Three Ways to the Lord. A SERMON By Charles Gerok, D.D., Prelate in Stuttgart, GerMANY. Again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! etc.-John i: 35-51. THERE is only one way to heaven, and that way is Jesus Christ-He who declared of himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." But there are many ways to Christ, many leadings of Providence to the Lord. Some souls are drawn to the Lord earlier, others later; one gradually, another in a storm; some through affliction, others through joy; one by means of an internal impulse, another by means of an external guidance. It is exceedingly pleasant and profitable to trace these ways of the Lord; to read in the lives and confessions of pious men and noble women how wonderfully the Lord has led them. There we learn to admire the wisdom and goodness of our God, who in a thousand ways can lead to the one blessed aim, who gently treats every soul according to its needs, as a wise, careful gardener cares for his flowers and plants, each according to its wants. The one must have sunshine, the other desires shade; some wish to be kept moist, others dry; some must be pruned, others propped; the one is to be cared for tenderly indoors, the other will flourish best in the open air. The conclusion of such a contemplation and the end of such a life will always redound to the praise of the Lord. Thou leadest thy people most wonderfully, O Lord, yet always to a blessed end! Another excellent fruit of such a contemplation is that we learn to love the brethren, that we learn to view God's world and human life with that large-hearted and patient love which does not measure one's neighbor in our measure, as if he must be converted just as we were; as if the coat of his righteousness must have the same cut as ours; as if we only were the elect. No; beyond the mountains will be found men, and beyond the limits of city, state, or country will be found true children of God. The Lord can bring his own to himself in various ways-in by-ways and even in mistaken ways; therefore do not at once condemn and judge. There are many gifts, but one Spirit; there are different administrations, but the same Lord; there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all! A third wholesome fruit of such contemplation is that it will promote our self-knowledge. The life of other saints should be a mirror to us. Their mistakes should warn us; their suf ferings should console us; their virtues should serve us as patterns. Here each one may select his heroes and favorites, who may serve to edify and encourage him to follow the Master. Wherefore, since we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with patience the race that is set before us. In our gospel we likewise have a cloud of witnesses about us; we see five disciples gathering around the Lord-John the Evangelist, Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael. They differ quite widely in temperament and character; they are brought to the Lord in different ways, and yet all come to the Lord and gather about Him, like the stars around the sun, like the brooks into the ocean. Let us observe the narrative a little more closely, and perceive THREE WAYS TO THE LORD. 1. By way of the sermon. 2. By way of example. 3. By way of experience. We see three ways to the Lord in our text. 66 I. The first is the way of the sermon; Andrew and John take it. Again the next day after, John the Baptist stood and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!" There is the sermon. Behold, this is the Lamb of God! This is the germ and centre of all evangelical preaching. Not only John the Baptist, but all the apostles; not only the New Testament, but the entire Bible, Moses and the prophets, David and Isaiah, the entire choir of holy witnesses-they all point to Christ. "Behold the Lamb of God!" is the aim of all Scripture. And this is the aim of every evangelical clergyman. A celebrated professor and preacher, August Hermann Franke by name, has stated the rule for all evangelical clergymen: Whatever you may preach about, never deliver a sermon by which some soul may not be led to Christ. And a still more celebrated professor and preacher, Paul of Tarsus by name, has given the theme of all his sermons in his own words: "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Behold the Lamb of God!" is the theme, my beloved, of our sermons, whatever else we may preach. If we preach concerning God, of His holiness and love, Behold the Lamb of God! that is His beloved Son, whom He gave us for the sake of love for a sacrifice! Shall we discourse concerning duties, encouraging you to the performance of every virtue? Behold the Lamb of God! from Him learn humility and gentleness, innocence and obedience. Shall we rebuke your sins and arouse your conscience? Behold the Lamb of God! your sins are so great that this innocent Lamb must needs be slain on the accursed . tree. Shall we console you with the grace of God' Behold the Lamb of God! the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. Shall we tell you of future glory and describe to you the sweetness of Heaven? Behold the Lamb of God! this Lamb in the midst of the throne desires to make us lie down in green pastures and to lead us beside the still waters. Our teachings and admonitions, rebukes and consolations, all tend to the proclamation : Behold the Lamb of God! Evangelical preaching has no other aim than to point the way to Christ and lead us to the Lord. Oh, that it might accomplish this in our case, and truly be a way to the Lord for us! "And the two disciples," it says, "heard Him speak, and they followed Jesus." The word entered their heart. They "heard Him speak." Ah, my dear friends, we often fail to hear the gospel. One should suppose that to be a sweet gospel which points us to the fairest of the children of men, to the best friend of our souls, to the Lamb of God which carries the sins of the world. One should think that God could not draw men to Himself in a more earnest, friendly, pressing and effectual way than when He gives His own Son as a victim, and calls out to them by His messengers, Behold the Lamb of God! But who cares to hear it even in Christian lands? One out of ten! Where are the nine? O they are busy in the field or in the garden; that is more important than to work out their salvation with fear and trembling! They must enjoy themselves and go after pleasure! that is sweeter than to sit at the feet of Jesus, as Mary did. They know what things belong unto their peace; they have cultured brains and enlightened intellects which are better guides than the ancient prophets and apostles. They do not wish to hear. And those who hear, do they hear aright? Do you, my soul, hear? That is God's Lamb, your pattern, your Saviour, your salvation! Perhaps you come very regularly and are very devout at the services; you may even read in the Bible at set times, and quote it quite freely, and yet this truth has never found entrance in a realizing sense: Behold the Lamb of God! Having hearing ears, you have not heard; having seeing eyes, you have not seen! The Lord add power to His word, and grant His people open ears to hear His word. And keep it! Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. Two of His disciples heard Him speak, "and they followed Jesus." If the sermon shall prove in our case a way to the Lord, it must persuade us to follow Christ. "They followed Jesus," they forsook their former teacher and master John, and followed Him that was greater than he. And John willingly saw them go, and looked after them with joy. For he desired to be only a voice speaking in the wilderness; Prepare ye the way of the Lord. I am willing to decrease, so that He may increase. Beloved friends! We likewise in our preaching wish only to prepare the way for the Lord, and point you to Him who alone is your Lord and Master. You are not to remain holding on to man's words, but you are to press on and grasp God's Word. You are not to be converted to the preacher, be his name what it may, but to Jesus Christ, the shepherd and bishop of your souls. "And they followed Jesus.' Oh, if we could win one soul to follow the Lord! If but one of you on your way home should resolve, "Yes, I will follow the will of God, as it has been preached to-day; I will follow this Lamb of God which has been pointed out to me; I wish to experience this salvation which has been offered";-if one of you should so resolve and immediately begin to pray to the Lord: "Receive me! Thou shalt be my teacher and master, my exemplar and guide, my Saviour and Redeemer, my One and my All in all"; and should you make His personal acquaintance and follow Him, then you might forget our sermon and our person, in presence of the new light which you would behold in communing with the Lord, and you might surpass us in faith and knowledge, in holiness and experience, as John the Evangelist surpassed his teacher, the Baptist. We should not complain; we would rather rejoice; we would praise God for this most blessed fruit of our labor. For the preached word is to serve for nothing else than a way to the Lord. Dear friends, this way is open for all. We have the Word of God richly dwelling among us at home and at church; a thousand times and in countless voices our ears are greeted with: Behold the Lamb of God! O do not despise this call, do not harden your hearts against this gospel message; it will come up in judgment against us!. Woe be to us if it should then be said: Ye have Moses and the prophets, ye had Christ and the apostles, ye had sermons and sacraments, ye had church and school, ye had Bible and catechism, yet ye have heard nothing, ye have learned nothing, ye have become nothing, and stand there so poor, miserable, blind and naked! Woe on us if the Lord should then also lament over us: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" But, my dear friends, the Lord has made it still easier to come to Him. There is a second way to the Lord; that is: 2. The way of example; Simon Peter took it. One of the two which heard John speak and followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, "We have found the Messias, . . . and he brought him to Jesus." Andrew, scarcely called, on the same day becomes an apostle to his brother. "We have found the Messias." His blessed treasure he cannot keep to himself; he tells it to his dearest friend, which is his beloved brother Peter, and guides him to the Lord. He cannot perform a nobler service of love toward his brother than to bring him the tidings of Christ; he cannot bring his Master and Lord a nobler gift of love than to bring Him the precious heart of Cephas, the faithful man firm as a rock. That is the blessedness of example. Example is a living sermon. One example effects more than a hundred doctrines; one model more than ten masters. Hence, our Saviour is such a great Teacher, because He did not only fully reveal God's will, but fulfilled it so completely; because He did not only say, Thou shalt do this and leave that undone; but because He left us an example that we should follow His footsteps. Therefore the people rightly demand from a minister that he should set a good example, and not be satisfied with preaching to others, whilst he may become a castaway. Hence you in your spheres may become ministers and teachers if you will show others by word and conduct that you have found the Messias; if you, by your Christian example, lead them to the Lord. Consider, O father or mother, what is your child benefitted by all the sound doctrines which it learns at church or at school, if your home is lacking in a good example? If the child hears at school," Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," and at home hears swearing rather than prayer; if at school it learns, "Thou shalt not steal," and at home it sees cheating and dishonesty; if it learns at school, “Little children, love one another," and at home sees nothing but strife and spite-woe unto him by whom offences come! But where the child can see in your eyes and perceive in your very tone of voice and every gesture, "We have found the Messias"; if your child notices in you Christian trust and a Christian walk, that accomplishes more than all the words of the learned pulpit, more than all doctrines which are found in books. What a blessing it is for a person for a whole lifetime, a blessing even for eternity, to grow up beneath the example of Christian parents, teachers and relatives, where Christian faith and practice, discipline and order, Christian gentleness and love were present from early youth! Such a picture will not be forgotten in time; he will thank them for it in eternity. It is a blessing for a family, for a congregation, if it is only a single soul that proclaims it in an humble walk, in a heavenly peace of mind, in cheerful patience, in a happy death: "I have found the Messias." Ah! how we could become to each other benefactors, leaders, helpers, apostles and angels by means of noble example: I mean parents to children, husband to wife, brothers to sisters, friends to friends. Dear |