El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-07-18

brought face to face with the purity Of
What Way They Are Ashamed.
Nav ask in what way are men
] ashamed Of Jesus? The text indicates
I two ways. that is, his person and his
| message. How are men ashamed OF
/ his person or his character In this:
| He was everything that sinful men are
J ashamed Of. %. He had an humble
birth a 1OWly birth Natural men are
ashamed Of lOwliness Of birth. It was
heralded in the press a few years ago
I that a great American financier, with
the power Of his money, had succeeded
in tracing his genealogy back to an
ancient line Of kings In all this tedi-
ous searching Of records nothing was
said OF the multitude Of ancestors
whose names were lowly and obscure.
Men never tire Of boasting of their
noble ancestry, their great sires. 90.
Christ was poor. Sinful men are
ashamed OF poverty Ihey viii commit
violence sometimes to escape the stig-
ma Of poverty. Some will cheat and
swindle their fellow men. going into
debt when there is no hope Of paying,
in order to appear to the public as be-
ing wealthy and prosperous When
thew fail at this their hatred Of pow
erty manifests itself in the way they
cry out against those who are rich.
But you surround one Of these same
failures with wealth and luxury and
toward the more fortunate. 81. Christ
was the very embodiment Of humility.
Pride is the chief glory Of the IN
cody. You stab a sinners pride and
you pierce his heart He shrinks from
serving. though he be the lord OF crea-
ton. who would stOop so low as to
wash a poor fisherman's feet
Suffered Shameful Death.
%. Christ had a shameful death. :
In other words, the world concluded ]
that he was a failure. Instead OF ]
his manifest destiny taking the !
regular course Of heroes ris- !
ing from obscurity to power, /
ting the TO the. gibbet; instead Of /
his gathering about him the military |
forces Of the world and by them, i
subjecting the world to his iron rule. i
he gave himself up to his enemies 4
without resistance and suffered him
self to be put TO death in the most I
shameful manner. Do you suppose nat
ural men would cleave TO such a hero2
Would they who count the things OF
this world Of supreme worth line up
with a leader who suffered the loss OF
all earthly glory and died in shame
and contempt
Sinful men are not only ashamed I
Of the person and character Of Jesus, I
but they are also ashamed of his mes
sage, his doctrine He taught men !
that they were sinners. Repentance /
was set up by him as the door through
which all must pass to enter the king /
dom Of God He not only taught the
publicans and harlots that they were
poor, miserable sinners. under the con-
demnatiOn Of eternal death; he also
stood before the respectable caste and
said Your father is the devil from
whence We are" He taught them that
they must turn their backs on this
vain world, and confess that they were
pilgrims and strangers here, that their
was in heaven from whence
they looked for the lord, the right |
eOus judge. He taught them that II
they ever got TO heaven they must
deny themselves, take up his cross and
follow him through evil as well as
good report
SeIfishness Must Co.
Selfishness must go; love OF ease, 7
worldly pleasure, false pride, sinful I
usts and appetites, must be crucified,
1lucked up by the roots. before they I
could be his disciples. He taught them |
hat they must be willing to bear the |
would cast upon him As the world
Dnly loved its own, IL followed that /
he world would despise his followers |
de said: Rejoice, and be glad'-at
IL this-'for so prosecuted they the
which were before you" To
he man Of the world this was poor
Jay for the ignominy and contempt OF
proud and vain world
Is IL possible that men in this aduI-
erous and sinful generation are /
shamed Of this same Jesus2 Yes. As
Ong as men are sinful and adulterous
hey will be ashamed Of the sinless-
less and purity of Jesus. It is as hard
o meet the condition OF harmonious
neness with the sinless Jesus today
s when he walked with and talked to
len in Galilee. We are all OF US drawn
o this vain world by hooks Of steel
elf denial is a cross We do not want
0 bear How awful is the struggle /
OF US to keep our hearts from being
-edded to the things Of this world. / II
low many q poor church member is
tuffing himself full Of the husks OF
mis- world and starving the higher
AZURE to death thereby. He that