The Newtown bee., 1899-04-14

how say some among you that there - 10
resurrection OF the dead: But thtre Is no
resuI reCliOn OF The dead neither hath Christ
been raised, and II Christ hath not been rails
ed, thGn is our preaching vain, your ihlth
also Is vain. Yea, ana we are found false
witnCssos of God, because we Witnessed OF
God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised
not up, II SO be- that the dead are not raised.
For II the dead are not raised neither hAth
Christ been raised, and If nJ LIST hath not been
raised your faith Is vain, 30 are Yet In your
sins Then they also that are fallen asleep in
Christ have PEI lsheu. II in this lie only we
have hoped In Christ, we are OF all men most
pitiabIe. But now ha' h Christ been raised
IRON the dead, the first fruits OF them that
are asleep. For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection OF The
dead. For ~ in Adam all die, so also in
Christ shall all be made alive"
In this chapter, the apostle is treating
OF the great doctrine OF the resurrection
of the dead. Not only of Christ, but OF
all the dead, both saint and sinner, as
seems clear in verses II and u. "FOr
since by man came death, by man came
also the resurrection Of the dead. For
as in Adam all die, so also In Christ
shall all be made alive" But it is plain
from the apostles argument, that "aIl
are made alive" because Christ was
made alive. Hence my purpose at this
time, is to speak only of the resurrection
of Christ, and it's relation to the truth
and power OF Christianity. This is the
vital doctrine for the whole fabric Of
Christian religion stands or falls with
tho truth or falsely of this doctrine of
the resurrection OF Jesus Christ, it's
author and founder.
II Christ be not raised from the dead,
that is the end of all argument. That
atonement for sins was needful, in the
form of vicarious sacrifice In the be-
half OF the sinner, Is true, we believe,
but atonement is not enough. II that
alone had been sufficient, 1t seems to me,
the law was adequate for the work of
the salvation Of men, without the gOs-
pei. But that 1t was not, is made PLAIN,
again and again, in the New Testament
Scriptures, as well as more than limited
at in the Old Testament.
SALVATION Is OF FAITH.
Faith presupposes something to believe,
and that the something Ia not fable, a
chimera of = fanCiful mind, but a reli-
able fact resting on solid and sure
foundation. Not an idea, a theory, but
a tangible substance. Hence, we find
that the doctrine of the forgiveness of
sin and the salvation of the soul, through
faith, IA dOctine of Itself fundamental
rests on foundation firm as the exts-
tence and power of Jehovah Himself and
therefore the vital truth of all ethical
hope; or upon foundation as unreliable
"a the shifting quick-sands and there
fore utter destruction of any and all
hope and light beyond the present feet
ing moment. / believe the former to be
the true condition, and offer at this time
several reasons for my confidence in
this respect.
/. The fact. Did Christ rise from the
dead, or is the statement an impO itI0n
no nANglF 4
Either Christ did not rise from the dead.
or He did rise from the dead. There Is
no neutral position here. Clearly we
must stand on one side or the other of
this great, grand assertion of the apostle.
What are the proofs that he did not rise
from the dead? l. As we look as close
ly as we can into the history of the more
than $50 generations of men that pre-
coded Christ, we find on this subject
only one vast, long, awful, dark blank.
Not CLEAN of light penetrates the aw-
ful depth OF this thick darkness. Thorn.
as felt this when the disciples tried in
vain to convince him that the dearly
loved Master was actually risen from the
dead. He doubtless thought OF the sad
wondering wall Of the Seer OF Uz as he
cried, "If man die shall he live again ?"
What other leader of men had ever brok-
en- the bands of death? Look back even
to the very beginning and of those whose
years were numbered by centuries, 1t
was at last written of each, tAnd he
died." But never, not even OF Abraham,
the friend of God; or Jacob, the soldier
OF and prevailer with God; or Moses,
the mighty leader and law River chosen
by God; or Joshua, the great captain APP
pointed by God; or OF David, the man
after Gods own heart. OF none of these
WORTHLESS Of old, of scores and hundreds
OF other noble, grand and true, prophets,
prists and kings, was there to be found
one who, after having suecumbed to the
great destroyer, was able to conquer
him In his own domain, throw off his
power and return to this world and live
again. 2. The claim made by the Elders
and stated BY the guard and propogated
by the Pharisees, that the disciples OF
Christ came by night, while the guard
slept, and stole the body from the tomb,
and taking IL away, told the credul0us
among His followers that Christ wa