Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-07
THE LOGIC OF TRUTH.
Ample Evidence from the Most Trust
worthy Witnesses of
THE SAVING POWER OF CHRIST.
Skeptics' Arguments Controverted by the
Facts of History.
TIE MIGHTY INFLUENCE OF FAITH.

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO TIE DIsPATCH.i
BEATRICE, NEB., July 6.-Dr. Talmage
preached here in the open air to an immense
congregation which had gathered from the
surrounding country to hear the famous
preacher. His text was: 1--WE are wit
nesses." Acts iii:15 Following is his
sermon:
In the days of George Stephenson, the
perfector of the locomotive engine, the SCI
entists proved conclusively that a railway
train could never be driven by steam power
successfully and without peril; but the
rushing express trains from Liverpool to
Edinburgh, and from Edinburgh to Lon
don, have made all the nations witnesses of
the splendid achievement Mschinists and
navigators proved conclusively that
steamer could never cross the Atlantic
ocean; but no sooner had they successfully
proved the impossibility of such an under
taking than the work was done, and the
passengers on the Cunard, and the 1nman,
and the National, and the White Star lines
are witnesses. There went up a guffaw of
wise laughter at Prof. Morse's proposition
to make the lightning Of heaven his errand-
]
thing could never be done, but now all the
news of the wide world, put in your hands
every morning and night, has made all ma
tions witnesses.
So in the time of Christ it was proved con-
clusively that it was impossible for Him to
rise from the dead. 1t was shown logically
that when a man was dead he was dead, and
the heart and the liver and the lungs hav-
ing ceased to perform their Offices, the limbs
would be rigid beyond all power of friction
or srousal. They showed it to be an abso-
lutte absurdity that the dead Christ should
ever get up alive; but no sooner had they
proved this than the dead Christ arose, and
the disciples beheld Him, heard His voice,
and talked with Him, and they took the
witness stand to prove that to be true which
the wiseacres of the day had proved to be
impossible; the record OF the experience and
of the testimony is in the text: Him hath
God raised from the dead, whereof we are
witnesses"
THE sKEPTIC's ARGUMENT.
Now let me play the skeptic for a mo-
ment. "There is no God, +" saws the skeptic,
for 1 have never seen Him with nv physi-
cal eyesight Your Bible is a pack of con-
traditions. There never was a miracle
LAZARUS was not raised from the dead, and
the water was never turned into wine. Your
religion is an imposition on the credulity
ioi the ages" There is an aged man NOV
|tng over yonder as though he would like
10 respond. Here are hundreds of people
with faces little flushed at these announce
ments, and all through this assembly there
is a suppressed feeling which would like to
speak out in behalf OF the truth of our
glorious Christianity, as in the days of the
fax
The fact is, that if this world is ever
brought to God, it will not be through ar
gument but through testimony. You
might cover the whole earth with apologies
for Christianity and learned treatises in de-
fens of religion-vou would not convert a
sou |. Lectures on the harmony between
science and religion are beautiful mental
discipline, but have never saved a soul, and
never will save a soul. Put a man of the
world and a man OF the church against each
other and the man of the world will in all |
get the triumph. There are a |
things in our religion that seem
illogical to the world, and always will seem
illogical. Our weapon in this conflict is
faith, not logic; faith, not metaphysics;
faith, not profundity; taith, not scholastic
exploration. But then, in order to have
faith, we must have testimony, and if five
hundred men, or one thousand men, or five
hundred thousand men, or five million men
get up and tell me that they have felt the
religion of Jesus Christ joy, comfort, a
help. an inspiration, ain bound as a fair
minded man to accept their testimony. /
want Just now to put before you three prop
ositioas, the truth of which 1 think this
audience will attest with overwhelming
unanimity.
THE RESULTS OF MISSION WORK.
The first proposition is, We are witnesses
that the religion of Christ is able to convert
a soul. The gospel may have had hard
time to conquer us, we may nave fought it
back, but we were vanquished. You say
conversion is only an imaginary thing. We
know better. "We are witnesses. There
never was SO great a change in our heart
and life on any other subject as Oh this.
People laughed at the missionaries in NADIA |
gascar because they preached ten years with
out one convert; but there are 80, 900 converts |
in Madagascar to-day. People laughed at |
DIR. Adoniram Judson, the Baptist mission |
airy, because he kept on preaching in Bur- |
nah five years without a single convert; but |
there are %, 900 Baptists in Burmah to-day, |
People laughed at DR.. Morrison, in China, |
Tor preaching there seven years without a |
single conversion; but there are 25, 600 Chris |
tians In China to-day. People laughed at |
the missionaries for preaching at Tahiti 10 |
years without a single conversion, and at /
the missionaries for preaching in Bengal II |
years without single conversion; yet in all |
those lands there are multitudes of Chris |
tians to-day.
Butwhy go so far to find evide nee of the |
gospels power to save a soul? 1--WE are |
witnesses. We were so proud that no man |
could have humbled us; we were so hard |
that no earthly power could have melted us;
angels of God were all around about us,
they could not overcome us; but one day, |
perhaps at Methodist anxious seat, or a. q |
catechetlcal lecture. or at a |
burial, or on horseback. a power seized us,
and made us get down, and made us trem- |
bic, and made us kneel, and made us ery
'or mercy, and we tried to wrench ourselves
away from the grasp but we could not. 1t
1ung us fiat, and when we arose we were as
much changed as Gourgis, the heather, who
went into prayer meeting with a dagger
and gun to disturb the meeting and de-
stroy it, but the next day was found CRYING.
''Oh, nv great sins Oh, my great Saviorp'
and for II years preached the gospel of
Christ to his fellow mountaineers, the last
words on his dying lips being, Free
graceP Oh, it vas free grace!
THE REFORMED DRUNKARD.
There is a man who was for ten wears
hard drinker. The dreadful appetite had
sent down its roots around the palate and
lie tongue, and on down until they were in
.erlInked with the vitals OF body, mind and
soul; but he has not taken any stimulants
or ten years. What did thal? Not tenn
oerance societies. Not prohibition laws.
Not moral suasion. Conversion did it.
why" said one upon whom the great
,haDge had come, ''sir, eel just as though
were somebody elser" There is sea cap
ain who sWore all the way from New York
o Havana, and from Havana to San Fran
.isco, and when he was in port he was worse
han when he was on the sea. What power
vas it that washed his tongue clean OF pro-
antics, and made him a psalu-singer?
CONVERSION by the Holy Spirit. There are
of people in this assemblaee to-
ay who are no more what thev opce were
han a water lily is a nightshade. or morn
1g lark is vulture, or day is night.
Now, ii should demand that ali Those
eople here present who have felt the oop-
erting power of religion should rise. so far
-om being ashamed, they would snrino to1