The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-03-31
The Rev. Joshua StansfeId Heard in
the Morning at Meridian
Street Church.
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN PULPIT
1T Is FILLED BY THE PASTOR, REV.
ALLAN b. P~HILPUTT.
Rev. c. c. Bacon's Sermon at Roberts
Park and Rev. T.. j. yiIlers
at First Baptist.

ridian-street NJ. z. Church. delivered his
morning sermon yesterday on Now is
Christ Risen from the Dead" His text
was: LII power is given unto me in heav-
en- and in the earth; therefore go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel to every
creature" He said in part:
ION this high and holy day-joyous, glad,
tri~umphant-when heaven rings with hal
lelujah TO our Christ, and the church uni
when the light Of Immortality scatters for
ever the darkness of death and the tomb;
surely on this greatest day of the Christian
year We may well sing:
Hail, Savior. Prince of peacel
Thy kingdom shall increase,
Till all the world Thy truth shall see.
And righteousness abound,
AS the great deep profound,
And fill the earth with purity
ION this glad Easter morning, then. l ask
your thought TO one of the sublimest doc
trines Of our Christian faith, the resurrec-
ton Of our Lord; and in so doing we shall
seek 10 deal clearly and closely with, first,
the historic fact; second, the doctrinal
truth, and, third, the ethics, or outgrowing
duties, First. as TO the historic fact of
the resurrection of Jesus; we submit the
antecedent facts Of His death and burial
were attested by the satisfied hatred of the
Jews. They delivered Him TO be crucified.'
Second, the observations of the Roman sol
diers; for sitting down they watched Him
there and again, when they came to Jesus
they brake not His legs for He was dead
already Third, the burial of Jesus was
also fully attested by Nicodemus, Joseph
Of Arimathea, the disciples, the women;
and fourth, the resurrection was attested
by the angel, the women. the disciples and
the five hundred brethren, by whom, as
Paul afirms, He was seen at one time
Indeed such was the overwhelming convic-
ton of the disciples upon this matter that
the resurrection of Jesus became the bur-
den Of their testimony, the basis of their
hopes, and the inspiration of their activi-
ties. Henceforth, for them, it is not the
Jesus who was, but the Christ who is. He
was dead: He died for their offenses; He
was raised again for their Justification
and He is alive for evermore.' So that
angels and men, earth and heaven, enemies,
friends and d~ispicles all witness to the in
disputable fact Of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
second. the resurrection of our Lord
gives TO the believer a deep and abiding as
surance of human redemption by Him.
The Lord hath hereby given us assurance
IN that he hath raised HIM from ane dead
All that Christ claimed TO be, all He came
TO accomplish. the sacrifice. He came to
make for the worlds saving; all are at
tested by His resurrection from the dead.
A PERSONAL RESURRECTION.
1.-The resurrection of Christ gives assur-
ance Of a personal resurrection for our
selves and our beloved dead. Now is
Christ risen from the dead and become the
first fruits of them that slept o the joy
of this truth How it's light pierces the
darkness and gloom of an otherwise hope
less loss. Have you ever tried to think
what no resurrection would mean? The
greatest minds. the largest hearts. the fin
est natures cut off and ended by an acct
dent, or some other less startling event OF
life. Sometimes the greatest dying inglori-
ously, as Lincoln. Garfield, Mckinley, and
even Jesus himself. And are we to think
for a moment that the mind and heart of
a Gladstone, a Livingstone, a Lincoln, a
Wilberforce, a Wesley, aye, or your own
dear boy so full OF promise and of powers:
to think that these lives are to be ruth
lessly ended by an incident called death.
These great intellects. fine natures. stout
hearts, to be put in a box and buried for
ever. while their words and deeds are TO
continue, the text of nODlest u~tteranc6s
and orations. and the inspiration TO thou
sands of lives. Is the thought bigger than
the thinker? The deed larger than the
doer? These TO live and he to die! Never
surely, never. The resurrection of Jesus
gives assurance that it is impossible for
goodness TO perish. It was not possible
that He should be holden of death. Surely
not! There was too much in Him and of
He should be holden of death
The resurrection gives the fullest declar-
alton of the divine law of life, that to will
ingly suffer, do and give for others is the
sure entrance TO glory now and forever.
Thus IL behooved Christ to suffer and TO
enter into His glory, As with a corn of
MlltdN= EACCpN IL q INV NuC kIOuIu
and die, it abideth alone: but If it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit 1t is thus and
thus only that life is productive of highest
good.
LET us notice the ethics, or outgrowing
duties of this great doctrine of the resur-
%rection. for every doctrine has its ethical
import, and 10 eschew that is to strangle
the doctrine.
Doctrine is not alone for contemplation.
but for conduct; its outlook always height
ems the obligations of life. Hear. then. the
SllhlimR ethics of this great Easter dOp-
trine: If we then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where
Let your mind and heart and activities
tend and strain to the high, nay to the
highest in life, even to where Christ sit
teth at the right hand of Cod that is,
set your affections and efforts for all that
Christ stands for as exalted 10 the now
place of power.
TT was in view of this power given Him
that He said. after His resurrection: All
power is given TO me in heaven and in
earth; go We therefore and teach all ma
tons All! that is the great truth of His
resurrection glory, that the power TO winch
He rises He pours out upon His people and
vests in His body of personal believers.
which is the church. as Peter forcefully de-
clared in his Pentecost sermon: There
fore, being by the right hand of God ex-
allied. and having received of the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost. He hath
shed forth this which we see and hear
The power of Christ. now as ever. is for
the propagation of His kingdom in the
earth, by the allegiance ana loyalty OF the
church, which is His body. Hear Him as
He says: A 1 was in the world so are
we in the world and again. Greater things
than these shall We do. because I go to the
Father Hence the three great words OF
our text to-day: Now is Christ RISEN
therefore be We steadfast,' and All power
is given to me in heaven and in EARTH
therefore. go We and teach all nations
He died TO save all. His heart yearns
for all. His gospel is to be preached TO
all. His power is 10 be put forth for all.
Jesus Christ. the same yesterday, to-day
and forever knows nothing of caste or
class or family or national or racial bar
riers or boundaries. All are redeemed; all
may be saved; all should be reached. and
all need Him and His salvation; and with
out doubt the three greatest words OF our
risen Lord to His church are Now, there
fore, go and preach the gospel TO all"