The Progressive West Virginian. [volume] (Williamson, W. Va.) 1911-1913, 1912-10-24

His claims 6tanu
uneuualed in the
history Of the hui
IS man race, and on
" zSsNS mi the absolute full
flllment, even to
the very letter, Of all these claims,
Christ bases his right to divine recog-
milton. He claimed that it was his
prerogative to forgive sin; that he was
the only way to God; that outside Of
him there was no peace and no way
of access to the Father; that unless
he was trusted and believed in with
whole heart there was absolutely no
hope Of seeing heaven; that he was
the divinely appointed Redeemer OF
the world. and that the worlds re-
demption and salvation depended alb
solutely upon him alone; that the
power of life and death was in his
hands; and that all the Old Testament
predictions received their fulfillment
in him. So strong were these claims
that on one occasion the Jews were
cxasperated with him and said, What
sign showest thou Us II thou be all
that thou claimest to be?' In answer
to this challenge, Christ referred to
his resurrection and said, II do not
rise again from the dead, do not be-
heve my claim" On his resurrection,
therefore, Jesus Christ based the vim
dication OF all his claimsas Paul
says. He was declared to be the Son
OF God by his resurrection from the
dead" So long as Christ,s resurrec-
ton remains an accredited fact of his
tory, then that Galilean peasant,
Jesus Of Nazareth, is indeed and In
truth the Son Of the Most High God,
and the Saviour Of the world
Christs enemies realized the inn
portance of Jesus resurrection, and
because OF this, bribed the soldiers to
say that the disciples came and stole
away his body.
What comfort the resurrection Is
to the believer, who has placed his
hope and confidence in the life. to
come in Jesus Christ the Savior OF the
world! The world may deride, and
mock, and sneer, and ridicule, but the
believer exclaims, II know that my
Redeemer Hveth," and this is ample
evidence that the believers faith has
not been misplaced
II. The resurrection of Christ is a
guarantee Of our own resurrection.
Paurs thoughtful and inspired infer
ence from Christ's resurrection IL
this: Because he lives, we shall live
also" In the words of Dr. Parker,
- Z .,>1r+Yo a.. <or &tv,, = IIxr 4 v,IiPyfvev
Place an acorn in his hand and imme
diately he feels this weight Of a
mighty oak. Give Kim one little bulb.
and Immediately you have touched the
fountains OF his eloquence and he de-
scribes gardens and paradises and
heavens Paul saw the whole In the
part-he saw our resurrection In
Christ. II Christ rose from the dead.
then the graveyard is not a permanent
thing. The apostle will have every
little child brought back. The resur-
rection shall be accompanied by .
shout does this shout intimate or sig
Nifty the spirits leaving heaven and GO
| ing to the graveyard claiming their
bodies? Who knows?
Without the resurrection of Christ.
there Is no certainty of our own resur-
rection and that OF our loved ones II
Christ be not risen then all who have
died have persisted eternally. Then
we have no hope Of seeing those who
have gone before. But we have
better hope than that. because
live. We shall live also" AS In Adam
all die. so in Christ shall all be made
alive. For II the dead rise not. then
ii not Christ raised. We shall rise
again. We shall meet those who have
gone before us and who have fallen
asleep IN Christ. We shall meet be-
yond the river.
Firm and fast as the grave now
seems to held the bodies Of our dear
loved ones, It Is now doomed IS =
fruit Of Christ's resurrection, and will
be compelled one day to relax its
grasp. and yield them UP to us again.
Empty az was Joseph's sepulchrs
when the angel stood before 1t, 50
shall one day be every grave on earth.
when another angel shall sound his
trumpet and 1t shall ring through all
the regions Of the dead. and still all to
life again.
III. The resurrection of Christ man.
ifests his victory over death and the
grave.
Up to this time, deaths claims had
been undisputed. All opposition to
that dead enemy had been withoot
| effect. Sin reigned in the realm and
sovereignty Of death. and death reign
ed in sin. The purpose Of Christ's
coming into the world and assuming
human form was that he might by his
own death abolish death as the wages
OF sin. 1t was when he rose and left
the dead that Satan's empire fell.
| Christ's victory over death was dra~
matically complete on the day Of his
resurrection. We are told that bees
when they sting leave their sting in
the wound which they have caused, and
60 away to die. You can hold q bee
that has stung You between your thumb
and finger and let 1t buzz, but it can
not any longer harm you So death
left its sting In Christ on the Cross
and it no longer has any terror for
the believer. Death has now been
yanquished; the grave has capituIat-
ed. and he that believes In Christ