The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-10-14
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
A DISCOURSE ON 1.-THE GROUND
OF CHRISTIAN CERTAINTY.
The Rev. Reginald John Campbell Tells
in Beautiful Language of the Assur-
ances Of Divine Mercy Which Buoy
the Hear+s of Believers.

anceS OF DIVINE WHICH DuOy
the Hears of Believers.
| OCEAN GROVE. n. J.-Ne' rly 10000 peo-
{ pie filled the Auditorium here Sunday
| morning to listen to the Rev. Reginald
John Campbell, pastor of the City lem.
pie. London. His subject was ''The Ground
of Christian Certainty" He said:
-1y text, or rather my two texts, will be
| found, one in the third chapter and four
teenth verse and the other in the fourth
chapter, and nineteenth verse of the First
have passed from death unto life, because
We love the brethren. He that loveth not
| his brother abideth for DEATH" eve love
Him because He first loved u.s.
The thought is not one of simple graft
tude. The text teaches us hat the power
| 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 prob:olv one of the greatest
spiritual insight is ST. pro: 'und, and the
inwardness OF his master mind so conf
| plete The writer of the Fourth Gospel is
| plainly the writer of these epistles. He
was undoubtedly John the Divine. He
never refers to 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
ter of st. John. In this the disciple sets
forth what we believe to be the profound
est and most beautiful truth concerning
the relationship eth Of the sanetlted Sf;s, soul no to
is this: "The disciple whom Jesus loved"
This man of wonderful 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
one time a passionate, ambitious NIL.
| Mark that occasion when James and John
were called the Sons of Thunder: when
shall we command fire to come down from
heaven and consume these adversaries;
yours and ours?" and Christ replied,
'Ye know not yet what spirit ye 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
cne on Thy right hand and the other on
Thy LETT when Thou comest into Thy
kingdom" She thought, and they thought,
and they all thought that the kingdom
was to be an earthly one; that Christ was
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 shall drink.
and to be baptized with the baptism
whereof 1 am baptized" And they an
swered eagerly and with confidence, eve
are" Then said the Master: Eye shall in;
deed drink of Nv cup, and be baptized
with the baptism whereof I am baptized" !"
The other disciples were mucn displeased
with James and John. Thy could have
spared themselves the trouble; The Master
knew at once-coming as a Master of the
truth He very we'll 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 long way
John must have travelled before this pas.
sionate. ambitious man was abe to de-
serve this title, "the Apostle of Love-"
John gave the greater part of his young
life 20 the preaching of the gospel of love.
Toward the close of that long and wonder.
full career the beloved disciple was carried
me Sunday morning to, the congregation Of
at any earthly. gathering. His parting
benediction to tie little flock comes down
to us through the history of the ages:
Little children, love one another"
We know that often the words Of our
text were on the lips Of the Apostle John:
1--WE know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the
brethren" And again, the higher exper-
ience which makes possible the other, Eve
love the, brethren because Christ first
loved u.s."
This is not the only experience of the
kind. Some of you might be inclined to
say: "This is all we'll enough in its place
to talk about the Apostle John as being
There are some other people who deserve
the title. What about Peter, the impul'
sive fisherman? Peter was undoubtedly
imnulsve and selfish and not without bis
ambition, too. Listen to the conversation
in the upper room. after the Master has
performed the foot washing He begins to
prepare His disciples for His coming in.
He says: Eye shall all be !confounded be-
cause of Me this night" And Peter re-
plies: Though all should hetray Thee,
yet will not l." What he meant to say
this man. who is allowed to lie on Your
breast. Perhaps if crisis came he might
not be as much use as would. II these
should betray Thee, yet will not L" The
time came when John admitted Peter to
Pilates hail. John stood silently by,
ready perhaps to die for his Master. Peter
was hiding somewhere in terror because of
the Jews and Christ was diving. And then
after the resurrection Christ came to him
in secret. Peter wept out his penitence
and the Master lifted him up again. Three
OF Jonas. lowest thou Me-" Peter an.
swered, Lord. Thou knowest that I love
Thee" The last time, grieved because of
the question. he replied, with. deep emo
| ton. expressive only of the love in his
heart Lord. Thou knowest all things,
Thou knowest that I love Thee" When
was given to this fisherman the grand
promise. "Ye are of Christ" And the an.
swer of Christ was, "If I will that ye
strive and achieve and he stand and wait;
what is that to thee, follow thou Me" J."
| together to witness for the Master. Peter
does the talking and John is silent. Both
! are prepared to suffer in the name of Jesus
| Christ of -.aZareth.
The grand certainty in the heart OF
every one of these men was that they had
passed from death unto life. through being
made capable of loving. And they were
capable of loving because they loved the
| brethren. Now, brethren, in every age,
since John wrote these words for US, the
same thing has held true. The ground OF
| Christian certainty has beea-through the
love of God. There is no other ground OF
| certainty to-day.
| And the witness of the spirit is seen in
nothing more than this: that those who
are the sons of God show it in their de,
meanor.
The love of Jesus, wat it is. none but
His loved ones know, and your American
Whittier, writing Yesterday. as it were,
says for us this morning: Immortal love
forever: full forever. flowing free
But, brethren. John Wesley was one OF
the greatest preachers the word has ever
| +ba nrno cher pT the cross