29 Sermon Illustrations on Transformation through Christ

A changed life is an indisputable argument. Zeno, the subtle Greek philosopher was once trying to show that there is no such thing as motion; upon which Diogenes simply got up and walked about! So when cynics sneer at Christianity and say it is all a lot of nonsense, the best way to refute them is to produce the evidence of a changed life. The Christian's Riches John Bunyan wrote: The happy man was born in the city of Regeneration, in the parish of Repentance unto Life. He was educated in the School of Obedience; he works at the trade of Diligence and does many jobs of self-denial. He owns a large estate in the country of Christian Contentment and wears the plain garments of humility. He breakfasts every morning on spiritual prayer and sups every evening on the same. He also has "meat to eat that the world knows not of." He has gospel submission in his conduct, due order in his affection, sound peace in his conscience, sanctifying love in his soul, real divinity in his breast, true humility in his heart, the Redeemer's yoke on his neck, the world under his feet, and a crown of glory over his head. In order to obtain this, he prays fervently, works abundantly, redeems his time, guards his sense, loves Christ, and longs for glory.

As it is a great miracle for a dead man to be raised again: so is the change that Christ has made in those that be his wonderful. Caudray.

Transformations are not unfrequent in mythology. Daphne, when wooed by Apollo, was changed into a laurel-tree; the goddess Io was changed into a beautiful heifer by the power of Jove; in jealousy, Juno, the queen of gods, changed Callisto into a bear, who often fled from the wild beasts, forgetting that she was a bear herself. Diana transformed Actmon into a stag to be hunted by his own pack. Latona changed the railing rustics into frogs, who have croaked ever since.

The beautiful ideal of Grecian mythology, concerning the goddess whose soft and delicate tread caused the green herb and lovely flower to spring up on the Island of Cypress, becomes a literal fact in the experience of a Christian lady; for, in whatever soul God enters a welcomed guest, every lovely plant springs up, and every beauteous flower grows with divine fertility. Dr. Wise.

When Alexander, emperor of Russia, came to the throne, few Bibles were found in his empire, and great carelessness in reference to religion almost universally prevailed. A high place in the church soon became vacant, and the emperor appointed his favorite prince Galitzin to fill it. He at first declined the appointment, on the plea of his entire ignorance of religion, but the emperor overruled the objection as of no weight. The prince, on his first interview with the venerable archbishop Platoff, requested him to point out some book which would give him a concise view of the Christian religion. The archbishop, rather surprised at the prince's professed ignorance of religion, recommended the Bible. The prince said he could not think of reading that book. "Well," replied the archbishop, "that is the only book there is, or ever will be, that can give you a correct view of the Christian religion." "Then I must remain ignorant of it: reading the Bible is out of the question," was his reply. The words, however, of the venerable Platoff remained upon his mind, and he shortly afterwards privately bought and read the Bible. The effects were soon visible. He was not known to be "a Bible reader," but his manners were treated with contempt. Nearly every one was now agitated by the threatened invasion by the French. Galitzin was not so. His companions were astonished. Was he become a traitor to his prince? It was impossible; his loyalty was undoubted. At this important crisis, he thought it his duty to acquaint the emperor with the rock on which he rested unmoved at the threatened danger. He requested an interview; it was granted. The invasion was naturally the first subject of conversation; and next, as closely connected with it, the prince's conduct. The emperor demanded upon what principle he remained calm and unmoved, in the midst of universal alarm. The prince drew from his pocket a small Bible, and held it toward the emperor; as he put out his hand to receive it, it fell, and opened at the ninety-first Psalm: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." "Oh that your Majesty would seek this retreat," said the prince, as he read the words of the Psalm. They separated. A day was appointed for public prayer. The minister who preached, took for his subject the ninety-first Psalm. The emperor, surprised, inquired of the prince if he had mentioned the circumstance that occurred at the interview. He assured him that he had not named it. A short time after, the emperor having a few minutes to spare, and perhaps feeling the necessity of Christian support, sent for his chaplain to read the Bible to him in his tent. He came, and began the ninety-first Psalm. "Hold," said the emperor, "who told you to read that?" "God," replied the chaplain. "How?" exclaimed Alexander. "Surprised at your sending for me," continued the chaplain, "I fell upon my knees before God, and besought him to teach my weak lips what to speak. I felt that part of the holy word which I have begun to read clearly pointed out to me. Why your majesty interrupted me I know not." The result was a great alteration in the emperor's conduct, and the manifestation of great zeal in the circulation of the Scriptures.

# 54. Inspiration of the Bible.

TEA.—At a public festival at Raiatea, a South Sea island, some of the chiefs and others addressed the company, in brief and spirited appeals to their memory, of the abominations of past times, and to their gratitude for the glorious and blessed changes which the gospel of Christ had wrought among them. They compared their present manner of feasting, their improved dress, their purer enjoyments, their more courteous behavior, the cleanliness of their persons, the delicacy of their language in conversation, with their former gluttony, nakedness, riot, brutality, filthy customs, and obscene talk. One of the speakers observed, "At such a feast as this, a few years ago, none but kings, or great chiefs, or strong men, could have got any thing good to eat; the poor, and the feeble, and the lame, would have been trampled under foot, and many of them killed in the quarrels and battles that followed the gormandizing and drunkenness." "This," said another, "is the reign of Jehovah,—that was the reign of Satan. Our kings might kill us for their pleasure, and offer our carcasses to the Evil Spirit; our priests and our rulers delighted in shedding our blood. Now, behold, our persons are safe, our property is our own, and we have no need to fly to the mountains to hide ourselves, as we used to do, when a sacrifice was wanted for Oro, and durst not come back to our homes till we heard that a victim had been slain and carried to the marae."

A person who had expressed doubts, whether the negroes received any real advantage by hearing the gospel, was asked, whether he did not think one named Jack was better for the preaching? He replied, "Why, I must confess that he was a drunkard, a liar, and a thief, but, certainly, he is now a sober boy, and I can trust him with any thing; and since he has talked about religion, I have tried to make him drunk, but failed in the attempt."

“Have you ever heard the Gospel?” asked a missionary of a Chinese man, whom he had not seen in his mission before.

“No,” he replied, “but I have seen it. I know a man who used to be the terror of his neighborhood. He was a bad opium smoker and dangerous as a wild beast; but he became wholly changed. He is now gentle and good and has left off opium.”

The change that we have seen in some men has been as complete as that which could have been wrought by that fabled mill, into which, the legend says, they put old men, and turned the handle, and turned them out young men again. Truly, a far greater renovation is wrought in mind and heart, where Jesus comes. Men are "blessed in Him."

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The first fruits of the gospel on mission fields are growing and ripening by the river of the water of life, day by day. No more weighty proof of the success of missions can be found than the transformation of individual character and the every-day life.

One of the Chinese brethren is a ferryman, poor in money, but rich in faith. One evening he ferried a passenger over the river, who had a lot of things tied up in a cloth. After throwing the cash for his fare into the bottom of the boat, the man departed hurriedly. The Christian went to pick up the money, and found a pair of gold bracelets, worth $400, which the man had dropt. He tied up his boat and tried to find the man, but he was lost in the crowd. The boatman went home much troubled. According to Chinese law, he could keep them if unclaimed. After prayer, he decided to go to the chapel. The preacher heard the story. Said he: “Your passenger doubtless was a robber, and these things have been stolen. I will go with you to the mandarin, and we will give the bracelets up to him. A search will be made, and the owner found.”

This was done, and the mandarin said: “Well, I have never seen or heard anything like this. Your religion must be a true religion, and your God a living God, thus to influence a poor man to give up wealth for conscience’s sake.” (Text.)

The moral health of some could be restored only by turning their thoughts and inclinations upside down, as patients are treated according to this description:

In France, when a patient is under chloroform, on the slightest symptom appearing of failure of the heart, they turn him nearly upside down--that is, with his head downward and his heels in the air. This, they say, always restores him; and such is their faith in the efficacy of this method that the operating tables in the Paris hospitals are made so that in an instant they can be elevated with one end in the air, so as to bring the patient into a position resembling that of standing on the head.--_Scientific American._

A black character is not changed in a day to white saintliness, any more than a black berry to a white one.

In turning out the white blackberry Mr. Burbank is said to have applied the Darwinian theory inversely. He kept on selecting berries which, in ripening, did not become pure black, and finally got a bush in which the fruit changed from the green of immaturity to pure white. This involved the examination of some 25,000 bushes several times in several succeeding years. The painstaking energy necessary in such a search is merely suggested by such figures.--_The Strand Magazine._

It is related, in Abbott's American Religious Magazine, that as Dr. Cornelius was riding through the wilderness of the west, he met a party of Indian warriors, just returning from one of their excursions of fire and blood. One of these warriors, of fierce and fiend-like aspect, led a child of five years of age, whom they had taken captive.

"Where are the parents of this child?" said Dr. Cornelius.

"Here they are," replied the savage warrior, as with one hand he exhibited the bloody scalps of a man and a woman, and with the other brandished his tomahawk in all the exultation of gratified revenge.

That same warrior became a disciple of Jesus Christ, a humble man of piety and of prayer. His tomahawk was laid aside, and was never again crimsoned with the blood of his fellow men. His wife became a member of the same church with himself, and their united prayers ascended, morning and evening, from the family altar. Their daughters were amiable and humble, and devoted followers of the blessed Redeemer, trained up under the influence of a father's and a mother's prayers, for the society of angels and saints.

At a public meeting, the Rev. Dr. Henderson related the following anecdote respecting a female in one of the large trading towns of England. She was formerly a most abandoned character—one of the most wicked women, perhaps, that ever trod on the face of the globe. However, by the grace of God, she was brought to a knowledge of the truth, and was sent to a penitentiary, where she gave the most decided evidence of a saving change of 439-411

WRATH OF MAN—ZEAL IN DOING GOOD.

under this sermon, very seriously convinced of the importance of religion; and, with his wife, a short time afterwards made a profession of faith in Christ. Previously to this, his master had used every means he could devise to persuade him to become sober, but in vain. After this change, his employer wished to prevail on him not to attend the chapel; but he replied, "You know, sir, what a drunkard I have been, and how often you have urged me in vain to leave it off; yet by going once to the chapel, I was constrained to do that which none of your remonstrances were able to effect: therefore I wish to go again."

## AN PRAISING GOD.

of them hopefully converted to God. The government could not have taken a more effectual way to spread what they call heresy, than to imprison this faithful servant of God. So it ever has been, and ever will be. All opposition to the gospel turns out to its furtherance. Were men as wise as they fancy themselves to be, they would let it alone, for measures of violence against the truth never fail to recoil on the heads of their authors. "The righteous flourish like the palm-tree." Their strength and beauty increase in proportion to the weight of oppression laid on them.

## DOING GOOD.

heart; but, shortly after being put into that situation, she was deprived of the use both of her hands and her feet. Her heart, however, was full of love to the Savior, and she was at a loss to show forth the praises of that God who had called her out of darkness into his marvelous light. She could not walk about to tell what God had done for her soul; she could not employ her hands, but she learned to write with her mouth, and the letters thus written being sold for small sums, produced something considerable to the funds of the penitentiary. She began to learn the art of painting, and the sale of those paintings, which she accomplished with her mouth, produced last year $75 to the funds of the institution. We would not say, Go and do likewise; but we would say, You have hands and you have feet, and you have a tongue to tell the wonders of Redemption: go and do what you can.