The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, May 22, 1915, Image 5

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Second Coming of Christ Was Subject of Brilliant Sermon at Tabernacle Bob Jones Monday Showed Why Chris? tians Were Expecting Second Coming of Savior at Any Houn PASTOR RUSSELL AND FALSE RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS FLAYED. Evangelist Says "Side Issue" Doctrines Are Inventions of the Devil First of Two Sermons on Atonement" Preached Monday Afternoon--Delegation of Electric Company Employees and City Nurses That Night. -?? ?- - a try sataa aatd Ftpsa the Dally Item, May 18. ?J"wo special delegations visited the tabernacle laet night, and these, to se>asr with the regular crowds which uln to stream in around the hour bI eight o'clock, comfortably filled mi big roomy church building. Mr. sfcKhaste'a choir was at its best inst algrft, end sang a number of the reg? ular selections, na well an two "Spe? cials** for the visitors, the Sumter F.lectrle Company * employecM und the Nursea) of Sumter. The electricians wanted 'Yield Not to Temptation." ant "Will There be any Stars*' was T ? Vj Sung for the nurses, the young ladles themselves singing the chorus. Af tsr having the delegation of nurses stand. Mr. McKensle told them "Well, if 1 had to be sick at all. I'd Just as soon be slek in Sumter." "The Ninety sad Nine." by repeated requests, was sung by tht? choir director himself at the eight service. Mr. Jones' subject for last night was the second coming of Christ, and he handled hie theme with the same tho/roughneaa and descriptive power that characterised his sermons on "ata,/ "hell" aad other typical studies. The test of the evening came from the Ith chapter of Hebrews, than sev i\ ?erase of which, according to Mr. si none mors wonder f i ble. The description is of Uoody sacrifices tJ the ifertor to thn dignity Mal p^f^Mon of the blood and aeei Si ? hrlat. There are, eald Mr. Jonee, three fundamental* of the Christian religion which are typified by the 22d lid and 14th psalms, respectively, thlsee three fundamentals being ' (Ihr 1st hath appeared on the cross." "fj hrlat doth apear In Heaven" and "Ehrtet shall appear In glory" The devil hates these three things, and ht> Is'evejr trying to make you forget IsW Moat of all he is trying to make you forget that Christ died on this cross for you. There are relig loae "systems" such as Christian ?stance. Invented by the devil to help you forget the atoning blood of Jesus. The devil -trUs to have you ignore thA^fnfcll of Christ's being in heaven, but tf-yem helleve. you can have access to heaven through Christ's influence In four behalf Just as easily as any prlejpt. T%e devil has sought to have you dletfjllave the fact that Christ Is com? ing Jlo earth for a aecond time. For a ttins almoat every man who talked y length about Christ's second eg waa labeled a fanatic. of you who have Pastor Itus books In your hnmoi tonight t to aet lire to them, for they kee. Pastor ltuasell Is a fake If. and waa exposed as a grafter e Brooklyn Kagle. because he "miracle wheat" to deluded fol of his. Aa the head of the no? us "mllleniiil ilnwn" religion, principles are absolutely false, s done ?reut h i rm. few folks are looking earnestly *hrlat. however. You will notice r*ad along carefully that every veree in the hible ?peak? of th. d coming of Christ, and that's every twentieth Meinem should by ffghts t.it (his Hul>)?Tt] it is BjajS> ie< tj}ri loo much "1 know of 160 old testament pio|hedea. said the evangelist, whieh be vis been fulfilled, among them be Ingifhe prophecy of the place of Jesus' bireV the fact ta#t his mother sjaejM be a virgin, that He rgfJSjM lb- In a maS^ger. that He would be Hold for tblHjr pieces of sliver, and so on. I eoiJd name them. The point Is, if all thafe prophecies have been fullllled. not look for the second coming which la prophesied In mo many throughout the MMe\ Boat! de aay the the prophecy is not It literally, but you'll see it will Iterally fululled. Kven the t?rtho Jf?n t 11 ?? \.- that ii King H yel la only they of aeajyea settees thai lenelah Is coming to be King, ami dleve that Jeaua Christ is th.it ilah. ? Is fofulng (|i 4?e/S4?n. Ue?o in r>?elthat passiKe of scripture "The ' fj.J&WM ~I^U The Uis clplte knew and recognised this fact. sell whl There is nothing to lend us to believe that He la coming in a figurative way. And when Jesus does come he will change the vile bodies of those who have accepted Him" (this literally means "change the humiliated lK>dlee") so that we shall be like the Master. The citizenship of Christians la in heaven, anyway. They are strangers in a strange laud down here. Another thing to remember, Christ's coming will be a bodily coming. He foretold this Himself when, alter W? had risen, he said, in effect: "Don't touch me for I have not ascended." He meant that, as was the custom of the high priest. He must protect his body from being defiled by any pos? sible means until He had presented In person the sacrifice of His blood to the Father In heaven. Of course, af? terwards Ho appeared again on earth and called Thomas to put his fingers in the nal. holes In his palm, as a proof that He was indeed the Christ A passage that gives us a striking proof of Christ's bodily coming again is that "This same Jesus shall s?. come In like manner ns ho went up," and Jesus in a body now, sitting at tin right hand of God. Christ's coming will be a visible coming. John told us this, and His corning >vlli n*? both sudden and lines pected. as ib.- H.bb- r.tys bke ']<.?:.<< lug4' Jests IsM fommanh'd us t< watch md although no mar. oajl gi ? a dale for the Master's coming, th? rapid fulfillments of prophecies, par? ticularly as regards earthquakes am "wars and rumors of wars" leads to the belief that the second coming oi Christ to this earth is not far distant "If you want to live right begin t< expect Christ," said Mr. Jones. Jesm is coming to judge and to reign and those Christians who remain on earth at his coming Shall arise to meet Him and be like Him. "No saved man will die If he's alive when Jesus comes." And those Christians who are dead will have the honor of arising first |0 meet their Lord and Saviour. In this connection Mr. Jones told a touching story of a young college boy who died some time after having been convert* od under Mr. Jones' ministry. The mother asked the evangelist to point her out the most comforting passa^? in the Bible. This was the pasage In showed her: "J'.ut I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concern? ing them which are asleep, that y< sorrow not, even as others, which have no hope." When the Invitation was offered twenty-two came to the Mercy Seat. The> Afternoon Service. Many of the business houses of the city having closed tor the four o'clock service yesterday, a crowV v.uch larg? er- than usually comes to the taber? nacle in the afternoon, assembled to fiear Mr Jones speak on the subjert of the Atonement, or, as it Is often rendered "ut-one-mcnt." And it was an atonement by blood. The liible stresses this by lifting the sacritlce ol Christ far above that holy sacrifice ol the old priests, w ho Offered the blood of bullocks and oxen as a sacritlce. And Christ, through the power of the atonement is our mediator witti Qod, The d'Mth of Chriat, said Mr. Jones Is more magnified than any oilier event in His life, and despite the cries of some against "preaching a blood) gospel," the cleansing powar of the blood Of Christ is (b>d's Only remedy for a man sick In sin. Jesus Ctirlal Himself said "I tame to this world, not to Hvc, I.ut to die.1' ||e died on the cross to s;t\e souls, and wv should not shrink from the fact ol bis Id.I\ sacrifice, made in our behalf, be? cause that is the only thing tb.it ein redeem a pOOf lost soul. And Christ Intends for those who have oomc to him by \s.iv of the cross, to give out the Joy thai tiny have received to h. ip others along life's nay, Like a ?roll from nhleh no water pomes i the man who says he is a Christian UllU does |iot tell of the joy that hat hlessed him Chrlpt knew that people would for get many Ihfcnga that occurred in Ills stay on this earth. In fact, i.\ thiiiK? thst orcuiiHd wer?, umvr M lit? ten, but He stressed the point that W? should not forget that 11 tiled for uh on th? 11 oss, whatever else we might lose eight of. The way of the cross is the Only way to (?od. Despite the Raying of some that all nature points the way to God," this is not true, "The cross is the bridge that spans the way between our own helplessness and the saving grace of Qod, The way of the cross leads home." At the uonclusion of the service the invitation was given for converts, and three persons responded. Keferences for afternoon sermon: IXirXXiXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXtniXiXlXxiiXn] Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews, 9:11, Gallatians 1:14, Kphesians, 1:70, Revelation, 1:5, 1 John, 1:7, Matthew. 26:26, Revelations, 5:9, 1 Corin. 15:1, Romans, 5-.6, 1 Corin. 11:23, 1 Corin. 2:2, 1 Corin. 1:23. ttntm?tt?mtmni?????iniiiiiMniwit Frdm The Daily Item, May 19. A thunder cloud which came up about the time the services were to start at the Tabernacle last night cu\ down the crowd considerably. While the rain pattered on the roof Mr. Jones delivered what he announced would be 'the simplest message yet." It proved to he a message that went home to the hearts of his hearers and brought six people to the Mercy Seat. "The harvest Is passed, the summer in ended and we are not saved" was the \erse which the evangelist se? lected from the 8th Chapter of Jere? miah, to be his text. The harvest time for Christ, like the harvest time on the farm, Is the time to get down to business. The pastors sow the seed, the preachers do the work and the evangelist r,caps the harvest are the stops outlined by Mr. Jones for the saving of a multitude of souls for Christ. "There are only two classes in the world, the auved and the unsaved. Jusus Himself said "He that is not with me Is against me." If you have never repented of sir., If you hev? nevei been coi.vorteu. bom again, you are lost, by God'i own word to one of .he bent man of his generation, pTicodeinua, Just a** Nie od emus had to face the issue and select one of two propositions so in this day every man must decUle. for or against the Sa? viour. "How you can grope your way along without Christ, how you can do without Ilirn in your t?ouble, how you can solve your problems without hlH aid is more than I can under? stand," the evangelist said in thlscon necton. "God can help you solve your problems; there are men listen? ing to me tonight with storms in their hearts that would sink a ship at sea.'' And Jesus could ease these troubled hearts. Rut if it is a com? fort to have Christ save you from troubles on earth, how much more satisfaction ought there to be in the knowledge that you will be saved in death. And the saints, said Mr. Jones, die a different death from the unsaved. Even the doctors have ad? mitted this. "You can live wlthont God, but you can't die without Him," the speaker continued. You've had chance after chance, an 1 thrown them away. In the beginning, God never planned for one man to have more than a certain number of chances, hence the oppor? tunity for accepting Christ Is bound to pass at some time. 'And, it is not right to ask God for a better chance, lb has given you good chances, and it is not right to ask God for a better chance, and every time you have put off taking the step means that the next time the opportunity is offered it will be harder still to accept. The successful men are the men who have accepted Christ, Bob Jones says, for the measure of a man is not Iiis worth in money but in the spirit that wants to make him work for the Master. The commercial spirit is the controlling spirit here and in other pl u es, and men are putting business Drat when they ought to realize that they can better afford the poorhouse than they can afford to put Christ in a secondary position in their lives. The same thing holds good In the case i of a well educated man. As an ex? ample Mr. Jones pointed out the untimely end of Rlbeii Hubbard, fa? tuous tor his unique Juggling with the Bngliah language, but "a failure if he died without ("brist." Thinking of the cost of salvation, the evangelist said that while he has no objection to others wearing cross he never wears one himself, for it bringt back to him that face in agony in the (l uden, anil the picture ol naked shame as the Master hum; on the cross and died for tin' sinners on 1his earth. In concluding Mr. Jones said that I the tum- to he saved was when the opportunity was offered "and tin chance is here tonight. ' six, as noted above accepted. The Afternoon service. One of the best afternoon crowds, numbering perhapi three or four hun? dred' persons, listened with attention to tho second of two sermons on the subject of the atonement, yesterday. Previous to the evangelist going into the subject matter of his sermon a "Bible quotation service" was held, during which members of the aud? ience gave quotations from various parts of the Bible. Speaking of the value of consistent raiding of the sculpture, Mr. Jones said he had been asked by some society women who had become converted since his com? ing here: "What can I do to occupy my time?" His answer was "Read the Bible." After reviewing the preceding ser? mon on the atonement, Mr. Jones, said that the death of Christ is "sub stitutional and vicarious," in the sense that Jesus Christ, on the cross, was treated like a sinner in our place, that "we might be dead in sin and alive in righteousness," and the only way that we can get to heaven is by way of the cross. A further state ment bearing this out is from 2nd Corinthians, 5th chapter and 21st verse; "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be righteous." How great sin is was amply illustrated by the way God refused to look at it, even when it was laid on Christ at Cal? vary. When can we forget that face of agony which looked up into heaven and cried "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." With His blood Christ redeemed us and Paul says in effect, speaking of the love that the Father has shown for poor sinners: "He that deliverco His own Son, showing this great love for us, will give us all things." John says: "I write you because your sins are forgfven, for His name's sake." The atonement mak*?s God just end the Justiller of everyone who accepts Christ, and repents. Jf Jesus hadn't died for us, God couldn't save a single sinner, because He couldn't compro? mise His holiness. The devil himself is the accuser of >the,saints at the throne of Christ, but his accusations ave unavailing for the' very reason that the atoning blood of Christ comes between the sinner and God. When Christ died for us on the cross, there Grace and Truth, Mercy and , Justice met and embraced. "If Wtt Confess ouj sins Ho is faithful and tust, t i forgave >is. A? Interesting opinion or. the ac-! tlcms of Christ in the Garden of! G etil ee roans waa expreoged by M.r*j Jones just before closing the after? noon service. It was while the evan? gelist was speaking of the willingness of Christ to die that poor lost souls might be saved, as pointed out in tho passage which tells us how Christ, with his eyes on the distant cross, went'>flrmly towards Jerusalem when he could have gone elsewhere. Jesus, said' Mr. Jones, was not trying to dodge, the awful horror of the cross when he prayed to God in the Garden that: "If it be possible this cup might be taken from my lips." Instead he was speaking of the cup He was drinking right at the time In the Gar? den, the cup of loneliness, His dis? ciples having gone to sleep, the cup of depression which he would natur ally be suffering at such a time. And this opinion said Mr. Jones is* held by many eminent students of the Hible. From The Daily Item, May 20. Like a page from Arabian Nights was the interesting story of his own experience with a spiritualistic me? dium, related by Boh Jones yesterday afternoon at the tabernacle, in connec? tion with an interesting sermon on thu subject of "False Religions." Despite the continued Inclemency of the weather large crowds turned out yesterday afternoon and night to hear the evangelist. In the afternoon the sermon was Interrupted by the noise made by a heavily descending rain, and a vote was taken to see whether the sermon should be finished, after waiting for the rain to cease, or should be postponed. The majority decided on waiting for the finish, without any postponement. As an ln?] formative lecture on the principles in? volved in the Christian Science re? ligion, "Mlllenial Dawnism" (Pastor Russell) and Spiritualism, Mr. Jones' I sermon well repaid any one fot at? tending, not to mention the good to be derived from it in learning what bear? ing these "false religions" have on the progress of the religion of Jesus Christ in beginning his sermon Mr. Jones drew some Illustrations to show that all Protestant religions are practical? ly the same. The fundamentals are agreed upon, and these things ought to be magnified, so that Uta churches would t?e ?tili closer nod work In j more harmony, just as they are doing Jin the present campaign. However, there are false religions which are en? tirely at variance with what we g?-n erally call the Christian religion, and dn announcing these "lai.n- idlglons" aa, tiie subject of his talk, Mr. Jones ?gld that the subject should really be "The Devil," since it was the devil who Inspired these false religions. The devil, said Mr. .loin s, was according to the Bible, a cherub originally, hut fell because of his anarchistic tempera? ment. Now he is god of the world, even if a usurper, and the devil de? ceives people by performing miracles. Next to God, the devil is the most powerful person in the universe. No man can overcome the devil alone; Christ was the only man yet who has been able to trample him underfoot. The devil seeks to be worshipped. Hence he has invented a religion to suit most every temperament. In New York und Berlin have been found societies called "Devil Worshippers." They gather in a darkened room, and clasping hands, dance around in a fiendish spirit of worship of the devil, because they are imbued with the idea that the devil will some day over? throw God and whoever has paid the most homage to the devil will then be his "right hand man.' The three principal "devil inspired" religions, however, are "Millenial Dawnism," "Christian Science" and "Spiritual? ism." It was while he was telling of the damning effects of spiritualism on true religious tendencies that Jlr. Jones gave his interesting story of his own experiences with a medium. In ef? fect, Mr. Jones' story is as follows: "It happened in San Antonio, Tex. At the time I had just passed through a great deal of sorrow, and I was in? duced to visit the medium after hav? ing a talk with a woman friend of mine, highly cultured ami well edu? cated. In fact, she possessed one of the most wonderful libraries I have ever seen, and she 'lived with her books.' She told me that she had lost sometime previous a valuable dia? mond brooch which detectives and po? lice had been unable to find any trace Of. She went to Madame Scurles (the medium.) The madam toll my friend that her brooch had been stol? en by a negro man, had been sold to a jeweler in Lockhart, Texas, and broken up into several rings. The facts were found to accord exactly with the story of the medium, upon investigation, and so my friend re covered the rings and the shell of her brooch. Well, I went to the me? dium. A number of people were there, and in the semi gbaom we clasped hands and sang "Nearer My God to-Thee," which by the way is not a Christian song?all spiritualists use it-*-<ind pretty soon some of those rn' the circle began answering "questions u Strangs way. n?-m to me was a womsn Who said that she W'?s from the sorth and bad ? ?mi out of cu? riosity; just about this time she was 1 Called upon to anSWCT some one and talked right along. I began tp wonder if I'd be the next one, and sure enough I felt something in the na? ture of an electric thrill, and before 1 realized it I said: 'Well, who is it.' (Hemember the medium did not know my name or where I was from.) Any? way, in answer to my question some? thing purporting to be my mother's voice began to say certain things about my 'Aunt Annie.' I answered that I had no aunt by that name. Hut the voice insisted that I did, and that Aunt Anne had died when I was a very little fellow. Later Investigation proved all of this to be true. And other things the voice told me on dif? ferent occasions proved to be true. Then one day It said 'Son, Jesus Christ was nothing but a man with a wonderful power like this medium has.' I knew then something was wrong. I went into my room and ask? ed God to explain to me the mystery, and when I had finished praying I went to the Bible and found the solu? tion, that this Madam Scurles was a demon possessed woman, working for the devil, who had had me at her feet. That is the one true explana? tion for mediums; there is no doubt that a real medium has a devil given power.' Remember the demon pOSi sessed Cananites who were complete? ly exterminated. 'You quit trotting off after fortune tellers and spiritual? ists. If you want to know things, get down on your knees and ask Almighty God, and He will tell you all you need to know.* In 'Cultured Germany,' alone, Mr. Jones said statistics show there were in 1910 10,000 spiritualists and in North America 16,000,000 spir? itualists. Rapping the principles of Christian Science Mr. Jones says that God never intended a woman to be the head of a religious system, that there have been previous to Christian Science many false religions with a female head. Mrs. ECddy's book, according to Mr. Jones "reads the same" any? where you happen to start in and the whole silly scheme of it revolves about one of its lirst statements that "God is Love" and therefore "Ix>ve is (Sod." Christian Science contradicts the fundamentals of the Hilde. It says there is no matter, prayer to a personal God is only a hlnderance, devil is no person, no such thing as sin. all of which can ho contradicted by specific passages of scripture. "Every Christian Scientist, consciously or unconsciously, is a demon worship? per." said Mr. Jones. lv is wonderful the sudden influence of the Pastor Russell books on "Mil? lenial Dawnism.' says Mr. Jone.s. Probably his wife was the author of them before site divorced "the pastor" for Infidelity. A.iJ Russell, by the way, admitted that despite his boasted knowledge of the Bible he was no Creek scholar and he was denounced and exposed by the Brooklyn Ragle. Ha denies, drat of all that there is any hell, but most infamously of all, im ennlNlates Jesus Christ, one of Iiis statements being that wh< n Jesu* was in the tomb three days He was nothing but a "dead man," in the same sense as any other man would have been. Kussell not only denies that Jesus Christ was God incarnate, but makes other announcements equally as startling. For instance he renders "dead" everywhere in the Bible as "ceases to exist." The non? sense of this can be appreciated by a translation of "RusselHsm" of "She that liveth in pleasure is dead \ hlle she liveth." This would read: "She that existeth in pleasure has ceased to exist while she existeth." "Every demon worshipper," said Mr. Jones in conclusion, "is a low down, dirty infidel." The way to steer clear of devil inspired doctrine is to study God's word and pin your faith to the Bible and you won't go wrong. The Night Service. A beautiful explanatory reading of the 10th Psalm was given by Mr. Jones at the night service, and appar? ently an unusually favorable impres? sion. After the reading, the invita? tion was extended while the choir sang "Jesus is Calling today" and eight souls declared for Christ. The Winthrop Daughters wer* the guests of the evening, and Choir Mas? ter McKenzie had his usual fun at the expense of the delegation, telling tho ex-collegians "You're a pretty nice looking bunch of college girls; it used to be my ambition to run a female col" lege. I'll tell you, girls, I used to board across the street from a fe? male college and I never got a chance to study my lessons. Of course, all that happened before I got married. This brought a wave of laughter from the Winthropites and the audience generally. The young ladies came prepared, and when .Mr. McKenzie asked in his usual joking manner "Can you sing us a song ?" the college girls answered that "they could," and they 1 did, and would't allow the choir to help either. The song was "Beautiful Isle," which Mr. McKenzie recalled 'Was one of Sam Jones' favorite songs And was sung at the noted evangel? ist's f' rak other xoncrs last ni^ht wore 'ne Glorious Tidinf," and the well j\vn whistling song. 'If Your Heart eeus P:*-hi." The choir made rathei - feilere of the chorus at met 'till Mr. McKenzie told them, "Well, you can't whistle and grin at the same time," and the difficulty was overcome. Heading along in the 16th Psalm Mr. Jones enlarged upon the Psalm? ist's claim on God. The sinner, said Mr. Jones, really h&s a right to pray but one prayer and that is to be saved, but the child rn of God have the right to pray and expect an answer to pray? ers for temporal blessings. In this 16th Psalm the personal claim is made in the words "My Lord" and Just as the Psalmist claimed God for his own so every Christian can make a personal claim on the Father. And the man or nation ffliO goes after other Gods is bound sooner or later to come to grief. There is such a thing as going astray after the God of Commerce. That is what is re? sponsible for the European war to? day, Mr. Jones says. And the same thing will be true of America if she desecrates the Sabbath and follows worldly amusements. Again, the same thing applies to an individual. The rich man, the society woman, that is those who seek riches and society above everything else, will come to ruin finally. There is no such thing as a poor man in the Kingdom of God. Don't mind mockerv on this earth If you are secure In the knowl? edge that you will live In heaven hereafter. You can't have a glad heart either until God enters your life, but if He does, even your body shall rest In hope whether it lie on the battlefield, In an ocean grave, or in the quiet tomb. The psalmist speaks of the "path of joy." He is talking of the narrow way to heaven. It Is "narrow" because so few can travel it in comparison to the many who easily are led down the broad path to ruin. But the "narrow way" is an old path, a path that has been traveled by saints for years and years, and a path that we ought all to try and climb. The roads of earth lead to nowhere. Practically speaking they run out finally against a brick .vail. Take for instance the end of tlie gambler's road?ruin; the end of the giddy dancer?a wrinkled face and stiffened limbs. But the heavenly road does not have a "blank* 'ending. Instead those who have made the paaaage in safety find themselves at tile foot of the throne clothed with the Righteousness of Jesus The Sa? viour. In mentioning those from Sumter who will graduate from Winthrop College in June the name of Miss Adelte Pitts was unintentionally omit? ted in the notice. Miss Pitts is a grad , uate in music as well as in the regu , lar normal course.