Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1906-11-15
FAMOUS DUNE

stand by the truth revealed to him
by God.
If, in the realm Of science. expert
eace. shall be held to be the test Of
valuH7of opinion, how much more
necessary will it not be in the sphere
OF the religious life. It is easy for
the scofer to mock at the joys and
the comforts Of the Christian life.
There is no difficulty for the man
who really wants to find men who,
after h~alf-hearted service and misin-
terpreted, misunderstood experiences,
pronounce the life within Jesus a
fraud. But is the cry of the maligner
of Christianity legitimate and well
based? Has any man a right to dis
| parage q system OF living Of which
he has no experimental knowledge
| OF OF which his sole Information IL
u~nscientifc or fraudulent? Which
shall be mightier. the testimony OF
the soul which having fulfilled the
conditions is satisfied and sure, or the
tale of woe OF the charlatan who
never met the measure?
But If It is needful to be rich with
experience to deny the grace of the
God blessed lite, it is still more neces-
sary to be saturated with a deep.
Christly, spiritual, personal expert
enc IN order to convince others of
its value and to enjoy what Beecher
called "its privileges and preFoga-
tives." The holy men Of Israel knew
the beauty of Jehovah and the glory
o. a life near to Him because they
enjoyed and practiced experimental
communion with Him. Jesus pro-
claimed the majesty of the Father
and the loneliness Of a God-inspired
career because He dwelt within the
presence of His King. Paul paints
the manifold blessings Of the Chris
tian life because he was a thorough
going Christ-man. The Samaritan
woman received Jesus as the prophet
for whom her heart 1onged because
she had seen Him face to face. And
her brethren from the city believed
/ on Christ since she repeated to them
}, her own short. graphic story concern
| ing the truth she had both heard
, and seen. There we have it, faith
| founded on fact and on fact repeated
r that Is to say, upon personal ex'
p%erience.
All preaching and all testimony
which strikes home to the heart l!
t the story of the personal experiences
e The first principle of q reaching tall
is, to sum it up in q sentence. tel
only the facts OF life. And If in tn,
: telling of the Gospel story and in thu
. application Of the truth to the de
t mands and the problems of to-da.
this element Of dead certainty is o
such immense Importance, who shall
e deny its insistent necessity in orde
d to the enjoyment and appropriation
r of the Gospel blessings by the indl
8 vidual.
r The Christ life must be a live
lrst-hand, personal experience or ]
is useless. You may take your foo
prepared or predigested as you will
g You may take your knowledge o
d the scientific disciplines by rote. Blu
a rich and e%nriching spiritual com
l. munion within Him whe does not lfv
II his life within Jesus for himself
a "Now we believe, not because OF tn
saying; for we have heard Him our
selves and know that this is 1ndee
= the Christ, the Saviour OF the world,
said the men of Sychar. And this /!
as in the nature of the case it mus
be, the testimony Of every man VIII
will enter or who has entered int
y the enjoyment Of the privileges an
a the prerogatiyes" of the Christia
/ life. No other method of entranc
is so satisfactory. No other test
mony from the citizens of the eternt
kingdom is SO influential and col
+. vincing. No other knowledge is S
certfficatfng to the intellect. No othe
evidence is SO soul inspiring. Will
If out a vision OF the Christ no ma
may witness worthily for Hin
: Blessed with a personal experiene
:. we may lead the multitudes to God.
!; A Christian who Is devoid Of a pc
sonal experience with the present
- and the personality Of Jesus Chri'
- is a paradox. Strictly speaking thel
is no such thing as a Christian lii
-, apart from the immediate influent
- Of the Lord Jesus. We might as we
call a mar 8 sinner and without tt
:" pale Of the kingdom of God. as "
=, have it in the economy OF Jesus, as
call him a nominal Christian" v
~ speak Of nations as nominally Chri
tian because we do not wish to |
: unk1nd in our Technology. In rea
- ity a nation that is nominally Chri
tan Is usually a nation that bears
more resemblance to Christ. H
= plans, His teachings, His characte
than is expressed by the fact that I,
convenience's sake and for purpos
- OF international differentiation. Y
- so denominate It..
:. The man who hopes to win me-
- with a message that Is other tn:
=, born of q personal and direct inspir
a. ton from God Almighty is an a