The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1901-02-04

[ContInued from FIrst Pagel.

mtnt, out Is phsotu lIOin uedt
unto life" Faith and love ca
give this statement in proof tina
the believer will not stand to b
judged at the great "white throne.
Too many are taken up with wha
they believe or how they believe
Faith and doctrine are both es
sential for instruction and peacl
of mind, but let us lay hold of {
person, viz, whom l have be-
lieved. III Tim. j, II.
AT the Methodist church Rev. c.
L. Browning delivered another most
excellent sermon.
TEXT--"Jesus answered and said
unto them, Go and show John again
those things which ye do hear and see.
The blind receive their sight, and the
lame walk the lepers are cleaLsed,
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised
up, and the poor have the gospel
preached unto them. And blessed Is
he, whosoeyer is not offended Ia me-
Matt. l1:4-6.
The text is the answer which Christ
gave to the messengers sent from
John to inquire If Jesus were the
Christ. AT first thought the text
would point to John as changable
man in his faith, since before this
time he had pointed out Jesus as "the
Lamb Of God who taketh away the
sin of the worldn; had seen the descent
OF the spirit upon Him, and had heard
the voice from heaven declare, This
is my beloved Son in whom l am well |
pleased" Now, after all these testi.
monies and proofs Of His divinity, how
John can become unsettled in his |
mind and send this deputation to en-
quire into the divinity Of the Lord,
has been a puzzle to many. John,
however, held the opinion OF the
kingdom OF Christ in common with
5he Jews; Wis, that it would be a tenn
Doral kingdom Of force. Looking at
ihe kingdom Of Christ from this point
'f view, it is very reasonable to sup
)ose that John, who for many months
lad been in prison for the sake of the
ight, would become discouraged be-
ause Christ, whose fore runner he
Pas, would permit him TO suffer long
r. If he is the Christ, and ii he
as come to set upa temporal king ,
ON of righteousness, and that by
1rce, why does he permit me to re- S
lain In this prison any longer-why
oes he not drive Herod from the
nrone: rout the enemies of the Jews,
establish the temporal kingdom Of :
avid, tear down these old prison
alls and set me free?n
Chrst's answer was meant to teach II
le true nature Of the Kingdom of =
cd, aud also to designate the things y
hich are the highest proof of his p
vinity. The following lessons may a
gathered from the text: u
l. Christianity is not indicated by >,
ords. Christ did not argue with the 9
essengers. He did not profess to
me down from heaven at this time
d offer this as proof OF His diyin-
2. He did not mention the iIlma-
late conception, the annunciation, a
e visit OF wise men from the East, a
e star of Bethlehem, nor even the h
scent OF the Spirit in the form of Il
We and the heavenly voice which ta
an had already witnessed. He did sc
t ask the messengers to wait till al
could preach them a sermon or to m
ite down an argument in proof Of Pl
divinity. 81 g
I. Christianity is not yindicated by D
yanized churches. He referred to m
creed, TO no system OF philosophy, N
no organized rules Of living. These CT
y be necessary in the expression o. w
rlstianity, but can never be a proof 81, 81
It's divinity.
This defines the mission Of the We
ristian church. Kindness and pr
pfulness 10 the worlds afflicted in ca
hysical way is one mark Of the di- on
e mission of the church. The me n
t way TO reach the hungry is TO Dr.
10 them with the gospel in one sic
-