Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-10-03
CHRISTIAN CERTAINTY"
A Brilliant Sunday Sermon by Rev. Regi
maid J. Campbell
Tells ia Beautiful Language Of the Assur'
auce of Dcvine. Mercy Which Buoy
the Hearts of Believers.

|
OCEAN GROVE. y. J.--Ne r,y 10000 peo-
pie filled the Auditorium here Sunday
morning to listen to the Rev. Reginald
John Campbell, pastor OF tine City, lem,
| pie, London. His subject was The Ground
Of Christian Certainty" He said: .,,
-1y. text, or rather. my two texts, VIII be
| found, one in the third chapter and four
teenth verse and the other in the fourth
! Episte of st. John: I'VE know that we
have passed from death unto life, because
We love the brethren. He that loveth not
his brother abileth for DEATH eve love
Him because He first loved u.s."
The thought is not one of simple graft
OF loving comes from the fact that God is
love. The writer Of the fourth gospel,
| whether he WAS or was not the Apostle
John, was probably one of the greatest
thco'ogians that ever lived. because his
spiritual insight is SO pro. und. and the
| inwardness of his master mind so COM
! pete. Tie writer Of the Fourth Gospel is
! plainly the writer OF these epist.es. He
was undoubtedly John the Divine. He
never refers to himself by name, bat only
as the disciple whom Jesus loved. None of
us would be willing to SPARE out of our|
Christian experience the fourteenth, chap-|
fer Of ST. John. In this the disciple SETS
forth what we believe to he the profound-|
est and most beautiful truth conccrning
| the relationship OF the sarctified soul tOl
| the Rcdeanier. What a beautiful phrase
is this: "The discnle whom Jesus loved. J
! This man OF wonderful ability. who rel
members all that Jesus said and writes il
down for orr benefit. BY that he did no
mean that he was the only disciple who1
| Jesus loved. but he meant to say. that h,
! got his own spiritual experience from ting
same foundation that we get ours: \
There are signs in the New Testament
that the disciple whom Jesus loved was r.
one time a passionate, ambitious nIe
Mark that occasion when James and John
were called the Sons OF Thunder: when
they came to Christ and said Master,
shall we command fire to come down from
heaven and consume these adversaries:
yours and ours" And Christ replidd,
''Ye know not vet what spirit We are Of"
Again. the mother of James and John
comes to the Ma .er 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,
was to be an earthly one; that Christ vas
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 rebulsing them the Master turned
to the two men and said: Are YOU able
:, drink Of the CUP whereof l shall drink,
whereof 1 am baptized" And they an
swered eagerly and with confidence. I'VE
are Then said the Master. aye shall in
deed drink of Nv cup. and be bant!zcd
| with the BAPTISM whereof [ am baptized"
The other d a We're %uen e,se h
spared themselves the trouble. The Master
knew at onee-coming as Master OF the
truth He very well knew-what was in
their hearts. The one was seeking the
crown that vas co"ru"tibe. and that fad
eth away; the other was to live in history
John must have Travelled before this pas
sionate. ambitious man was abe 70 de-
serve this title. ''the Apostle of Love-
John gave the greater part of his young
life to the preaching OF the gospel If love.
Toward the close of that long and wonder
full career the beloved disciple was carried
.ne Sunday morning to the congregation Of
the faithful. Ii was his last aplcara nee
at any earthly gathering His parting
benediction to t. litt:e flock conl's| down
to us through the history of t,et ages:
Little children. love cae another.
We know that often the word, jof our
text We're on the lips Of the Aposte| John:
1--WE. know that We have passd from
death unto life, because we bye the
brethren" And again. the highr exper-
fence whie., makes possible the ot,fr, 1--WE
love the. brethren because ChiIt first
loved us
This is not the only cxnoriene of the
kind. Some OF You might be irc.ined to
say: "This is al. well enough in it's place
to talk about the Apostle John rs being
the anost,e OF love" But we are not John.
There are some other people wlo deserve
sive fisherman? Peter was undoubtedly
impu'siye and selfish aud not without his
ambition, too. Listen TO The cor ;srsat ton
in the npDeT room. 4.ffer the faster has
performed the foot WASHING He begins to
prepare His disciples fnr HIS .'oE ming in.
cause Of Me this night Ant Peter re-
plies: Though al should berdy Thee,
yet will not l." What he .ne'ht to say
was this: "you have made Il CIT deal OF
this man. who is allowed to i on Your
breast. Perhaps if crisis can he might
not be as much use as w,1ui::1 i these
should betray, Thee, yet will 'otl I" The
Pilates hall. John stood silently by,
ready norhaps to die for his Mister. Peter
was hiding somewhere in terror because of
the Jews and Christ was dying And then
after the resurrection Christ came to him
in secret. Peter wept out lis. pentence
and the Master lifted him up ,sain. Three
times he was asked, "Simo,. Simon, son
of Jonas. lowest thou Aic.' Peter an.
swered, lord. Thou lnowest that | love
Thee" The last time. grcvrd because of
the question. he replied, with deep ero-
ton, expressive only OF tn. love in his
heart, Lord. Thou knowet all things,
Thou lznowest that | love ,hee" When
was given to this fsherm;n the grand
promise. '.Ye are o. Christ And the an
swer of Christ was, ''If ] Will that We
strive and achieve and he and and wait,
what is that to thee. follw thou Me-
These two men. not long slice rivals, came
together to witness for the Master. Peter
does the talking and John silent. Both
are prepared to suffer in The ma me Of Jesus
Christ OF -.aZareth.
The grand certainty ir the heart of
every one of these men wa that they had
passed from death unto Lilo through being
made capable of loving. AnH they were
capable OF loving because thdv loved the
| brethren. Now, brethren i'll every are,
since John wrote these wraj for us, the
same thing has held true. IiEe ground OF
Christian certainty has ben- through the
love of God. There is no 9TH |cr ground OF
certainty to-day.
And the witness OF the spiltit is seen in
nothing more than this: thaIt those who
are the sons of God shoy it'll in their de.
meanor.
The love of Jesus, wha it is, none bat
His loved ones know. an YOUR American
Whittier, writing yestci' ny as it were
says for us this morning. Immortal love
, forever: full forever. flowing free"
! But, brethren, John Wesley was ore OF
the greatest preachers tn world has ever
known: the greatest preacher of the eros: