To be near unto God - pagina 156

It inspired a devotion and an energy of faith such as had not been in evidence among us since the daj^s of the Reformation. In the

ness to give.

Salvation Army, which is the most sharply defined exhibition of this tendency and at the same time its crudest expression, there showed itself a manysided activity in behalf of the poor and the unfortunate which aroused sympathy even in unbelieving hearts. The onesidedness, however, of this movement is a matter of regret, since it incurred the danger of abandoning justification by faith, and of putting in its place salvation by good works. The center of gravity was transferred too much from God to man. The outward supplanted the inward life of piety. And as on the part of unbelievers there was great and self-sacrificing activity along philanthropic lines, it soon became evident that people of this "Gospel of works" felt themselves in closer sympathy with unbelievers who shared their ideal of works than with the confessors of Christ, who fell short of it. And what cut more deeply religion, which is the search still is that real after fellowship with God, was undeniably more and more lost in this Gospel of the Will. There was too much lack of loveable, tender piety. The delicate plant of devotion became more and more mouldy. And both in preaching and in private conversation the hidden walk with God, the quiet ways of the secret of redemption, salvation by faith and being hid in Christ received ever less attention, until at length nothing more was heard of it. Everything had to be doing, nothing but doing. All that was asked for was facts and still again facts. The method came in vogue to com152

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