The herald., 1898-11-14
A Question
Answered

Christ he sent by his disciples and said
unto him, art thou he that should come
or look we for another! And Jesus an
swered and said, go your way and tell
John the things which We do hear and see;
the blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk, and the lepers are ceansed, and the
deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the
poor have good tidings preached unto them"
John had his doubts about Jesus because
be was not the kind of a Christ John was
expecting. Our preconceived theories are al
ways getting us into trouble. There is a
specious iniallibility about our own notions
that often render us impervious to the truth.
Ignorance does not checkmate the spirit
of wisdom half so much as does blind con-
tldence INCUR own conclusions.
John was thrown into Jail because he
dared to speak the truth about prominent
politician, and his disciples brought him re-
ports about the things Jesus was saying
and doing. He had looked upon the grow
ing popularity of Jesus with great souled
JOY, even when it meant his own diminish
ing influence. Jesus was not the kind of
Christ John had been looking for He
seemed to have no ambition whatever to OBJ
tain control OF affairs in Judea, nor would
he even let men call him the Christ In
stead of putting himself forward, this man
was timidly shrinking from the public.
Johns view point was theological. "Are
thou the Saviour Jesus would not allow
that question to enter into the discussion
The main point with us all is not whether
we accept Jesus as the fulfller of ancient
prophecy, whether we believe this or that
about his person or word, whether we re-
gard him as person in the trinity or not,
but the main question is whether the atti-
tude of Jesus toward men and human life
appeals to us; whether the spirit he showed
Is the spirit we want for Use now; whether
the aims and purposes of his life are those
we would pursue. We see how the reply of
Jesus throws the whole question of Chris
tlanlty out of the nature of dogmatical the
ology and makes it rest wholly on practical
ethics and helpful service in the world.
What availeth it whether man be bap-
tized with a few drops of water or with
flood if his business, his home, his pursuits
and his ideas be not baptized with true right
eousness, purity and truth?
1t is of small moment what man believes
about Jesus as to his personality or divinity,
or history or atonement. 1t is of supreme
moment whether that which was in Jesus
is the spirit of the man. Jesus approves
himself by the kind of life he was living and
the kind of spirit he was manifesting. So
the church today must approve itself to the
world less by its discussions, its orthodoxy,
its dogmatics, logic and philosophy than by
its touch on human affairs, its Christly do
ing and being in the midst of the world.
David Walk, in the Church of Christ yes
terday, announced as the subject of his SER
mon, "The All-Con-
Faith and quering Power of
Prayer Ealth and Prayer"
spring of action. Not a wheel of human
progress would be turned were it not for
faith. Not an invention or discovery would
have blessed the world but for faith. There
can be no salvation in any department Of
human interests, either for time or eternity,
without faith. The fathers of our nation be-
leved, therefore they spoke and acted. The
faith of Jesus Christ made him the hero of
the worlds redemption. The argument of
faith is that, with God on the side of cause,
failure is impossible; and with God behind,
and cooperating, doubt is sin. 1t would be
MS righteous and reasonable to question his
omnipotence as to doubt his help; hence the
assurance of victory in the work committed
to his people.
Isaiah tells us that the Assyrian king took
all the fortified cities of Judah, which num-
Der Sennacherib himself gives on the cylin-