St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-01-16

from Heaven" And not only were the
prophets seeking to discover what God
was planning and doing, but Peter goes
on to say that the angels OF Heaven
desired to look into these things. God
could give nothing less than glorious
gift. And it is the glorious Gospel be-
cause Christ, who is the theme OF the
Gospel, is glorious
| A ND it is the glorious Gospel because
"A it has accomplished that for which
it was sent-the redemption of man.
The sun is glorious because it gives
light and heat and life-giving energy,
the purposes for which is was created.
Had it failed when it was hung in the
heavens by God to perform that for
which it was created, the earth would
not have rejoiced in its light and
warmth and would not have called it
chine to do certain definite work.
When it is all completed and set up
the inventor puts it to the test to see
IT it will operate successfully. When
it does he is elated and rejoices exceed
ingly; a glory has come to the machine
which it did not possess before it
proved its power to perform the work
expected of it. In the east there is
professor who has spent lifetime
upon the problem of air navigation.
| With thousands of dollars at his COM
mand he has built most wonderful
machine. 1t looks as though it ought
| to fly and would fly. But when tested,
| instead of soaring off into the blue
heaven and bringing glory and fame to
| its inventor and itself, it rushed down.
| ward to ruin. How ridiculous it would
sound to set to praising the machine
and to call it the glorious airship
And if the Gospel of Christ had not &C
tended by God we would not hear Paul
calling it the glorious Gospel, nor hear
multitudes throughout the years since
the good tidings we're proclaimed by
the angels on Bethlehem's hills re-
joicing in the power and blessing of
the glorious Gospel. The light of the
Gospel has brought cleansing and heal
ing and rejoicing into every place
where it has found entrance. Sin has
been punished, man has been delivered,
and brought back into fellowship with
God, death has been overcome. and the
riches and fullness of Heaven have
been made accessible Paradise lost
through sin is now Paradise regained
through Christ This is the message
of the Gospel. This is why the Gospel
is the glorious Gospel Christ has ac-
complished that whereunto He was
sent.
FURTHER, it is the glorious Gospel
/ to-day, because it is still the only
message of hope to dying and lost
world At one time when Ingersoll was
billed to lecture against this glorious
Gospel of Christ in certain town, a
former classmate and friend of the lee
turer, who had been to the very depths
of hell in his debauchery and shame,
but who was rescued by the power of
the Christ who had reached down and
saved him and restored him to his wife
and children and friends and society,
wrote to the infidel as follows: "You
may not know my history since we
parted as students, but was swallow
ed up of sin. went down, down, down,
until I was a poor, despised outcast, |
and when l thought there was none to !
help and none to save there came one
in the name of Jesus, who told me of
His power to help, and through the
story of the cross of Christ, I turned to
Him. He made clean, upright man
of me; He gave me back my home, my |
wife, my children. He did for me what
would you, old friend, attack a religion
that can go down to the lowest depths
of hell and find man and restore
him? What can you say against re-
ligion like that?" 1t is said Mr.. In
gersoll read the letter to his audience
and declared he had nothing to say
against religion like that. but that |
he would talk about religion which
is being preached by the preachers.
Rather a lame reply, surely. And the
case of this friend of the infidel is but |
one of the hundreds and thousands |
which are proving that the Gospel of
Christ is the power of God unto saliva
ton. 1t is the glorious Gospel still be-
cause it con .lnues TO transform lives.
1t continues to cure the worlds evils
as nothing else ever has. 1t continues
to bless and help wherever its glorious
light penetrates
WHY will Christian ministers dare
w to proclaim anything else than
the glorious Gospel of Christ? Is It be-
cause that Gospel has lost it's power? Is
it because it is old-fashioned and insult
able to twentieth century needs? Some
may think so, but it is because the
light of that glorious Gospel has ceased
to shine in their hearts. They are
ashamed to get up and proclaim so
simple a message as that of the Christ
and the cross. They must talk learn
eddy and profoundly upon current top
les, upon ethics, upon sociological ques-
lions, upon literature and art, etc, etc.
and they do tickle and please and in
terest and instruct their audiences, but
oh! to precious souls that are perish
ing they do not bring one single word
of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus
They succeed in getting man to look
within himself for help and improve
ment, but they fail to point to the only
One who can save from sin and restore
to fellowship with God. Man may de-