The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-01-22
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
A DISCOURSE ENTITLED IAN OLD
QUESTION FOR THE NEW ACE"
The Rev. G. Il. McNally Talks Instruc-
lively on Subject of vital Importance
to Us All-The Highest Type OF Life is
That Srent For Others.

BROOKLYN, n. YIN the Sixth Avenue
Baptist Church Sunday morning, the pas.
tor, the Rev Charles r. Mentally preached
on IAN Old Question for the New Age
His text was from John MA: III Thou be
the, Christ, tell US plainly" MIR. McNally
said:
The men who asked this question were
dead in earnest. They asked it because
the answer was of vital import to them.
That word Christ" was laden with a
wealth of meaning for these Jewish ques-
TONERS. Our word Christ is the offspring
OF the Greek "Christos," which in its turn
inberits all the meaning that the Hebrew
this word .f-r hundreds of years all Jewish
life, political and religious, had conferred.
The Psalmists had made it the dominant
note in many of their sweetest songs. It's
multi-colored shadings had formed the
warp and wool of prophetic Visions The
mother as she lulled her little one to sleep
sang of Messianic hope. The little lad
as ne came to his fathers knee asking for
a tale had his imagination fired by the
story of what would be when Messiah
should cone. More than the name of
Cromwell or Wesley to England, and
of Washington or Edwards to Amer
lea, was the name of Messiah to Jew,
for it was at once the battle cry of his po-
litical liberties and the keynote of his re-
Ggion.
The Jews as they thought of the Messiah
may be divided into two classes. those
whose conception was predominantly re:-
gious and spiritual, and those whose
thought was predominantly political.
say predominantly because the two views
were commonly blended. The more spirit
ual hoped for the deliverance of the ma
.tions from the bondage of sin, and the re-
ligious supremacy of the Jewish nation
through the ministry of the Messiah, while
the less religious looked for the political
pre-eminence of the Jews under the lead
ership of the Messianic King. However
divergent the views, in two things all were
agreed-the coming of the Messiah meant
Jewish prominence, and he in his coming
would be the especially anointed of God,
having the powers, the words and the
of God, the voice of Gods will to and for
the nation. Earlier in the history of the
nation the conception was more spiritual.
but by the time of the coz ;~q of Jesus of
Nazareth their hope had ~ its higher
and more spiritual character
One morning toward the close of His
earthly ministry. when the chilling blasts
of winter had driven Him from the open
courts of the temple to sheltered spot.
Jesus, the now far famed teacher and
claimant of Messanic honors, m9ht have
been seen pacing up and down the paved
Enclosure known as Solomon's Porch. It
was the feast of dedication and The faith
ers of the nation were gathered in ,Terusa-
lem. There was much agitation and con-
ffict among them. The fame and ella m Of
Jesus of Nazareth was known to all.
Many of these very men had fo'owed in
the crowds to see and hear IT IN. The
more spiritual had felt a strange stirring
of the soul in response to the call of this
strange teacher to purer and more exalt-
ed life, but surely thew reasoned this could
not be the Christie was so different
from what they had expected the Christ
to be. The less religious were evsn more
puzzled. The life of Jesus from the Great
ure comfort side was nothing to be en-
We'd They could find nothing to explain
the aim of this Teacher with His subver-
sive teaching. OF one thing they We're
sure. He was a dangerous man. for while
by implication and even openly He claimed
to be the Christ, lie in no way correspond
ed to their idea of what the Christ should
be. Surely He was not the Messiah of
God! Upon what could such a man as this
base such a claim!
While Jesus paced thouohtfully up and
down within the porch He was quickly
surrounded by an eager, pressing crowd,
some intense with yearning for assurance
and satisfaction of soul, others dark with
the clouds of stricken conscience and the
uldIlClOuSHSSS OIL ulSdppOiutSu udITGu. 1Nbl-
withstanding their varied feelings, all alike
were anxious to ply. Him with questions.
Eagerly they pressed upon Him. the vital
question Glow long wilt Thou hold us in
SUSPENSE" literally, "How long wilt Thou
lift up our souls?" excite lis. hold us be-
tween hope and fear? "If Thou really art
the Christ, then tell us plainly" Such is
the inevitable question which must be
asked by every soul when brought face to
face with the claim of Jesus to be the
Christ of God. Was He the anointed of
God? Was He "the Kings Son" who
should be called Wonderful. counselor,
the mighty God, the everlasting Father,
the prince of peace? Was He indeed
the Christ. or was He an imposter or a
weaklnp. illusioned by the fervor of His
own Enthusiasts? These questions as old
hour If He is not the Christ we NAV be
done with Him and go our wav. If He is
in very truth "the anointed, "the sent of
God" we are bound to listen to His voice
as the voice of God, to learn His precepts
and obey
To our question cart Thou the Christ~
Jesus makes answer; note His words:
ct told you, but We believe not" The
immediate appeal of Jesus was to His ver-
bal attestation of His Messiahship. AL
ready He had told them that God was His
Father that the Father had sent Him
into the world in His name, to establish
His kingdom among men, but they would
not believe. Of what use was it to tell
them that which they had already heard
and had refused to believe? Nor was it al
together strange that His verbal attesta-
ton of His Messiahship was not readily .ac
cepted, for His assertion to be one with
God was m9st startling one. Men give
credence slowly to the claims of others
they must see reasons or they will not be-
heve. Should a man come to our National
dor of England the first thing that would
be required of him would be that he should
furnish credentials Failing to furnish
them he would be laughed at for a fool.
Jesus saw that He must found His claim