The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-12-30
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED.
.THe WORLDS INTEREST IN CHRIST"
Tho Rev. DR.. Cieland Boyd MeAfee Tells
What IL thc Best Argument For Jesus
His Own Character With Its striking
Symmetry is Completely Convincing.

bvterlan Church, preached there Sunday.
His subject was The Worlds Interest in
the Success OF Christ" The text was from
John xii:e: Much people OF the Jews
therefore knew that He was there: and
they came not for Jesus sake only. hu,
that they might see Lazarus also, whom He
had raised from the dead" Dr. McAtee
kaid
This is at lcas. candid. There was no
magic magnetism about Jesus. He drew
men TO Him IN no subtle, indefnable way.
He drew them by what they saw Him do
by what they saw Him TO be. Here was a
/ crowd drawn 10 Jesus by the effect He had
had on man. That Is the sermon of the
morning IN a sentence. The best argu
ment for Jesus Is the effect He his on
: men. L call II best. not as most rhllo-
/ sophieal or profound and not as bearing
logical tests better than Others. 1t Is
best because We can all see II and feel the
/ force of il.
! i asked 4 wise man once what he count
ed the best argument In behalf of Christ
He replied, Christian" And what is the
/ best argument against Christ? Instantly
/ he replied again, Christian" Broaden it
/ What is the best argument for Christ and
J His gospel! The Christendom of to-day.
/ Set Chrstendom over against heathenism
/ and see what Christ can do with men. Set
] il over against the Christendom that
should be and see what Christ has still 10
do
Now all that is very simple. and il is at
such simple points IN our lives that Christ
comes into closest contact with us. The
! only claim He makes TO kingship is based
4 on the fact that He is one who can
/ He can bring things to pass. He can ac-
/ comphsh He can achieve. You remem-
Der how constant His fame ran ahead OF
Him in HIS journeying. He healed some
and they told IT, He taught others and
they announced IT. He fed multitude
and they chung TO Him. i am not suppos-
I ing that the crowd really believed In Jesus
for what He claimed TO be, but the crowd
was drawn TO Him by the effect He had
had on men, and thus was brought under
/ His spell. And no man will ever believe
/ IN Jesus on the mere evidence OF lives
about Him. He must accept Him for Him
self. But the effect He has on lives will
have its part to-day as then IN turning
men TO Him. The unchanged life does not
draw. The thoroughly changed life Is HIS
best argument.
You remember / have already said that
there are better arguments for Christ than
the lives of His followers-better phllo-
sophically and logically. He is Himself
His best argument. just a careful, candid
study of His own character with its Pc
'culiar balance of traits, with its striking
symmetry-that would be very convinc-
ing. For my part i enjoy the so-called
metaphysical arguments, even some which
are not popular in the philosophical facul-
ties nowadays. There are very profound
books written which men might read with
profit
But we are just common men, and we do
very little profound thinking almost no
abstract thinking, and We are reached
sooner and most effectively by the argu-
ment of results. There are men, of course,
not ,.,ht .,sl,. la.
hard pressed Just to read the books which
present these obstruse arguments. In my
reading, the other Gay, L ran across a SEN
tence from one OF these profound writers
which will interest you. Just by way of
illustration. 1t Is definition of religion
and runs this way: Religion is the ult-
mate and vital apprehension by the ind.
Vldual OF what rs conceived to c reality IN
lts fullest sense, the inner truth of things;
whether such reality be regarded as CO.
extensive with, as included in, or az dis
tinct from the world of natural phenom-
ena, 1t always, however, being regarded as
in some way related to the individual him
self; any such apprehension embracing be-
lief, emotional response and the deter-nin-
alton OF conduct, IN so far as conduct IS
supposed to have a bearing on the con-
nection of the individual With such real.
ity." Now that Is not very bad way Of
stating certain facts about religion. and
yet i doubt If some of us would care TO
90 far IN books worded that way. Some of
you have been under the influence of re.
hgion good many years, hut have never
worded 1t just that way.
There are easier ways of wording the
profound truth of Christianity. / wish 1t
seemed possible, for example, 10 get a
wide reading for the two-year-o.d hool. by
Principal Farbairn OF Oxford, Mansfield
College. He has called i. The Philosophy
of the Christian Religion" The book
grew out of Principal Fairbairn's appoint
ment as Haskell lecturer in India. He had
the sacred books of Hinduism and felt that
he knew how to meet ITS positions with
sympathetic understanding When he
reached India, however. he found Hindu.
ism very different thing in practice. That
turned him back upon a candid study OF
has own faith, to see whether and wherein
It might differ IN present practice from it's
original form. Such study was certain
to result profoundly, and 1T is a profound
book. ! wish all CT ua Christians might
follow an argument which results in such
in His pierced hands the keys Of all re-
ligions, explains all the factors OF their
being and all the persons through whom
they have been realized" "The Inoarna-
tion Is the very truth which turns nature
and man, history and religion into the
luminous dwelling place of God" think
j shall not forget that phrase .hat the In
earnatlon turned the world into the lum-
inous dwelling place OF God, that Jcsus
once bern into manhood, has never died
olt OF manhood. and shall instead draw
manhood into His own fellowship and
Likeness.
We shall be able 10 feel the personal
meaning Of all this when we stop TO name
over some OF the traits witch mark the
changed life IL is a life OF faith-of quiet
confidence in God. There is no idleness
out right by some mysterious method. II
y the life OF belief that we are IN Fa-
theirs word, making our way TO 4 Fa.
theirs house. That faith stands over
against the doubt and fear and anxiety Of
the unchanged life. And because It is
faith IN God it aceonplishes fai;hfu,ne7s
TO men and our duties. And this is what
the world sees. il cannot see faith in God.
IL can sec only the faithfulness in the life
we i've. From gross dishonesty on up TO
unreliabLlty, at whatever stage IL appears.
nnfathfulntss prevents an argument for
Christ.
This is the argument Of the changed
life. And ' cannot mistake that u -
such argument which Christ Himself most
prizes and which the world most needs
needs not IN these larg'r ways and places
Acne, there so much as in the men with
whom 1t must deal most closely. Nv
brethren, II Is the argument of ur own
changed, ChristIanized lives that IL ilost
needed. The books are strong-and un-
read. The uncommon. marked cases ere
maryland unobseryed. Our lives are
daily before our fellows, closely read, con- |
siantiy observed. These are the worlds |
arguments. And what is ,o1gnt is not |
some impossible perfection. Many Of our |
fellows are not unreasonable. No, but |
there ia wanted n alignment between our