Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-12-24
A Sermon by Rev. ]. T. Crosby.


worth
Published one OF the sermons by Ellsworth
pastors
John If. "Jesus saith unto him am
the ray aud the truth and the life, no man
cometh unto the Father but BY me
Christ in addressing the disciples after
the supper was over, after Judas had been
convicted and discarded, said."I 90 to pre-
pare q place for you, aud If 90 will
come again to receive you that where |
am there ye may be also. And whittier l
go We know and the way ye know"
Then comes doubling Thomas saying,
Lord We know not whittier thou goest
and how can we know the way" Thomas
fancied He might be going to Nazareth or
Capernaum, or some other place 10 be
annointed King of Israel. But Christ was
talking OF spiritual things and to a world
Of spirits He was going, to make prepara-
tions for the disciples that where He was
to be there they might be also, and lie
speaks to Thomas saying, II am the way,
the truth AM. the life"
Christ Is the way, but He was not the
first to mention this truth; for Isaiah the
prophet spoke .20 years before Christ was
born, saying as he pointed down the
stream Of time. And an highway shall be
there and 1t shall be called the highway Of
49, D.
His own hood, saith the apostle, He en-
tered into the holy place having obtained
eternal redemption for US. He is our way
for by Him only can we enter that holy
place. In Him God and man meet and are
brought together. BY Christ as the way
an intercourse is settled and kept up be-
tween heaven and earth.
Wicked, sinful men are at war with God
and the great important question is. how
can they obtain reconciliation? We an
swer. Jesus Christ is the way. or in other
words the medium Of reconciliation. For
God was in Christ reconciling the world
unto Himself III Cor. $50 But REBEL
ious man must lay down his arms, return
to God with a contrite heart and implicit
confidence in Christ his mediator; then the
righteous indignation Of God will be
turned from him, and his soul Will be
filled with joy and gladness. Jesus Christ
has with His own precious blood conse-
Grated the way between earth and heaven
so that whosoever will may enter in. II is
not local distance that separates the sinful
soul from God. II is no material obstacle
that prevents the soul from entering its
! home in God. What keeps the sinner ont
OF this home is not material but moral
barriers. Break down these barriers and
heavens sweet rest fills the soul OF man
and he finds himself at home in God
AS has been said guilt and sin separate
the soul from God as the widest wastes Of
untraveled space could never separate
Remove these and then you have snnihi-
lated that space and the soul flies to its
rest in the bosom Of God and Jesus is the
only way to the removal Of guilt
Christ is the only way to peace, joy hope
and heaven. God has manifested Himself
in flesh, not King in the skies, but beat
ing and throbbing heart with men Here
He stands declaring Himself not only the
way, but the truth" He impresses Us
with the fact that He knows that Of which
He speaks. He knows it truly, deeply and
fully; he speaks it from His inmost soul.
IN ba Eat bar hu Nv
me. This" says one writer, SIS an un-
answerable argument against the modern
notion that it does not matter what man
believes" that all religions Cor beliefs
will lead men to heaven if they are sin
cere, that the fatherhood Of God is enough
to save all at last. Christ says there is no
way to the Father but by Me. Hence God
is a Father to those only who believe in
Christ. Now we see the necessity of ex-
ercising faith in Christ in order to come
into harmony with heaven and fellowship
with God. Nothing but the merits of
Christ can give man title to eternal life.
He passed through the vale Of death into
His eternal kingdom. We must follow
Him the same way. Then We shall 60 into
the place which He has gone to prepare for
US in that house not made with hands.
Again, II am the truth" He said. As we
peruse the pages of Old Testament scrip
lures we find many promises of the Mes
siah and all these promises were verified
| when Jesus came. The ceremonial law
taught the necessity OF sacrifice for sin,
and this was verified in the sacrficial
death Of Christ. When all these promises
were fulfilled He cried from the cross,
ut is inished!" Now we see the estab-
lishment of the truth of all the promises
and prophecies, of all the types and shad.
ows. The sun is the fountain of light in
the natural world. Jesus Christ is the
| source of truth in the moral and religious
world, and from this source cometh that
light which lighteth every man that com.
eth into the natural world. From this
source and this only cometh that which
satisfies this intense yearning of the soul
Oh, that we might be willing to sit in
reverence at His feet, and ask Him to make
US feel, though we cannot utter to others
nor shape in our own thoughts even, this
divine truth and love!
Again He says, IL am the life" While
John the Baptist was looking into divine
and heavenly things he declares, I'm Him
| was life." He must have been the source
of life "for without HIM was not anything
made that was made, from the highest an
gel to the meanest worm" God the Faith.
er did nothing without God the Son. He
opened up the way before US to natural
life, and He only can bring US TO life eter.