The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-02
REV. r.. VAN DEVENTER'S SERMONS.
Preached at the Duffy Street Bnp-
fist Church.

Rev Robert Van Deventer preached at
the Duffy Street Baptist Church yester-
day at both morning and night services.
Last night his text was from John, II:
THE same came for a witness, to bear
witness of the Light, that all men through
Him might believe"
Rev. Mr. Van Deventer discussed first
the atonement through the blood of
Christ, dwelling on the necessity and eff
fcacy of such an atonement and quoting
the many passages of the Bible to Illus
trate his thought. The blood of Christ
cleanseth from all sing, must not be taken
literally, he said, but in the sense that
the blood represents the life. Ii was by
the shedding of this precious blood, So
called by God, Himself, that the life of
the Christian church had been purchas-
ed, and was the greatest price that had
ever been paid. Continuing his analysis
of his subject, he said thar the blood of
Jesus Christ was precious because it was
pure. All knowledge is comparative, and
ideas of value, beauty and purity must
necessarily be comparative also. The
purity of Virgil can only be appreciated
by comparing him to Ovid. and physical
beauty would not be beauty We're there
not deformty with which it can be plac-
ed in contrast
1t is hard for one who leads the sordid
sinful life of the world to realize how
pure was the life of the Son of God. One
can begin to realize it when remembering
the word of God 81 gave the precious
blood Of mine only begotten Son" Other
blood has been shed, the martyrs at
Smithfeld, and in Rome, and patriots
fighting for their country in just cause
but none has ever been shed like that on
Calvary, when Christ gave up his pre-
cious life.
Gods love for the world is expressed in
the fact that he gave TO it His son, the
greatest gift possible, and the gift of all
Others most necessary and precious to
man. To ask why the plan Of redemption
through the blood of Christ was necessary
and why some other means of saving a
sinful world would not have been used
is to question the WISDOM power, mercy,
and love of God, which as a mighty pow
or is behind the whole scheme of atone
ment. 1t is sufficient to know that Christ
realized the necessity Of it, and made the
sacrifice.
Continuing. Mr. Van Deventer said that
the time is assuredly coming when every
heart should know Jesus, 1t were impiety
10 doubt it, for Christ having come into
the world TO save sinners had said on the
cross, FATHER | have finished the work
Thou hast given me to do"
II was not simply TO save sinners that
Christ made the atonement, however. far
his act was rendered necessary that The
divine government might be upheld. Ju.-
tice demanded that the wicked should he
punished, but Gods love plead for their
forgiveness. 1t was by Christ taking the
burden of the sin OF the world upon him
self that the chasm between man and God
was bridged, and II made possible for sin
ners TO reach God through jesus Christ.
There is a necessity for this ntonement
Tor no one goes 10 heaven because limo
cent. but through atonement only. II IA
an error TO think that the soul Of one teo
young TO have sinned reaches heahen
through Ms blamelessness, it does so o ly
through the atonement that has already
been made, man may live TO ~ as old
as Methuselah and never commit nsn
and yet unless he believe on Jesus Christ