Democratic messenger., 1902-05-24
PILATES QUESTION.
Sunday Discourse by DR.. Chapman. the
Noted tor.EvangeIist.
Lessons Drawn From His Failure to Seize
SaIyation-Refused TO Enter the
Kingdom Of Cod

Is one prepared Tor publication by the Rev.
j. Wilbur Chapman. Americas best-known
evangelist, who is now preaching to over
flowing congregations in this city. 1t is en-.
titled Pilates Question" and is founded
on the text. Matt. xvii. %: What shall
do then with Jesus which is called Christi"
1t would not Re possible for rs either TO
understand or appreciate this passage OF
Scripture without studying that which i'm
metiately precedes Ii, and likewise that
which follows. Next TO Jesus Himself the
important character or the scene is Plate,
who asked the above question.
One never thinks of him without a shud-
der, because h. Is one Of the men who
came so very near to entering the kingdom
of God, and yet, after all. niserabiy :ailed
He came very near taking his place with
Joseph OF Arima.haea and with Nicode-
mus. Ii, when lie Enew that Jesus was
the Son of God. he had barred his own
back TO the smiters, or had gone himself
to be crucitied, there would have been no
name in the early history OF the church
to outsh:ne his. BUT instead OF being in
the presence Of God to--ay, he Is undoubt-
edly in the lost world.
When Jest passed by the cross and
went through the tomb of Joseph of -Ari-
mathaea, and made His way to the place
of ascension, not far from Bethany, and
left His wondering disciples, He took with
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 II N His body. But
there was one thing He left; when hang
ing on the cross. from His head, His hands,
His feet and His broken heart the blood
came trickling 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
ThuN A@1 =, hAsh fhn
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
of Letters From He'll" and having an in
PRODUCTION by George Macdonald. the cele:
brated Scotch preacher. there is a story of
Eilate in the lost world stopping down to
wash his hands in 7 running stream. He
keeps on, il would seem, almost :or 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 .hey leave the water.
he cries out with a shrek, which echoes
and re-echoes throughout the world of the
lost:
"Will they never be clean. Will they
never be c.ean,"
= 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 We Him; and cruelty Him, for l
find no fault in Him."
He is still washing his hands to-day, but
in vain.
There are special ways of treating texts
OF Scripture, one of the easiest of which is
to take certain words in the verse and en-
phasize them, and make each word define
the outline of the sermon. NY text can be
treated il this way, and the first word to
emDhaelz. world ha
WHAT"
Reading the text with this in mind we
Ind IL saying:
What shall do then with Jesus:"
The inference is we must do something.
We e2n not be indifferent. The man who
ssys that he will not accept Christ, neither
vii he reject Him, has rejected Him In
the very position he takes. There IS no
middle ground in this matter. We are
either for Christ or against Him, and We
mus, decide which position it shall be.
4 The next words to emphasize would be
SHALL / DO"
me particular part OF the expression
that IS emphatic is The per sonal pronoun
Religion is very personal matter, and
Judgment will be, too. There is 10 one
those. eyes shall light rpon this printed
ord but who shall one day be called to
account for his rejection of the Son OF
ID If he fails to acknowledge Him before
n. Rlch and poor, high and low, wise
ignorant, for all comes the QUESTION,
hat shallI ldo:"
sSGe:t emphatic word would be
"TIEN.'
ight be rsed in two ways. We have
a choice between two things, and
.cosing one then it naturally follows that
&c must do something with the other. 1t
is easy to understand that choosing one
implies the rejection OF the other. But it
might also be taken as a word describing
some future slime and / would like to have
it mean, ~ hat Ahall do in the day OF
Judgment with jesus Christ!" When the
moon shall be turhed into blood and the
sun shall be black as the sackcloth OF hair,
when the ''elemenas shall melt with the
fervent heat" w bat shall do them"
In the sixth chapter of Revelation we read
that in the last day lmen 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 thronel and from the wrath
OF the Lamb for the great day of His
wrath Is come and who shall be able to
staEd:" But in the closing part OF Reve.
latIon we are tod that there will be no
rocks and no hills TO fall upon the lost and
shut out the vision OF tine face OF the Son
of God, and they must see Him whether
they viii or not, Him whom they have re.
jected, Hum from whom they have deiiber.
a.eiy turned away.
ne next eupud TIC NOTu Is tue udlIr
Jesus. What shall / DO then
WITH JESUS?"
That was His etrthly name, and de
scribed HIS earthly hte 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 sacrificial death
upon the cross. To pay the penalty of sin
His life was given up. and if we fail to ac
ceot Him as person n Saviour. we deib
erately take our stand with those who
have nailed Him 70 the cross. When we
stand before God we shall be called to an
account for tn chiefest of all sins For
to reject the Son OF Cod is TO cruelty Him
afresh
The last word to emphasize would be
His anointed name which is
CHRIST"
IS Christ He stands 1T the right hand
OF God. our Mediator and Advocate For
fear that some one shoald say. IF should
become Christian. | could not hold out"
God seems to sweep away every false argu.
rent and false hope when He tells us thai
after we have accepted Him as Jesus, He
becomes Christ for US, ard 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 n proper one TO grow out
of this text. The Rev r. A. Torrey has
made the suggestion that there are certain