THE RELIGION OF THE CHURCH

Northern Advocate, 13 June 1936, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE RELIGION OF THE CHURCH

Notes of sermon preached at Whangarei Presbyterian Church by Rev. T. H. Roseveare, of Papatoetoe. Text: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” —Mark 1:1. ■m m Y theme is the Religion of the j\ /I Church. Let it be understood, at the outset, that I do not refer merely to the Church to which I particularly belong, nor to any ..branch of the visible Church. I mean the Evangelical Church in general, the Church in the sense in which it was used by Bacon, quoting one of the Fathers thus: “In the garment (Christ’s Church) let there be variety (of colour), but without seam (schism). We are to inquire into what is ’ the religion of the Church, not in any of its various branches so much as in its essential being. That religion will be the religion common to all the branches to the true Church whatever their name or form. There was a Church with a definite faith long before there were churches, and we are to enquire into that original and essential faith.

That religion must pertain to the very essence and being of the Church, and, furthermore, will be- the guiding principle of its structure..

The Faith of the Early Christian # Church.

To discover what that essential faith is, let us examine the origin of the Church. We are taken back to the Acts of the Apostles and to the Gospels for our facts. To clear the let us state that the Church did not come into being through the promulgation of any particular ecclesiastical system. Such systems arose later because of the exigencies of circumstances, but did not pertain to the very being of the Church’s faith/ Nor did the Church come into being as the result of any particular theological doctrine or creed. The Church is primary, and creeds are secondary: that is the order, not the reverse.

What, then, is essential to the being of the Church? It is the “Fact of Christ,” as Dr. Carnegie Simpson put it. Men met Christ, became impressed by Him, learned to trust and love Him, were sorely disappointed when He was crucified, took fresh hope when they discovered that He had risen from the dead, waited in Jerusalem until He returned in spiritual and permanent Presence, and then went out boldly to tell their story. Christ an Abiding Fact Through, the Ages. Now, that central fact of the Church in its inception has been the central fact throughout its history. Carnegie Simpson, in his book “The Evangelical Church Catholic,” points out that the Church has passed through five phases. There was, fi£st, its martyr period. Stephen was the first to lay down his life for the faith of the Church. Paul, too, suffered, and finally died for it. Many early Christians were prepared to face the lions in the ampitheatre in Rome. We sing in the Te Deum of the noble army of martyrs. Why did they* die? For the sake of Christ. They would not deny Him. He was worth dying for.

Later, the Christian Church has to

The Sabbath Hour

meet the philosophies of Greece. Out

of that circumstance arose the necessity for some creed, some statement of the Church’s faith. Thus we have the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. These tell us that the central fact of the faith of the Church was Christ “begotten” of God, “of one substance” with God. The terms may be not easy to define, but it is clear that Christ was central.

Then came the Imperial period, when the Christian Emperor Constantine endeavoured to make Christianity empire- wide. The project was subject to abuses, but the ruling idea was Christ the Ruler. When Christians discovered that, instead of the Church possessing the world, the world was rather penetrating the Church, the monastic period set in. Why? That men might loose themselves from - the world in order to devote themselves wholeheartedly to Christ. And, finally, we have the Reformation period, introduced by Calvin and Luther, whose watchword was: “The just shall live by faith,” and the Church was called upon to throw off accretions that were strangling its life, and concentrate on Christ.

Through the ages, the faith of the Church has been essentially a personal , attachment to Christ, a Christ worth dying for, Christ the Son of God, Christ the King of our lives, Christ our unique pattern, Christ our Saviour.

The Gospel. Thus, you see, the religion of the Church has a very definite content. It is more than merely the institutional aspect of the Church. It is not mere--4y dialectical. It is more than a mere matter for debate. Some people say in an airy manner: “You have your opinions, and I have mine,” as though that ends the matter. Many seem to have the idea that religion is principally a matter for debate. Others, again, have the idea that it is all a matter of subjective feeling. But our cursory review leads us to see that the religion of the Church is primarily a personal relationship with Christ. He is not* merely the founder of a faith in the sense that Mohammed or Confucius is: He is the: object of that faith, and if He is withdrawn the Church’s religion is dissipated. Our faith is concisely expressed by those three symbolic letters 1.H.5., so often seen on the Church’s furnishings, . which stand for three Latin words, Jesu Hominum Salvator —Jesus, the Saviour of Men. Join the Church. The first thing, then, that a preacher has to do is to commend Christ, and urge that men and women put their faith in Him as Saviour and Lord. Having done that, he next urges that men and women give expression to that faith by uniting with some branch of the Christian Church, and so identifying themselves with the Body of Christ. It is not vital that they join this or that branch of the Church, but it is vital that they unite with the Church through some branch of their preference. But, again, we emphasise that the primary essential of the Christian religion is that we have faith in Christ and live in Him and, after that, be in His Church.

An exhibition of work done by members created much interest throughout the day, and good business was done at the stalls from the Blind Institute, and the Disabled Soldiers.