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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 1912)
SAVED BY FAITH, NOT BY WORKS Still We Must Work Oil Our Own Salvation. PASTOR RUSSELL IN LONDON. Mankind WHi Be Rodeemed Through Jesus' Death and by Cod's Benign Influence ard Infinite Mercy Work ing In Thtrr! Through the Inspiring Promises of the holy Scriptures. With the Bible ns a Guide We Can not Go Wrong In Obeying the Divine Command. London. Eng., August 4. London Tabernacle was crowded both mora- l tig and evening to near i'astor Uus- si-ll. We report his evening discourse from the text. "Not nt works, lest any 1 1:111 should boast; r II for we ure His Of .. l . i ...rtflr . nth lik i.r. (PASlOli Lit ited in Christ Jesus v unto good works. wtuch God hath before ordained that we should walk In them." (Epb. 11. D.lu.i Ever since Brother Luther's day aud bis vigorous preaching of Justification by faith Christian lclievers have been more or less perplexed In their en deavors to harmonize the Scriptural declaration respecting faith and works as related to salvation. I'astor Rus sell believes that In the clearer light God is shedding upon the pathway of Ills people today through the Bible they are enabled to comprehend with absolute clearness matters once foggy. This, he claimed, does not signify that our forefathers were less loyal to God. nor less logical in the operation of their minds. It does, however, agree with the Scriptural declaration that we are living lu the time when the wise of God's people are to understand the Message previously more or less hidden, but now, in due time, to be revealed. Revelation x, 7. The logical thought which appeals most strongly to every mind is that good works must be the basis of Divine favor and bad works the basis of dis favor. This led up to the child-summary of preaching, namely, "Be good and go to heaven; be bad and go to ." Our Catholic friends, said the Pastor, carry the matter of good works to such an extent that they claim that some have laid up such surplus of good works and Divine favor therefor that they are able to appropriate some of these to others; hence the claim that they may be appealed to In prayer and may give of their merit to others as a bounty or donation.. The Scriptural proposition Is Bjaln: It Is that no man la perfect, that all through the fall are Impaired in mind and body, so that none can do perfect works. Their very best works would be unacceptable to God Imperfect. In stead of Ignoring their imperfections God provided a Redeemer, whose obe dience unto death lie accepts as a sac rifice for the sins of Adam and his race. Evidently all imperfections of word or act resulting from that diso bedience and fall will be completely forgiven. The race will be reconciled to God. Divine blessings will come to humanity and the earth. Instead of the curse now resting upon tbem. The ef fect will be to give all mankind the fullest opportunity for rising up out of sin and degradation. Imperfection, sor row, death, alienation from God, Ig- norance. superstition, etc., back to the full perfection that Father Adara pos sessed at first. But In order to regain all those bless ings lost each member of the race will be required to appreciate the privileges of life eternal and Divine favor and will be obliged also to show his ap preciation by striving against sin and co-operating with the Savior In the up lifting arrangements which will pre vail for a thousand years, during the Messianic Kingdom Present Age Salvation by Faith. It Is in the present Age only that salvation Is to be by faith and not by works. True, the world In the next Age will not be faithless while making their progress In good works and being Judged according to their works. They will be full of faith, but there will be abundant basis for faith. Knowledge will make their pathway clear as day. Demonstration will prove to them such things as God's people In the present lme must accept by faith "For we walk by faith siid not by sight." This Gospel Age. from the time of Jesus' first advent until the second advent. Is the Age of Faith In con trast with the unsuccessful Age of Works preceding and the to-be success ful Age of works to follow. The Pas tor showed that during the Law Age. from Moses to Jesus, the requirement was works: "lie that doeth these things shall live by tbem." (Leviticus xvlll, S; Romans x. 5.) Israel's failure was because of Inability to do things perfectly the things contained In the Law given to tbem at Mt Slnnl. The New Law Covenant which will be Inaugurated by Messiah's Kingdom, will be on exactly the same lines as the old one, namely, works: "lie that do etb these things shall live by them." The difference will be that Christ nim nelf will d the Mediator of the Ne-v Low Covenant, both able and willing to render all necessary assistance to alt v. ho will come back lato harmony wish the Father by Illm. Oq the other hand, Moses, the mediator of the old Law Covenant, while ever willlim to heln his people, was not able to do so. bo- cause his mediation was bused upon I only typical sacrifices of bulls and! ;-unts and not upon tu veal sacrifice , of Christ which alone is able to make I full satisfaction for sin. i 'W Walk by Faith and Not by Sight." The Anostle was here discussing the term? and conditions ly which God is willing to accept the Church class of this Gospel Age. These. lu the Scrip tures, are culled the Elect or select ones of the rac e. God Is calling and drawing these out of the world for a special purpose and under special con-' ditioti. one of which Is that only such us ly've grei'.t f-.ith can belong to the S"-I?rt las.v TLere r.ro some so born, under the fallen conditions, that they have great dit'iculty In experiencing faith, even a little. ::nd only after a thorough train ing could they exercise great faith, by experiencing that transformation of the mind of which St. Paul tells us. (Romans xll. 2.i These are not to bo blamed for having been born under less favorable conditions than some others. And so God has made pro vision for all such to come to a knowl edge of the Truth and not merely to a faith in It. that they may be saved. There are others more favorably bom, so far as their mental make-up Is concerned, who have been unfa vorably born as respects environment and place. Born in heathen lands, where they heard nothing of the Mes sage of God's grace, or where they heard It under such unfavorable cir cumstances that they could not appre ciate it. these must Indeed lose the spe cial favors of this Age, which go only to those who do exercise faith; but they are not forgotten nor left out of the Divine Plan, but will share In thei general blessings coining to the world through the Redeemer's Kingdom. "Work Out Your Salvation." The favored class who hear the Mes sage of Divine favor, speakiug peace through the sacrifice of Christ, assur ing them of tte Heavenly Father's willingness to forgive their sins and receive them as members of the Body of Christ, are obliged to receive tills Message by faith. What Is there to prove that Jesus died and rose again? This must be received by faith. What is there to prove that the sacrifice which Jesus made met with Divine ap proval and that as a consequence all that come unto the Father through Him as their Advocate will be accepted? There Is no proof except to the eye of faith and ear or faith. To the natural man these things are imagination, and those who fully and completely trust In tbem are accused of being rather weak minded. This step of consecration through the merit of Jesus brings them into such relationship with the Heavenly fa ther that He Is willing to accept tbem and give them the noly Spirit of adoption into His Family. Up to this point they have done nothing-mere-ly believed - merely accepted God's gifts, favors. Invitation, etc. Here our text applies. "Not of works, lest any man should boast" Every Christian takes these same steps of faith and consecration, or be Is not a Christian. There are no other steps to take. True, Indeed, as we ap proached God we thought to put away some of the filth of the flesh: but such endeavor to wash and free ourselves from sin cannot be counted good works. A good work Is one that Is done for God or for others. Merely seeking to cleanse our thoughts nnd words and deeds Is not good works In the Scriptural sense but. anyway, none has ever been able, to purge himself, to ash himself, to cleanse himself. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags, in which God could not receive us We can come to nim only under the robe of Christ's righteousness, and It Is given only as a reward of faith and a consecration of the heart But while there are no works up to that point, after that point there will be works, else we will never come off conquerors, nor ever gain tbo great prize which Jesus likens to a "pearl of great price." We can do no works to Justify ourselves, but, after being Justified by faith, we are permitted to do works. Yea. we are required to work out our own salvation. Note the difference, however. It Is the old creature, the sinner, that was Justified. When God accepted him a living sacri fice through faith in Jesus he was be gotten to a new nature and became a New Creature In Christ Jesus a spirit being, though without a spirit body. This New Creature not only main tains the faith which brought it Into existence, but In it the faith must work. It must grow by exercise "grow In grace, knowledge and love," grow In all the fruits and graces of the noly Spirit. Under a figure of be getting and birth the Apostle repre sents the rky Creature as a foetus developing and getting ready for its birth resurrection. Again, this New Creature is referred to by the Apostle sometimes as a babe, saying, "As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow there by." The milk of the Word repre sents the simplest truths, the simplest elements of Divine Instruction, the first principles of the doctrines of Christ Gradually we grow In grace and be come strong In the Lord and able to assimilate the stronger food able to appreciate the deeper truths. As a child requires the exercise of every muscle In order to become the youth, and as the youth needs exercise in or der to become fully developed, so it Is with the New Creature. He must have works In order to his develop ment He must work out the good things which he takes lu as rallS ana 1 strong meat. They must U worked, ( out In bis own :nU:d, la his conduct j .toward others, la his ministry of splr- Itual truths to his family, in the ; Church and before the world, .w, Ar, G,d.f Workmanship." . ... iul(. . ,.... sk aml Mrn th:lt xmtalaa annruilmaMy a thoIsand mllUoIl!, ot worK,s, or. ,, ,,., ,.r lUll llitlV i. . amazed at God's workmani-hip. But still more wonderful Is the angelic ere- tlon with its various ordciji Thi A lu as know it, we see an infinite variety of sentient creatures. The grainiest of all is man. even lu his fallen condi tion. And we are amazed also nt the eudiess variety displayed In other earth- ly creations fruits, (lowers, etc. W e Kiy to ourselves. How great Is our Cre ator, that from His storehouse of Wis dom and of Power all this Infinite vari ety should come! But it is when we learn of God'3 work in the Church as a New Crention that we are more than ever amazed. Divine grace, laying hold upon willing hearts of fallen men, first Justifies them through the merit of Christ, nnd not by works, and then begins to work in them for their own development as a New Creation. We might well ask. What are the agencies, whnt are the tools, by which Divine grace operates in this New Creation? The auswer of the Bible makes the matter all the more wonderful, for it reveals o us that God works in us merely by His promises and through our own minds and our own wills. Thus St. Peter declares, God hath given unto ns ex ceeding great and precious promises, that hy these we might become "par takers of the divine nature."-Il Peter 1.4. 1 Christ Has Pre-eminence. This New Creation had Its start In our Redeemer. He who was "the be- ginning of the creation of God," in harmony with the Divine Plan, hum bled Himself, laid aside His heavenly glory and was made flesh became the Man Christ Jesus, that lie. by the grace I of God. might redeem the world, it was in conjunction with this redemp tive work, when He fully submitted Himself In baptism at Jordan to do the Father's will, that the Father began to work In Illm as a New Creature. When Jesus gave Himself sacrlflelal ly. when His sacrifice was accepted of the Father, then to Illm came the be getting of the Holy Spirit as a New Creature, to be the "Head of the Church which Is His Body." For three and a half years the promises of the Old Toe n mont scrlntnres (contained In grent measure in types nnd shadows) worked in the Redeemer to will and to do the Father's pleasure. He was found faithful unto death-the New Creature growing In grace and Divine favor ns He took the various steps even to the cross. When He cried, "It Is finished." It signified that the sacrifice of the flesh was finished and that the de velopment of the New Creature was complete. Then the work began In respect to His Body, the Church, otherwise called Ills Bride class. Divine energy has since been working In the Church- since Pentecost Member after mem ber has been called and Justified nnd sanctified, begotten of the Holy Spirit In each the work of grace goes on. Each, as our text declares. Is God's workmanship, developing In meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, brotherly-kindness, love. All these traits and qualities are being worked out not In the flesh, but In the heart. In the mind. True, the flesh does. Indeed, reflect some of the graces of the spirit but Imperfectly. Gradually the new mind gains control over the mortal body. Gradually the light of God shines out in words and deeds, through the heart illuminated. It is God working. Created For Good Works. - Our text declares that this New Cre ation, Christ and the Church, are God's workmanship created In Christ Jesus unto good works that a good work may be done by and through them. What good work Is this which God designs to accomplish through the Church through Christ and His elect Bride? It la the good work of blessing the non-elect world. It Is the good work which will progress from the time of the second coming of Jesus and the es tablishment of His Kingdom for a thousand years. It Is the good work which will ultimately uplift or resur rect Adam nnd all his race from death, Ignorance, superstition, sin, if they are willing up to the full perfection of human nature and Divine favor and everlasting life. All others, unwilling, disobedient, will be destroyed. When the blessed work of the thou sand years of Messiah's reign shall have leanRed the world of all wilful sin and wilful sinners and shall have lifted up mankind to an earthly Eden and human perfection, that will not be the end of tho Divine program for the Church. The Apostle, in a verse pre ceding, tells us that in Ages to come God will show Ills favor toward the Church not merely In the one Age in which the Church will be permitted to share with her Redeemer His glorious Messianic Kingdom. The work beyond the Millennium is not clearly revealed, and yet "day unto day utteretb speech and night unto night sboweth knowledge." As the Scriptures declare, God formed not the earth in vain, but formed it to b in habited, so the Bame principle, applied to the stars, tells us that all the thou sands of millions of worlds have been created for a purpose, or are in process es of perfecting for a purpose not In vain. The human creation on our plan et is merely a hint to uh of what the Divine purpose is respecting all tnoee millions of worlds. END OF SESSION IS IN SIGHT t Congress Starts on Last Fort night ol Business. minis up first. Reopening of Tariff Fight and Two Battleships Contest Will Be Features of Tnis Week's Work Several Ve toes Are Expected. Washington, Aug. 5. Congress be gan today what is expectid to bo the last, fortnight of the present session. Adjournment by Aug. 15 or 17 Is con fident'y expected. The postponement of the Archibald impeachment trial un til Dec. 3 has cleared the docks of the senate so action on the remaining leg islative matters can be pushed to a speedy finish. Uncertainty exists as to the fate ol some o' the appropriation bills that are still at ls"ue between the senate and the house. The determination tc anolish the commerce court and to place a seven-year tenure of office In the civil service law, has aroused much antagonism," which may be re fleeted from the White House In a veto of the bill appropriating money for the salary of federal employees. This contingency has been antlcl pated by the leaders of both houses and an effort Is to bo made today to complete the leglslatlve-executive-Ju pdicial appropriation bill so It may be sent at once to tho president. In case of an executlvo veto it Is believed It can again be considered, passed and resubmitted to him in an amended form without seriously delaying plant for adjournment. Action on tariff bills nnd a reopen ing of the two battleship fight In the house will lie features of this week'1 session. The senate will act on tlu compromise wool tariff bill today, and will probably agree to It ns the hous has done. A meeting of the confer enco committee on the excise tax bil! Is expected to result In an agreement that will send that measure also tc President Taft during the week. It has been asserted by the presl dent's friends In both houses that hf will veto all of the tariff bills thai reach him. Such action would be nc cepted as final by congress and no at tempt would be mnde at this sesslor to repass the measures. The Democrats of the house wll take up the battleship question In can cub again tomorrow. The leaders IT the fight fix at least one new man-of war Inthla year's naval building pro gram succeeded In:. forcing the third caucus on the subject; and It Is be lleved they will control the situation If the bouse agrees to one ship, tht senate is expected to accept the com promise, although It wants two. Many of the most Important appro prlatlon hl'ls remain to be complete! and the senate has not yet completer half of the expected debate on tht Panama canal administration bill Both heme will begin dally session! nt 10 o'clock this week, however, anc probably wtH sit evenings, maklnt twelve hours da'ly. Under such clr cumstances business can be entirety disposed of. It 13 believed, within tht tim- predicted bv the advocates of at early adlournment. LEAD PCFSONING COMMON Governmental Efforts to Protect Work men Have Failed. New York, Aug. 5. The failure o the national and state governments U protect workmen from preventabl diseases ol industry is striklngl) brought out In ft report just Issued o; the second national conference on In dustrlal diseases. It is shown that li three years the Illinois commlssloi found 57ft cases of lead poisoning lr that state and that a hasty and Inconi plete study disclosed 121 cases of thl one dlseuse of occupation in Now York city alone. Many of these wen due to the absence of regulations re quiring the use of simple protectm devices and practices which, It li pointed out. are In general use In Ger many and Kngland under leglHlatloi providing for the payment of Insur ance benefits In the case of sickliest directly due to Industry. A growing appreciation, however, o: the need of regulating the condition among which the 30,000,000 wage earn era of this country carry on theli work Is shown from the recent prohl bltlon by congress of the manufacture or Bale of "phossy Jaw" matches anr from the enactment In eight state! during the last year of the bill pre pared bv the Association for Ijthoi Legislation requiring the eompulsorj reporting of certain of the more evl dent Industrial diseases. American Yacht Wins. Keewatln, Ont., Aug. 5. The Quak er Girl, the St. Paul yacht, outsailed the Winnipeg boat Dalphene, on tht Ijike of the Woods course, at the In ternatlonal regatta here. The Amer lean yacht was seventeen second ahead of her Canadian competitor al the finish line. Tho clever sailing ol the American skipper In the last Ie of the contest gave the Yankee boal the race. Motorbost Hit by Steamer; 3 Drown Philadelphia, Aug 5. Three met wire drowned when a motorooat wai struck by a freight steamer In the Delaware river. The dead are Robert Heatherlngton, George Vandlen and John Schiiddcr, all of Bristol, Pa. JOSEPH L DAViES, New Secretary of the Democratic National Committee, Now Busy. Photo 1912, by American Press Associa tion. Mr. Davlos Is located with Chairman William P. McCombs In th campaign committer's Now York headquarters. Upon him will (all the bunion of the great mass of correspondent' detail In connec tion with the campaign. THINK 0R0ZC0 WILL BE BEGGINGFORAMNESTY Mexican Officials Believe Rebel Will Soon Be in Hiding. Mexico, City, Aug. 5. Encouraged by General SanJInaz'a success near t!:e eastern boundary of Sonora aud relying upon General lluerta to wage an energetic campaign against the rebels with his army that drove them back from llachliuba, government otll clals believe that by the end of tho week Pascual Orozco will be seeking hiding places or begging for amnesty. Unofficial dispatches received hero state that many of Orozco's men are tiring of the lighting without pay and that the desertions are Increasing. Juan Ortiz, leader of 300 rebels, Is reported by General Rabagd at Ma dera to have surrendered with all his men after his request for amnesty had been granted. The plan ot campaign was altered slightly by tho action of the rebels In the Mormon colonies. To place an army in that district as soon as pos sible a force was sent from Enclna nallai, on the line of the Central rail road between Chihuahua and Juarez. The work of repairing that road has not been abandoned and a considera ble forco f soldiers yet Is In that ter ritory. The bulk of Huerta's army, however, Is in and near Madera, from where it will be pushed northward along the line of the Northwestern to wards Juarez and westward Into So nora In pursuit of the retreating Insur rectos. It is regarded as possible that the forces will be in Juarez with in a few days, although there Is no Intention of bringing about interna tlonal complications by assaulting the border towns. In the south Zapata appears to be almost as vigorous as ever In his cam paign. There Is little doubt that Za pata now Is subordinate to Orozco. WILSON VISITS M'COMBS Eats Lunch at New York Station Sit ting at Counter. New York, Aug. 5. Governor Wood row Wilson came to New York lor the first time since he became the presi dential nominee on the Democratic ticket, but scarcely a half dozen per sons saw htm. After a busy day at Seagirt the gov ernor slipped away on a train to New York, followed by newspaper corre spondents. Few persons recognized him on the way and when he reached the Pennsylvania station be walked inconspicuously to the lunch room, where he sat perched on a high stool and obtained over the counter a sand wich and a glass of buttermilk. He was away lr a few minutes in a taxi cab to a local hotel, where he met William P. McCombs, chairman of the national Democratic committee, and conferred with him for several hours. Shortly before midnight Governor Wilson nnd McCombs concluded their conference.' Tho governor announced that while a treasurer for the national committee had been agreed upon his name will be withheld for a day or two until It could be determined whether he would accept. Henry Morgenthau, a wealthy real estate man of this city, will be chairman of the finance committee, the governor said, and Joseph K. Davles of Wiscon sin, secretary of the national commit tee, will be In charge at the Chicago headquarters. Search Near Seattle for Outlaws. Seattle, Wash., Aug. 5. Information that Sldna Allen and Wesley Edwards, the Virginia outlaws, were believed to be hiding In the vicinity of Seattle, caused the federal and county author Itles to conduct a thorough search of the surrounding country for the men, but neither of them was found. Drowns at Result of "Joke." Fresno, Cal., Aug. h. Thomas Olll of Corning, la., here to buy property, was thrown into a swimming pool aa a joke, and was drowned. 4 A VuV.- v Vr '! K. NEW PARTY IUA1INGHED Will Select Colonel Roosevelt as Standard Bearer. JOHNSON FOR SECOND PUCE? Luke Wright and John M. Parker Also Mentioned Provisional Committee Decides It Will Be "White Man's" Party In the South. Chicago, Aug. 5.- The national Pro gressive party was formally launched at noon in the Coliseum, where a llttla more than a month ago President Taft was renominated for the presidency on the Republican ticket over the pro teat of many of those now leading th third party movement. The conven tion will select Theodore Roosevelt aa the presidential candidate, and prob ably Governor Hiram W. Johnson ot California as the vice presidential can didate. Two others who are being talked about by the delegates for second place are Luke Wright of Tennessee and John M. Parker of Louisiana. It is not the Intention of Colonel Roosevelt, who arrived here this morn ing, to press the candidacy of any man upon the convention. He is a eandldate for first place on the ticket and will have no opposition. But he holds It is for the convention to deter mine who shall be the vice presiden tial candidate nnd that he has nothing whatever to do with It. As the first Ftep toward the organl ratlon of the convention, tho pro visional committee met In the Con gress hotel, and perfected a temporary roll. This committee determined con tests presented from Mississippi, Georgia and Florida, and by Its action made tho Progressive party, so far as the south is concerned, a white man's party. A bitter dispute over the negro white delegate question In the state o( Florida eauaert an animated argument that several times forced the commit tee to turn out the contestants and thj newspaper men nnd go Into executive sessions that were fraught with wordy battles. The committee several times barred the doors and went into star chamber session, while a few dejected nfgro contestants and weary newspat per men waited In the hotel corrldof outside the committee room. The Florida contest resulted from the sending of separate delegations . by white and negro conventions. Th former sent six whlt9 men, the lattef five negroes and white man. The Bit- fro delegates claimed that H. I kit dm-son, provisional national commit teman for Florida, suggested that they hold the separate convention, and produced documents purporting to prove It. Anderson admitting that he barn negroes from the white convention, defended that action, saying: "By no other course can success M secured In Florida. White men will not follow negro political leaders. CARMFN VJOSTRIK Union Officials to Take Up Negoti tions With Chicago Companies. Chicago, Aug. G. Chicago street car men favor a strike by a vote of 8, 9S9' to 171 - unless their demands for higher wages and .Improved working conditions are granted. .. The result of the vote of the men In the strike proposition was an nounced late In the dny and immedt ttely International President Mahoo and officials of the various local unions held meeting, at which the sltuav tlon was discussed. Two conferences for today wore arranged with the street railway officials, at which s f nal effort will be made to settle tht dispute peaceably. President Mahon said: "The tne have expressed their will In the qne tlon of rtrlklng and now It Is up to the. companle? to met the demands. It Is going to be a fight to the finish on the part of the men." The street railway officials declined to discuss the situation. Double Tragedy at Tacoma. Tacoma, Wash., Aug. 5. Clyde A. White, a traveling salesman for a Tar coma grocery house, was shot and killed on one of the busiest corners of Tacoma by E. J. Templeton of Wash tucha, a former traveling salesmaa for a Spokane grocery house. Tempi, ton then committed suicide. The mur der and suicide, according to the po lice, was the result of an estrange ment between Templeton and his wife, whose photograph was found In th pocket of each of the men. Editors Fight a Duel. Huntsvllle, Mo., Aug. 5. Bitter per sonal quarrels over the Democratic tongreaslonnl race In this district re sulted In a street duel here between John N. Hamilton, editor of tho Hunts vllle Herald, and Van Davis, editor of the Huntsvllle Times. Both editors and Peer! Gun, a spectator, were wounded. The latter was struck near the heart and his injury may prov fatal. Sells Stove to Go to Show. Hardin, Colo., Aug. 5. Daniel Kar elia sold his cook stove that his wlfo and five children might see a circus performance. Hardin had promised hi family that they might see the show, but a hailstorm destroyed his crops and left him without money for tickets. When a ditch crew offrt4 hia 115 for UU store he accepted.