The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-20

sociates. Perhaps the young man who is
standing behind the same counter with
you in the store Is an infidel; perhaps
some of your classmates at school or in
college are out and out scoffers against
the word Of Cod perhaps your own faith
er and brothers are unbelievers and every
day your faith in Jesus Christ is made
an object of ridicule; perhaps, what is
worst of all, you find that you are mar
ried to a man who never neglects an OPP
portunity to ridicule your Bible. You
have found out also that your husband is
having a pernicious and spiritually de-
stroying influence over your children.
What are you going to do-leave these
evil associates? Sometimes such course
Is possible; sometime Is not 1t evident
" was not possible for the ancient saints
to have left Caear's palace, else they
would have done so. 1t is most natural
to suppose that those saints would have
instantly fled from the Roman capital
during the time of Nero's persecution If
they could have run away with honor
and self respect. But in all probability
most of those saints said to themselves
something like this: NO / cannot, will
not, goi 1t would be cowardly for me
to desert my Lord and Master. l will
stay here and keep on testifying for
Christ, If need be- until my body is burn
ed at the stake or eaten by the wild
beasts in one OF the arenas. And stay In
Rome these saints did. and die a martyr
death most of them did. So 1t may be
your Christian duty to keep on living for
Christ and testfying of his love in
place of persecution and among compan-
ions who make Christ an object Of daily
ridicule, as did the prosecuted young Ro-
man officer whose epitaph can still be
read in one of the Roman cemeteries in
these words: HE lived long enough to
shed his blood for Christ"
Now, want you, my Christian friends,
you who are experiencing these daily per-
secutions, to fully realize that not one
drop of blood which fell from the Chris
tian martyrs of Caesars ancient palace
was ever shed in vain. From those per-
secutions the great influence OF the church
of Jesus Christ was started From those
prosecutions were lighted the gospel
torches which are today shedding their
glorious rays all round the world. From
those prosecutions came not so much
Paul's death and the death of the saints
in Caesars palace as the eternal life OF
millions upon millions of immortal souls.
So II you, o prosecuted Christian, only
keep true to the gospel faith in the diff
cult places where you are stationed you
may not only win your father and moth
er and husbands children for God but you
may win thousands upon thousands of
immortal souls for Christ-beings whose
names you have never read and whose
glowing faces perhaps you shall never see
until you look upon them among the re-
deemed before the great white throne.
Familiar Faces In Caesars Palace.
So, repeat, this glorious text brings the
salutation of the saints In Caesars pal
ace to the rich and the poor, the high and
the low the old and the young alike. 1t
brings its salutations to the rich and the
great men. There were many great men
and women in Caesars household who
were without doubt members of the
household of faith. Neros household. in
tellectually and financially. was the noted
court of its day. And some of the saints
in Caesars palace must have been num-
bered among the princes and princesses
of the realm and among the great COM
manders of the Roman legion, the cabinet
lfficials and the members of the privy
council. So we find today, among the
great and the famous of the earth, there