The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1907-02-28

Jesus talk to him. No sooner did this
divine revelation come than there
sprang up in him longing desire to
go forth and tell to the world what he
had seen and how his Christ could be-
come the worlds Saviour, PauPs Da-
mascus experience was like that which
some of us have had during our past
lives. 1t may have been during some
revival services in the village church
of our boyhood days or it may have
been during season Of awful sickness
or when we buried little child or dur
ing the hours which succeeded our
yielding to heinous sin that Christ
appeared unto us. We can remember
it as yesterday Jesus rose up before
us as he came to Paul, saying, Il am
Jesus whom thou hast prosecuted"
And so realistic was the divine revela-
ton that no argument could ever prove
to us that Jesus himself did not appear
unto us as he appeared unto Paul on
the Damascus road.
Paul Not the Only One.
Nor is Paul the only man who has
had this revelation of Jesus Christ.
Scores and scores Of eminent Chris
tians have had it. Luther had it, and
Wesley had it, and Finney had it, and
Thomas Chalmers had it, and John
Bunyan had it, and John Newton had
It, They have had it the same as
many of us have had it, The greatest
trouble with many of us In Christian
work is that we are not obedient to
the heavenly vision. We do not say
with Paul. "God forbid that / should
glory, save In the cross of Jesus
Christ" We are trying to teach men
lessons for this life, but we do not
emphasize and keep accomplishing the
essential doctrine that through the
blood of Jesus and in no other way
can we be truly cleansed of our sins
We have had this revelation come to
us, but we have been pushing it more
and more into the background Of our
lives.
A young minister once said to Mr..
Moody: What makes the difference
between your success and mine? Eli
Their you are right and l am wrong, or
l am right and you are wrong"
WELL" said Mr. Moody, Il do not
know what Is the difference unless
you tell me, for have never heard
you preach" The minister replied:
''You make great deal out of the death
of Christ and do not make anything
out of it. do not think it has anything
to do with the gospel. l preach about
the life and not about the death Of
Jesus well" said Mr.. Moody,
''what do you do with this: He hath
borne our sins upon the treeY What
do you do with this: He was wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities, and with his stripes
were we healed?' What do you do
with this: Without shedding of blood
there is no REMISSION" sOh," an
swered the minister, Il do not preach
on those passages What do you
preachY' WELL" he answered, my
sermons are moral essays" Then Mr..
Moody replied, my friend, if you take
the blood out Of the Bible it is all a
myth, to me-" But" answered the
true" "Then," said Mr.. Moody, Il adj
wise you to get out of the ministry
very quick. I would not preach a
sham. If the Bible is untrue, let us
stop preaching and come out at once
and attack it. But If these things are
true, and Jesus left heaven and came
into the world to save sinners, then let
us lay hold of 1t and preach 1t In sea-
son and out Of season" So say all
true ministers of Jesus Christ.
Fitness In All Things.
But there was another fact besides
that revelation on the Damascus road
which was driving Paul forward as a
minister Of Jesus Christ. All men who
are converted to Jesus Christ are not
expected to enter theological semina-
ries There is a fitness in all things.
Many good cobbler has been spoiled
to make very poor preacher. Many
men who wear the black cloth of the
clergy would make a far better sue
cess in building a brick wall than they
do in expounding the word of God from
pulpit. have great deal Of sym
pathy with that shrewd father who,
when his son came to him and said:
Father, had divine revelation last
night. God wants me to be a minister
Of Jesus Christ, for everywhere about
me I kept seeing the two letters blaz-
ing at me-'P. c., P. c., P. C.-'Preach
Christi "Oh, no." said the father.
'"Those two letters, p. c. which you
saw do not mean Preach Christ They
meant for you 'Plow corn God meant
you to be farmer He never cut you
out to be minister"
There is no profession, as 1 well
know, about which so many mistakes
are made as about the ministry. Young
men, full Of zeal, full of the desire to
save SOILS, full of ambition to serve
God, all of which aspirations are laud-
able, rush into the ministry without
considering whether they have the tai
ents needed for success in that sphere.
Many a man who would have made an
excellent lawyer or physician or stock
broker becomes an inefficient minister,
and, as a humorous professor once said,