Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1908-04-25
Ca(nnaQe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, ID. ID.


now dropping into the soil the seed
that will yet bear fruit In good deeds,
gospel teaching and noble sacrifice foi
others The text Is John iy, 30: "Say
not ye there are yet four months and
then cometh harvest? Behold, say
unto ,yop, lift up your eyes and looh
upon the fields, for they are white al
.eady to harvest"
If these words were true when Jesui
uttered them to his disciples nearly
1000 years ago, how much more true
are they when spoken to the men and
women of the present generation
These nineteen centuries Of gospel
preaching and gospel sacrifices have
not gone for naught The preaching
and the life labors of the twelve apos-
ties, followed by those of Polycarr
and Athanasius and Augustine and
Luther and Calvin and Wycliffe and
Wesley and WhiteHeld and Savonarols
and John Knox and David Livingstone
were not all useless. Have no harvest
come from the myrads Of gospel SOW.
ers who have been scattering theif
seeds everywhere In every generation
! Have we no harvests from the self
sacrifice of our modern missionaries as
well as from the patient labors OF the
hundreds and thousands OF Christian
ministers scattered all over the whole
world? What would we think of
man who, having endless life and un
/ limited wealth, devoted years Of labor
and millions of dollars to work thai
after 1000 years showed no signs OF
completion? We should say that mar
was In fools business Well, my
brother, do you suppose God is en-
gagged In any such business as thatl
Do you suppose all these labors fol
nineteen centuries have gone fol
naught? Nay, nayI In every genera
ton the toilers have been cheered and
| encouraged by seeing the results oi
| their labors. The word has never re
turned void Wherever and whenever
| II has been sown men have listened
and have turned from the husks OF the
world to seek eternal life. Sowing and
reaping have gone on simultaneously |
The work Is still ready for the worker,
and we in our day have the additional
stimulus of seeing what our predeces |
sors have accomplished by the very
( means we have at command. Let US
consider this morning what those
leans are that have been effective In |
the past and will prove effective In the
future
The Meaning of the Sacrifice.
First there are the facts Of the gos'
nel. Christ himself was born in man
ger. He suffered and died and rose
again and ascended from Mount Oliyel
for our atonement our redemption and
our coronation. By his shed blood lie
has paid all the price for our emanci'
pation from sin. BY his shed blood he
has made 1t possible for us to be pure
as he is pure. perfect as he Is perfect
and TO sit upon throne at the righ'
hand of God His redeemed saints are
at this hour singing his praises IL
never ending hosannas amid the eter
nal ioys of heavenly reunion, where
there is no sickness, no pain, no part
| ings. no sin. no death. Though we
should have the silver tongue OF the
most eloquent preacher that ever lived
and all the mental grasp OF a Pau
himself. yet today we would give the
chief praise for this glorious expecta'
ton to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus
Christ 1t is the bloOd-the divine
blood-of our Saviour shed for the re-
mission Of sins that has made all this
harvest Of the gospel fields possible.
And this truth is the more emphatic
because it is just here at the atonine
cross that the orthodox gospel minister
and all other teachers separate. Inc
crucial question is not, as some sup
pose. as to the garden of Eden or the
book of Job or the experience of Jonah
The one great issue which every Chris
tian has to decide is not whether Moses
wrote the Pentateuch. 1t is not who
was the author Of the Psalms or OF the
book of Ecclesiastes. 1t is not whether
the Bible itself is verbally inspired. Ii
is not as TO the meaning Of the Mes
sianic prophecies. 1t is not whether
God created the world in six days or
in GOOO years. The great question at
issue is still that which was put to the
apostles, "What think ye Of ChristT
Do you believe that he died to save
men from their sins? Do you believe
that he is able to give eternal life to
those who put their trust in him? Are
you willing to make him the guide OF
your life. your king who shall control
your thoughts and actions? That is
the main point at issue, and that alone,
for If you can believe and do believe
that and put your trust in him you
have the essentials of Christian faith,
and the other questions are Of minor
importance.
The Essentials of Faith.
Do you believe that Jesus was In
very truth the only begotten Son OF
God and that be came into this world
to save US by his life and shameful
death from our sins? This is the vital
place where all true Christians and
false believers separate. l am not TO-
day asking you one of the interesting
but unessential questions might ask
i am trying to find out where you are
in the great foundation truths. The
center right, the circumference of your
spiritual faith, will be right What Is
your answer In reference to the blood
the divine blood-shed for the remission
Of sinsf Can you not perceive that IT
is this doctrine Of the cross that mas
been the basis of the triumphs OF Chris
tianity? The harvest of souls that has
come In every generation as reward
to the faithful preacher has been won
by that doctrine and no other, and we
therefore go forth to preach the same
doctrine assured that we shall have