The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-10-30
FOR SUNDAY
3 DISCOURSE ON THE GROUND
OF CHRISTIAN CERTAINTY"

tho Hearts OF Believers.
OCEAN GBoyr, N. J.-Ne Fly 10000 PEG.
pe med the Auditorium here sunday
Ilmgs % .5sen to the Rev Reginald
'f'9 NampueI pastor OF the City Tenn
rtALcaaun lis subject was The Ground
Ed Christian Certainty" lie said.
l test. 1s rather. my two texts, will ho
eNn9' one 90 che third chapter and four.
lIenth verse and the other In the fourth
fnapter and nineteenth verse of the First
.plst.e OF 80 johu I'VE know that We
nave passed from death unto life, because
NJ ioye the brethren. He that loveth not
s0ls brother ahdeth for death" 1--WE love
~ oEnuse Tie first loved us"
- y Enough. is not one of simple graft
Ahe test teaches as hat the power
Ping comes from the fact that God is
ral1e writer OF the fourth gospel,
ssher ne was or was not the Apostle
0ohn' was proocO,v one of the greatest
theologlans that ever lived, because his
spiritual insight is so pro. ,und, and the
1Hafuness OF his master mind so COM
p,ete; The writer of the Fourth Gospel Is
panty the. writer of these epistles lie
was undoubtedly John the Divine. He
never refers 20 himself by name, but only
as the disciple whom Jesus loved None Of
us would be willing to spare out of our
NuHsAn experience the fourteenth chap.
ter st John In this the disciple sets
Ioren what we believe to be the profound
est and most beautiful truth concerning
the relationship Of the sanctifed soul to
the kedeemer. What a beautiful phrase
rs this; The disciple whom Jesus loved +"
Ihis man OF wonderful ability, who re.
members all that JeLus SAID and writes il
down for our benefit. BY that he did not
mean that he was the only disciple whom
sus loved, but he meant to say that he
e hls own spiritual experience from the
me foundation that we get ours.
8 Apere are signs in the New Testament
y lthe disciple whom Jesus loved was at
~ t-ime a passionate, ambitious ma.
x that occasion when James and John
we're 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 replied,
1e 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
was3to 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 rebulSing them the Master turned
4 to the two men and said: Are you able
. +. drink of the cup whereof / shall drink,
and to be baptized with the baptism
whereof l am baptized" And they an
4 swered eagerly and with confidence, 1--WE
re" Then said the Master, Eye shall in.
ed drink of NJ cup and be baptized
h the baptism whereof I am baptized"
ne other disciples were mucn displeased
4e James and John. Thy could have
t6td themselves the trouble. The Master
wat once-coming as a Master of the
dth1 He very well knew-what was in
eir hearts. The one was seeking the
rown that was corruptible, and that fad
9Th 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 gayG the greater part OF his youns
life to tie preaching of the gospel of love
Toward the close of that long and wonder
full careNer the beloved disciple was carried
me Sunday morning to the congregation o
the faithful 1t was his last appearance
at any earthly gathering. His parting
benediction to tie little flock comes dowr
to IS through the history of the ages
We know that often the words Of on
1 text were on the lips of the Apostle John
! owe know that we have passed from
deathNunto life, because we love thu
breth D. And again, the higher exper
fence sWAiol makes possible the other, "w
love the. brethren because Christ frs
loved US"
This is not the only experience of tn
kind Some of you might be inclined t.
Fl f9fibis is all wall npOupb in rs Mo n
to talk about the Apostle John as bein
the anostle of love" But we are not John
There are some other people who desefy
the titl8. What about Peter, the impul
sive fisherman? Peter was undoubtedl
impulsivA and selfish and not without hi
ambition, 600. Listen to the conversation
in the upper room. after the Master ha
performed the foot washing. He begins t
prepare His disciples for His coming il
He says: eye shall all be COMPOUNDED be
cause of Me this night" And Peter rC
plies: Though all should betray Thee
vet will not | :" What he meant to sa
was this: "You have made a great deal G
this man, who is allowed to lie on You
breast. Perhaps if a crisis came he Nigh
lot be as much use as | would. If thcs
fs hetray Thee yet will not L." TIL
when John admitted Peter t
Eall John stood silently by
laps to die for his Master Pete
~ somewhere IN terror because {
Sws and Christ was dying. And the
the resurrection Christ came to hil
secret. Peter wept out his penitenC
dad the Master lifted him up again. Tire
times he VS. asked, Simon, Simon, so
of Jonas, lowest thou Me-" Peter al
swered, "d.ord, Thou knowest that Low
Thee" Khe last time, grieved because
the question, he replied, with deep emf
ton, expressive only of the love in h
heart, 'Lord, Thou knowest all thing
Thou knowest that I love Thee" Whe
was given to this fisherman the gran
promise, >"Ye are Of Christ And the al
striv achieve and he stand and wal
what bat to thee, follow thou Me