The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-01-16
Subject: Jesus Christ.

Rev. l. w. henderson, pastor LOOK as
his text John ia: And the word
was made flesh and dwelt among us"
He said:
The character and career of Jesus
Christ are the ground of human hope
and the basis of mankind's belief in
His power as the Saviour.
His life, as the evidence OF the
sincerity Of His speech, is the source
OF His success.
The outward action of our Master
Is the signal and the surety of His
inward healthfulness Of heart. N
His life, precept and practice were at
coincidence. With Him thought and
(. deed always were concurrent. His
words conveyed His real intentions
and His innermost ideals. His
language was to lead men unto eter-
nal life and was never used to con-
ceal a wicked thought.
Preaching a gospel of light unto
the salvation of the world and pro-
claiming His personal suflciency as
the Saviour of mankind from sin,
Jesus Christ talked truth, walked
true, died on Calvary, in devotion to
His divine commission, unto the saw
ing of the souls of sinners.
The life Of Jesus is remarkable,
not only as it reveals His oneness
with divinity, but also as it shows to
us what qualities of manhood are
potent for a real success. Tack
ling the mightiest problem in the
world the Christ exempliies what
are the means that we should use to
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He teaches US. a lesson that should
count for much in all our daily do
ings; which should make us forceful
factors which shall lead men up to
God; which should push us I've near
er to His holiness and grace.
The life and the death, /. e., the
career Of Jesus Christ, reveal to US
four divine qualities Of character that
every man should possess. In His
downright earnestness; in His fiery
~intenseness; in His clear cut, sharp
directness; and in His faithfulness to
the truth and to His trust, the Friend
Of humanity leads every man sue
eastward, If he will to go.
! The earnestness of Jesus Christ Is
q secret of His power. rendering to
men a surety of eternal life, He did
not fool their time or His own away.
Processing a pledge of upliftmeut
from the depth Of sin, He held ~
word in serious regard. The saliva
ton of the world was not mere child's
play, but a whole mans, yea, the
God-man's, labor. The need was for
a man who was dead in earnest.
Such a man was the Christ.
Earnestness made Christ q win
ner. Clearness of vision as to
His mission would have been of none
effect had the Christ been weak of
will. Love for men and loyalty to
His Father made strong demand for
earnestness. The pluck and the push
of the Master secured tie consumma-
ton Of His purpose. Irresolution
would have merited defeat, and it
would have gained our Lord oblivion.
Lack Of zeal would have lost thu
Christ to history. But for His ear
nestness and determination the story
Of His virtues never would have
reached our ears. Earnestness made
Christ push the fight into the coun-
try Of the enemy; courage and resolu-
ton won Him fame and secured Him
in His place of glory in the Fathers
home.
With a fiery ~intenseness Jesus
battled for the souls Ct men. His
was no lukewarm, milk and water,
blow hot and blow cold, half-hearted
enthusiasm. The Christ was always
ardent. His spirit never cooled. but
was ever at a rich, whitehead. His
was enthusiasm compounded. Be-
lieying, as He did, that the happiness
of the human heart and the saving Of
the human soul are the main con-
Germs of human life, u Lord had
ever a zeal that was glowing. Trust
ing in the power of divine aid and
knowing the need Of the human race
to be saved from sin, Jesus Christ
was as full Of earnestness as He was
of grace and truth. Grace Is good;
truth is a talisman' of might, but
grace and truth need grit and fire ere
they do their greatest work. Iron is
a mineral Of worth, but for battle
give me tempered steel. MeE Of
muscle are goodly to the sight, but
for action send me cut the man OF
courage and the souls who want to
win.
But with all His earnestness and
intenseness the Saviour made un-
erring aim. Directness was not the
least of His ~commendable traits. The
need was for good craftsmanship and
a sure sight. Sin was at the centre
of the worlds distress and to hit
the middle of the target was the mis-
r{1r re fhng Thrict 1nCJlc nnvar
minced matters when He dealt with
sin. Without care for the conse-
quences and with no circumlocution
our Lord let loose His flaming wrath
upon the works and the workers of
iniquity. His was no uncertain, wav-
ering voice. The fear of the outcome
of His fierce denunciation of spiritual
and moral laWlessness was foreign
to His heart. Clear, sharp, with an
incisiveness that QUITO the very core
of the matter, He stated the funda-
mental propositions Of the Kingdom
of our God and then made His enc
mics admit the power Of His points.
His was no hating, thin-toned state
me-. of eternal virtues. Feeling
W. in the deepest recess Of His heart
that sin was the cause of mans suf-
fering and knowing that : re-birth
was necessary to a full salvation, the
Master sent forth those firm, direct
and forceful messages that have been
the object of the curses Of q few md
the hope and inspiration of a mighty
and unrumbered host who do honor
to His name.
To supplement His earnestness and
flaming directness Jesus added sur
passing f%aithfulness. Faithfulness
Is but a smile for steadfastness. To
be faithful is to have a cordial GER
tainty that the right must win aid
also to be ready to stand firm and