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       We are obligated, in our preaching, to proclaim Jesus, the crucified Lord and Savior! With this short series of articles I am attempting to examine how some of the old-time gospel evangelists did that in their preaching. In 1984 I was assigned this subject for a lectureship. I examined the restoration materials available to me at the time to see what I could find of the cross in restoration preaching. I am sure I did not cover the subject satisfactorily, then or now. I left off by referencing Ben Franklin (the evangelist). I resume with additional thoughts from brother Franklin.

Ben Franklin – The Soldier of the Cross

           In volume two of The Gospel Preacher, originally published in 1877, Ben Franklin (the evangelist) developed the theme of the cross in terms of the soldier of the cross. In his sermon, “The Soldier of the Cross,” he set the standard for those of us who preach. In speaking of the soldier of the cross brother Franklin pointed out two things that come into view: (1) the importance of becoming a soldier in the Lord’s army, and (2) the work, or life, of that soldier.  On the flip side Franklin insisted that there are two classes of individuals who make a grave mistake in connection with the cross: (1) some never enlist in the Messiah’s militia, and (2) some who do enlist never do the work of a soldier.

            Brother Franklin delineated four pertinent points of safeguard if we are, as soldiers of the cross, to carry on the good fight of faith successfully to the end. Here is what he said:

  1. “There must be no traitors within the ranks.” Those who are unfaithful to the cause of Jesus render a demoralizing influence among true soldiers of the cross, to carry on the good fight of faith to its successful end. They succeed only in diverting attention from the genuine means of war and success to ineffectual means, thus destroying the power of the army to a large extent.
  2. “We must guard against men who are cowardly and afraid of the issue between truth and error, and desirous to keep it out of view.” To be sure, some are ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and the distinctiveness of the Lord’s body. Franklin was correct when he said, “If there is a difference between the gospel and everything else, as there certainly is, as clear as the difference between day and night, let it appear, and let the world know what it is.”
  3. “Look out for men in collusion with the enemy.” Speaking of our association with denominational churches, Franklin said, “We can recognize them in no sense, only as sectarians, schisms, factions, heresies; not one of them as the body of Christ, nor all of them together as the body of Christ. There may be those in some of them who are members of the body of Christ, but certain it is that not one of them, nor all of them together, is the body of Christ. We can recognize them in no sense, only as belligerent sects.”
  4. “Beware of men who sympathize with the enemy, are always running down their fellow-soldiers, and praising the enemy.” Franklin noted, “We want the true soldier, who has no king but Jesus, no law but the law of God, no cause but the cause of God, no kingdom but the kingdom of God.”

W. McGarvey – Redemption at the Cross

            In a series of sermons delivered at the Broadway Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky (1893), brother McGarvey touched on many timely and timeless themes. Of particular interest here is his treatment of, “Redemption in Christ.”

            McGarvey took his text from Ephesians 1:7-8 and showed that God set forth Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins and that by no other means could God justify the sinner. Why? McGarvey answered, “I don’t know. I don’t believe any other man knows what the reasoning of God was on this subject, by which he felt compelled, according to his own infinite nature, to refuse to pardon a single sin except through the blood of his Son” (McGarvey’s Sermons, 51).

            In his treatment of this theme, McGarvey suggested that the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus on the cross reaches us in two ways: (1) It enables God, when we come to Christ to forgive our sins, take away the threatened penalty and grant us everlasting life and peace of mind. (2) It shows that the body is to be redeemed as well as the soul, in Christ, by his redeeming blood.

            Another point worthy of consideration, as touching the redeeming death of Jesus, is that it convinces the open mind and ready heart of the awfulness of sin. McGarvey noted, “If sin is of such a nature that God Himself, with all His infinite wisdom, and all His undying love toward our race, could find no way to redeem us from it, without the shedding of the blood of his dear son, the heart’s blood of Him who came down from Heaven to endure the ignominious death of the cross for this great end, what an awful thing sin must be!” (McGarvey’s Sermons, 54-55). – To be continued.