The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-03-02

look the world in sgg
the face and say,
(which of you convinceth me OF sim
Among others there are four things
concerning man to which he bears tes-
timony.
4. The Worth of Man.--The CONNER
cialism of the day would almost make
us think that man is to be little thought
of when money is involved, but he says.
"What is man profited If he shall gain
the whole world and lose his lifeY' A
man is worth more than the world and
therefore a man is worth more than
ANYTHING in the world. In answer to
the question of John the Baptist he
SAYS: 'The poor have the gospel
preached to them" In answer to the
mistake of his disciples he says: "Suf-
fer the little children to come unto
me-" He had time not only for the rich
and the powerful, but the poor and the
weak were OF infinite value to him. No
other religious teacher ever taught
like this. To him man was of such
value that he was willing to lay down
his life for one of them. Even the lost
were to him of infinite worth for 1.-THE
Son of Man is come to seek that
which was lost" Lu. 1910.
2. The Trouble With Man.--That
there is something wrong Is seen in
the universal talk of improvement.
What is wrong is the question. Against
oil the ideas advanced by man In an
swer to this question he says that the
trouble is sin. In this all troubles are
included.
(a) He says 1T is universal. "If We
then being evil know how to give good
gissss W yonsslstassF siran4,,, :13. Hgen
the ones who sometimes may be said
to give good are evil. These were his
own disciples and yet even they were
evil.
(b) He says it is deep-seated. 1t is
not on the outside where the trouble
lies, but "out of the heart Of man pro-
coed" the evil things. 1t is not what Is
seen that is the trouble with men, but
that which he has deep within his own
heart. AS jeremiah puts it, "The heart
of man is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked" Jer. 1870.
(c) He says 1t is beyond repair.
There are many who would relieve man
by doing away with all that atflicts
man on the outside, but he says: Eye
must be born again." IL you would be
free from the trouble. While man is
of infinite worth he has an aff1iction
called sin which is so universal and of
such deep root that relief can only be
found by becoming new creation-by
being "born again."
8. The Hope for Mantle came to
bring relief and he came to make II
possible for man to be born again.
(a) For those in bondage he gives
himself ransom in such way that
man may find victory over his own de
ceitful and desperately wicked heart
He cancelled the sin when on the cross
and now stands TO break the power Of
the sin he cancelled.
(b) For those who are. lost he il
himself the way. Il am the way, The
truth and the life" Jno. 14:8. Mer
are continually seeking for that which
will satisfy their aspirations and never
finding it until they find it in Chris
Jesus.
(c) For those dying he Is the remedy
Sin is sickness fastening upon al
men and fatal in its. operation. Al
have sinned and come short Of thu
glory Of God. Jesus bears witness tina
the only relief is to be found in him
self. Many expedients are being re
sorted to by which to be freed from
sin, but they all fail until he Is found
AS it was in the days Of the wilder
ness journey of the people of old, "a!
Moses lifted up the serpent in the viii
derness even so must the Son Of Mai
be lifted up that whatsoever believetl
on him might not perish but have ever
lasting life"
| (d) For those dead he is the life
The wages of sin is death and dealt
has come upon all men for that al
have sinned. But his testimony is, e
am the resurrection and the life; h,
that believeth on me though he wer'
dead yet shall he live"
(e) For all he is the great hope sen
from God to meet all Of mans need.
4. The Danger Of Man.-The Lor,
himself, this true witness, bears testi
mony to the truth that "He that be
lieveth shall be saved and he that be
lieveth not shall be damned" Thes
are the words Of the true witness.
At the court OF our reason his cas-
Is won; at the court OF our conscience
his case is won, but what says our will
Can we afford to turn from his test
mony concerning our common trouble
| f,fir hopa and our daupor2