The Inter-Church Conference on Federation at Baltimore
By V. H. Lucas
PURSUANT to announcement, an Inter-Church Conference on Federation was held in the city of Baltimore under the auspices of the local Ministerial Union, on Tuesday, January 30, at the Eutaw Place Baptist church. The conference was confessed to be the direct “fruit of that most significant and world-reaching Inter-Church Conference on Federation held in the city of New York during the month of November.” The presiding20officer, W. H. Dunbar, D. D., president of the Ministerial Union, said, in answer to the question, Why this gathering of the representatives of the church of Jesus Christ to-day?— “First, it is a sign of a growing systematic union of the churches of Jesus Christ in our midst. “Second, it is the result of the advancing spirit of the church of Jesus Christ to evangelize the world for Christ. “Third, it bears testimony of the union of purpose on all the essentials of Christian creed and fellowship. “Fourth, we are gathered to concentrate our powers to unify the influence of the church in molding public sentiment and creating the demand for more effectual legislation. “Fifth, we are met to exemplify the unity of Jesus Christ as expressed in the words, ‘One is your Master.’ ‘All may be one, as I and my Father are one.’” Then followed, in the order set forth by the neatly arranged and printed program, the reading of papers bearing the marks of careful arrangement and earnest study. The one significant note of the entire conference was the labored effort to unify the hopelessly divided human creeds of the professed Christian church. But alas! human federation is not divine union. Human compacts and agreements are not the bonds of divine life. All that the human can do is to confederate around a human standard called a creed, or denomination, or ritual, which is but the worship of an image on paper. Isa. 8:11-13. Union in and by and through Jesus Christ is the only union that possesses the power of the life of God. It is as true as it is sad that the churches of this day are centering their efforts and marshaling their forces around man-made standards, around human institutions which have their origin only in pagan and papal philosophy. But, thank God, there are many yet in all these confederacies who cleave to the gospel alone to save, who believe in the true gospel methods for reforming and warning the world. While they mistakenly are holding to human institutions, they believe in no power save the Spirit to regenerate hearts, no means save the Word of God to enforce the claims of religious conviction upon men. It is for these that the Lord is offering a last warning, saving message. Out of all these organizations, out of the world of sin, from every nation, God is calling a company washed by the blood of the Lamb by faith, who will stand loyal to God and his law in the closing conflict. Now is the believer’s time to work. V. H. LUCAS.