The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-05-12

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Then he was God.
Philosophers say that the law Of
gravitation decides everything, and
that the centripetal and centrifugal
forces keep the world from clashing
and from demolition. But Paul says
that Christ's arm is the axle on which
everything turns, and that Christ's
hand is the socket in which every
thing is set. Mark the words: up
holding-upholding all things by the
word of His power" Then He must be
a God
Then look at what Christ says of
Himself. Now, certainly, everyone
must understand himself better than
anyone else can understand him. If 1
ask you where you were born, and you
tell me: 81 was born in Chester, En-
gland" or 81 was born in Glasgow,
Scotland" or 81 was born in Dublin,
Ireland" or I was born in New Or
leans, the United States" you being a
man of integrity, should believe you.
If asked you how many pounds you
could lift, and you should say that you
could lift one hundred pounds, or two
hundred pounds, or three hundred
pounds, l should believe you. 1t
is matter personal to your
self. You know better than any
one else can tell you. If l ask
how much estate you are worth, and
you say ten thousand dollars, one hun
dred thousand dollars, or five hundred
thousand dollars, / believe what you
say. You know better than anyone
else. Now Christ must know better
than anyone else who He is and what
He is. When l ask Him how old He is,
he says: Before Abraham was, l am"
Abraham had been dead two thousand
and twenty-eight years. Was Christ
two thousand and twenty-eight years
old? Yes, He says He is older than that.
Before Abraham was, / am" Then
Christ says: 81 am the Alpha" Alpha
is the first letter of the Greek alpha
bet, and Christ in that utterance de-
clared: II am the A of the alphabet of
the centuries" Then He must be a
God. Can man be in a
thousand places at once? Christ
says He is in thousand places at once.
"Where two or three are gathered to-
gether in my name, there am / in the
midst of them" This everywhereat-
iveness, is it characteristic of a man
or of a God? And lest we might
think this verywhereativeness would
cease, He goes on and intimates that
he will be in all the cities of the earth
He will be in Europe, Asia, Africa,
North and South America the day be-
fore the world burns up. "Lo, 1 am
with you always, even unto the end OF
the world" Why, then, He must be a
God.
Besides that He takes Divine honors.
He declares Himself Lord of men,
angels and devils. Is He? If He is,
He is God. If He is not, He is an i'm
postor. A man comes into your store
the great ship-builder of Liverpool;
have built hundreds of ships" He
goes on to give his experience. You
defer to him as man of large expert
ence and great possessions. But the
next day you find that he is not the
great ship-builder of Liverpool, that he
never built ship, that he never built
anything. What is he then? An inn
postor. Christ says He built this
world; He built all things. Did He
build them? If He did He is God.
If He did not He is an impostor.
A man comes into your place of bust
ness, with Jewish cast of countenance
and German accent, and says: 81 am
Rothschild, the banker of London;
loaned that large amount to Italy and
Austria in their perplexity." But after
awhile you find that he has never
loaned any money to Italy and Aus
tria; that he never had large estate;
that he is no banker at all; that he
owns nothing. What is he? An inn
poster. Christ says He owns the cattle
on a thousand hills; He owns the
world; He owns the next world; He
owns the universe; He is the banker of
all nations. Is He? If He is, He is a
God. If He is not, then He is an i'm
poster.
A man enters the White House at
Washington. He says; 81 am Emperor
William of Germany; 1 am travelling
incognito; have come over here for
recreation and pleasure; l own castles
in Dresden and Berlin" But the presi-
dent finds out the next day that he is
not Emperor William, that he owns no
castles at Berlin or Dresden, that he
has no authority. What is he? An inn
poster. Christ says He is the King over
all, the King immortal, invisible. If
He is, He is a God. If He is not, He is
an impostor.
Strauss saw that alternative, and He
tries to get out of it by saying that
Christ was sinful in accepting adora-
ton and worship. Renan tries to get
out of it by saying that Christ-not
through any fault of His own, but
through the fault of others-lost His
purity of conscience, and He slyly init
mates that dishonorable women had
damaged His soul. Anything but
believe that Christ is God.
Now you believe the Bible to be true.
If you do not you would hardly have
appeared in this church. You would
have gone over and joined the Broad
way Infde1 club, or you would go to
Boston and kiss the foot of the statue
of Thomas Paine. You would hardly
come into this church, where the most
of us are deluded souls who believe in
a whole Bible and take il all down as
easily as you swallow ripe straw
berry. 1 have shown you what inspired
men said of Christ; / have shown you
what Christ said of Himself; now if you
believe the Bible, let US go out and see
His wonderful achievements-surgical,
alimentary, marine, mortuary.
Surgical achievements: Where is
the medical journal that gives any ac-
count of such exploits as Christ
wrought? He used no knife. He car