Christian Churches and Churches of Christ; Lutz, Henry Frey, 1868-1926 -- Biography; Restoration movement (Christianity)
If this is the religious condition to-day, you can see that we are in
danger of religious anarchy and spiritual death. We are told that the
splendid civilizations of Greece and Rome were made possible through
the moral integrity and manhood inspired by their heathen religious
systems. When unbelief in these systems originated among the
philosophers and through them permeated the mass of the people,
morality and sincerity were displaced by policy, distrust and
deception, which brought utter ruin to the social and civil fabric. How
much greater must the calamity be if the faith, integrity and morality
underlying our splendid Christian civilization should be destroyed by
the antichristian doctrines already taught in the classroom at some of
the leading schools. The only hope lies in a return to "the faith once
for all delivered to the saints." I believe we have been raised up for
this hour. Our past work and opportunities are but a drop in the bucket
compared with our present opportunities for work. As never before, it
behooves us to raise the banner of New Testament Christianity as a
standard to rally and reorganize the divided, confused and retreating
hosts of Christ. It is not a question of staying at Jerusalem until
each individual is converted, but the question is whether we will ever
go to the Jerusalem of teeming millions in our land who have never even
heard the plea for Christian union on the primitive gospel. Just as the
Apostles went to saints (pious Jews) and sinners and demanded upon pain
of their eternal condemnation that they unite under King Jesus, so we
must go to the saints of the sects and sinners of the world and insist
that they unite under the non-sectarian banner of Christ, in order that
the whole world may believe in him as God's Son. As in the days of the
Apostles, so now we need a re-alignment of religious forces in order to
conquer the world for Christ.
Having learned the New Testament principles that should guide us in our
missionary operations, and through these discovered our chief sphere of
work in view of the present situation, let us turn to special
missionary problems that constantly suggest themselves to us and
consider our duty towards them and their relationship to the great
mission that rests upon us as a distinctive people. I refer to the
Indians, Mormons, Jews, immigrants, the lower and slum districts of our
cities, the mountaineers of the Appalachian system, the millions of
unevangelized negroes in the South, etc.
Concerning these problems I wish to call your attention to the
following considerations:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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