BUSINESS vine does violence to his reason. The true Rationalist is the man who lets his reason work unhindered by preju dice, and accepts the evidence in favor of the Deity of our Lord, I believe, ,by, the way, the other propositions just as firmly, that the Bible has such truth in favor o f in spiration, being the very Word o f God that.any one who knows the truth and does not ,accept the Bible as inspired does violence to his reason. The true Rationalist is 'the manwho, enlight ened by revelation, accepts Jesus Christ as what He claims to be, Son o f man and Son of God, and the Bible as what it claims to be, the Word o f ' God. jpl I have never lost the force of the argument I heard as a lad in the mountains of North Carolina. Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of man and Son of God and made claims that only a God could make, of Omnipo tence and Omnipresence and Om niscience. Such claims that He made others admit them; others bowed be fore Him when they looked up into His face and worshipped. “ Now, if you believe that Jesus Christ is a good man,” said the old preacher, “ and no body admits the opposite o f that, then you must believe that He is God, or you must prove that a good man can claim to be what he is not, and that a good man can at the same time be a hypocrite. For if He claimed to be God He was either self-deceived or He was bad, and when you read the record of His utterances and study His character in its setting, you are convinced that He was not self-de ceived, and, therefore, being good He was God.” That was the argument the Lord Jesus used to the rich young man, “ Why callest thou me Good? There is none good but one, that is God. In calling me good you have called me God, and the place for you is at my feet as a worshiper, and the place for
6 THE, KING’S In acknowledging Him king of Is rael he also acknowledges Him as Son of God. Mentioning Israel, of course# suggests Jacob’s-ladder-and rjthe Lord Jesus then says. "Hereafter ye shall see heaven open- and the angels of God ascending and descending, upon the Son o f man.” ,' ‘Nathanael,’^ He says, “ You have given me the top of the ladder; I am.Son o f God. I want- to give you the bottom o f the ladder; I am also Son of Man.” The real Jacob’s ladder is Jesus, Who in His' Deity touches the sky, and Who in His humanity rests upon the earth ; and that ladder gives a constant com munication between us and heaven, angels ascending and descending all the time. It is clear, therefore, that the Lord Jesus was not a product of the age in which He lived, but of another world. He came to this world for a purpose. Now, we are tempted to go further into that line of thought. It is proved by His claims backed up by His char acter and His works. He came to be the Son of man; not Son o f a Jew or a Roman, or a Greek, but Son of man, the blood of all humanity in His veins,' a heart big enough to take in the world. He was not Jew enough for the Jew, nor Roman enough for the Roman, nor Greek enough for the Greek; He was too big for any of them. He was Son of man; and we are to seek to be like Him, sons of men. with hearts big enough to take in-all humanity. 'Then He claimed to be Son of God in a very unique sense. As Son of man, of course, He was Man—nobody denies that; and as Son o f God, of course, He was God—nobody ought to deny that. The proof in favor of the 'Deity o f Christ, that He really came down from heaven, and was not the product of the age in which He lived, is to me so overwhelming that I , believe anv man who knows the truth and will not accept Him as Di-
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