The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1882-11-15
4 READY TEST

4 READY TEST.
There is a witness to the truth of the
Bible which is very peculiar in its char
acter. No other system but Christianity
ever challenged belief on such testimony.
We do not refer to the historical evil
dences, or the evidence from the fulfil
ment of prophecy, or the internal evil
dence which the record carries on its
face. What we refer to is REGENERA-
TON. Christianity claims to regenerate +;
to give a depraved man a new moral
nature-new affections. If it can make
good this claim if it can transform an
unclean and vicious disposition into one
regulated by the purest motives and in
love with holy life, it needs no other
credentials. For here is an ever-recur-
ring miracle; one which $50 it is affirmed)
has occurred over and over again since
the days of Nicodemus. Has it in fact
occurred? Have men been indeed spir-
itually renewed and made "new crea-
lures in Christ Jesus? Is there any
plain case on record We cannot ex-
pect to prove this to men of the world
by pointing to the throng of so-called
Christians in whose hearts there may in
deed exist living germ of love, but
principle which has not broken through
the soil and developed into strong and
vigorous plant. There are, no doubt,
many such babes in Christ" but they
do not avail in this argument. We can
point, however to individual instances
in all ages where men claimed to have
been regenerated by the Holy Ghost,
and whose lives atte"ted that they had
undergone some great moral change
John Newton is such an example: he
was a man of robust common-sense, and
he had been very wicked man. He
constantly affirmed that he had expert
enced regeneration and the whole tenor
of his later life was strictly in accord
with such claim. All that is lovely
In human character shone forth in his
career. Luther is another instance. DR..
Chalmers is another. Where can any
such characters be found outside of
Christianity ? So of Wesley; SO of Spur
geon. So of Stonewall Jackson. So of
Paul, Justin Martyr, Origen, Augustine,
in the ancient world. There are thou
sands of such. Men of the world have
seen oftentimes the same thing illustrated
in the lovely Christian character of their
wives and mothers. They know perfect
ly well, and see with erfect distinctness,
that such mothers and such wives as they
have known and loved through many
years of observation never had their
counterparts among irreligious women.
Here is an evidence that every man
can see and understand for himself with
out toiling through books. Is it delusive?
Have strong men like Calvin and Chal-
mers and Livingstone been deceived, and
was the spiritual experience which they
describe a delusive mysticism which
made them affect holiness through the
operation of a morbid imagination?
Men OF the world can see that there is |
something radically different between the
governing moral principle of such man
as Melancthon and such man as Hobbies;
or such man as Pascal and such an one
as Hume; or between George Muller and
Professor Huxley.
There are no women in China to-day
like the holy women who assemble in
our weekly prayer-meetings. There was
no such class in ancient. Greece Pagan
ism never produced characters of this
sort They only appeared in the Roman
world with the advent of Christianity
the Eunices and Decreases and Monicas
and Blandinas of the early Christian
Church.