The Pickens sentinel-journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1903-1906, 1904-10-12
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
A STRONG DISCOURSE ENTITLED,
"coMF oRTlNC cERTAINTIEs."
The Rev. DR.. Robert Bruce HulIs Talk
on the Words Addressed to Nicodernus
Tho Person That the Yerities of Our

Rev. DR.. Robert Bruce Hull, 'DIn's pastor '1d of
Greenwood Baptist Church, preached on
from 0mtfHrbS,ng fGbn certaGt!es, 2Te 1 The text was
know" DR.. Hull said in the course of his
sermon:
These. words were addressed to Nicode.
mus, lie was an earnest honest, yet timid
Jesus under cover of the darkness. AS an
official of the Jewish Sanhedrim, he did
not dare 70 be seen talking with the Naza-
rene Teacher. Yet he is convinced in his
own mind that Jesus is prophet and
that; too, a prophet sent of God. This
much he confesses to the Christ Then be-
gins the wonderfully instructive interview
from which the text is taken This inter-
y yieW is evidently only an outline, but the
outline is marvelously suggestive Nico-
donus was good man. He was a religious
man. He conformed to all the religious
forms and ceremonies of his nation. His
outward department. was bameless and
his standing in the community was honor
abe. But he was not a spiritual man. He
was not what we would call to-day cou-
Nerted man To him Jesus thrice used the
solemn double Amen, amen, l say unto
Nicodemus could not understand what
Jesus meant by being born again He was
unable to see what that new spiritual life
was OF which he himself was lacking Then
1T is that the third double amen of Jesus
introduces the words Of the text: '"Verily,
verify | say unto thee, we speak that we
do know and testify that we have seen"
In this utterancc Jesus uses the word
we" not simply as the plural of majesty,
but connecting Himself with all His dsci-
pies, SO that it is perfectly proper and
right Tor us to-day to use His words and
say: I'VE speak that we do know" Chris
tn;,s n?ns are competent witnesses to the GER
may be said that "thc Bible and tho Bible
alone is the religion of Protestants," yet in
the tullel' sense our religion is Il life.
'Christ j. Christianity. Ills life in Himself
and III His disciples is the spirit and the
power OF true religion. We have something
more than opinion; something better than
Greeds: we have as one of the eternal veri-
ties, Jesus, Christ as the manifestation OF
God. 1t has been well said that Christ
either deceived mankind by conscious
fraud. or lie was Himself deuded and de-
ccived, or lie was divine. There is no get
ting out OF this trilcmma. 1t is incXor-
ape. lie stood before the men who knew
Him best and said: He that hath seen Me
hath seen the Father and again declared
to them: 81 and Ny Father are one" This
was tremendous assumption and awful
Diasphemy If 1T was not the truth. That
1t is the truth the course OF time and the
course of Christianity both abundantly de.
clare.
The vertics of our precious faith cluster
about person. This person was God,
tures since Bethlehem the noblest, wisest
and hoicst have bowed before Him, revcr-
emily eXciaiming, My Lord and my God!'
It matters not from what point we view
Him, Jesus stands before the word as
more than man. 1t is said of 4 safe and
perfect arch that it must meet two require
ncnts.j It's feet must not slip and its mid
die must not bend. Jesus Christ is the arch
connecting Humanity and divinity. The
weight of the centuries OF Christianity rcst
on that arch and they rest there safely for
To-, =. ii
when He was not;
Boundcss, eternal, mcrcifUl, the word
the Sire begot;
Backward our thoughts through ages
stretch, onward through realms OF
For there are two ctcrnitics and both
alike arc His"
Another of the ccrtaimtics is that the
Christian life is divine life This was n
new thought to Nicodemus. 1t is n new
thought TO many to-day. 1t was not a
ngure OF speech, but plain statement OF
tact, when Jesus insisted that it was neces-
Sary to be born again in order 10 enter
heaven. Those of Nicodemus' time would
nave SAID 1T was necessary to reform, 70
deal honestly, to behave kindly, TO live up
rightly. So many say to-day. and if by all
this they mean uprightness in its perfect
form they are right. But no man has ever
hved who LAS been thus upright "An
have sinncd and come short OF the glory of
we must not seek holiness in order TO God
but God IN order to holiness Christ must
come into the soul of man with His divine
life. and then, and not till then, are we in
harmony with the divine holiness.
When that life comes in then there is
manifested the "eXpulsive power of n new
Affection" better still, the cxpulsive power
of new. life; Nothing less than life can
Scconnt Tor the change in men. Nothing
but lie can exert the power which the cen
tures of Christianity have manifested. in
physics we affirm confidently that every e.
feet must have an adequate cause. This
also ~ true IN the realm of spirituality. III
prosecutors are changed into preachers, II
those once thoroughly dcpravcd have been
mo '',v. -.-,.. s"... .s, !! tnC uI -
OF society nave been transformed into nm.
paralic,cd martyrs for TIE truth, ii common
people nave been fashioned into those Ot
whom the world was not woytl.r-wc nS
what cause or what power is aarnultc iuI
'uch lnnSveiouS alterations. We know
,h2se tharges. It Is folly u say VIC do not
Know the power.
Twice each day our citv IS washcd bv
'niGHty chb and h1w of tides that SWEEP in
sud out, despite all the winds that bow
orr chhd recognizes the TACT but he is
i'Wa."d u tilnk that :hc pale. silent moon.
serene a'1'd the clouds. is tn, cause Of
those rts.s'css Hoods. Yh2 ch'id is p,a.
f.cd ~, when your philosopher explains
10 70" thnt the moon does this by attrac.
uon OF srVtauon, and you ask him 10 cv.
nam 70 YOU this attraction of eravitatiou,
then he. too, Is puzzled. Vet he knows TIE
2ower knows it so we'll he can measure Il
and use 1t. So, too, with Christianity, and
'ts power. We can recognize its iorcc and
lsc 1t, but its secret is the secret Of life.
Like all force, in its origin it is a mystery.
Ionnyson says:
I'VE have but faith wc cannot know.
For knowlcdgc>is ct things wc see"
This is not quito truc. Know.edgc is OF
ihing9 We feel, as well as of things VIC see
Many things we know that we cannot see.