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About The Baptist banner. (Cumming, Ga.) 18??-1??? | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1880)
$1 a Year. OVR DISTINCTIVE PRINCIPLES AS BAPTISTS, AND OUR 1 LI L ERA'! I RE NECES SARY TO A TREE A ND COMPLETE EVANGELISM. JA T. T I \TON., b. I*. What is a tine and complete ivaii and what principles are necs •ssarv to it? First of all. stands the great utterance of Christ to the. Jewish ruler, ‘"Ye iiHbt be born again.” Per-anal regeneration as Lum necessary thing to lit a man for Uiieviug the Kingdom of Heaven, whether in this life or the m xt, whither lire visible churches or the Hereafter of gloiv; such was the central truth in Christ’s preaching., Vvf anditorv he had before him. To the unlerrncd and. frail woman at, the well of Jacob, and to the learned and powrfnl Nicodemus, Jesus taught alike the great truth- the nvcesbiiy of regeneration —that tach human soul must be born of the Spirit, and thus Lorn to an eternal life. There can be n® true evangelism in which this truth is not given the prominence and the emphasis which Jesus gave it win u talking to Nico* demns, and meeting his doubts with the more emphatic reiteration of the truth. “Verily, verily, 1 say unto thee, except a man be born of wafer ami of Ihe it. he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. souls are the lively O » ; stoni s of that temple which the, Holv Spirit is building for tlm glory of God. On the broad foundation of Chiist’s atonemei I, the Spiiii. Builds up churebis of regenerated, souls, to stand forth as types of that grand upper temple, whose top-stone shall be laid when the I i-t ransomed soul goes home tn glory, amid the, churns of tbca ,, gc‘s shouting. “GraCn grace unto it.” There can be no evangelism that de-ervee the name,, which does not press home to inch's c nscienccs their need of regenera tion, ami all that widt h it involves. Mur dm s not take kindly to this. ♦ toe . in-: ; he oLjcels t<» 1 ring bom again in r. he i> old; thinks it be*. 1 eath Lis dignity to become as aiitlh I. now t' it he has become .; min ' put away childish things hi tel log faitli. his (justing love, ■n ! I.is seti-c of need of a strength greater than his own. Yet. is there no other way of salvation possible; for the Master has raid, ‘ Except ye be coiiV(.rl?d and become as little childrr n, y.? sh ill not enter into t e kingdom of heaven.' The gospel, like the law. comes 1 heme to men as individn ds. From the fl lining Sinai, God said to the . thousands <>f I-rael, not. shall. not,” but i 'tho>i shult not." The gospel know, nothing of multitudes; only of s< parate souls. While men's plans to remedy the evils in the world have been to lift the race as a whole, the gospel goes down into the depths, takes each man by the hand, Sets him upon his feel with his face Zionwurds, and bids him lift up the brother nearest him. And while the grandest schema for the elevation of (her ace into ‘‘sweetness and light” 1 ave resultedoniy in pretty sentences, over which the’ sentimental sighed, while the vast stream of guilt rolled on und ecked, this gospel has raised up multiplied thousands from the corruption of death, an 1 made them kings and priests unto God forever. AVg are linked together by a thousand ties, yet in the deepest sense we Ftand alone in the universe —alone with God. Round even soul there is nu invisible and impenetrable wall shutting it oft’from the knowledge even of the nearest and dearest friends; but within that wall i- God, in whom we indeed “live and move and have our being." He will have no creature between himself and each soul that he has made, and the sense of personal responsibility is the highest faculty with which he has gifted us-, it is the crown of human ity which raises us above the brutes, and makes us but “a little lower than the angels.” A true and com* W Viinnef. pletc evangelism must appeal to this I ' sense of personal responsibility. The ' 1 soul must be trained to go. not once 1 a year, but daily into that holy of holies, where with all human voices J 1 hushed, and standing before the . mercy seat the man can listen to the i word of God, and can look so stead- , lastly into those “deep pathetic eyes that closed in death to save him,” that God's smile will hide all the frowns of men, and his frown darken the earth though all men smiled, As a logical corollary from the ne cessity of iegeneration and personal accountability, there follows the doe trine of a conceited church-member ship, as indispensable to a. tine and 'complete evangelism. When 1 look I ov< r the churches and see bow bun gry they are for numbers, and how ! eager to make large repoits I am 1 tempted to believe that statistics are an invention of the enemy. The woist place in the world for an unre generiited man, is inside a church There l as been no narcotic found in all Satan’s pharmacopoeia which will so dead<n the conscience to a sense of guilt, as the mere fact of church* ; membership. The .-inner, inside the : ehn ch, it moral and innocent of in tentional pypocri.-y, feels that the . recognition of the church in some way aids in hh salvation. All appeals to the iiucoiiVi rtid pass him by unheed ed. It would be rule to in-imate • that he, in full fellowship and good 1 standing, is in “the gall < 1 bitterness 1 and the bonds of iniquity.” But the evi’s of an unconverted 1 ctinrc'i-meml ctsliip, are far from be ing confimd to those who sic thus lulled into a f dal peace. The power iof the church is weakened*. A man who has never seen the deadly git li of -in through the enlightening of th<A Holy Spirit, is not the man to J feel “woe is me if souls tire not , saved-’ If he is a man of natural; ' abili y ami energy, be may l.ceonm a “kttdiog bro*her"—interested in, putting upa magnifier’it house of worship, wi.h a magnificent mort gage. lie will head the subscrips lion to Luy a big organ, to make the ; members cf the e inch across the | • way green with tnvy. He will give liberally to secure for the choir the • service of a star singer from an ope ra, and is peiJectly willing. if she will but trill and quaver, and dis play her powers by a series of gym nasties, for her to sing in an unknown longue or in no tongue at all. prais* ' ing God being in Ids eves no mccs-' i.ary part of the Sunday’s musical' performance. He will persuade the' chinch to call Rev. Dr. Big Gun, be cause he will “draw, ’’ it being un derstood that the chief end of a min istcr is to “draw,” and that of a ser mem is to entertain toe congrega tion. These are the brethren who would have the pastor smooth away the oi l doctiines that are so disa greeable to the carnal heart, and would be aghast if their preacher spoke with the forcible abruptness which Christ used to Nicodemus. One of these unconverted men. full of energy and of what he called “snap," was deacon of a church out West, and was always afraid his pastor would say som.thing offensive to some one “What will be ycur subject on Sunday?” he one day , asked his pastor. To the answer, ; “Temperance,’’ he made reply : Oh, do r.ot preach about that; there are 1 several drinking men who attend our : church and give liberally, and you ii will offend them.” “Well,” said the pastor, “you did not want me to ' preach about honesty last Sunday, Im cause Gen. A 's brother lately ; ■ proved a defaulter. Pray, what sub ject can 1 take ?” After a minute’s ; reflection, the deacon answered. : “Preach against the Mormons, they i haven't a friend in town.’’ ■ When the singing is a mere dis ; play of human voices, with no pur- ! 1 pose to worship God, and when the • preaching is simply entertainment. , with nothing to rustle the peaceful souls who have no interest in the Mormons, pray what power will that •AM I TIIKRKFOKE BECOME YOVII ENEMY, BECAUSE 1 TEll. YOU THE TRUTH?'’ CUMMING. GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 18. 1880- church have in the world’? AVhom. will it convince “of sin, of righteous ness, and of judgment How many will it bring to Christ, though it may have a long roll of members who accept the offers of flowcry beds of ease, in which to be conveyed to heaven ? The devil of formalism enters that church, bringing with him seven other devils worse than himself, and Jisus is again wounded in Ilia house of his friends. Materi al prosperity, a large membership, and overflowing congregations, are no measure of the success of a e’uirch. That church succeeds best which, leads the largest number of souls to Chr&l, ami guilds up the noblest Chiistian character in its members. A convcitcd church membership there must be no goats, much less wolves in sheep’s clothing, in the flock of the Great Shepherd. The ■goatswill not know his voice, nor , will they follow him; but will stray and lea 1 off the young sheep into i the desert, where, the Shepherd will I find them ‘‘with fleeces torn and eyes i full of fear.” Evi! is fearful in its [lower to destroy good. One sound I man cannot impart health to a hos i pital, while one diseased man may i .spread contagion through an entire ! city One unconverted member can deaden the zeal of a score of Chris tians, or turn that z.oal into the chans nei of parade and ostentation. A i church is a power for good in dire ct 1 proporfion to the spiritual life of its members. The battle is not Io the strong in numbers, or to the strong in wealth, but to the .strong in faith and hope and love. No human con trivance can convert one sinner, just as no scientific appliance can raise a dead body to life. Life rpiiilutd and life temporal are alike b-.yond the reach of man’s power; he can reject the one and take the other; he can give neither. The Spirit must move ujion the face of I he wa'ers, and that Spirit is ready Io act where two or three a re gathered together in Chiist’s name, not where hundreds Lave come to be enter! ;iucd by operatic music and elo<['.a'.nt essays nii current topics. The Spirit has but one weapon, so fur as has been r<'voa’ed that old sword which lias pierced so many hearts to the “dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow.’’ But hearts are not to be pierced by that sword when its edge h is been ground off for fear of hurt ing some one. (oven an unconveited church, and an unconverted ministry soon follows; “like pcmple, like priest.” \n uncon verted minister is very glad to pad the old gosjiul sword, covering its rdge with silken cushions, that it may wound no man. They arc anx ious to tell some new thing; this old gospel grows stale to them, and they are ready to preach anything else, though they may not avow their pur pose as frankly as did the preacher 1 heard of in one of our large cities. Said he, “1 have been foi’ several [years preaching about the gospel, ' and have said all there is to be said on the subject. 1 now propose to preach on architecture, and will begin next Sunday with the Doric order. The old doctrines of Christ and his apostles are no more acceptable to an unconverted heart in the pulpit than in the pew ; and unregenerate ministers, if thinking men, are apt to drift away from them. They doubt the eternal punishment of the wick ed; they find themselves wiser than Christ concerning the Scriptures; they seek to “save the Bible” by paring it away, and shaping it to suit the sen sualism of the day. But men are not to be saved in this way from their sins. I'nconvcrted ministers find the latest news “fresher” than the old story of Christ and him crucified, and liberalism easier to preach than God’s remedy for sin. How can we expect them to labor for the conver sion of souls, and to “warn every one night and day with tears,” when they have never themselves been convert -Icd ? How can lliev know of the need of a new birth, when the light of life in Christ lias never broken over their eyes? And so surely as night fol lows day, so surely an unconverted ministry becomes an immoral and corrupt ministry. Beautiful essays on ethics will not make men pure ; only faith in Christ is strong enough to tame the brute within men which civilization varnishes, but cannot change. Given an unconverted church, and you shall have an uncon verted ministry, the gospel neglected, vice and impurity rampant, and over the nations that most terrible dark ness of which Jesus spoke: “If the light 'hat is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?” Du 1 draw too dm k a picture of the evils* resulting from an uncon verted church membership? The pic turcs drawn by the history of the world are darker still Recall for yourselves the state of religion in England when Wesley arose, preach ing, though mingled with error, the great truth, “Ye must be born again,” when, according to Ryle, “drunken ness, gambling, swearing, and licen tiousness were hardly regarded as r any vices at all.’’ Think of the un speakable rileuess of the Roman Catholic Church, when Luther took that journey to Rome which opened his eyes beyond the power ot I’apal charmers to close them again, charm they never so wisely. AVe see the same ti uth illustrated in the Lutheran churches of Germany, dead in their formulism, diifting with the tide of rationalism, powerless for good, can dlesticks whoso lights have been re moved. And in New Englund, the same .stern lesson was taught again, when churches cut from their anchors Jknd drifted into Vnitarianisn', L'ni versalism, and Free Religion; while an the general wreck of Orthodoxy qhe, Ikipti.-is alone stood firm and un shaken in their devotion to truth, be cause they alone h d taught stead fastly the great truths necessary to a true and comp’cte evangelism- the necessity of a new birth, individual responsibility, and a converted church membership. If asked to mime Ihe chief dis tinctive principle of Baptists, I would answer: “The doctrine of a con verted church-membership.” Only Baptists have uniformly ami in all their history insisted upon regenera tion ns a pre-requisite to church memberbhip. They alono, through the ages, have kept this gc.-pel lamp trimmed and burning, throwing its light over the darkness of the world Others have at times stood Ly us: but, alas! their receiving the uncon verted into their churches Ly infant baptism, has ltd them astray. There is not a useless doctrine in all Reve lation; not one which is not needful toa true and complete evangelism; and the Baptists alone hold ail these truths, and at the same lime main tain the ordinances in their primitive simplicity and purity. Therefore, on us devolves a peculiar responsibility in the great work of conquering the world for Christ. Not that wc are better than others; not that I would claim for Baptists a monopoly of truth or of piety, or would fail to ro cognize whatever is good in other denominations; but if our distincts ive principles arc true, then those who refuse to accept them must, so far, be in error, and upon us, as upon no other body of Christians, rests the responsibility for spreading through out the world a true and complete evangelism. Let us not, as Baptists, cherish toward others the harsh and exclusive spirit of the Apostle John, when he said: “Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he folioweth not us: and we forbade him, because he followeth not us;” but rather the noble spirit of the Apostle I‘aul, when he declared,- “Notwithstanding evt ry way, w hether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached: and 1 therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." “L uto whomsoever much i» given, jf him shall much be required. ’ 11 God lias led ns into three great truths he demands of us the more earnest! effort to spread them among men.— Whoever else is quiet and indiffer ent, wc must be earnest, resolute and i untiring in a warfare with evil which ; knows no truce, no discharge, no compromise. We, of all men, dare not stand with folded hands, while infidelity eats out the lives of the churches, ami ritualism mocks Christ with its offering of Dead Sea apples. Our distinctive principles are neces sary to a true and complete evangel-; ism; the world must be evangelized,; and we must be up and doing. AVe. must not think the truth of these ■ principles so plain that men cannot help seeing them. Prejudice, educa tion, evil hearts of unbelief, Satan and bis allies, the world and the flesh can blind men’s eyes to «/»»/ truth, however plain. Angels might see them at a glance; but wc are not! called to evangelize angels, but poor i fallen, fallible men, who will “love darkness rather than light.” And in order that these distinctive principles shall go forth conquering and to conquer, wc must, first of all, believe them ourselves heartily. He who is not firmly convinced of the truth he utters, cannot convince oth ers. To pull men out of the slough; one must stand on solid rock, not on sinking sand. Earnest men move the world, and they alone are like the lightning bolt which shatters, rather than the Aurora Borealis which daz zles, but leaves no mark behind. — AVe must echo Paul’s grand “I know;” the world is too busy and life too short for men to stop to listen long to “I think,” “I hope,” “I suppose.” i I‘Wavering souls rally around firm ones," said Reveillaud, lately brought j from infidelity to Jesus; and John ; Stuart Mill declared, “one person; with a belief is a social power equal , to ninety-nine that have only inter-: csts.” AVe want men who know that these tilings arc so, and are on lire; to make the world believe them; so. shall a true evangelism go forth for tiie saving of the nations, and the ' knowledge of the glory of God rise higher and higher till “as the waters cover the sea,” the earth shall be en-j veloped, and all that is false and base . and unholy, perish beneath the pu rifying waves. But something more is necessary for the true and complete evangelism of the world. We must have a lite rature which shall reach and teach, the people in their homos. The only ’ way ever discovered to keep weeds : out of a field, is to plant a crop and . cultivate it cai ehilly. The world will read, and there is no more pressing; duty before us than to see that men: are furnished with a literature which; shall teach the w hole truth as we be lieve. As in the Garden of Eden be fore the wondering eyes of our first parents, so fronting every one in civ ilized lauds is the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil. This tree is ; the printing-press, ami the fruit thereof is the literature it produces, i There is, indeed, fruit which shall l “enlighten the eyes,” and “leaves [ which arc for the healing of the na- ’ Lions"; but there is also fruit that is! poison, and leaves deadly as those of the fabled Upas tree. And Satan still stands under the tree, offering men fruit which is deadly, and using! the old argument that proved so fatal to Evo. Mei), blinded by curiosity; and self-confidence, w ill read danger-; ous books and be poisoned thereby. For such is the insidious nature of evil that not one man in a thousand is as good after reading a bad book as he was before. It may be neces sary now and then for some man to: read, say such a book as Renan’s Life ' of Christ that he may answer it, and: the good he can do others will com- 1 punsale for the evil he docs himself, In the same way, it may be necessary for a physician to expose himself to contagion that he may learn how to! cure an infectious disease. But very few are called on to thus harm them-.' selves. The evil ol one batl I’uuk among manv good unci’, is well shown mi Vo). 4, No. 31. the life of-John Haiidoldh of Rotmokei W hen a young man, some one gaVe him llnine’s Essays to read, in order 1 .. to “develop his individuality/’ “broaden his culture,” and bring hint “abreast of the times.” I believe those are among the stock phfaSeH that Satan uses to , *day when seeking to lead men astray. But the giver also gave Randolph ail answer to the infidel book, as an antidote to lira poison to counteract its effect. In after years, he wrote to a friend ail nounciug his conversion, and Baldi “the antidote was not equal to the poison.” For years, his mind had many a bitter conflict with his doubts ere he could accept Christ and find peace in believing. How many eth ers have found “the antidote not equal to the poison” and have neVef come to the light, only eternity will tell. Let no one rend a vile book, a false book-, or a semi-infidel book. There are ministers who can tell you what the infidels of the day think, but who would be Utterly blank if asked what was the subject of Zechariah's proph ecy, It seems very necessary for them to be “abreast of the times,' 1 but by no means necessary for them to be familiar with their Bibles. And thus they must needs seek for a skeptical literature, and neglect that which expounds the plain old truths of the Scriptures. Thus they beget doubt in the pew, in the minds of those who never would have doubted but for the sermons to which they listened; as in the case of the old man at Oxford who said: “1 have heard all the sermons preached at this university fur thirty years, and, thank God, I’m a Christian stilL” Ministers give the views of some master infidel, and their argumcnls in reply arc often puerile, so that the “antidote is not equal to the poison.” Moreover, men are not converted by arguing against their errors. Felix would not have trembled had Paul gone into a disquisition to prove there were no such beings as Jupiter and Minerva, and that the Delphic oracle was simply mephitic gas. And till the end of time the one way to make men tremble is to strike straight at their consciences with law and gospel; so shall they be made to tremble before the law, and be melt ed into contrition by the story of tbo crous. I make no claim to what passes current in some quarters under the name of liberality. Ido not believe that a lie is entitled to as much con sideration as a truth ; nor would I give falsehood, any more than yellow fever, a fair chance in the world. Not that I would invoke sword and fagot. By no means moral battles must be fought with moral weapons. Let the skeptic talk as loudly as he pleases; I would persuade all men to turn away their eais. Let him write as many books as he wishes ; I would educate public opinion so that no man would buy or read them. I would have the young especially guarded from error, trained in the truth, and clad in the whole armor of God. Truth is narrow, while error is broad. There is but one true account of any event, while there may be a thousand false accounts, and so of any point in science or re ligion, there is but one true belief to a thousand erroneous ones But while truth is narrow, it is amply sufficient for the exercise of all our l»owers throughout eternity. Richard Cecil said : “The church has endured a pagan and a papal persecution. There remains fur her an infidel persecution, general, bitter, purifying, anil cementing,” That persecution is now upon us. general and bitter. Gud grant that it may bo purifying and cementing. It is coming now in its deadliest form, in those half-truths which Tennyson says are ever the worst of lies. Ob, for days like those, before men sought to mix good and evil in one “univer-. sal patent treacle ,” when men either believed or disbelieved with all their- i f 'oncluded. on Ith pag': ]
