The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-30
REV. KELSEY'S SERMON.
Lesson OF the Resurrection Told at tn,
. Congregational Church.

Lesson OF the Resurrection Told at the
Congregational Church.
Rev. F. d. Kelsey, preached on the theme
''The Resurrection" from the text Rom.
Sill: 'But if the spirit of Him that raised
up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He
that raised up Christ from the lead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by His
spirits that dwelleth in you" Easter cele-
brates not the grand doctrine of the i'm
mortality of the soul: It is a grander,
richer truth than that. Easter comes be-
side our open graves at the saddest moment
of all our lives as We bury our dear ones
from our sight and says: 81 am the resur-
rsction and the life." "God shall quicken
your mortal bodies y n "they that are in
their graves shall come FORTH" It is this
doctrine that has made christianity SO
jubilant with Easter song, and joys and
hallelujahs. But many say it is SUCH a
mysterious doctrines; We can believe in the
Immortality of the soul, but we cannot i'm
imagine how the resurrection can
either be possible or valuable. But
surely in this XIX century of
useful scientific mysteries counted
80 valuable and believed SO firmly. we ought
not to stumble over the revelation of mys-
FERROUS resurrection of the body. Elec-
tricity is shrouded in deepest mystery, but
we light our cities. our homes and our
mines with it; we run our street oars,
plate our cutlery n even saw our wood
thereby. Who can tell the connection of
the optic nerve with the seeing soul? Who
can explain the human body? Who can ex-
plain the union of the mind with extended
matter? The chemist believes in molecules
and atoms, but no man hath ever seen any,
Who can explain the secret and mighty
force of gravitation. or the expansive power
of steam? Mystery is no argument against
anything for which there is positive evil
dence.
As to the resurrection, mysterious as it
is. we have all the infinite weight of divine
revelation. Children must needs take
many a statement on the strength of the
authority of parents and teachers, and in
the matter of resurrection we must take
the testimony of holy writ, which saws:
Il will ransom thee from the power of the
grave" 1.-The honr is coming in the which
FORTH"
"And preached through Jesus the resur-
reotlon from the dead" Who shall
fashioned like unto his glorious body.
Our Savior himself rose from the dead and
became the first fruits of the great resur-
rection.
We believe in the resurrection not be-
cause the logic requires it; but merely be-
eAo ~ NVoApAcc W. AL buub IN
bible does 80 declare, we appeal to the
understanding of hat bible by the enor-
NOUS majority of Christians in AL ages and
of nil conditions. The doctrine is explained
away by a few scholars. but in all ages the
great mass of earnest Christian scholars
and people have given loyal belief to the
plain teaching Of the bible in regard to the
resurrection. Objections to the doctrine
arise from, demanding nm answer to the ab-
struse metaphysical question what consti-
tutes identity. There are four classes of
identify. Identity of substance. 2. Iden-
tity of form. 3. Identity of historical con-
nection. 4. Identity Of a quickening life
principle. The resurrection can be Loyalty
true on the superstition of any one of these
forms of identify. Most Of the objections
arise from the demand that the resurreo-
ton must mean identity of substance. Now
if identity Of substance be absolute
ly necessary to the truth of resurrection,
there il nj absolute absurdity In the
thought that omnipotenoe aud omuiscienoe
can keep the PARTICLES of our dead bodies
for US until we need them again. But We
are not driven to this one theory OF
identity. The child, the youth, the man,
the old man, how different they appear
when viewed at the different seasons; yet II