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The Commoner
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APPLIED .CHRISTIANITY
. n,n Ministerial Union of Balti-
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r Address Delivered By. William Jennings
.. nnfnro the Mlnlsten
K, February 3rd, 1910.
t qnnreciate the privilege of addressing the
1 I - n.t .-.,. 4. . nt n florin iirli
f,nra Ol IMS K eat Viitj ".i- - -o vruuu. .
fivcrv heart is impressed with the solemnity
Vt the hour and with the responsibilities that
: t upon the Christian church. I shall not in-
dcrr the indictment contained in a recent
Snrncnzine arucie uasuu uiiuu iuu ueauiipLiuu
KiVen 01 reier Wlieu Jiw out uj mo mo winunn&
'himself. On the contrary, I shall address you
fin the spirit of Dr. Marquis' . defense of the
Ministry entitled "Peter, When Ho Was
fwnrmecl Un." I am glad to indorse what has
ijUSt been said in regard to the activities of the
sFcueral council 01 unurcues. it ia, m my juug
Iment. the createst religious organization in our
ination. It gives expression to the conscience of
more than seventeen million members of the
i various Protestant churches; its possibilities
!for cood are limitless: its responsibilities are
icommensurate with its opportunities.
The importance of co-operation in city, state,
and nation, cannot be overestimated. If you
Ul me that one thousand men, acting together,
can do a thousand times as much as one man,
i acting alone, I reply that the statement is en
tirely too conservative. A thousand men, acting
togt " er, may be able to d- v-liat ten th usand,
one hundred thousand, or -even a million, of
men could do, acting alone, because they can
d what the individual would not think of
undertaking. If, before the Canal was dug" at
Panama, all the people in the world had walked
single-file across the Isthmus, it would never
Lhave occurred to any one of them to undertake
the Canal by himself, but, when forty thousand
men united their energies "in an organized effort,
the greatest engineering feat in history was
placed to tho credit of the United States. You
not only NEED co-operation but you cannot get
along without it if you are to live up to the re
quirements .of today.
But let me state the other side, for there is
another side. Co-operation is only possible
among those who desire the t-ccomplishment of
the same things; it must not be allowed to
interfere with individual initiative. We co
operate for progress, but we must not permit
Concerted inaction. Co-onerntinn flrton lint onma
in the beginning of any movement because every -movement
starts with some one who will, not
wait for others to join with him. . If tho
churches were to agree that no church would
begin until all were ready, there would be no
progress whatever, because the word of com-'
wanu would he given by the slowest instead of
Dy the most nrnirrpefvn T mfo-iif in,.nfn
inUlis way: SuPPose we decided to have all the
i V tlle UnIted states rIse at the same
ume and begin work together. We wo. Id fasten
ban Francisco's time en the rest of the country
ana compel the people of the East to lie in bed
?n Aifn UP at thG Goltlen Gate- If ft were
in rlL !' m,me would sleeP unt the sun rose
wtSmAL-P4 Is nct nature's way. WE' RISE
OIN thp wiUHT RBACHES US AND BE
U1N THE WORK OF THE DAY.
Ifemio61?1,1118' no man can wait for another,
he mull gGt VD when tlie "eut reaches Mm and
Bleen m aWiaken those al)out him they still
noJ' , ch-urch can wait for another church;
n & Can Wait for anther preacher, and
tells Ca.n wait for llIs Pastor. When God
those wim,speak lle cannot stop to count
though ?"tai!d wiUl him- H must speak even
stand I unl CrI?? ln tlle wilderness; lie must
illustrat V lf he has t0 stana ale. Let me
victory 7 have iust won a groat, moral
e hLTrl Beaiest of thQ generation. Would
eetl er I Jn lt " lhe churches had come to
Port nrni KaPeed that no- church would, sup
buppo? I L? until they were a ready to
t is onlv f,i lle Methdist church has, I think
church Lit ?, say' dono more than any other
Pfobablv Pthe figllt for Prohibition. It has'
Workers tnnted a larger number of active
church mv cause nationalIy than any other
8lvn powerfniVnhur?1' the Presbyterian, has
t0 wter th?worv i"" U WaS the flrst' thInk''
terst snrnnri .k,in an orsanized way; tl in-
PartintiiAflUint? nearly all the churches took
Take II fSe aBainst ihe "luor traffic.
Roman's nq.er refon" which is nearly here
3 buffrase. The Methodist church was
probably the f.rst largo religious organization
to indorse this reform. My own church did not
indorse the national suffrage amendment until
a year ago last May when tho General Assembly
met at Dallas, Texas. And some of tho other
churches have not Indorsed It yet. Think of it!
Woman, the last to leave the Cross and tho
first to reach the tomb," as someono has beauti
fully expressed lt, and still woman's right to a
voice in politics has not yot been demanded by
some of our church organizations, although
more than two-thirds of tho House of Repre
sentatives at Washington have declared for
Woman Suffrage and a considerable more than
one-half of tho Senate favor it. Think of it!
Churches still silent while distillers, brewers, '
and liquor dealers vote not only vote but tio
the hands of the mother while they rob her
home of her children. It is fortunate that
Woman's Suffrage did not have to wait until
ALL tho churches joined in demanding It. And
so with other reforms.
I come today to impress upon you tho Im
portance of prompt, INDIVIDUAL response to
the call for service, and I shall rest my plea
upon the words of Christ. If you will turn to
the closing verses of the last chapter of Mat
thew you will find the first thought for which
I ask your consideration. Hero are the words
which I would burn into your hearts. Jesus,
after he rose from the dead, gavo hi3 final ap
peal to his disciples: "Go ye, therefore, and
teach all nations" ALL nations. Christ's
gospel is at. universal gospel; It Is intended
for EVERY human being. But it is more than
an universal gospel. He continued, "teaching
them to observe all thine whatsoever I have
commanded you" not a part of his teachings
but ALL of his teachings toALL men, and then
His promise, "Lo, I am with you ALWAYS tjven
unto the END OP THE WORLD." A UNI
VERSAL gospel 'an ETERNAL creed mt
fora few but for veryone; not for a day but
always.
One of the popular songs brought out by tho
war is entitled: "Freedom, for all, forever."
It) is a taking phrase. And what is our political
slogan? "Democracy, for all, forever." Wo can
not better describe our religious purpose than
by the use of a similar phrase, "Christ, for all,
forever." If Christianity is worth anything at
all to us it must bo the last word in religion.
Nothing is to come after it, and there is no
part of the world to which it does not apply.
That, ministers of Baltimore, is tho kind of
religion that you profess that is the religion
of which you Nare tho spiritual custodianb. Not
one of you has more faith in this gospel than
I have; not one of you trusts it more fully as
the only solution of all our problems.
And what is back of this religion? Here,
again, I appeal to the Word and to tho part of
it from which I have already drawn. Jesus left
nothing to bo said; he covered tho entire
ground; he notonly proclaimed a gospel that
was to bo preached to all, everywhere and for
ever, but he declared that ALL power was back
of it "All power is given unto mo in Heaven
and on -earth." The statement could not bo
broader; it could not be stronger. Ministers,
can you doubt the triumph of the religion
which you profess, when it has such an indorse
ment as the Author of that religion gives it?
But how can Christ's plan be carried out? We
are not left in doubt. His statements are just
as clear on this subject as when He speaks of
the breadth, the depth, the power, and the
permanence of His moral code.
You will find in the 22nd chapter of tho
gospel by Matthew that Christ answered a ques
tion put to him by a lawyer. It is the business
of lawyers to ask questions and they sometimes
get more information than they desire. I would
not reflect upon the lawyer. My father was a
lawyer and no better man ever lived. I was
trained for tho law and practiced until I was
drawn away from the law into politics. And
my only son is a lawyer, so that I am thrice
compelled to treat the profession with respect.
But it is not necessary that I should respect
all lawyers. But even a question asked with
. ,, rrt -mav hrfnc nut a truth:
an improper uiun.o j " . L, :;
Christ answered the question by putting tho
seal of his approval on the flrst commandment.
It was the first commandment so amplified as
to include all of the four commandments that
relate to man's .duty to God. Christ answered,
Thou shalt love tho Lord thy God with all thy
haart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
If one obeys tho commandmont in tho form in
which Christ puts it ho cannot bo disobodlont to '
any of tho commandments of which It is com-
posod. First, one must ho brought into harmony
with God and than ho is ready to undorgtaml
and oboy the socond commandment, "Thou ahalc
love thy neighbor as thyself."
Christ does not Kay that ono shall not lovo
himself. On tho contrary, tho lovo of self Is
implied in tho commandmont. If ono doo not
lovo himself it would bo no advantago to his
neighbor to lovo him" AS ho loves himself. It
is bocaiiBo a man is proaumod to lovo himself
that his lovo for himoolf Ij mado tho raoasuro
of his love for his neighbor. Every human
being is entrusted not only with tho caro of him
self but also with tho doslro to protect himself;
mo nest that can bo asked of him Is that ho
shall lovo his neighbor as ho loves himself.
Lovo of ono's neighbor Is tho only visible
proof that can bo given of lovo of God. Pralso
of God and prayers to God cannot convince, be
cause wo hoar but ono sido of tho conversation.
Wo are much more interested ln knowing Ood's
opinion of a man than wo are in knowing tho
man's opinion of God, and wo cannot under
stand what God's opinion of a man is oxcopt a
wo see him translato his lovo of God Into service
to man. Love of neighbor, therefore, Is not
only a proof, but tho only proof that man can
furnish to those about him, of his lovo of God.
I am not a preacher; when I was a collego
boy tho wlfo of my pastor Invited mo to como
to her house ono evening that sho might lay
before me a plea in behalf of tho ministry. I
accoptod her Invitation and was present at tho
hour appointed, but the sickness of a relative
had called hor away from homo and I never
had tho benefit of tho argument which she In
tended to make. But, If I wore a minister, I
would not bo at loss for a text. I think ray first
sermon would bo built upon tho verse which
says: "If a man says ho loves God and hates
his brother ho Ib a liar." I wouid not use lan
guage quite so harsh if I were framing tho In
dictment, but I have no right to chango tho
language of tho Bible, and I havo no disposition
to do so. My text would be short but -my
sermon would bo long if I tried to toll how k
many liars there are. Not only do we havo this
question raised as to tho veracity of tho man
who proclaims his lovo of God and yet hates
his brother, but we have proof that it is impos
sible, for it Is asked, "How can a man lovo
God whom ho hath not seen if he loves not hla
brother whom ho hath seen?"
Now wo como, my ministerial friends, to tho
application of Christianity and this Is not only tho
important part of your work, but it is tho diffi
cult part, aye, it may be the dangerous part. It is
no dasy task to denounce wrong from tho pulpit.
If you think it Is, read the experience of Elijah.
Ho brought accusations against Ahab and ho
not only angered Ahab but ho stirred up
Jezebel; and Jezebel did not hesitate to uso all
tho influence she had against him. The Bible
tells us that ho fled from her presence. Aro
there not Naboths today and havo they not vine
yards which are coveted? And aro there not
Ahabs In high places? Are there not even
Jezebels? You may have to flee; you may ev.n
rest discouraged "under a juniper tree" L t
God will encourage you, as he encouraged
Elijah, by telling you that there aro thousands
"who havo not yet bowed the knee to Baal."
You must not doubt the existence of these loyal
people oven though they have not mado them
selves knowr
Can you be less willing' to make sacrifices for
the right than those of the rank and file? I
havo known men to make sacrifices In politics;
I have known men who faced bankruptcy rather
than surrender their citizenship men who aro
willing to lose employment and go out ln search
of work rather than cast their vote against
their convictions. Can you be less courageous,
you who believe In the power of God and havo
taken your oaths at His altar? Have you any
doubt that every righteous causentfill triumph,
and that God's arm is strong enough to bring
victory lo his side?
My father did not leave me much money and
I am glad ho did not. A fortune in prospect
has ruined moro young men than it Las ever
.helped, and I am not' vain enough to assume
that I was strong enough to resist tho tempta
tions that have ruined so many. He gave mo a
piece of advice, however, - that has been worth
much moro to me than any fortune could havo
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