Milford chronicle., 1903-02-13
TALMAGE
SERMON
By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,,
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terian Church, Chicago


than the pulpit and that a dumb pew
makes a dead church. while a live, cor
dial, cooperating and Christ confessine
pew makes an effective pulpit and 6
triumphant church The text is join
tx, 16, "There was a division among
them"
One day Lepaux, the great French
inidel, came to Napoleon. He said:
Your majesty, l have evolved a new
religion which l call Theophilanthro-
py, / know that il is a better gospel
than Christianity, but the French peo-
pie will not believe or accept it. What
is the matter? What shall l do?" The
great French emperor turned and
smiled. Then he raised his arm and
placed his hand kindly upon his
friends shoulder as he answered: lie
pauX, there is one trouble about your
new religion-you have no witnesses.
Go and open a few blinded eyes. I'm
stop some deaf ears. Straighten some
crooked limbs Raise the dead. Be
crueifed and buried. Rise again from
the grave. On the third day appear
unto them who put you to death. Then
the people will accept your religion
and believe in you as they believe in
Jesus Christ. LepauX, 1t is by your
witnesses that your new religion must
win its way into the hearts of the
people, not by your theories" Napo-
leon was right. The gospel Of Jesus 1
Christ is to be carried to the farther /
most parts Of the world by the power I
of gospel testimony. not by theories.
not by arguments, not by a brilliant
collection of metaphysical or polemical
dissertations.
An Illustration Of this statement is
furnished by the scene of my text.
There was great excitement in the &C.
clesiastical world of Jerusalem. The
Iharisees, the members of the sanhe-
drin and the priests had conclusively
settled it with themselves that Jesus
Christ was a frand charatan. an alb
surd pretender. But one day there was
brought into their presence, seeing.
man who had been born blind. In all
probability they knew him. for he had
been one of the beggars who took their
stand near the temple gate. Every
one who went to the temple knew him.
"'Who opened your eyes?' one of the ;
learned doctors asked in surprise. mo {
man ever lived before who, having Z
been born blind, received sight on this
side of the grave" When the young s
man answered Jesus" the priests and [
their hireiings were beside themselves i
with rage. They threatened HIM. [
They brOwbeat him. They excommu- t
nlcatcd him. At last they entirely lost o
their reasoning faculties and common Y
sense. They practically cried aloud. b
we do not believe that Jesus opened h
those eyes. Away with this fellow C
called Jesus! Away with him! Away
with him!' But some of these learned
fharlsees could not be put off by any
such superficial condemnation. Me ai
-hlnks l can hear a learned doctor say fC
o some of his friends: Il do not know cl
lDout this. Perhaps we may have been fC
wrong. Perhaps this new teacher aft el
r all is the promised Messiah. Ger cl
ainly no other human being could NJ
yer work such miracles" And there l
vas a division among them" the is
anne kind of a division which will oc- to
ur among worldly men today if the of
ombshell of cOnsecrated Christian tes- be
mony can only be hurled among them. or
Are We Ready to Give Testimonye 60
A nrae. .+ical application of this prin- 40
pie is now facing us, one and all, III
re we Christian men and women coI
lady TO give our gospel testimony un
herever we go? Are we ready to tell WI
hat. Jesus Christ has done for us? si'
eady even though it may bring upon
sneers and ridicule? Ready, though
should involve prosecutions and os-
acism? Ready as the young man of
q was ready who stood up and wit mo-
,ssed before the priests and the Phar- oI
ses, when he made division among am
EN-? tne
Would that the dumb spirit would hOl
me out of the lay members in the ilo'
lristian churches. Everywhere we DO
ar the question being asked: What nls
the matter with our churches? Is It SEQ
at the pulpit is losing its power?" III
b, no; the pulpit is not losing it's pow ioo
There are more cOnsecrated minis oI
rs today than ever before. More tue
illiant and we'll developed heads and ua9
arts are yearly being trained in our u"9
seminaries than ever be- say
re. More eloquent sermons are being ser
cached from the sacred desk on this Gnu
ibbath than on any Sunday Of any res
her generation that ever lived. What. Gu
en-, is the matter? The pulpit has II
It lost its old power. but the pew u"y
IS abandoned its duty. The great de- iiis l,s
ct of the church today is that tho 'ilil
W has relegated to the pulpit nearly eas
its public duties. Of preaching as 10"
ell as public praying. as it has de- nev
- os,,It ,s tnot ~, tI,o Nov, oease. spir
1901 tho ,,ossa,,a 90 tha n,,I,,it is to q
a.,sotaa 9,,,a ',r 80, - a. Ta.d - n,
c,1,.,.t g 49,, ,..,o,,,,,, ,,,,Sar +ho reIo
,,,,I,+ - a. 80 ,nS,s., ,aad ,'.hioh tho not
F,.i