Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 138, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 June 1917 — “THREE CHRISTS” [ARTICLE]

“THREE CHRISTS”

The Only Real Christ Is the Christ of Experience Who Dwells Within. Text—“Ye search the Scriptures; for tn them ye think ye have eternal life, and these are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me. that ye might have life.” —John 5:39. Jesus is speaking to those whose business and practice It was to make the most minute and painstaking study of the ancient Scriptures in their search for eternal life. Jesus tell* them that these Scriptures have a value because they testify of him, but that they are making a serious mistake In thinking that eternal life Is in the knowledge of the Scripture. Eternal life is not through a knowledge of the Bible. The Bible makes known trust in the Savior, whom the Bible makes known to us. Christ of the Book. He was before the book, is in the book, and will be after It, but always above and beyond it. It is not the Christ of the book, but the Christ in the heart that saves. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is only as the Christ of the book becomes the transforming power of our lives, the object of our love and devotion, that we become worthy the name of Christians. His virtue must become our virtue; his patience our patience, his gentleness our gentleness; his faith in the heavenly “Father’s love and care, our faith; his acts of mercy and helpfulness our acts; his life of love and devotion to duty must become our life of love and devotion. All this by no formal acts of imputation, but by the Inward vital process of life and growth. In this way the Christ of history becomes the Christ of experience. This Christ of history must be impressed upon the heart before he can be expressed in the life. .Jesus comes into our hearts, not that we may dream mystic dreams, but that we may do noble deeds. Jesus’ method of selfmanifestation was three-fold. There was his great work of teaching. “He spake with authority and not as the Scribes and Pharisees.” His words had in them the emphasis of moral certainty. He appealed not to traditions, but to the moral con-, sciousness of those who heard him. He taught that God was his Father and the Father of all men; that he had power to forgive men their sins, and that God/ through the Holy Spirit, could give them victory over sin and selfishness and make them true members of God’s kingdom of love and righteousness. He expressed himself through hl* mighty works as he went about doing good. Where there was sorrow he brought comfort; where there was sickness he brought healing; where there was death he brought life. The Christ of Experience. But Jesus also impressed himself upon the world by his personal influence. We are apt to lose sight of this in comparison with his teaching and mighty works, because personal influence is so subtle and elusive, but everyone knows that the hold which a leader has over his followers is not created or maintained by an occasional eloquent speech, or a single heroic act, it is in the man himself that gives worth to his words and acts. It is Jesus’ life that gives power to his teaching and worth to hi* miracles. It is what we are that gives weight to our words and worth to our works. Pious exhortations from the lips of the publican fall powerless. An occasional kind act by a cruel man has no Influence for good. The Christ life back of speech and action attests their genuineness and gives them power. These three Christs should be ours. The Christ of the Book must be impressed upon the heart and expressed through the life before we can exclaim : “Beloved, now are we the son* of God!” —Rev. Samuel H. Woodrow, D. D., Pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church.