The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-08-22

10und means 10
be detected or dis
covered in the preparation of
fraud. II Is a word used for judy
ments regarding moral character and
conduct, and conveys the idea of dis
covering and detecting forgery and
falsity.
In using this word, the apostle
would say that in proclaiming to the
Corinthians the doctrine of the resur-
rection of Christ, he and the other
apostles had been guilty Of perpetrat-
ing fraud upon them.
II Christ be not risen, then the
apostles are false witnesses; not wit
nesses deluded, mistaken, deceived,
the victims of an hallucination, which
was the result OF an overweight
brain and Imagination, but false wit
nesses. Deluded! say the apostle, we
cannot be; victims of an overweight
Imagination, innocent but deceived en-
thusiasts-all this i'm impossible, we
are downright deceivers; we have
willingly. knowingly perpetrated
fraud upon the church In claiming
that Christ rose from the dead; we
are downright deceivers. The strange
thing about the apostles statement Is
that the idea of delusion or hallucina-
ton is wholly absent from his argu-
ment. II does not seem to have oc-
CURED to him to mention II. Even the
possibility of It is too remote to be
spoken Of.
To the apostle, the resurrection Of
Christ is truth or a falsehood,
reality Of a fraud, thing Of sincerity
or Of deceit. a fact or a mistake. There
Is no loophole OF escape-the resur-
rection Ia either a fact or falsehood,
a reality or a sham, and such persons
as the apostles were guilty of perpe-
trating It,
Paul feels that the stigma OF false
hood has been put upon him. He feels
that he has been stung by an insult.
Somebody has not believed him-has
made him out to be liar. His testi-
mony in effect is this: have seen
the risen Christ; have talked with
him; have received my commission
from him. To challenge my statement
is to challenge my character, my
veracity, my understanding. my rea-
son.
v. II Christ be not risen from the
dead then we have no God who is
worthy Of our trust.
To attribute to a person a good or
glorious act, which it is well known
that he never performed, is to cause
that person to be suspected of hav-
ing prompted the false assertion. So
the testimony of the apostle would
lead men to think that God had in
spired men to tell lies about him.
Many think that they can still have
faith in God, that they still have left
a God whom they can trust and In
whom they can repose their faith,
even though they do not accept the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The
apostle says plainly, This is not so; If
We have no risen Christ, neither have
We God in whom We can trust. Note
the serious point here. Paul preach
ed God, he commended God, and the
Justice of God as shown in raising HIS
holy son from the dead. But If Jesus
Christ is not risen from the dead,
then We have no such God. II one like
Jesus Christ is still left dead, II one
be so good as Jesus was and still be
deprived OF life. what kind of a God
have We? We have no God in whom
We can trust; 1t is no use trying TO
be good. The end is a skull and few
ashes. We have testified of Cod
says Paul, we have justified God. but
We are found false witnesses OF him
II Jesus Christ did not rise from the
dead. Have you considered what that
point meansH The modern man often
assumes that he is already in posses
sion OF God with reliable charac-
ter, whatever you make of Jesus
Christ. But there Is something In the
career and In the issue OF the career
OF Jesus Christ that makes a good
God in this tragic world incredible I'M
less Christ be risen from the dead.
Jesus went through the worst suffer-
ings that any man ever suffered. He
sounded the depths of the worlds
tragedy. Now II he has been raised
from the dead We may believe in
God; but II there be no resurrection
OF the spotless Christ. then God is
either dead or mad. We have no rsar
sonabla God iaft I"