Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / March 15, 1934, edition 1 / Page 1
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AND YE SHALL KNOW THET2RUTH, AND THE TROTH SHALL JESUS CHRIST ON TRIAL By Rev. E. W. Carpenter -* Easter Sermon—Matthew 26: oTr 27:1-43. Jesus first was taken before Annas, the former high priest and a tremendous political power. Annas sent him to Caia phas, his son-in-law and the ruling high priest. Two meet ings were held by the Sanhe drin, the latter after daybreak to make the death sentence le gal. The Roman government . ontrolled the right of execu tion, so Jesus was brought be fore Pontius Pilate, the Roman , Governor. Herod, ruler of Galt lee, Jesus’ native land, was in Jerusalem for the Passover. Pi late sent Jesus to him, since he was legally empowered to pass the death sentence on any resi dent of his territory. Pontius Pilate was an exam ple of the official who is entire ly a political welfare seeker. He knew JesifcKwas innocent, but the Jewish leathers threat ened to denounce him to the Emperor, Tiberius, as a trait or if he refused their demands They charged Jesus with seek ing to. become king which vlss treason, punishable by death. Pilate lacked the strength of his convictions. . I From every point on the cir cumference of the orbit of life there is a straight line to the Sun of Righteousness, and only he who yields to the spiritual law of gravitation is kept from being a wanderer in God’s uni verse. Christ is on trial still,, and the question of all questions for us is, “What shall I do with Jesus?’’ and my answer to that inquiry decides for eternity what he is to do with me. | to be based on learning or ig-‘ norance, nor is it to be on myi acceptance or rejection of any man-made creed, but my fu ture is wrapped up in my atti tude toward “that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” “What will you do with Jesus ?” Jesus is on trial still before i the court of his own conscious- 1 ness, and when so tried, he is always a man and always God. He permits himself to be called by divine names; he accepts and claims the divine attri butes ; he exercises the office of , deity, and even forgives sins; j he asserts that he and the Fath-; er are one; he permits his disci- ' pies to give him the honor and, worship which is the peculiar privilege of God, and sends i forth his disciples to proclaim | a salvation which only the Trin- j ity can provide. When thus standing at the bar of his own consciousness, there is never a suggestion of sham, never a shadow of doubt, never the idea of a mistake, never a suspicion of failure, never a thought of hurry, never an intimation of fear, never a possibility of sin. There is one constant purpose in view, and to that he holdu un der every condition. Man is lost, and in the fullness of time the Christ has come to make atone roent for sin-, to fulfill alj that has been written of God’s plan cf redemption. - Before the court also of his contemporaries Christ ^ again receives the verdict which sat isfies our hearts. His enemies +roop in as witnesses against him, but are never able to agree, and in their conflicting charges of treason against Caesar and enmitv toward -Jewish customs, tbev themselves testify that he made himself the Son of God. This charge of blasphemy is Christ’s badge of glorv. 'Those who are disinterested witnesses say: “I find no fault in him at all:” “He has donef nothing worthv. of death*” “Why. what evil hath he done?” or "Have thou nothing to do with that righteous manor. “Certainly this was a righteous man;" and one who could thus die, and thus treat his enemies and thus befriend a pentent, thief and thus look into eter nity, must be the Son of God. His disciples testify that when Jesus died on the cross they, lost hope, and thought they must have been in error some where, but that his risen life and teachings had banished every doubt and every fear. They give bold evidence now, and say there could be no pos sibilty of myth or fab*e; for they were eye-witnesses of his glory; that after his iresurrec-* tion they saw him day by day; that they beheld his transfig-* uration,. and had even handiedj his risen body; and Paul, a for* mer foe, says that he saw hint so gorified, and he gives up ahi earthly preferment anid suffers! <he loss of all .things;, for him.' Even Judas offers himself as a witness without pay, says that he was untrue to Christ, and, wants it understood that he has betrayed innocent blood. • There is a court of appeal tof day which holds high place in the thinking of men, and here again stands the Christ. It is the court of the world’s needs. Men are ip darkness, are stum bling against barriers,, are groping their way through difr Acuities, are falling into pits oi despair, are being led by false teachers away from the Day-’ star which is the light bearer for every heart and before whose coming the phantoms! and sorrows of the night flee pai^n^to smfpimfy o^derirt* comfort in sorrow, power over evil, purpose in life, and promise for the future. Just as some great Spring gives forth living waters in volume and beauty unsur passed, so Jesus makes his way through hardened hearts and soiled lives and pours his bless ings into every willing and thirsty soul. Let us be slow to receive in to our homes, or bid God speed any messenger who gives not Christ Jhls rightful place, Jest disaster come to some unwary one, and we become partakers of the evil that led the soul to death. The court of heaven is the court of last resort, the su preme court of the universe, and Jesus stands there, too, for the verdict, for the confirma tion or for the setting1 aside of the decision of lower courts. Not one flaw is found, not one technicality can be raised by which even to delay the de cision, for out speaks the Su preme Judge, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Then, in handing down the de cision, the case is reviewed, and it is recalled that at his birth heaven could not contair its joy and must let the world hear a part of its anthem of praise; that at his baptism the same voice had spoken its ap proval because the Son in his re demptive work was willing to be numbered with the trans gressors to fulfill all righteous ness; that at the transfigura tion two visitors from heaven jame and talked with him of his exodus, and once again the voice of the Father became audible to human ears and said: “This is my beloved Son; hear ye him;” that at the grave of Lazarus heaven (brew near, and spoke of the purpose of God to glorify his name in the Christ; that in the agony of the garden an angel was sent to do the ser vice which man might have en joyed, and heaven testified of its interest in and approval of the sufferer; that on the cross we saw in the darkness there the holiness and justice and love and mercy of God in the slain Lamb; that at the resur rection we heard the statement that divine law and i love had been satisfied and fulfilled and pardon offered; and then at the ascension we knew again that his I righteousness had been perfect because he went back -o the Father, God’s own tok en of the fact that Christ is at the right hand of God, and now we look for him because his cross is to become his throne. As we have reviewed in part the treatment of the Lord Jesus Christ by his enemies, and what they did to or with him, I feel the most serious, momentous question for all of us to decide today is; “What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you can not be; Some day your heart will be asking, What will he do with me?” I pray that each of us will take the Christ as our salvation in the spirit of that splendid hymn; “My hope is built on nothing less , Than Jesus’ blood and right eousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, 1 But wholly lean of Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand. “When darkness hides his love ly face, I rest on his unchanging grace; In every rough and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. Qn Christ, the solid Bock, I stand; ground is sanking sand. ‘His oath, His covenant, His blood Support me in the ainVing flood; ' When all around my soul gives why, He then is all my Hope and Stay. . On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.” “When I shall launch in world’s unseen, 0 may I still be found in Him; Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand. “Then let the hope of joys to come, Dispel our cares, and chase our fears; If God be ours, we are traveling home, \ Though passing through a vale of tears.” 400 W. 150th Street, New York City. A FINAL WORD TO THE -PRESBYTERY OF SOUTH ERN VERGINIA ! Finally, my brethren,, i since 'the end of the Church year is inow at hand, let us see to it [that everything is done on Our i part to get in all of our benev olences. | I need not say again that ithe very life blood.of our church es in the Presbytery of South ern Virginia depends on the be nevolences of the general | Uhurch. This being true, nothing less than our full share of the Church’s benevolences can be expected of us. May God bless us in these, last days of the Church year to do-all we can to advance the Kingdom of God on earth. I FRED D. NANCE. Chairman Field Activities. I contributed an article to The < New jack Herald-Tribune for: ; February 25th under the above • captiosl which has evoked don- 1 siderable comment. The sug gestion Itself ig of such impor- 1 tant interest that I feel justi- 1 lied inf Amplifying it for toy wide circle of Afro-American i readers. i President Roosevelt, in his 1 radio broadcast on March 4, 1 pointe&Put with his usual clar- J ity the purpose of this indus trial feature of the New Deal. 1 Capital and management, on the ! one hajnd, and labor on the oth- ! er, constitute the component factors of the industrial equa- * tion, while the Government - acts as arbiter to see that nei ther jahall take unfair (advan- J tage of the other nor upset the public interest by their fhann- ! ful antagonisms. Labor organ izations are given the untHs- 1 puted Might of collective bar gaining. We were also told that this if not a temporary emer-, gencyl. t Hifherto the Negro has been nit a permanent feature between the two. On the whoie capital! has been his protector \ for fte 'own ends while tabpr, has fought him as an industrial rival. :|3ut now under govern-j ment umpireship the Negro is no looker the bone of conten- j t’’on. tiabr can not be forced to; take Him in, nor can capital be; forced, to hire him. But if taken in by Jthe one and hired by the other,* he must be treated fair ly according to established codesgThe Joint Committee on Natiu|l Recovery has drawn a damaging bill of grievances on jieopuyLof. racial injustice and Inequality under ** operation of the codes. Some of these the government might remedy, if it has the disposition to do so; others fall to the prerogative of capital and labor. But if all pf the grievances were remedied, in so far as the Government can bring ,it about, the racial bar would recur witn its intolera ble barriers, substantially the same as we see operating in South Africa. The Negro is {practically excluded from itihej higher arts and crafts or is rele gated to the lower level of man ual and menial performance. The South justifies differentiat ed treatment on racial grounds; the North is disposed to exclude him from the higher industrial pursuits, as being a negligible and troublesome minority; v In New England, where kindly ra cial attitude roots in philanthro py. industrial exclusion is “most rigorous. The caste system Is fixed all but as rigidly as in In dia. The ordinary passenger would all but fall dead at the sight of a Negro engineer, mo torman or conductor on our railways or street cars. - The Government shows ho disposi tio to modify or abolish this sinister color bar. When the Federal \ government took over the operation of the railroads, it left jim-crow cars undis turbed. Negroes remained inelr icrible for the upper grades in the service. Indeed the Govern ment first established the prin ciple of racial quotas. During the Civil War it ordained col ored regiments to be recruited from the Negro race. U. S. Col ored troops is a fixed army in stitution. In the Navy whe*e no such provision is made the Ne gro is left on dry ground. The Civil {Service which expressly forbids distinction or discrimi nation on account of) race or color, by cunningly devised tricks and schemes has effect ively eliminated the Negro from the clerical grade of service and relegated him to the lowei level of government Work with inferior rank and pay. The only exception, to this is found in segregated colored divisions, staffed and manned by Negre rlerkg. I will have more to say m- this score in later releases, ierein lies the, norm of the quo :a basis. Our public schools, vherever there is a large col >red contingent, operates on his principle. The fundamental question is, 'hall this principle1 through romproipise be applied to indus ry? The basic thesis is: Shall he Government, since' it can rot or wiH nbt abolish race dis inction in industry’ and give -he Negro his chance, man for nan, see to it that both 'capital md labor give him a fair pro portion of placesi in all grades >f work and pay, in the several ndustriesl? * This is precisely what the Government itself engages to do in those activi ties which fall under its exclp rive control, in fuWllinent of the New Deal. This is ’tfie de ’lared policy of the G." €. L., me 3. W. A., the P.; W. AV, and oth ?r Federal projects. Hie Gov 3mment does not undertake to abolish race distinction, but to abolish race discrimination. In industry, the case is imminent and threatening. The early loom of , the city Negro depends an the outcome. - There is not ?nough work for ail. If no single Negro were em ployed, millions of white, work folks would still be idle. The white laboring . world must either {divide with the Negro its work oi its wages. Capital must give him work or support him in idleness. Charity can not support two million Negroes on doles. The Government can not impose>‘taxes for this pur pose* This would produce a raic< independent ^spirit requisite tc good citizenship. Enlightened and practica statesmanship -must act, and act now. PRE - EASTER EVANGELIS TIC SERVICES IN (CATAW _ BA PRESBYTERY £he Committee on Spiritual) Advancement in Catawba Pres bytery has completed arrange ments for.the Presbytery-wide Evangelistic services to be held the week before Easter Sun-; day. As stated some weeks ago the. Committee ,has divided the Presbytery into eight districts. The following schedule has been worked out for the eight districts. The meetings will J open on Monday, March 26th, and close on Easter Sunday af temoon at 4 o’clock with a Dis trict Communion Service: The Concord District: The meeting will be conducted by Rev. W. R. Mayberry,, pastor of Lovefs IChapeL fJanii McClintock churches. Tile., ..schedule is as follows: Monday night, Belle fonte church; Tuesday night. Siloam; Wednesday night, Ce dar. Grove; Thursday night, I Bethpagei. Friday night, Belle jfonte; Sunday afternoon, 4 P. |M., union communion service at | Bellefonte. Huntersville District: The minister fconductirtg the meet ing, Rev. A. C. Hill, of Shiloh grid SiloaSm churches. Monday night, Huntersville; Tuesday night, Bethesda; Wednesday night, Davidson; Thursday night, Caldwell; pSriday night, Huntersville; Sunday, 4 P. M., union communion service at Huntersville. Charlotte District: Minister in charge of the meeting, Rev. R. Z. Beatty, pastor of. Woodland and Miranda churches; Monday night, Ben Salem; Tuesday n|ght, Brook-* Iyn; Wednesday night, Biddle ville; Thursday night, Brandon; Friday bight, Seventh Street; union communion service Sunn day,at 4 P. M, at Seventh St. jchurchv Wadesboro District: Dr. C., N. Jenkins/minister in charge of Black’s Memorial church, will conduct the meeting. Mon day night, Ebenezer; Tuesday night, Ebenezer; Wednesday night, Pee Dee; Thursday and Friday nights, Lowry Memorial; Sunday, 4 P. M., union commun ion service at Ebenezer. Waxhaw District; The pastor in charge in Gastonia, Rev. E. E. Gregg, will be in charge of this meeting. Monday night, Shiloh; Tuesday night, Bethel; Wednesday night, Black’s Me morial; Thursday night, Jack son Grove; Friday night, Shi loh; Sunday, 4 P. M., union communion service at Black’s Memorial. Mt. Olive District, minister in charge, Rev. J. H. Gamble, pastor of Murkland and Mat thews Chapel churches. Monday and Tuesday nights, Woodland; Wednesday night, McClintock; Thursday and Friday nights, Mt. Olive; union communion service; 4 P. M., Sunday at Mc Clintock church. Gastonia District: This meet ing will 'be conducted by Rev. A; P. Corley, pastor of David son and Emmanuel churches. Monday night, Love’s Chapel; Tuesday night, Good Hope, Kings Mountain, N. C.; Wednes day night, Wilson Street, Shel ly; Thursday might, Lincoln-; Vn; Friday night, Third Street, Gastonia. The union communion service will be held at 4 P. M., Sunday, at Third Street church. Morganton District; Rev. F. M, Beaver, minister in charge ' f Church Street church in Charlotte, will run this meeting. Mondial night, Dulatown;; Tuesday night, Marion; Wednes day night, St. James Hickory; Thursday and Friday nights, Green Street, Morganton; un iqrLjccpmunionv§erv|ce at 4 P. MvShMayIt Gwen Street. The Young People’s League of Catawba Presbytery is coop erating with the Spiritual Ad vancement /{Committee in this Presbytery-wide Evangelistic' meeting. The Le gaheau rt meeting. The League has or ganized a “Gospel Team” in each of the 8 Districts, made up of a select number ot young people from the local churches in the district. These young people will render the following types of service in connection with the meetings: Through personal work they will canvass their communities and list those who have not been saved tnd will work zealously to have these unconverted persons to attend the meetings con-i ducted in their district. They will lead the preliminary pray er servicfe. They will attend the services in a body and be ready to lead in appropriate gospel hymns. They will be present in a body on Sunday afternoon at 4 P. M. for the union communion service in their district. And will render such other service as may add to the success of the meeting. We are again appealing to all ministers in the respective dis tricts to do all they can to make the meeting a success in their district. The Committee has worked out-the following plan of finan cing the meetings. The church es in each district are asked to raise by the fourth Sun dav in March the money to take care , of the travel expense of the minister who Will preach in their district. The committee will forward to each session the amount they are to raise. The ministers who are conducting the meetings are giving their services free, but the spiritual Advancement Committee is asking that an offering be taken each night, which offering will be shared with the local church and the minister conducting the service. It is the earnest hope and prayer of the committee thajt God will give our Presbytery (Continued on page 4)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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March 15, 1934, edition 1
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