Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-10-12

hannian school became in toto the
school of the NaZarene" Is it not a
blessed thought that If we live for
Christ this side of the grave we may
still continue to live in influence for
Christ after we are dead? John the
Baptist. great before his sacrifice, John
the Baptist. great after he was mar
tyred.
PosthTmous influence.
That posti.- nous influence is mighty
for good or e>il we all know. We have
felt it. In the village where my grand
father lived there labored for many
years a gospel minister. He never
seemed to see any great results from
his ministry. Everybody loved him.
yet few confessed Christ under his
preaching while he was alive. But no
sooner was that good man dead than a
mighty revival of religion sprang up.
My father said that at one communion
800 people confessed Christ in the little
village church. And the remarkable
fact about that revival was that every
one of those new converts traced his
conversion directly to the teachings and
influence of the dead pastor. POSTUM
nous influence. a mighty influence.
Gustavus Adolphus dead at LutZen
more powerful in influence than Gus
tavus Adolphus when alive. John
Wyclif's ashes by the waters of the
Avon were carried into the Severn and
by the Severn into the sea. so by the
stream of death the good mans intiu-
| ence lives ON by being mingled in the
great "sea of humanity" Oh. yes after
death we shall live on. A good infiu-
| ence. like that of John the Baptist.
| shall never. never die.
But, though l honor and extol the no.
| BILE characteristics of this great man.
| there is still another lesson we must
| learn from the verse of my text. Christ
| said. There hath not risen greater
| than John the Baptist" Oh. yes. that
| was true as far as it went. True, If
you speak in reference to those men
| and women who lived before Jesus was
born. But there is one part of the
verse you must well bear in mind. 1t is
| the last part and goes thus: Yet. not
withstanding this. he that is least in
| the kingdom of heaven is greater than
| he" What does that mean? Simply
| this: If you and become part of Jesus
| Christ. if we accept his atonement and
| are cleansed by his blood. we become
in a sense greater, aye. far greater.
| than the greatest man who ever lived
who has not been sanctified by the Saw
| iour's sacrifice.
A Thought Illustrated.
Perhaps | can illustrate the Bible
| thought in simple way. A great wall
| or fortress has to be built. The work
must be pushed. One group of work
| men ascend the scaffolding and lay on
one layer of stone and then go to their
rest. Another group lay another layer
of stone upon the preceding layer and
| then go to their rest. And so the work
upon the wall grows higher and high
| err each group of workmen standing
| upon Il loftier scaffolding than that of
the preceding laborers. Well. the great
wall of progress has been buildtd in
this way. Each generation represents
a batch of wOrAmen. each layer of
stone the completed work of the pre-
ceding generation. The college boy of
today knows more of geography. more
of chemistry. more of astronomy. more
of all the sciences. than the ablest man
living three centuries ago. Why? Be-
cause be has absorbed the compact
knowledge of the last 300 years. which
the great scholars of those three cen
turtles have laid at his feet.
| But as the wall of mental and spir-
itual progress went on growing higher
and higher century after century sud
denly about 1000 years ago spiritually
it took miraculous lift Christs sac
rifice was laid upon the top of it. The
Calvary stones We're the layers of the
year so A. D. Those stones will lift al
succeeding generations higher in knowl
edge and in possibilities. higher THAI
all sin and higher than all future con
formations. l once heard a worldly
/ man say: THE best man that ever
lived never went to heaven on his own
merits If We ever reach the city OF
the redeemed. it must be through what
Christ has done for us and not through
what we have done for ourselves
| ms statement contains the kerUel. LIE
essence. the heart of all the gospel
John the Baptist in his own life great:
Yes! "Yet. Notwithstanding. he that is
least in the kingdom of heaven is great
er than he"
Now. my friends. from q world!
standpoint it is almost impossible te
compare the influences of different
lives and to positively find out which
one is the greater. Who has done the
most for his country. Washington OIL
Lincoln?" who was the father of the
most brains John Adams or Lyman
Beecher?' (which was the greater
Cesar or Napoleon?" are themes thai
will always be argued resultlessly. But
though we cannot tell who is the great
er in worldly sense. we do know thai
I'm spiritual sense no one can be grea
save through Christ's blood. Today
would see a royal robe placed abou