THE VITAL TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 55, 6 March 1900, Page 2

THE VITAL TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION.

At the Union Free Baptist Church, Pastor W. L. Salter conducted farewell services yesterday, preaching: in the evening- on "Fatal Presumption." The text was taken from Acts xvii. 32, "We -will hear Thee again on this matter. Paul's visit to Athens at this time—probably his only visit —was at a time when the city was wholly given over to idolatry. He talked to a people sunk in the depths of heathen idolatry, his one. theme, "Jesus and the Resurrection. Eventually the curiosity of the people is aroused, and they seem anxious for Paul to speak to them to better advantage, where he can be seen and heard, and so they took him to Areopagus, Mars' Hill, the historic spot where orators had spoken oft to their spell-bound audiences, where the chief court sat, and the people met to arbitrate in all disputes. Paul closed his address with a reference to the Resurrection. Some mocked, and others said, "we will hear thee again of this matter." The subject was one of supreme importance in those days, and it has lost none of its importance to-day. It is the very keystone of the arch of Christianity. "If Christ be not raised from the dead, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." This being so, it is only to be expected that the enemy would rally his mightiest forces to prevent the spread of this great truth and to stop the mouth of every earnest advocate of this stupendous theme; and so when Christ was put to death and his mangled body was laid aside in Joseph's tomb it was at the instigation of the evil one that the great stone was sealed, at his bidding the guard of Roman soldiers was placed there to watch, at his suggestion the lie was invented to overcome the difficulty after He arose, and at his behest men organised, themselves into sects whose misdirected zeal should be spent in opposing the grand truth which was the burden of the Apostle's theme, "Jesus and the Resurrection." But though the enemy marshalled his forces to oppose the great truth of the Resurrection spread on every hand, the word preached was quick and powerful and mig-hty through God, to the pulling down 'of strongholds, idol worshippers became iconoclasts, and tore down their images, heathen temples were destroyed and .Christian churches were built. In the accomplishment of these purposes many fell a prey to the malice of the evil one, and were called to seal their testimony with their blood, but "the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church." Men and women went down, to death buoyed up with a hope of the resurrection. The result,of Paul's sermon on this occasion was "some mocked and others said 'we will hear thee again on this matter.'" They presumed upon the mercy of God, and their presumption was fatal; they never did hear him again on that matter. Paul soon after left Athens; he established no church there, and left no epistle to the Athenians. These people had a golden opportunity, but they allowed it to pass, bearing hence the blessing it would fain have left behind.

The sermon closed with an earnest appeal to the unconverted to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour, so that they might look forward to a resurrection to everlasting life.