that Jesus will be a prophet like unto Moses. 
 
 David advances, and, standing yonder one 
 thousand years from the birth of Christ, sends 
 forward three hundred prophecies. What won- 
 derful things he says ! He tells us that while on 
 the cross Jesus would cry: '^My God, my God, 
 why hast thou forsaken me?'' 
 
 Then Isaiah, Daniel and Malachi, at differ- 
 ent stations, send their arrows into the future. 
 We call for lights, and there are five hundred 
 prophetic arrows centered in Jesus. No skeptic 
 has ever tried to answer this argument. Chris- 
 tianity is the only religion that appeals to proph- 
 ecy for its authenticity. Remember, these proph- 
 ecies were read not only by the Jews, but by 
 Roman, Greek and barbarian. The place of 
 Christ's birth, the manner of his life, and the 
 suffering on the cross, were all read long before 
 he walked the earth. 
 
y 
 
 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST 65 
 
 What do you think of Christ as a helper? 
 When here on earth he went about aiding peo- 
 ple. He fed five thousand, and encouraged the 
 despondent and had compassion on the needy. 
 
 What do you think of him as a comforter? 
 When he sojourned on earth he comforted 
 Mary and Martha in their sorrow; he said, 
 **Weep not.'' He is the same great comforter. 
 He will comfort you with his promises and 
 with his word. 
 
 While in California a little girl was killed 
 by a horse running away. Bro. H. D. Connell 
 was asked to conduct the funeral. He said to 
 me: *'I just can not preach that funeral. These 
 are very dear friends and this is the only child. 
 It will break the heart of the mother. You 
 must preach; I will just read the lesson." I 
 consented. Brother Connell had read but a few 
 verses when the mother's mind gave way. The 
 glare of the eye showed that the mind was 
 wavering. She rushed to the coffin, took the 
 dead child in her arms, and said: **Pearl, I can 
 not give you up. They must not take you 
 away." Brother Connell said: **Mother, that is 
 not Pearl. That is only her dead body. Pearl 
 lives in heaven." "Who said my darling would 
 live again?" "Why, Jesus himself." "Well, 
 then, I can go to her." She quietly returned 
 to her seat, comforted by the promises of Jesus. 
 
 He is the good Shepherd and he will care 
 
^ THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 for us. A minister went to the bedside of a 
 dying mother. She said, ''Oh, brother, I am 
 afraid to die." ''Why, I thought you were a 
 Christian and not afraid of the future.'' "I 
 know I am saved, and that I will go to heaven, 
 but the fear of the agony of death." A few 
 days later the minister called again, and she 
 said, "I am not afraid now; I have read the 
 promises of Jesus and he will go with me 
 through the valley." In a few hours she went 
 to be with Jesus. A month passed, and the 
 same minister met the husband, who said: 
 *'Come with me at once. My little girl Allie is 
 dying of diphtheria. She wants to talk with 
 you." What will she want to talk about? In 
 our worldly affairs we talk of everything, but 
 when we come to the time of death we talk of 
 Jesus. The minister hurried to her bed and 
 found her gasping for breath. He said, "What 
 do you want me to talk about, Allie?" "Talk 
 about heaven and where mother is." "Well, 
 Allie, heaven is a glorious country. Your 
 mother is there. Jesus is there. No little girls 
 have sore throats there." Her eyes sparkled. 
 "If I die, I will go to mother. She will be at 
 the gate to meet me." Just then the physician 
 came in and said, "Allie, I must burn your 
 throat again." "Papa, don't let them burn my 
 throat again; I want to go to mother. Papa, 
 take me in your arms." He took the poor lit- 
 
WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST Q 
 
 tie, dying creature in his arms. **Now, hold me 
 just a little higher; hold me nearer mother and 
 heaven." There, just as high as he could hold 
 her, her spirit went home to Jesus and mother. 
 Skeptic, what have you to offer to that dying 
 girl? You blow out the light and leave her in 
 darkness. 
 
MORAL LAW AND POSITIVE DIVINE LAW 
 
 Moral law relates to that which is right in 
 itself. It appeals to human reason. The thing 
 required can be seen to be right in the nature of 
 the thing. 
 
 It is right to speak the truth and wrong to 
 lie. The moral commands may be kept by 
 those who have no faith, hence they are no 
 tests of loyalty to God. 
 
 All can see a reason why we should keep 
 the moral laws of truth, honesty and purity. 
 These moral commands are kept to some extent 
 hy all men. 
 
 Positive divine law requires a higher order 
 of obedience. The positive commands are right 
 because God commands them. There is no ap- 
 parent fitness between the thing commanded and 
 Wessing to be obtained. To keep a positive 
 command Is a trial of a man's faith, a test of 
 loyalty. A moral command is no test of loyalty. 
 
 If God had said to Adam, ''In the day thou 
 whippest thy wife thou shalt surely die," there 
 would have been no test of loyalty. No one 
 could have known whether he kept the command 
 
 68 
 
MORAL AND DIVINE LAW 69 
 
 because he loved God or because he loved his 
 wife. He might have kept the command be- 
 cause he loved her or because he had sympathy 
 with her, or it might have been because he was 
 afraid of her. But in either case there would 
 have been no test of faith. The reason for 
 keeping a positive law is because God com- 
 manded it. It is the test of a man's faith. 
 Keeping the positive divine command does not 
 make a man any better morally or physically; 
 but in keeping it he shows his respect for divine 
 authority and his reverence for God. 
 
 Some tell us these positive commands are of 
 little consequence; that if we conduct ourselves 
 properly and cultivate the Christian graces, we 
 are all right. That is a fearful mistake. A 
 positive divine law rises above moral law. 
 
 The first command given, ''Thou shalt not 
 eat of the tree of knowledge," was a positive 
 command. No doubt Adam reasoned as men 
 do this day, and said: "What harm Is there in 
 It? It is mere form, anyway." But his dis- 
 obedience brought a curse upon the race. 
 
 Voltaire asked, ''What harm is there in eat- 
 ing an apple?" No man can see any reason for 
 not eating the apple save for that exalted reason 
 that God said, "Eat it not." It resembles many 
 cases we have to-day in which reason is put 
 above God's law. Good intentions do not jus- 
 tify disobedience. God said no one but a Levite 
 
70 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 must touch the ark of the covenant. Uzzah, 
 not of the tribe of Levi, put his hand on the 
 ark to steady it as it threatened to fall, and was 
 stricken by death for his error. No doubt his 
 intentions were right. Good intentions and do- 
 ing what God forbade him to do led to his 
 death, and by this we are warned of the danger 
 of neglecting God's positive law. Eve was de- 
 ceived, but her disobedience brought death. 
 
 Whenever we violate law we suffer, whether 
 it be the physical, moral or divine law. If I 
 put my finger in the fire, it will burn. All the 
 prayers of the world will not keep the finger 
 from burning. It is foolish to pray that the 
 finger may not burn. Better pray that I may 
 keep it out of the fire. Instead of asking God 
 to save the disobedient, pray that the disobedi- 
 ent may become obedient. 
 
 If a man violates the laws of truthful- 
 ness, sobriety and chastity, he will reap what he 
 sows. 
 
 Just as sure as a man suffers when he vio- 
 lates physical or moral law, he will suffer when 
 he transgresses positive law. God told Abra- 
 ham to go and offer up his son. The positive 
 command arose above the moral. 
 
 The command to look upon the brazen 
 serpent was a positive command. All who 
 looked, lived. All who reasoned that there was 
 no good in looking at a piece of brass, died. 
 
MORAL AND DIVINE LAW 71 
 
 I wish now to present four cases showing 
 the results of obedience and disobedience. 
 
 God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden 
 and commanded him not to eat of the forbidden 
 fruit. He did eat, and brought death upon the 
 race. The suffering came from the violation of 
 a positive divine command. 
 
 Again, God commanded that no one but the 
 priests of the tribe of Levi should touch the 
 ark of the covenant. The ark had been cap- 
 tured by the enemy and David had retaken it 
 and was having it brought back home. As the 
 ark tottered and was about to fall, Uzzah put his 
 hand against the ark and fell dead (2 Sam. 
 6:7). Uzzah was not a priest and he was com- 
 manded not to touch the ark. His intentions 
 were good, perhaps, but when God commands 
 we must obey. Here one man brought a curse 
 upon himself, and another death, by disobedi- 
 ence to a divine positive command. 
 
 I wish now to show where obedience brought 
 blessings. The man born blind came to Jesus. 
 He said to him, '^Go, wash In the pool of 
 Siloam." He washed and sight was given. 
 Was there any virtue in that water? Certainly 
 not. How did the man get the blessing? By 
 obeying a positive command. 
 
 In the fifth chapter of Second Kings we 
 have a case where obedience saved a man's life. 
 Naaman was afflicted with leprosy. He was 
 
n THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 commanded to go to Ellsha the prophet. The 
 old prophet said to Naaman, **Go and wash in 
 the Jordan seven times, and thou shalt be 
 clean." Naaman was angry; but his friends 
 urged him to obey the command. In imagina- 
 tion I see him going back fifteen miles. He 
 goes down into the stream and dips once. 
 Every spot was there yet. No indication of 
 healing. I near him say, *'I told you there was 
 no virtue in this old, muddy Jordan.'' *'Hold 
 on, Naaman; God did not say to dip once, but 
 seven times. You must obey God according to 
 his commands." He dipped twice, three times, 
 four, five, six times; not a spot is healed; no 
 indication of cleansing. Again he was angry. 
 **Naaman, do what God tells you to do." He 
 dipped the seventh time, and when he came up 
 his flesh was as pure as that of a little child, 
 and he was healed. Was the healing in the 
 water? No. Was it in the seven dips over the 
 one? No. How did the healing come? By 
 obeying God's positive command. 
 
 Obedience brought a blessing upon Cor- 
 nelius, who was a praying man. The blessing 
 came to him when he obeyed. 
 
 But you may ask, *'Are there any positive 
 laws now?" Jesus spent three years in the 
 work of mercy and he gave many moral laws, 
 but he constituted but two positive laws; one, 
 the Lord's Supper, to test the loyalty of the 
 
MORAL AND DIVINE LAW 73 
 
 Christian; the other, baptism, to test the loyalty 
 of the unconverted. Standing on the slope of 
 the hill, Jesus gave his parting command to his 
 disciples: '*Go into all the world and preach the 
 gospel to every creature. He that believeth and 
 is baptized shall be saved." 
 
 This positive command (baptism) rests 
 upon the authority of our Lord. We must obey 
 it. Our opinions are of no avail. To ignore it 
 is treason. Obey God and sing : 
 
 "Oh, how happy are they 
 Who their Saviour obey/' 
 
VI. 
 
 THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 
 
 Text. — "Neither for these only do I pray, but for them 
 also that believe on me through their word; that they may 
 all be one ; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, 
 that they may also be in us : that the world may believe that 
 thou didst send me." — John 17 : 20, 21. 
 
 The paramount issue among the churches is 
 Christian unity. Every religious society is 
 pleading for union. It is the theme that stirs 
 our world's missionary conventions into the 
 white heat of enthusiasm. 
 
 The Catholic Church is making overtures to 
 the English and Greek Churches, urging them 
 to come back into the fold. The English 
 Church says to the Catholic Church, **Give up 
 your doctrine of infallibility and we are ready 
 for union." 
 
 The Methodist Conference and the Presby- 
 terian Synod set apart a session to discuss the 
 union question. The great thinkers are realiz- 
 ing that the Protestants must unite or die. 
 There is not a hope for the conquest of the 
 world for Christ, with a divided church. We 
 must unite or perish. Divided, we fall. United, 
 we stand. 
 
 74 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 75 
 
 THE TESTIMONY OF GREAT MEN. 
 
 The work of Christianizing the world can only be done 
 by a united church. — Norman McLean^ Scotland, 
 
 I would do little to make a man a Baptist and much to 
 make him a Christian. — E, T. Ruth {Baptist) ^ Liverpool, 
 England. 
 
 The body of Christ, torn and bleeding, is the shame of 
 the church. It is our duty to put an end to divisions. — 
 Episcopal Assembly. 
 
 Denominationalism has done all the good it can do. Let 
 it fade and pass away. — Dr, Hunter {Congregationalist), 
 Glasgow, Scotland. 
 
 The want of unity in the church at home is a serious 
 hindrance in the mission field. It is of large importance that 
 Christian forces be united. — John R. Mott. 
 
 The value of Christian union is great at home, but ten- 
 fold greater in the mission field, where divisions suggest 
 other prophets besides Jesus. — Former President Harrison. 
 
 The missionary problem is not a Methodist problem, an 
 Episcopalian problem, nor a Baptist problem ; it is a problem 
 for united Christendom. — Dr. Gracey, Ecumenical Missionary 
 Convention. 
 
 In the missionary work, above all other kinds of Chris- 
 tian work, it is imperative to remember that a divided Chris- 
 tendom can only imperfectly bear witness to the essential 
 unity of Christians. — Theodore Roosevelt. 
 
 The most pitiable sight that I saw in the foreign lands 
 was that of churches that had been gathered out of heathen- 
 ism, rent in twain by sectarian jealousy which had been in- 
 troduced from the so-called Christian lands. — Francis E, 
 Clark. 
 
 The greatest weakness of Protestantism is division. The 
 demand of the hour is Christian union. Saintship is not sec- 
 tarian. Union would give us strength. A united church in 
 New Albany would give us the power to destroy the saloon, 
 revolutionize amusements, and relieve suffering. — Frank Or- 
 man Beck (M. £.), New Albany, Ind. 
 
76 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 The time has come in the history of the church when God 
 says: "Unite, unite." God is calling us to "unite, unite." I 
 would not for the world forsake my denomination (Baptist), 
 but for Christ's sake I would gladly give it up forever. — 
 Russell Conwell, Endeavor Convention, New York City. 
 
 As soon as Porto Rico came under our flag, we began to 
 parcel out the territory. This was comity. Our denomina- 
 tional banners should have been left behind us. I like not 
 the word "comity"; it is veneered selfishness. It is wrong 
 in principle and unworkable in practice. Our ritual and 
 creeds must not stand in the way of massing of our Christian 
 forces, for the redemption of the world. — A, /. F. Behrends 
 {Congregationalist) , Brooklyn, N, Y, 
 
 Let me speak to you in the language of heaven and call 
 you Christians. — Henry Ward Beecher, 
 
 These divisions should be merged into the holy name 
 ''Christians." — Albert Barnes. 
 
 I pray you leave my name alone. Do not call yourselves 
 Lutherans, but Christians. — Martin Luther (Michelet's "Life 
 of Luther" p. 262). 
 
 I wish the name "Methodist" might never be mentioned 
 more, but lost in eternal oblivion. — John Wesley {"Universal 
 Knowledge," Vol. IX., p. 540) . 
 
 I sometimes feel sorry that the word "Baptist," which 
 was flung at us by our enemies and stuck, should be our 
 name. Perhaps yet we will go back to the name "Christian." 
 — Dr. P. S. Henson (Baptist), in the General Convention of 
 Baptist Churches at Cleveland, O., May 19, 1904. 
 
 It is a privilege to join with you in your tribute to John 
 Wesley. The more we study him and his life the nearer we 
 shall come together. . < . I never think of Wesley, the 
 attitude of the English Church toward him, and the action 
 of those who broke away from the mother church, without 
 feeling anew that it is the self-will of man, and not the will 
 of God, that separates and keeps his family apart. The 
 supreme duty of all Christian churches is to place unity, 
 actual and real, as the unity of an army, in the forefront of 
 every prayer and of every effort that God in his good time 
 may bring them to subordinate individual will to his purpose 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 77 
 
 for his church. — Silas McBee, Editor of the "Churchman" 
 {Protestant Episcopal) ^ New York City, in "Northwestern 
 Christian Advocate" {Methodist Episcopal), June 17, 1903. 
 
 The division of the church into sects is a distinct and 
 flagrant sin. — "Ian Maclaren" {Rev, John Watson, Presby- 
 terian Minister, Sefton Park, Liverpool), in "The Bonnie 
 Briar Bush," p. 270. 
 
 In the beginning, we are told, the Christian church was 
 "all with one accord in one place," but if Peter and Paul were 
 to come to New York or to New Orleans or to San Francisco 
 or to Boston, they would find the members of this one church 
 in 169 different places, with a practical man, named James, 
 leading one group of disciples; an emotional Peter leading 
 another group ; the aesthetic John leading still another group ; 
 and the philosophic Paul guiding his own band. The cross 
 of Christ stands in the center, but each regiment, with back 
 toward that cross, marching away from his fellows, while his 
 denominational leader beats time. Yet, unity, co-operation, 
 could combine these scattered regiments into a solid army 
 marching on to victory. — Newell Dwight Hillis, in "Every- 
 body's Magazine" for April, 1904. 
 
 With the testimonies of these great men, 
 and the declarations of these mighty assemblies, 
 little must be the man who defends divisions 
 and declares that God wants different denomi- 
 nations to satisfy the temperaments, tastes and 
 prejudices of man. God wants his people to 
 be one in doctrine and practice. 
 
 WHY WE SHOULD UNITE. 
 
 We should unite because our Lord prayed 
 four times that we might all be one. Our 
 Lord's unanswered prayer should touch our 
 hearts, and urge us to do all we can to bring 
 
78 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 about the union of his people. There is noth- 
 ing in the Bible more carefully taught than the 
 unity of his own. The New Teastament church 
 was a unit. Jesus said **my church.'' The 
 church in the beginning was one body, one fold 
 and one household. The New Testament 
 church was a unit, and this unity can be restored. 
 We plead for unity because it has the sanction 
 of revelation. Let us hear what the Spirit says : 
 
 "Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that 
 there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected 
 together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 
 Cor. 1:10). 
 
 "Seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: 
 for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor. 10: 17). 
 
 "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to 
 walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, with 
 all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing 
 one another in love; giving diligence to keep the unity of 
 the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one 
 Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your call- 
 ing; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father 
 of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all" (Eph. 
 4:1-6). 
 
 "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not 
 high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not 
 wise in your own conceits" (Rom. 12 : 16) . 
 
 "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of 
 Christ : that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may 
 hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one 
 soul striving for the faith of the gospel" (Phil. 1:27). 
 
 With a united church, we should conquer 
 the world for Christ in ten years. God has 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 79 
 
 given us these mighty forces, the press, tele- 
 gram, steamboat, railroad, the cablegram anni- 
 hilating space and resistance, that we may use 
 them so that the kingdoms of this world may 
 become the kingdoms of our Lord. 
 
 We should unite because Christ and the 
 apostles condemned division. Christ tells us 
 there is one fold and one shepherd. Paul tells 
 us there is one body, one Spirit, one Lord and 
 one baptism (Eph. 4: 4-6). But in our day we 
 have many faiths, numerous baptisms, several 
 bodies, and more than one Lord. Instead of the 
 union of the faith, we have division, strife, con- 
 fusion, jealousy, hate and contention. We have 
 twenty-nine kinds of Methodists, twenty-two 
 kinds of Lutherans, sixteen kinds of Presbyte- 
 rians, eight kinds of Baptists, four kinds of 
 Episcopalians and six kinds of Catholics. All 
 under different government and law. Could any 
 earthly nation live under such government? 
 
 THE BIBLE EVERYWHERE CONDEMNS 
 SEPARATION. 
 
 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there 
 be no divisions among you ; but that ye be perfectly joined 
 together in the same mind, and in the same judgment. 
 
 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, 
 by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are con- 
 tentions among you. 
 
 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul ; 
 and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 
 
80 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were 
 you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Cor. 1 : 10-13). 
 
 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spir- 
 itual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 
 
 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat : for hitherto 
 ye were not able to hear it, neither yet now are ye able. 
 
 For ye are yet carnal : for whereas there is among you 
 envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk 
 as men? 
 
 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am 
 of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 
 
 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers, by 
 whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? (1 
 Cor. 3: 1-5). 
 
 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the 
 members should have the same care one for another (1 
 Cor. 12: 25). 
 
 In this discussion Paul made use of the fig- 
 ure of the human body to teach the lesson of 
 unity. If one member suffereth, all suffer. The 
 separation of any member of the body of 
 Christ causes suffering to the whole body. The 
 consequences go further than to merely injure 
 the one that separates. It injures all. The 
 blood of Jesus Christ never circulated through 
 the veins of sectarianism. Think of the mem- 
 bers of different denominations **having the 
 same care one for the other" (i Cor. ii: i8). 
 **Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them 
 which cause divisions and offenses, contrary to 
 the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid 
 them" (Rom. i6: 17). 
 
 The word of God condemns divisions, and 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 81 
 
 yet the truth remains that, instead of standing 
 fast together, we stand loosely, striving sepa- 
 rately; three hundred party spirits, rejecting the 
 commandments of God that we may keep our 
 traditions. 
 
 THE EVILS OF DIVISIONS. 
 
 Divisions create doubt, skepticism and in- 
 fidelity. The unbelieving world sees the folly 
 of faction and separation, and rejects the faith. 
 They see denominationalism is false, and reject 
 all. Sectarianism breeds skeptics. Doubt is 
 found everywhere. Our schools and universi- 
 ties are filled with scorn and doubt. Dr. Christ- 
 lieb, in speaking of his own country (Germany), 
 says: ''Wherever you go, into the schoolroom 
 of the professor, the barracks of the soldier, 
 or the shops, you hear the same tale. The old 
 faith has become obsolete; no new churches are 
 being built. Only five in one hundred go to 
 church in Germany, and not one in one hundred 
 in the capital, among the Protestants, go to 
 church. Everywhere religion is ridiculed and 
 condemned." This wide spread of unbelief is 
 alarming in our own country. Jesus prayed that 
 *'all might be one," and his reason for praying 
 for this unity was "that the world might believe 
 that thou hast sent me." Unity will cause the 
 world to believe in Christ. Disunion will cause 
 the world to reject him. Disunion is largely re- 
 
82 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 sponsible for the havoc of skepticism. When 
 the unbelieving world sees the soldiers of the 
 cross at war with one another, it turns away in 
 disgust, and has no desire to enter the ranks of 
 those contending factions. 
 
 Disunion hinders evangelism. People wed- 
 ded to a denomination often prefer to see their 
 friends and relatives stay out of Christ rather 
 than join some other denomination. ''I do not 
 know what church to join," is the common ex- 
 cuse of thousands in every community. In my 
 evangelistic work I have met these excuses thou- 
 sands of times. 
 
 Disunion hinders church discipline, admoni- 
 tion and rebuke. Immorality and heresy find 
 protection in disunion. All know if men are 
 rebuked for their sins or threatened suspension 
 for their folly, that they can find a home in some 
 rival denomination, and often these disturbers 
 of peace are treated as heroes. The outside 
 world sees this folly, and sneers. Over such a 
 scene Satan sits upon his throne, and smiles. The 
 divided church is doing his work for him. 
 
 On account of rivalry and jealousy among 
 religious societies the Christian religion is not 
 taught in our public schools nor in many of our 
 colleges. Teachers can teach history, geography, 
 mythology, and the religion of the Greeks, but 
 they are not allowed to teach the Christian 
 religion. As most of our children are educated 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 83 
 
 in the public schools, the majority of our Ameri- 
 can youths grow up without any religion. 
 Teachers are compelled to assume an attitude 
 of indifference, and many even exhibit antago- 
 nism to religion. They must not show any inter- 
 est in religion, as it may ruin their influence and 
 even lose them their places in many schools. 
 Skepticism enters the classroom and faith goes 
 out. 
 
 DISUNION CAUSES GRIEF. 
 
 Sickness, poverty and misery have caused 
 less grief than divisions have caused. These 
 divisions bring sorrow, heartache, anguish and 
 disappointment. Disunion divides homes, and 
 causes the parents to quarrel over the cradle of 
 the new-born babe. Children remain out of the 
 church because father belongs to one church and 
 mother to another. Do you think that Jesus 
 ever expected the home to be so divided that we 
 can not train the children for the Christ? 
 
 Denominationalism hinders the work of 
 charity. Divided into warring factions, the 
 churches do not relieve misery, care for the 
 sick and alleviate pain. Were we one people, 
 we could hire great physicians that could be con- 
 sulted free by the poor and needy, make happy 
 many suffering homes, fill the hungry mouths, 
 and clothe the shivering body. In every com- 
 munity there are persons who have gone to an 
 
84 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 untimely death, and filled paupers' graves, who 
 could have been saved by Christian care. 
 
 To many so-called Christians our Lord may 
 say on that great day: ''Depart from me, ye 
 cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
 devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and ye 
 gave me no meat; sick, and ye visited me not." 
 To care for the poor is laid upon the Christian 
 church, and God will hold it responsible for the 
 neglect. 
 
 Disunion is wicked waste of mind and 
 money. Disunion weakens the church, wastes 
 its money, squanders its resources, creates rival- 
 ry and extravagance. Millions of dollars are 
 put into great temples of worship, not because 
 they are needed, but in order to vie with one 
 another. We try to outstrip our rivals in erect- 
 ing great buildings, and securing popular preach- 
 ers who can draw the masses. If we would turn 
 loose the hundred thousand rival preachers and 
 set free the millions of money tied up to per- 
 petuate division, we would have men and money 
 to carry the gospel to the slums, the heathen and 
 the waste places of the world. None need be 
 idle. The work of mercy needs thousands of 
 Christian workers and millions of dollars of 
 money. One hundred and fifty million people 
 have never heard the name of Jesus pronounced. 
 One billion of human beings have never ac- 
 knowledged his authority. Not one worker 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 85 
 
 would be thrown out of employment if denomi- 
 nationalism was abandoned, but all workers 
 could go forth with the true spirit of brotherly 
 love, conquering the kingdom of sin for the 
 King of kings. 
 
 I was in a Western town of five thousand 
 people where fourteen churches were struggling 
 for an existence. On Lord's Day morning not 
 one of them had one hundred people in attend- 
 ance. All combined had less than five hundred 
 in services that day. Two good churches, with 
 two able ministers, could have served the people 
 much better. Instead of working together, they 
 were in bitter antagonism. Could stupidity be 
 more stupid than to perpetuate in a town of a 
 few hundred people, so many church houses, so 
 many preachers, so many congregations, bur- 
 dened with debt and asking the missionary socie- 
 ties to help them live, when they should have 
 been contributing to the evangelism of the 
 world? 
 
 THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM. 
 
 I have listened to the addresses at our 
 world's congresses, federation assemblies and 
 missionary conferences. These great assemblies 
 show the evil of disunion and the beauty of 
 union, but I never heard one of the speakers 
 offer a solution for the problem. They all ad- 
 mit that the divided church is sick, but they offer 
 
86 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 no remedy. They examine the case and declare 
 the disease, but prescribe no cure. In all the 
 addresses that I have read, delivered in the 
 conferences and assemblies, all admit that the 
 problem of the church is union, but they do not 
 offer a solution. 
 
 I trust I am not prejudiced, but It seems to 
 me that the people called Christians are the 
 only people that offer a solution for this ques- 
 tion. And even our great orators generally 
 speak of the evil and fail to offer the remedy. 
 Our remedy is to restore the New Testament 
 church in doctrine and practice. All who do 
 this are abiding in unity. We should show de- 
 nominationalism the beauty, strength and justice 
 of Christian unity. When men can be made to 
 see this power of unity, they will abandon dis- 
 union. 
 
 THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY. 
 
 I. The basis of Christian unity must contain 
 every essential in Christianity. If we omit one 
 essential, some people will see that all the 
 truth is not taught, and they will organize an- 
 other religious society. Instead of unity, we 
 only have another division. Unity will never 
 come by accommodating the truth to the preju- 
 dices of men. Faith is unvarying, and men must 
 accommodate themselves to it. Parts of the 
 truth must not be taken as a whole. There 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY %7 
 
 can be no unity only as we cling to the truth, 
 and the truth shall make us free. Here is where 
 the blunders have been made in the past. Chris- 
 tian union is not new. The Moravians pleaded 
 for union, but they failed because they omitted 
 some of the cardinal points in Christianity. The 
 Christian Connection made character the basis 
 of union and gave people their choice as to doc- 
 trine. The Friends (Quakers) attempted a 
 spiritual union, but failed, as they omitted the 
 two Christian institutions — baptism and com- 
 munion. They failed, and their religious so- 
 cieties are becoming a disappearing brother- 
 hood. The only thing they accomplished was to 
 make more divisions. Abner Jones, of Ver- 
 mont; James O'Kelly, of North Carolina, and 
 Barton Stone urged union, but they were too 
 liberal and failed. Jesus said, ''Why call me 
 Lord, and do not the things I say?" All his 
 teaching is essential, and must go into this basis 
 in order to succeed. 
 
 2. The basis of unity must not contain one 
 non-essential. If it contains a non-essential, 
 good people will not accept it, and again you 
 have division Instead of union. That has been 
 the trouble with creed and creed-maker. They 
 put in their basis things not taught in the Bible. 
 A man may believe In hereditary sin, total de- 
 pravity, election and direct operation of the 
 Spirit and be saved. He may reject all these 
 
S8 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 doctrines and be saved. They are non-essentials, 
 and must not go in the basis of union. 
 
 Well did the author of ^That We Might Be 
 One'' say, '*A11 the congresses and federations 
 of the world can not bring union on the basis 
 of man's opinion." We must come back to the 
 New Testament church. The federations and 
 congresses may advance the cause of union, but 
 more often they hinder. They convey to the 
 world that these combines have divine sanction. 
 The Bible forms no basis for churches. It 
 teaches unity, one church. A federation of 
 churches is not unity. 
 
 Were it not for our divided conditions, I 
 would not have to discuss this subject any 
 further. But on account of divisions we have 
 departed from the divine line. We must re- 
 turn to the New Testament church. 
 
 THE NAME. 
 
 There is no other name under the stars 
 upon which we can unite except ^'Christian." It 
 is the only name that includes all who are fol- 
 lowers of the Christ, and excludes all who are 
 not. It is a universal term, one that applies to 
 all who own our Lord. Try our logic on any 
 other word, and you will fail. Disciples and 
 brethren are too inclusive. They include many 
 who are not Christians. The Oddfellows and 
 Masons are brethren. Plato and Socrates had 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 89 
 
 disciples. "Lutheran'* is too exclusive. The 
 name excludes many who are Christians. With 
 Alexander Proctor we say: *'The only term on 
 earth upon which we can unite is the term 
 'Christian'." Christians of all denominations 
 are willing to wear that divine name. We can 
 never agree upon a party name. Go to a 
 brother of some denomination and say to him, 
 *Tou are not a Unitarian?" '*No, sir." 'Tou 
 are not a Lutheran?" **No." ''You are not a 
 Christian?" "Yes, I am." He is willing to 
 wear that name. It is not in controversy. The 
 name "Christian" has the sanction of revelation. 
 "The disciples were called Christians first at 
 Antioch" (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28). Peter 
 says: "If a man suffer as a Christian, let him 
 not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this 
 name" (i Pet. 4: 16). 
 
 THE BOOK OF AUTHORITY. 
 
 The New Testament must be the book of 
 authority. Whatever it commands us to do, we 
 must do; whatever it commands us not to do, 
 we must not do. Where the Bible is silent 
 there is freedom of opinion. We can unite upon 
 no other book. Those who cling to the Dis- 
 cipline will not surrender that book for the 
 Westminster Confession. The people who ac- 
 cept that Confession will not give it up for the 
 Augsburg Confession, and the Lutherans will 
 
90 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 not give up that creed for the Nicene Creed. 
 But all of them are willing to make the Bible 
 the last appeal. We say, make it the last, first 
 and only appeal. The place for all the creeds 
 and Disciplines is the museum. 
 
 THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. 
 
 The subject of baptism should not be In our 
 way. The same rule that applies to the name 
 and the creed applies to baptism. We must 
 adopt the practice that all will accept. We are 
 not discussing the mode. It is our purpose to 
 accept that practice upon which all will agree. 
 The immersion of a penitent believer in water is 
 accepted as Christian baptism by all Protestant- 
 ism that practices any mode of baptism. The 
 Methodists, Presbyterians, United Brethren, 
 Congregationalists, Baptists and Lutherans ad- 
 mit to membership immersed persons. This 
 baptism is not in debate. These millions of peo- 
 ple acknowledge that immersion is valid bap- 
 tism. Here we can unite. 
 
 But we can not unite upon any substitute. 
 The ninety millions in the Greek Church, the 
 millions of immersionists in the world, and the 
 large number of immersed among other religious 
 societies, will never accept any substitute for the 
 New Testament practice. All will accept im- 
 mersion. To leave this out of our basis of 
 union is fatal. One hundred million people 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 91 
 
 will not consent to this unscriptural practice. 
 
 We are playing havoc with God's plans 
 when we try to unite upon any human substi- 
 tute. We are wasting time and courting dis- 
 union even in trying it. Union means obedi- 
 ence to God's laws. 
 
 Those who plead for union should learn 
 lessons from the trend of the age. 
 
 Thousands upon thousands who have been 
 sprinkled demand immersion every year. In 
 every city, town and village, men and women 
 leave the ranks of the affusionists and demand 
 immersion. This is not true among those who 
 cling to the baptism that Jesus enjoined upon his 
 people. Christian unity must come by keeping 
 the marching orders of our King, and not by 
 rejecting some of his teaching. Jesus said: 
 **Why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the 
 things I say?" Jesus gave the Christian insti- 
 tution of baptism. To reject it Is to reject his 
 word. To ignore the word of the Lord Is to 
 Ignore the Lord who spoke It. 
 
 Unity will not come by comity, federations 
 and combines. We must unite, not mix. Oil 
 and water can not be united. Oxygen and 
 hydrogen unite. Denominations may combine, 
 but they can not unite. The union that Jesus 
 prayed for was the union of Individuals, not of 
 churches. Our work is to restore the New 
 Testament church. For this purpose we were 
 
92 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 sent into this world. We were not sent to evan- 
 gelize the world. True, we are intensely evan- 
 gelistic, because we believe that is the best way 
 to enlist men under the banner of unity. But 
 we realize that the evangelistic problem is set- 
 tled when we come to the unity of the faith. 
 Our mission is not to preach to the heathen 
 world. We are enthusiastically in favor of For- 
 eign Missions, but other religious bodies are 
 equally enthusiastic. Our work is to unite 
 God's people. The missionary problem is 
 solved when we unite, and not before. United, 
 we can conquer the world in ten years. In our 
 zeal for missions we must not silence the cry 
 for unity. The missionary on the foreign field 
 that is not preaching unity, is building on the 
 sand. 
 
 No truce must be made on the foreign field. 
 He who compromises is standing on a volcano 
 that may burst at any moment and carry all to 
 destruction. The man who does not teach 
 New Testament Christianity on the foreign 
 field should be recalled. We are sent not only 
 to evangelize, but to preach to other churches. 
 We must teach them until they come to the unity 
 of the faith. We were not sent to build great 
 universities. Let the state and others do that. 
 We are sent to prepare young men to go out 
 and preach the unities of the faith. Let us do 
 first things first. 
 
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY 93 
 
 Paul tells us there are seven gospel unities 
 (Eph. 4: 1-6). In order to restore the New 
 Testament church, there must be unity of wor- 
 ship, because there is one God; there must be 
 unity of authority, because there is one Lord 
 and Christ; there must be unity of practice, be- 
 cause there is one baptism; there must be unity 
 of preaching, because there is one faith; there 
 must be unity of organization, because there is 
 one body; there must be unity of life, because 
 there is one Spirit; there must be unity of pur- 
 pose, because there is one hope. The Great 
 Commission contains every essential and omits 
 every non-essential in God's ritual. It tells 
 clearly what a man must do to become a Chris- 
 tian. We must preach it just as it is — all of it 
 and nothing else. 
 
 We take hope and rejoice when we see the 
 tendency of the religious world is toward unity. 
 The thinkers among all religious societies cham- 
 pion the cause of unity. Among the Baptists, 
 men like Conwell, Ruth, Tupper and Henson; 
 among the Methodists, Buckley, Vincent and 
 Hamilton; among the Presbyterians and Con- 
 gregationalists, Schaff, Hillis, Van Dyke and 
 Mott; among the Episcopalians, Stanley and 
 Farrar. This one thing we do: forgetting the 
 minor things of the past, with determination we 
 put our faces toward Christian unity. Theories, 
 speculations, advanced thought, higher criticism, 
 
94 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 evolution, the new learning, and kindred sub- 
 jects, must be cast out upon the dumping-ground 
 of the past. It is our duty to make way for the 
 united kingdom of our Lord. 
 
 *'Men of thought and men of action, clear 
 the way.'' 
 
 Bring about this unity of God's people, and 
 there will be joy in heaven and gladness on 
 earth. Then we can sing the angel song, *'Glory 
 to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good 
 will toward men." 
 
VII. 
 
 SERVICE 
 
 Our Ideas of service have been constantly 
 changing. In an early day, the church taught 
 that it pleased God for his followers to punish 
 the body. Foolish priests went off into the 
 desert and lived in filth and degradation, think- 
 ing they were serving God. A monk in Syria 
 builded a tower and lived thirty years upon the 
 top of it. His food was sent up to him in a 
 basket by a rope. Here, in rags and dirt, he 
 prayed fifteen hours a day. Silly people would 
 pass by and say: *'What a servant of God!" 
 But in all these thirty years of praying, priva- 
 tion and torture, he did not render any service 
 to God. 
 
 Thinking it would please God to punish the 
 body, deluded Christians wore hairy garments 
 to lacerate the body, put thorns and pebbles in 
 their shoes, crawled upon hands and knees, and 
 wore out their bodies in pain. It is on account 
 of this same foolish notion that the cruel priest 
 commands his subjects to do penance. In Mex- 
 ico I saw many persons crawling upon the stone 
 floor. The priest had commanded them to 
 
 95 
 
96 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 crawl there to please God, or, rather, to ap- 
 pease him. But finally the people began to ask, 
 *'Where is any service in torture? Whom do 
 we serve by punishing the body?" Martin 
 Luther crawling up Pilate's Stairway, in Rome, 
 thought of the sentence, *'The just shall live by 
 faith." Quickly he sprang up and went to preach- 
 ing justification by faith. With that plea he 
 shook all Europe. 
 
 Protestantism gave the world a higher idea 
 of service, but fell short of the divine idea. 
 The Catholic Church taught that the pope was 
 inspired. Protestantism taught that the king 
 was inspired. Bishop Andrews taught that King 
 James was inspired of God. To them, serving 
 the pope and the king was serving God. Cal- 
 vinism taught that to serve God was to do 
 nothing. Thousands were waiting for God to 
 come and convert them. Instead of obeying the 
 command, "Create within me a clean heart," 
 they were waiting for God to give them a new 
 heart. Within the church, service consisted of 
 shouting, crying, praying and agonizing, as if 
 God would be pleased to see his people agonize. 
 In these wild excitements, many would swoon 
 and become unconscious. Preachers praised 
 God for these wonderful hypnotic manifesta- 
 tions. While all these things are rejected by us 
 to-day as false conceptions of service, have we 
 restored the divine idea? To many good peo- 
 
SERVICE 97 
 
 pie to-day, service consists of singing, praying 
 and praising God. 
 
 Torturing the body, agonizing, singing, pray- 
 ing and praising are not acts of service. Do not 
 misunderstand me. Praying is absolutely essen- 
 tial. It is as important as it is for the soldier 
 to go to his meals. He can not live without it. 
 We must feed upon the word of God, and com- 
 mune with him, but that is worship, not service. 
 It is proper to worship, but it is important to 
 go further, and serve. To ask God to give you 
 something is not service. You must give to 
 serve. The way to serve God is to serve man. 
 
 Jesus taught us clearly what service Is. 
 Whatever Jesus taught he illustrated in his own 
 life. When he wanted to teach the people what 
 obedience is, he was obedient to his Father. 
 When he wanted to teach what baptism is, he 
 went down into the water and was baptized. 
 When he desired to teach a lesson on immortal- 
 ity, he went into the grave and came out tri- 
 umphantly. His whole life affords an example 
 of service. He took upon himself the form of 
 a servant (Phil. 2: 6, 7). 
 
 He said to his disciples, ^'I am among you 
 as a servant." ''The Son of man came not to 
 be ministered unto, but to minister." Then he 
 proclaimed that wonderful truth, "The disciple 
 IS not above his master." As my Father hath 
 sent me, so I send you." 
 
98 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 He went forth encouraging the despondent, 
 helping the needy, and consoHng the afflicted. 
 Then, in his last great lesson, he taught that we 
 are to be rewarded or condemned as we have 
 served or failed to serve. 
 
 In the last great court, Jesus will not ask us 
 if we believed or prayed. It is our blessed 
 privilege to praise him, but that is not service. 
 But he will ask us if we carried a cup of water 
 to the thirsty, or fed the hungry. Christian 
 service consists of doing something for human- 
 ity, and doing that thing in the name of the 
 Lord. Religion without philanthropy is not 
 Christianity. Philanthropy without religion is 
 not Christianity. Christian service consists of 
 both piety and philanthropy. Piety without 
 charity is as defective as charity without piety. 
 We may give our millions for self-aggrandize- 
 ment, and it is not Christian service. We may 
 pray, cry, weep and be very good, but these 
 things do not constitute Christian service. When 
 a man enlists under the banner of Christ, he 
 should begin a life of service. Commercial 
 service and Christian service are widely differ- 
 ent. Commercial service serves to be served. 
 Christian service serves to help. In Christian 
 service greed gives way to need. If society 
 would accept the social laws of Jesus, the earth 
 would blossom as a rose, while poverty and sor- 
 row would flee away. 
 
SERVICE 99 
 
 Then we would hear no more of the secular 
 and sacred. The lawyer, merchant and states- 
 man would go forth to do good, not for gain; 
 when the church-member takes the ballot in his 
 hand, he should say with the same reverence, 
 **Lord, what wilt thou have me do?'' as when 
 he takes the communion cup. With this con- 
 ception of service, society will demand that the 
 statesman shall be as godly as the preacher, 
 and the voter as pure as the deacon. The 
 churchman will understand that to serve God he 
 must do service in his name. 
 
 All around us are great opportunities for 
 Christian service. Christians should go to the 
 home of the sick, not in the name of orders, 
 ladies' aid, or Endeavor societies, but go there 
 in the name of Christ. They should go not 
 only to pray and sympathize, but they should 
 go to aid. Cleansing the home of the afflicted, 
 as if it was the home of your own sister in the 
 flesh, and relieving the sick and weary of the 
 heavy burdens of life, is high Christian service. 
 To permit a sister in Christ to suffer in neglect 
 is as great a sin as to neglect the needs of your 
 sister in the flesh. Years ago I saw a mother 
 and father enter a village church. They looked 
 around to see their married daughter. She was 
 not at church. I heard the mother say: 'Will- 
 iam, I am afraid Virgie is sick. I can't be at 
 rest until I know what is the cause of her ab- 
 
100 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 sence." The father replied: '*I can't worship 
 till I know what is the cause of her absence. 
 She may be in need. I will go over and see. 
 If she needs you, I will send for you." If 
 every Christian would feel with the same anx- 
 ious love toward every other Christian, the 
 church would win victories. 
 
 If, when we missed a Christian from church, 
 we could not rest until we knew the cause, the 
 problem of church attendance would be solved. 
 A sister said to me not long ago: *'I have not 
 served the Lord this year." I asked her why. 
 She replied: '^I have an invalid mother that I am 
 compelled to care for. I can not leave her 
 alone one hour. I have not been to service 
 once this year." I said to her: '^In serving your 
 afflicted mother, you have served God. You 
 can render no higher service, and God will 
 bless you." By helping others in Christ's name, 
 we are rendering the highest service that can 
 possibly be rendered to God. 
 
VIII. 
 GORGEOUSNESS IN WORSHIP 
 
 The early church was noted for its simplicity 
 in its worship and in its gospel message. Mag- 
 nificence characterized paganism; ostentation, 
 Judaism ; simplicity, Christianity. Paganism 
 boasted of its gorgeous temples, its magnificent 
 edifices and dazzling monuments. Its devotees 
 could point to the pyramids of Egypt, the hang- 
 ing gardens of Babylon, the Parthenon of 
 Greece, and the Pantheon of Rome. They 
 shouted, '*Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" 
 In contrast to all this stood the simplicity of 
 Christianity. 
 
 When the pagans came into the church they 
 brought with them many of their pagan customs, 
 feasts, and the inordinate lust for the gorgeous 
 and gaudy. 
 
 The pagan priest dressed gorgeously, and 
 wielded a mighty power over his subject. 
 Slowly this lust for display crept into the wor- 
 ship of Christians. Bishops aped the pagan 
 priest, and put on dazzling clerical robes. Bish- 
 ops struggled to outstrip one another in bril- 
 liancy and splendor. The Bishops of Carthage 
 
 101 
 
102 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 vied with the Bishop of Caesarea, Caesarea with 
 Jerusalem, Jerusalem with Constantinople, and 
 Constantinople with Rome. Then began the 
 war for supremacy and authority, which ended 
 in the establishment of the Roman hierarchy. 
 
 Now began the reign of display — gorgeous- 
 ness and extravagance that surpassed the pagan 
 world. The fine arts were put under tribute to 
 beautify and decorate the gorgeous temples. 
 Worship became pompous. The fine arts may 
 be used to enhance righteousness ; but in the part 
 where art flourished, vice lurked. When Phidias 
 was decorating Athens, Greece was steeped in 
 vice. 
 
 Rome was never more vicious than when 
 Michael Angelo was building St. Peter's, or 
 when Raphael was frescoing the Vatican. Art 
 may decorate, but, alone, it will not always ele- 
 vate. The nude and indecent in art to-day stirs 
 up evil passions and deadens the best emotions 
 of our nature. 
 
 The ancient tried to build a tower to heaven. 
 That was pagan. We lavish gold upon church 
 steeples. That is also pagan. On every Lord's 
 Day morning you can hear the chimes of the 
 church bells and see the sun's rays sparkle 
 from the golden steeple yonder in New York. 
 There stands that mighty church that owns 
 seventy million dollars' worth of property. Yet 
 only a few blocks from this gorgeous church, 
 
GORGEOUSNESS IN WORSHIP 103 
 
 With its millions, are one hundred thousand 
 human vermin, crawling in filth and shame, who 
 have never seen a Bible, heard a sermon, or 
 who have never entered a church. Strip off this 
 dazzling gold from the steeple and upholster- 
 ing, and send the gospel to these starving men 
 and women. 
 
 The seventy millions of dollars tied up In 
 this wealthy church would build two hundred 
 excellent church homes, employ two hundred 
 preachers for twenty-five years, and yet have 
 money to assist in alleviating pain and feeding 
 the hungry. The church is more pagan than 
 Christian. 
 
 Simplicity characterized the religion of our 
 forefathers. Then Puritanic brethren gave to 
 the world the best manhood and womanhood 
 that has ever been seen. About all that is worth 
 saving in American society is Puritanic. 
 
 The current Reformation was noted for its 
 simplicity in worship and the clearness of Its 
 message. We were free from high-sounding 
 titles and pompous display. Our growth was 
 marvelous. But we again began to ape pagan- 
 ism In our love for display and In seeking after 
 titles. We no longer rejoice In our rapid 
 growth. 
 
 Let us return to the simplicity as It Is In 
 Christ, and we will rapidly regain our lost in- 
 fluence. 
 
104 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 One of our laymen stated that if he would 
 withdraw his financial support from his local 
 congregation it would go into bankruptcy in five 
 years. If the Lord has put into our hands thou- 
 sands of dollars, it is a sin to use it for extrav- 
 agant display. To put four hundred thousand 
 dollars into a church home when one hundred 
 thousand would have builded a temple that 
 would have accommodated the people just as 
 well, is a wicked waste of the Lord's money. It 
 is unchristian and unpardonable. The three 
 hundred thousand saved would build six or eight 
 good houses of worship and would do a hun- 
 dred-fold more good. 
 
 If our pride, vanity, selfishness, hired choirs, 
 frescoed galleries, dainty and perfumed sermons, 
 heartless worship, worldly singers, fastidious 
 preachers and lavish display of dress could be 
 put into God's crucible, much dross would be 
 found. The preacher in the worldly church be- 
 comes finical, apologetic, unsound in his message, 
 and reduces himself to an oratorical fop. His 
 sermons are faultlessly nice, gloriously dull and 
 supremely null. 
 
 All careful observers admit, as our churches 
 become wealthy and our worship becomes gor- 
 geous, the members become cold and heartless. 
 When display and gorgeousness go in, friend- 
 ship and love go out. When style enters, sim- 
 plicity departs. When gaudily dressed rich 
 
GORGEOUSNESS IN WORSHIP 105 
 
 rule, the poor are driven out. Christian fellow- 
 ship can not grow in the icehouse of ostentation. 
 No man can feel humble amid all the dazzle and 
 gorgeousness common in the ponderous edifice 
 of extravagance and wealth. Sociability can not 
 live in high-church society. 
 
 Humility is too delicate to look at itself and 
 live. It can grow only in the warm atmosphere 
 of love and simple friendship. Let us see 
 Christ's estimate of the wealthy and worldly 
 church. To six of the seven churches in Asia 
 he had a word of commendation, but to the 
 Laodicean church he had not one line of com- 
 mendation or one word of praise. The church, 
 as an organization, had passed beyond redemp- 
 tion. 
 
 The great sin of this congregation was its 
 unlimited wealth. We hear of churches bur- 
 dened with debt, but there is a church burdened 
 with wealth unto death. Wealth crushed out its 
 life, until it existed only in a name of reproach. 
 
 The Master said: ^'Thou art neither cold 
 nor hot. I would you were cold or hot." The 
 church hot to white heat needs no help. Her 
 enthusiasm, zeal, passion and activity crown her 
 with victory. The cold church may be revived. 
 It may see its need of fire, but the lukewarm is 
 hopeless. You can eat a cold egg; a hot one 
 will hatch; but a lukewarm one nobody wants — 
 It is loathsome. 
 
106 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Now listen to this church's estimate of it- 
 self (Rev. 3 : 17, i8) : *'I am rich/' have abun- 
 dance; **I have gotten riches/' accumulated, self- 
 acquired; ^^and have need of nothing," independ- 
 ent of everybody. It was self-satisfied. If any 
 one had visited it, the members would have 
 boasted of their beautiful premises, their gor- 
 geous building, and pointed to their matchless 
 equipment. They would have told you they 
 were out of debt, money in the treasury, and 
 that they did not need anything. 
 
 If our secretaries or missionary agents had 
 visited this church, they would have pronounced 
 it the most marvelous church in the brotherhood. 
 Columns of praise would have been written. 
 We put a money estimate upon all religious 
 work. The preacher that can raise money is 
 the popular man. Secretaries glory not in the 
 souls won for Christ or the houses builded for 
 worship, but they glory in the money they raise. 
 This self-satisfied church needed nothing. Ask 
 those people to engage in a series of evangelistic 
 meetings, and they would have said: '*We need 
 nothing. Go where they want such things. We 
 are rich. We are opposed to evangelism." The 
 worst traitor in the camp of Christ is that man 
 who protests against evangelism. 
 
 Now listen to what Jesus said about these 
 self-satisfied people: "You are poor" — reduced 
 to spiritual poverty. You are so poor that 
 
GORGEOUSNESS IN WORSHIP 107 
 
 you are going into decay. You lack all the rich 
 graces of Christianity. ''You are miserable'' — 
 so poor that you are pitiable. ''You are naked,'* 
 your tattered garments show your nudeness; 
 you are void of the shame of your nakedness. 
 You are stripped of the beautiful garments of 
 humility, love and peace, and void of white 
 robes. "You are blind" and can not see your 
 poverty, want, nakedness and misery. But 
 what is even more sad — you are satisfied with 
 your ruined condition ! 
 
 "I will spew you out of my mouth." With 
 that sentence Christ signed the death-warrant of 
 the Laodicean church. It was abandoned for- 
 ever. There never was a more scathing rebuke 
 hurled against any one than this bitter denunci- 
 ation. The lukewarm Christian is represented 
 as sickening the Almighty. The Laodicean 
 church had everything but Jesus. Lacking that, 
 they lacked all. 
 
 While he utterly rejects this congregation, 
 he never forsook the individual. The next sen- 
 tence is one of the saddest in the Bible. "Be- 
 hold, I stand at the door and knock." Jesus 
 was excluded. "If any man hear my voice and 
 open the door, I will come to him, and sup with 
 him, and he with me." Oh, the excluded Christ! 
 He is on the outside. Pomp, riches and sin on 
 the inside. No one to open the door. 
 
 Now, suppose five righteous men had opened 
 
108 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 the door and communed with Jesus ; what would 
 have been the result? These five men with 
 Jesus would have been the church of Christ in 
 Laodicea. The other six hundred members 
 would have been excommunicated. We hear of 
 a big church of one thousand members excom- 
 municating some weak man, but here are five 
 men who excommunicate one thousand. If the 
 thousand worldly members want to be with 
 Christ, they have nothing to do but come over 
 and join the five who are with Jesus, and if they 
 will come, he will sup with them, and they with 
 him. He will sit down at their table, and they 
 will sit at his table. This sweet communion 
 may be enjoyed by every Christian. 
 
 The church that will open the door to the ex- 
 cluded Christ has power within itself to convert 
 the whole community where it is located, with- 
 out a revival or without an evangelist. Jesus 
 was driven out of the home of his birth — Beth- 
 lehem; rejected in the home of his residence — 
 Nazareth; expelled from the home of his 
 adoption — Capernaum; and then, in Laodicea, 
 excluded from the church, for he was on the out- 
 side. This Laodicean church was unconscious, 
 stupefied, lethargic — like the reptile that coils 
 around its own body, and then goes Into a stupor. 
 So this church had become so dead that it was in- 
 sensitive; it did not realize its danger. Open 
 the door, and He will come in and dwell with us. 
 
IX. 
 CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 
 
 During the last century baptism in religion 
 and tariff in politics have been the great sub- 
 jects in controversy. In these discussions men 
 strive to win victories for parties instead of 
 triumphs for the truth. It is my purpose to 
 state what we believe the Bible teaches on this 
 subject. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 I. Jesus came all the way from Nazareth, 
 about seventy miles, and demanded baptism of 
 John. John hesitated. Jesus said: ''Suffer it 
 to be so now, for thus it becometh us to ful- 
 fil all righteousness.^' Resisting no longer, John 
 baptized him in Jordan (Mark 1:9). 
 
 When he came up out of the water, a voice 
 from heaven said: ''This is my beloved Son, 
 in whom I am well pleased*' (Matt. 3: 16, 17). 
 
 He went down into the water Jesus, the 
 son of Mary. He came up out of the water 
 the Christ, the recognized Son of God. 
 
 When we fulfill all righteousness, God will 
 recognize us as his children. 
 
 109 
 
110 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 In his life, Jesus illustrated what he taught. 
 He taught us the meaning of love, humility 
 and suffering, by his loving and humble life. 
 He tells us what immortality is, by conquer- 
 ing death. He shows us what baptism is, 
 by going down into the water, and fulfilling 
 all righteousness. After spending three years 
 in the work of mercy, yonder on the moun- 
 tain he took the last fond look at his beloved 
 disciples, and said: *^Go ye into all the 
 world and preach the gospel to every creature. 
 He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
 saved.'' Jesus began his public life by sub- 
 mitting to baptism. He closed his public life 
 by commanding his disciples to go and bap- 
 tize all nations. The first and last public act 
 of Jesus concerned baptism, 
 
 2. Jesus gave the great commission. No 
 one is authorized to preach only as he preaches 
 under that commission. Likewise no one has 
 the authority to change or omit one word in 
 it. If one part is left out, it destroys the 
 commission; destroy the commission, and you 
 kill Christianity. 
 
 The liberal Christians and Unitarians left 
 baptism out of their religion, and now they 
 claim Christ is not the divine Saviour of the 
 world. Any church that ignores baptism ig- 
 nores Christ. 
 
 3. God said: **In all places where I re- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 111 
 
 cord my name, I will come unto thee and I 
 will bless thee'' (Ex. 20: 24). 
 
 God has stamped his holy name upon the 
 ordinance of baptism. 
 
 We are baptized in the name of the Father. 
 
 4. Jesus left only two positive commands: 
 The Lord^s Supper, to test the loyalty of 
 the Christian; baptism, to test the loyalty of 
 the unconverted. Dare we slight this institu- 
 tion established by Christ? Christ left his 
 apostles to execute his will. On the day of 
 Pentecost those who were convinced that Jesus 
 was the Christ asked, *What must we do?'* 
 Peter, speaking under the influence of the 
 Spirit, said, ''Repent, and be baptized." 
 
 The first command given to inquiring men, 
 after the church was established, was, ''Re- 
 pent, and be baptized'' (Acts 2:38). 
 
 TOO MUCH SHOULD NOT BE MADE OF BAPTISM. 
 
 The denominations made too much out of 
 It. Now to the proof of this : 
 
 I. The Catholic Church makes baptism a 
 saving ordinance without faith or repentance. 
 
 Bishop Kendrick, of Philadelphia, said: 
 "All of us are by nature children of wrath, 
 being stained by sin. Baptism is the laver 
 by which sin is washed away. It must then 
 be applicable to infants." We say. No. If an 
 infant dies, it goes to heaven. It needs no 
 
112 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 baptism. Bishops of the Catholic Church 
 have refused to have children, dying without 
 baptism, buried in a Catholic graveyard. They 
 consider them polluted children. A Catholic 
 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, told me that if an 
 infant died without baptism it would be lost. 
 To all these we say, "You make too much 
 out of baptism." 
 
 2. The Episcopal Catechism reads: 
 
 Q. "How are we made members of the 
 church ? 
 
 A. "By baptism. 
 
 Q. "Can forgiveness of sins be obtained 
 out of the church? 
 
 A. "No. 
 
 Q. "Does baptism cleanse from all sins 
 committed before it? 
 
 A. "Yes, as well as original sin.'' 
 
 Again, we say, "You make too much out 
 of baptism." Baptism has nothing to do with 
 cleansing us. The blood of Christ cleanses us 
 from all sin. 
 
 3. The Presbyterian Confession says: 
 
 (i) "Baptism Is for the solemn admission 
 of the party baptized Into the church. 
 
 (2) "Out of the church there is no ordi- 
 nary possibility of salvation. 
 
 (3) "Therefore, without baptism, there Is 
 no ordinary possibility of salvation." 
 
 This makes It Impossible for any to be saved 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 113 
 
 without baptism, infants as well as those who 
 have never heard the gospel. The Confession 
 says, ^'Baptism is a seal of the covenant of 
 grace/' Once more we say, No. Baptism is 
 not a seal. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit 
 (Eph. 4:30). 
 
 4. What do our Methodist brethren say? 
 
 Read doctrinal tracts, published by the M. 
 E. Conference of 1850, page 251: *'If infants 
 are guilty of original sin, then they are proper 
 subjects of baptism. Original sin cleaves to 
 every child of man, and thereby they are chil- 
 dren of wrath and liable to eternal damnation.'* 
 Good John Wesley taught the same, and in a 
 milder form the same doctrine is found in the 
 Discipline. 
 
 Read the prayer in the Discipline in the bap- 
 tism of infants. 
 
 To all these we say, You make baptism too 
 prominent. Leave it where Christ and the 
 apostles put it. Faith, repentance and baptism 
 are joined together. If you ever become a 
 Christian, you must believe, repent and be bap- 
 tized. 
 
 WHAT IS CHRISTIAN BAPTISM? 
 
 Christ commanded his apostles to baptize. 
 John baptized Jesus in Jordan. Philip baptized 
 the eunuch in water. What did Jesus mean 
 when he said, "Go, baptize"? Did he mean 
 
 8 
 
114 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 three things, or the one specific act? What 
 did John and Philip do when they baptized 
 people? 
 
 We get our word "baptize" from the Greek 
 baptizo. 
 
 The word **baptism" is not in the Old Testa- 
 ment, but in the New Testament it occurs as 
 follows: In the Gospels fifty-one times. Acts 
 twenty-three times, the Epistles fifteen times. 
 With its derivations it occurs 126 times in the 
 New Testament. Is it reasonable to suppose 
 that Jesus and the apostles would use a word 
 126 times that means three things, nothing or 
 everything? 
 
 Three Greek words: 
 
 Baptizo, Greek lexicographers, philoso- 
 phers and historians, with one consent, render 
 this word immerse, plunge or dip. Not one 
 ever rendered it sprinkle. This word is used 
 in the New Testament, and refers to Christian 
 baptism. 
 
 Rantizo, With the same universal consent 
 this word is rendered sprinkle. It never re- 
 fers to baptism. 
 
 Cheo. This word is always translated pour. 
 It IS never used for baptism. 
 
 If sprinkling is baptism, Jesus would have 
 used rantizo, not baptizo. 
 
 In this discussion we are not looking after 
 modes. If sprinkling is a mode of baptism, 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 115 
 
 what is baptism? This is not to be decided 
 by opinion, but by testimony. 
 
 Let us hear the testimony of the scholars 
 of the world: 
 
 COMMENTATORS AND TRANSLATORS. 
 
 1. John Calvin (Presbyterian) : *'The word 
 'baptize' signifies to immerse. It is certain that 
 immersion was the practice of the primitive 
 church." 
 
 2. Luther (Lutheran) : '^Baptism is a Greek 
 word, and may be translated 'immerse.' I 
 would have those who are to be baptized to be 
 altogether dipped." 
 
 3. John Wesley (Methodist) : ''Buried with 
 him by baptism — alluding to the ancient manner 
 of baptizing by immersion." 
 
 4. Wall (Episcopalian) : "Immersion was 
 in all probability the way in which our 
 blessed Saviour, and for certain the way 
 by which the ancient Christians, received their 
 baptism." 
 
 5. Brenner (Catholic) : "For thirteen hun- 
 dred years was baptism an immersion of the 
 person under water." 
 
 6. Macknight (Presbyterian) : "In baptism 
 the baptized person is buried under the water." 
 "Christ submitted to be baptized; that is, to 
 be buried under the water." 
 
 7. Whitfield (Methodist) : "It is certain 
 
116 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 that the word of our text (Rom. 6:4) alludes 
 to the manner of baptizing by immersion/' 
 
 8. Stourdza (a native Greek) : ''The verb 
 'baptize' has only one meaning. It signifies 
 to plunge. Baptism and immersion are iden- 
 tical. To say baptism by sprinkling is as if 
 one would say immersion by sprinkling." 
 
 9. Jeremiah (Greek patriarch) : "The an- 
 cients did not sprinkle the candidate, but im- 
 mersed him.'' 
 
 10. St. Paul (a Christian) : "We are buried 
 with him by baptism." 
 
 11. Professor Porson: "The Baptists have 
 
 the advantage of us. Baptism signifies immer- 
 
 • J) 
 sion. 
 
 12. Kitto's Encyclopedia: "The whole per- 
 son was immersed in water." 
 
 13. Encyclopedia Americana: "Baptism; 
 that is, dipping or Immersion." 
 
 14. Brande's Encyclopedia: "Baptism was 
 originally administered by Immersion." 
 
 15. London Quarterly Review: "There can 
 be no doubt that the original form of baptism 
 was a complete Immersion In the deep baptismal 
 waters. For four centuries no other form was 
 known except In a monstrous case." 
 
 16. Smith's Dictionary: ^'Baptism means 
 immersion." 
 
 17. Edinburgh Review: ^^They tell me that 
 it was unnecessary to prove that the word 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 117 
 
 (baptizo) signifies to dip, that I might have 
 commenced with this as a fixed point universally 
 admitted.'' 
 
 1 8. The founder of the Presbyterian 
 Church, John Calvin; the founder of the Luther- 
 an Church, Martin Luther, and the founder 
 of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, bear 
 testimony that immersion was the one bap- 
 tism that Jesus ordained. In his work on the 
 "Sacrament of Baptism," Luther says, *^Baptism 
 is a Greek word and should be translated im- 
 merse." ^'Baptism signifies two things, death 
 and resurrection. When the minister dips the 
 child into water, that signifies death; when he 
 draws him out, that signifies life. I would wish 
 that the baptized should be totally immersed, 
 according to the meaning of the word" (Lu- 
 ther's ''Primary Works," p. 192; translated by 
 Wace and Bucheim, London, 1883). The 
 same facts can be found in his complete works, 
 ^^Opera Omnia/^ seven volumes, published In 
 Wittemberg. A complete discussion of this 
 whole matter can be found in ''Hand-book on 
 Baptism," by Gospel Advocate Publishing Com- 
 pany, Nashville. 
 
 In 1889 Charles Wesley Bennett, a Method- 
 ist professor of theology In Evanston, Illinois, 
 published a book on Christian archseology, 
 edited by Bishop J. F. Hurst. Now, this is 
 from the highest authority in the M. E. Church. 
 
118 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Hear him: **The customary mode was used by 
 the apostles in baptism of the first converts. 
 This was ordinarily by immersion/' Listen to 
 John Wesley: **Mary Welch, aged eleven days, 
 was baptized according to the custom of the 
 first church, and the rule of the Church of 
 England, by immersion." (See Journal, Vol. L, 
 p. 20, Feb. 21, 1736.) In Journal, Vol. I., p. 
 24, we get this history: *^I was asked to bap- 
 tize the child of Mr. Parker, second bailiff of 
 Savannah (Ga.), but Mrs. Parker told me 
 neither she nor Mr. P. would consent to have 
 it dipped. I said, 'If you certify that the child 
 is weak, it will suffice to pour water upon it.' 
 She replied, *It is not weak, but it shall not 
 be dipped.' This argument I could not refute, 
 and the child was baptized by another person." 
 This did not end the matter. On the ist day of 
 September, 1737, Mr. Wesley was tried by a 
 jury of forty-four men, found guilty, and or- 
 dered to leave the county. The fifth charge 
 against him was, that he had broken the laws 
 of the land, ''by refusing to baptize Mr. Park- 
 er's child except by dipping." A strange record. 
 The father of Methodism found guilty for re- 
 fusing to baptize a baby. The record of this 
 trial can be found in the court proceedings of 
 Georgia. There were other charges against 
 Mr. Wesley, but the fifth charge was promi- 
 nent In the trial. 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 119 
 
 Historians state facts. Hear them: 
 
 CHURCH HISTORIANS. 
 
 19. Mosheim: "In this [the first] century, 
 baptism was administered in convenient places, 
 without the public assemblies, and by immers- 
 ing the candidates wholly in water" (Vol. I., 
 p. 87, ed. Murdoch) . He testifies to the same 
 for the second and third centuries. 
 
 20. Neander: '^Baptism was originally ad- 
 ministered by immersion, and many of the com- 
 parisons of St Paul allude to this form of its 
 administration" {History of the Christian 
 Church, p. 197, ed. Rose). 
 
 21. Smith: '*The regular mode of baptism 
 was by immersion, but it was administered by 
 sprinkling or affusion to persons who lay sick 
 or dying; and when performed in such cases It 
 was called clinical baptism" {Students Ecclesi* 
 astical History, p. 172). 
 
 22. Brenner: *'For thirteen hundred years 
 baptism was administered by immersion. Sprink- 
 ling was disputed and even forbidden." 
 
 23. Philip Schaff (Presbyterian) : **Immer- 
 sion and not sprinkling was unquestionably the 
 original form of baptism. This is shown by 
 the Greek word baptizo, used to designate the 
 rite, and from the baptism of John, which was 
 performed in the Jordan (en — -Matt. 3 : 6, com- 
 pare with 16) ; also eis to lordanen [into the 
 
120 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Jordan] (Mark 1:9). Furthermore, by the 
 New Testament comparisons of baptism with 
 the passage through the Red Sea (i Cor. 10: 
 2) ; with the flood ( i Pet. 3:21); with a bath 
 (Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5); with a burial and 
 resurrection ( Rom. 6:4; Col. 2 : 12). Finally, 
 by the general usage of ecclesiastical antiquity, 
 which was always immersion (as it is to this 
 day in the Oriental and also in the Graeco- 
 Russian churches), pouring and sprinkling being 
 substituted only in cases of urgent necessity, 
 such as sickness and approaching death" {Hist. 
 of Apostolic Churchy pp. 568, 569). 
 
 In a late publication (1885) ^e writes fur- 
 ther on these ^^comparisons," that they "are, 
 all in favor of immersion, as is fully admitted 
 by the best scholars. Catholic and Protestant, 
 English and German" ( Teaching of the Twelve 
 Apostles, pp. 55, ^6^ note). 
 
 24. Dean Stanley (Episcopalian) : "The 
 Dean's article ten years ago made a stir in the 
 theological world. You will find the passage 
 in the author's ^Christian Institutions' " (p. 17, 
 Harper's edition) : 
 
 We now pass to the changes in the form itself. For 
 the first thirteen centuries the almost universal practice 
 was that of which we read in the New Testament, and 
 which is the very meaning of the word baptize — that 
 those who were baptized were plunged, submerged, im- 
 mersed in the water. That practice is still, as we have 
 seen, continued in Eastern churches. And the cold climate 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 121 
 
 of Russia has not been found an obstacle to its contin- 
 uance throughout that vast empire. Even in the Church of 
 England it is still observed in theory. The rubric in the 
 Public Baptism of Infants enjoins that, unless for special 
 causes, they are to be dipped, not sprinkled. Edward the 
 Sixth and Elizabeth were both immersed. But since the 
 beginning of the seventeenth century, the practice has be- 
 come exceedingly rare. With the few exceptions just men- 
 tioned, the whole of the Western churches have now sub- 
 stituted for the ancient bath the ceremony of letting fall a 
 few drops of water on the face. The reason of the change 
 is obvious. The practice of immersion, though peculiarly 
 suitable to the southern and eastern countries for which it 
 was designed, was not found reasonable in the countries of 
 the North and West. Beginning in the thirteenth century, 
 it has gradually driven the ancient usage out of the whole 
 of Europe. It followed, no doubt, the examples of the 
 Apostles and of their Master. It has the sanction of the 
 venerable churches of the early ages, and of the sacred 
 countries of the East. Baptism by sprinkling was rejected 
 by the whole ancient church (except in the rare cases of 
 death-beds or extreme necessity) as no baptism at all. Al- 
 most the first exception was the heretic Novatian. It still 
 has the sanction of the powerful religious community which 
 numbers among its members such noble characters as John 
 Bunyan and Robert Hall. 
 
 "It is the purpose of lexicographers to tell what words 
 mean. The New Testament was written in Greek, and hence 
 Greek lexicographers tell us what haptizo meant in the days 
 of Christ." 
 
 25. Liddell and Scott: ^^BapHzo, to dip in 
 or under water." 
 
 26. Robinson (Presbyterian) : '*To immerse, 
 to sink." 
 
 27. Dr. Anthon: "The primary meaning of 
 
122 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 the word Is to dip or immerse. Sprinkling and 
 pouring are out of the question/' 
 
 28. Bagster: ''To dip or immerse." 
 
 29. Greenfield: ''To immerse, submerge, 
 sink." 
 
 30. Scapula (1579): *'To dip or immerse; 
 to cleanse." 
 
 HEAR CRITICS OF DIFFERENT CENTURIES. 
 
 31. Barnabas, 95 A. D. : "We go down 
 into the water full of pollutions, but come up 
 again, bringing forth fruit." 
 
 32. Justin Martyr, 144 A. D. : "Then we 
 bring them to some place where there is water; 
 there they are washed in water." 
 
 33. TertuUian, 204: "There is no difference 
 between them whom John dipped in Jordan and 
 them whom Peter dipped in the Tiber/' 
 
 34. Gregory, 360: "We are buried with 
 Christ by baptism." 
 
 35. Ambrose, 375: "Thou wast asked, 
 Dost thou believe? Thou sayest, / do, and was 
 immersed." 
 
 36. Stephen IL, 753: "Pouring or sprink- 
 ling is only admitted in cases of necessity." 
 (In case of sickness.) 
 
 37. Common Prayer Book of Edward VL, 
 1540: "The priest dips it [the candidate] in 
 water." 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 123 
 
 38. Stephanus, 1572: ^^Baptizo, to im- 
 
 merse." 
 
 39. Dean Stanley, 1880: "The universal 
 practice of the church for thirteen centuries 
 
 was immersion." 
 
 40. Schaff, 1885: "Baptism is to immerse 
 
 in water." 
 
 If space would permit, we could quote many 
 Greek dictionaries testifying that baptizo means 
 immerse. There is not one Greek lexicon in 
 Europe or America that defines baptizo "to 
 sprinkle." All do define it "to dip" or "to im- 
 merse." Also, we have examined the word in 
 the classic Greek, and it always means "dip" 
 or "immerse." Josephus also used the word 
 with the same meaning. When Peter said, "Re- 
 pent, and be baptized," the dwellers from thir- 
 teen nations heard him. He used language that 
 they understood, for he had the miraculous gift 
 of tongues (languages). What did these peo- 
 ple understand by "be baptized"? They heard 
 Peter speak in their own tongue. Watch, then, 
 and see what they do. In seven centuries eight 
 of the nations here represented had the Bible 
 in their own language, and the word in their 
 language for baptizo meant to dip or immerse. 
 Out of thirty-six ancient translators, not one 
 ever renders baptizo "sprinkle." No Greek 
 scholar in any century ever translated baptizo 
 "sprinkle." 
 
124 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 GREEK CHURCH. 
 
 The Greek needed no translator. He knew 
 the meaning of the word. There are to-day 
 eighty-five million in the Greek Church. From 
 the days of the apostles to the present, Greeks 
 have been immersed. Millions of them have 
 been immersed. This is not the voice of mil- 
 lions of men, but of millions of Greeks, who 
 know their own language. 
 
 THE MAJORITY. 
 
 Some are anxious to make the comparison 
 of majorities. Tell us that the majority prac- 
 tices sprinkling. Let us see. All (with the ex- 
 ception of a few sick) practiced immersion 
 for thirteen centuries. The entire Greek or 
 eastern half of the church always practiced 
 immersion. In churches that practice sprink- 
 ling many of the candidates are immersed. 
 The McLiodists have a membership of about 
 four million. The Baptists (under all names) 
 have about the same. The Greeks (eighty-five 
 million) all immersed. There are only a few 
 outside of the Catholic Church who have not 
 been immersed. 
 
 About seven persons have been immersed 
 to every one that has been sprinkled. 
 
 Immersion is not in doubt. All accept im- 
 mersion as Christian baptism. When one is 
 immersed he never demands sprinkling. Thou- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 125 
 
 sands upon thousands who have been sprinkled 
 demand immersion. 
 
 There is safe ground. If you doubt your 
 baptism, you, and not God, are responsible for 
 your doubt. 
 
 A few years ago, while immersing a num- 
 ber of persons in California, an old lady came 
 up and said, *Will you immerse me?" We 
 took her confession, and as she came up out 
 of the water she said, so that all of us heard 
 her, ''Now I know I am right, but I have been 
 doubting my baptism for forty years." She 
 had been sprinkled. 
 
 Argument from the New Testament: 
 
 1. John baptized in Jordan. 
 
 And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and 
 they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river 
 of Jordan, confessing their sins (Mark 1:5). 
 
 2. Jesus was baptized in Jordan and after 
 baptism came up out of the water. 
 
 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came 
 from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in 
 Jordan. 
 
 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw 
 the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending 
 upon him: 
 
 And the re came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art 
 my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mark 1 : 9-11). 
 
 3. Much water is required. 
 
 And John also was baptizing in ^non near to Salim, 
 because there was much water there: and they came, and 
 were baptized (John 3:23). 
 
126 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 4. Philip and the eunuch went down into 
 the water and came up out of the water. 
 
 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain 
 water : and the eunuch said, See, here is water ; what doth 
 hinder me to be baptized? 
 
 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, 
 thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that 
 Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 
 
 And he commanded the chariot to stand still : and they 
 went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; 
 and he baptized him. 
 
 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit 
 of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him 
 no more: and he went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:36-39). 
 
 5. Baptism represents a birth. 
 
 Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a 
 man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter 
 into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). 
 
 6. Baptism represents a burial. 
 
 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen 
 with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath 
 raised him from the dead (Col. 2: 12). 
 
 7. It represents a resurrection. 
 
 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into 
 Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 
 
 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death : 
 that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory 
 of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of 
 life (Rom. 6:3, 4). 
 
 8. It represents a planting. 
 
 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of 
 his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection 
 (Rom. 6:5). 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 127 
 
 9. The body Is washed. 
 
 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of 
 faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, 
 and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:22). 
 
 Let us now see what baptism requires ; also, 
 what immersion requires, and last, what sprink- 
 ling requires. 
 
 Baptism requires: 
 
 1. Water (Acts 8:36; Acts 10:47). 
 
 2. Much water (John 3: 23). 
 
 3. Going to the water (Acts 8:36; Mark 
 1:9). 
 
 4. Going down into the water (Acts 8 : 38). 
 
 5. Coming up out of the water (Matt. 3: 
 16; Acts 8 : 39). 
 
 6. Form of birth (John 3:5). 
 
 7. Form of burial (Col. 2: 12). 
 
 8. Form of resurrection (Rom. 6:4). 
 
 9. Form of planting (covered up) (Rom. 
 
 6:5). 
 
 10. Washing of the body (Heb. 10:22). 
 Baptism requires these ten things. Put 
 
 in parallel columns immersion and sprinkling, 
 and see which fills the requirements : 
 
 IMMERSION. SPRINKLING. 
 
 1. Water. Yes. 1. Water. Yes. 
 
 2. Much water. Yes. 2. Much water. No, few 
 
 drops only. 
 
 3. Going to water. Yes. 3. Going to water. No; 
 
 water brought. 
 
 4. Going into water. Yes 4. Going into water. No. 
 
128 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 5. Coming out of water. 5. Coming out of water. 
 
 Yes. No. 
 
 6. Form of birth. Yes. 6. Form of birth. No. 
 
 7. Form of burial. Yes. 7. Form of burial. No. 
 
 8. Form of resurrection. 8. Form of resurrection. 
 
 Yes. No. 
 
 9. Form of planting. Yes. 9. Form of planting. No. 
 10. Body washed. Yes. 10. Body washed. No, fore- 
 head wet. 
 
 Immersion fulfills the ten requirements. 
 Sprinkling fails in nine points, hence is not 
 Scriptural baptism. 
 
 We have given you the testimony of forty 
 lexicographers, besides encyclopedias and his- 
 tories. Forty of the best witnesses, who have 
 lived from the days of the Saviour to the pres- 
 ent time, give unfaltering testimony in favor 
 of immersion and against sprinkling. The 
 testimony is so strong against sprinkling that 
 if life and death depended upon the evidence 
 of the witnesses, it is so great that any jury 
 would bring in a verdict of guilty. 
 
 There is no crossing of evidence. All agreed 
 that immersion was the apostolic baptism. 
 
 Some may ask, 'When, where and by 
 whom was the change made from immersion 
 to sprinkling?'^ The answer to these questions 
 may be found in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia. 
 (Article, ''Baptism.") 
 
 1. **The first law for sprinkling was obtained in the fol- 
 lowing manner: Pope Stephen II., being driven from home 
 by Adolphus, King of the Lombards, in 753 A. D., fled 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 129 
 
 to Pepin, who a short time before had usurped the crown 
 of France. Whilst he remained there, the Monks of Cressy, 
 in Brittany, consulted him whether, in case of necessity, 
 baptism poured on the head of the infant would be lawful. 
 Stephen replied that it would. But though the truth of the 
 fact be allowed (which, however, some Catholics deny), yet 
 pouring or sprinkling was admitted only in cases of neces- 
 sity. It was not till the year 1311 that the legislature, in 
 council held at Ravenna, declared immersion or sprinkling 
 to be indifferent. In Scotland, however, sprinkling was never 
 practiced in ordinary cases till after the Reformation (about 
 the middle of the sixteenth century). From Scotland it 
 made its way into England in the reign of Elizabeth, but was 
 not authorized in the established church." 
 
 2. Rev. O'Reilly, bishop of the Catholic 
 Church, said that the Catholic Church changed 
 the ordinance. 
 
 3. Dean Stanley says: ''The ancient mode 
 of baptism was immersion. The church changed 
 the ordinance." 
 
 4. Henry Ward Beecher says: ''When an 
 ordinance becomes irksome, the church can 
 change it." 
 
 5. John Calvin claimed that the church had 
 the right to change the ordinance from immer- 
 sion to sprinkling. 
 
 6. Hear the Catholic bishop. Examine Am, 
 Enc, Vol. XIV., p. 396, first column: "The 
 chief practices on which changes have taken 
 place are the manner of administering baptism 
 and the Eucharist. The solemn mode of hap' 
 tism was originally by immersion. The church 
 claims the right to regulate, at her just discre- 
 
130 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 tion, the manner of administering sacraments." 
 Here we find the answer. The Pope of 
 Rome, claiming infallibility, claimed the right 
 to change the ordinance, and did change it. No 
 church ever practiced anything but immersion, 
 unless it came out of . the Catholic Church, 
 where it learned its lesson. Choose you which 
 you will serve, God or man. 
 
 The leading evangelists have been immersed. 
 B. Fay Mills was immersed at Northfield, 
 by a Baptist preacher; N. H. Harraman, the 
 Boston revivalist, was immersed; Major Whit- 
 tle was immersed; Munhall, co-worker with 
 Moody, was immersed; Henry Farley, the Eng- 
 lish evangelist, was immersed; Yatman, the 
 great Y. M. C. A. revivalist, was immersed. 
 Why were these great men immersed? They 
 answer. In giving Bible readings in their meet- 
 ings they were convinced that Jesus was im- 
 mersed, and, to be loyal to him, they must go 
 where he goes. 
 
 Dr. Arthur T. Pierson, of world-wide mis- 
 sionary fame, the editor of the Missionary Re- 
 view, a Presbyterian divine, was immersed by 
 the brother of Charles Spurgeon. 
 
 SUBJECT OF BAPTISM. 
 
 Penitent believers are proper subjects of 
 baptism. Jesus said, '*He that believeth and is 
 baptized shall be saved." Peter said, "Re- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 131 
 
 pent, and be baptized/' Baptism without faith 
 is of no avail. One might be baptized a thou- 
 sand times without faith and repentance and it 
 would be mockery. You sprinkle, pour or im- 
 merse a man who does not believe, and he has 
 not Scripturally been baptized. We may take 
 a dollar and dip it in water; it is immersed, but 
 not Scripturally baptized. If we pour water 
 on it or sprinkle water on it, it is not Scriptu- 
 rally baptized. Why? Because there is some- 
 thing wrong with the dollar. Sprinkle it, pour 
 it or immerse it, and it is not baptized. It 
 can not believe or repent, hence can not be 
 baptized Scripturally. Yet it is as much a 
 subject of baptism as an infant. The infant 
 does not believe, hence can not be Scrip- 
 turally baptized. Reader, if you were sprin^ 
 kled before you were old enough to believe, 
 be assured you have not received Christian 
 baptism. 
 
 To become a Christian Is a voluntary act. 
 We must come into the church knowing the 
 Lord (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:11). The Jew 
 came into the Jewish kingdom by birth, not 
 knowing the Lord. We enter the kingdom of 
 Christ from choice. We can not enter till we 
 choose. The infant does not know the Lord, caa 
 not choose, and can not enter the church. The 
 infant, therefore, can not be Scripturally bap- 
 tized. Belief must precede baptism. 
 
132 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 DESIGN OF BAPTISM. 
 
 Baptism coupled with faith and repentance, 
 is for the remission of past sins. All will 
 admit the following proposition: He who be- 
 lieves that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 
 repents of his sins, confesses Christ, is bap- 
 tized in the name of the Father and of the Son 
 and of the Holy Spirit, and lives a pure life, 
 will be saved. This will save every man. This 
 is sufficient. Let us preach it without any 
 mystery. 
 
 In giving the commission, Christ said, ''He 
 that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." 
 Dare any one say, ''He that believeth and is not 
 baptized shall be saved''? 
 
 Jesus told the truth when he said It takes 
 both faith and baptism to save a man. 
 
 He who says, "We are saved by faith only," 
 contradicts Christ. 
 
 The objector says: "Jesus said, 'He that 
 believeth not shall he damnedf hence, all de- 
 pends upon belief." 
 
 True, damnation depends upon one thing, 
 lack of faith. Salvation depends upon two 
 things, belief and baptism. One thing, iinhe' 
 lief, will damn a man, but it takes two things 
 to save him. When a man disbelieves God's 
 word, he calls God a liar. When a man makes 
 God a liar, that Is sufficient sin to damn him. 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 133 
 
 Peter said, **Repent, and be baptized in the 
 name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins'' 
 (Acts 2:38). 
 
 Now, can language be plainer than this? 
 Christ said that belief and baptism would save 
 a man. 
 
 Peter says that repentance and baptism are 
 for the remission of sins. 
 
 These two passages prove the point without 
 further argument. 
 
 Many other Scriptures could be brought to 
 sustain this point, but to deny that repentance 
 and baptism, both of them, not one, are for 
 the remission of sins, is to deny the words of 
 the Spirit. 
 
 On the day of Pentecost they cried, "Men 
 and brethren, what must we do?" The answer 
 was quickly given, "Repent, and be baptized for 
 the remission of sins." If Peter did not mean 
 that baptism was necessary to forgiveness of 
 sins, then he deceived them and did not answer 
 their question. 
 
 To make this claim is to accuse the Spirit 
 of deception. Christ said, "Except a man be 
 born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter 
 the kingdom of heaven." If Christ says you 
 can not enter the kingdom without you are born 
 of water, how can you? 
 
 To be born of water is Christian baptism. 
 We are baptized into Christ (Gal. 3: 27). To 
 
134 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 be in Christ is to be in his body, the church. 
 
 Peter says baptism saves us ( i Pet. 3: 21). 
 
 Let us now hear Paul (Eph. 4 : 4-6) : ''There 
 is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism, one God and Father." In 
 this outline of Christian doctrine, there are 
 seven units. Are these seven units of belief 
 essential to salvation or not? Has the apostle 
 been laying down non-essentials among essen- 
 tials ? 
 
 1. One Body, the Church, that Is essential 
 (Col. i: 18). 
 
 2. One Spirit, essential to salvation. 
 
 3. One Hope, essential. "We are saved 
 by hope'' (Rom. 8:24). 
 
 4. One Lord, essential (Acts 4: 12). 
 
 5. One Faith, for without faith it is im- 
 possible to please God. 
 
 6. One Baptism, one, for baptism saves us 
 ( I Pet. 3:21). 
 
 7. One Father, essential; for it is God that 
 justifieth. 
 
 How can you account for the fact that the 
 apostles, in giving articles of faith, should lay 
 down six essentials and one non-essential among 
 them? 
 
 The only way you can account for this is, 
 men want baptism to be a non-essential. No; 
 there is not one non-essential among the seven. 
 Yet your preachers call baptism a ''pitiful 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 135 
 
 ceremony," or a **non-essential/* The name of 
 God is stamped upon the institution of bap- 
 tism. We are baptized in the name of the 
 Father. God said: ''In all places where I 
 record my name I will come and bless thee" 
 (Ex. 20: 24). 
 
 "He who despises an ordinance of God, 
 despises the God of the ordinance." The great 
 God of the heavens is under the blessed neces- 
 sity of making laws for the government of all 
 who have lived upon earth, who now live upon 
 earth, and who will dwell here to the end of 
 time. Then, look upward, see stars and suns 
 rising up before you. Borrow the telescope of 
 the astronomer, and look beyond, and behold 
 new worlds coming into view. After all this, 
 look at yourself, and see who you are that you 
 should call God's law ''a poor, pitiful cere- 
 mony." Can it be possible that the God who 
 rides upon the storm; who whirls the planets 
 through space; who made the heavens and 
 stretched them out like a curtain; who laid the 
 foundation of the earth; who weighs the moun- 
 tains, and holds the hills In balances; ''who 
 gathers the winds in his fist," and picks up the 
 isles as a little thing; who walks upon the wings 
 of the wind — can it be possible that such a be- 
 ing, who should stoop to stamp his holy name 
 upon the ordinance of baptism, will look with 
 any degree of allowance upon haughty man, who 
 
136 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 calls it **a poor, pitiful ceremony, a mere form, 
 or a non-essentiar'? 
 
 We shudder for the presumptuous man who 
 thus hates God's ordinance, and despises the 
 God of the ordinance. 
 
 We beseech you, stand in awe and fear^ 
 and tremble. **Be not deceived. God is not 
 mocked." 
 
X. 
 
 ALL AUTHORITY IS GIVEN UNTO JESUS 
 
 Ever since the Omaha Convention there has 
 been among some of our ministers a tendency 
 toward a board of authority, or an assembly 
 that shall act for churches. Slowly and surely 
 as we have gone across the years we have 
 headed toward this general board of manage- 
 ment. One of the speakers in the Omaha Con- 
 vention said: **If our Conventions do not afford 
 us opportunity to express ourselves upon public 
 questions, we need an assembly where we can go 
 on record in favor of certain important religious 
 measures." The assembly that creates this 
 board of management is to be authoritative and 
 speak for the churches, and yet all this in the 
 face of the fact that Jesus said, '*A11 authority 
 is given unto me." If all authority is given unto 
 Jesus, assemblies and individuals have no au- 
 thority. We have duties and privileges, and 
 these duties and privileges are thoroughly out- 
 lined for us. Jesus is our King; kings have au- 
 thority to make law. Subjects obey, they do 
 not make law. God is the Father of the 
 heavenly family. Children do not have au- 
 
 137 
 
138 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 thority to make rules and laws for other chil- 
 dren. The father does that; the children can 
 not create authoritative assemblies. The father 
 gives orders. We are members of one fold; the 
 shepherd has authority over the flock. Sheep 
 can not pass laws governing other sheep. Jesus 
 is the Shepherd. 
 
 The church universal has no authority to 
 create new laws or teach new doctrines; it gets 
 its marching orders from the Captain. It is 
 the church's duty to obey law, not to create law 
 or promulgate theories. In Jesus Christ, God 
 has said all that he has to say to the church; 
 the ritual was adopted in heaven. The church's 
 duty is to comply with God's orders. The 
 church has been rent by discord and weakened 
 by dissensions from the mistaken idea that as- 
 semblies, boards and conclaves have authority to 
 speak for God's people, and that this voice of 
 the conclave is the voice of God. 
 
 The popes claimed authority and put one 
 hundred million people to death, and did It in 
 the name of religion. The English Church 
 claimed authority, and it tortured and killed 
 men in the name of the church. The Established 
 Church of Virginia claimed authority, and sent 
 men to prison for holding prayer-meetings in 
 the homes of the sick. The Puritans claimed 
 authority, and banished Roger Williams. The 
 Church of Rome claimed authority, and changed 
 
AUTHORITY GIVEN UNTO JESUS 139 
 
 the ordinance of Jesus Christ by a legislative act. 
 The Greek Church claimed authority, and it 
 added five ordinances to the church. The West- 
 minster Assembly, 1643, claimed that it had 
 authority, and it substituted sprinkling for New 
 Testament baptism by a vote of twenty-four for 
 and twenty-four against the substitute, and 
 Bishop Lightfoot cast the deciding vote. In 
 England and on this continent men were im- 
 prisoned because they would not comply with 
 the church's orders and have their children 
 sprinkled. Did these assemblies voice God's 
 will? Was not the Westminster Assembly com- 
 posed of as holy men as the Louisville mass- 
 meeting, and was not its voice as much the voice 
 of God as any assembly or convention that ever 
 met? 
 
 In an address at our last Convention at 
 Louisville, one of the speakers declared that the 
 church had authority to decide questions, and 
 that an assembly can act for the church, and 
 that the voice of the church is the voice of God. 
 The church universal has no authority, hence it 
 can have no delegated authoritative voice. The 
 body of Christ has no headquarters outside of 
 heaven, no habitation, no visible existence, no 
 organization, no authority, and hence no power 
 to act, meet or decide upon questions. No sub- 
 ject can come before it for discussion. The 
 church universal is an idealization, and hence 
 
140 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 can speak for no one. It has no authority to 
 assemble and decide upon any subject. The 
 local congregation has duties, privileges, organi- 
 zation, power to act and the oversight of its 
 members. Its authority, if we call it authority, 
 is delegated and restricted. The local authority 
 of the congregation does not extend beyond its 
 own members; it has no authority over any 
 other congregation. In order to sustain his 
 position, he quoted and misquoted Scriptures 
 which, in my opinion, had no bearing whatever 
 on the subject. The advocate of any folly can 
 find some supposed holy text to sustain his posi- 
 tion. He champions a quotation from Dr. 
 Broadus, ^^Whatsoever Christ's people may de- 
 cide is ratified in heaven." If his contention in 
 the Louisville meeting meant anything, it meant 
 this: That these holy men assembled in the 
 Louisville mass-meeting had Scriptural authority 
 to decide upon the questions under consideration, 
 and that the voice of that assembly was the 
 voice of God. If that was not his position, his 
 speech had no place in the discussion, and the 
 Scripture he quoted had no bearing upon the 
 subject. 
 
 Here are passages quoted that sustain his 
 position: 
 
 I. ''Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth 
 shall be bound in heaven'' (Matt. i6: 19). This 
 promise was given to Peter. Whatsoever thou 
 
AUTHORITY GIVEN UNTO JESUS 141 
 
 — Singular number, second person. The church 
 did not have the keys to the kingdom. They 
 were to unlock the kingdom. The church has 
 no authority to lock or unlock, bind or loose. 
 
 2. 'Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth 
 shall be bound in heaven*' (Matt. i8: i8). 
 This was personal instruction to the persons 
 present. ''Ye'* — second person, plural. The 
 antecedent of *'ye'' was ''the disciples" there 
 present, and he was teaching them the lesson 
 of forgiveness, not authority; authority was not 
 under consideration. 
 
 3. "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are re- 
 mitted unto them" (John 20: 23). In a closed 
 room he met his apostles and bestowed upon 
 them the Holy Spirit and gave them power to 
 go forth and preach the remission of sins. God 
 forgives sins; assemblies can not. 
 
 4. "To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive 
 also" (2 Cor. 2: 10). This referred to a vile 
 man who had injured the church, but who had 
 repented. Paul merely says he had forgiven the 
 offense, and commends them for forgiving the 
 penitent brother. It is important to note that 
 this brother had repented, and Paul tells the 
 brothers to forgive him as he (Paul) had done; 
 to forgive his offense, not his sins. God alone 
 does that. Paul had judged the man, and not 
 the church; he, by his inspired wisdom, passed 
 judgment upon him while the church was as- 
 
142 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 sembled. Paul, not the church, delivered him to 
 Satan (i Cor. 5:2-5), perhaps afflicted him 
 with some bodily punishment. The brethren did 
 not forgive sin, but forgave the man's offense. 
 
 5. '*That if you ask anything in my name, 
 I will do It" (John 14: 14). That promise was 
 to the apostles. Professor McGarvey said, 
 *'Their requests would be granted because the 
 Holy Spirit asked.'' In this same chapter Jesus 
 says, *'The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, shall 
 teach you all things, and bring to your remem- 
 brance all that I said to you." This language 
 is not of universal application. He has not 
 taught us all things, he does not bring to our 
 remembrance anything. The apostles spoke In 
 miraculous tongues. God gave them the power 
 of tongues; we have to dig out the foreign 
 languages. Prophecy, the gift of tongues, super- 
 natural power, were given to the apostles, but 
 these powers were transitory, not abiding. The 
 church in Its creative period possessed these 
 supernatural powers that were unerring. These 
 men chosen of God could drink deadly poison, 
 handle serpents, heal the sick and speak with 
 authority through Inspired wisdom. Does any 
 one think these powers exist In the church to- 
 day? If he does, let him go to Utah and they 
 will make him a bishop In six weeks. 
 
 In Luke 12:12 Jesus says: ''The Holy 
 Spirit shall teach you what you ought to say." 
 
AUTHORITY GIVEN UNTO JESUS 143 
 
 It Will not be them asking, but the Spirit asks 
 through them; hence Jesus gives them what 
 God's Spirit requests. This seeking after author- 
 ity Jesus rebukes. **You know that the rulers 
 of the Gentiles lord it over them and they 
 exercise authority over them ; not so shall it be 
 among you" (Matt. 20:25). 
 
 The speaker said, ^^The Christian congrega- 
 tion can representatively forgive sins." That is 
 a dangerous statement. His reference to 2 Cor. 
 2: 10 is not well taken. Paul and the brethren 
 merely forgave the man of the offense he had 
 committed against them and against the church ; 
 if he was forgiven of the sins he committed 
 against God, God forgave the sins. Paul, not 
 the brethren, judged him; Paul, not the church, 
 delivered him to Satan. The brethren, being 
 gathered together, neither judged nor punished; 
 they forgave his offense, not his sins. 
 
 The body of Christ, the church universal, 
 does not forgive sins, transact business, assem- 
 ble, execute or speak authoritatively. The local 
 congregation has a voice ; not so with the church 
 at large. It is a spiritual body and its author- 
 ity IS in heaven. Most of the instructions, 
 commands and admonitions are placed upon the 
 individual. The burden of preaching the Word 
 IS largely the work of the individual. 
 
 Religious and civil combinations are impor- 
 tant; many things can be done by co-operation 
 
144 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 that are hard to do by individual effort. We 
 must not ignore organized effort, yet nine- 
 tenths of our work must be done by the indi- 
 vidual. Whenever we concentrate all our effort 
 on organization we will become a disappearing 
 brotherhood; it's sure death to neglect indi- 
 vidual effort. 
 
 We make speeches, beg for money, organize 
 societies and send preachers to Africa, and that 
 is right; but while we are glorying in our mis- 
 sion work, the Mohammedan without organiza- 
 tion, the individual, goes shouting, ''God and 
 Mohammed call all men to prayer," and he 
 makes one hundred converts where we make 
 one. If all of God's people could realize that 
 each man has his individual work we could con- 
 vert the world in five years. We contribute a 
 few cents to the society and feel that our work 
 is done. Individual effort must be encouraged. 
 Let every one carry his own burden. Speed the 
 effort of the missionary society; encourage the 
 effort of the individual; individual effort can do 
 many glorious deeds that will never be done by 
 organizations. If we were compelled to give 
 up individual effort, or the organized work, 
 without one moment's hesitancy I would say, 
 ''Abandon all combines." The great work of 
 the early church was largely individual. 
 
 Some tell us that we need an authoritative 
 board in order to drive corruption out of the 
 
AUTHORITY GIVEN UNTO JESUS 145 
 
 church. The vice, dishonesty, hypocrisy and im- 
 purity in the church may well alarm us. Any 
 plan that will drive impure men from the pulpit 
 and vileness from the church will have my 
 hearty support. But will an authoritative board 
 help us? I know of no way of judging of the 
 future but by the past. The Catholic Church 
 has absolute authority; in local communities the 
 priest's word is law, yet I am satisfied that the 
 ministry in that religious society is the most im- 
 moral in the world. Priestcraft and church 
 authority have increased vice. The Church of 
 England has its authoritative assembly. Has it 
 Improved its ministry? Dean Stanley, in speak- 
 ing of the preachers, said: ^'Morality did not 
 enter into religion. Many of the vilest men in 
 England were preachers." The M. E. Church 
 has an authoritative board, yet when some were 
 to be chosen bishops, telegrams flew to the con- 
 ference from all parts making grave charges 
 against candidates. But a few days ago, a 
 preacher in one of the churches who have au- 
 thority committed a great crime, and some of 
 the preachers said, "We knew he was guilty 
 years ago." A Congregational preacher said 
 to me, *'Our people are loaded down with an 
 impure ministry." 
 
 Has authority cleansed the pulpit? I believe 
 that the ministry of the Christian Church Is the 
 grandest and purest of any ministry In the land. 
 
 10 
 
146 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 No authoritative board is necessary. If a man 
 is impure, report him to the local congregation, 
 where there is power to cleanse. Let the local 
 church rebuke, reprove, admonish. If his crime 
 is such that his congregation can not remedy it, 
 turn the man over to the civil authority. When- 
 ever we create an authoritative body we are 
 heading towards Rome and seeking to lord 
 it over our brethren. 
 
XI. 
 
 WHAT MUST THE SINNER DO TO BE SAVED? 
 
 There are three salvations mentioned in the 
 Bible — universal, special and eternal. The uni- 
 versal salvation pertains to the kingdom of 
 nature, the saving of the physical body. Paul 
 says to them in the shipwreck, * 'Except these 
 abide in the ship, ye cannot be 'saved'' (Acts 
 27:31). That referred to the physical salva- 
 tion. God sends the sunshine and the rain upon 
 the just and the unjust. In order to save this 
 physical life, we must all eat and drink and 
 breathe. In the discussion of the subject, this 
 salvation is not under consideration. The eternal 
 salvation comes to them that obey the Lord 
 (Heb. 5:9). When Paul says, ''Work out 
 your salvation with fear and trembling," he re- 
 fers to the eternal salvation. We obtain that 
 everlasting salvation by service. It is not under 
 discussion in this sermon. There is a special sal- 
 vation from sin, offered to them that obey Him 
 and serve. We have redemption through his 
 blood in the kingdom of grace (Col. i : 13, 14). 
 In this salvation that we are discussing there 
 are three salvations and three kingdoms. The 
 
 147 
 
148 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 universal, the kingdom of nature; the everlast- 
 ing, the kingdom of glory, and the special, the 
 kingdom of grace. In the question, ''What 
 must a sinner do to be saved?" I am not asking 
 what must the Christian do to be saved, what 
 must the child do to be saved, what must the 
 irresponsible do to be saved; but what must the 
 man do who has an opportunity to obey? He 
 is a sinner, and hence not in a saved condition. 
 What must he do to become a saved man and 
 change his state? 
 
 This question is asked three times, and only 
 three, in the New Testament. The answer Is 
 different In each case. 
 
 1. Acts 16:30 the jailer said, ''What must 
 I do to be saved?'' The apostle answered, *'Be- 
 lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 2. Acts 2 : 37 they cried out, "What shall 
 we do?" Peter said, *'Repent, and be baptized.'* 
 
 3. Acts 22:10 tells us that Paul said, 
 "What shall I do. Lord?" In verse 16 he is 
 commanded to "arise, and be baptized." 
 
 Paul tells the jailer to believe, Peter tells 
 those on the day of Pentecost to repent and be 
 baptized, while Ananias said, "Be baptized." 
 
 Yet these answers are not so different as one 
 might expect. I meet a man and say to him, 
 "Give me the direction to the city." He replies, 
 "Go about one mile; at the schoolhouse turn to 
 the left; one mile farther you will pass a large 
 
WHAT MUST THE SINNER DO? 149 
 
 red barn, turn to the right, cross the river 
 bridge, and the road leads directly to the city." 
 A mile away I meet a man, and in directing me 
 he says, **When you come to the large barn turn 
 to the right." He said nothing about the school- 
 house; I had passed it. The third man would 
 tell me to cross the bridge and go directly into 
 the city. He mentioned not the barn; I had 
 passed it. I am standing in front of a church 
 house; I ask a man how I can get into the 
 house. He tells me to take the three steps 
 that lead up to the door. I take one step, and 
 ask a bystander what I must do to enter the 
 house; he tells me to take two steps. When I 
 have taken these two steps I am informed, in 
 order to enter the house, that I must take one 
 step. Paul tells the jailer to take the first step, 
 believe. Peter tells the people on the day of 
 Pentecost to take the next two steps. He knew 
 they believed, hence he did not tell them to take 
 that step. They had passed that point, Ana- 
 nias said to Paul, "Be baptized;" that is, take 
 the last step. He had passed the other two 
 points. 
 
 The three steps into the church are faith, 
 repentance and baptism. These terms are 
 stated or implied in every conversion. These 
 terms of pardon are the conditions upon which 
 God proposes to admit men into the church. 
 
 The great commission contains all these 
 
150 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 terms. In Mark i6:i6 Jesus uses belief 
 (faith) and baptism. In Luke 24:47 Jesus 
 tells them that repentance shall be preached 
 in his name. Here, then, we have all three 
 terms. To the unbeliever, God says, '^Be- 
 lieve;'' to the believer he says, ''Repent;" to the 
 penitent believer he says, ''Be baptized;" to the 
 baptized believer he says, "Grow in grace." 
 Every order or society has a ritual by which 
 members are admitted. No one can get in the 
 Oddfellows' lodge only as he complies with the 
 ritual. He may do every good act that the 
 Oddfellows do, but that does not make him an 
 Oddfellow. He must comply with the steps of 
 initiation. Jesus has given us a ritual by which 
 we are to initiate people into his kingdom. A 
 man may go and do every benevolent act en- 
 joined upon Christians; that does not make him 
 a Christian. He must comply with God's ritual 
 — faith, repentance, baptism. These steps, if 
 honestly taken, will place one into the church, 
 Christ's body. When people ask what they 
 must do to be saved, let us give what God says 
 about it. I would not give anything for the 
 opinions of men. God's word is eminently 
 better. 
 
 REPENTANCE. 
 
 Sorrow for sin is not repentance. Paul tells 
 us that godly sorrow worketh repentance (2 
 Cor. 7: 10). 
 
WHAT MUST THE SINNER DO? 151 
 
 Neither sorrowing, praying nor agonizing is 
 repentance. We are told that repentance is 
 a change of mind, and then we are informed 
 that the mind must be changed in order to be- 
 lieve, hence repentance comes before faith. 
 This error originated from the wrong appli- 
 cation given to the phrase *'a change of mind." 
 The mind is divided into three divisions: intel- 
 lect, sensibilities and will. The change of our 
 way of thinking, a change of feeling, or a 
 change of the will, may properly be called a 
 change of mind. 
 
 The trouble with those who put repentance 
 before faith is that they use mind and intellect 
 as synonyms. The change of the intellect is not 
 repentance. Faith changes the intellect. Re- 
 pentance changes the will. 
 
 True, repentance is a change of mind, but 
 it does not follow that it comes before faith. Re- 
 pentance is a change of the will. Whenever a 
 sinner surrenders his stubborn will to the will 
 of God, he has repented. Sorrow for sin is not 
 repentance, for that worketh repentance. Ref- 
 ormation of life is not repentance, for that 
 leads to the fruits of repentance. In the plan 
 of salvation repentance is brought about by the 
 preaching of the word of God. The people of 
 Nineveh believed the preaching of Jonah, and 
 repented. They first believed— a change of in- 
 tellect, then repented — a change of will. 
 
152 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 ^Without faith it is impossible to please 
 God" (Heb. II : 6). 
 
 'Tor whatsoever Is not of faith is sin" 
 (Rom. 14: 23). 
 
 It is impossible for the sinner to repent 
 before he has believed and is sorry for his 
 sins. The surrender of the will to Christ comes 
 after we believe upon him. 
 
 There is much unnecessary wrangling over 
 faith and repentance, one school contending that 
 faith comes first, the other contending that re- 
 pentance should come before faith. They are 
 very closely related. In conversion you can not 
 separate them. If John Jones would enter this 
 house right now, Jones and John would be close 
 together. When a man believes with all his 
 heart, he Is ready to surrender his will to God. 
 Faith changes a man's way of thinking, repent- 
 ance changes his will, and baptism changes his 
 state, and all these steps change his relation to 
 God. The man Is no longer a sinner, but a 
 Christian. He Is then ready for another step, 
 that of service. He must now work out his 
 eternal salvation, the last step In his Christian 
 warfare. 
 
XII. 
 THE DANGERS OF REVIVALISM 
 
 Some people think we are inconsistent when 
 we commend the union revivals of Chapman, 
 Munhall and others, but condemn our evangel- 
 ists for doing the same things in the same way. 
 The criticism is not well taken. When these 
 union evangelists abandon the mourners' bench, 
 drop frenzied emotionalism and invite sinners 
 calmly to confess Christ in some way, though 
 it may be only signing a card, they are coming 
 toward New Testament evangelism; but when 
 our evangelists level down to the same plane, 
 they are going away from New Testament 
 evangelism. One is coming, the other is going; 
 one is going toward the Royal Highway, but 
 has not yet arrived; the other has been on the 
 way, but is departing from it. They may 
 meet in the lane, but one is coming, the other 
 is going. 
 
 Again, we as a people owe something to New 
 Testament evangelism that no other people 
 owe. Our evangelists have a message for the 
 people that no other evangelists have. We owe 
 a debt to the people that can only be paid by 
 
 153 
 
154 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 preaching the truth as Peter, Paul and Philip 
 preached it. 
 
 Over one hundred years ago there was a 
 wild, hysterical revivalism started in the South. 
 Thirty thousand people attended one of these 
 frenzied revivals in Georgia. Slowly this fa- 
 naticism moved north and culminated at Cane 
 Ridge, Ky. Men swooned, women went into 
 trances, and some went insane. Under this 
 semi-hypnotic influence hundreds were stricken 
 down and became unconscious. This excitement 
 entered every town and village. To preach that 
 these manifestations were not the works of the 
 Spirit, was to be called infidels and scoffers. 
 When a boy would fall over, agonize and awake 
 to shout, the minister proclaimed him soundly 
 converted. Any one who would say that he was 
 not converted, would be charged with fighting 
 against God. 
 
 Thoughtful men would stand by and see 
 their wives go into trances, their children into 
 frenzy, and yet they dare not protest. 
 
 The outdoor revivals and camp-meetings 
 swept the whole land like autumnal fires. Feel- 
 ing was the only test of conversion. This ex- 
 citing animalism produced much scandal. In 
 their excitement, men, women and children 
 would be piled together, groaning, mourning 
 and weeping. I have seen five or six women 
 and men, partially unconscious, piled up together. 
 
THE DANGERS OF REVIVALISM 1S5 
 
 Out of this looseness and gross familiarity came 
 Mormonism and Spiritualism. The convert 
 had received the Spirit to guide him, and Joe 
 Smith did the same thing. In the trance state, 
 men and women saw their departed mothers 
 and sisters, and so did Spiritualists. 
 
 Two things destroyed this form of revival- 
 ism. Men began to explain this psychic force, 
 and to show that these manifestations were 
 nothing but hysteria. A few great men began to 
 preach a rational salvation. They denied that 
 these manifestations were conversions. Then 
 the day of debate came, and the country owes 
 more to our preachers than to all the other 
 preachers of the land. We sent forth our 
 Campbell, J. T. Johnson, B. W. Stone, John 
 Smith, Henry R. Pritchard, Ben Franklin and 
 John Sweeney. After a battle of one hundred 
 years — the hundred years' war against fanati- 
 cism — we won the victory. This frenzied re- 
 vivalism is now found only among the negroes 
 of the South, the Holy Rollers, and a few ig- 
 norant religionists. 
 
 To-day we face another form of revivalism 
 that is perhaps more to be feared than the 
 emotional revival. 
 
 It does not come to us with tears, weeping 
 and mourning, but it comes with the clapping of 
 hands, laughing and hurrahs that border upon 
 irreverence. 
 
156 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 There is no praying for the forgiveness of 
 sins, but a boast that they hit the sawdust trail. 
 
 The seekers do not come in a contrite spirit 
 and humbly ask admission among God's peo- 
 ple, but they sign a card and proclaim them- 
 selves Christians. To deny that these people 
 are converted is only to be ridiculed. But is 
 there one preacher among us, out of the eight 
 thousand, that believes that a man is converted, 
 in the New Testament sense, when he merely 
 comes forward to sign a card? If there is one, 
 let him speak. And yet, in our papers, and 
 from pulpit, we proclaim the falsehood merely 
 to be popular, or to be in keeping with the 
 conditions around us. We accept falsehood 
 without protest, I have attended four union 
 meetings this year, and all made me sad. To 
 see the lack of reverence, order or seriousness 
 is painful. I have heard men boast about hit- 
 ting the trail in a manner that bordered upon 
 blasphemy. In telling how he was induced to 
 come forward, I heard a man use profanity in 
 giving his experience. Many said to me that 
 they had no notion of uniting with the church. 
 Some ridiculed the church. 
 
 Twenty-six thousand converts were reported 
 in a Pittsburgh meeting. Does any man, for 
 one minute, believe there were twenty-six thou- 
 sand people converted in a New Testament 
 sense? 
 
THE DANGERS OF REVIVALISM 157 
 
 I have had conversations with men who as- 
 sisted in the meetings, and others have written 
 me concerning these union efforts. After a care- 
 ful examination of the twenty-six thousand 
 cards, it was found that sixteen thousand were 
 signed by some of the most pious and godly 
 people in the city — members of the churches. 
 They signed cards merely to consecrate them- 
 selves to the work of that meeting. Out of the 
 ten thousand left, one-half of them have not 
 been induced to take any stand for any church. 
 Many declare they don't want to belong to any 
 church. They actually oppose the church. No 
 man is a convert until he is in the body of 
 Christ — the church. Therefore the so-called 
 twenty-six thousand converts are reduced to zero. 
 Coming forward, giving the preacher his hand 
 and signing a card, makes no one a convert. To 
 be in Christ Is to be in his body — the church — 
 and no man Is a Christian that Is not In the 
 church. 
 
 When our evangelists report a meeting with 
 three thousand conversions, they know the re- 
 port Is false. What about the people who came 
 by letter, statement, and from other religious 
 societies, many of them Immersed members of 
 the church? Just a short time ago, a meeting 
 was reported with nearly two thousand converts. 
 One preacher tells me that there were only 
 about three hundred baptisms; therefore only 
 
158 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 three hundred conversions. Dr. Chapman puts 
 it well when he says, **I count converts when 
 they are in some church." 
 
 In our lust for numbers, have we forgotten 
 the truth ? Some tell us that much good is done 
 in these revivals. Grant it. Much good was 
 done in the frenzied emotionalism, but let the 
 historian relate the after-results. They tell us 
 that in the wake of that hysterical revival wave 
 came stagnation, skepticism and immorality. 
 Men cooled off from their frenzy and laughed 
 at the Bible and ridiculed religion. They real- 
 ized that their so-called conversion was a farce, 
 and went into infidelity. 
 
 Shall we permit, without protest, this hilari- 
 ous revivalism to become the only popular evan- 
 gelism? If we do, it may take another hundred 
 years for us to get the people back to a Scrip- 
 tural evangelism. If we are too timid to pro- 
 claim the message, God may have to call up 
 some other people to do it. 
 
 When the union meetings come we want to 
 go into them and do our best. After they are 
 over we must teach these men and women lov- 
 ingly, and yet clearly and firmly, that they have 
 only taken one step in conversion; that they 
 must obey the commands in order to get into 
 Christ. 
 
 In one city where I attended the end of a 
 revival, many men were meeting in the halls and 
 
THE DANGERS OF REVIVALISM 159 
 
 theaters, ridiculing the church and declaring that 
 they have no use for the old shell — the church. 
 
 Paul was playing havoc with the church 
 when Jesus met him and said, 'Why do do you 
 persecute me?" Paul realized then, and for- 
 ever after, that to persecute the church is to 
 persecute Christ, to ridicule the church is to 
 ridicule Jesus, and to be out of the church was 
 to be out of Christ. 
 
 I have no sympathy with that sentiment that 
 applauds the name of Jesus, but hisses the 
 church. Let our evangelists, with no apology, 
 teach forcibly that to be out of the church is to 
 be out of Christ, and that there is not a Chris- 
 tian on earth that is out of the church universal. 
 
 I know not what course others may take, 
 but, as for me, I must preach the gospel that 
 was delivered to us by Jesus and his apostles. 
 I would be unfaithful to my Lord if I would 
 recognize men as converts when I knew they 
 were not. It is a great blunder to give a wrong 
 prescription that might kill a man, or to give 
 wrong directions to a lost man, who might fol- 
 low your advice and go to death, but it Is a 
 tragedy to give a man wrong advice in seeking 
 his way home to heaven. 
 
 Here I stand. God helping me, I stand. 
 
XIII. 
 
 THE LAST SALUTE ON EVANGELISM 
 
 As I fired the first gun in the symposium, I 
 now desire to close the discussion in peace. 
 
 1. It is unfortunate that some words have 
 been used with two meanings. Some have used 
 **big meetings," in the sense of meetings big in 
 excitement, frenzy and big in counting numbers 
 without due regard to accuracy. Others use it 
 referring to large ingatherings. There should be 
 no strife here. We all believe in great ingather- 
 ings. No meeting is big enough as long as one 
 man is out of Christ. If I could have a meet- 
 ing with one thousand baptisms, I would rejoice. 
 If I could reproduce Pentecost in preaching, 
 numbers and results, I would be delighted. "In- 
 sane evangelism" is another phrase that we 
 should be done with forever. It is meaningless. 
 *'The first day of invitation" can be dispensed 
 with. 
 
 2. Some think it unwise for evangelists to 
 criticize evangelistic methods. They say, *'Let 
 others make the attack." That may do for 
 stand-pat politics, but it is not sound for the 
 men demanding reform. The man that does 
 
 160 
 
LAST SALUTE ON EVANGELISM 161 
 
 not clean up his own party is unworthy of the 
 confidence of the people. We are also informed 
 that we can do little to correct abuses. I can 
 remember the time when our evangelism was 
 abuse, ridicule and antagonism. Illustrations 
 were coarse, repellant and uncouth. This stock 
 of evangelism is no longer in trade, and evan- 
 gelists ridiculed it out of existence. 
 
 3. This combative type was followed by an 
 evangelism which is not surpassed to-day. W. 
 F. Black, without any help, went forth to tell 
 the story in cultured oratory. J. Z. Taylor, T. 
 ,A. Boyer, and others, continued this same plan. 
 They in a single meeting, single-handed, brought 
 two hundred, three hundred and four hundred 
 to Christ. They depended entirely on the 
 preaching of the Word. They had no assist- 
 ants. Some of our strong churches owe their 
 eminence to these evangelists. In many cases 
 this type of evangelism should be restored. 
 More preaching, less machinery; more message, 
 less method. 
 
 4. It Is gratifying to notice changes in re- 
 ports lately. The numbers that came by letter 
 and confession are reported. If the evangelists 
 will telegraph the numbers who came by letter 
 and confession on the great day, and at the 
 end of the meeting tell how many were taken 
 into the local congregation by letter, statement 
 
 and baptism, we will avoid many false reports. 
 11 
 
162 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 If some of the reports had stated the number 
 that came by letter and baptism, the reported 
 number of additions would have been divided 
 by four. 
 
 5. It is important to notice that the facts 
 presented by Allen Wilson and myself have 
 never been questioned. Those statements were 
 not rumor, hearsay or flying reports. They 
 were the testimony of the best witnesses possible 
 — preachers, elders and deacons. They who 
 testified were eye-witnesses. In one instance 
 there were twenty people who expressed an 
 anxious willingness to verify the accuracy of the 
 report. I am sure in one report we could have 
 gotten one hundred witnesses to sustain every 
 word. We showed that In many of these high- 
 pressure meetings false reports have been made, 
 deception has been practiced, cogregatlons had 
 been injured and stagnation had followed. 
 
 6. The proposition we started out to prove 
 was, *'There Is something wrong with our pres- 
 ent evangelism." This we have sustained with 
 many Infallible proofs. Forty-six persons have 
 testified In signed articles or In fragments of 
 articles. Forty-four of the forty-six affirmed the 
 proposition and declare that the symposium was 
 necessary and will do good. 
 
 The meeting Is not evil because It is large; 
 it is evil when It does wrong. The evangelist 
 does no wrong when he counts one thousand 
 
LAST SALUTE ON EVANGELISM 163 
 
 converts; he does wrong when he counts one 
 thousand that are not converts. He is not wrong 
 when he tells the truth; he is wrong when he 
 makes false reports. He is not wrong when he 
 telegraphs facts ; but he does evil when his tele- 
 grams deceive. The evangelist does no evil in 
 having his methods of work; he does wrong 
 when he substitutes frenzy for truth. He does 
 no wrong when he does personal work in shop 
 or on street; he does wrong when he and his 
 workers stop little schoolgirls on their way 
 home, and engage in such conversation as this: 
 **Don't you believe Jesus is your Saviour?" 
 "Yes, sir." 'What is your name?" ''Martha 
 Chase," and reports Martha Chase, and scores 
 of others like her, as converts. He does no 
 evil when he preaches in such a manner that 
 many come to the Master in one day; he does 
 wrong when he gathers names for six or eight 
 days, and then announces them as first-day in- 
 vitation converts, when scores of them had never 
 been in church, have not been there since, and 
 had no notion of becoming Christians. One 
 evangelist told me that the company had 
 gathered over one hundred names on street and 
 in private homes several days before the first 
 day of invitation, and announced all as converts 
 on the first day of invitation. 
 
 He does no evil who leads young people, 
 boys and girls to Jesus. He does much evil 
 
164 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 when he goes to Primary departments and asks 
 all who love Jesus to stand, and counts them 
 as converts. My singer said to me one day, 
 **We can count two hundred next Sunday if we 
 desire.'' I am sure that we could have easily 
 had one hundred or more to stand up and say, 
 **I love Jesus." We had four hundred in a 
 children's rally. By coaxing and coaching, I 
 could have had nearly all to say, ''I believe 
 Jesus is my Saviour." I could have gone to the 
 Y. M. C. A. mass-meeting and stampeded the 
 crowd, and had one hundred to stand up for 
 Christ. It is easy to have a big day and count 
 members. Any man with a little psychic knowl- 
 edge can do it. It is not right to say: "Oh, 
 come now. Think of Jesus. Let baptism and 
 the church which you join be secondary. Take 
 care of that some other time," That method 
 may do for the Holy Roller, but not for the man 
 who is trying to restore New Testament evan- 
 ^gelism. All this trouble is not confined to our 
 own ranks. Biederwolf, Chapman and Taylor 
 see the danger. In the National Evangelistic 
 Congress at Chicago, where hundreds of the 
 greatest evangelists gathered, it was announced 
 that our evangelism tends towards commercial- 
 ism and exaggeration. 
 
 The Federation Council sounded a warning. 
 Dr. Taylor said: 'When I decided to enter the 
 field, an evangelist said to me, 'Come and see 
 
LAST SALUTE ON EVANGELISM 165 
 
 me; I can give you some of the tricks; I have 
 them all skinned a mile in raising money !^" 
 Dr. Taylor said he felt like leaving the field 
 then. Dr. Chapman said: ''The criticism upon 
 some of our present-day evangelism is just. If 
 evangelism is to be maintained, we must 
 abandon some of our methods. Tell the truth." 
 
 Methods that deceive children, bewilder 
 those who are trying to seek the truth, and leave 
 thousands convicted but not converted, should 
 give way to apostolic preaching that transforms 
 men from sin. It is a serious matter to lead 
 men to Christ. It is unpardonable to teach 
 them that they are converted when they are 
 not. The number reported in a meeting and 
 the number received by baptism and statement 
 should be about the same. 
 
 A prominent business man said that evan- 
 gelists generally were too Impulsive to be good 
 business men. It seems to me that in this dis- 
 cussion much has been said that has no bearing 
 on the question. Festus admonishing a pris- 
 oner standing before the king is given as an 
 example of opposition to evangelism. It is as 
 logical as to affirm that the Mississippi Is the 
 longest river In the world, therefore England 
 should adopt a republican form of government. 
 It Is as sensible as the conundrum, *'Why Is a 
 mouse when It spins?" Neither do resolutions 
 In favor of an evangelist who does right justify 
 
166 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 one that does wrong. No criticism is made of 
 the honest evangelist, no one needs to come to 
 his defense. Nine-tenths of our evangelism is 
 above criticism, but the one-tenth may poison all. 
 
 Some insist that we should point out the 
 evangelist, place and time where these things 
 occur. I would think that a calamity. This 
 mad lust for notoriety is found in ministers, 
 dedicators, and Sunday-school workers. Shall 
 we personate all these if we discuss abuses? But 
 I will say this: If demanded, we can point out 
 several cases, and have the consent of ministers, 
 laymen and workers. The place, the time and 
 the man can be given. But I see nothing but 
 pain and sorrow to come from such a procedure. 
 I do not think there will be any reason to adopt 
 this plan. If we have done evil, let us now do 
 right. Remember, our work is to restore New 
 Testament evangelism. We must not, for fame 
 or money, go off after other gods. 
 
 We are intensely evangelistic. We need 
 fifty evangelists where now we have one. The 
 church that is not evangelistic is not evangelical. 
 Every church needs the trained evangelists. The 
 sixty-five million unconverted in the United 
 States are calling for the evangelist. The dying 
 churches are calling for the evangelist. Min- 
 isters who have carried the burden are calling 
 for the evangelist. Mothers and fathers with 
 wayward boys are calling for the evangelist. 
 
LAST SALUTE ON EVANGELISM 167 
 
 The church is doomed that abandons evangel- 
 ism. 
 
 I have seen some conventions go wild with 
 enthusiasm when some young man volunteers to 
 go to the Congo, where a home is prepared for 
 him. That requires heroism. But it requires 
 just as much heroism for the evangelist un- 
 heralded to leave his wife and little ones in 
 loneliness. Black, Updike, Gilbert, Taylor, Pat- 
 terson and Northcutt have gone to be with God. 
 Others, worn out in the service of the Master, 
 are only waiting till the shadows are a little 
 longer grown. Only a few of us are left who 
 devote our entire time to evangelism. In a few 
 summers we must go; our time shall come and 
 we shall be called to go and join the innumer- 
 able caravan. 
 
 "The sad muffled drum shall sound the last march of the 
 
 brave, 
 And the soldier shall retreat to his quarters, the grave; 
 Then, freed from death's terrors and hostile alarms, 
 When we hear the last bugle, we'll stand to our arms." 
 
XIV. 
 TROUBLES, REAL AND IMAGINARY 
 
 (A Lecture to Women) 
 
 I do not allot to myself a privilege that I 
 do not allot to you. If I have a right to de- 
 fend my property by my vote, you should have 
 a right to protect your property by your vote. 
 
 I presume some will say, ''Why lecture to 
 women only?" Do you know that men are 
 curious? I gave my lecture to men, thinking I 
 might get some of them to come out through 
 curiosity. I never dreamed that you would 
 come through curiosity. A woman is not made 
 that way. But as I gave men a meeting, it is 
 but fair that you have one. 
 
 Do you know that three of the best sermons 
 Jesus ever preached were preached to women 
 only? Jesus was on his way when he stopped 
 at Jacob's well, near the city of Sychar. A 
 Samaritan woman came to the well; Jesus en-i 
 tered into conversation with her. This startled 
 the woman. She said: ''How Is it that you, 
 being a Jew, ask drink of me? Our fathers 
 worshiped in this mountain, and you worship 
 in Jerusalem." Jesus replied: "The time has 
 
 168 
 
TROUBLES, REAL AND IMAGINARY 169 
 
 come when the true worshippers will worship the 
 Father In spirit and in truth." He taught her 
 that God could be worshiped anywhere, not in 
 Mount Gerizim, the representative of devotion, 
 or Jerusalem, the representative of truth; that 
 the time had come when God could be worshiped 
 everywhere. She went back into the city and 
 began to tell the story of love. The beautiful 
 story is recorded in the tenth chapter of John. 
 
 Jesus needed rest. With his disciples he 
 went to the coast of Sidon to get away from 
 the multitudes, but in the secluded country he 
 found a woman of great faith. The brightest 
 jewels are often found in the darkest places. 
 At the headlands of the fields where the horses 
 turn and trample the stalks, the farmers do not 
 expect to find the best corn, but the best grows 
 in the middle of the fields. But here in the 
 pagan country, an untaught community, Jesus 
 discovered one of the richest jewels. Jesus has 
 children everywhere. Here he found an ear 
 of corn that surpassed the corn in Jerusalem. 
 
 There was no rest for Jesus. A Canaanitish 
 woman cried: ^^Have mercy on me, O Lord, 
 thou son of David. My daughter is grievously 
 vexed with a devil" (Matt. 15:22). He an- 
 swered her not a word. That seems to be cruel. 
 What would you do if you would ask your min- 
 ister a question and he would not answer you? 
 I fear you would get mad and leave the church. 
 
170 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 But this woman had too much faith to be silly. 
 She wanted a blessing and was not going to be 
 defeated. Faith pleads earnestly. The disciples 
 were cruel to her. They said: ''Send her away. 
 She crieth after us." 
 
 If you were to come here to-night and the 
 ushers would say, ''Send these people away; they 
 annoy us/' would you not leave at once in a 
 fuss? Not so with this woman. She wanted a 
 blessing, and the unkind treatment did not check 
 her pleading. Jesus said, "I am not sent but 
 unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 
 That did not smother her enthusiasm. She 
 cried, "Lord, help me." He replied, "It is not 
 meet to take the children's bread and cast it to 
 the dogs." Jesus called her a dog. What 
 would you do if your preacher would talk that 
 way to you? She did not deny the truth of the 
 statement. She confessed she was entirely un- 
 worthy, and said, "Truth, Lord, but the dogs 
 eat the crumbs that fall from the master's 
 table." She plead; she did not dispute or deny. 
 She admitted all Jesus said, but defended her 
 claim by saying that the little dogs eat the 
 crumbs that fall from the master's table. "I 
 only ask for the dog's crumbs. I do not ask 
 to take the bread away from the children. In 
 your great storehouse of love and power, drop 
 me a crumb of blessing. You will not lessen 
 your power and the children will not miss it." 
 
TROUBLES, REAL AND IMAGINARY 171 
 
 Her faith was great and could not be silenced 
 on account of the silence of Jesus, the conduct 
 of the disciples or the arguments of the Master. 
 When Jesus saw the beauty of her faith, he 
 said, *'0 woman, great is thy faith; be it unto 
 thee as thou wilt,'' and her daughter was healed 
 that hour. Jesus was merely testing her faith. 
 When he saw the beauty of it, he granted her 
 request. 
 
 His next great sermon was to Mary and 
 Martha (Luke 10:40-42). He had been east 
 of the Jordan; I think he came to Bethany un- 
 expectedly. I think Martha ran away so she 
 would not be seen. She did not have all things 
 in proper trim. But not so with Mary. For 
 the time she forgot her cares and sat at the feet 
 of Jesus. Oh, how she enjoyed the communion 
 with Jesus. She drank in his words and felt the 
 thrill of his spirit. But Martha came and said, 
 *'Bid my sister help me." Notice, Jesus does 
 not rebuke Martha. She was a model house- 
 wife, a beautiful character; but he says, *'You 
 are troubled about many things, and but one 
 thing Is needful, and Mary has chosen the good 
 part that shall not be taken away from her." 
 The good part Mary had chosen was to sit at 
 the feet of Jesus. The first thing for every one 
 to do is to sit at the feet of Jesus. After that, 
 look after your worldly affairs. Seek first the 
 kingdom of heaven, then give attention to your 
 
172 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 home and business. Here is an example for my 
 subject: Martha worrying over imaginary trou- 
 bles; Mary contented at the feet of Jesus. 
 
 With some women everything goes wrong. 
 If it is raining, they are sure it will never cease. 
 If it is bright, they know it will be cloudy the next 
 day. When it is dry they pray for rain; and 
 when it is raining they want it dry. The dis- 
 contented woman is like the old lady who said, 
 ''I always feel bad when I am well, for I know 
 I will feel bad the next day." If she has a pim- 
 ple on her cheek, she is sure it is a cancer, and 
 when she has a cough she is sure it is the first 
 stages of consumption. She whines because she 
 IS sick and whines enough to make everybody 
 else sick. I had an old aunt that was always 
 complaining. One day myself, three sisters and 
 brother got on our old horse Baldface and went 
 over to see her. She consented for us to go to 
 the woods. Five cousins joined us and all of 
 us could not get on the horse, so we tied him to 
 the post behind the barn and went to the woods 
 on foot. We had not been gone one hour until 
 we heard the old dinner-horn. In the middle 
 of the day it meant danger. We started to the 
 house. Her husband heard the horn and ran to 
 the house, and as he entered he heard our aunt 
 praying, '*0 Lord, hold old Baldface." He 
 thought she had gone crazy, and didn't miss it 
 much. On asking what was the alarm, she said, 
 
TROUBLES, REAL AND IMAGINARY 173 
 
 **About SIX months ago I had a presentiment 
 that old Baldface would run off and kill all the 
 children, and I know all are dead and I am 
 guilty/' He replied, ''Get up; old Baldface is 
 tied to the post." The Lord could not hold old 
 Baldface when he was already held. 
 
 Some women are never satisfied. If the 
 husband comes home late, she quarrels about it; 
 if he comes home early, she has just that much 
 more time to quarrel. Just as they lay down 
 for the night's rest, the wife began to quarrel, 
 but the husband went to sleep. He woke the 
 next morning and she began again. He said to 
 her, ''Say, dear, is this a new quarrel or the 
 one you started yesterday?" Do not misunder- 
 stand me; I believe that four-fifths of the 
 divided homes, divorces and separations origi- 
 nated from men, but do not let your case be one 
 out of the five. 
 
 A wife said to her friend: "I see that my 
 husband and I are losing our love and attach- 
 ment for one another. Maybe I am to blame; 
 I will change." The next night she dressed in 
 clean apparel, met him at the gate, gave him the 
 old-time kiss, and invited him to sit down in 
 the arbor. She entered into conversation upon 
 his business, and showed she was Interested in 
 his affairs. Then they talked about the old 
 times when they walked at the dusk of the 
 evening under the whispering pines. After sup- 
 
174 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 per she said, **Now, do you have to go back to 
 the store to-night?'' *'Oh, no; the boys can care 
 for the store, I think. I will remain here with 
 you. 
 
 Make your home the best, brightest and 
 happiest place on earth. ''There is no place like 
 home.'' Many husbands remain out late at 
 night, and as they go home they sing, ''No place 
 like home" — no place they dread to enter like 
 home. 
 
 A man came home only to hear the old 
 scold. He went to bed, but sleep had left his 
 pillow. He thought his wife was sound asleep. 
 He went to a trunk, took out a photograph, 
 looked at it tenderly, kissed It affectionately and 
 went to bed. She arose, secured the photo- 
 graph, tore off the WTapping, and when she ex- 
 amined it she found it was her own photograph 
 — the one she gave him when she w^as cheerful, 
 kind and sympathetic. At once she realized the 
 trouble and set about to correct it. No man can 
 love a scold, or one who takes no interest in 
 her home or her husband's affairs. 
 
 The woman who spends her life in the whirl 
 of society is never happy. Dissipation aggra- 
 vates her whole life. She lives the unreal. It 
 sours life, makes her irritable, blue and cross. 
 She lives for self alone. If not in the giddy 
 ball, she is In bed. It Is only another step from 
 the ballroom to bed. The Idle woman Is gen- 
 
TROUBLES, REAL AND IMAGINARY 175 
 
 erally sick and most of her ailments are imagi- 
 nary. She goes from the flattery of the dress- 
 fitter to the consolation of the doctor, who gets a 
 good fee for his condolence. 
 
 There is something better for you. Be a 
 heroine, but a worker; be a woman, not a mere 
 pleasure-seeker. The woman of pleasure-seek- 
 ing is a miserable failure. 
 
 Nothing on earth is more powerful than a 
 mother's love. It stretches beyond the stars to 
 breathless eternity. The boy will never forget 
 the songs and prayers of mother. 
 
 George Washington would not He. Where 
 did he learn that beautiful lesson? In a little 
 book found In his old home where was a chap- 
 ter on truth-telling. In the margin of the book 
 were found sentences like these: ^'Do not forget 
 that, George;" ''Remember this, my boy." 
 Who wrote these words? It was the mother of 
 Washington; so, when you praise Washington 
 for his whole life, go back behind the throne 
 and you will find the Influence of his mother. 
 
 What Is It that characterizes Byron? His 
 utter distrust of motherhood. He could shoot 
 off his brilliant thoughts and dazzle the world, 
 but had no respect for women. Why? When 
 he was only nine years old, his mother was 
 unfaithful. He judged all womankind by his 
 mother. 
 
 Two men were gambling In China. The 
 
176 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 loser pushed back from the table after he was 
 bankrupt and began to sing: 
 
 "One sweetly solemn thought 
 Comes to me o'er and o'er: 
 I am nearer my home to-day 
 Than I have ever been before/' 
 
 The winner said, * Where did you learn that 
 song?" ''Mother taught it to me.'' ''Mother! 
 mother!" cried the winner; "don't say mother 
 In this vile place. I can't take your money when 
 you talk about your mother. Here, take your 
 part of the money and let us go back to America 
 and be men." The influence of mother changed 
 their lives. 
 
 Every woman should be a Christian. All 
 she has she owes to Jesus. When Jesus came to 
 this world woman was the toy of man. To-day 
 she stands out above him. She owes it to the 
 teachings of Jesus. You may be a good wife 
 or mother without being a Christian, but you 
 can be a better wife, mother or daughter by 
 being a Christian. Jesus will help you carry 
 your burdens. Take him as your Friend, Lord 
 and Master. 
 
XV. 
 LECTURE TO MEN 
 
 "Run ye through the streets of Jerusalem 
 and see If ye can find a man" (Jer. 5:1). The 
 prophet seemed to convey the idea that in the 
 great city of Jerusalem it was difficult to find a 
 man, a being that would measure up on all sides 
 a manly man. What was then scarce is not now 
 plentiful. What was true of Jerusalem was also 
 largely true of Palestine. Babylon was Chaldea, 
 Jerusalem was Palestine, Athens was Greece, 
 Rome was Italy, Paris is France, London is 
 England and New York is America. The stand- 
 ard of morals in the cities will shape the stand- 
 ard in the whole land. Were it not for the 
 pure blood from the country poured into our 
 cities every month, they would rot in fifty years. 
 If the city young men do not give us better gov- 
 ernment, it is high time that our country boys 
 rise up and take control. 
 
 Diogenes went into the streets of Athens in 
 midday with a lighted lantern. When asked 
 what he was doing he replied, "Hunting for a 
 man." Standing on a street corner, he once 
 called, "Ye men of Athens." When many ran 
 
 12 177 
 
178 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 around him he shouted, "Away! I did not call 
 for pigmies, I called for men." 
 
 I shall not attempt to define man. I might 
 blunder, like Plato when he said, "Man is a 
 two-legged animal without feathers.'' Diogenes 
 pulled the feathers off a rooster, and tossed it 
 into the Academy, saying, "There is one of 
 Plato's men." 
 
 I am not here to tickle your fancy or to say 
 vulgar things. I am here to call you to noble 
 lives. Men, you will largely shape the social 
 life of this community. What you are, society 
 will be — you make society. 
 
 Let me state briefly what constitutes a man. 
 
 I. This being, in order to be called a man, 
 must have a tender conscience. Notice, I put the 
 emphasis on "tender." All have consciences, 
 but some have consciences that are dead, and 
 they have forgotten to bury them. Some men 
 do the meanest of mean things and they say they 
 do It in all good conscience. I presume they do, 
 for they have no scruples. In olden times they 
 wore sandles. If a pebble should slip between 
 the foot and shoe, it would make most men 
 limp. But here is a fellow whose foot is cal- 
 loused. He can have a dozen pebbles in his 
 shoe, and not limp. So some have calloused 
 consciences. Do you remember the first time 
 you did some mean thing? Did you not feel the 
 cold perspiration gather on your brow? Were 
 
LECTURE TO MEN 179 
 
 you not restless all night? Did you not feel 
 that a thousand eyes were watching you, a thou- 
 sand ears ready to catch every whisper, and 
 everything seem to start a blaze of discovery? 
 Your beating heart, rising in your throat, de- 
 manded disclosure. You thought every person 
 saw your crime in your face, read it in your 
 eyes, and could almost hear It in your silent 
 thoughts. 
 
 To-day you do the same mean act, and all 
 you care for is, **Will I escape the law?" You 
 slapped your conscience in the face and told it 
 to keep its mouth shut. The second time it rose 
 up to rebuke you, you stabbed it; the last time 
 you murdered it. Now you can do the meanest 
 of mean things and it hurts you not. Men, keep 
 a tender conscience. 
 
 2. This being, in order to be worthy the 
 title *^man," must possess a warm, loving heart. 
 Some deem it weakness to cry. Tears represent 
 manhood. Plato says, ''Tears are man's best 
 title to humanity." The race that can not cry 
 will die. The great Washington wept with pity 
 when he saw the suffering of his men. Lincoln 
 cried like a child when little DoUie begged him 
 not to shoot her soldier brother. Jesus wept. 
 When does Garfield stand out before you as 
 the grandest of men? Was it when he made 
 that wonderful speech in Congress? or was it 
 when he led his soldiers to victory? Was it 
 
180 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 when he stood yonder in Chicago making that 
 matchless address nominating Mr. Sherman? 
 Or was it when he was nominated amid a blaze 
 of joy? Was it when at Mentor a carload of 
 telegrams congratulated him upon his election? 
 Would you say it was on his way to the capital, 
 when thousands rushed down to the station, 
 amid the roar of the cannon, the fluttering of 
 flags and peals of bells as he triumphantly en- 
 tered the city, hailed and blessed by sixty mil- 
 lions ? Was it when he made that eventful speech 
 on the day of inauguration? Not there. But it 
 was when he closed that speech, and, turning 
 away from Presidents and Senators, stooped and 
 kissed his old mother. From that day until 
 yonder by the seaside, as the breezes moaned 
 above him as he cried, *'Oh, Swaim!" everybody 
 said Garfield was a man. I was standing on the 
 platform in a Western city watching the ap- 
 proaching train. I saw a young man anxiously 
 walking up and down the track. When the train 
 came In he ran from coach to coach. Who Is 
 he looking for? His wife, sweetheart or sister? 
 Suddenly an old, crippled woman came to the 
 door. I saw the young man rush up, affection- 
 ately kiss her, and say, ^^Grandma, I am glad 
 to see you." I pronounce him a man. A hotel 
 was burning In Philadelphia. A widowed 
 mother had a darling boy In the third story. 
 When the alarm was given, the mother started 
 
LECTURE TO MEN 181 
 
 for her boy. The police said, ''Stand back; no 
 one can go through the flames." Like a giant 
 she pushes them aside. She bounds up the stairs, 
 wraps the boy in the bedding and brings him 
 into the open air. He is not touched. Not so 
 with the poor mother. Her hair was gone, 
 fingers crisped and face blistered. She was 
 never able to take her place again as waiten 
 She moved to Denver. Fifteen years after, at a 
 swell ball, this boy was whirling in the dance, 
 when the mother came to ask him to come home. 
 The fire was out and the night was growing cold. 
 Instead of meeting her, he stepped into the side 
 room; an attendant told her that her son was 
 not there. While she sat there weeping he dis- 
 owned her, and finally joined with others in 
 jesting about her ugly old face. That fellow 
 was not a man. 
 
 3. This being must have opinions of his 
 own. A man will think and act for himself. In 
 politics and religion he will follow the right. 
 
 4. Last, but not least, this being, in order to 
 be called a man, must have a religion. Man is 
 a religious being. You trace this spark of 
 divinity in the barbarian as he beats his tum-tum 
 drum, and in the Indian around his wigwam 
 fires. Do not strangle this divinity within you. 
 God has given you three natures : Physical, in- 
 tellectual and spiritual. You have no right to 
 take your life. God gave it to you for a noble 
 
182 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 purpose. Neither have you any right to neglect 
 your intellect. 
 
 But God has left an immortal soul in your 
 keeping. Men, answer me, will you care for 
 your soul? If you knew that in ten days you 
 would commit suicide, or that your mind would 
 be dethroned, miserable would you be. But you 
 do know that you must die and your soul must 
 be saved or lost. Will you care for your soul? 
 
 To young men: While standing on the shore 
 in Boston I saw all the ships coming into port. 
 I asked the reason, when an old sea captain 
 said: ''Storm signal is up. No wise captain will 
 put out on the dangerous sea." All along the 
 shores of life there are storm-signals warning 
 young men not to put off into dangerous seas. 
 There is a placard saying, ^^Don't touchF' Let 
 me call your attention to a few of these 
 placards: 
 
 I. Don't swear. 
 
 You tell me that great men swear. But 
 their profanity is no part of their greatness, but 
 IS a moral deformity. I sat on the platform by 
 the side of a man who had held listening senates 
 in rapt admiration, who had led his conquering 
 army over fields of victory, and planted the im- 
 press of his genius on the ages ; yet he had only 
 one foot. No one would say, "What a splendid 
 man; let me cut off one of my feet." No, that 
 was no part of his greatness. It is unmanly to 
 
LECTURE TO MEN 183 
 
 swear. What would you say should I take the 
 name of your sister more often than Is neces- 
 sary, or toss about the name of your father for 
 foul-mouth purposes, or whet the edge of my 
 anger with the name of your mother? You 
 would tell me I was not a gentleman. The 
 Christian's heavenly Father is dearer to him 
 than your earthly father is to you. But you say, 
 *'I don't mean any harm when I swear." Then, 
 you admit your heart is so profane that pro- 
 fanity comes out without your consent. 
 
 2. Don't live beyond your income. 
 
 We talk much about hard times. I have 
 felt the sharp teeth of hard times. But what 
 causes hard times? The chief cause is extrav- 
 agance. We spend three dollars for whisky to 
 one for bread. More money for tobacco than 
 for meat, and ten dollars for finger-rings to one 
 for Foreign Missions. Many young men spend 
 more money in extravagance in one year than 
 their fathers spent in twenty years. A young 
 man in Kansas City, working on a salary of $40 
 per month, spent $24 for board, $20 for livery 
 hire, $20 for theater tickets, $25 for tobacco 
 and whisky — double his salary. He was dis- 
 missed with the remark from the head man of 
 the firm, ''The young man who will live beyond 
 his Income will finally steal.'* 
 
 3. Don't drink. 
 
 Stronger men than you have gone down. 
 
184 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Don't think you can take an occasional glass, 
 and then a semi-occasional. You will become a 
 drunkard. 
 
 I stood in college on Commencement Day. 
 A young man stepped to the front of the stage 
 to deliver his graduating speech. Showers of 
 bouquets fell thickly around him. Every one 
 said, *^What an excellent young man!" I see 
 him standing on the platform waiting for the 
 approaching train, to carry him to his village 
 home. There he meets the belle of the town 
 and she is led to the marriage altar. Of even- 
 ings when he came home from his office she 
 would cheer him with the sweet strains of music. 
 Nineteen months from the wedding-day I see 
 that wife, poorly clad, coming down the streets. 
 I see her knock on a saloon and ask for her 
 husband. I see her lead him from the saloon 
 to her garret, where he falls unconscious upon 
 the floor. He dreams of the time when he stood 
 at the head of his class in college. She, with 
 face covered in her hands, thinks. She thinks 
 when she was at the head of a happy home. 
 Now he springs to his feet, gives one yell, and 
 his spirit takes its flight to the judgment-seat of 
 God. Shame upon a people who with one hand 
 build churches, and in the name of the living 
 God invite sinners to repentance, while, with the 
 other hand, they build jails, and then open up 
 the saloon to fill the jails. Why do you have 
 
LECTURE TO MEN 185 
 
 saloons here? Revenue, you say. I have been 
 figuring some. The actual revenue that you re- 
 ceive from your saloon is only 47^ cents per 
 capita. The price of a 150-pound hog in Chicago 
 IS $7.50, but the price of a man here is only 47 j^ 
 cents. If money is all you are after, I would 
 rather be a hog in Chicago than a man in this 
 town. The saloon is a reservoir of sin, wicked- 
 ness and crime, from which flow streams of 
 ruin that make deep channels throughout the 
 entire land. It demands of the young man his 
 wealth, health and life. 
 
 It says to the mother, *'I demand your 
 son;" to the wife, "Give me your husband;" to 
 the State, "Surrender your statesman;" to high 
 heaven, "I demand an immortal soul." It is 
 God's worst enemy and the devil's best friend. 
 
 The United States spends more money for 
 whisky than for bread, meat and education. 
 Should any man do this, his family must suffer. 
 The nation that spends more money for whisky 
 than for bread, meat and education must expect 
 hard times. Yet, who is responsible for this 
 condition of affairs? We are. Last year five 
 million church-members voted. They could 
 have destroyed the saloon. The saloon lives 
 by their votes. If the preachers would educate 
 the people, then they would vote right. Hence 
 the saloon lives by consent of the preachers. 
 
 4. Don't violate the law of chastity. 
 
186 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 **Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
 also reap." God has said It. He who goes 
 to the house of the scarlet woman has put his 
 foot in hell. Men, I call you back from such 
 an awful sin. Continue in it, and the demons 
 of hell will *'Ha! ha!" while you are agonizing 
 in a horrible death. 
 
 Remember, young man, that for every fallen 
 woman there is at least one fallen man. Would 
 you recognize a woman who is impure? Why, 
 then, demand respect of woman? 
 
 Here society is all wrong. If a woman of- 
 fends against chastity, she goes down forever, 
 but man may tear the fair-famed girl from her 
 home, and cast her out to die, and yet walk the 
 streets unrebuked. Let the woman demand the 
 same exactness of manners from the man that 
 he demands from her; virtue for virtue, good 
 conduct for good conduct, and that act that will 
 banish a poor woman from society, in the name 
 of high heaven let it banish men from society. 
 
 To Fathers : God has blessed you with chil- 
 dren. He has endowed them with three natures 
 — physical, intellectual and spiritual. You have 
 no right to neglect that child. If you abuse its 
 physical nature, society will take the child from 
 you, and say you are a brute. If you neglect 
 its intellect, the state says, ''I will educate it, 
 even without your consent." But the child has 
 a soul. You have no right to neglect Its spiritual 
 
LECTURE TO MEN 187 
 
 nature. Neither can you train a child spiritually 
 unless you are spiritual. You owe it to your 
 children to be a Christian. 
 
 To Husbands: You have taken from the 
 home the flower of the family. Are you caring 
 for that delicate flower? You say, *'I support 
 her.'' This is not sufficient. You insist you 
 never abuse her. That may be true. I stood 
 on Clark Street in Chicago. I saw a woman 
 hunting from corner to corner for her husband. 
 She found him in a shooting-gallery. I saw her 
 place her hand on him and say, '*Frank, come 
 home, baby is dying." He turned upon her and 
 struck her in the face. There she lay bleeding 
 on the pavement. I said such a man ought to 
 be hung. But, husband, there is one thing that 
 a woman hates worse than a blow, and that Is 
 cold, heartless neglect. Many young men are 
 snapping the heartstrings of their mothers by 
 wayward lives. 
 
 Every night a husband came home, he would 
 abuse his faithful wife. One night he came In 
 under the influence of liquor and struck her a 
 cruel blow, then went to his bed. The wife 
 thought he was asleep. She arose from her bed, 
 lighted a taper, slipped to the next room, un- 
 locked a trunk, and began to read an old letter. 
 All the time the husband was watching her. 
 Like a savage beast, he sprang upon her, and 
 tore the letter from her hands, rushed to the 
 
188 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 next room and began to read it. His name 
 was Charles; hers, Llllie. They had been mar- 
 ried twenty-one years. The letter read: ^^Dear 
 Lillie: We have been married one year to-day. 
 It's the happiest year of my life." Many en- 
 dearing words, and the letter closed: *'Your 
 husband, Charles." Twenty years ago that let- 
 ter had been written. When abused and tossed 
 about she would go read the letter, and meditate 
 over the days of love. 
 
 An English lord married an American girl, 
 carried her to London, abandoned her and went 
 to the Continent to squander her money in riot- 
 ous living. God blessed them with one dear 
 boy that she called **My Bonny Charley." Be- 
 reaved of her husband, she took to drink. The 
 boy was taken from her and taken to Australia, 
 where he became a judge. The mother com- 
 mitted a crime and was banished to Australia, 
 where for years she hunted for her bonny 
 Charley. She committed another crime and the 
 jury pronounced the word '^Guilty J^ The judge 
 prepared to pass sentence on her, but said, 
 **Madam, have you anything to say?" Turning 
 her blurred eyes up to his, she said: ''Your 
 Honor, you see before you a poor, abandoned 
 woman. I was not always thus. I was once as 
 pure as your own mother. But my husband 
 abandoned me in the great city of London, and 
 I went down. I committed a crime to be 
 
LECTURE TO MEN 189 
 
 banished to Australia, thinking I might find 
 my bonny Charley. But I can't find him. Sir, 
 should you ever see a boy whose mother called 
 him 'Bonny Charley/ tell him I died loving 
 him." The judge trembled, and said: ''Gentle- 
 men of the jury, the lady may be guilty, but I 
 can not sentence her, for she is my own dear 
 mother," Men, be tender and affectionate hus- 
 bands ! You owe your wife a debt of gratitude. 
 You can pay that debt only at the feet of Jesus. 
 Stand by her side as a Christian husband. You 
 can not be a good husband without Christ. You 
 owe it to yourself, to your wife and children, to 
 your God, to make your home a Christian one. 
 Accept Christ now, and the joy-bells of heaven 
 will ring. 
 
XVI. 
 CHRIST IN THE HOME— A LECTURE 
 
 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he 
 is old he will not depart from it." — Prov. 22 : 6. 
 
 In the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy, and in 
 the twenty-ninth verse, the divine writer says: 
 *'0h that there were such a heart in them, that 
 they would fear me and keep all my command- 
 ments always, that it might be well with them, 
 and with their children for ever." 
 
 Some of you have not kept the laws of 
 Christ, and it does not go well with you or your 
 children. Where is your wandering boy to- 
 night? 
 
 Adam and Eve sinned and Cain became a 
 murderer. Had they not sinned, Abel would 
 have lived. The parents were guilty. 
 
 The wise man said, '^Train up the child." 
 You ask, ^^When should we begin?" A great 
 writer said: ^^Begin twenty years before the 
 child is born. Begin with the mother." But 
 you say, "The child is here; when shall we be- 
 gin?" I say, '^Begin when it is three weeks 
 old." But you explain, *'Oh, you can't make 
 any impression upon a baby when it is three 
 
 190 
 
CHRIST IN THE HOME 191 
 
 weeks old." You walk the floor with it, toss 
 it up and down for three hours, and you have a 
 three years' contract on your hands. If you can 
 make the impression for evil, why not for good? 
 
 Some tell us they do not believe this teach- 
 ing. I do. Let me illustrate. There were two 
 families. In each family were six children. In 
 each family the father and mother belonged to 
 the same congregation. In family No. i the 
 father was a godly man. He had family pray- 
 ers every night, preached the gospel in the com- 
 munity, and was faithful in all kinds of church 
 work. But he did all the praying, talking and 
 reading. He neglected training. In family No. 
 2 the father did not pray in public often, not 
 as much as he should, but he trained his boys 
 and girls. In family No. i three of the children 
 went to the bad. In the other family all three 
 boys and three girls are Christian workers. You 
 can remember many families much like these. 
 Train your children. Take them to church and 
 let them sit by you. The boy needs the church 
 services. But you say, ''Oh, that is Puritanic.'* 
 The Puritans gave the world the best manhood 
 and womanhood that the world has ever seen. 
 About all worth saving in our society to-day is 
 Puritanic. 
 
 Our club, lodge, business life, even the 
 church life, have ruined our home life. 
 
 We scarcely know our children. A boy was 
 
192 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 asking his teacher silly questions. The teacher 
 said, **Why don't you ask your father these 
 questions?'' The boy replied, ^^I am not very 
 well acquainted with the old man." 
 
 A mother was gaudily dressed, ready to go 
 and preside at the club. Her little boy came 
 home from school, and when she tried to make 
 him go back he ran under the bed. The mother 
 telephoned for the father. When he came 
 home, she shouted: *'It is only ten minutes be- 
 fore I must preside over the club. Crawl under 
 the bed and get that boy out and send him back 
 to the school." When the boy saw the father 
 coming, he said, ^^Hello, dad! is she after you 
 too?" That is the mother that will find fault 
 with some girl schoolteacher because she can't 
 control fifty bad boys, while the mother can't 
 control one boy. Nine-tenths of the bad school 
 government originates in bad home government. 
 
 I know there are diflficulties in the way. I 
 know mothers who have given up everything to 
 try to train their boys in the right way, and 
 still they go wrong. I want to point out some 
 of these hindrances. 
 
 I. Here is the mother pulling one way, and 
 the father pulling the other. The mother 
 spends ten hours training the boy for righteous- 
 ness, and the father comes home with the fumes 
 of whisky on his breath, and with his profanity, 
 vulgarity and brutality in one hour ruins all the 
 
CHRIST IN THE HOME 193 
 
 mother has done in a day. The meanest man 
 on earth is the man that pokes fun at the 
 religion of his wife, in the presence of the 
 children. 
 
 2. Here is another case, not quite so bad, 
 but it is a hindrance. The father goes religious- 
 ly one way and the mother another way. In 
 other words, the mother belongs to one church 
 and the father belongs to another. The boy 
 can not understand it. He sees the mother and 
 the father go to the store, school and lecture, 
 but on Sunday the mother goes one way and the 
 father another, and the boy goes no way. Who 
 can blame the boy? If you want your boy to 
 go right, let him sit In the pew with father and 
 mother. Jesus never expected the home to be 
 divided religiously. 
 
 A lady in Ohio said to me, "Mr. Coombs, 
 I belong to one church and my husband belongs 
 to another, and we get along elegantly." I re- 
 plied, **I don't believe it." She said, ''Oh, really 
 we do." I replied, "Really you don't." She be- 
 came fussy and I left her. Three days after 
 this she asked me to tea. When I came to the 
 gate, she met me and said, "Brother, I have one 
 request to make." "What is it?" "Do not say 
 anything about the church while here." "Why?" 
 "Oh, I belong to one church and my husband 
 belongs to another and the boys do not belong 
 to any, and we are sensitive on the subject of 
 
 13 
 
194 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 religion. It will cause much annoyance if you 
 mention the church/' ^*What did I tell you? 
 You know just as well as I do that this is not 
 the way to live. You are ruining your boys 
 just now.'' Her eyes moistened and we did 
 not say one word about religion. 
 
 A preacher said to a little girl, ''Lillian, 
 when you join the church what church will you 
 join?" She looked at her father, then at her 
 mother, who belonged to different churches, 
 threw her arms about the mother, kissed the 
 father and ran sobbing from the room. She 
 could not say the father's church, as that 
 would grieve mother, nor the mother's church, 
 as that would make father feel bad. 
 
 The only way to train your children right 
 religiously is for father, mother and children 
 to have a common interest in one church. It 
 then is our church, where we all worship. The 
 sin of the divided church home is ruining our 
 children. 
 
 Neither can the Endeavor society and the 
 Sunday school take the place of the regular 
 preaching service. There is a solemnity there 
 that exists nowhere else, and it is necessary for 
 the Christian growth of the body. I pity the 
 father who does not make the boy his com- 
 panion. Your business life, society and church 
 life must not rob you of the companionship of 
 your boy. It was said that Pitt the senior had his 
 
CHRIST IN THE HOME 195 
 
 eye on every man in the empire. During great 
 political excitement the members of Parliament 
 rushed to the home of Pitt to see why he was 
 not at the meeting. They found him down on 
 the floor playing marbles with his boy. No 
 wonder that Pitt the junior grappled with the 
 veterans of Parliament at nineteen and startled 
 the world with his eloquence at twenty-one. 
 His father gave him his companionship. 
 
 There are fathers who are always an enemy 
 of the boy. The Sunday-school bell rings and 
 one father says, '^George, get your hat and go 
 off to Sunday school.'' The boy goes fishing 
 and tells his father that he has been to church. 
 The other father says, "George, the Sunday- 
 school bell is ringing; let us go." The boy 
 gladly accompanies his father. As he looks up 
 at his father the boy says, '*My father is the 
 grandest man in all this world." When this 
 boy is ten years old, and the father says, '*My 
 boy, I should like to see you a Christian," he is 
 as sure to enter the church as the father trains 
 him right. Not one shall be lost. Train up a 
 boy in the way he shall go. 
 
 Teach your boys honesty and be honest with 
 them. Mothers, teach the children to be honest. 
 The bell rings and the mother says to her little 
 girl, "Go and tell that man mother is not in." 
 The little girl goes to the door and says, 
 "Mamma says she is not in this morning." You 
 
196 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 scold the girl for telling the truth. The next 
 day the bell rings and the girl goes to the door 
 and says, '^Mamma is not in/' You praise her 
 for telling a lie. You say to your daughter: 
 **0h, there comes that hateful Mrs. B. and her 
 daughter. You go upstairs and stay until they 
 leave, and maybe that will teach them some 
 sense." The bell rings and you throw open the 
 door and say: *'Oh, Mrs. B., I am delighted to 
 have you come. My daughter had to be away 
 to-day; she will just cry her eyes out when she 
 finds you were here. Now you must come 
 again, when she is home." After an hour of 
 the fraud, hypocrisy and deceit, they arise to 
 go. ''Oh, dear, do you have to go so soon? 
 Well, be sure to come again. I am verry sorry. 
 Good-by." After kisses and palaver, they de- 
 part, and you shout, "Daughter, come down; 
 the hateful old things have gone." 
 
 A father and mother were trying to de- 
 ceive their boy. They wanted to go out riding 
 alone. They said, ''Go in and get your other 
 liat and then come and go with us." Just as he 
 came out with his hat, he saw them turning the 
 corner, and shouted, "There go two of the big- 
 gest liars in town." 
 
 Your children will imitate you. A mother 
 broke a glass by mistake. The next day the lit- 
 tle girl got a big spoon and began breaking 
 glasses. A boy said, "I swear big like papa.'* 
 
CHRIST IN THE HOME 197 
 
 The home is the place where love is shut in and 
 hate is shut out. Make your home the happiest 
 place on earth. 
 
 Cornelia was the most famous woman in 
 the Roman Empire. She married a great 
 Roman general, yet she was called the daughter 
 of Scipio. One day, when she looked down into 
 the cradle upon the faces of two boys, she said, 
 **Call me no more the daughter of Scipio, but 
 the mother of the Gracchi." 
 
 Napoleon said, ^Trance needs mothers." I 
 say, "The world needs Christian mothers." 
 
 A boy said to his mother, *^Mother, I want 
 to go to church to-night and become a Chris- 
 tian." She ridiculed him and sent him to bed. 
 The next day she packed his trunk and sent 
 him off to college. The first year he learned 
 to swear, and the mother's troubles began. The 
 second year he came home drunk. The third 
 year he had learned to gamble. The fourth 
 year he committed a crime and was compelled 
 to go West. He became a wanderer and a 
 bad man. The mother tried in vain to find him. 
 She learned that he had returned to Chicago 
 and was a vagabond. To the police and mayor 
 she wrote : "I have a prodigal boy in your city. 
 If you will find my boy, I will pay you any 
 amount. We are rich and he is our only child. 
 Hunt my boy. Here is his picture. Tell him I 
 have good news for him." After days of 
 
198 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 search, they found him in a five-cent boarding- 
 house. They notified the mother, and after he 
 found his mother was coming, he went out to 
 Lake Michigan and committed suicide. His 
 body was hauled back to Massachusetts for 
 burial. While the minister was preaching the 
 funeral, the mother's mind gave way. She 
 rushed to the coflfin, put her arms around the 
 boy and cried, *^0h, I killed my boy, and I fear 
 his soul is lost.'' He might have been great in 
 law, business or the pulpit if she had not turned 
 him wrong at the critical hour. 
 
 I told you of two kinds of fathers; I want 
 to tell you of two kinds of mothers, and I am 
 through. One mother is always unkind to the 
 little girl. The little girl comes in and says, 
 "Mamma, can I have some scraps? I want to 
 make a dress for my doll." The mother says, 
 *'Go away; I can't be bothered with you; it 
 takes more clothes for your doll than it does 
 for you." The little girl says, '^Nobody loves 
 me." 
 
 The other mother is a friend to the little 
 girl. She says to her mother, '*Can I have some 
 scraps for my doll?" '^Yes, mamma is glad to 
 help you." She shows the little girl how to 
 make the doll's dress. The little girl goes out 
 to her playhouse and says, '^My mamma is the 
 best woman in the world." The next day she 
 says, *'Mamma, can I have the scissors?" *'In 
 
CHRIST IN THE HOME 199 
 
 a moment, but before you go let us read a few 
 verses from the good Book, the Bible/' After 
 reading some nice passages about little girls, the 
 mother said, *Xet us pray/' She prayed that 
 God would help the little girl and make her a 
 good woman. Then she said, ''Now, darling, 
 you can have the scissors, but I want you to 
 pray often.'' Out In her little playhouse she is 
 praying, but what does she say? Listen. ''O 
 God, make me good like mamma." 
 
XVII. 
 OUR PLEA 
 
 Man, pendulum-like, swings from extreme 
 to extreme. We see this tendency in the in- 
 dividual with his hobbies, and trace it in the 
 masses with their ever-varying and unreliable 
 public opinion. We behold this tendency in 
 the rise and fall of religious bodies, in their 
 onward sweep across the centuries. In religion 
 we are likely to overlook the points of agree? 
 ment in our anxiety to find wherein we differ. 
 Most of the cardinal points of Christianity are 
 held in common by religious bodies. In this 
 sermon I desire to state what we believe as a 
 people. I shall not attempt to discuss these 
 points, but try and state clearly our distinctive 
 peculiarities. 
 
 We were sent into the world to restore the 
 New Testament church. We were not called 
 of God to evangelize the world. We are In- 
 tensely evangelistic, because we believe that is 
 one of the best ways to preach the truth. But 
 others can evangelize; that Is not our mission. 
 Other people may build great universities, spend 
 millions on the foreign field and erect mighty 
 
 200 
 
OUR PLEA 201 
 
 temples, but we were sent to unite God's people. 
 We were not sent to preach baptism. Others 
 can do that. We preach it because we think we 
 can never restore New Testament Christianity 
 until we have the one baptism. 
 
 JESUS IS THE CHRIST. 
 
 We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
 of God, and that he is the Saviour of the world. 
 He is the only begotten Son. He is our Lord, 
 Saviour, King, Advocate, the Way, the Truth 
 and the Life. He is all and in all. In Christ, 
 God has said all that he has to say to the race. 
 All the evidence is in, and nothing more is to 
 be given in this age. He is not only the truth, 
 but he is all moral truth. 
 
 DIVISION OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 We believe that the Old and the New Testa- 
 ments are both the inspired word of God, but 
 that the New Testament is the exclusive book 
 of authority. Everything that is necessary for 
 the unconverted to do in order to become a 
 Christian, and everything that is necessary for 
 the Christian to do in order to go to heaven, 
 is found in the New Testament. The Jews 
 were governed by the law; we by the gospel. 
 There is no command binding upon us that is 
 not found in the New Testament. 
 
 The old law was nailed to the cross (Col. 
 
202 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 2 : 14). Our country was once governed by the 
 Articles of Confederation, but the Constitution 
 supersedes these articles, and they now pos- 
 sess no binding force. There are laws now on 
 the statute-books of Illinois that are similar to 
 some of the colonial laws of Pennsylvania; but 
 these laws are binding, not because they are 
 found in the dead law of Pennsylvania, but be- 
 cause they are re-enacted into the new law of 
 Illinois. 
 
 Commandments found in the Old Testament 
 are found in the New; but they are binding 
 upon us, not because they are found in the Old, 
 but because they are re-enacted In the New 
 Covenant. 
 
 NO HUMAN CREED. 
 
 We believe that all human creeds and con- 
 fessions of faith are wrong and engender strife. 
 All creeds have come out of controversy. We 
 claim that the Bible alone is sufficient for our 
 rule of faith and practice. If the creed contains 
 more than is in the Bible, it contains too much; 
 if it contains less than is in the Bible, it does not 
 contain enough; if it contains just what is in 
 the Bible, It Is entirely unnecessary. We go to 
 the Bible for our authority In church govern- 
 ment, as well as to learn the plan of salvation. 
 Whatever the Bible commands us to do, those 
 things we do; what the Bible forbids, from 
 
OUR PLEA 203 
 
 those things we refrain; where the Bible is 
 silent, freedom of opinion. To make a creed is 
 to belittle the Bible. Hundreds of persons have 
 subscribed their names to creeds which they 
 never believed. 
 
 THE CONFESSION. 
 
 The divine confession is: *'Jesus is the 
 Christ, the Son of God.'* This is the confession 
 of Christendom. We do not ask the inquirer 
 if he believes in the thirty-nine articles of faith, 
 or the five points of Calvinism. Peter made 
 this confession when he said: '^Thou art the 
 Christ, the Son of the living God*' (Matt. i6: 
 i6). Read also Acts 8:36-38; Matt. 10:32; 
 Rom. 10: ID. 
 
 THE NAME. 
 
 We teach that the children of God should 
 be known simply as Christians, and that the 
 church should be called the church of Christ. 
 Christ said, ''Upon this rock I will build my 
 church." This church, not established when 
 Christ spoke, was to be Christ's church. When 
 we use the phrase "of Christ" we have used a 
 second-class element. We can change that 
 second-class element to a first-class and say 
 **Christian"; hence the "Church of Christ" and 
 "Christian Church" are synonymous. 
 
 When I say the Reformation of Luther, 
 
204 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 the thought is the same as if I had said the 
 Lutheran Reformation. ^^The American Con- 
 stitution'' and the ^'Constitution of America" 
 mean the same. The '^Church of Christ" and 
 '^Christian Church" are the same in thought. 
 
 There is only one true church, and that is 
 the church of Christ. It is his church, and 
 should be called the church of Christ. The 
 followers of Christ should be called Christians. 
 Luke says, *'The disciples were first called Chris- 
 tians at Antioch." Peter says, ''If any man 
 suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, 
 but let him glorify God on his behalf" ( i Pet. 
 4: 16). The new version renders it "in this 
 name." That is, glorify God in the name 
 ^'Christian." By obeying Christ one becomes 
 simply a Christian. Peter makes salvation de- 
 pend upon a name (Acts 4: 12). When men 
 say there is nothing in a name, they do not mean 
 it. Should a preacher baptize a candidate in 
 the name of Paul, Luther or Calvin, It would 
 not be valid baptism. Names are sacred. What 
 would you think of a preacher who would bap- 
 tize in the name of Beelzebub? There is some- 
 thing in a name. Christ is the Bridegroom. 
 The church is the bride. The bride should wear 
 the name of the Bridegroom. 
 
 A lady has no right to wear the name of 
 her betrothed until the marriage ceremony is 
 performed. For her to attempt to live with 
 
OUR PLEA 205 
 
 him or wear his name before marriage would 
 be very objectionable and sinful. But for her 
 to refuse to wear his name after marriage 
 would be an insult. No one has the right to 
 wear the name ^'Christian'' until he is married 
 to Christ by complying to the forms of law. 
 Equally certain is it that it is an insult to 
 Christ for us to wear any party name after 
 we have complied with the terms of the gos- 
 pel. All party names are sinful. Hear Paul in 
 I Cor. i: 12, 13. Hear Luther: **Do not call 
 yourselves Lutherans, but call yourselves Chris- 
 tians." Hear Wesley: *'I would to God all 
 party names were forgotten." We positively 
 reject all party names. We desire to be called 
 simply Christians. Not the only Christians, but 
 Christians only. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 No one denies that God has founded a gov- 
 ernment upon earth called the '^kingdom of 
 God," **kingdom of heaven," ^'church of God," 
 '^kingdom of God's dear Son," or ''the body of 
 Christ." But when this kingdom was estab- 
 lished Is in debate. Some say it was established 
 before the foundation of the earth; others. In 
 the days of Abraham; still others. In the days 
 of John the Baptist. In the second chapter of 
 Daniel, the prophet describes four universal 
 kingdoms. The last of these was certainly the 
 
206 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Roman kingdom. Daniel says: *^In the days of 
 these kings shall the God of heaven set up a 
 kingdom that shall never be destroyed." Now, 
 when Daniel spoke, the kingdom was not yet 
 established. John came, crying: ^'Prepare, for 
 the kingdom is at hand!" Not yet set up. 
 Christ said: ''Upon this rock I will build my 
 church." The church was not yet founded. 
 After Christ was buried, Luke tells us: "Joseph 
 waited for the kingdom." It was not yet set 
 up. Before his death Jesus taught but little 
 about the kingdom. But the forty days between 
 his death and ascension he explained to his 
 apostles "the things pertaining to the kingdom 
 of God"; that is, his future church. Just before 
 his departure, his disciples said to him: "Wilt 
 thou at this time again restore the kingdom of 
 Israel?" The church w^as not yet organized. 
 He gave the apostles the commission, and as- 
 cended to his Father. About ten days were 
 spent in this glorious coronation. Jesus became 
 king, and is now ready to rule his kingdom. On 
 the day of Pentecost the Spirit came to guide 
 the apostles into all truth, the first gospel ser- 
 mon was preached and the church founded. 
 Prior to this the church was spoken of as in the 
 future. Now we hear of the church in existence. 
 Immediately (Acts 2:47) the Spirit speaks of 
 the church in existence. Great fear came upon 
 all the church (Acts 5: 11). 
 
OUR PLEA 207 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 We believe that a penitent believer is the 
 only proper subject of baptism. 
 
 That baptism, coupled with faith and re^ 
 pentance, is for the purpose of admission of 
 the person baptized into the church. 
 
 As to the action of baptism, we believe that 
 the immersion of a penitent believer in water, 
 in the name of the Father, the Son and the 
 Holy Spirit, is Christian baptism. 
 
 All Scriptural references point to immersion. 
 
 1. Jesus was baptized in Jordan (Mark 
 1:9). 
 
 2. After his baptism he came up out of the 
 water (Matt. 3 : 16). 
 
 3. John baptized In Enon because there was 
 much water (John 3: 23). 
 
 4. Baptism represents a birth (John 3:5). 
 
 5. It represents a burial, a resurrection and 
 a planting (Rom. 6:4, 5). 
 
 6. The evangelist Philip and the candidate, 
 the eunuch, both went down into the water and 
 came up out of it. Read Acts 8 : 36-39. 
 
 LORD^S SUPPER. 
 
 We meet on the first day of every week to 
 break bread. In doing this we follow the ex- 
 ample of the early church (Acts 20: 7). 
 
 This communion was instituted bv the 
 Saviour (Luke 22: 19, 20). 
 
208 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 This communion is an individual matter. 
 All Christians have a right to come to this com- 
 munion, and a Christian has no right to say 
 another Christian shall not eat. We are, there- 
 fore, opposed to close communion (i Cor. lo: 
 16-21 ; I Cor. II : 22-29). 
 
 CONVERSION. 
 
 We believe in a rational plan of salvation. 
 Do what Jesus and the apostles commanded and 
 you will be saved. 
 
 We are often asked: Do you believe in heart 
 religion? Certainly. If a man's religion is 
 not of the heart, it is not the religion of Christ. 
 Yet, we do not believe in any mysticism. We 
 believe in what the Bible calls heart religion. 
 
 The Bible says that we think and reason 
 within our hearts. 
 
 That IS the intellect. 
 
 The Bible says we love and hate within our 
 hearts. 
 
 That is the affections. 
 
 It says we purpose within our heart. 
 
 That is the will. 
 
 So when a man is converted he is completely 
 changed, in intellect, affections and will. 
 
 Faith changes his way of thinking; repent- 
 ance, his will, and baptism, his state, and all 
 combined change his relation toward God and 
 make him a Christian. To many, conversion 
 
OUR PLEA 209 
 
 is some mystery that no one can understand. 
 Conversion is simply a change. In grammar 
 we speak of converting the subject and predi- 
 cate, which means that we change their position. 
 In logic we convert the terms and premises. If 
 we say a man has been converted to prohibition, 
 all understand us. But when we say he has 
 been converted to Christ, many connect with 
 that act the miraculous. 
 
 He who has honestly believed upon the 
 Lord, repented of his sins, confessed Christ 
 publicly, and been baptized, has put on Christ, 
 and hence has been converted. No one need 
 wait for a voice from heaven, or a divine call. 
 Jesus said, "Come unto me." That is a divine 
 call. It is just as divine as if Jesus stood here 
 to-day, or as if an angel spoke out of heaven. 
 A son quarreled with his father, and went away 
 from his father's house. Years passed, when 
 the old father wrote: "My son, come home. I 
 will give you the old mansion on the hill. 
 Mother wants you to come. Inclosed find my 
 check for $150. I will make It possible for you 
 to come." The son, who had become a drunken 
 wretch, was sitting in the shadow of a Western 
 hotel when the letter reached him. As he 
 read the letter, tears coursed down his cheeks. 
 Said he: "Oh, I want to go home. I would 
 like to see my father whom I love, but I do 
 not know that he wants me to come. True, 
 
 14 
 
210 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 here is the money. He asks me to come, he 
 has made it possible, and says come, but I 
 can not trust his word. If I was sure he 
 wanted me, I would go. I will go and get 
 my friends to petition to father to let me 
 come, then I will write him a prayer asking 
 him to let me come home.'' He goes to five 
 men who write long petitions, then the son 
 writes: *Tather, I received your letter. You 
 told me to come home, but I pray you to 
 let me come." In a few days the letter reaches 
 the father. His hand trembles as he breaks 
 the seal. The first petition is from a stranger, 
 the second and on to the fifth. Then he reads 
 the letter from his son, and says: '^Mother, our 
 son is either insane or else he mocks our word. 
 We told him to come, and now he writes that 
 he does not know that we want him to come. 
 He does not believe our word." To-day many 
 persons, instead of taking Jesus at his word and 
 coming at once, are praying God to let them 
 come. Others shout and agonize and quarrel 
 with God because he does not send convicting 
 power, when Jesus said, "Come, for all things 
 are now ready." If you believe him, accept 
 him at once. 
 
 THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 We believe in the personality of the Holy 
 Spirit. He is not an emotion or sentiment, but 
 
OUR PLEA 211 
 
 a thinking intelligence. He can be grieved, re- 
 jected or resisted. He is the third person of 
 the Trinity. 
 
 In conversion the Spirit operates through 
 the Word. He has told us what to do to be 
 saved. God has ordained that the gospel is 
 the power of God unto salvation as certainly as 
 he has ordained that food must appease hunger. 
 
 WE ARE RIGHT AND CAN NOT BE WRONG. 
 
 The denominations may be right or they 
 may be wrong; we are right in doctrine and 
 can not be wrong. It may be right or it may be 
 wrong to make a human creed. We are right 
 in taking the Bible as our rule of faith and prac- 
 tice. The creed says the Bible is the last ap- 
 peal. We say it is the first and the only appeal. 
 It may be right to wear a party name; it may 
 be wrong. We are right in wearing the name 
 of Christian. If we say to a Methodist brother, 
 '*You are not a Baptist; you are not an Advent- 
 ist; you are not a Congregationalist," to each 
 he will pleasantly say, **No." But if we say, 
 **You are not a Christian," he will quickly resent 
 it. The name '^Christian" Is not in dispute. All 
 wear it willingly. 
 
 If you have a doubt, •^ou^ and not God^ are 
 responsible for that doubt. Sprinkling may be 
 right (for argument's sake), or it may be 
 wrong. All admit immersion is valid baptism. 
 
212 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 We are right, and can not be wrong in prac- 
 ticing only immersion. 
 
 Our whole plea may be summed up in two 
 sentences : 
 
 1. The union of all God^s people upon the 
 Bible. 
 
 2. A rational plan of salvation. 
 
XVIII. 
 FAITH AND OPINION 
 
 Faith is a matter of divine statement — what 
 God says on any question. Opinion is what is 
 inferred. One is essential; the other, non- 
 essential. Whatever the Bible commands is a 
 matter of faith; where it is silent there is free- 
 dom of opinion. Our opinions are unimportant, 
 God said to Abraham, '*Go and offer Isaac." 
 Abraham thought that if he would kill his son, 
 God would raise him from the dead. His 
 opinion was wrong, but his obedience was right. 
 I am not much interested in the different opin- 
 ions about baptism. Go on and do what God 
 tells you to do. 
 
 Many foolish things have been made tests 
 of fellowship. Most of them are mere opinions. 
 The kind of clothing — hat or coat — that we 
 wear has been made a test of fellowship. The 
 nature of our music has been made a test of fel* 
 lowship. Feet-washing has been made a test of 
 entering into Christ. Even the manner of 
 doing it has been made important. 
 
 Churches have been divided upon the dress 
 custom. In Pennsylvania one party insisted that 
 
 213 
 
214 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 it was wrong to wear double buttons, while 
 others insisted it was right. So there were sin- 
 gle-button Christians and double-button Chris- 
 tians, while others declared all buttons pagan 
 customs, and would have nothing but hooks and 
 eyes. So the third division came — hooks-and- 
 eyes Christians. A new church house was built. 
 One party wanted to put a weathercock on the 
 steeple, while the other insisted on hoisting a 
 rooster. They divided, and one had a rooster 
 and the other a weathercock. 
 
 Some have made hereditary sin a test of 
 fellowship. Of course the Bible says nothing 
 about hereditary sin. That is the doctrine of 
 the creed. Total depravity has been made an 
 essential. You can believe all five points of Cal- 
 vinism, or reject all of them, and be saved. 
 You can believe in the sleep of the soul, a final 
 judgment, the millennial dawn or perfection, 
 and be saved. You can reject all of them, as 
 the doctrinal schools teach them, and go to 
 heaven. You can get to heaven and be opposed 
 or in favor of the organ; neither is essential. 
 
 Where the Bible speaks we speak. What- 
 ever the Bible commands us to do we do. What 
 It commands us not to do we do not. Where 
 the Bible is silent we are silent. Many things 
 have crept Into our theology that are not found 
 in the Bible. Some people actually think these 
 things that they hear preached and read in the 
 
FAITH AND OPINION 215 
 
 creeds are Bible truth. The Bible does not 
 teach infant baptism, infant membership, mirac- 
 ulous conversion, saved by faith only, and many 
 other theories found in human creeds. That 
 Jesus is the Son of God, that he died and arose 
 from the dead, and that all authority is given 
 unto him, are matters of faith. When God 
 commands we must ask no questions. It is his 
 to command; it is ours to obey. 
 
XIX. 
 
 FRAGMENTS 
 
 VACANT-LOT EVANGELISM. 
 
 Surely this is a testing-time for our evangel- 
 Ism. 
 
 Unless the union meetings are followed by 
 clear gospel teaching, they will be our ruin. 
 The full gospel can not be preached in a 
 union meeting. Men may claim it, but they 
 are mistaken. To claim it does not change 
 the fact. 
 
 W. T. Brooks, one of our sane men and a 
 great preacher, says: **I am glad to get back 
 among my own brothers, where I can preach a 
 full gospel." 
 
 Roger Fife says: '*No man can preach a full 
 gospel in a union meeting." 
 
 After a fair trial, Herbert Yeuell says: 
 '*^The gospel in its fullness can not be preached 
 in a union meeting." 
 
 Bro. Vawter has gone one beyond my knowl- 
 edge, and has found a "vacant-lot" evangelism. 
 Vawter finds cards signed with numbers on 
 vacant lots. A bunch of politicians was sent to 
 
 216 
 
FRAGMENTS 217 
 
 the penitentiary because they registered votes 
 upon vacant lots. 
 
 In my book on delusions I put this statement 
 at the head of the chapter on ^^superstitions": 
 **Don't believe all you hear; investigate.'' An 
 evangelist stretches the truth many times in his 
 lust for numbers. There are two evils that fol- 
 low union evangelism: 
 
 I. A liberality among our own people that 
 undermines our plea and endangers New Testa- 
 ment teaching. I began a meeting in an Eastern 
 city where a wild evangelist had turned thou- 
 sands to the Lord. Before I had preached one 
 sermon, an elder introduced an M. E. preacher 
 to me, and said: *'Here is one of our preachers, 
 a good Methodist. We have grown broad in 
 the last six weeks, and the brother has come to 
 help you conduct the meeting. I trust nothing 
 will be said that will mar the sweet fellowship 
 that exists.'' He was broader than the New 
 Testament. But that sweet fellowship did not 
 prevent one of the preachers from making a 
 bitter attack upon our teaching, and persuading 
 some of our members to take membership in his 
 big church. 
 
 We have some people — preachers — who are 
 for compromise. They welcome the meetings 
 that preach a liberal gospel. They favor ad- 
 mitting to their congregations those who have 
 not been baptized. They therefore urge the 
 
218 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 liberal meetings, and preaching that does not 
 preach. I once rejoiced that some of our 
 preachers had been called to hold union meet- 
 ings. After following five union meetings held 
 by one evangelist, I am sure every one of them 
 weakens the faith of many of our people, and 
 does more real harm to our cause than when 
 conducted by a denominational evangelist. 
 
 2. A false doctrine touching conversion. In 
 my life I have seen three phases of evangelism. 
 In the first, ecstasy played havoc. I have seen 
 twenty people lying unconscious on the floor. 
 To speak against that evangelism was to be 
 condemned as a heretic. Then came the mourn- 
 ers'-bench revival. Shouting and excitement 
 characterized these meetings. For one hundred 
 years we struggled to check this fanaticism, and 
 to teach that a man was not converted because 
 he swooned. We showed that conversion was a 
 process, and not emotion. But when we denied 
 that a man was converted because he became 
 excited to frenzy, we were charged with fighting 
 against God. It was unpopular to oppose these 
 meetings. They were then thought to be mani- 
 festations of God's power. 
 
 We are now in another form of revivalism. 
 It IS a hand-clapping, card-signing revivalism. 
 A man was not converted because he went into 
 ecstasy, neither is a m.an converted because he 
 comes forward, cheered on by laughter and 
 
FRAGMENTS 219 
 
 hand-clapping, and signs a card. Yet it is very 
 unpopular to teach that these men who come 
 forward under these circumstances are not con- 
 verted. We hear it said, ''One thousand con- 
 verted in one day,'' when there was not one con- 
 vert. We may have to spend a quarter of a 
 century to correct this false card-signing, vacant- 
 lot revivalism. 
 
 PROOF FURNISHED PROVED. 
 
 Some time ago, in a note to the Standard, 
 I said that forty of our preachers, filling the pul- 
 pits of some of our large churches, were in 
 favor of admitting the unimmersed to the fel- 
 lowship of the local congregations. I based my 
 conclusions upon the articles that appeared In 
 the Century on the questionnaire, ''Did the Berk- 
 eley Church do wrong in admitting the unbap- 
 tized?" and in conversation and private corre- 
 spondence with these men. This raised the cry, 
 ^'Furnish proof." In my rejoinder I quoted 
 thirty men. These quotations were exact. I 
 did not quote some of the most radical things 
 some of them said. Many of them are my 
 friends. I merely quoted to classify them. 
 
 An avalanche of protest came. Some said: 
 *'Surely you misunderstand these brothers." 
 The whole matter can easily be settled. Let 
 any or all of them say, "I am not in favor of 
 admitting the unimmersed into the fellowship 
 
220 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 of the local congregation.'' That will settle the 
 whole affair. But here I will prophesy that not 
 three will say it. They have gone on record ih 
 private conversation and in letters. They can 
 not escape now, unless they repent and return 
 to the divine teaching contained in the New 
 Testament. 
 
 Of the letters that I have received most of 
 them comment highly, some condemn severely, 
 while others state that the publicity is unwise. 
 One brother, whose fine judgment I respect 
 highly, says: ''This questionnaire had no great 
 notoriety. It was read only by a few." But 
 this discussion was sent to every college, and its 
 merits were discussed by students and teachera 
 everywhere. Those who criticize generally sput- 
 ter, and don't argue. You can turn a lamp up 
 so high that it gives no light — it sputters. Many 
 preachers, instead of arguing a question, turn 
 their lamp of contention up so high that it sput- 
 ters. 
 
 Among the many protests, the most severe 
 comes from California, where their religion Is 
 as restless as the ocean that washes their shores. 
 These critics say: ''You read out of the church 
 all who do not agree with you; you say no one 
 IS a Christian unless he belongs to the church 
 to which you belong." These loose-thinking 
 people never can learn that there is a spiritual 
 house that we call the church. When I spoke 
 
FRAGMENTS 221 
 
 of the church of Christ I never referred to this 
 current Reformation, to that band of one mil- 
 lion and a half Christians only. I referred to 
 the church that was constituted on the day of 
 Pentecost. To that church belonged Philip, 
 Stephen, Polycarp, TertuUian, and all the peo- 
 ple in all ages who have been adopted into 
 Christ. In that church are all who are in 
 Christ This church is the body of Christ, the 
 family of God, a spiritual house, the kingdom 
 of his dear Son and the bride of the Redeemer. 
 There never was a Christian on earth that was 
 not in the body of Christ, the church. Paul 
 realized that to persecute the church was to per- 
 secute Christ No one who reasons will ever 
 separate the church from the Christ With this 
 understanding of the subject, any one that knows 
 the Scriptures will admit that a man can not be 
 a Christian without belonging to the church of 
 Christ — the church universal. It seems impos- 
 sible for some people to think only as they think, 
 through the head of Rome. They can not think 
 of the church only as they see it in organization 
 and with officers. 
 
 The church universal has no abiding-place 
 on earth. It can not assemble, transact business 
 or act authoritatively. It is a spiritual house- 
 hold. The local congregation is entirely a dif- 
 ferent body. It has officers and can transact 
 business. When I use the phrase, ''the church 
 
222 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 of Christ/' I use it referring to God's people — 
 all who have obeyed him in all ages. Try and 
 think of the church free from all denomination- 
 alism. 
 
 If one thousand men and women in India 
 should obey the gospel message, and meet for 
 worship and work, they constitute the church of 
 Christ worshiping there. They are members of 
 the church of Christ. Because they are mem- 
 bers of Christ's church only, they do not read 
 other Christians out of the church. If one-half 
 of them depart and take a party name, the five 
 hundred remaining are still Christians only, and 
 belong to Christ's church. If millions of relig- 
 ious people wear denominational names — Cath- 
 olics, Lutherans and Universalists — that does 
 not hinder us from wearing the name *'Chris- 
 tian" and belonging to Christ's church. The 
 five hundred who took a party name may still be- 
 long to the church of Christ, but they wear two 
 names and hold membership in two bodies. 
 They are bi-religionists. 
 
 I have no sympathy with these men who are 
 always talking about the pious unimmersed and 
 the unpious immersed. Why praise either? We 
 came to this world to defend, exalt and encour- 
 age the pious immersed. I am not in sympathy 
 with that other sentiment that speaks of the 
 pious unimmersed Christians and the immersed 
 hypocrites. Such language borders on bias- 
 
FRAGMENTS 223 
 
 phemy. We came to call men to Christ, and 
 when they come to him they are right in obedi- 
 ence and right in life both. Some, in their con- 
 tention, seem to convey the idea that the pious 
 unimmersed are more spiritual than the obedi- 
 ent. This sentiment is false and sinful. The 
 most spiritual and godly people on earth are 
 those who have obeyed Him, and who humbly 
 bow to his authority. 
 
 There is not a band of people on earth more 
 pious, spiritual and godly than that company of 
 people that wears no name but Christian and 
 belongs to no church but Christ's. Oh, that 
 our speakers in conventions and congresses 
 would exalt our plea instead of belittling it! 
 It is said that one of our speakers in Chicago 
 proclaimed that the unpious immersed were as- 
 sociate members, while the pious unimmersed 
 were the regular members. Who said that? 
 Shall we trust our millions in the hands of such 
 irreverent men? We come not to defend the 
 unpious immersed nor the pious unimmersed. 
 Both are wrong. We come to defend the posi- 
 tion that a man must be right in form and in 
 life, right in obedience and right in character. 
 
 It is a question whether a man can be 
 spiritual who has not obeyed the Spirit's com- 
 mands. To manifest the spirit of an American 
 does not make one a citizen of the United 
 States. He must be adopted. He manifests 
 
224 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 the Spirit of Christ best who obeys him. Cor- 
 nelius was a pious unimmersed man, but he was 
 not a Christian. The angel, the preacher and 
 God took part in changing this man, who was 
 right in life — as the world calls right — from a 
 pious unimmersed Gentile to a pious immersed 
 Christian. We want men who are right in life 
 and right in obedience; men who will speak 
 well of the obedient in Christ and quit flirting 
 with the unimmersed. 
 
 The church is Christ's body. All Chris- 
 tians are in his body — the church. Does any 
 one deny this proposition? I do not admit that 
 all the people in the religious denominations 
 are Christians ; nor do I admit that all religious 
 denominations are churches of Christ. In the 
 denominations are Christians, but that does not 
 make that body the church of Christ. There 
 are Christians in the Endeavor societies, but the 
 Endeavor societies do not constitute the church. 
 I never talked to a man for a minute on this 
 subject but that he admitted that somewhere we 
 must draw the line, and say: '^This religious 
 body is not the church of Christ." We must 
 draw the line between the Jewish assembly and 
 the church of Christ. 
 
 Can a man be a Christian without belonging 
 to the body of Christ? No. Can he be a 
 Christian without belonging to the Hindoo 
 Church? Yes. Can he be a Christian without 
 
FRAGMENTS 225 
 
 belonging to the church of Christ? No. Can 
 he be a Christian without belonging to the 
 Mohammedan Church? Yes. Therefore the 
 Mohammedan Church, as such, is not the church 
 of Christ. Can a man be a Christian without 
 belonging to the Mormon Church, Christian 
 Science Church or Unitarian Church? Yes. 
 Then these religious societies are not, per se, 
 the church of Christ. Can a man be a Christian 
 without belonging to the M. E. Church? Yes. 
 They admit it. The M. E. Church, per se, is 
 not the church of Christ. Within that congre- 
 gation of one thousand there may be six 
 hundred obedient people, hence six hundred 
 Christians. If these six hundred obedient be- 
 lievers withdraw from that society, the candle- 
 stick would be removed, and the four hundred 
 left behind would not constitute the church. 
 We can not admit to fellowship those whom 
 Jesus has not already admitted to his body — 
 the church. 
 
 THE CIRCLE SERMON. 
 
 I use this circle Illustration to refute the 
 fallacy that the denominations are churches of 
 Christ. He who claims that all the denomina- 
 tions are churches of Christ will somewhere 
 draw the line himself. The church Is used in 
 two senses In the New Testament — the church 
 universal and the local congregation. Now, is 
 the Catholic Church the church universal? No. 
 
 15 
 
226 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Is It a local congregation? No. Was it the 
 church of Christ that murdered fifty millions of 
 Christians in the Middle Ages? No. It was 
 the Catholic hierarchy, not the church. All 
 denominations are human organizations. Sup- 
 pose five hundred men hear the gospel preached 
 and accept it and put on Christ. What are 
 they? Christians. They are in the large cir- 
 cle and in Christ's church. Suppose one hun- 
 dred go out and organize a Lutheran church, 
 what are they now? They are Christians, of 
 course, and in Christ's church. They are in 
 the small circle, but also in the large circle. 
 Suppose one hundred attach themselves to these 
 hundred Christians, but refuse to obey the gos- 
 pel; what is the result? They are merely 
 Lutherans, and in the outside of the little circle 
 only, but not in the big circle. Now what have 
 you? Some who are Christians only, some who 
 are Christians and Lutherans, and some Luther- 
 ans only. Some are in the Lutheran Church 
 only, outside of the small circle ; some in the Lu- 
 theran Church and in the church of Christ both, 
 while others are In the Lutheran Church only. 
 Therefore the Lutheran Church, per se, is not the 
 church of Christ. I am indebted to J. W. Hols- 
 apple for this arrangement. 
 
 The large circle represents the church, 
 within which are all of God's children. The 
 smaller circles represent the denominations, 
 
FRAGMENTS 227 
 
 whose members may or may not be in the king- 
 dom. Those who have complied with God's 
 
 law of adoption 
 are in his king- 
 dom because of 
 said compliance, 
 while those who 
 have not com- 
 plied therewith 
 may be members 
 of a denomina- 
 tion, though not 
 in the church. 
 These latter are 
 represented by the dots within the smaller cir- 
 cles, but without the larger one; the former 
 by the dots within the larger circle, whether 
 within or without the smaller ones. By erasing 
 the smaller circles you destroy no part of the 
 kingdom of God, but remove the barriers which 
 separate God's children. The principal purpose 
 of the Restoration movement is to eliminate 
 from the kingdom of God all non-essentials, 
 and, indeed, everything which would in any way 
 hinder the fullest and freest fellowship among 
 its citizens. 
 
 THE INTERPOLATION FALLACY. 
 
 By interpolation we mean inserting spurious 
 passages into manuscripts or books. The words 
 
 16 
 
228 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 have been inserted by mistake or by fraud. 
 Whenever the schools of the new learning come 
 to passages that interfere with their fallacious 
 interpretation, they set them aside by the con- 
 venient word ^interpolation." When asked to 
 explain how these passages were inserted, they 
 tell us copyists inserted them. They tell us it 
 is easy to make mistakes. It is easy to omit. 
 It is difficult to insert. Again, when some pas- 
 sage interferes with their vanity, they say flip- 
 pantly: ''This is unlike Jesus. He never said it. 
 It is an interpolation." 
 
 A man who spent many years copying court 
 records said: *'In copying records, a few times 
 I repeated sentences and often omitted words, 
 but not once did I insert a passage or word. It 
 would have been impossible to have inserted 
 new sentences by mistake. To insert passages 
 on purpose would have been criminal." To 
 omit words would have been easy. 
 
 Some critics reject Matt. 28: 18-20; Mark 
 16:15-19; John 3:5; John 8:7-11, and other 
 passages, as spurious. They conclude that be- 
 cause some manuscripts do not contain them, 
 they are spurious. Suppose we have two hun- 
 dred manuscripts: One hundred contain certain 
 passages and one hundred omit them. What 
 would be the conclusion of all unbiased critics? 
 Assuredly they would say, *'These passages 
 have been omitted from the m.anuscripts ; and 
 
FRAGMENTS 229 
 
 not inserted into the one hundred that contain 
 them." 
 
 It is easy to omit. It is difficult to insert. 
 Suppose we find a few copies of the Constitution 
 that do not contain Article V., while many 
 other copies do contain this article. We would 
 conclude that the printers had omitted the ar- 
 ticle, and not that it had been inserted into the 
 other copies, either by mistake or purposely. 
 We have hundreds of manuscripts, some orig- 
 inal Greek ones, that contain the great consti- 
 tution of the church — the commission. This 
 commission has been with us for fifteen hundred 
 years. Early Christians quoted it and manu- 
 scripts contained it. Immediately after the 
 church was constituted the apostles began to 
 proclaim the commands in the commission. 
 They said, '^Believe, repent, be baptized." They 
 obtained their authority from the commission 
 given to them by Jesus. 
 
 If not from Christ, whence came the com- 
 mission? Would any interpolator be so pre- 
 sumptuous as to say, "All authority is given 
 unto me"? If it had been an interpolation, it 
 would have been detected at once. Some tell 
 us it came about because the Scriptures were in 
 fragments, and gathered up by compilers. 
 But who originated the words, **Go into all the 
 world and preach the gospel"? If in a frag- 
 ment, whence the fragment? These advanced 
 
230 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 thinkers, who think themselves out of the New 
 Testament, reject the virgin birth, because to 
 them it is not reasonable. The prophet says 
 Christ was to be born of a virgin. Matthew and 
 Mark say he was born of a virgin. John says 
 he is the only begotten Son. If these four wit- 
 nesses are not to be credited on the birth of 
 Christ, why accept them on the resurrection? 
 
 Jesus gave the great commission. To de- 
 stroy it is to destroy Christianity. Skeptics may 
 assault it and schools of philosophy may reject 
 it, but it will stand. Do not worry because 
 scholarship rejects Jesus. It always did. It 
 was the schools of learning that shouted, '*Away 
 with him! Crucify him!" It was the philoso- 
 phers who tried to find out God by reason that 
 hindered the advance of Christianity. It is the 
 great schools of learning that say Christianity 
 is a failure, and university men who ridicule 
 faith and declare for trial marriage and other 
 follies. In order to learn divine truth, any one 
 must sit at the feet of Jesus. Presumptuous 
 scholarship will not do it. The scholar has no 
 pre-eminence over the common man. AH must 
 sit at Jesus' feet in order to learn of him. 
 
 WE MUST GO V^HERE THE DENOMINATIONS 
 
 ARE THICKEST. 
 
 God called Luther to preach to the Cath- 
 olics. He went where the Catholics were the 
 
FRAGMENTS 231 
 
 thickest. He would have been a recreant if he 
 had gone only where the Catholics were too 
 weak to care for the religious interests. He 
 might have started a mission in Finland or or- 
 ganized a Lutheran church in Morocco, but he 
 was not called to do that. He was called to re- 
 form Catholicism, and, if possible, destroy it. 
 
 John Wesley was called of God to reform 
 the Episcopalians. He must go to them and 
 where they were thickest. If he had federated 
 with them, the great wave of Methodist enthusi- 
 asm and prayer would never have started. 
 
 Just as sure as Luther was sent to the Cath- 
 olics, and Wesley to the Episcopalians, we are 
 called of God to preach to the denominations. 
 We must go where they are the thickest. To 
 federate means stagnation and the disappearing 
 of our plea. We must not stand with them, but 
 preach to them. We must place the ax at the 
 root of the tree of denominationalism, and never 
 cease chopping till the old tree falls and decays. 
 
 If there is a town of five hundred people 
 with one church, and another town of the same 
 size with five churches, we must go where the 
 five are. It is overchurched, and we must go 
 to eliminate. The one church can take care of 
 the religious interests better than the five can. 
 One boil on the body is better than five. 
 
 In my early days of evangelism I went to a 
 town of six hundred people, where there were 
 
232 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 seven church houses. The cry came from every 
 corner, *'We have too many churches now." 
 One of our district ojflficers said: *^You have zeal 
 without knowledge. Let these people alone." 
 That preacher soon abandoned us. I preached 
 but three weeks, and about sixty people became 
 Christians and became members of Christ's 
 church. Two years ago I was in the same town. 
 There are but two church houses in that town 
 now. There are twice as many members in the 
 church of Christ in that town this day as there 
 were in all seven churches before primitive 
 Christianity entered there. We have a fine 
 church house that seats six hundred people, and 
 a Sunday school of four hundred. We are 
 working and praying that soon there will be 
 but one church. 
 
 I am afraid that some of our secretaries 
 have not caught that vision. Some of them 
 lament because we go where the denominations 
 can care for the religious interests. They ridi- 
 cule because six or eight brethren plead for help. 
 They say: '^Worship with these good Christian 
 people where you are. We have great interests 
 elsewhere. We must go to that unchurched 
 community." But God called us to preach to 
 the denominations. Peter went where the Jews 
 were the thickest. If Judaism was a sin then, it is 
 a sin now. Every Advent has gone back to 
 Jewish worship, hence fallen from grace, and 
 
FRAGMENTS 233 
 
 Christ will profit them nothing. Think of John 
 T. Johnson, Walter Scott or Alexander Camp- 
 bell refusing to preach where the denominations 
 were able to care for the religious interests. 
 They never talked about eliminating some of 
 our weak congregations because they were not 
 remunerative. We should increase congrega- 
 tions, and not decrease them. Peter was sent 
 to preach to the Jews, and Paul to the Gentiles, 
 Luther to the Catholics, Wesley to the Episco- 
 palians, and we are called of God to preach to 
 the denominations. Go where they are the 
 thickest. 
 
XX. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS AND SAYINGS 
 
 In concluding this volume I give a few illus- 
 trations. In the sermons and lectures are many 
 illustrations, and they are of much higher value 
 when they are in the body of the sermon, and 
 teach the lesson under consideration much bet- 
 ter than when alone. An illustration standing 
 alone is of little value. The illustration must 
 clinch the point. One illustration to the point is 
 worth one hundred used in a random way. 
 Some preachers overillustrate. They use the 
 scissors too much and brain too little. Think 
 more; clip less. Too many illustrations encum- 
 ber and confuse. Draw your illustrations largely 
 from your own life, but tell the truth about 
 them. 
 
 In presenting these few illustrations, I get 
 most of them out of my own experiences. Others 
 I have been using for twenty years, and have no 
 knowledge where I got them. Some of them I 
 have made my own by remodeling and elimina- 
 ting. Some illustrations that fill six or eight 
 pages in some book, I cut down to a few sen- 
 tences. Tedious illustrations should be left in 
 
 234 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS AND SAYINGS 235 
 
 the story-books. A good illustration used in 
 the wrong place has compelled preachers to 
 resign. 
 
 What is said here will apply with equal 
 force to evangelist, minister and all Christians. 
 
 I. The evangelist should not do anything in 
 the present that may react against him or the 
 church in the future. Present effects and little 
 triumphs in trivial affairs may gratify vanity, 
 but reaction will come. There are victories 
 more terrible than defeat; successes worse than 
 failures; and there are brilliant devils that daz- 
 zle the world as well as brilliant heroes. 
 
 Many foolish things have been said and 
 done under emotionalism that have shamed 
 honest men. Excess in feeling and speech has 
 made the simple gospel ludicrous to the thinking 
 people. It is easy to influence the young under 
 intense excitement. It is easy to gather a hun- 
 dred children together, tell touching stories, and 
 get them to do almost anything. Ask all to 
 hold up their hands that want to go to heaven, 
 and all will act in concert. Then tell all to 
 stand who want to obey Jesus. Nearly all will 
 do this. Now, that method is not honest. I 
 believe In evangelizing among the children, but 
 It must be a concerted action among preacher, 
 evangelist and parent. A quiet, serious conver- 
 sation with children, explaining to them what it 
 means to be a Christian, is far better. It is 
 
236 THE" CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 unfortunate In the Christian life not to be able 
 to point back to the time when you gave your 
 heart willingly to the Lord. 
 
 What is true of children is true of adults. I 
 can deliver a sermon at a Y. M. C. A. meeting, 
 and get nearly all present to stand up for the 
 Lord, as the phrase, so often used, expresses it. 
 Not one in ten has any clear opinion of what 
 he is doing. Much of this playing at confession 
 reacts against Christian work. To call these 
 people converts is to misstate the truth, and to 
 injure the seeker in his efforts to become a 
 Christian. 
 
 2. All coarse, silly and irreverent language 
 should be avoided. Some of the language and 
 illustrations used by some evangelists at men's 
 meetings are disgraces. Leave these things to 
 teachers, parents and physicians. Let your lan- 
 guage be chaste. I have heard the vulgar street 
 rabble repeating the filthy jokes heard at a 
 men's meeting. These meetings lower and 
 cheapen religion. The Christianity of Christ is 
 clean. By telling some vulgar joke you may 
 hear the rabble laugh In derision, but you have 
 not pointed any one to Jesus. 
 
 3. Illustrations, anecdotes and wit have their 
 place In evangelism, but they may be used in 
 such a manner as to do harm. 
 
 ( I ) The Illustration should be dignified and 
 chaste. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS AND SAYINGS . 237 
 
 (2) The joke should teach a truth. To tell 
 a story for the sake of the story is unpardon- 
 able. Wit at the beginning of a sermon, in 
 order to get attention, and make plain the 
 theme, is proper; but when you come to the last 
 appeal, frivolity and mirth must give way to 
 earnestness and solemnity. Sing in lofty strains. 
 
 4. Illustrations are valuable. The best illus- 
 trations are found in the Bible. A Bible story 
 never grows old. A passage of Scripture, in 
 explaining the illustration, adds force. Biogra- 
 phy and history furnish a rich field for illustra- 
 tion. 
 
 Let your illustrations be true to history. 
 You may tell the story of William Tell, Poca- 
 hontas, or the battle of Thermopylae, without 
 discussing the facts of these stories. It is his- 
 torically true to relate them. But if one says 
 that the battle of Issus was fought in Egypt 
 200 A. D., he is historically wrong. I heard an 
 orator give an incident in the life of Douglas, 
 under Grant^s administration, Douglas had 
 been dead many years. I heard an evangelist 
 tell the story of the lost ship, "Central 
 America," and he was incorrect as to place, 
 time and results. Be accurate. 
 
 The preaching of the evangelist should be 
 of a high moral tone. His preaching should 
 elevate the speech, tastes and deportment of 
 the people who hear him. Sit at the feet of 
 
238 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Jesus, and learn of him; then your conversation 
 will be pure, loving and elevating. Your hear- 
 ers will know that you have been with Jesus. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO BE A CHRISTIAN. 
 
 1. To be a Christian is the grandest privilege 
 allotted to men. I would rather be a Christian 
 than be Governor or President. When I was a 
 young man I went to Illinois and took sick. 
 There was not one person in the town that I 
 knew. I was a stranger in a strange land. I 
 heard the doctors talking about me. They said, 
 **It is a very bad case." They thought I was 
 sleeping. As they left the room I heard Dr. 
 Shepherd say to one of the students, '*It is a 
 dangerous case." I turned my face to the wall 
 and sobbed myself to sleep. I heard my door 
 open. I was too tired and sick to move. Finally 
 I felt two hands placed on my face, and I heard 
 these words, *^Is this Brother Coombs?" Oh, 
 how sweet that word '^brother" sounded, in that 
 supposed dying-hour. I replied that that was 
 my name. He then, in a low, deep voice, said: 
 "I am Elder John Darst. You are my brother, 
 and I have come to care for you." When we 
 are going through the dark valley, Jesus will 
 lighten the way and say: **I am your Elder 
 Brother. I will take care of you." 
 
 2. When I was a mere lad my mother came 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS AND SAYINGS 239 
 
 to me and saId:*'They are trying to take the old 
 farm away from us. I must go to Lebanon and 
 see if I can save it. You stay at home and keep 
 things straight." She had not been gone but a 
 few moments until I saw the leaves on fire. I 
 knew in a short time the fire would reach the 
 fields, and our wheat, oats and gardens would 
 be destroyed unless the fire was put out. Bare- 
 headed and barefooted, I fought that fire until 
 my hands were blistered and my feet bleeding. 
 I finally put it out, and on my way to the house 
 I saw the cattle had torn away the fence and 
 were in the field destroying the corn. I worked 
 two hours more, and when I had rebuilt the 
 fence I went to the house and lay down in the 
 summer kitchen and fell asleep. It was night 
 when mother came home. She called, but I 
 was sound asleep. She found me and said, 
 **What have you been doing since I left?" I 
 was a little afraid she would think I had not 
 been faithful. But when I told her of the 
 struggles I had made, I saw tears in her eyes, 
 and she said gently, *'You have done well, my 
 child." Oh, if faithful, when we get up yonder, 
 Jesus will lovingly say, "You have done well, 
 my child." 
 
 3. A Roman embassador carried a message 
 to a rebellious king. The king hesitated. The 
 embassador drew a circle around him in the sand 
 and said, ''Decide before you pass out of this 
 
240 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Circle." The king dallied no longer. Will you 
 decide while you read this article? You have 
 dallied, hesitated and quibbled long enough. 
 Decide now. To refuse to accept Jesus is to 
 decide against him. Why should you hesitate 
 whether you will spend eternity in heaven or be 
 banished from the presence of God forever? 
 Oh, friend, come to Christ. Then you will be 
 safe now and safe in eternity. The joy-bells of 
 heaven will ring if you will decide for Christ. 
 
 WE WILL SING THE NEW SONG. 
 
 4. I went into the forest one morning before 
 daylight. Everything was as still as death, not 
 even a leaf stirring. Then far away I heard a 
 little twitter. Then a bird in the treetop sang 
 out sweetly. This woke up another, and that, 
 another. Finally the choral outburst came, and 
 the whole forest was full of sweet melody. 
 We have heard a few feeble notes in evangel- 
 ism. Here, fifty; there, one hundred, and again 
 a thousand, have come to Christ. But the great 
 shout of victory has not yet come. But it will 
 come when all of God's people are one, and the 
 only test of admission into Christ Is a complete 
 surrender to our Lord and Master. Then thou- 
 sands will sing the new song. 
 
 THE ''royal CHARTER." 
 
 5. We read the story of that ship, the ''Royal 
 Charter," that touched in every harbor on earth. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS AND SAYINGS 241 
 
 It had gone around the world and was now 
 crossing the sea from Queenstown to Liverpool. 
 It had cruised for six years and is now in sight 
 of home. Six hundred were on board. When it 
 passed the curve it ran upon the breakers and 
 went to the bottom of the sea. Dr. Taylor, the 
 preacher, was asked to break the sad news to 
 the captain's wife. When he rang the bell the 
 little girl sprang into his arms and shouted, 
 *Tapa!papa!" 
 
 **I am not your father; this is the preacher. 
 I have come to see your mother." 
 
 ^*0h. Doctor, you must stay for dinner. 
 Have you heard the news? The 'Royal Char- 
 ter' is in sight, and father is coming home." 
 
 Just at that moment the mother came out 
 and shouted: '*Dr. Taylor, have you heard the 
 news? The 'Royal Charter' is in, and my hus- 
 band will be here in a moment." She gazed 
 down the street to see him. 
 
 Then Dr. Taylor said: ''Madam, the 'Royal 
 Charter' has gone to the bottom of the sea. 
 All are lost. Your husband is gone." 
 
 She gave one cry and swooned. They 
 worked with her two hours, and when she came 
 to consciousness she cried: "Oh, so near home, 
 and yet lost!" 
 
 That IS the condition of many men and 
 women. So near the kingdom, and yet lost. 
 
 If a man rejects Jesus, he rejects his 
 
242 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 divinely appointed King. I charge him with 
 high treason against his divinely anointed King. 
 If you are out of Christ, you are a traitor to 
 your Lord. 
 
 EASY TO BE A CHRISTIAN. 
 
 6. It is easier to be a Christian than it is to 
 be a sinner. It is easier to do right than it is to 
 do wrong. Go to that man in the gutter. Ask 
 him if it is easy to be a servant of sin. He will 
 say, *'No; I am now suffering the torments of 
 hell." Ask this old saint who has served Jesus 
 fifty years if Jesus is a hard Master. He will 
 tell you that Jesus is an easy Master. 
 
 GOOD WELL. 
 
 7. When Mrs. Coombs and I went to house- 
 keeping we rented a house, and the owner said 
 there was a good well on the place. It was a 
 good well, but it had two defects: It went dry 
 in the summer and froze up in the winter. It 
 was a good well, but we could get no water 
 out of it. There are some people who are 
 good, but we can not get any service out of 
 them. They are so good that they are good 
 for nothing. 
 
 CLASSIC SINGERS. 
 
 8. If Peter on Pentecost had secured a clas- 
 sic singer from Greece, a quartet of Pharisees 
 and a chorus of Sadducees, no one would have 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS AND SAYINGS 243 
 
 cried, **What must I do?'* An invitation on 
 that day sung to the tune, 'When the Swallows 
 Homeward Fly,'' would not have made Pente- 
 cost heroic. 
 
 GREEDY FOR HELL. 
 
 9. Some people seem to be greedy for hell. 
 They are not willing to let time take them 
 down to a rich old age, but they are wearing 
 out their bodies in sin. 
 
 Young man, with vile companions, a bottle 
 of whisky and a dashing automobile, you may 
 get to hell quicker, but when you get there you 
 will not enjoy it any better than if you had 
 walked. 
 
 YOU HAVE DONE WELL. 
 
 10. The steamer ^Xady Elgin" was wrecked 
 in a storm on Lake Michigan. Among those 
 who went to the rescue was a student named Ed. 
 Spencer. Returning to the vessel again and 
 again, he brought seventeen people to safety. 
 Weary with cold and exposure, he fell exhausted 
 on the shore. Loving hands carried him to the 
 college and worked to restore consciousness. 
 With the return of his reason his fellow-students 
 began to praise him and rejoice over the won- 
 derful work he had done in rescuing so many 
 from the wreck. With tears he answered: 
 **Don't, boys, don't praise; just tell me: did I 
 
244 THE CHRIST OF THE CHURCH 
 
 do my best?" In this Christian warfare let 
 every Christian do his best. 
 
 THE MAN WHO SINGS PRAYER-MEETING BASS. 
 
 Now, please understand me, 
 
 He's a very good man, 
 Always right there in his place ; 
 
 And sings with a spirit — 
 
 So say all who hear it — 
 But still it's just prayer-meeting bass. 
 
 If a repeat he should try 
 
 Like the "Sweet By and By,'' 
 He comes down like a horse in a race; 
 
 If he misses a tone, 
 
 He makes one of his own. 
 And fills in with prayer-meeting bass. 
 
 He does not even shirk 
 
 To do solo work 
 In a pinch, as is often the case; 
 
 When our paid basso strikes. 
 
 And in a huff off he hikes, 
 We fall back on our prayer-meeting bass. 
 
 Then, when fails charming Anna, 
 
 He takes up soprano. 
 And sings till he's red in the face; 
 
 If his tones are quite flat, 
 
 We know right where he's at. 
 And swear by our prayer-meeting bass. 
 
 When he reaches the gate 
 
 Where St. Peter doth wait. 
 He'll be quickly assigned to a place; 
 
 Not a doubt or a fear — 
 
 His title is clear — 
 He'll win out with his prayer-meeting bass. 
 
 — Isabella Mc Arthur. 
 
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