The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-02-13
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
"sToNlNc JESUS"
rho Rev. DIR. J. wilbur Chapman Pleads
Tor IA Tair Consideration Of the Claims
OF the Religion OF Cbrist-AnytmnE u
Better Than Being Indifferent.

entitled "StOniug Jesus, was preached /
by the great evangelist the Rev. Dr, y.
Wilbur Chapman, from the text: 'Ihen
the Jews took up stones again TO stone
The shining of the sun produces two !
effects in the world, one exactly the OPP |
posite of the other. In one place 1T en- |
Gveus. beautiies and strengthens; IN the |
others il deadens, mars and decays. 30 |
h h with the Gospel of Christ 1t is unto |
some a "savor Of life unto life" unto oth.
ers 1t is "a SAVIOR of death unto death.
So it was with the coming OF Christ into
the world He brought TO light the truest
affection and the deepest, hatred. Men
loved darkness rather than hght, so
ChrisPs coming into the world could only
disturb them.
If YOU 90 into the woods on a summers
dav. and If it be possible, turn over one
of the logs which may be near to, you:
YOU will find underneath hundreds OF
little insects; the moment the light strikes
them they run in every direction; Dark
ness is their life; they hate the light. But
If YOU journey little further ana liit
stone which for a little time has been
covering the grass or the little flowers, the
moment you would lift the obstruction
! these things would begin to grow The
| light is their life; they die IN the dark
Christ's coming into the world pro;
voked the bitterest prejudice and called
! forth the deepest devotion. Simeon,
! devout man, was IN the temple when the
Young child Jesus was brought IN, and ne
| took Him up in his hands and blessed God,
and said "Tord. lettest now Thy servant
depart in peace, according to Thy word,
for now my eyes have seen Thy saliva
tion" It was lust the opposite with
Herod. When the king heard concerning
Jesus he sent the wise men that he mlghJ
find out through them where lie was,
and when they did not return, he was eX-
ceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew
all the children that were IN Bethehem
and in all the coast thereof two years ana
under according to the time which he had
diligently inquired OF the wise men, Ihese
are the two extremes.
Johns gospel is the gospel of love, but
in it we find the same great dlnerehces'
Where can you find such sweetness as Is
contained in these words-"For God so
loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosever behevetn IN
Him should not perish but have eVeriast-
inc life?" Where is there such tenderness
az in this eXpression-"Jesus wept?'
Only two words, and yet on them the
sorrowing world rests, taking comfort and
consolation! But where can you find such
hatred as expressed in John VIII: 59
''Then took they up stones to cast al
Him." and again in the text, Then the
Jews took up stones again to stone him
, When you remember whom they were
stoning, the Son of Man and the Son. o
God, the One who was going about doihl
} good, the sin is something awful to thlnI
about. This text and the verse that FOL
lows is a beautiful illustration OF hate ant
love. brutality and tenderness. he ha.
| lust said, IT and my Father are one,
: words which should have made the heart
of the people leap for JOY; that lie wa
5 one with Jehovah, who had led their fore
t fathers from Egypt to Canaan; VINO ma
spoken the worlds into existence; ma
. held the winds in His fists; III who's
/ hands the seas washed to and fro. 70
/. would have thought at these expression
, of the Master every knee would have bee
- bowed in loving devotion; but not s.
J. The Jews took up the stones again W.T.
, which to stone Him, and He gave the
one of the tenderest answers HIS heal
could dictate-"Many good works nave
Q shown you from Ny Father, for which
W these do you stone Me"
. The text is an illustration of the Ia
u that those who were models in tairne
of their treatment of men are most unfa
in their treatment of Jesus Christ
Won are familiar with the mode OF stonll
m offenders in the early days, you, Will
a able to see how true this was of the Jew
~ The crier marched before the man w
o. was to die, proclaiming the mans SINS al
the name of the witnesses, appear
against him. This was for the huma
purpose of enabling any one who was
ouainted with the circumstances IN t
case to 90 forward and speak for nj
and the prisoner was held until the NJ
r. evidence was given. But the Jews we
y not so considerate of Jesus; when
> soid "I and My Father are one" INN
diately they began to stone Him:
D., All that is asked for our religion,
he Christ and for the Bible is just
consideration of their claims. The BIZ
we claim, is the word of God, not beca1
HI + ia old only. but because it is both
Ter and true. 1t seems as if it were writ
N. for us as individuals; it is my present
o+ swer to nv present need. We sim
- nresent the Book in evidence. Supp
I'd YOU try to find its equal; suppose you
JET to produce it's simplest parable; tall
would be the result. Our religion IS
de. same; we only ask for it fair consldt
no. ton. For Christ it is just the same.
~, England not long ago woman was
1A- turing against our religion, and after
had closed, one of the mill-hands. 81
ne al would like to ask the lecturer this
life question: Thirty years ago l was the CT
sod Of this town and everybody in it. | Il
~ to do better and failed. The teetot
III got hold of me, and l signed the pie
and broke it. The police took me
to sent me to prison, and the wardens t
md to make me better, and began to d
lila. as soon as left my cell. When. all
r rl, failed, I took Christ as my Savior,
III He made new man Of me. am n
Der of the church, a class leader and
Tide perintendent of the Sunday-school.
.isit Christ is a myth and religion is unit
,rv. how could be so helped by them!
hen Men are sun sO91nlLs Iesu ooOdrci of
u ia Is and cry. "For shame" but there
Of worse way to stone Him than that.
the can hurt you far more than by stri
that you in the face or beating you,