The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-11-03

Jesus Christ appeals to the world neither author cen
tc discovere statesman man of wealth; but was not
He something that than all of these? His success
achieved not in finance art, any OF those
fields in which the world ready applaud success but
it achieved in field which the world does not regard
at ALL and field wherein success is most rare and most
difficult the field of morals and religion. The world made
its offer of to Christ but He refused it. He died
on the cross His life seemed to close in absolute failure
Failure His life declared to be- Jesus Christ to-day
more to the world than the life OF 9TH
who lived at His time, at any other time, how
ever brilliant and successful that life may have been esus
Christ today is to the world than the Romau en-
peror who lived when He died; He is than all the
victorious generals of Roe than all the valuable
legislation that to Rome He is more to the world
today than the art and philosophy of Greece than
that old religion of Judaism whose officials the priests and
scrbe are in the words of text tauntng Him and Of
fering receive Him, if He will but down from the
cross Why is this? Christ is the world to-day
than its successful men, because He has given the world
not success such they gave it, but in His lite
moral and religious and achievement such as the
world apart from it has never known Christ is more to-
the world than all its successful men, because He has al
ways been and to-day the most tremendous moral pow
snd influence the world has known Not success
the world esteems it. but success before which that OF
the worlds great fades into nothing Said Napoleon
Bonaparte occasion: "Alexander, Caesar, Char
lemagne and myself founded great empires. but upon
what did the creations of genius depend? Upon force
Jesus alone founded His empire upon love and to-day mill
ions would die for him. esus Christ then did not come
down from the cross He did accept the worlds offer
become one of its successful But He did achieve
success He does exercise influence and power COM
parson with which what the world recognizes
nothing
But once again, what is the secret of this influence
that Christ exercises Lacking everything that the world
considers essential to success, why does His lite and
memory transcend that of any other man, that OF all
other men have said the OF Christ is not
in art or sceuce any department of human knowledge
or experience but is in that moral and religious power
which in all the ages, He exercises. What IS the secret
of that moral power which Christ exercises that influence
which He has to-day to make men better, to save them
from their SINS to enable them to lead upright te
How does Christ exercise such power that through all
the ages? Christ exercises moral power, a power to
make men pure and true and upright because He was
Himself moral man; Christ exercises relgous lnhu-
ence influence upon to make them believe IN God
trust God and love Him. because He was Himself re-
gous man. My friends, other explanation is adequate,
no other is possible, other is conceivable. Did you
ever know man to exercise influence for good upon
those around him who not himself good? The ntiu-
then that Christ exercises today the lives OF men
comes from HIMSELF from what He is, His character.
You may ask How does Christ exert this influence,
through what channels? Allow to say then in pass
ing that this power which brought to bear upon the lives
of men comes through the Church, which the Bible de-
cares is Chsts Body the company Of those upon whom
this influence being exerted who not those hen who
have been saved but those the Bible expresses it, who
"are being saved who therefore not perfectly rghte
Gus and holy but becoming being transformed
into the Image of Christ further that this IN
fuenCe upon the lives of through the sacra-
ments the dvnely appointed OF grace and comes
through the gospels the records of the lite OF Christi and
comes through modern civilization, which in its highest
and best phases the product OF the religious lie and
character of Him who hung on the cross