Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary Part 49

FRIDAY, March 30 and SAt.u.r.dAY, March 31. They attend conference at the Valley meetinghouse. On

SUNDAY, April 1, they attend meeting at the church, and dividing out go to other appointments in reach.

MONDAY, April 2. They start homeward.

SUNDAY, April 15. Brother James Turner is very sick. I wait on him to-day.

SUNDAY, May 13. Meeting at Ritchey's schoolhouse. Hebrews 4 is read.

Stay with James Turner all night. He seems a little better.

This is the last night that Brother Kline ever stayed with Brother James Turner. On

MONDAY, May 14, he took leave of him and started on his way to the Annual Meeting in Tennessee, never to see Brother Turner's face again in this world, for in his absence Brother Turner died.

TUESDAY, May 15. Arrive at Brother Benjamin Moomaw's, where I stay all night.

WEDNESDAY, May 16. Call at Brother David Plain's; then to meeting at Bethel. Subject, John 14:24. Dine at Brother Moomaw's. Sup at Jacob Bonsack's: then to night meeting. Brother Jacob Miller speaks. His subject is the General Epistle of Jude, his discourse being made up of remarks upon the spirit and general scope of the epistle. Stay all night at Daniel Kiser's. Fine weather.

THURSDAY, May 17. Arrive at Brother John Lear's, who meets us at the Union depot. Stay all night with him.

FRIDAY, May 18. Meeting at Knapp's Creek meetinghouse. Matthew 5 is read. Dine at young Benjamin Baseh.o.r.e's. Then to meetinghouse again.

Subject, "The Pure River of the Water of Life." Revelation 22. Stay all night at Peter Baseh.o.r.e's.

SAt.u.r.dAY, May 19. Come to Joseph Bowman's; then go to Jonesborough, Was.h.i.+ngton County, Tennessee. Dr. Alpheus Dove is located here, and I spend the day and night with him.

SUNDAY, May 20. Stop at Conrad Baseh.o.r.e's. Forenoon meeting at the Valley meetinghouse. Matthew 11 is read. Dine at Brother Conrad Baseh.o.r.e's. Meeting in afternoon. John 3:7 is my subject. Sup at Brother Joseph Bowman's and stay there all night.

MONDAY, May 21. Visit David Bowman's, Daniel Bowman's, Sears's, and get back to Joseph Bowman's for dinner. Toward evening go to Brother Daniel Crouse's, where I stay all night. Fine weather.

TUESDAY, May 22. Meeting in Brother Henry Swadley's barn. I give a general talk on the fifteenth chapter of John. Stay all night at Brother David Garst's.

WEDNESDAY, May 23. Come to Henry Linaweaver's; dine at Brother Samuel Miller's, and in afternoon have meeting at the Seceder's meetinghouse.

Subject, "The Great Prophet." Stay all night at Brother John Nead's.

Fine day.

THURSDAY, May 24. Afternoon meeting at Brother Benjamin Baseh.o.r.e's. My subject, Matthew 11, last three verses. Stay there all night.

FRIDAY, May 25. Stop at Emmanuel Arnold's. Meeting in the Limestone meetinghouse. After meeting, deliberate in committee on the best ways and means for a more extended and general spread of the Gospel. All the members of the committee seemed to be impressed with the importance of the matter under consideration. All agreed that it is not contrary to gospel order for the church to help such preachers as are not able, from poverty, to do what their ability as ministers would enable them to do, if they could spare the time from their work at home to go more. Many fields are still white unto the harvest. The Lord may be to-day saying: "I have much people in this city," or in this place. By this he means, ready to accept salvation and become his people whenever the door of the church is fairly opened up to them.

Stay all night at Brother David Clepper's.

SAt.u.r.dAY, May 26. Meeting at the meetinghouse. D.P. Saylor, H. Koontz, and James Quinter all speak. Ephesians 2 was read. In the afternoon Peter Nead spoke to a very large and attentive audience.

SUNDAY, May 27. A very heavy rain comes up to-day about meeting time.

We nevertheless have forenoon and afternoon services in the meetinghouse. Stay all night at Brother Michael Baseh.o.r.e's.

MONDAY, May 28. Gather at the meetinghouse. Organize. Take in questions: discuss some of them. Fine, delightful day. Stay at Brother Emmanuel Arnold's.

TUESDAY, May 29. Get through with the business at three o'clock.

Brother Quinter and I come to Jonesborough, where he delivers a sermon in the Presbyterian church. Subject, Rom. 1:17. TEXT.--"_The just shall live by faith._"

This text was Luther's sword. With it he slew more of the enemies of the Reformation than Samson slew of the Philistines with the jawbone of an a.s.s. The text readily suggests two questions.

_I. Who are the just?_

_II. What is faith?_

These two questions being clearly answered, the grand copula, upon which the meaning and force of the text depends, is readily understood as to the quality of the life which it involves. It evidently means a good life, a holy life, an obedient life, a humble life, a pure life out of a pure heart. It means that the just or righteous shall live a life conformed in all respects to the character of that state of heart in which love to G.o.d holds dominant rule, and subordinate love to man prompts to a life of vital charity.

I. _Who are the just?_ The just, in the sense of the text, are those who are righteous, and who desire to grow more and more righteous in G.o.d's sight. Men may be righteous in their own sight, and very unrighteous in G.o.d's sight. And precisely the reverse of this: they may be great sinners in their own sight, and just or righteous in G.o.d's sight. This last state was Paul's experience when he p.r.o.nounced himself "the chief of sinners." He felt that he was righteous or just in G.o.d's eye; but in his own eye, enlightened by the Word and Spirit of the Lord, he was vile. This consciousness gave vent to many exclamations such as these: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Again: "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing." On the other hand, the Pharisee, who stood praying in the temple was righteous in his own view of himself, and "thanked G.o.d that he was not as other men"--a sinner like unto them, he meant, of course. This line of thought suggests another question:

_How are men to become righteous or just?_ "For the scripture hath concluded all under sin." This same apostle tells us that "we are justified [made righteous] by faith; ... for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Probably no pa.s.sage of Scripture has been subject to worse misconstructions than this one. It has been made to teach that a mere declaration of faith in Christ procures the instantaneous forgiveness of all sin, pa.s.ses the sinner out of death into life, makes him a regenerate child of G.o.d, and gives him an inalienable t.i.tle to citizens.h.i.+p in heaven. But I have not so learned Christ, nor do I understand Paul to teach anything like this. I do not deny that a sincere and heart confession of Christ is a step, the first step, to these heavenly blessings; but I do deny that Christian perfection rests upon a naked confession of him by the mouth. The thoughtless sinner does not know Christ. He has never in heart so much as asked the question: "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?"

G.o.d has never been in all his thoughts. "The world knew him not," and the world knows him not now. When one, then, is suddenly wrought upon by some influence as was the Philippian jailer, by which, in his distress, he cries out, "What must I do to be saved?" the answer that Paul gave is exactly the right answer. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And this leads to my second and last question:

_What is faith?_ I will here give Paul's definition. We come to G.o.d by faith. "And he that cometh unto G.o.d"--or to Christ the same--"must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Faith must, then, be the very first step in the direction of receiving good from the Lord. We see striking examples of this in the life of Jesus on earth. What brought the throng from all directions that attended and even pressed him? It was faith, the belief that he could do them good. But it was not spiritual or heavenly good they sought so much as bodily good. Jesus reminded them of this in the words: "Ye seek me, not because of the miracles,--" not because you desire proofs of my divine power to save your souls from eternal death,--"but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled."

But true faith, the faith that saves the soul, the faith by which the just shall live, is _a loving acceptance of the Word of G.o.d; every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of G.o.d; for by this doth man live_. And how does man live by it? By obeying it, by making its precepts the rule and guide of his life. By faith the Word becomes "a lamp unto his path." "It is as the light that s.h.i.+neth more and more unto the perfect day." All who believe the Lord's words, as contained in our New Testament, because they love their truth, and from the heart desire to live,--this means, order their lives and conduct by them,--believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And these have the promise of eternal life: "For G.o.d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

These were the leading thoughts in Brother Quinter's discourse to-day.

We stay all night in Jonesborough with Dr. Alpheus Dove.

WEDNESDAY, May 30. Go back to the meetinghouse where the Annual Meeting was held; arrange some matters left back in our hands; then go together to Brother Jacob Nead's, where we stay all night.

THURSDAY, May 31. Start homeward.

SUNDAY, July 22. Meeting at Turner's schoolhouse in the Gap. Brother Solomon Garber is with me. Mark 12 is read. Dine at the widow James Turner's, and go to James Fitzwater's, where we stay all night on our way to some of the western counties of Virginia.

The counties to which the two brethren were going are included in West Virginia, which, as is well known, was organized a State during the Rebellion. The people living among the mountains are generally hospitable, and much attached to the scenes of their childhood and that wild freedom of nature found in the mountains that surround them.

The motto engraved upon the State Seal of West Virginia is very expressive and appropriate, and in Latin reads thus: "_Montani liber semper sunt_." Translated, it reads thus: "Mountaineers are ever free." The people are noted for the attention with which they listen to the preaching of the Gospel. Brother Kline often spoke of the pleasure it gave him to preach in these sections, because the Word was received with so much readiness. His success among them proved this.

They were devotedly attached to him; and it is questionable if in any part of the Brotherhood deeper grief was felt over his martyrdom than that which filled the hearts of the brethren and sisters and friends in West Virginia.

MONDAY, July 23. Cross the Shenandoah mountain over to the South Fork, and have meeting at Zion, in Hardy county, 2 Corinthians 5 was read.

Dine at Nimrod Judy's, and in afternoon have a small gathering at Leonard Brake's on the Fork four miles below Zion, for social prayer.

We then cross the Fork mountain to John Judy's, on South Mill Creek, where we have night meeting, and stay all night. Attended three meetings to-day; and traveled thirty-three miles on Nell's back across two very high mountains.

TUESDAY, July 24. Meeting at Isaac Judy's, about four miles higher up on the same creek. Brother Solomon Garber spoke from Luke 24:26, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" He spoke with much clearness and order in his mind. After dinner we traveled by way of the Upper Track, across the South Branch mountain, sixteen miles, to Solomon Harman's, near the North Fork.

Stay there all night.

WEDNESDAY, July 25. On this journey Brother Kline has noted the distance traveled over between one point and the next in most cases.

Thus: Come to William Adamson's at the mouth of Seneca (five miles); then to Seneca meetinghouse (two miles); find a congregation; speak from John 3:14, 15, 16. Come to Jesse Harper's (two miles); dine; then to widow Cooper's (eight miles); stay all night.

THURSDAY, July 26. Meeting at widow Cooper's; subject, Luke 14; dine; then have meeting at soldier White's. Subject, 1 John 3:4; then come to Abraham Summerfield's, where we stay all night. Fine day.

FRIDAY, July 27. Come to Levi Wilmot's (sixteen miles), and have a two o'clock meeting. Subject, Matthew 5. Stay there all night.

SAt.u.r.dAY, July 28. Cross the mountain to Leading Creek to Charles Burke's (eight miles); and after dinner have meeting at the meetinghouse (two miles). Council meeting continues till evening. Stay all night at Brother Simon's.

SUNDAY, July 29. John 6 is read. Brother Solomon Garber speaks from verses 44 and 45. Council meeting again; considerable discord; get things partially settled by evening. Stay all night again at Brother Simon's.

MONDAY, July 30. Come to Burke's again. Stay all night at Brother Wilson's; fine day, but river high from yesterday's rain, and fords in bad condition and dangerous.