The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-06-27


OF Christ to Chris
tianity that II Christ be not risen from
the dead the gospel OF Christ Is want
ing in reality, and barren In results;
It is false and groundless, barren and
fruitless; 1t is nothing. It does moth
Ing.
I. Our Preaching 10 vaIn.-Paul
makes Christianity answer with Its
life for the literal truth Of the resur-
rection OF Jesus Christ from the dead.
That the body of the founder OF Chris
tianity did not remain in the grave
after the third day is fundamental to
the gospel as Paul preached 1t. This
great fact was a fundamental plank
in the platform OF the apostles gos-
pei; 1t was the very keystone OF the
arch of Christianity, the very core
OF the gospel as he had received and
proclaimed It, and as the Corinthian
Christians had received It. Take away
from Paurs gospel the fact that Christ
arose from the dead and you have
taken the very heart and core out OF
his message-then 1t Is nothing but
painted story. concocted tale; for
the resurrection Of Christ was not
q mere appendage to, but constitu-
tive part of Paul's gospel message. II
It be true that no living Christ issued
forth from the tomb Of Joseph, then
that tomb became not only the grave
OF a man, but of a religion, too, with
all the spiritual hopes built upon II,
and all the splendid enthusiasms 1t
has inspired; then the whole gospel
story is a sham, and unreality, an i'm
posture at its very heart; then the
platform OF the gospel falls to pieces.
and the arch Of Christianity crumbles
into dust.
II you have no Christ risen from
the dead, says the apostle. then on
what does the religion OF Christ rest,
and what reason have we for preach
ing IT. Then our words are empty
sounds, the hopes We have aroused are
idle dreams, our pleas are vain boasts.
our proposals are vain things, our In
tentions are futile plans; indeed. our
whose message and preaching Is a
sham. a delusion. tissue Of false
hoods. an empty phantom. worth
less fiction. Instead Of our message
being the proclamation OF truth. 1t
Is the dissemination Of lie. for II
Christ be not risen then in reality
We have no gospel that Is worthy OF
the name-our message 10 but a vain.
worthless, empty sham. Is this cred
iblef
II. Your Faith 10 vaIn.-If Christ BE-
not risen, II he remained In the grave.
then you have put faith in the wrong
person and In the wrong thing, for II
Christ did not rise. as he said. then
he was nothing less than false proph-
ct, q betrayer, q blasphemer, who had
suffered death Justly. 1t 10 utterly
worthless and useless to put your
trust In one whose word has so utter
ly failed. To build your hopes on one
whose most solemn assertions have
fallen to the ground would be moth
ing less than sheer madness; such an
act would not be faith but credulity;
then such q person as the Lord Jesus
Christ disappears. and you have moth
ing left but q man like ourselves In
whom to believe.
III. Yet In Your elns.-It 10 here
acknowledged that Christ alone can
save from sins. but II he could not
save himself from sins power how can
he save the sons Of men from its guilt !
and dominion? Christ himself dis |
tinctly taught that his death had re-
demption value, and that his resur- |
rsction from the dead would be proof |
positive Of this fact. The apostle
Paul. also. says that "Christ died for |
our sins. and was raised again for our
Justification" from. t:a6.) But II
Christ himself is still under the power
Of death. which 10 the wages Of sin.
how. then. can he release others from
the payment Of that dsbtf Then
his death has no rsdemptive value.
II Christ remained In the grave then
humanity has no redeemer. man has
no Saviour; the guilt and power OF sin
has not been removed. men are not |
pardoned. sinners are not justified. the
SHINING and sinful race 10 still under
the guilt and condemnation of sin and
exposed to the Just wrath OF q right
eous God against sin and sinners. Then
freedom from condemnation Is unreal.
the sense Of forgiveness IL q sham. the
consciousness Of pardon for sin II the
greatest delusion.