The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-05-05

se@oS I1TSL We nave Just celebrated
the most joyous festival in tho calendar
q the Christian ycar. We have PRO
claimed in cong and prayer that no haa
risen In notes II Joy and triumph we
have celebrated this the glaAdsat event
IN the history Of the human race. This
note OF Joy and o! triumph over The
resurrection Of Christ Is in perfec, har-
mony with the early thought Of the fol.
lowers Of Christ Early Christianity
was pitched in the key Of highest JOY
aud triumph. |, conferred around the
person Of Christ Tho Disciples were
swept for the moment outside of them
selves by the overwhelming joy Of the
thought that Jesus-their Friend. their
Saviour, their MASter-whom they hal
thought dead, had risen again- Their
hearts leap with gladness, with mex
pressible hope ai the glorious tLo1ght
And know the secret Of this JOY. They
were not rejoicing over the deliyerance
Of dogma or scheme Of doctrine or a
creed They did not rejoice as they
looked back and remembered tho per
lection of tho system of sacred theology
which he had delivered They rejoiced
in the perscn of Christ. They were not
philosophic adherents or admirers. They
were friends, followers, lovers Of his
person. They rejoiced because their
master and friend had risen
CHRISTIANITY Is CHRIST
A short time sgo we are told that a
great apostle of positivism astonished
the world by declaring that no had been
a Christian in his youth and had given
up Christianity. He then proceeded
with the utmost simplicity 10 disclose
that by being Christian IN his youth he
meant that when he was boy he held Ger
tain metaphysical dogmas regarding the
creation of the universe and the nature
of the soul The trouble with the man
simply was he never had any Chris
tianity to abandon. A man cannot give
up what he has not. No, the fact is
that Christianity is Christ" To be a
Christian is to possess the spirit Of Christ
to partake of his nature, 10 be partaker
in the most divinely intimate sense of
his personality. He is the very essence
of Christianity. In him is life and light
He that believeth into Christ is Chris
tan, and only he who believeth into
him, who partakes Of his life and pur.
pose, and is thus personal follower of
the person Of Christ, can lay any claim
to knowledge of Christianity.
And if this personal revelation be thus
the essential element OF Christianity
around the person of Christ clusters all
the great problems Of the Christian world
and the Christian heart. And before the
events of his life We must stand and
confront all the questions asked by
human philosophy and human science
and men have asked today with bald
earnestness the question, Did he rise
from the deadT With all my soul DO,
Iieve it. And believe that every Chris
tan should be able to give reason for
the hope that is in him.
Let us simply revie,o then, this morn
ing, briefly The reasons trhy ,oe k,aotc that
Jesus Christ did rise from the dead
We know it.
First-From invincible, historic testi-
mony to the fact Of his life, crucifxion,
death and resurrection.
We have historical evidence in the
history of the Hebrew race in the first
place. The history of Israel is a miracle
in the story of humanity. View it from
whatever point you please, there is no
theory of mere rationalism or Of mythol-
ogy that can explain the simple facts Of
Jewish history. There is but one sane
explanation, and that is that the people
of Israel were q chosen people. Their
history is unique in the history of man
kind. 1t has no parallel and cannot be in
terpreted by the ordinary laws under
which nations have had their rise and
development.
THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THRER
PROPHECIES FULFILLED.
Far back in the past there rose the
race of prophets whose language pointed
forward to the coming of this mysterious
parsonage. We read the Twenty-second
Psalm and find the description of his
death. You must leap the chasm of a
thousand years from the date Of that
Psalm to find the explanation of its
phraseology.
In the life of Jesus Christ there were
fulfilled three hundred and thirty-three
groups of prophecy from the ancient
history of the Jews. Three hundred
and thirty-three distinct groups OF
prophetic utterances were fulfilled in his
life, and within these separate groups
there were smaller groups Of specific
prophecies which were literally fulfilled,
which would raise the possibility of such
events happening by chance to such a
point that it passes the power of the
mind of man to believe such things
could happen by chance.
And then we have the witness Of hi.
followers, who were at first surprised al
the thought of his resurrection. They
tell the story with the utmost simplici
ty. Without entering into minute de
tails, without straining for effect, with
out making any effort to impress the
world with its dramatic importance
they stand forth as the simple witnesse.
of facts which they observe. They de
clare that during forty days he appeasssssd
on distinct occasions, under differef . cir
cumstances, to different groups Of the dis
NIpltsss oif ciit ONSao]Oh W 40 do hft
hundred. These facts were proclaimed
through the First century Of Christians
ty and remained undisputed. They re
manned undisputed until centuries after
ward, when before them was written the
question mark of the skeptic, who had
no sympathy for or knowledge Of the
Christ, or of the truths which he taught,
and was therefore utterly incompetent
as critic.
JESUS SAID SO.
Second-We know that Jesus rose
from the dead, because he said he would
rise. 1t is SO because Jesus said SO.
The witness of such a man is invinci
BILE evidence of truth. There are certain
tests which render testimony invulnera-
BILE. By every such test the word Of
Jesus stands. In the first place, there ID
unity and consistency in the whole Of
his testimony. The story of his life pre-
sents uniform and consistent unfold
ing of sublime principle of kingdom
invisible, eternal, which he came to es
tablish on the earth in utter conffici
with all the powers of his day. He wa
perfectly willing to die by that teaching
as he had lived by it. And when the