River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-10-21

of Christ leading the forces of faith
against the forces of unbelief. There
were many who believed, howbeit-;"
and in that word ''howbeit" we have
the powers of unbelief There were
some who did not believe, who OPP
posed, but in spite of their opposition
faith was victorious. These forces of
unbelief, over against the forces of
faith, we wish to consider.
First, there was among unbelievers
q unity of purpose. The Pharisees
and Sadducees differed from each
other. The Pharisees were great be-
levers in spirit; the Sadducees were
infidels; they did not believe even in
spiritual God; and yet there was a
common base on which both could
unite. This discord of unbelief was
their only concord.
IN the second place, on the side Of
unbelief there was great learning
Ignorance is not the mother of faith.
That adage was born in an age of
ignorance, and it ought to have stayed
where it was born. The more a man
knows the more he can believe. Many
of the profoundest scholars are the
profoundest believers. It is true that
Christianity has captured much of our
literature and many of our schools,
but the fact remains that in the be-
ginning the learning of the day was
against Christ and his church.
In the third place, society was ar
| &ha ef1 ~ -
high priest and all his kindred, the
four hundred of Jerusalem, were
against Christ and his church. Kings
and queens have brought their treas
ures into the house of God, but it still
remains true that the people of every
age who spend their time in the pur-
suit Of pleasure and abandon them
selves to self-indulgence are on the
| side Of unbelief. In the very nature
of things they are against the self
denial taught by Jesus Christ.
A fourth was self-interest Accept
ing Christ meant cessation of member
ship in the Jewish Sanhedrim. The
temporal interests of the Pharisees
| and Sadducees were on the side of op-
position to Christ. They feared that
in the attempt to get something better
than they had they would lose all.
They were mistaken. If they had left
all and followed Christ, they would
have been rich indeed. To have sac
rificed their best for his best would
have been to make them millionaires
in the true riches of God.
And, finally, religion, sad to say,
was on the side of unbelief. Religion,
when not an angel of light, is a very
demon of darkness. Religion can
make men like whited sepulchres, full
of rottenness and dead mems bones.
Religion without Christ is religion I'm
der the banner of unbelief.
Note, now, the roll-ca1l of unbelief:
! Organization, learning, society, self-in-
terest and religion. Against organiza-
ton stands individualism. Christ
makes the individual conscious, mag
nifies the value of the one immortal
soul, and links love for himself with
that of love for neighbor Over
against the learning of the schools is
the wisdom and revelation of God.
Over against the aristocracy of posi-
ton is the aristocracy of character.
Over against self-interest is self-sacri-
ficing love, and self-sacrificing love is
more patient and persistent than self
| interest. Over against religion de-
| generate is religion regenerate; over
against the religion that debases is
the religion that exalts, the religion
| nf hn orf he ioin IF !,
it's holiness and power.
In a word, over against all the falla-
cies of the times were the facts Of
Christianity.
There was a three-fold fact which
the disciples brought against the op-
| position of unbelief; the fact of Christ
in his death, resurrection and exalta-
ton. Death meant atonement; resur-
rection meant life; exaltation meant
power. By atonement sins are put
away; by life character is built up;
by power all opposition is overcome.
And another fact flows from the
translation of this fact into exper-
fence. The disciples were not messen-
ger boys carrying facts; anybody can
do that. These disciples were facts
on feet, with eyes and hands and
hearts; they were the incarnation of
the death, resurrection and exalta-
ton of Jesus. In them these facts
lived and moved and had their being.
Are we messenger boys bringing the
| truth, or are we the truth? Jesus
Christ did not say, II have the truth"
but 81 am the truth" and when the
Christian can say not simply 81 have
TRUTH" but can feel it in his soul and
speak it from his heart, God will work
through him in mighty power.
The second fact was courage. These
were brave men; they spoke their
convictions In this they were like
their master. 1t is easy to tell of
Gods mercy, but harder to tell of his
wrath. These men stood before the
Jewish Sanhedrim and said, you cru
cited the Lord of Glory" and There
is none other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must
be saved" / am aware that Gods
mercy is wide like the Wilderness of
the sea-" ! am aware also that Gods
justice is narrow like the narrowness
of the ship on the sea, and if you ever
pass over the sea of Gods mercy into
the haven of everlasting rest, you