The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-11-06
SERMON FOR SUNDAY
DISCOURSE ON "THs GROUND
OF CHRISTIAN CERTAINTY"

A"' rev Reginald John Campbell Tells
~ Beautiful Language Of the Assur.
anees Of Divine Mercy which Buoy
she Hearts OF Bollevora.
OCEAN Grove. n. J.-Ne rly 10000 peo.
p'e hlled The Auditorium here Sunday
morning go listen 20 the Rev Reginald
""he campbell, pastor of tine City Iem'
Pc London. Ills subject was The Ground
o.. Christian Certainty" He said.
ly tcs,. on rather. my two texts, win be
found, one iA thc third chapter and four.
ttehth verse and The other in the fourth
chapter and nineteenth verse of the First
IplsLe OK ~ John: we know that we
nave passed from death unto life because
we love the brethren. He that loveth not
nls brother ahldeth for death" 1--WE love
lin because He first loved us"
fhe thought Is not one Of simple graft
VIDE The text teaches ms hat the power
= ~ airing comes from the fact that God Is
I've. The writer Of the fourth gospel,
FhethT he was or was not the Apostle
JomF was probcolv one of the greatest
theologlans that ever lived, because his
spiritual insight Is so pro. 'und. and the
l9WardneSs OF his master mind 80 COM
pete; The writer Of the Fourth Gospel is
plainly the writer of these epistles. lie
was undoubtedly John the Divine. lie
never refers 10 himself by name, but only
as the disciple whom Jesus loved. None of
us would be willing to spare out of our
CHRISTIAN experience the fourteenth chap
"A OF 81. John. In this the disciple sets
18th what we believe to be the profound
a st and most beautiful truth concerning
the relationship of the sanctiied soul to
the Redeemer. What a beautiful phrase
ls this The disciple whom Jesus loved"
This man OF wonderf. ability. who re-
members all that Jesus SAID and writes it
down for our benefit. BY that he did not
mean that he was the only disciple whom
Jesus loved, but he meant to say that he
got his own spiritual experience from the
same foundation that we get ours.
There are signs in the New Testament
that the disciple whom Jesus loved was at
p zone time a passionate, ambitious ma a..
Mark that occasion when James and John
8were called the Sons of Thunder: when
they came to Christ and said Master,
snail we command fire to come down from
heaven and consume these adversaries;
yours and ours" And Christ replied,
I'VE know not yet what spirit We are Of"
Again, the mother of James and John
comes to the Master and says, Master,
grant that these. my two sons. may sit the
one on Thy right hand and the other on
Thy left, when Thou CONTEST into Thy
kingdom" She thought, and they thought,
and they all thought that the kingdom
was to be an earthly one; that Christ was
to grasp the sCeptre of the Caesars and
rule over the world, and that those who
stood nearest Him would occupy the
places of greatest honor in His kingdom.
Without rebuking them the Master turned
to the two men and said: Are you able
+. drink of the cup whereof l shall drink
and to be baptized with the baptism
whereof / am baptized" And they an.
swered eagerly and with confidence, 1--WE
are" Then said the Master, "Ye shallin.
5 deed drink Of NJ cup, and be baptized
with the. baptism whereof l am baptized
The other disciples were mucn displeaseC
" with James and John. Thy could have
n spared themselves the trouble The Master
n knew at once-coming as a Master Of the
M truth He very well knew-What was in
their hearts. The one was seeking the
crown that was corruptible, and that fad
eth away; the other was to live in history
as the apostle of love. What a long way
John must have Travelled before this pas
sionate, ambitious man was able to de
serve this title, "the Apostle of Love
John gave the greater part of his younS
life TO the preaching of the gospel of love
Toward the close of that long and wonder
fuE career the beloved disciple was carried
OBe Sunday morning to the congregation o
the faithful 1t was his last appearance
at aay earthly gathering. His partinj
benediction to tie little flock comes dowI
to IS through the history of the ages
Little children love one another"
We know that often the words of ou
text were on the lips of the Apostle John
eve know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love tn
brethren" And again, the higher exper
A2ce which makes possible the other, "w
e the brethren because Christ frs
nVed us"
This is not the only experience Of tn
kind. Some of you might be inclined t.
say: "Ihis is all well enough in its plac
to talk about the Apostle John as bein
the anostle of love" But we are not John
There are some other people who deserv
the title. What about Peter, the impu
size fisherman? Peter was undoubtedl
impplsiye and selfish and not without hi
ambition, too. Listen to the conversation
in 8he upper room. after the Master ha
performed the foot washing He begins t
prepare His disciples for His coming in
He says: eye shall all be confounded bC
cause of Me this night" And Peter II
plies: Though all should betray Thee
yet will not l." What he meant to sa
was this "You have made a great deal c
this man, who is allowed to lie on You
breast Perhaps if a crisis came he Nigh
not be as much use as | would. If thes
should betray Thee, yet will not /" TIL
time came when John admitted Peter
Nptes hall. John stood silently b!
N perhaps to die for his Master. Pete
8n1dlng somewhere in terror because
Jews and Christ was dying. And the
r the resurrection Christ came to hil
I'm secret. Peter wept out his penitenc
and the Master lifted him up again. ThrJ
Il times he was asked, "SimOn, Simon, so
of Jonas, lowest thou Me?" Peter al
swered, Lord, Thou knowest that lo1
Thee" The last time grieved because
the question, he replied, with deep EN-
tion} expressive only of the love in h
heart >"Lord, Thou knowest all thing
Thou l,nowest that love Thee" Vine
VIC ciuen to this fshernan the arm