The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-09-08
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tHIIaKB:
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DIR. ROBERT BRUCE HULL.
Theme: The Power Of Christ.

LlOQ OIL CQ6 SuuluGr ANSnuC ooPeAos
Church to be its acting pastor. Il
preached Sunday from the text, 3
Peter 1:16: 1--WE have not followed
cunningly devised fables when we
made known unto you the power and
coming Of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
we're eye witnesses of His majesty"
DR.. Hull said:
Human life does not end at the
grave OF this fact the conscious
ness of the race Is itself a proof. But
this future life and the present life
are not to be controlled and directed
by guesses. We ought not to risk
the future on a perhaps. We ought
not to condition our eternal state on
q hypothesis. For such tremendous
issues we should demand not fables,
but facts. This demand Christianity
meets. Christianity Is not afraid OF
the light. It is not a dark lantern
religion. It welcomes all investiga-
ton, whether scientific or unscien-
tiic. It deals not in hypothesis but
in yerities. This is the thought OF
the Apostle Peter in the text. q
apostles were not deceived. In fol-
towing them we shall not be trusting
to the wild vagarfes Of unverifed
speculatlons.
Notwithstanding Call reverent and
irreverent critics have said, the Bible
is a trustworthy revelation of God
and from God. Suppose we grant to
our skeptical friends that the inspir-
alton of the Bible Is the same in kind
as the inspiration of other books OF
eminent authors. Still the degree
| of inspiration Is so manifestly greater
in the authors of the siXty-six books
of Scripture that It amounts toia dif+ 4
ference in kind as we'll as in degree.
As q rule, the men who wrote the
| books of the Bible were not what we
would call educated men. They were
shepherds, fishermen, herdsmen, sol
diers, kings. They lived In q nation
which never had a literature, and yet
these sixty-six books written by more
than forty different authors living
more than 1900 years apart, all have
one theme, and they wrote upon II
with q power, a nobility and a sub.
Unity unequalled in all literature.
From that eldest day in Genesis to
that last moment when Johns pen Oh
holy power fell from his hands, we
move down the ages in the p~resenceT
of one and the same Being. In the
beginning, Cod" and at the close
the God man saying, Behold,
come quickly" If such a book under
these circumstances Is not divine, ~
is still more wonderful. SO many
authors could not have had such
thought and such harmony unless
their writings we're presided over by
One and the same Being. Even Ros,
seau, infdel though he was, speak,
ing Of the four Gospels. says1
vent this story Of Jesus, the inventors
would have been more wonderful
than the heTo&sne gixa&8HE&82G
We are to bear in mind also thai
this book Is the most ancient book In ;
the world. The ancient books Of the
Persians and the Hindus do not coms
pare in antiquity with this ancient
document. We are also to remems
Der that Notwithstanding all that
critics have said, its text Is purer han
that of Shakespeare. Fewer changes
have crept into it by errors OF tran.
scription than there are in the works
Of the great English dramatist. We
can therefore feel that when we trust
to the teachings Of the Book, when
we rely upon its promises, when we
comfort ourselves with its hopes, we
are resting on the solid rock OF 9
proved revelation from God. We ID
not follow cunningly devised fables
when we trust the Bible as q revelas
ton from God.
The character OF, Jesus Christ 10
not mythical. Rosseau well said
"It would take a Jesus to forge q
Jesus" Whatever, comes, Jesus
stands the test. For nineteen hun,
dred years His life, character and
teaching, have been studied and He
stands to-day more Individually the
Goldman than ever before. It has
been we'll said that from this trt.
lemma there Is no escape. Either
Jesus was q conscious fraud or He
was unconscfously deceived, or He
was the Son Of God and equal with
the Father" Listen to Him saying,
"Come to me all ye that labor 1nd
are heavy laden and I will give you
rest" Behold Him saying to the Inn
potent man, "Son, thy sins be for.
given thee" Hear that wonderful
assertion, HE that hath seen Me
hath seen the Father" and again.
''I and the Father are one" He
claimed equality with God, for He
was God. Yet He was human also.
His perfect humanity was in union
with His divinity.
He was intensely human so that
He could be tempted IN all points
like as we are, yet without sin. This
is our hope.
Jesus. the Goldman Is our Saviour.
The rocks may meet, but the Rock
Of Ages abides.
Away with doubt and fear. II
men should say we will carry away
the Hudson River in our buckets, we
should smile at their folly. When
men seek to pluck from the crown
of the Christ either His God-hood or
His Manhood we may we'll hold them
in derision.
We have not followed cunningly
devised fables when We accept apos-
tolic teaching concerning the future
life. Jesus said, II go to prepare q
place for YOU" He has done It.
Heaven is a reality. From the brow
Of Olivet through the yifted skies q
human form went up. A cloud re-.
ceived Him out of the sight OF those
amazed disciples. Then came the
message, "This same Jesus which 'is
taken up from you into heaven shall
so come in like manner as ye have
seen Him go into heaven"
The intuitions of our souls are not
to be disappointed.
Then in heaven there IS the human
kai.r &c Inn,,o thu Chrict Gtonhan