The Bossier banner., 1893-06-01

IS
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.
II 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, l 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: 81 am the A of the alphabet of
the centuries" Then He must be
God. "Can man be in
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 God? And lest we might
think this everywhereativeness 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, / 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
tomorrow morning. He says: 81 am
the great ship-builder of Liverpool; l
have built hundreds of ships" He
goes on to give his experience. You
defer to him as a 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 a God.
If He did not He is an impostor.
A man comes into your place Of busi-
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 a large estate;
that he is no banker at all; that he
owns nothing. What is he? An i'm
poster. Christ says He owns the cattle
on 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; l am travelling
incognito; I 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 Nc
castles at Berlin or Dresden, that he
has no authority. What is he? An i'm.
poster. Christ says He is the King ove1
all, the King immortal, invisible II
He is, He is 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
tion and worship. Renan tries to gel
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
ohhAoSSu LID SOul- Any Du1
| 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 1nfidel club, or you would go te
Boston and kiss the foot of the statue
of Thomas Paine. You would hardl,
come into this church, where the mos
S of us are deluded souls who believe il
} whole Bible and take it all down a!
r easily as you swallow a ripe straw
2 berry. l have shown you what inspired
r men said of Christ; l have shown vo,
5 what Christ said of Himself; now if vo,
t believe the Bible, let us go out and Sc,
Y His wonderful achievenients-surg
t alimentary, marine, mortuary
t Surgical achievements: Where i
the medical journal that gives any ac
, count of such exploits as Chris
} wrought? He used no knife. He car
= ried no splints. He employed no com
2 press. He made no patient squirm un
der cauterization. He tied no artery
: Yet behold Him! With a word II,
: stuck fast Malchus' amputated ear. Fl,