The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-09-28
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. c. CAMPBELL MORGAN, D. D.
Subject: The Attractiveness and Exclu-
siveness of J~esus-Listen to the Call
of Christ-He Will Brook No Division
of Your Loyalty,

OF Your Loyalty,
LONDON, ENGLAND. - The following
sermon, entitled The Attractiveness and
Exclusiveness of Jesus" was preached
here on a recent Sunday by the Rev. 7.
Campbell Morgan, ID. D. He took for his
text: Then said Jesus unto His disciples,
if any man will come after Me let him
deny himself and take up his cross and
follow Me.-St. Matthew 1924.
There were two facts about Jesus Christ
which no one can read the Gospel re-
appear to be contradictory, but which. as
a matter of fact, are complementary, and
the understanding of which reveals for
all time the method of the Master in
dealing with men. / refer to facts Of
the attractiveness and eXcluslveness Of
Jesus.
There can be no question about the
former; there can equally be no question
about the latter to those who have care
fully read the records and have seen the
methods of Jesus while He was here
among men. He was constantly drawing
people to Him, and He was perpetually
holding them aloof. BY the very win
someness of His person, He was drawing
tons, at all times and in all places to
Himself, and yet by the uttering of words
so severe, so searching. so drastic, making
US tremble even to-day, He held men
back from Him. .
I venture to say that the words / read
to you this morning from the Gospel of
Luke come to those who are most fxniliar
with them bringing a sense of surprise.
We never read them without feeling more
or less startled by them UNLESS YOU
hate father and mother, husband and wife,
parent and child, you cannot be My dis
ciple." We have attempted to account for
these words, but l do not hesitate to say,
that in ONE senses they have staggered
the faith of many, and yet there they
stand. :,
And not there only, but through all
His teaching there is evident the same
method of Christ, that of holding men
back just as they were approaching Him;
drawing them to Himself by multitudes
and then holding the crowd as they
pressed upon Him, and sitting them with
such surprising words as these. Now there
must be a reason for this. and it is for
that reason that l want to look, with you,
a little this morning.
But first allow me to say a few words on
this fact of the attractiveness of Jesus:
because the more clearly we recognize and
understand that, the more clearly shall
we understand, as I think, the other truth
of His perpetual method OF holding men
back and excluding certain persons from
close companionship with Himself.
Take first, then, this great fact OF His
attractiveness. the most fascinating sub.
iect on which to speak. Remember, I
pray you, that if the Gospel records re-
veal one thing more clearly than another
they reveal that Jesus was, somehow or
other, a Person that drew men to Him
irresistibly.
/ 90 back to those silent years at Naza-
reth concerning which we know So very
little. You will remember that or those
days Luke opens for us just a little won
dow through which we look when he says,
He was subject to His parents, and grew
in favor with God and with man." l do
not stop one moment to dwell on the
statement that He grew in favor with
God, although it is 4 very interesting
statement, but just Tor Il moment. for the
sake of our argument, listen to the other
part of it: "He grew. in favor with man.
Take that as it is simply stated, and YOU
at once see 4 Picture OF the boy growing
up to be 1 youth. aud passing from youth
into young manhood until He became the
Carpenter of Nazareth, known to all the
little town that nestled among the hills,
JNSI lCIIONCu IlOIli GIC iEh"o va tN
This is all the truth that is revealed. IL l
may reverently put it, Jesus was a ~favorite
In Nazareth. lam not sure that that doesn't
almost startle you, because somehow OF
other we have come to think that holiness
is almost always accompanied by angular
ity, and there is a popular idea that II a
man is good he never can be a favorlte. 1t
is Il great mistake. 1t is by the measure
in which a man lacks holiness that a man
is not in favor. .
Here is a man living in Nazareth, and
lie is 4 favorite. / do not want to lift
that into 4 surer-spiritual realm, but II
you have no imagination YOU can Just go TO
sleep for two minutes while l imagine l
look into that window and / see the Car
penter at His work, and l tell You what l
see. He is a favorite. | see children TAX
ing their toys to Him to be mended, and l
am quite sure He mended them: l see
koung men going at eventide to take their
problems with them because they know
iHe is sane, honest and pure. I think l see
old men, upon whose brow already sat
light that never WAS on land or sea, talk
ing to Him because He has such 4 wonder
full way of talking about My Fathers
house" and "the many mansions" a favor
lite, sane and strong, and pure, and attract
i've as to personality.
: I know full we'll that a little later on
these same men took Him to q hill and
tried to murder Him, but that was the re-
suit of something else to be discovered
later. The pure. human, simple life OF
Jesus was, in itself, attractive, and Luke
says, "HeJ grew ir -avor." .
Leave those hidden years and look at
Him just for one rapid moment as He
treads the pathway upon which a tercer
1solt cals 4bao a,,ar foil ,1pnn a fhrnDa-
the pathway OF the public teacher, and II
you read these Gospel stories the one thing
that strikes you is the fact Of the multi
tudes around about Jesus Christ. Nher-
ever He went they followed Him. Ii He
went out into the city the country people
crowded the streets to be near Him; ii He
went out into the country place the city
men and women hocked after Him, follow
ing Him so far that at times there was no
chance for them to provide themselves
with food, and He had to feed them; for
in their eagerness to follow they had for
gotten food and had forgotten distance.
And wherever He went they came after
Him.
/ am not saying that these multitudes
crowned Him; that is not my point, but
He drew the people after Him. The one
thing they could not do with Jesus was to
let Him alone; they came, whether to crit
icise Him or crown Him is not now the
question; the point is, that He drew men
and women after Him in all those days Of
His earthly life. They came after Him. all
sorts and conditions Of men, the scholars
and the illiterate. the learned and the igno.
rant, the debased, the %depraved, they all
came. OF course, there were more poor
people came than rich because there al
ways were more poor people than there are
rich, and, of couse,. there were more of
the th';i ill lite e ,'ts eth than h., OF the arot lesrn ,ea;1 tor the the
idea that Christ only attracted a class.
There is something about Him that at
tracts all kinds of men, and it is true in
those old days.
Come, if you will. outside the Bible, and
from the day that this Man walked among