Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1902-05-22
PILATES QUESTION.
Sunday Discourse by DR.. Chapman, the
Noted PastOr-Evangelist.
Lessons Drawn From His Failure to Seize
Salvation Refused to Enter the
Kingdom Of God.

on the text Matt. &XNll, u! WIN sinai !
do then with Jesus which is called Christi!
It would not be possible for Us either to-
understand Or appreciate this passage OF
Scripture without studying that W ich i'm
mediately precedes it, and likewise that
which follows. Next to Jesus Himself the
important character on the scene Is Plate,
who asked the above question.
One never thinks of him without shud'
der. because he is one of the men VINO
came so very near to entering the klngdor,
of God, and yet, after all, miiserabiy tailed.
Joseph of Arimathaea and with Nicode.
mrs. If, when he knew that Jesus was
the Son of God, he had barred his own
back TO the smiters, or had gone himself
to be cruciicd, there would have been no
name in the early history of the church
to outshine his. But instead of being in
the presence of God to-aay, he is undoubt-
edly in the lost world
When JEST passed by the cross and
went through the tomb of Joseph of ARR
mathaca, and made His way to the place
of ascension, not far from Bethany, and
left His wondering disciples, He took will,
Him into the skies His hands that had
been pierced, His feet, through which the
nails had torn their way, His side, thrust
through with the spear, and against which
the beloved disciple had leaned; In
word he took with HIM His body. But
there was one thing He left; when hang
His feet and His broken heart the blood
came tricking down, and not only stained
the rocks upon Calvary, but left its mark
upon the world as well, and leaving His
blood there, the world is to-day responsible
for it. That same blood is upon both the
world and men, either for their condemna-
ton or for redemption.
In a remarkable book which came across
the seas some years ago, bearing the title
PRODUCTION by George Macdonald, the ccle.
hrated Scotch preacher. there is a story OF
plate in the lost world STOPPING down to
wash his hands in running stream. lie
keeps on, it would seem, almost for ages,
if time were measured as in this world.
Some one touches him and says;
"Pilate, what are you doing"
Lifting his hands, which become red like
crimson as soon as they leave The water,
he cries out with a shrek, which echoes
and re-cchoes throughout the world of the
lost:
"Nvill they never be clean! Will they
never be cean!'
Poor PLATE! they never will for the
blood of the Son of God is on them for
condemnation forever. He began TO wash
his hands when he said to the angry mob:
Take yc Him. and cruelty Him, for
find no fault in Him"
He is still washing his hands today, but
in vain.
There are special ways of treating texts
of Scripture, one of the easiest of which is
to take certain words i'll the verse and EN-.
phasizc them. and make each word define
he outline of the sermon. My text can he
treated il this way, and the first word to
emphasize would be,
WHAT"
Reading the text with this in mind we
End it saying:
what shall do then with jesus
The inference Is We must do something
We can not be Indifferent. The man who
says that he will not accept Christ, neither
will he reject Him, has rejected Him IN
the very position he takes. There is 10
middle ground in this matter. We are
either for Christ or against Him, and we
must decide which position it shall be.
The next words to emphasize would be
SHALL | Do
The particular part of the expression
that is emphatic is The personal pronoun
81"
Religion is very personal matter, and
judgment viii be, too. There is no one
whose eyes shall light upon this printed
word but who shall one day be called to
an account for his rejection of the Son OF
God if h. fails to acknowledge Him before
men. Rich and poor, high and low, wise
and ignorant, for all comes the question,
What shall | do!'
The ne..t emphatic word would be
"TI EN-"
1t tight be rsed in two ways We have
made choice between two things, and
choosing one then it naturally follows that
We must do something with the other. 1t
-, 10 t,nIaruiln1 that choosing
implies the rejection of the other. But it
might also be taken as a word describing
some future time, and would like to have
it rlean, What shall | do in the day of
Judgment with Jesus Christ" When the
moon shall be turned into blood and the
sun shall be black as the sackcloth of hair,
when the elements shall melt with the
fervent hcat"-"What shall | do them"
In the sixth chapter of Revelation we read
that i'll the last day men shall cry out and
say to the rocks and hills: Fall on us,
and hide us from the face of Him that sit
teth upon the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb: for the great day of His
wrath is come. and who shall be able to
stand?' But in the closing part of Reve
lation we are told that there will be no
rocks and no hills to fall upon the lost and
shut out the vision of the face of the Son
of God, and they must see Him whether
luty VIII VI lol, Illti NItnl lHty HdNt IL
jected Him from whom they have deliber
a,eiy turned away.
The next emphatic word is the name
Jesus. What shall ] do then
WITH JESUS"
That was His earthly name, and de-
scribed His earthly life. Thou shalt call
His name Jesus, for He shall save His peo
PIE from their sins" and His earthly life
came to its climax in His sacriticial death
tlN T. tla ,,n1t .,,,,
His life was given up. and if we fail to ac
cept Him as a personal Saviour, we delib
erately take our stand with those who
have nailed Him to the cross. When we
stand before God we shall be called to an
account for th') choicest of all sins. For
to reject the Son of God is to cruelty Him
afresh.
The last word to emphasize would be
Ills anointed name, which is
CHRIST"
AS Christ He stands at the right hand
of God, our Mediator and Advocate. For
fear that some one should say, "If should
become a Christian, | could not hold out"
Cod seems to sweep away every false argu-
ment and false hope when He tells us that
after we have accepted Him as Jesus, He
becomes Christ for lis, and takes His stand
at Gods right hand, pleading for us in our
weakness, and ever bringing to Gods re-
membrance His atoning DEATH that our
many sins may be washed away and for
gotten.
But another outline has also been sug-
gested as being a proper one to grow out
of this text. The Rev r. A. Torrey has
made the suggestion that there are certain
things that naturally depend upon what
we do with Jesus. Of these 1 make brief
mention.
]. Our acceptance before God depends
upon what we do with Jesus. "He that
beieveth on Him is not condemned, but
he that believeth not is condemned al
ready, because he hath not believed in the
Mame of the only, begotten Son of Cod.
John iii: Is.
Ii we accept Jesus, God accepts us. IL
we reject Jesus God rejects us. These are
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