The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-12-06

The audience last evening was re-
sponsive to DIR. Chapmans message
and after the sermon large number
manifested q desire to lead a Christian |
life.
DR.. Chapman preached on the sub
jet Regeneration, taking as his text: |
Ye must be born again John 81 |
think there IS no chapter in all !
the Bible with which we feel we are |
more familiar than the third chapter !
of ST. John. Yet, to my mind, there is
no chapter in all the Bible so difficult
of explanation. 1t is in this chapter
that we have thought of regeneration
represented, and if / should say to
you, Give me a definition OF reoen-
Grafton, | question if many of nv
hearers could give definition that
would be satisfactory or plain to the
man or woman who is seeking Jesus
Christ
when you tell me that you have re-
solved never again to 20 in the way
of iniquity, that is not enough, even if
you could keep the resolution If one
is to become a new creature, and over
come the power of old sin, and new
temptation, he must be born from
above, and that means to have implant-
| ed in his nature a new force from
above. 1t is to have within himself a
new life which is the life of God. 1t
| is to have a Saviour offered to and
accepted by him. That is regenera-
| ton
| Regeneration is not of necessity
going to church; it is not of necessity
| baptism; it is not Of necessity our
prayers. BY regeneration we mean to
be made over; to start anew; to be
| born from above; to be a child OF God;
/ to enter into the kingdom. 1t is a
! thousand times better than reforna-
ton. Reformation is from the outside,
but regeneration begins at the very
heart.
"Do not make the fatal mistake of
thinking that Won must first under
| stand God 5 processes of regeneration
| before YOU come to Christ, but nut
yourself in the hands of the Great
teacher and then all viii he made
plain. You would not say that you
would not take up algebra until you
understand it. You would not say that
you would not study German until YOU
could speak it. You would not say that
you would not take the physician S
medicine because you did not know
how it could cure you.
"a man once came to Mr.. MOODY
saying, If you will answer this list of
/ 1
1t contained all the stock questions
such as who was Cain s wife. etc, and
] Mr.. Moody said, If you viii become
q Christian, and start tonight then
come to me tomorrow morning and
will answer every question on your list.
That night he accepted Christ as his
Saviour. The next morning he came
back to Mr.. AIoody's house, his face
shining, and said, Mr.. Moody, I vii
, not have to put YOU to the trouble o.
answering the questions. They hav,
all been answered in the night and the
way is clear. That is the way to come
g Men are lost not because OF in
. herited sin or transgresslon, but be
e cause OF their own rejection of Jesus
q Whenever you are in sin or in diff
J. Guilty if YOU will take God 5 word a
+ you do the, doctor : prescription, il
: faith, you will be born again. Tn
Bible may seem contradictory to tn
] one who does not read II, but there
q in it the harmony Of heaven from Gen
+ esis to Revelation. NO man Is eve
n born again except by God 5 word.
!. :" We have, in our country distir
: guished preacher who rose in a confer
Il ence one day and said in MY hearing
was raised in a Methodist famil
4 and every member of the househol
d was a perfect battery of emotion. w
a never had a Methodist revival tina
4 they did not take me TO the altar, an
r. urge me to remain there until ligI
. came, but somehow / could not
p saved. But one morning when a stl
dent, | was seated on the campus
ar college preparing for my Bible lessol
It I came to John 3:16: For God
If loved the world. I stopped and sal
N 'That is inclusive enough for me
a That He gave His only begotten son
5 That is provision enough for me
S, That whatsoever beieveth in Him
&c That is definite enough for me
Should not perish. [ arose from n
e sitting position, and taking my lit
rs Testament in my hand, ] held it l
al above my head and said, 20, God, he
m this morning / accept this statement
re thine as the truth, I will hold on
st it while | live. / will carry it Wi
= me to the Judgment, and if / am n
saved, it will go hard with your booE
And suddenly | found my eyes fill
~ with tears, l found my lips tremblin
RI ! found my heart burning, and fro
I that day to this l have been perfe
] battery of emotion myself That
q the way TO be saved. Lay hold
= God s Word, and it will do its ov
g work.
- ''God has done all he can do, in t
revelation, and now he waits a
It. pleads. "