Indifference of Ministers.—
When asked if he were satisfied at the result of his recent meetings in New York City, Mr. Moody, as quoted in the Independent of December 17, said:— “Satisfied? I am not satisfied. I never expect to be satisfied. I did not come to New York to reach sinners, but to reach Christians. I wish them to live on a higher plane, to be conformed to the image of Christ. If that result has not been reached, my work here will be of little avail, and the result will soon pass away like a cloud.” His great desire he thus expressed:— “Preachers must cease speculating in theology and lead their people back to the old paths.” And yet, notwithstanding the fact that crowds came to hear the evangelist, the Independent remarks:— “It must be said in all frankness that, while the evangelist has preached the old-time doctrines with the fervor of John the Baptist and with the love of John’s Master and his, comparatively few of the pastors of the leading churches have been at all regular in their attendance at his meetings. This may not have been disappointing to Mr. Moody, but it has been to those who urged him to hold these meetings.” But the great trouble is that the pastors of the leading churches do not believe the doctrines which9Mr. Moody preaches. Here is an extract, for instance, which the great majority of the leading ministers do not believe:— “Sometimes I am asked whether the doctrine of the second coming of Christ before the millennium does not discourage me in working for the salvation of others. Discourage me! Why, I have worked ten times harder since I got hold of this doctrine. A vessel is going to pieces on the rocks. God has given me a life-boat and said, ‘Save all you can.’ God will come in judgment to this world; but the children of God do not belong to this world; they are in it, but not of it, like a ship in the water; and their greatest danger is not the opposition of the world, but their own conformity to the world. This world is getting darker and darker; its ruin is coming nearer and nearer; if you have any friends on this wreck unsaved, you had better lose no time in getting them off. But some one will say, ‘Do you then make the grace of God a failure?’ No, grace is not a failure, but man is.” Now all this is the simple truth of God, truth which God has given us over and over again in his Word, that he may warn the world of his coming judgment. Yet learned men point to an imaginative roseate future, exalt man, and deceive the unwary. Would to God that the shepherds might awake; but if they do not, let each member of the flock arouse.