The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1895-12-06


list Church, atlanta.
TExr.-I az, the light OF the wo1id.-Jobn
viii, l..
The religious economy Of the Jews
was symbolic from beginning II end.
Every conception Of things supernat ural
OF diy.1i0 W&5 expressed by something
material a7ll visible. LyoIythin2 in
cludoI III Lo furniture or equipment Of
the temple and synagogue WAS symbolic.
Jesus smoke tho words Of our first text
while he vas standing in what was
known a. he treasury hall Of the tenn
pie. Here were The chests into which
the people dropped their money for the
support Of their public worship. In the
center Of this hall stood two enormous
candlesticks with many massive and
deliberately Ornamented branches. These
great lamps were lighted at SHUTDOWN,
and through all the night their exceed
ing brilliancy Illuminated the whole
city. These lights like tho ancient pill
lar Of fire and the luminous shekinah
that lowered over the mercy seat, were
reminders and tokens of the presence of
God. In the early morning, on the last
day of the great feast of the Jews,
Christ stood beneath those huge candle
sticks. and as the lights upon them were
waning and expiring he exclaimed, II
am the light Of the world. .
The Sun Of righteousness.
There was another and grander
object at that early morning hour which
rendered these words more peculiarly
appropriate and impressive. That object
was the rising sun. I can see the Master
in imagination as he stood there, point
ing the people to the Pickering, dying
light Of those great temple lamps, and
next to the rising orb OF day, and then
pointing 10 himself u / saying: Il am
the light Of the world. He that follow
eth me shall not walk in darkness, bat
shall have the light Of life. " The old
prophets of Israel foresaW Christ and
the MAGNIFICENT results which should
follow his coming into the world, and
they called him "the sun q righteous
ness - How justly and appropriately
he named himself IL !" What Light
is to tho material world he is to the
moral universe.
But in what sense and to what extent
is he the light Of the world? Is he sim
ply teacher Of men? Is his mission
limited to the removal of human ignO-
tient us l ought to be with the shallow
ness and blindness Of men who think
and speak Of Christ as only u great ped
agOgUe, making men better by simply
making them wiser. This view is not q
denial of his real character and mission,
but it is fatal to the spiritual welfare
of those who are weak and foolish enough
to cherish it. In such a conception of
#
are ignored 1t is a conception based on
the unwarranted assumption that human
sin is not q very serious matter that
it is born solely of ignorance and is
lodged only III the intellect, and that
the easy and certain cure for it is educa
ton.
Such a theory of sin cannot stand the
light of history, and therefore any con-
ception of Christ based upon it is radi
-cally false. Thousands Of the most in
tellectual and learned men of the past
were as much distinguished for their
wiCkedness as for their wisdom. Their
minds were luminous with knowledge
while their hearts were flowing fOun-
tains of iniquity. knowledge alone can
not make us better men. knowledge is
as often an instrument of evil as an in
strument Of good Benedict Arnold was
not less intelligent than George Wash
ington, but one betrayed his country
and the other saved it. Robert Ingerso1
is as we'll informed in some departments
of learning as William e. Gladstone,
but in character there is an immeasure-
able. distance between them.
We all know that knowledge and
righteousness are not convertible terms.
We have some men i'll our Legislative
halls whose uncleanness is as profound
as their craftsmanship. They can engi-
neer a gamblers scheme as successfully
as they can work a bill through con
grcs5. There arc bank cashiers who have
shown themselves wise enough to en-
lghton a nation upon any Of its finan-
cial problems and base enough to en-
hezzla every dollar committed to their
keeping. Some OF the ablest eXpounders
CT moral law have openly and shameful
" violated almost every principle Of the
decal0gue. The BLACKLIST viIlainies IL
the worlds history were planned by
men who had received diplomas from
colleges and universities. Sin IS very
serious matter. It goes deeper than in
tellect 1t is loathsome disease that
covers mans whole moral being. 1t is
inherent depravity. 1t is a natural en
+o1r,-I God aud 7, in,