CHURCH REFORM.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 8 June 1916, Page 2

CHURCH REFORM.

[Sermon by Rev. J. A. Lamond, Methodist Preacher, Kau^ kapakapa.J

(Continued from last week.)

The day will come when no man will be proud to name the sect that has gutted and fettered him. All religious sects are poor products of our Bible-preaching, and much Bible-preach-ing should be unpreached if possible, and never re-preached again. And the Bible has been preached at people so much that it is not the loving Book that it ought to be in the homes of- our people, and to see a Bible in a home or in a stranger's hand makes j-ou wonder what reFgious sect they belong" to, This, again, shows the need of one HolyCatholic Church. And, again, if the different sects fraternise together at all they can scarcely refer to the Bihle; They do not discuss the Book of life 1 Jr^ it may be the death of their frienj^^ fellowship and happiness. But the Bible "» is full of a spirit of kindness, of sympathy . and of self-sacrificing love for one another, and all Bible talks should be loving talks on the kind and gentle spirit of God as revealed by Jesus. The Bible will only help us as we try to help one another in life, and the very essence of Christianity is to help one another. And he who helps' may be helped, but' he who helps not may never be helped. So help someone, and someone may help you. Help ever and refuse never. Help as though you cannot help helping. Help hot for help, but always to help. Help anyone in need, and you will hold the world's best creed. The creed of one Holy Catholic Church. Help your brother man, Help him if you can, Help on, and cease not. Never forget and you'll never be forgot. Help all, refuse none, God's will now be done. Help man for God's sake, And one Holy Catholic Church you'll help to make. , 'A. further need for such a Church is the fact that all men are worthy to be in it. Worthiness is not merited. It is imputed. None is worthy, but all are ■ reckoned worthy. Jesus died for all, and only one roll is kept—the roll of God's eternal love, and that roll is /kept in God's treasury above, not in in man's trersury below. And every child born is enrolled in the roll of God's eternal love, for Jesus clearly* taught their universal and eternal enrolment, and would God erase one name from that roll ? No erasement, all can tell, for no such word from Jesus ever fell. And is there then an inner-roll to mark the good and bad? Plainly there is not. For divinely there are no good and bad men in the world. Good and bad are not Christian terms, and no Christian should use them, and these terms must fall ont of use in the one Holy Catholic Church. If you call men good, you may make them glad, and if you call them bad you may make them sad. But what is the good ? For men by men are mis- . understood. And so the following verse was written by a scholarly man named vJoaquin Miller (information' is that this religious scholar removed from city life and lived a quiet life in Canada): "In men whom men pronounce as ill, I find so much of goodness still—ln men whom men pronounce divine, I find so much of stain and blot: I hesitate to draw the line between the two, where God has not." Is there a man anywhere whom Jesus does not love ? No! there is not one, for God's love answers this question and universally and eternally there is not one. Jesus lived because He loved, and Jesus loved when He lived. For Jesus to live was to love, and He. loved to death. It was His love that said to children and to the toiling masses, "Come unto Me," and His love said from the crushing cross, "Father forgive them." And every maa can say, like Paul, " Jesus loved me and gave Himself forme." Yes, it was for Paul, and it was for all, and is there any time when Jesus does not love every man? No, there is no unloving time with Jesus. There is no time in His flesh-life when he did not love every man. His time is universal and eternal. And would Jesus have every man in one Holy Catholic Church ? Yes! thank God ! Every man., and let this motto, motto the world, " Jesus for every man."

Now, is there a man anywhere who does not love Jesus? No, there cannot be one. For man's love answers this question. Go anywhere and talk to anyone, and, every man will Ba y, no, there is not one man who does wot love Jesus. For 17 years your servant has / : lived alone to talk with men for Jesus, but V I have never heard- an y man sky that^e \ " does not love Jesus. And let Wery W&>* join one Holy Catholic Church,>i»i£ head^ and every man a memb!/T3*. One^big membership roll, and a big open membership too. S™ SSly° ly Cf^ lic Church we need, \ ■ For all mankind with every creed, And every man in Church to meet, Around one common mercy-seat Preachers and teachers all unite, To join Christ's universal Church, And every sect their right to^search. Search the world and tell the gobdiewa To XZ V- m nu x.B pleased t0 choose, One Holy Catholic Church for all.

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