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4 it M pMMKMM ti i The Christian Philanthropist. “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Col. 3:17. “The first Sunday in June was “Tabernacle In firmary Day’’ with the Tabernacle. The first Sun day in June of every year, the church celebrates “Infirmary Day,” when the past year’s debt for the charity work of the Infirmary is raised. It is a great time with the Tabernacle people. On this oc casion Dr. Broughton preached on “The Christian Philanthropist’’ to a great crowd, and afterwards had the pleasure of announcing that the two thou sand dollars needed had been raised. This is a time of pholanthropy. Every day we are stirred by notices of some great gift of money to uplift the race. Perhaps never before have we been so blessed in the number of great givers. But with all of it, I am afraid there is very little real Christian philanthropy. Our text says “Whatso ever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” This being the requirement, I feel sure that there is much of the giving of today that is not Christian; and that many a man who is patted on the back as a great philanthropist, is on]y such in a pagan sense. The Christian Philanthropist. What is Christian philanthropy, and who is the Christian philanthropist ? The Christian philanthropist is not necessarily a great giver of money. Jesus Christ commended a cup of cold water given in his name. We make a mistake in imagining that great gifts alone are no ticed by the Lord. The man or woman who gives what he can in the name of Christ, is a Christian philanthropist far more than many men and women who now and then give large sums of money out of a large treasury. We are making ourselves a bit ridiculous by run ning after men and women who have money. Os course, we have got to have money; but let us remember also that we have got to have workers, people who will give their time as well as their money. First a Christian. A Christian philanthropist is, first of all, a Chris tian. Jesus Christ wants the giver before the gift. This the Apostle Paul commented on in his commenda tion of the Macedonians. He mentions the fact that “they first gave themselves before their substance.” I am afraid many of us are trying to satisfy God without giving ourselves. Our giits of time, talent or money we present, but not ourselves. Simon, the Sorcerer, wanted to buy the Holy Spirit, w T hen he saw the power of the disciples. But Peter denounced his proposition, saying, “Thy heart is not right. ’ ’ Jesus Christ is more interested in us than in our gifts. He came to this world to save us. He never died to save money. He had the money of the world be fore he left his Father’s throne. He came to seek and to save that which was lost; the wealth of the world was not lost. It was to save man that Jesus died, and we can never satisfy Him with our sub stance so long as we withhold ourselves. IHEE Bl)I SfivtiffHrr Recently I was invited to comfort a mother whose son had not been home in three years. I said, “Don’t he write to you?” “Yes,” she said, “I hear from' him every week, but what are his letters when 1 want him?” So it is with our Lord. Our gifts of time or mon ey amount to nothing more than filthy rags, unil we give ourselves. In the Name of Christ. The Christian philanthropist is also one who gives what he gives in the name of Christ. Our text is sufficient proof for this. But if the church realized it, things would be different in our giving; there would not be so much giving that does not carry with it the name of Christ. If the church had done its duty, secret societies and fraternal orders that today claim such a large part of Christendom, would be out of business so far as Christendom is concerned. They do not obey this text; they do not give their aid in ’the name of Christ. Many of them allow no mention of Christ in anything that they do. The Christian man’s business is the Lord’s, and when he federates his service or pools his giving with non-Christians, he turns his back upon the Lord. Why should we want to give anything to anything or anybody and withhold the name of Christ ? Sure ly He is worthy. When I think of His gracious goodness to me, I feel like joining with the redeem ed and singing, “Worthy is the Lamb.” God for bid that I should deny Him one whit of His glory. Untainted Gifts. Again the Christian philanthropist is one whose gifts are untainted. I know men who make their money in dishonorable ways, and afterwards get saved and hold on to the money they have gotten, except now and then use enough of it to bring them into prominence as phi lanthropists. I believe that the Lord spits upon such gifts. It may be that He will take it and use it to the good of humanity, but the giver gets no credit. The man who makes his money selling whiskey, may understand that he will get no credit for what he gives, except the common credit that a man gets for squaring up a wrong transaction. The Christian man has no right to hold on to money obtained in an unchristian way. The moment he is converted, he ought to turn over that which he has made in a wrong way to the cause of Christ and humanity; and even then, let him know that he will not get credit for giving. The Lord will not credit tainted gifts. The Lord can only give credit for a square trans action. He can only credit money that is honestly made. The same thing is true of the giving of time. The Lord does not want any time that is not clean. The greater per cent, of the work we do for the cause of Christ we get no credit for, simply because it is tainted. If with one hand we serve the Lord and the other the devil, the result is, the devil gets the biggest part of the service. What is His Own. The Christian philanthropist also is one who gives that which is his own. There are plenty of people who are very liberal with other people’s money. I know men for example who will give money when they will not pay for the clothes on their back. Do not misunderstand me; I do not say that one should not give so long as he is in debt. I say when they will not pay their debts. I know men who are paying for property, getting rich, who use their debts as an excuse for not giving. I don’t believe that such people have been regenerated. They may be officers in the church, but there are plenty of officers in the church that have never been born again. The man who will use a pretext like that made. The Golden Age for June 21, 1906. Le n G . Broughton to keep from giving to the Lord, is certainly not in touch with Jesus Christ. The same thing is true about time. Some people give time very freely, provided other people are pay ing for it. What the Lord wants is a clean gift and a clean giver. If there is anything that Jesus wants more than anything else, it is an honest heart and a faithful service. Philanthropy Obligations. But we cannot pursue this line of thought. We have gone far enough to see what it takes to be a Christian philanthropist. Let us see something of the obligations of Christian philanthropy. First, there is the obligation to the local church. We have no time to dwell on this fact; only let me say that the local church today is to be enlarged in the minds, hearts and gifts of Christian people. There is not a church in my knowledge that is doing enough in this way. More money and more workers would open up avenues of usefulness, at present not thought of. The trouble is, we are so afraid that we will give too much to the church, when w T e ought to be pouring our money into its treasury. Christian Education. Then there is the cause of Christian education. Again, we can only hint at this. Let us, however, consider it: If the Christian people do not provide Christian education, then education is to become a hindrance to Christianity. Pagan intelligence is worse than Christian ignorance. Christ is worthy to cap all education. I want to see the time come when the church will teach everything from agriculture to astronomy. Why not? Christ is worthy, and His banner should wave over everything that is for humanity. The Cause of the Needy. But finally, there is the cause of helpless humanity. The Christian philanthropist must keep his eyes open. Christianity has lost out by failing to prop erly regard the needs of the needy. Just so long as there is in a Christian community a child clothed in filthy rags and shivering from cold and hunger, just so long will Christianity be at a standstill. Never mind what men may say; the church that stands for the poor and tfie unfortunate is going to be the church that will grow and flourish. We have seen this true in our own church. I believe that the one thing that has done more for us than anything else, is our regard for the needy. God is pledged to stand by us and fight for us when we heed the cry of the poor. Let us wake up on this line. Our wealthy people have no right to pay al] their gifts into institutions for rich people. They owe something to the institutions that are at work lower down. Here is thought for the Christian philanthropist. Oh, that we may face it honestly and in the fear of the Lord! Oh, Tremble Not! Tremble not, dear heart, for love will Bind us twain in this sweet hour. Let love breathe the words, “0! be still Timid heart—bloom faith’s pure flower.” We will walk life’s ways together, For the sad or better part, And the rose shall twine the heather— Tremble not, 0 timid heart. One now in God’s sweet compassion, ’Till the green of Georgia’s sod Breathes low, after Nature’s fashion, “One with love, and one with God.” —Arthur L. Hardy.