The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-02
ALL MUST ANSWER
ONE MAIN QUESTION
What Think Ye of Christ? ?"
Text of Sermon
WAS HE IMPOSTER?
DIR. McYoy at Highlands Methodist
Church Shows Proof Christ
Was the True Son
of God

Highlands Methodist church by the pas
| tor DR.. f. c. McVoy. DR.. McVoy stated
that every man must some time during
his life answer this question In some one
way or another and states it is the CEN
tral question of the Christian religion.
| His sermon follows:
1t is hard to understand why such
good. pure man as Jesus Christ was
"a man who was always trying TO help
somebody-should be so bitterly hated
and yet 1t was true. Men hated Him
when lie was on the earth, and men
| nave hated Him down TO the present
| time. Notice the circumstances under
which this text was spoken
Ihe Pharisees and Sadducees had
| put many questions to Christ trying to
compromise Him, to entrap Him, to find
| some accusation to bring against Him
Tor, oven then, they were plotting to
get rid of Him. But Christ wes more
| than match for them. In His answers
they found nothing to charge against
Him. Finally Christ said to them, Let
me ask you question: What think ye
of Christi And when they made
| answer, they found that they were cor
nered themselves, and put to silence.
What think We of christi" MY
friends, in these words we have one
of the greatest questions ever presented
to man-for all other questions in re-
gard to our religion center about this
one. Much depends upon how this ques-
zion is answered-and every person
who comes into this world must answer
1t in some way. Whether you want to
or not, you are compelled to have some
opinion--to take some stand, in regard
to Jesus Christ.
prominent minister of New York
city said that he once asked one of
the merchant princes of that city what
he thought of Christ. He replied frank
ly: II suppose | never think of Him
at all" The minister then asked him
when he was born. and he replied: IN
the year 1S43." "B. c. or a. d. ?" asked
the minister The man was put to
confusion, and remained silent lie had
been writing dates for many years, and
every time he wrote a date he commem-
GRATED the birth of Christ. Did you ever
stop to think that every time you date
letter or ledger you pay tribute
to Jesus Christ? Time is reckoned from
Bethlehem.
This question comes to every person
in this congregation today and every
person here doubtless has some opinion
of Jesus Christ. Now, suppose | ask
you to express that opinion: "What do
you think of Christi" Well, someone
out there answers: Il think He was an
imposter He may have been sincere,
but He was deluded. He was a dreamer.
He imagined He was the Messiah, the
Son of God, and He just kept on thinking
1t and preaching 1t, until finally He per-
suaded Himself to believe it. He was
the victim of an overwrought imagina-
tion-an imposter."
[ answer: Such a thing as you de-
scribe was impossible. He might have
deceived Himself, and He might have
deceived the people during His lifetime
but 1t is unthinl<able such a deception
could continue for 1900 years. Had He
been an imposter, the world would have
found it out long ago. No imposter
could retain the love and worship of
countless millions of men and women
for 10 centuries. More people believe
in Christ today than ever before in the
worlds history Impossible that He was
an imposter.
"What think ye of Christie" Another
man says: 81 think He was a pure, good
and great man-if you please, the
greatest man who ever came into the
world. The ideal man. The loftiest
example of all the centuries. The fair
est flower that ever bloomed. The
highest wave of the seattle tallest
mountain peak of earth. But I think
He was only man. I cannot believe
in His divinity. How He could have
been God and man at the same time
! cannot understand. So / utterly re-
ject the idea that He was the Son of
God, and l look upon Him merely as
the Ideal man, but only man--worthy
of my love but not my worship" Well.
would say, If you take that position
there are some things you viii have to
explain: that Won cannot explain. In
the first place, If Jesus was not the Son
of God, He was not even a good man.
If you Will study His life carefully, you
will find that time and again He claimed
30, 1.A e. -
one occasion He said plainly that He
was the son of God. There is no way
of evading this issue for here is the rec
ord. SO, / say. If Jesus was not. the
Son OF God, lie was deceiver; He
claimed what was not true: He was
false; He was not even a good man.
Explain that, If you can.
Then. when He died, lie had only a
handful Of followers. His own race
repudiated Him. "He came unto His
own and His own received Him not"
Had He been only a man His name
would have perished from the earth
within decade after His death. Today.
that name is loved and honored by mill
lions in every cline, and is sung the
wide world round Today a million
men and women would gladly die for
Him. If necessary. Explain that IL you
can.
Then there is another thing for you
to explain, If you reject His divinity.
The world knew Him only for three
short years He lived q very simple life
What did He accomplish. after all? He
invented nothing. He gave the world no
steamboat, or steam engine, or sewing
machine. He left men in this respect no
better off than before He came. lie
founded no college or university He
wrote no book--not even one sentence did
He put on paper He painted no picture.
He never sang song or played upon any
instrument of music. He healed the sick,
but did nothing to prevent disease and
suffering. He fought no battle. He or
ganized no army 1T is not recorded that
He ever made any money The fact is,
He was so poor He had to perform mira
Gle to get money to pay His taxes. Now,
have, in a sense, drawn His picture, and
defy any one to say that the picture is
not correct. But this picture has another
side-look at it a moment. Listeni While
Christ invented nothing He has inspired
every invention. While Christ did not give
to the world steam or electricity, yet when
the 100000 candle power electric light of
the Chicago Worlds fair flashed out its
first sentence, 1t was quotation from His
lips: ''Ye shall know the truth. and the
truth shall make you free" Having writ
ten no book, million books have been
written about Him. Having invented no
printing press, thousands of presses today
are kept busy printing His words. Hav-
in never sung song, He has inspired
all the great music of the world Having
never written a line of poetry the great
est facts of the world have immortalized
Him. Having never painted a picture TIe
has entered into all the worlds art
Having built no college, three out of
every four i'm the world TODAY aer erected