{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_28464/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_28464","id":"gutenberg_28464","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28464","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Epistles -- Commentaries","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Sermons"],"text":"Produced by Ron Swanson (This file was produced from images\ngenerously made available by The Internet Archive/American\nLibraries)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLUTHER'S\nEPISTLE SERMONS\nEPIPHANY, EASTER AND PENTECOST\n\n\nTRANSLATED WITH THE HELP OF OTHERS\nBY\nPROF. JOHN NICHOLAS LENKER, D.D.\n\nAUTHOR OF \"LUTHERANS IN ALL LANDS,\" TRANSLATOR OF LUTHER'S WORKS INTO\nENGLISH AND PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL LUTHERAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION\n\n\n\n\nVOL. II.\n(_Volume VIII of Luther's Complete Works_.)\n\nTHIRD THOUSAND\n\n\n\n\n_The Luther Press_\nMINNEAPOLIS, MINN., U.S.A.\n1909.\n\n\n\n\n_Dedication_\n\nTo All, Pastors and Laymen, who appreciate the true place of Luther's\nWritings in the Evangelization of Europe, and are interested in the\nEvangelization of the world, this volume of Easter and Pentecost\nEpistle Sermons of the English Luther is gratefully and prayerfully\ndedicated.\n\n\n\n\nCopyright, 1909, by J. N. LENKER.\n\n\n\n\n_Foreword_\n\n\nThe Evangelization of the World is being accomplished more rapidly\nthan we think. Three mighty movements are constantly at\nwork--Reformation, Heathen Missions and Emigration or Colonization. By\nthe Reformation Europe was evangelized; by Heathen Missions Asia and\nAfrica are being evangelized and by Emigration or Colonization North\nand South America and Australia have been to a large extent\nevangelized. In \"Lutherans In All Lands,\" published in 1893, and in\nthe introduction to the volume on St. Peter's Epistles of the English\nLuther, we emphasized the relation of the Evangelical-Lutheran church\nand of Luther's writings to the evangelization of the world through\nthese three movements. In view of the recent marvelous growth in\ninterest in Heathen Missions and the false ideas about Luther's\nrelation to this theme, the following may be in place here in this\nvolume of Easter and Pentecost sermons:\n\nThe Christian religion being preeminently missionary the Reformation\nof the Christian Church would necessarily be missionary. Protestant\nmissions began with Protestantism.\n\nHerzog's Encyclopedia says: \"Luther himself already seizes every\nopportunity offered by a text of the Divine Word in order to remind\nbelievers of the distress of the Heathen and Turks and earnestly urges\nthem to pray in their behalf, and to send out missionaries to them. In\naccord with him all the prominent theologians and preachers of his\nday, and of the succeeding period inculcated the missionary duty of\nthe Church. Many also of the Evangelical princes cherished the work\nwith Christian love and zeal.\"\n\nLuther's interest in the work of true evangelization is seen in the\nname he designedly chose for the church of his followers. He did not\ncall it Protestant nor Lutheran, but conscientiously insisted upon it\nbeing called the Evangelical, or in plain Anglo-Saxon, the Gospel\nchurch, the Evangelizing church. Because of Luther's emphasis on the\nword evangelical there are properly speaking no Lutheran, but only\nEvangelical-Lutheran churches. He is the evangelist of Protestantism\nin the true sense.\n\nOf the library of 110 volumes of which Luther is the author, 85 of\nthem treat of the Bible and expound its pure evangelical teachings in\ncommentaries, sermons and catechetical writings. He popularized the\nword evangelical. With his tongue and pen he labored incessantly for\nthe evangelization of Europe. That Europe is evangelized is due more\nto his labors and writings than to those of any other. What those\nwritings did for Europe they may do, and we believe, will do, for the\nworld in a greater or less degree. The greatest evangelist of Europe\nhas a God-given place in the evangelization of the world. His most\nevangelical classics should be translated into all the dialects of\nearth as soon as the Bible is given to the people in their native\ntongue.\n\nDr. Warneck says: \"By the Reformation the christianizing of a large\npart of Europe was first completed, and so far it may be said to have\ncarried on a mission work at home on an extensive scale.\" Further he\nsays: \"The Reformation certainly did a great indirect service to the\ncause of missions to the heathen, as it not only restored the true\nsubstance of missionary preaching by its earnest proclamation of the\nGospel, but also brought back the whole work of missions on Apostolic\nlines. Luther rightly combats, as Plitt insists, 'the secularizing of\nmissionary work.'\"\n\nIn explaining the 117th Psalm Luther says: \"If all the heathen shall\npraise God, he must first be their God. Shall he be their God? Then\nthey must know him and believe in him, and put away all idolatry,\nsince God can not be praised with idolatrous lips or with unbelieving\nhearts. Shall they believe? Then they must first hear his Word and by\nit receive the Holy Spirit, who cleanses and enlightens their heart\nthrough faith. Are they to hear his Word? Then preachers must be sent\nwho shall declare to them the Word of God.\" So in his familiar hymn,\n\"Es wolle Gott uns gnaedig sein.\"\n\n    \"And Jesus Christ, His saving strength\n     To Gentiles to make known,\n     That thee, O God, may thank and praise\n     The Gentiles everywhere.\"\n\nIn commenting on the words of the Second Psalm, \"Ask of me and I will\ngive thee the heathen for thine inheritance,\" Luther says: \"Christ,\ntherefore, being upon earth and appointed king upon Mount Zion,\nreceives the Gentiles who were then promised unto him. The words 'of\nme' are not spoken without a particular meaning. They are to show that\nthis kingdom and this inheritance of the Gentiles are conferred on\nChrist, not by men, nor in any human way, but by God, that is,\nspiritually.\"\n\nAll who retain the good old custom of the fathers in reading Luther's\nPostil sermons on the Gospel and Epistle texts for each Sunday know\nwhat deep missionary thoughts are found in the sermons for Epiphany,\nAscension Day and Pentecost.\n\nIn one sermon for Ascension Day on \"Go ye into all the world and\npreach the Gospel to the whole creation,\" we read, \"these words of the\nSovereign Ruler commission these poor beggars to go forth and proclaim\nthis new message, not in one city or country only, but in all the\nworld.\"\n\nFor the history of the writing of these sermons the reader is referred\nto volumes 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Gospel sermons of Luther's works\nin English.\n\nThe German text will be readily found in the 12th volume of the Walch\nand of the St. Louis Walch editions, and in the 8th volume of the\nErlangen edition of Luther's works.\n\nDue acknowledgment is hereby made of aid received from the translation\nof Pastor Ambrose Henkel, and published in 1869, at New Market,\nVirginia. Also to Pastor C. B. Gohdes, for comparing the manuscript\nfrom the Third Sunday before Lent with the German text and making\nvaluable improvements.\n\nJ. N. LENKER.\n\nHome for Young Women,\nMinneapolis, Minn., March 22, 1909.\n\n\n\n\n_Contents_\n\n                                                                 Page.\nFirst Sunday After Epiphany.--The Fruits of Faith. Our Spiritual\n  Service. Romans 12, 1-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    7\n\nSecond Sunday After Epiphany.--The Gifts and Works of Christ's\n  Members. Our Christian Duty. Romans 12, 6-16  . . . . . . . . .   20\n\nThird Sunday After Epiphany.--Christian Revenge. Romans 12, 16-21   51\n\nFourth Sunday After Epiphany.--Christian Love and the Command to\n  Love. Romans 13, 8-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   56\n\nFifth Sunday After Epiphany.--The Glorious Adornment of\n  Christians. Colossians 3, 12-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   76\n\nThird Sunday Before Lent.--The Christian Race for the Prize.\n  1 Corinthians 9, 24-10, 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   93\n\nSecond Sunday Before Lent.--Paul's Glory in His Labor and\n  Sufferings. 2 Corinthians 11, 19-12, 9  . . . . . . . . . . . .  104\n\nSunday Before Lent.--Paul's Praise of Christian Love.\n  1 Corinthians 13  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  119\n\nFirst Sunday in Lent.--An Entreaty to Live as Christians.\n  2 Corinthians 6, 1-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  133\n\nSecond Sunday in Lent.--Exhortation to Holiness. 1 Thessalonians\n  4, 1-7  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  145\n\nThird Sunday in Lent.--Exhortation to be Imitators of God.\n  Ephesians 5, 1-9  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  150\n\nFourth Sunday in Lent.--The Children of Promise. Galatians 4,\n  21-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  162\n\nFifth Sunday in Lent.--Christ Our Great High Priest. Hebrews 9,\n  11-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  163\n\nPalm Sunday.--Christ an Example of Love. Christ's Humiliation and\n  Exaltation. Philippians 2, 5-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  169\n\n\nSUMMER PART OF THE EPISTLE POSTIL.\n\nEaster Sunday.--Purging Out the Old Leaven and the New Easter\n  Festival of Christians. 1 Corinthians 5, 6-8  . . . . . . . . .  181\n\nEaster Monday.--Peter's Sermon on the Blessings of Christ's\n  Resurrection. Acts 10, 34-43  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  194\n\nEaster Tuesday.--Paul's Sermon on the Power and Blessings of\n  Christ's Resurrection. Acts 13, 26-39 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  202\n\nSecond Sermon.--The Divine Word and the Resurrection. Acts 13,\n  26-39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  204\n\nEaster Wednesday.--The Fruit That Follows Belief in the\n  Resurrection. Colossians 3, 1-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  217\n\nSunday After Easter.--The Victory of Faith and the Witness of the\n  Holy Spirit Through Baptism. 1 John 5, 4-12 . . . . . . . . . .  231\n\nSecond Sunday After Easter.--An Exhortation to Patience by\n  Christ's Example in Suffering. 1 Peter 2, 20-25 . . . . . . . .  248\n\nThird Sunday After Easter.--Our Christian Duties. An Exhortation\n  to the New Christian Life. 1 Peter 2, 11-20 . . . . . . . . . .  272\n\nSecond Sermon.--The Resurrection of the Dead. 1 Corinthians 15,\n  20-28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  285\n\nFourth Sunday After Easter.--The Resurrection of the Dead.\n  1 Corinthians 15, 35-50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  287\n\nSecond Sermon.--Our Gifts and Duties. James 1, 16-21  . . . . . .  289\n\nFifth Sunday After Easter.--The Change of Our Mortal Body and the\n  Destruction of Death. 1 Corinthians 15, 51-58 . . . . . . . . .  301\n\nAscension Day.--The History of Christ's Ascension. Acts 1, 1-11 .  301\n\nSunday After Ascension Day.--Soberness in Prayer and Fervency in\n  Love, and the Proper Functions of Church Officers. 1 Peter 4,\n  7-11  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  303\n\nPentecost.--The History of Pentecost. Acts 2, 1-13  . . . . . . .  329\n\nPentecost Monday.--Peter's Sermon on Joel's Prophecy on the\n  Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2, 14-28  . . . . . . . . .  336\n\nPentecost Tuesday.--The Resurrection and Glorification of Christ\n  Through the Sending of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2, 29-36 . . . . .  336\n\n\n\n\n_First Sunday After Epiphany_\n\nText: Romans 12, 1-6.\n\n1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present\nyour bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your\nspiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but\nbe ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what\nis the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say,\nthrough the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you,\nnot to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to\nthink as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a\nmeasure of faith. 4 For even as we have many members in one body, and\nall the members have not the same office: 5 so we, who are many, are\none body in Christ, and severally members one of another. 6 And having\ngifts differing according to the grace that was given to us.\n\n\nTHE FRUITS OF FAITH.\n\n1. In the preceding sermons I have treated sufficiently of faith and\nlove; and of crosses and afflictions, the promoters of hope. Faith,\nlove and affliction bound the Christian's life. It is unnecessary that\nI should further discourse on these topics. As they--or anything\npertaining to the life of the Christian--present themselves, reference\nmay be had to those former postils. It is my purpose now briefly to\nmake plain that the sum of all divine doctrine is simply Jesus Christ,\nas we have often heard.\n\n2. This epistle lesson treats not of faith, but of the fruits of\nfaith--love, unity, patience, self-denial, etc. Among these fruits,\nthe apostle considers first the discipline of the body--the\nmortification of evil lusts. He handles the subject here in a manner\nwholly unlike his method in other epistles. In Galatians he speaks of\ncrucifying the flesh with its lusts; in Hebrews and Colossians, of\nputting off the old man and mortifying the members on earth. Here he\nmentions presenting the body as a sacrifice; he dignifies it by the\nloftiest and most sacred terms. Why does he so?\n\nFirst, by making the terms glorious, he would the more emphatically\nurge us to yield this fruit of faith. The whole world regards the\npriest's office--his service and his dignity--as representing the acme\nof nobility and exaltation; and so it truly does. Now, if one would be\na priest and exalted before God, let him set about this work of\noffering up his body to God; in other words, let him be humble, let\nhim be nothing in the eyes of the world.\n\n3. I will let every man decide for himself the difference between the\noutward priesthood of dazzling character and the internal, spiritual\npriesthood. The first is confined to a very few individuals; the\nsecond, Christians commonly share. One was ordained of men,\nindependently of the Word of God; the other was established through\nthe Word, irrespective of human devices. In that, the skin is\nbesmeared with material oil; in this, the heart is internally anointed\nwith the Holy Spirit. That applauds and extols its works; this\nproclaims and magnifies the grace of God, and his glory. That does not\noffer up the body with its lusts, but rather fosters the evil desires\nof the flesh; this sacrifices the body and mortifies its lusts. The\nformer permits the offering up to itself of gold and property, of\nhonor, of idleness and pleasure, and of all manner of lust on earth;\nthe latter foregoes these things and accepts only the reverse of\nhomage. That again sacrifices Christ in its awful perversions; this,\nsatisfied with the atonement once made by Christ, offers up itself\nwith him and in him, by making similar sacrifices. In fact, the two\npriesthoods accord about as well as Christ and Barabbas, as light and\ndarkness, as God and the world. As little as smearing and shaving were\nfactors in Christ's priesthood, so little will they thus procure for\nanyone the Christian priesthood. Yet Christ, with all his Christians,\nis priest. \"Thou art a priest for ever after the order of\nMelchizedek.\" Ps 110, 4. The Christian priesthood will not admit of\nappointment. The priest is not made. He must be born a priest; must\ninherit his office. I refer to the new birth--the birth of water and\nthe Spirit. Thus all Christians become priests, children of God and\nco-heirs with Christ the Most High Priest.\n\n4. Men universally consider the title of priest glorious and\nhonorable; it is acceptable to everyone. But the duties and the\nsacrifice of the office are rarely accepted. Men seem to be averse to\nthese latter. The Christian priesthood costs life, property, honor,\nfriends and all worldly things. It cost Christ the same on the holy\ncross. No man readily chooses death instead of life, and accepts pain\ninstead of pleasure, loss instead of gain, shame rather than honor,\nenemies rather than friends, according to the example Christ set for\nus on the cross. And further, all this is to be endured, not for\nprofit to one's self, but for the benefit of his neighbor and for the\nhonor and glory of God. For so Christ offered up his body. This\npriesthood is a glorious one.\n\n5. As I have frequently stated, the suffering and work of Christ is to\nbe viewed in two lights: First, as grace bestowed on us, as a blessing\nconferred, requiring the exercise of faith on our part and our\nacceptance of the salvation offered. Second, we are to regard it an\nexample for us to follow; we are to offer up ourselves for our\nneighbors' benefit and for the honor of God. This offering is the\nexercise of our love--distributing our works for the benefit of our\nneighbors. He who so does is a Christian. He becomes one with Christ,\nand the offering of his body is identical with the offering of\nChrist's body. This is what Peter calls offering sacrifices acceptable\nto God by Christ. He describes priesthood and offering in these words:\n\"Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a\nholy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God\nthrough Jesus Christ.\" 1 Pet 2, 5.\n\n6. Peter says \"spiritual sacrifices,\" but Paul says our bodies are to\nbe offered up. While it is true that the body is not spirit, the\noffering of it is called a spiritual sacrifice because it is freely\nsacrificed through the Spirit, the Christian being uninfluenced by the\nconstraints of the Law or the fear of hell. Such motives, however,\nsway the ecclesiasts, who have heaped tortures upon themselves by\nundergoing fasts, uncomfortable clothing, vigils, hard beds and other\nvain and difficult performances, and yet failed to attain to this\nspiritual sacrifice. Rather, they have wandered the farther from it\nbecause of their neglect to mortify their old Adam-like nature. They\nhave but increased in presumption and wickedness, thinking by their\nworks and merits to raise themselves in God's estimation. Their\npenances were not intended for the mortification of their bodies, but\nas works meriting for them superior seats in heaven. Properly, then,\ntheir efforts may be regarded a carnal sacrifice of their bodies,\nunacceptable to God and most acceptable to the devil.\n\n7. But spiritual sacrifices, Peter tells us, are acceptable to God;\nand Paul teaches the same (Rom 8, 13): \"If by the Spirit ye put to\ndeath the deeds of the body, ye shall live.\" Paul speaks of mortifying\nthrough the Spirit; Peter, of a spiritual sacrifice. The offering must\nfirst be slain. Paul's thought is: \"If ye mortify the deeds of the\nbody in your individual, chosen ways, unprompted by the Spirit or your\nown heart, simply through fear of punishment, that mortification--that\nsacrifice--will be carnal; and ye shall not live, but die a death the\nmore awful.\" The Spirit must mortify your deeds--spiritually it must\nbe done; that is, with real enjoyment, unmoved by fear of hell,\nvoluntarily, without expectation of meriting honor or reward, either\ntemporal or eternal. This, mark you, is a spiritual sacrifice. However\noutward, gross, physical and visible a deed may be, it is altogether\nspiritual when wrought by the Spirit. Even eating and drinking are\nspiritual works if done through the Spirit. On the other hand,\nwhatsoever is wrought through the flesh is carnal, no matter to what\nextent it may be a secret desire of the soul. Paul (Gal 5, 20) terms\nidolatry and heresies works of the flesh, notwithstanding they are\ninvisible impulses of the soul.\n\n8. In addition to this spiritual sacrifice--the mortifying of the\ndeeds of the body--Peter mentions another, later on in the same\nchapter: \"But ye are ... a royal priesthood ... that ye may show forth\nthe excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his\nmarvelous light.\" Here Peter touches upon the preaching office, the\nreal sacrificial office, concerning which it is said (Ps 50, 23),\n\"Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me.\"\nPreaching extols the grace of God. It is the offering of praise and\nthanks. Paul boasts (Rom 15, 16) that he sanctifies and offers the\nGospel. But it is not our purpose to consider here this sacrifice of\npraise; though praise in the congregation may be included in the\nspiritual sacrifice, as we shall see. For he who offers his body to\nGod also offers his tongue and his lips as instruments to confess,\npreach and extol the grace of God. On this topic, however, we shall\nspeak elsewhere. Let us now consider the words of the text.\n\n\nOUR SPIRITUAL SERVICE.\n\n\"I beseech you therefore, brethren.\"\n\n9. Paul does not say, \"I command you.\" He is preaching to those\nalready godly Christians through faith in the new man; to hearers who\nare not to be constrained by commandments, but to be admonished. For\nthe object is to secure voluntary renunciation of their old, sinful,\nAdam-like nature. He who will not cheerfully respond to friendly\nadmonition is no Christian. And he who attempts by the restraints of\nlaw to compel the unwilling to renunciation, is no Christian preacher\nor ruler; he is but a worldly jailer.\n\n\"By the mercies of God.\"\n\n10. A teacher of the Law enforces his restraints through threats and\npunishments. A preacher of grace persuades and incites by calling\nattention to the goodness and mercy of God. The latter does not desire\nworks prompted by an unwilling spirit, or service that is not the\nexpression of a cheerful heart. He desires that a joyous, willing\nspirit shall incite to the service of God. He who cannot, by the\ngracious and lovely message of God's mercy so lavishly bestowed upon\nus in Christ, be persuaded in a spirit of love and delight to\ncontribute to the honor of God and the benefit of his neighbor, is\nworthless to Christianity, and all effort is lost on him. How can one\nwhom the fire of heavenly love and grace cannot melt, be rendered\ncheerfully obedient by laws and threats? Not human mercy is offered\nus, but divine mercy, and Paul would have us perceive it and be moved\nthereby.\n\n\"To present your bodies.\"\n\n11. Many and various were the sacrifices of the Old Testament. But all\nwere typical of this one sacrifice of the body, offered by Christ and\nhis Christians. And there is not, nor can be, any other sacrifice in\nthe New Testament. What more would one, or could one, offer than\nhimself, all he is and all he has? When the body is yielded a\nsacrifice, all belonging to the body is yielded also. Therefore, the\nOld Testament sacrifices, with the priests and all the splendor, have\nterminated. How does the offering of a penny compare with that of the\nbody? Indeed, such fragmentary patchwork scarcely deserves recognition\nas a sacrifice when the bodies of Christ and of his followers are\noffered.\n\nConsequently, Isaiah may truly say that in the New Testament such\nbeggarly works are loathsome compared to real and great sacrifices:\n\"He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that\nsacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog's neck; he that offereth\nan oblation, as he that offereth swine's blood; he that burneth\nfrankincense, as he that blesseth an idol.\" Is 66, 3. Similarly, also:\n\"What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I\nhave had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed\nbeasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of\nhe-goats.\" Is 1, 11. Thus, in plain words, Isaiah rejects all other\nsacrifices in view of this true one.\n\n12. Our blind leaders, therefore, have most wretchedly deceived the\nworld by their mass-offerings, for they have forgotten this one real\nsacrifice. The mass may be celebrated and at the same time the soul be\nnot benefited, but rather injured. But the body cannot be offered\nwithout benefiting the soul. Under the New Testament dispensation,\nthen, the mass cannot be a sacrifice, even were it ever one. For all\nthe works, all the sacrifices of the New Testament, must be true and\nsoul-benefiting. Otherwise they are not New Testament sacrifices. It\nis said (Ps 25, 10), \"All the paths of Jehovah are lovingkindness and\ntruth.\"\n\n\"A living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.\"\n\n13. Paul here makes use of the three words \"living,\" \"holy\" and\n\"acceptable,\" doubtless to teach that the sacrifices of the Old\nTestament are repealed and the entire priesthood abolished. The Old\nTestament sacrifices consisted of bullocks, sheep and goats. To these\nlife was not spared. For the sacrifice they were slain, burned,\nconsumed by the priests. But the New Testament sacrifice is a\nwonderful offering. Though slain, it still lives. Indeed, in\nproportion as it is slain and sacrificed, does it live in vigor. \"If\nby the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.\"\nRom 8, 13. \"For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.\" Col\n3, 3. \"And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with\nthe passions and the lusts thereof.\" Gal 5, 24.\n\n14. The word \"living,\" then, is to be spiritually understood--as\nhaving reference to the life before God and not to the temporal life.\nHe who keeps his body under and mortifies its lusts does not live to\nthe world; he does not lead the life of the world. The world lives in\nits lusts, and according to the flesh; it is powerless to live\notherwise. True, the Christian is bodily in the world, yet he does not\nlive after the flesh. As Paul says (2 Cor 10, 3), \"Though we walk in\nthe flesh, we do not war according to the flesh\"; and again (Rom 8,\n1), \"Who walk not after the flesh.\" Such a life is, before God,\neternal, and a true, living sacrifice. Such mortification of the body\nand of its lusts, whether effected by voluntary discipline or by\npersecution, is simply an exercise in and for the life eternal.\n\n15. None of the Old Testament sacrifices were holy--except in an\nexternal and temporal sense--until they were consumed. For the life of\nthe animal was but temporal and external previous to the sacrifice.\nBut the \"living sacrifice\" Paul mentions is righteous before God, and\nalso externally holy. \"Holy\" implies simply, being designed for the\nservice and the honor of God, and employed of God. Hence we must here\nunderstand the word \"holy\" as conveying the thought that we let God\nalone work in us and we be simply his holy instruments. As said in\nFirst Corinthians 6, 19-20, \"Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost\n... and ye are not your own ... therefore glorify God in your body,\nand in your spirit, which are God's.\" Again (Gal 6, 17), \"I bear\nbranded on my body the marks of Jesus.\" Now, he who performs a work\nmerely for his own pleasure and to his own honor, profanes his\nsacrifice. So also do they who by their works seek to merit reward\nfrom God, whether temporal or eternal. The point of error is, they are\nnot yet a slain sacrifice. The sacrifice cannot be holy unless it\nfirst lives; that is, unless it is slain before God, and slain in its\nown consciousness, and thus does not seek its own honor and glory.\n\n16. The Old Testament sacrifices were not in themselves acceptable to\nGod. Nor did they render man acceptable. But in the estimation of the\nworld--before men--they were pleasing, even regarded highly worthy.\nMen thought thereby to render themselves well-pleasing in God's sight.\nBut the spiritual sacrifice is, in man's estimation, the most\nrepugnant and unacceptable of all things. It condemns, mortifies and\nopposes whatever, in man's judgment, is good and well-pleasing. For,\nas before stated, nature cannot do otherwise than to live according to\nthe flesh, particularly to follow its own works and inventions. It\ncannot admit that all its efforts and designs are vain and worthy of\nmortification and of death. The spiritual sacrifice is acceptable to\nGod, Paul teaches, however unacceptable it may be to the world. They\nwho render this living, holy sacrifice are happy and assured of their\nacceptance with God; they know God requires the death of the lusts and\ninventions of the flesh, and he alone desires to live and work in us.\n\n17. Consequently, Paul's use of the word \"body\" includes more than\noutward, sensual vices and crimes, as gluttony, fornication, murder;\nit includes everything not of the new spiritual birth but belonging to\nthe old Adam nature, even its best and noblest faculties, outer and\ninner; the deep depravity of self-will, for instance, and arrogance,\nhuman wisdom and reason, reliance on our own good works, on our own\nspiritual life and on the gifts wherewith God has endowed our nature.\n\nTo illustrate: Take the most spiritual and the wisest individuals on\nearth, and while it is true that a fraction of them are outwardly and\nphysically chaste, their hearts, it will be found, are filled with\nhaughtiness, presumption and self-will, while they delight in their\nown wisdom and peculiar conduct. No saint is wholly free from the deep\ndepravity of the inner nature. Hence he must constantly offer himself\nup, mortifying his old deceitful self. Paul calls it sacrificing the\nbody, because the individual, on becoming a Christian, lives more than\nhalf spiritually, and the evil propensities remaining to be mortified\nPaul attributes to the body as to the inferior, the less important,\npart of man; the part not as yet wholly under the Spirit's influence.\n\n\"Which is your spiritual (reasonable) service.\"\n\n18. A clear distinction is here made between the services rendered God\nby Christians and those which the Jews rendered. The thought is: The\nJews' service to God consisted in sacrifices of irrational beasts, but\nthe service of Christians, in spiritual sacrifices--the sacrifice of\ntheir bodies, their very selves. The Jews offered gold and silver;\nthey built an inanimate temple of wood and stone. Christians are a\ndifferent people. Their sacrifices are not silver and gold. Their\ntemple is not wood and stone; it is themselves. \"Ye are a temple of\nGod.\" 1 Cor 3, 16. Thus you observe the unfair treatment accorded\nChristians in ignoring their peculiar services and inducing the world\nto build churches, to erect altars and monasteries, and to manufacture\nbells, chalices and images by way of Christian service--works that\nwould have been too burdensome for even the Jews.\n\n19. In brief, this our reasonable service is rightly called a\nspiritual service of the heart, performed in the faith and the\nknowledge of God. Here Paul rejects all service not performed in faith\nas entirely unreasonable, even if rendered by the body and in outward\nact, and having the appearance of great holiness and spiritual life.\nSuch have been the works, offerings, monkery and stringent life of the\nPapists, performed without the knowledge of God--having no command of\nGod--and without spirit and heart. They have thought that so long as\nthe works were performed they must be pleasing to God, independent of\ntheir faith. Such was also the service of the Jews in their works and\nofferings, and of all who knew not Christ and were without faith.\nHence they were no better than the service and works of idolatrous and\nignorant heathen.\n\n\"And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed\nby the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and\nacceptable and perfect will of God.\"\n\n20. As before said, the world cannot endure the sight or hearing of\nthis living sacrifice; therefore it opposes it on every side. With its\nprovocations and threats, its enticements and persecutions, it has\nevery advantage, aided by the fact that our minds and spirits are not\noccupied with that spiritual sacrifice, but we give place to the\ndispositions and inclinations of the world. We must be careful, then,\nto follow neither the customs of the world nor our own reason or\nplausible theories. We must constantly subdue our dispositions and\ncontrol our wills, not obeying the dictates of reason and desire.\nAlways we are to conduct ourselves in a manner unlike the way of the\nworld. So shall we be daily changed--renewed in our minds. That is, we\ncome each day to place greater value on the things condemned by human\nreason--by the world. Daily we prefer to be poor, sick and despised,\nto be fools and sinners, until ultimately we regard death as better\nthan life, foolishness as more precious than wisdom, shame nobler than\nhonor, labor more blessed than wealth, and sin more glorious than\nhuman righteousness. Such a mind the world does not possess. The mind\nof the world is altogether unlike the Christian's. It not only\ncontinues unchanged and unrenewed in its old disposition, but is\nobdurate and very old.\n\n21. God's will is ever good and perfect, ever gracious; but it is not\nat all times so regarded of men. Indeed, human reason imagines it to\nbe the evil, unfriendly, abominable will of the devil, because what\nreason esteems highest, best and holiest, God's will regards as\nnothing and worthy of death. Therefore, Christian experience must come\nto the rescue and decide. It must feel and prove, must test and\nascertain, whether one is prompted by a sincere and gracious will. He\nwho perseveres and learns in this way will go forward in his\nexperience, finding God's will so gracious and pleasing he would not\nexchange it for all the world's wealth. He will discover that\nacceptance of God's will affords him more happiness, even in poverty,\ndisgrace and adversity, than is the lot of any worldling in the midst\nof earthly honors and pleasures. He will finally arrive at a degree of\nperfection making him inclined to exchange life for death, and, with\nPaul, to desire to depart that sin may no more live in him, and that\nthe will of God may be done perfectly in himself in every relation. In\nthis respect he is wholly unlike the world; he conducts himself very\ndifferently from it. For the world never has enough of this life,\nwhile the experienced Christian is ready to be removed. What the world\nseeks, he avoids; what it avoids, he seeks.\n\n22. Paul, you will observe, does not consider the Christian absolutely\nfree from sin, since he beseeches us to be \"transformed by the\nrenewing of the mind.\" Where transformation and renewal are necessary,\nsomething of the old and sinful nature must yet remain. This sin is\nnot imputed to Christians, because they daily endeavor to effect\ntransformation and renovation. Sin exists in them against their will.\nFlesh and spirit are contrary to each other (Gal 5, 17), therefore we\ndo not what we would. Rom 7, 15.\n\nPaul makes particular mention of \"the mind\" here, by contrast making\nplainer what is intended by the \"body\" which he beseeches them to\nsacrifice. The scriptural sense of the word \"mind\" has already been\nsufficiently defined as \"belief,\" which is the source of either vice\nor virtue. For what I value, I believe to be right. I observe what I\nvalue, as do others. But when belief is wrong, conscience and faith\nhave not control. Where unity of mind among men is lacking, love and\npeace cannot be present; and where love and faith are not present,\nonly the world and the devil reign. Hence transformation by renewal of\nthe mind is of vital importance. Now follows:\n\n\nSOBER THOUGHTS OF OURSELVES.\n\n\"For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is\namong you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;\nbut so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to\nevery man a measure of faith.\"\n\n23. Paul, in all his epistles, is careful to give this instruction to\nChristians. His purpose is to preserve simplicity of faith among them\neverywhere; to prevent sects and schisms in Christian life, which have\ntheir origin in differing minds, in diversity of belief. To make\nadmonition the more forcible, he refers to his apostolic office; to\nthe fact that he was, by the grace of God, chosen and sent to teach\nthe things he advocates. His words here mean: \"Ye possess many graces,\nbut let everyone take heed to confine his belief and opinions to the\nlimits of faith. Let him not esteem himself above another, nor attach\nto the gifts conferred upon himself greater value than he accords\nthose conferred upon another. Otherwise he will be inclined to despise\nthe lesser gifts and emphasize the more exalted ones, and to influence\nothers to the same practice.\" Where there is not such humility,\nrecourse is had to works and to the honoring of gifts, while faith is\nneglected. Thus belief prompts to do as the world does, to value what\nis exalted and to despise what is humble.\n\n24. This principle cannot be better illustrated than by the prevailing\nexamples of our time. For instance, monks and priests have established\nspiritual orders which they regard highly meritorious. In this respect\nthey do not think soberly, but extravagantly. They imagine ordinary\nChristians to be insignificant in comparison with them. But their\norders represent neither faith nor love, and are not commanded by God.\nThey are peculiar, something devised by the monks and priests\nthemselves. Hence there is division. Because of the different beliefs,\nnumerous sects exist, each striving for first place. Consequently, all\nthe orders become unprofitable in God's sight. The love and faith and\nharmony which unite Christians are dissipated.\n\n25. Paul teaches that, however varied the gifts and the outward works,\nnone should, because of these, esteem himself good, nor regard himself\nbetter than others. Rather, every man should estimate his own goodness\nby his faith. Faith is something all Christians have, though not in\nequal measure, some possessing more and others less. However, in faith\nall have the same possession--Christ. The murderer upon the cross,\nthrough faith, had Christ in himself as truly as had Peter, Paul,\nAbraham, the mother of the Lord, and all saints; though his faith may\nnot have been so strong. Therefore, though gifts be unequal, the\nprecious faith is the same. Now, if we are to glory in the treasures\nof faith only, not in the gifts, every man should esteem another's\ngifts as highly as his own, and with his own gifts serve that other\nwho in faith possesses equal treasure with him. Then will continue\nloving harmony and simple faith, and none will fall back upon his own\nworks or merits. Of this \"mind,\" or belief, you may read further in\nthe preceding postils, especially in the epistle selection for the\nthird Sunday in Advent. Further comment on this text will be left for\nthe next epistle lesson, the two being closely connected.\n\n\n\n\n_Second Sunday After Epiphany_\n\nText: Romans 12, 6-16.\n\n6 And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to\nus, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of\nour faith; 7 or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he\nthat teacheth, to his teaching; 8 or he that exhorteth, to his\nexhorting; he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that\nruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9\nLet love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to\nthat which is good. 10 In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned\none to another; in honor preferring one another; 11 in diligence not\nslothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope;\npatient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly in prayer; 13\ncommunicating to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality.\n14 Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice\nwith them that rejoice; weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the same\nmind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but\ncondescend to things that are lowly.\n\n\nGIFTS AND WORKS OF CHRIST'S MEMBERS.\n\n1. This lesson begins in a way that would seem to call for a portion\nproperly belonging to the epistle for the preceding Sunday, and\nterminates short of its full connection. Evidently it was arranged by\nsome unlearned and thoughtless individual, with a view simply to\nmaking convenient reading in the churches and not to its explanation\nto the people. It will be necessary to a clear comprehension,\ntherefore, to note its real connections.\n\n2. In the epistle for last Sunday, the apostle teaches that as\nChristians we are to renew our minds by sacrificing our bodies, thus\npreserving the true character of faith; that we are not to regard\nourselves as good or perfect without faith, if we would avoid the rise\nof sects and conflicting opinions among Christians; that each is to\ncontinue firm in the measure of faith God has given him, whether it be\nweak or strong; that he shall use his gifts to his neighbor's profit,\nand then they will not be regarded special favors by the less gifted,\nand the common faith will be generally prized as the highest and most\nprecious treasure, the result being satisfaction for all men. Paul\nnext adds the simile: \"For even as we have many members in one body,\nand all the members have not the same office: so we, who are many, are\none body in Christ, and severally members one of another.\" Then\nfollows our selection for today, the connection being, \"And having\ngifts differing according to the grace that was given to us,\" etc.\nPaul likens the various gifts to ourselves, the different members of\nthe common body of Christ.\n\nIt is an apt and beautiful simile, one he makes use of frequently; for\ninstance, 1 Cor 12, 12 and Eph 4, 16. It teaches directly and clearly\nthe equality of all Christians; that one common faith should satisfy\nall; that gifts are not to be regarded as making one better, happier\nand more righteous than another, in the eyes of God. The latter idea\nis certainly erroneous, and destructive of faith, which alone avails\nwith God.\n\n\nWE ARE BORN MEMBERS OF CHRIST.\n\n3. First, if we examine this simile, we shall find that all the\nmembers perform certain functions of the body because they are members\nof it; and no member has its place through its own efforts or its own\nmerits. It was born a member, before the exercise of office was\npossible. It acts by virtue of being a member; it does not become a\nmember by virtue of its action. It derives existence and all its\npowers from the body, regardless of its own exertions. The body,\nhowever, exercises its members as occasion requires. The eye has not\nattained its place because of its power of seeing--not because it has\nmerited its office as an organ of sight for the body. In the very\nbeginning it derived its existence and its peculiar function of sight\nfrom the body. It cannot, therefore, boast in the slightest degree\nthat by its independent power of seeing it has deserved its place as\nan eye. It has the honor and right of its position solely through its\nbirth, not because of any effort on its part.\n\n4. Similarly, no Christian can boast that his own efforts have made\nhim a member of Christ, with other Christians, in the common faith.\nNor can he by any work constitute himself a Christian. He performs\ngood works by virtue of having become a Christian, in the new birth,\nthrough faith, regardless of any merit of his own. Clearly, then, good\nworks do not make Christians, but Christians bring forth good works.\nThe fruit does not make the tree, but the tree produces the fruit.\nSeeing does not make the eye, but the eye produces vision. In short,\ncause ever precedes effect; effect does not produce cause, but cause\nproduces effect. Now, if good works do not make a Christian, do not\nsecure the grace of God and blot out our sins, they do not merit\nheaven. No one but a Christian can enjoy heaven. One cannot secure it\nby his works, but by being a member of Christ; an experience effected\nthrough faith in the Word of God.\n\n5. How, then, shall we regard those who teach us to exterminate our\nsins, to secure grace, to merit heaven, all by our own works; who\nrepresent their ecclesiastical orders as special highways to heaven?\nWhat is their theory? They teach, as you observe, that cause is\nproduced by effect. Just as if mere muscular tissue that is not a\ntongue becomes a tongue by fluent speaking, or becomes mouth and\nthroat by virtue of much drinking; as if running makes feet; keen\nhearing, an ear; smelling, a nose; nourishment at the mother's breast,\na child; suspension from the apple-tree, an apple. Beautiful\nspecimens, indeed, would these be--fine tongues, throats and ears,\nfine children, fine apples.\n\n6. What sort of foolish, perverted individuals are they who so teach?\nWell might you exclaim: \"What impossible undertakings, what useless\nburdens and hardships, they assume!\" Yes, what but burdens do they\ndeserve who pervert God's truth into falsehood; who change the gifts\nGod designed for man's benefit into acts of service rendered by man to\nGod; who, unwilling to abide in the common faith, aspire to exalted\nand peculiar place as priests and beings superior to other Christians?\nThey deserve to be overwhelmed in astonishing folly and madness, and\nto be burdened with useless labors and hardships in their attempts to\ndo impossible things. They cheat the world of its blessings while they\nfill themselves. It is said of them (Ps 14, 4-5): \"Have all the\nworkers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat\nbread, and call not upon Jehovah?\"--that is, they live not in faith.\nAnd continuing--\"There were they in great fear\"; meaning that here and\nthere they make that a matter of conscience which is not, because they\ncling to works and not to faith.\n\n\nEACH MEMBER CONTENT WITH ITS OWN POWERS.\n\n7. In the second place, the simile teaches that each member of the\nbody is content with the other members, and rejoices in its powers,\nnot being solicitous as to whether any be superior to itself. For\ninstance, the nose is inferior in office to the eye, yet in the\nrelation they sustain to each other the former is not envious of the\nlatter; rather, it rejoices in the superior function the eye performs.\nOn the other hand, the eye does not despise the nose; it rejoices in\nall the powers of the other members. As Paul says elsewhere (1 Cor 12,\n23): \"Those parts of the body, which we think to be less honorable,\nupon these we bestow more abundant honor.\" Thus we see that hand and\neye, regardless of their superior office, labor carefully to clothe\nand adorn the less honorable members. They make the best use of their\nown distinction to remove the dishonor and shame of the inferior\nmembers.\n\n8. However unequal the capacities and distinction of the individual\nmembers of the body, they are equal in that they are all parts of the\nsame body. The eye cannot claim any better right to a place in the\nbody than the least distinguished member has. Nor can it boast greater\nauthority over the body than any other member enjoys. And thus it does\nnot essay to do. It grants all members equal participation in the\nbody. Likewise, all Christians, whether strong in faith or weak,\nperfect or defective, share equally in Christ and are equal in\nChristendom. Each may appropriate the whole Christ unto himself. I may\nboast as much in Christ as Peter or the mother of God may boast. Nor\ndo I envy Peter because he is a more distinguished member of the\nChristian Church than I. I am glad of it. On the other hand, he does\nnot despise me for being a less honored member. I am a part of the\nsame body to which he belongs, and I possess Christ as well as he\ndoes.\n\n9. The self-righteous are unable to concede this equality. They must\nstir up sects and distinctions among Christians. Priests aspire to be\nbetter than laymen; monks better than priests; virgins than wives. The\ndiligent, in praying and fasting, would be better than the laborer;\nand they who lead austere lives, more righteous than they of ordinary\nlife. This is the work of the devil, and productive of every form of\nevil. Opposed to it is Christ's doctrine in our text. Under such\nconditions as mentioned, faith and love are subverted. The unlearned\nare deluded, and led away from faith to works and orders. Inequality\nis everywhere. The ecclesiasts desire to sit in high places, to\nreceive all honor, to have their feet kissed, and will honor and\nrespect none but themselves. Indeed, they would ultimately intercede\nfor poor Christians, would be mediators between them and God,\nattaching no importance whatever to the stations in life occupied by\nthese. They proceed as if they alone were members of Christ, and as if\ntheir relation to him could not be closer. Then they presume by their\nworks to constitute others members of Christ, being careful, however,\nto demand adequate financial return for the service. They are members\nof the devil; not of Christ.\n\n\nEACH MEMBER SERVES ALL THE OTHERS.\n\n10. In the third place, according to the simile each member of the\nbody conducts itself in a manner to profit the others--the whole body.\nThe eye prepares the way for hand and foot. The foot, in its carriage\nof the body, safeguards the eye. Each member ever cares for and serves\nthe others. More beautiful figures of love and good works are not to\nbe found than those derived from the body with its members. In the\nmembers we daily bear about with us, and with which we are continually\nfamiliar, God has described the law of love in a living and forcible\nmanner. Upon the principle there illustrated, the Christian should\nact, conducting himself in a way to profit not himself but others, and\nhaving a sincere interest in them. Under such conditions, schisms and\nsects could not spring up among us.\n\n11. But we are blind; we neither see nor read the beautiful lesson\ntaught us in our own bodies. We proceed to invent good works as a\nmeans of improving our condition and bringing ourselves into a saved\nstate. This error is attributable to our lack of faith and of heart\nknowledge of Christ. Hence we are restless in soul, seeking to be\nliberated from sin and to become righteous. The heart in its ignorance\nof the sufficiency of common faith, engages in these abnormal, special\nworks. There is where foolish individuals begin to disregard faith and\nlove, imagining such works true ways to heaven. One takes up one\nthing, and another something else, and so it goes, until there is\nnothing but sects. One sect condemns and rejects the other. Each,\nexalting itself beyond measure, claims superiority.\n\n\nEACH MEMBER SUFFERS AND REJOICES WITH ALL.\n\n12. In the fourth place, \"whether one member suffereth, all the\nmembers suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members\nrejoice with it,\" as Paul says. 1 Cor 12, 26. In short, no member\nlives and acts for itself; all obey and serve one another, and the\nmore honored members serve most. Each seems to say: \"I desire not to\nbe otherwise than as I am. I am satisfied to be a member of the same\nbody with the others, and to have equal rights and honors therein. It\nis unnecessary for me to exert myself to share in that body, for I am\nalready a member of it, and content. My efforts I direct to serving\nthe body--all the members, my beloved brothers and partners. I assume\nno peculiarities. I would not cause discord and conflict.\"\n\n13. Observe, this is the way all true, righteous Christians do, as we\nhave frequently said. They who conduct themselves otherwise cannot be\ntrue Christians; they are worse--more pernicious--than heathen. They\ncannot refrain from instigating sects; from assuming some peculiarity,\nsome special doctrine, wherein they proudly exalt themselves above\nother men. Thus they lure to themselves the hearts of the unlearned.\nAgainst this class Paul here, as everywhere, faithfully warns us.\n\n14. See, then, that you become a member of Christ. This is to be\naccomplished through faith alone, regardless of works. And having\nbecome a member, if God has appointed you a duty according to your\ncapacity, abide in it. Let no one allure you away from it. Esteem not\nyourself better than others, but serve them, rejoicing in their works\nand their offices as you do in your own, even if they are less\nimportant. Faith renders you equal with others, and others equal with\nyou, and so on.\n\n\nCHRISTIAN EQUALITY AND CHRISTIAN GIFTS.\n\nPaul's design in this epistle is to teach equality. He would have no\none \"think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to\nthink as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a\nmeasure of faith.\" Or, to express it differently: \"Let each one regard\nthat his work for which he has a gift, and let him perform it. But he\nis not consequently to esteem himself superior to others differently\ngifted. He should delight in their works, justly recognizing those\nworks as of God's grace, and knowing that God distributes the measure\nof faith and this his grace not in one way, but in many ways.\" Paul's\npeculiar choice of words here, referring to all gifts as the grace of\nGod and the measure of faith, is meant to teach that no man may regard\nhis individual gift as a peculiar instance in that respect, as do they\nwho are not of the common faith. It is the one same God, Spirit and\nLord, the apostle tells us (1 Cor 12, 5-11), who effects in this work\nand that, whether small or great, in you or in me, in the one same\nfaith, love and hope.\n\n15. The importance, the nobleness and helpfulness of this doctrine is\nbeyond our power of expression. The wretched condition of all\nChristendom, divided as it is into innumerable sects, is, alas, plain\ntestimony that no body nor member, no faith nor love, seems longer to\nexist anywhere. Unity of mind in relation to the various gifts of God\ncannot exist in connection with human doctrines. Hence it is\nimpossible for the orders and the doctrines of our ecclesiastical\nlords to stand with unity of mind; one or the other must fall.\n\n16. \"Measure of faith\" may be understood as implying that God imparts\nto some more of faith itself; and to others, less. But I presume\nPaul's thought in employing the expression is that faith brings gifts,\nwhich are its chief blessing. These are said to be according to the\nmeasure of our faith, and not to the measure of our will or our merit.\nWe have not merited our gifts. Where faith exists, God honors it with\ncertain gifts, apportioned, or committed, according to his will. As we\nhave it in First Corinthians 12, 11, \"dividing to each one severally\neven as he will\"; and in Ephesians 4, 16, \"to each member according to\nhis measure.\" The same reason may be assigned for Paul's words,\n\"Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us,\"\nnot \"differing according to our merits.\" Grace as well as faith brings\nthese noble jewels--our gifts--to each one according to his measure.\nIt excludes in every respect our works and our merits, and directs us\nto make our works minister only to our neighbors.\n\n\"Whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our\nfaith.\"\n\n17. The apostle enumerates several gifts, or works of Christian\nmembers, mentioning prophecy first. Prophecy is of two kinds: One is\nthe foretelling of future events, a gift or power possessed by all the\nprophets under the Old Testament dispensation, and by the apostles;\nthe other is the explanation of the Scriptures. \"Greater is he that\nprophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues.\" 1 Cor 14, 5. Now, the\nGospel being the last prophetic message to be delivered previous to\nthe time of the judgment, and to predict the events of that period, I\npresume Paul has reference here simply to that form of prophecy he\nmentions in the fourteenth of First Corinthians--explanation of the\nScriptures. This form is common, ever prevails, and is profitable to\nChristians; the other form is rare. That reference is to this form,\nPaul implies in his words, \"Let us prophesy according to the\nproportion of faith.\" Doubtless he means the Christian faith then\narising. No other faith, no other doctrine, is to be introduced. Now,\nwhen he says prophecy must be according to the proportion of faith, it\nis plain enough he does not refer to the foretelling of future events.\n\n18. The apostle's meaning, then, is: \"They who have the gift of\nScripture explanation must be careful to explain in conformity with\nthe faith, and not to teach contrary to its principles.\" \"Other\nfoundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus\nChrist.\" 1 Cor 3, 11. Let every man be careful not to build upon this\nfoundation with wood, hay, stubble--things unsuited to such a\nfoundation; let him build with gold, silver and precious stones.\n\nEvery doctrine, every explanation of the Scriptures, then, which leads\nus to rely upon our own works, and produces false Christians and\nself-righteous individuals, in the name of faith, is emphatically\ncondemned. Any doctrine that teaches we are to exterminate our sins,\nto become happy and righteous and to obtain peace of conscience before\nGod, in any other way than through faith alone--without works--is not\nin harmony with the Christian faith. For instance, all monastic life,\nand the doctrine of racketing spirits from purgatory, are in conflict\nwith faith.\n\n19. Paul, you will observe, does not attach so much importance to the\nprediction of future events; for instance, the prophecies of\nLichtenberger, Joachim and others in these latter times. Such\npredictions, though they may gratify the curiosity of men concerning\nthe fate of kings, princes and others of prominence in the world, are\nunnecessary prophecies under the New Testament dispensation. They\nneither teach the Christian faith nor contribute to its strength.\nHence this form of prophecy may be regarded as among the least of\nGod's gifts. More, it sometimes proceeds from the devil. But the\nability to explain the Scriptures is the noblest, the best, prophetic\ngift. The Old Testament prophets derived their title to the name\nchiefly because they prophesied concerning Christ--according to Peter\n(Acts 4, 25 and 1 Pet 1, 10)--and because they led the people of their\nday in the way of faith by explaining--giving the sense of--the divine\nWord. These things had much more to do with their title than the fact\nof their making occasional predictions concerning earthly kings and\ntemporal affairs. In general, they did not make such predictions. But\nthe first-mentioned form of prophecy they daily delivered, without\nomission. The faith whereto their prophecies conformed is perpetual.\n\n20. It is of much significance that Paul recognizes faith as the\ncontrolling judge and rule in all matters of doctrine and prophecy. To\nfaith everything must bow. By faith must all doctrine be judged and\nheld. You see whom Paul would constitute doctors of the holy\nScriptures--men of faith and no others. These should be the judges and\ndeciders of all doctrines. Their decision should prevail, even though\nit conflict with that of the Pope, of the councils, of the whole\nworld. Faith is and must be lord and God over all teachers. Note,\nthen, the conduct of the Church orders who failed to recognize faith's\nright to judge, and assumed that prerogative themselves, accepting\nonly power, numbers and temporal rank. But you know Pope, councils and\nall the world, with their doctrines, must yield authority to the most\ninsignificant Christian with faith, even though it be but a\nseven-year-old child, and his decision of their doctrines and laws is\nto be accepted. Christ commands us to take heed that we despise not\none of these little ones that believe in him. See Mt 18: 6, 10. Again,\nhe says (Jn 6, 45), \"They shall all be taught of God.\" Now, it is\ninconsistent to reject the judgment of him whom God himself teaches.\nRather, let all men hearken to him.\n\n\"Or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry.\"\n\n21. The office of the ministry is the second gift of God the apostle\nenumerates. With the early Christians the duties of this office were\nto serve poor widows and orphans, distributing to them temporal goods.\nSuch were the duties of Stephen and his associates (Acts 6, 5), and\nsuch should be the duties of the stewards and provosts in monasteries\ntoday. Again, this was the office of those who ministered unto the\nprophets and apostles, the preachers and teachers: for instance, the\nwomen who followed Christ and served him with their substance; and\nOnesimus, Titus, Timothy and others of Paul's disciples. They made all\nnecessary temporal provision, that the apostles and the preachers\nmight give themselves uninterruptedly to preaching, teaching and\nprayer, and might be unencumbered with temporal affairs.\n\n22. But things have changed, as we see. Now we have spiritual lords,\nprinces, kings, who neglect, not alone to preach and to pray, but also\nto distribute temporal goods to the poor and the widow and the orphan.\nRather, they pervert the rightful substance of these to add to their\nown pomp. They neither prophesy nor serve; yet they appropriate the\nposition and the name of minister, their purpose being to restrain and\npersecute true preachers and servants, and to destroy Christianity\neverywhere and spend its possessions to foster their own luxury.\n\n\"Or he that teacheth, to his teaching; or he that exhorteth, to his\nexhorting.\"\n\n23. We treated of these two gifts in the epistle lesson for Christmas\nnight. Tit 2. Teaching consists in instructing those unacquainted with\nfaith and the Christian life; exhortation, in inciting, arousing,\nimpelling, reproving and beseeching with all perseverance, those\nhaving knowledge of the faith. We are enjoined (2 Tim 4, 2) to be\nurgent, to \"reprove, rebuke and exhort,\" that Christians may not grow\nweary, indolent and negligent, as too often they do, knowing already\nwhat is required of them. But prophecy must furnish the store of\ninformation for the teachers and exhorters. Scripture expositors must\nsupply these latter. Prophesying, then, is the source of all doctrine\nand exhortation.\n\n\"He that giveth, let him do it with liberality.\"\n\n24. The mention here made of giving has reference to the fund\ncontributed into a common treasury, in charge of servants and\nofficers, for distribution among teachers, prophets, widows, orphans\nand the poor generally, as before stated. This was according to an Old\nTestament command. Beside the annual tithes, designed for the Levites,\nspecial tithes were to be set aside every third year for the poor, the\nwidows and the orphans. There is no New Testament law for specific\ngiving, for this is the day of grace, wherein everyone is admonished\nto give freely. Paul says (Gal 6, 6), \"Let him that is taught in the\nword communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.\" Again\n(verse 10), \"Let us work that which is good toward all men, and\nespecially toward them that are of the household of faith.\"\n\n25. But giving is to be done with liberality--freely and gratuitously,\nto the honor of God alone, with no intent to secure favor, honor or\nprofit; none shall dictate in the matter; and preference shall not be\nshown in giving much to the amiable and nothing to the uncongenial, as\nhas been the case in the past in relation to the prebends and fiefs.\nThese were distributed according to friendship and favor; for the sake\nof money, honor and profit. The same is true of nearly all paid\nservices in the matter of purgatory and hell. Freely, freely, we are\nto give, being careful only that it be well pleasing to God and\nbestowed according to necessity.\n\nPaul, you will observe, frequently commends such liberality. It is\nrarely manifest, however. True gifts are made beyond measure, but they\nare unprofitable because not made with a free, liberal spirit; for\ninstance, contributions to monasteries and other institutions. Not\nbeing given with liberality, God does not permit these gifts to be\nused for Christian purposes. Given in an unchristian manner, they\nmust, in an unchristianlike way, be wasted; as Micah says (ch. 1, 7):\n\"Of the hire of a harlot hath she gathered them, and unto the hire of\na harlot shall they return.\" Reference is to spiritual\nwhoredom--unbelief--which never acts with liberality.\n\n\"He that ruleth, with diligence.\"\n\n26. \"Ruling,\" or overseeing, is to be understood as relating to the\ncommon offices in the Christian Church. Paul is not speaking of\ntemporal rulers, as princes and heads of families, but of rulers in\nthe Church. He says (1 Tim 3, 5): \"If a man knoweth not how to rule\nhis own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?\" He means\nthose who have oversight of Church officers generally; who take care\nthat teachers be diligent, that deacons and ministers make proper and\ncareful distribution of the finances, and that sinners are reproved\nand disciplined; in short, who are responsible for the proper\nexecution of all offices. Such are the duties of a bishop. From their\noffice they receive the title of bishops--superintendents and\n\"Antistrites,\" as Paul here terms them; that is, overseers and rulers.\n\n27. It is the especial duty of these to be concerned about others, not\nabout themselves; the latter care is forbidden rather than enjoined.\nMt 6, 25. Diligence in the connection in which it is used in the text,\nis prompted by love and not by self-interest. It being the duty of a\nbishop to readily assume oversight, to minister and control, and all\nthings being dependent upon him as the movements of team and wagon are\ndependent upon the driver, the bishop has no time for indolence,\ndrowsiness and negligence. He must be attentive and diligent, even\nthough all others be slothful and careless. Were he inattentive and\nunfaithful, the official duties of all the others would likewise be\nbadly executed. The result would be similar to that when the driver\nlies asleep and allows the team to move at will. Under such\ncircumstances, to hope for good results is useless, especially\nconsidering the dangerous roads wherein Christians must travel here,\namong devils who would, in every twinkling of the eye, overthrow and\ndestroy them.\n\n28. Why should Paul reverse the seemingly proper order? He does not\nmention ruling first--give it precedence. He rather assigns to\nprophecy the first place, making ministering, teaching, exhorting and\ncontributing follow successively, while ruling he places last or\nsixth, among the common offices. Undoubtedly, the Spirit designed such\norder in view of future abominations that should follow the devil's\nestablishment of tyranny and worldly dominion among Christians. This\nis the case at present. Dominion occupies chief place. Everything in\nChristendom must yield to the wantonness of tyranny. Prophecy,\nministry, teaching, exhortation, benevolence--all must give way to\ntyranny. Nothing may interrupt its sway; it must not yield to\nprophecy, teaching or any other office.\n\n29. We must remember, however, that nothing takes precedence of the\nWord of God. The preaching of it transcends all other offices.\nDominion is but a servant to arouse preaching to activity, like to the\nservant who wakes his master from sleep, or in other ways reminds him\nof his office. This principle confirms Christ's words (Lk 22, 26): \"He\nthat is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he\nthat is chief, as he that doth serve.\" Teachers and prophets, however,\nare to be obedient to rulers and continue subject to them; each\nChristian work and office must subserve the others. Thus is carried\nout Paul's doctrine in this epistle: that one should not esteem\nhimself better than others; should not exalt himself over men,\nthinking of himself more highly than he ought to think; though one\ngift or office is more honorable than another, yet it must also\nsubserve that other. While the office of ruler is the lowest, yet\nevery other appointment is subject to it; on the other hand, in care\nand oversight the ruler serves all others. Again, the prophet, who\nholds the highest office, submits to the ruler, etc.\n\n\"He that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.\"\n\n30. The six preceding obligations devolve upon the common governing\npowers of the Christian Church--at present known as the ecclesiastical\norder. Paul now proceeds to enumerate duties pertaining to every\nmember of the Church. The six first-mentioned obligations are not,\nhowever, to be individualized to the extent of making but a single\nobligation devolve upon one individual. He who prophesies may also\nteach, admonish, serve and rule. And the same is true of each office.\nLet every man discover unto how many offices he is called, and conduct\nhimself accordingly. He must not exalt himself over others, as if\nbetter than they, and create sects from the common gifts of God; he\nmust continue in the common faith of his fellows, allowing mutual\nservice and subjection in the gifts.\n\n31. \"Mercy\" implies all good deeds or benefits conferred by neighbors\nupon one another, aside from the regular contributions of which we\nhave spoken. The Hebrew word the apostle uses for \"mercy\" is \"hesed.\"\nIn Latin it is \"beneficium\"; in Greek, \"eleemosyna\"; and in common\nparlance, \"alms.\" It is in this sense that Christ employs the term\nthroughout the Gospel: \"When thou doest alms\" (Mt 6, 2)--that is, thy\ngood deeds, or favors; \"I desire mercy, and not sacrifice\" (Mt 12,\n27); \"He that showed mercy on him\" (Lk 10, 37). And there are other\nsimilar passages where the word \"mercy\" is equivalent to \"benefit\" or\n\"favor\"; for instance (Mt 5, 7), \"Blessed are the merciful.\"\n\n32. Paul would say: \"Let him who is himself so favored that he may\nconfer benefits upon others, do it cheerfully and with pleasure.\" He\ndeclares (2 Cor 9, 7), \"God loveth a cheerful giver.\" And he makes his\nmeaning clear by another portion of the same verse, \"not grudgingly,\nor of necessity.\" That is, the giver is not to twitter and tremble,\nnot to be slow and tardy in his giving, nor to seek everywhere for\nreasons to withhold his gift. He is not to give in a way calculated to\nspoil the recipient's enjoyment of the favor. Nor is he to delay until\nthe gift loses its sweetness because of the importunity required to\nsecure it; rather he should be ready and willing. Solomon says (Prov\n3, 28): \"Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to-morrow\nI will give; when thou hast it by thee.\" \"Bis dat qui cito dat.\" He\ngives doubly who gives quickly. Again, \"Tarda gratia non est gratia,\"\nA tardy favor is no favor. The word \"hilaris\" in this connection does\nnot imply joyful giving, but free, cheerful, willing and loving\ngenerosity, a generosity moved by slight entreaty.\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF CHRIST'S MEMBERS.\n\n\"Let love be without hypocrisy.\"\n\n33. How aptly the apostle points out the danger of error in each\nobligation, as well as the right course! Prophecy is carried beyond\nits proper sphere when it does not accord with the faith. This is the\ndanger-point in all prophecy. The common error in ministering lies in\nthe indolence manifested therein, and the constant preference for some\nother occupation. Again, the prevailing error in teaching and\nexhorting is in giving attention to something besides those\nobligations; for instance, deceiving men with human nonsense. The\nmistake in giving is that it is seldom done with liberality. Rulers\nare prone to seek quiet and leisure, desiring to escape being burdened\nwith care and anxiety. Favors are seldom bestowed cheerfully and with\na willing heart. So, too, pure love is a rare thing on earth. Not that\nlove in itself is impure, but too often it is mere pretense. John\nimplies as much in his words (1 Jn 3, 18), \"My little children, let us\nnot love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.\"\n\n34. Now, they who harbor hatred while pretending to love, or are\nguilty of similar gross hypocrisies, fall far short of the spirit of\nthis teaching. But Paul refers to those of liberated conscience, who\nconduct themselves like true Christians, well knowing how to teach\nconcerning Christ; but who are careless of their works, not realizing\nthat they neglect their neighbors and fail to assist the needy and to\nrebuke the wicked; who are generally negligent, bringing forth none of\nthe fruits of faith; among whom the true Word of God is choked, like\nseed among thorns, as Christ says. Mt 13, 22. But we have elsewhere\nexplained the nature of pure love.\n\n\"Abhor that which is evil.\"\n\n35. While to abhor evil is one of the chief principles of love, it is\nrare. The principle is too often lost sight of through hypocrisy and\nfalse love. We ignore, wink at, even make light of and are undisturbed\nby the evil deeds of our neighbor. We are unwilling to incur his\ndispleasure by manifesting indignation and offering rebuke for his\nwickedness, or by withdrawing from his society. Especially do we\nhesitate when we thus must endanger body or life; for instance, when\nthe vices of those in high life demand our censure. By such weakness\non our part we merely dissimulate love. Paul requires, not only a\nsecret abhorrence of evil, but an open manifestation of it in word and\ndeed. True love is not influenced by the closeness of the friend, by\nthe advantage of his favors, or by the standing of his connections;\nnor is it influenced by the perverseness of an enemy. It abhors evil,\nand censures it or flees from it, whether in father or mother, brother\nor sister, or in any other. Corrupt nature loves itself and does not\nabhor its own evil; rather, it covers and adorns it. Anger is styled\nzeal; avarice is called prudence; and deception, wisdom.\n\n\"Cleave to that which is good.\"\n\n36. The second feature of real, true love is that it cleaves to the\ngood, even though found in the worst enemy, and though directly\nopposing love's desire. Love is no respecter of persons. It is not\nintimidated by the possible danger its expression might incur. But\nfalse love will dare, even for the sake of honor, profit or advantage,\nto forsake the good in its friend, particularly when danger threatens\nor persecution arises. Much less, then, will he whose love is false\ncleave to the good in an enemy and stand by and maintain it. And if it\nnecessitated opposing his own interests, he would not support his\nenemy's deed, however good. Briefly, the proverb, \"The world is false\nand full of infidelity,\" and that other saying, \"Fair but empty\nwords,\" clearly express the fact that the love of our corrupt human\nnature is false and hypocritical, and that where the Spirit of God\ndwells not, there is no real, pure love. These two\nprinciples--abhorring the evil and cleaving to the good--are clearly\npresented in Psalm 15, 4: \"In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but\nwho honoreth them that fear Jehovah\"--in other words, \"Who cleaves to\nthe good, even though it be in an enemy; and hates the evil, even\nthough in a friend.\" Try men by these two principles in their lending,\ntheir dealing and giving, reproving and teaching, tolerating and\nsuffering, and their dissimulation and hypocrisy will be readily\napparent.\n\n\"In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another.\"\n\n37. Christians exhibit perfect love when, in addition to the love they\nmanifest toward all men, they are themselves united by a peculiar bond\nof Christian affection. The term \"tenderly affectioned\" expresses the\nlove parents have for children, and brothers for each other. Paul\nwould say: \"Christians are not simply to manifest a spirit of mutual\nlove, but they are to conduct themselves toward one another in a\ntender, parental and brotherly way.\" Thus Paul boasts of doing in the\ncase of the people of Thessalonica. 1 Thes 1, 11. Isaiah declares (ch.\n66, 13) that God will so comfort the apostles: \"As one whom his mother\ncomforteth, so will I comfort you.\" And Peter says (1 Pet 3, 8):\n\"Loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded.\" The nature of the\nbrotherly love we owe our neighbors is illustrated in the love of an\naffectionate mother for her child. Such love Christ has shown, and\nstill shows, toward us. He sustains us, frail, corrupt, sinful beings\nthat we are. So imperfect are we, we seem not Christians at all. But\nthe love of Christ makes us his, regardless of our imperfections.\n\n\"In honor preferring one another.\"\n\n38. Christ's love and friendship for ourselves should lead us to\nesteem one another precious. We should be dear to one another for the\nsake of the Christ within us. We may not reject any because of his\nimperfections. We must remember the Lord dwells in the weak vessel\nalso, and honors him with his presence. If Christ regards him worthy\nof kindness and affection, and extends to him the same privilege in\nhimself that we enjoy, we should bow before that weak one, honoring\nhim as the living temple of our Lord, the seat of his presence. What\nmatters to us the insignificance of the seat the Lord chooses? If it\nis not too humble to be honored with his presence, why should we his\nservants not honor it?\n\n\"In diligence not slothful.\"\n\n39. \"Diligence\" here implies every form of righteous work and business\nthat occupies us. Paul requires us to be diligent, skillful and\nactive. We are not to proceed as do they who undertake one thing\ntoday, and tomorrow another, confining themselves to nothing and soon\ngrowing weary and indolent. For instance, some readily and very\nzealously engage in a good work, such as praying, reading, fasting,\ngiving, serving, disciplining the body. But after two or three\nattempts they become indolent and fail to accomplish the undertaking.\nTheir ardor subsides with the gratification of their curiosity. Such\npeople become unstable and weak. So Paul enjoins to be\n\n\"Fervent in spirit.\"\n\n40. A weak and somewhat curious disposition may undertake with fervor,\nbeing ready to accomplish everything at once; but in the very start it\nbecomes faint and weak, and voluntarily yields. It becomes silent when\nopposition, disaffection and persecution must be encountered. The\nfervor that does not persevere in spiritual matters is carnal.\nSpiritual fervor increases with undertaking and effort. It is the\nnature of spirit not to know weariness. Spirit grows faint and weary\nonly by idleness. Laboring, it increases in strength. Particularly\ndoes it gain in fervor through persecution and opposition. So it\nperseveres, and accomplishes its projects, even though the gates of\nhell oppose.\n\n\"Serving the Lord.\" (Adapt yourselves to the time.)\n\n41. Some renderings read, \"Serve the Lord,\" for in the Greek \"Kairos\"\nand \"Kyrios\" sound much alike. One means \"Time,\" the other \"Lord.\" I\nam undecided which is preferable. \"Serve the time\"--\"adapt yourselves\nto the time\"--would be apt. And \"Serve the Lord\" would not be a bad\nconstruction. Let each choose for himself. To serve the Lord means to\nlet all our acts be done as unto the Lord himself, in the effort to\nserve him, not seeking our own honor, and not neglecting our duty for\nfear of men or because of their favors; it means to follow the spirit\nof Nehemiah's declaration when the temple was being built (Neh 2,\n20)--We are servants of the God of Heaven. Such was the reply of the\nJews to those who attempted to hinder them. Practically, the Jews\nsaid: \"We do not serve ourselves. Our service is not designed for our\nown honor, but for the honor of the God of Heaven.\" I shall, however,\nadhere to the rendering, \"Adapt yourselves to the time.\" It is\nequivalent to saying: Direct yourselves according to the time. That\nis, employ it well; be seasonable, in keeping with Solomon's words (Ec\n3, 3-4): \"A time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to\nweep, and a time to laugh,\" etc. There is a time for everything. The\nthought is, Exercise your privileges, confining yourself to no\nparticular time; be able to do the duty that presents itself, as Psalm\n1, 3 suggests: \"He shall be like a tree ... that bringeth forth its\nfruit in its season.\"\n\n42. This valuable and excellent doctrine militates against the\nself-righteous, who confine themselves to set times, to the extent of\nmaking the time conform to them and adapt itself to their convenience.\nThey observe particular hours for praying, for eating, for drinking.\nShould you, in dire need of aid, approach one of them, you might\nperish before he would disengage himself to assist you.\n\nNote, the self-righteous man does not adapt himself to the time--does\nnot rise to the occasion as he should. The opportunity to perform a\nwork of love, he permits to pass. The time must be suited to\nhim--which will never be. No opportunity to do good ever presents\nitself to this class, for they are so absorbed in themselves as to\npermit every such occasion to pass. Nor are they seasonable in things\nconcerning themselves. They laugh when they should weep; they are\ngloomy when they should rejoice; they flatter when censure is due. All\ntheir efforts are untimely. It is their fortune to miss every\nopportunity in consequence of confining their endeavors to certain\ntimes. This is the way of the world.\n\n\"Rejoicing in hope.\"\n\n43. Here is an occasion, truly, when we should be timely. The ungodly\nrejoice when satiate with wealth, honor and ease, but are filled with\ngloom at a change in the weather. Their joy is untimely as well as\ntheir grief. They rejoice when they should grieve, and grieve when\nthey should rejoice. But Christians are capable of rejoicing, not in\nease and temporal advantage, but in God. They rejoice most when their\nworldly condition is worst. The farther earthly advantages are\nremoved, the nearer is God with his eternal blessings. Paul enumerates\njoy among the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5, 22); the flesh knows not\nsuch pleasure. In Romans 14, 17, he speaks of \"joy in the Holy\nSpirit.\"\n\n\"Patient in tribulation.\"\n\n44. Throughout the Gospel we are taught that Christians must endure\ncrosses and evil days. Hence the Gospel arms us with divine armor, and\nthat alone. That is, it teaches us, not how to avert temporal ills and\nto enjoy peace, but how to endure and conquer these ills. We are not\nto oppose and try to avert them, but patiently to endure them until\nthey wear themselves out upon us, and lose their power; as ocean\nwaves, dashing against the shore, recede and vanish of their own\naccord. Not yielding, but perseverence, shall win here. But of this\ntopic we have treated during the Advent season.\n\n\"Continuing stedfastly in prayer.\"\n\n45. Prayer has been sufficiently defined in the third epistle for\nAdvent. Paul does not allude to babbling out of prayer-books, nor to\nbawling in the Church. You will never offer true prayer from a book.\nTo be sure, you may, by reading a prayer, learn how and what to pray,\nand have your devotion enkindled; but real prayer must proceed\nspontaneously from the heart, not in prescribed words; the language\nmust be dictated by the fervor of the soul. Paul particularly\nspecifies that we are to be \"stedfast in prayer.\" In other words, we\nshould not become remiss, even though we do not immediately receive\nwhat we ask. The chief thing in prayer is faith. Faith relies on God's\npromise to hear its petition. It may not receive at once what it is\nconfident of receiving; but it waits, and though for a time there may\nbe indications of failure, yet the petition is granted. Christ gives\nstriking illustrations of such perseverence in the parable of the\nwicked judge (Lk 18), and in that of the friend's importunity (Lk 11).\nHe everywhere teaches the necessity of faith in prayer. \"Whatsoever ye\nshall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive,\" Mt 21, 22. And\nagain, \"Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for\na loaf, will give him a stone?\" Mt 7, 9.\n\n\"Communicating to the necessities of the saints.\"\n\n46. The meaning of this injunction is shamefully perverted. In our\nnecessities we daily seek the assistance of saints. Hence the numerous\ninstitutions, altars and services to these, everywhere in the world.\nPaul's teaching, however, is that we are to \"communicate to the\nnecessity of the saints.\" Since we ignore the sanctified ones of this\nlife who need our assistance, we are well rewarded by having to go to\nthe dead to solicit aid in our necessities. Paul means the saints on\nearth--the Christians. He calls them saints out of respect to the Word\nof God and his grace, which, in faith, renders them holy without\nworks.\n\n47. It would be a great shame, a blasphemy, for a Christian to deny\nthat he is holy. It would be equivalent to denying the holiness of the\nblood of Christ, of the Word, the Spirit, the grace of God, and of God\nhimself. And all these God has applied to or conferred upon the\nChristian to render him holy. Paul does not hesitate to call himself a\nsaint (Eph 3, 8): \"Unto me who am less than the least of all saints,\nwas this grace given.\" And (1 Tim 5, 10) he would relieve widows who\nwashed the feet of the saints. It is also said in Psalm 86, 2,\n\"Preserve my soul; for I am godly [holy].\" Peter, too (1 Pet 1, 16),\nquoting from Moses, speaks God's message, \"Ye shall be holy; for I am\nholy.\" The word \"holy\" in the Scriptures has reference only to the\nliving.\n\nBut we have had books other than the Scriptures to read. Consequently\nwe have been led by our seducers into the humiliating wickedness of\ncalling holy only the dead, and regarding it the highest presumption\nto apply the term to ourselves. At the same time we are all desirous\nof being called \"Christians,\" a sublimer title than \"holy\"; for Christ\nis perfect holiness, and Christians are named after Christ--after\nperfect holiness. The shameful abomination known as \"the exaltation of\nsaints\" is responsible for the deplorable error here. The Pope's\ninfluence has created the belief that only they are holy who are dead,\nor whose works have exalted them to the honor of the title. But how\noften is the devil exalted as a saint, and how often we regard them\nsaints who are of hell!\n\n48. Paul's design in mentioning \"the necessities of the saints\" is to\nteach and move us to do as much for Christians as we are inclined to\ndo for the saints of heaven; to regard such ministration as precious\nservice, for so it is. He commends to us the real saints--those in\nwant; who are of saintly character, though they may be forsaken,\nhungry, naked, imprisoned, half-dead, regarded by the world as ungodly\nevil-doers deserving of every form of misfortune; who, unable to help\nthemselves, need assistance. They differ much from those saints whose\nhelp we, staring heavenward, implore. It is the poor Christians whom\nChrist will array on the last day, saying, \"Inasmuch as ye did it unto\none of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.\" Mt 25,\n40. Then they who so ostentatiously served the blessed of heaven must\nstand shamed and afraid in the presence of those whom in this life\nthey scorned to respect as they should. Nor will the saints whom they\nbound themselves to serve, and whom they worshiped, avail them\nanything.\n\n\"Given to hospitality.\"\n\n49. Now, Paul specifies concerning the \"necessities of the saints\" and\nnames the treatment to be accorded them. Not only in word are we to\nremember them, but in deed, extending hospitality as their necessities\ndemand. \"Hospitality\" stands for every form of physical aid when\noccasion calls for it--feeding the hungry, giving drink to the\nthirsty, clothing the naked. In the early days of the Gospel, the\napostles and disciples did not sit in palaces, cloisters,\ninstitutions, and torture the people with edicts and commands as do\nthe idolatrous bishops today. Pilgrim-like, they went about the\ncountry, having no house nor home, no kitchen nor cellar, no\nparticular abiding-place. It was necessary that everywhere hospitality\nbe extended the saints, and service rendered them, that the Gospel\nmight be preached. This was as essential as giving assistance in their\ndistresses and sufferings.\n\n\"Bless them that persecute you.\"\n\n50. Incidental to the subject of the saints' necessities, the apostle\nreminds us we are to conduct ourselves in a Christian manner toward\nour persecutors, who, to great extent, are to blame for the distresses\nof the saints. It is well to observe here that we are not merely\nadvised, but commanded, to love our enemies, to do them good and to\nspeak well of them; such conduct is the fruit of the Spirit. We must\nnot believe what we have heretofore been taught--that the admonition\ncomes only to the perfect, and that they are merely counseled to bless\ntheir persecutors. Christ teaches (Mt 5, 44) that all Christians are\ncommanded so to do. And to \"bless\" our persecutors means to desire for\nthem only good in body and soul. For instance, if an enemy detracts\nfrom our honor, we should respond, \"God honor you and keep you from\ndisgrace.\" Or if one infringe upon our rights, we ought to say, \"May\nGod bless and prosper you.\" On this wise should we do.\n\n\"Bless, and curse not.\"\n\n51. This is to be our attitude toward mankind generally, whether\npersecutors or otherwise. The meaning is: \"Not only bless your\npersecutors, but live without curses for any, with blessings for all;\nwishing no one evil, but everyone only good.\" For we are children of\nblessing; as Peter says: \"Hereunto were ye called, that ye should\ninherit a blessing.\" 1 Pet 3, 9. In our blessing, all the world is\nblessed--through Christ. \"In thy seed shall all the nations of the\nearth be blessed.\" Gen 22, 18. It is inconsistent for a Christian to\ncurse even his most bitter enemy and an evil-doer; for he is commanded\nto bear upon his lips the Gospel. The dove did not bring to Noah in\nthe ark a poisonous branch or a thistle sprig; she brought an\nolive-leaf in her mouth. Gen 8, 11. The Gospel likewise is simply a\ngracious, blessed, glad and healing word. It brings only blessing and\ngrace to the whole world. No curse, but pure blessing, goes with the\nGospel. The Christian's lips, then, must be lips of blessing, not of\ncursing. If they curse, they are not the lips of a Christian.\n\n52. It is necessary, however, to distinguish between cursing and\ncensuring or reproving. Reproof and punishment greatly differ from\ncursing and malediction. To curse means to invoke evil, while\ncensuring carries the thought of displeasure at existing evil, and an\neffort to remove it. In fact, cursing and censuring are opposed.\nCursing invokes evil and misfortune; censure aims to remove them.\nChrist himself censured, or reproved. He called the Jews a generation\nof vipers, children of the devil, hypocrites, blind dolts, liars, and\nso on. He did not curse them to perpetuate their evils; rather he\ndesired the evils removed. Paul does similarly. He says of the\nsorcerer that he is a child of the devil and full of subtilty. Acts\n13, 10. Again, the Spirit reproves the world of sin. Jn 16, 8.\n\n53. But the strong argument is here urged that the saints of the\nScriptures not only censured, but cursed. Jacob, the patriarch, cursed\nhis sons Reuben, Simeon and Levi. Gen 49, 7. A great part of the Law\nof Moses is made up of curses, especially Deut 28, 15. Open cursing is\ncommanded to be pronounced by the people, on Mount Ebal. Deut 27, 13.\nHow much cursing we find in the Psalms, particularly Psalm 109. Again,\nhow David cursed Joab, captain of his host! 2 Sam 3, 29. How bitterly\nPeter curses Simon (Acts 8, 20): \"Thy silver perish with thee.\" Paul\ncurses the seducers of the Galatians (Gal 5, 12), \"I would they were\neven cut off.\" And he says (1 Cor 16, 22), \"If any man loveth not the\nLord, let him be anathema.\" Christ cursed the innocent fig-tree. Mt\n21, 19. And Elisha cursed the children of Bethel. 2 Kings 2, 24. What\nshall we say to these things?\n\n54. I answer: We must distinguish between love and faith. Love must\nnot curse; it must always bless. But faith has power to curse. Faith\nmakes us children of God, and is to us in God's place. Love makes us\nservants of men, and occupies the place of a servant. Without the\nSpirit's direction, no one can rightly understand and imitate such\nexamples of cursing. Cursing stands opposed to cursing--the curses of\nGod to the curses of the devil. When the devil, through his followers,\nresists, destroys, obstructs, the Word of God--the channel of the\nblessing--the blessing is impeded, and in God's sight a curse rests\nupon the blessing. Then it is the office of faith to come out with a\ncurse, desiring the removal of the obstruction that God's blessing may\nbe unhindered.\n\n55. Were one, with imprecation, to invoke God to root out and destroy\npopery--the order of priests, monks and nuns, together with the\ncloisters and other institutions, the whole world might well say,\nAmen. For these the devil's devices curse, condemn and impede\neverywhere God's Word and his blessing. These things are evils so\npernicious, so diabolical, they do not merit our love. The more we\nserve the ecclesiasts and the more we yield to them, the more obdurate\nthey become. They rant and rage against the Word of God and the\nSpirit, against faith and love. Such conduct Christ calls\nblasphemy--sin--against the Holy Spirit--unpardonable sin. Mt 12, 31.\nAnd John says (1 Jn 5, 16), \"There is a sin unto death; not concerning\nthis do I say that he should make request.\" With the ecclesiasts all\nis lost. They will not accept any love or assistance which does not\nleave them in their wickedness, does not strengthen and help--even\nhonor and exalt--them in it. Any effort you may make otherwise will\nbut cause them to rage against the Holy Spirit, to blaspheme and curse\nyour teaching, declaring: \"It proceeds not from love and fidelity to\nGod, but from the hate, the malice, of the devil. It is not the Word\nof God, but falsehood. It is the devil's heresy and error.\"\n\n56. In fact, cursing which contributes only to the service of God is a\nwork of the Holy Spirit. It is enjoined in the first commandment, and\nis independent of and superior to love. Until God commands us to do a\ncertain good work or to manifest our love toward our neighbor, we are\nunder no obligation so to do. His will transcends all the good works\nwe can do, all the love we can show our neighbor. Even if I could save\nthe entire world in a single day and it were not God's will I should,\nI would have no right to do it. Therefore, I should not bless, should\nnot perform a good work, should not manifest my love to any, unless it\nbe consistent with the will and command of God. The measure of our\nlove to our neighbors is the Word of God. Likewise, by the first\ncommandment all other commandments are to be measured. We might, in\ndirect violation of the commandments of the second table, were it\nconsistent with God's will and promotive of his honor, obey the first\ncommandment in killing, robbing, taking captive women and children and\ndisobeying father and mother, as did the children of Israel in the\ncase of their heathen enemies. Likewise the Holy Spirit is able to,\nand does at times, perform works seemingly opposed to all the\ncommandments of God. While apparently there is violation in some\nrespects, it is in reality only of the commandments of the second\ntable, concerning our neighbor. The Spirit's works are in conformity\nwith the first three commandments of the first table, relating to God.\nTherefore, if you first become a Peter, a Paul, a Jacob, a David, an\nElisha, you too may curse in God's name, and with exalted merit in his\nsight.\n\n\"Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.\"\n\n57. There may be a direct connection between these two commands and\nthe injunction about \"communicating to the necessities of the saints\"\nupon which Paul has been expatiating, teaching how we are to treat our\npersecutors, who are largely to blame for the \"necessities\" of\nChristians. Yet I am inclined to think he speaks here in an unrelated\nway, of our duty to make ourselves agreeable to all men, to adapt\nourselves to their circumstances, whether good or ill, whether or no\nthey are in want. As common servants, we should minister to mankind in\ntheir every condition, that we may persuade them to accept the Gospel.\nPaul speaks further on this point.\n\n58. Now, if a fellow-man have reason to rejoice, it is not for us to\nput on a stern countenance, as do the hypocrites, who assume to be\nsomewhat peculiar. Their unnatural seriousness is meant to be\nindicative of their unrivaled wisdom and holiness, and of the fact\nthat men who rejoice instead of wearing, as they do, a stern look, are\nfools and sinners. But no, we are to participate in the joy of our\nfellow-man when that joy is not inconsistent with the will of God. For\ninstance, we should rejoice with the father who joys in the piety and\nsweetness of his wife, in her health and fruitfulness, and in the\nobedience and intelligence of his children; and when he is as well off\nas we are so far as soul, body and character, family and property, are\nconcerned. These are gifts of God. According to Paul (Acts 14, 17),\nthey are given that God may fill our hearts \"with food and gladness.\"\nThough many such gifts and pleasures are improperly used, they are\nnevertheless the gifts of God and not to be rejected with a gloomy\nface as if we dare not, or should not, enjoy them. On the other hand,\nwe ought to weep with our fellow-man when he is in sad circumstances,\nas we would weep over our own unhappy condition. We read (2 Sam 1, 17;\n3, 33) that David lamented for Saul, Jonathan and Abner, and (Phil 2,\n27) that Paul was filled with sorrow over the illness of Epaphroditus\nand grieved as if the affliction were his own.\n\n\"Be of the same mind one toward another.\"\n\n59. The apostle has previously (verse 10) spoken concerning unity of\nmind in relation to God-ordained spiritual gifts, counseling that\neveryone should be content as to the offices and gifts of his fellows.\nNow Paul speaks of the temporal affairs of men, teaching likewise\nmutual appreciation of one another's calling and character, offices\nand works, and that none is to esteem himself better than another\nbecause of these. The shoemaker's apprentice has the same Christ with\nthe prince or the king; the woman, the same Christ the man has. While\nthere are various occupations and external distinctions among men,\nthere is but one faith and one Spirit.\n\n60. But this doctrine of Paul has long been dishonored. Princes,\nlords, nobles, the rich and the powerful, reflect themselves in\nthemselves, thinking they are the only men on earth. Even among their\nown ranks, one aspires to be more exalted, more noble and upright,\nthan another. Their notions and opinions are almost as diverse as the\nclouds of heaven. They are not of the same mind concerning external\ndistinctions. One does not esteem another's condition and occupation\nas significant and as honorable as his own. The individual sentiment\napparently is: \"My station is the best; all others are revolting.\"\n\nThe clumsy, booted peasant enters the strife. The baker aspires to be\nbetter than the barber; the shoemaker, than the bath-keeper. Should\none happen to be illegitimately born, he is not eligible to a trade,\nthough he even be holy. Certificates of legitimate birth must be\nproduced, and such is the complex state of society, there are as many\nbeliefs as masters and servants. How can there be unity of mind\nconcerning spiritual offices and blessings with people so at variance\nupon trivial, contemptible worldly matters? True, there must be the\nvarious earthly stations, characters and employments; but it is\nheathenish, unchristian and worldly for one to entertain the absurd\nidea that God regards a certain individual a better Christian than\nanother upon the contemptible grounds of his temporal station, and not\nto perceive that in God's sight these conditions make no inner\ndifference.\n\n61. Indeed, it is not only unchristian, but effeminate and childish,\nto hold such a view. A woman will win distinction for herself by\nhandling the spindle or the needle more deftly than another, or by\nadjusting her bonnet more becomingly than her neighbor can; in fact,\nshe may secure prominence by things even more insignificant. To say\nthe least, no woman thinks herself less a woman than any other. The\nsame is true of children; each is best satisfied with its own bread\nand butter, and thinks its own toy the prettiest; if it does not, it\nwill cry until it gets its prettiest.\n\nAnd so it is with the world: one has more power, another is a better\nChristian, another is more illustrious; one has more learning, another\nis more respectable; one is of this lineage, another that. These\ndistinctions are the source of hatred, murder and every form of evil,\nso tenaciously does each individual adhere to his own notions. Yet,\ndespite their separate and dissimilar opinions, men call themselves\nChristians.\n\n\"Set not your mind on high things.\"\n\n62. Here Paul makes clear the preceding injunction. He would restrain\nmen from their unholy conceits. As before stated, every man is best\npleased with his own ideas. Hence foolishness pervades the land. One,\nseeing another honored above himself, is restlessly ambitious to\nemulate that other. But he acts contrary to both teachings of Paul:\nComparing himself to his inferiors or to his equals, he thinks he is\nfar above them, and his own station most honorable. Comparing himself\nwith his superiors, he sees his pretended rank fail; hence he strives\nto rival them, devoting all his energies to attain the enviable\nposition. Clinging to external distinctions, his changing notions and\nunstable heart impel him to such ambition and render him dissatisfied\nwith the Christ whom all men possess alike.\n\nBut what does Paul teach? Not so. He says, \"Set not your mind on what\nthe world values.\" His meaning is: \"Distinctions truly must there be\nin this life--one thing high, another low. Everything cannot be gold,\nnor can all things be straw. Nevertheless, among men there should be\nunity of mind in this relation.\" God treats men alike. He gives his\nWord and his Spirit to the lowly as well as to the high. Paul does not\nuse the little word \"mind\" undesignedly. \"High things\" have their\nplace and they are not pernicious. But to \"mind\" them, to be absorbed\nin them with the whole heart, to be puffed up with conceit because of\nour relation to them, enjoying them to the disadvantage of the less\nfavored--this is heathenish.\n\n\"But condescend to things that are lowly.\"\n\n63. In other words: Despise not lowly stations and characters. Say\nnot, they must either be exalted or removed. God uses them; indeed,\nthe world cannot dispense with them. Where would the wealthy and\npowerful be if there were no poor and humble? As the feet support the\nbody, so the low support the high. The higher class, then, should\nconduct themselves toward the lowly as the body holds itself with\nrelation to the feet; not \"minding,\" or regarding, their lofty\nstation, but conforming to and recognizing with favor the station of\nthe lowly. Legal equality is here made a figure of spiritual\nthings--concerning the aspirations of the heart. Christ conducted\nhimself with humility. He did not deny his own exaltation, but neither\nwas he haughty toward us by reason of it. He did not despise us, but\nstooped to our wretched condition and raised us by means of his own\nexalted position.\n\n\n\n\n_Third Sunday After Epiphany_\n\nText: Romans 12, 16-21.\n\n16 Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Render to no man evil for\nevil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. 18 If\nit be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. 19\nAvenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God:\nfor it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense,\nsaith the Lord. 20 But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst,\ngive him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon\nhis head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.\n\n\nCHRISTIAN REVENGE.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: This and the last sermon are one in some editions. Hence\nthe paragraphs are numbered as one sermon.]\n\n\"Be not wise in your own conceits.\"\n\n64. The lesson as read in the Church ends here. We shall, therefore,\nnotice but briefly the remaining portion. \"Conceits,\" as here used,\nsignifies the obstinate attitude with regard to temporal things which\nis maintained by that individual who is unwilling to be instructed,\nwho himself knows best in all things, who yields to no one and calls\ngood whatever harmonizes with his ideas. The Christian should be more\nwilling to make concession in temporal affairs. Let him not be\ncontentious, but rather yielding, since the Word of God and faith are\nnot involved, it being only a question of personal honor, of friends\nand of worldly things.\n\n\"Render to no man evil for evil.\"\n\n65. In the counsel above (verse 14) to \"curse not,\" the writer of the\nepistle has in mind those unable to avenge themselves, or to return\nevil for evil. These have no alternative but to curse, to invoke evil\nupon their oppressors. In this instance, however, the reference is to\nthose who have equal power to render one another evil for evil, malice\nfor malice, whether by acts committed or omitted--and usually they are\nomitted. But the Christian should render good for evil, and omit not.\nGod suffers his sun to shine upon the evil and upon the good. Mt 5,\n45.\n\n\"Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men.\"\n\n66. This injunction is similar to that he gives the Thessalonians (1\nThes 5, 22), \"Abstain from all appearance of evil\"; and the\nPhilippians (ch. 4, 8): \"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things\nare honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,\nwhatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if\nthere be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these\nthings.\" The reference is purely to our outward conduct. Paul would\nnot have the Christian think himself at liberty to do his own\npleasure, regardless of others' approbation. Only in the things of\nfaith is such the Christian's privilege. His outward conduct should be\nirreproachable, acceptable to all men; in keeping with the teaching of\nfirst Corinthians, 10, 32-33, to please all men, giving offense\nneither to Jews nor to Gentiles; and obedient to Peter's advice (1 Pet\n2, 12), \"Having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles.\"\n\n\"If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all\nmen.\"\n\n67. Outward peace among men is here intended--peace with Christians\nand heathen, with the godly and the wicked, the high and the low. We\nmust give no occasion for strife; rather, we are to endure every ill\npatiently, never permitting peace to be disturbed on our account. We\nmust not return evil for evil, blow for blow; for he who so does,\ngives rise to contention. Paul adds, \"As much as in you lieth.\" We are\nto avoid injuring any, lest we be the ones to occasion contention. We\nmust extend friendliness to all men, even though they be not friendly\nto us. It is impossible to maintain peace at all times. The saying is,\n\"I can continue in peace only so long as my neighbor is willing.\" But\nit lies in our power to leave others at peace, friends and foes, and\nto endure the contentions of all. \"Oh yes,\" you say, \"but where would\nwe be then?\" Listen:\n\n\"Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God:\nfor it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense,\nsaith the Lord.\"\n\n68. Note, in forbidding us to return blow for blow and to resort to\nvengeance, the apostle implies that our enjoyment of peace depends on\nour quiet endurance of others' disturbance. He not only gives us\nassurance that we shall be avenged, but he intimidates us from\nusurping the office of God, to whom alone belong vengeance and\nretribution. Indeed, he rather deplores the fate of the Christian's\nenemies, who expose themselves to God's wrath; he would move us to\npity them in view of the fact that we must give place to wrath and\npermit them to fall into the hands of God.\n\nThe vengeance and wrath of God are dispensed in various ways: through\nthe instrumentality of political government; at the hands of the\ndevil; by illness, hunger and pestilence; by fire and water; by war,\nenmity, disgrace; and by every possible kind of misfortune on earth.\nEvery creature may serve as the rod and the weapon of God when he\ndesigns chastisement. As said in Wisdom of Solomon, 5, 17: \"He shall\n... make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.\"\n\n69. So Paul says, \"Give place unto wrath.\" I have inserted the words\n\"of God\" to make clearer the meaning of the text; the wrath of God is\nintended, and not the wrath of man. The thought is not of giving place\nto the anger of our enemies. True, there may be occasion even for\nthat, but Paul has not reference here to man's anger. Evidently, he\nmeans misfortunes and plagues, which are regarded as expressions of\nGod's wrath. Possibly the apostle omitted the phrase to avoid giving\nthe idea that only the final wrath of God is meant--his anger at the\nlast day, when he will inflict punishment without instrumentality.\nPaul would include here all wrath, whether temporal or eternal, to\nwhich God gives expression in his chastisements. This is an Old\nTestament way of speaking. Phinehas says (Jos 22, 18), \"To-morrow he\nwill be wroth with ... Israel.\" And Moses in several places speaks of\nGod's anger being kindled. See Numbers 11: 1, 10, 33. I mention these\nthings by way of teaching that when the political government wields\nthe sword of punishment against its enemies, it should be regarded as\nan expression of God's wrath; and that the statement in Deuteronomy\n32, 35, \"Vengeance is mine,\" does not refer solely to punishment\ninflicted of God direct, without instrumentality.\n\n\"But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink;\nfor in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.\"\n\n70. This teaching endorses what I have already stated--that the\nChristian's enemies are to be pitied in that they are subjected to the\nwrath of God. Consequently it is not Christian-like to injure them;\nrather, we should extend favors. Paul here introduces a quotation from\nSolomon. Prov 25, 21-22. Heaping coals of fire on the head, to my\nthought, implies conferring favors upon the enemy. Being enkindled by\nour kindness, he ultimately becomes displeased with himself and more\nkindly disposed to us. Coals here are benefits, or favors. Coals in\nthe censer likewise stand for the favors, or blessings, of God; they\nare a type of our prayers, which should rise with fervor. Some say\nthat coals represent the Law and judgments of God (see Psalm 18, 8,\n\"Coals were kindled by it\"), reasoning that in consequence of the\nChristian's favors, his enemy is constrained to censure himself and to\nfeel the weight of God's Law and his judgments. I do not think a\nChristian should desire punishment to fall upon his enemy, though such\nexplanation of the sentence is not inapt. In fact, it rather accords\nwith the injunction, \"Give place unto wrath\"; that is, do good and\nthen wrath--the coals--will readily fall upon the enemy.\n\n\"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.\"\n\n71. With this concluding counsel, it strikes me, Paul himself explains\nthe phrase \"coals of fire\" in harmony with the first idea--that the\nmalice of an enemy is to be overcome with good. Overcoming by force is\nequivalent to lending yourself to evil and wronging the enemy who\nwrongs you. By such a course your enemy overcomes you and you are made\nevil like himself. But if you overcome him with good, he will be made\nrighteous like you. A spiritual overcoming is here meant; the\ndisposition, the heart, the soul--yes, the devil who instigates the\nevil--are overcome.\n\n\n\n\n_Fourth Sunday After Epiphany_\n\nText: Romans 13, 8-10.\n\n8 Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth\nhis neighbor hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit\nadultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not\ncovet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this\nword, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh\nno ill to his neighbor; love therefore is the fulfilment of the law.\n\n\nCHRISTIAN LOVE AND THE COMMAND TO LOVE.\n\n1. This, like the two preceding epistle lessons, is admonitory, and\ndirects our attention to the fruits of faith. Here, however, Paul sums\nup briefly all the fruits of faith, in love. In the verses going\nbefore he enjoined subjection to temporal government--the rendering of\ntribute, custom, fear and honor wherever due--since all governmental\npower is ordained of God. Then follows our lesson: \"Owe no man\nanything,\" etc.\n\n2. I shall ignore the various explanations usually invented for this\ncommand, \"Owe no man anything, but to love one another.\" To me,\nclearly and simply it means: Not as men, but as Christians, are we\nunder obligations. Our indebtedness should be the free obligation of\nlove. It should not be compulsory and law-prescribed. Paul holds up\ntwo forms of obligation: one is inspired by law, the other by love.\n\nLegal obligations make us debtors to men; an instance is when one\nindividual has a claim upon another for debt. The duties and tribute,\nthe obedience and honor, we owe to political government are of this\nlegal character. Though personally these things are not essential to\nthe Christian--they do not justify him nor make him more\nrighteous--yet, because he must live here on earth, he is under\nobligation, so far as outward conduct is concerned, to put himself on\na level with other men in these things, and generally to help maintain\ntemporal order and peace. Christ paid tribute money as a debt (Mt 17,\n27), notwithstanding he had told Peter he was under no obligation to\ndo so and would have committed no sin before God in omitting the act.\n\n3. Another obligation is love, when a Christian voluntarily makes\nhimself a servant of all men. Paul says (1 Cor 9, 19), \"For though I\nwas free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all.\" This is\nnot a requirement of human laws; no one who fails in this duty is\ncensured or punished for neglect of legal obligations. The world is\nnot aware of the commandment to love; of the obligation to submit to\nand serve a fellow-man. This fact is very apparent. Let one have\nwealth, and so long as he refrains from disgracing his neighbor's\nwife, from appropriating his neighbor's goods, sullying his honor or\ninjuring his person, he is, in the eyes of the law, righteous. No law\npunishes him for avarice and penuriousness; for refusing to lend, to\ngive, to aid, and to help his wronged neighbor secure justice. Laws\nmade for restraint of the outward man are directed only toward evil\nworks, which they prohibit and punish. Good works are left to\nvoluntary performance. Civil law does not extort them by threats and\npunishment, but commends and rewards them, as does the Law of Moses.\n\n4. Paul would teach Christians to so conduct themselves toward men and\ncivil authority as to give no occasion for complaint or censure\nbecause of unfulfilled indebtedness to temporal law. He would not have\nthem fail to satisfy the claims of legal obligation, but rather to go\nbeyond its requirements, making themselves debtors voluntarily and\nserving those who have no claims on them. Relative to this topic, Paul\nsays (Rom 1, 14), \"I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians.\"\nLove's obligation enables a man to do more than is actually required\nof him. Hence the Christian always willingly renders to the state and\nto the individual all service exacted by temporal regulations,\npermitting no claims upon himself in this respect.\n\n5. Paul's injunction, then, might be expressed: Owe all men, that you\nmay owe none; owe everything, that you may owe nothing. This sounds\nparadoxical. But one indebtedness is that of love, an obligation to\nGod. The other is indebtedness to temporal law, an obligation in the\neyes of the world. He who makes himself a servant, who takes upon\nhimself love's obligation to all men, goes so far that no one dares\ncomplain of omission; indeed, he goes farther than any could desire.\nThus he is made free. He lives under obligation to no one from the\nvery fact that he puts himself under obligation to all. This manner of\npresenting the thought would be sustained by the Spirit in connection\nwith other duties; for instance: Do no good work, that you may do only\ngood works. Never be pious and holy, if you would be always pious and\nholy. As Paul says (ch. 12, 16), \"Be not wise in your own conceits\";\nor (1 Cor 3, 18), \"If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in\nthis world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.\" It is in\nthis sense we say: Owe all men that you may owe no man; or, \"Owe no\nman anything, but to love one another.\"\n\n6. Such counsel is given with the thought of the two obligations. He\nwho would perform works truly good in the sight of God, must guard\nagainst works seemingly brilliant in the eyes of the world, works\nwhereby men presume to become righteous. He who desires to be\nrighteous and holy must guard against the holiness attained by works\nwithout faith. Again, the seeker for wisdom must reject the wisdom of\nmen, of nature, wisdom independent of the Spirit. Similarly, he who\nwould be under obligation to none must obligate himself to all in\nevery respect. So doing, he retains no claim of his own. Consequently,\nhe soon rises superior to all law, for law binds only those who have\nclaims of their own. Rightly is it said, \"Qui cedit omnibus bonis,\nomnibus satisfecit,\" \"He who surrenders all his property, satisfies\nall men.\" How can one be under obligation when he does not, and\ncannot, possess anything? It is love's way to give all. The best way,\nthen, to be under obligation to none is, through love to obligate\none's self in every respect to all men. In this sense it may be said:\nIf you would live, die; if you would not be imprisoned, incarcerate\nyourself; if you do not desire to go to hell, descend there; if you\nobject to being a sinner, be a sinner; if you would escape the cross,\ntake it upon yourself; if you would conquer the devil, let him\nvanquish you; would you overcome a wicked individual, permit him to\novercome you. The meaning of it all is, we should readily submit to\nGod, to the devil and to men, and willingly permit their pleasure; we\nare to insist on nothing, but to accept all things as they transpire.\nThis is why Paul speaks as he does, \"Owe no man anything,\" etc.,\ninstead of letting it go at the preceding injunction in verse 5,\n\"Render therefore to all their dues,\" etc.\n\n\nLOVE FULFILS THE LAW.\n\n\"For he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.\"\n\n7. Having frequently spoken of the character and fruits of love, it is\nunnecessary to introduce the subject here. The topic is sufficiently\ntreated in the epistle lesson for the Sunday preceding Lent. We will\nlook at the command to love, in the Law of God. Innumerable, endless,\nare the books and doctrines produced for the direction of man's\nconduct. And there is still no limit to the making of books and laws.\nNote the ecclesiastical and civil regulations, the spiritual orders\nand stations. These laws and doctrines might be tolerated, might be\nreceived with more favor, if they were founded upon and administered\naccording to the one great law--the one rule or measure--of love; as\nthe Scriptures do, which present many different laws, but all born of\nlove, and comprehended in and subject to it. And these laws must\nyield, must become invalid, when they conflict with love.\n\nOf Love's higher authority we find many illustrations in the\nScriptures. Christ makes particular mention of the matter in Matthew\n12, 3-4, where David and his companions ate the holy showbread. Though\na certain law prohibited all but the priests from partaking of this\nholy food, Love was empress here, and free. Love was over the Law,\nsubjecting it to herself. The Law had to yield for the time being, had\nto become invalid, when David suffered hunger. The Law had to submit\nto the sentence: \"David hungers and must be relieved, for Love\ncommands, Do good to your needy neighbor. Yield, therefore, thou Law.\nPrevent not the accomplishment of this good. Rather accomplish it\nthyself. Serve him in his need. Interpose not thy prohibitions.\" In\nconnection with this same incident, Christ teaches that we are to do\ngood to our neighbor on the Sabbath; to minister as necessity demands,\nwhatever the Sabbath restrictions of the Law. For when a brother's\nneed calls, Love is authority and the Law of the Sabbath is void.\n\n8. Were laws conceived and administered in love, the number of laws\nwould matter little. Though one might not hear or learn all of them,\nhe would learn from the one or two he had knowledge of, the principle\nof love taught in all. And though he were to know all laws, he might\nnot discover the principle of love any more readily than he would in\none. Paul teaches this method of understanding and mastering law when\nhe says: \"Owe no man anything, but to love one another\"; \"He that\nloveth another hath fulfilled the law\"; \"If there be any other\ncommandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou\nshalt love thy neighbor as thyself\"; \"Love worketh no ill to his\nneighbor\"; \"Love is the fulfilling of the law.\" Every word in this\nepistle lesson proves Love mistress of all law.\n\n9. Further, no greater calamity, wrong and wretchedness is possible on\nearth than the teaching and enforcing of laws without love. In such\ncase, laws are but a ruinous curse, making true the proverbs, \"summum\njus, summa injustitia,\" \"The most strenuous right is the most\nstrenuous wrong\"; and again, Solomon's words (Ec 7, 17), \"Noli nimium\nesse justus,\" \"Be not righteous overmuch.\" Here is where we leave\nunperceived the beam in our own eye and proceed to remove the mote\nfrom our neighbor's eye. Laws without love make the conscience timid\nand fill it with unreasonable terror and despair, to the great injury\nof body and soul. Thus, much trouble and labor are incurred all to no\npurpose.\n\n10. An illustration in point is the before-mentioned incident of David\nin his hunger. 1 Sam 21, 6. Had the priest been disposed to refuse\nDavid the holy bread, had he blindly insisted on honoring the\nprohibitions of the Law and failed to perceive the authority of Love,\nhad he denied this food to him who hungered, what would have been the\nresult? So far as the priest's assistance went, David would have had\nto perish with hunger, and the priest would have been guilty of murder\nfor the sake of the Law. Here, indeed, \"summum jus, summa\ninjustitia\"--the most strenuous right would have been the most\nstrenuous wrong. Moreover, on examining the heart of the priest who\nshould be so foolish, you would find there the extreme abomination of\nmaking sin where there is no sin, and a matter of conscience where\nthere is no occasion for it. For he holds it a sin to eat the bread,\nwhen really it is an act of love and righteousness. Then, too, he\nregards his act of murder--permitting David to die of hunger--not a\nsin, but a good work and service to God.\n\n11. But who can fully portray this blind, perverted, abominable folly?\nIt is the perpetration of an evil the devil himself cannot outdo. For\nit makes sin where there is no sin, and a matter of conscience without\noccasion. It robs of grace, salvation, virtue, and God with all his\nblessings, and that without reason, falsely and deceitfully. It\nemphatically denies and condemns God. Again, it makes murder and\ninjustice a good work, a divine service. It puts the devil with his\nfalsehoods in the place of God. It institutes the worst form of\nidolatry and ruins body and soul, destroying the former by hunger and\nthe latter by a terrified conscience. It makes of God the devil, and\nof the devil God. It makes hell of heaven and heaven of hell;\nrighteousness of sin, and sin of righteousness. This I call\nperversion--where strictest justice is the most strenuous wrong.\n\nTo this depravity Ezekiel has reference (ch. 13, 18-19): \"Thus saith\nthe Lord Jehovah: Woe to the women that sew pillows upon all elbows,\nand make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every stature to hunt\nsouls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and save souls alive for\nyourselves? And ye have profaned me among my people for handfuls of\nbarley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die,\nand to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my\npeople that hearken unto lies.\" What is meant but that the blind\nteachers of the Law terrify the conscience, and put sin and death in\nthe place of grace and life, and grace and life where is only sin and\ndeath; and all for a handful of barley and a bit of bread? In other\nwords, such teachers devote themselves to laws concerning strictly\nexternal matters, things that perish with the using, such as a drink\nof water and a morsel of bread, wholly neglecting love and harassing\nthe conscience with fear of sin unto eternal death; as Ezekiel goes on\nto say (verses 22-23): \"Because with lies ye have grieved the heart of\nthe righteous, whom I have not made sad, and strengthened the hands of\nthe wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, and be\nsaved alive; therefore ye shall no more see false visions, nor divine\ndivinations: and I will deliver my people out of your hand; and ye\nshall know that I am Jehovah.\"\n\n12. Mark you, it is making the hearts of the righteous sad to load\nthem with sins when their works are good; it is strengthening the\nhands of the wicked to make their works good when they are naught but\nsin. Relative to this subject, we read (Ps 14, 5): \"There were they in\ngreat fear; for God is in the generation of the righteous.\" That is,\nthe sting of conscience fills with fear where there is neither reason\nfor fear nor for a disturbed conscience. That is feared as sin which\nis really noble service to God. The thought of the last passage is:\nWhen they should call upon God and serve him, they fear such conduct\nis sin and not divine service; again, when they have need to fear a\nservice not divine, they are secure and unafraid. Isaiah's words (ch.\n29, 13) are to the same effect: \"Their fear of me is a commandment of\nmen which hath been taught them.\" Always the perverted people spoken\nof corrupt everything. They confidently call on God where is only the\ndevil; they refrain in fear from calling on God where God is.\n\n13. Such, mark you, is the wretched condition of them who are blindly\noccupied with laws and works and fail to comprehend the design of law\nand its mistress Love. Note, also, in the case of our miserable\necclesiasts and their followers, how rigidly they adhere to their own\ninventions! Though all the world meet ruin, their devices must be\nsustained; they must be perpetuated regardless of bodily illness and\ndeath, or of suffering and ruin for the soul. They even regard such\ndestruction and ruin as divine service, and know no fear nor remorse\nof conscience. Indeed, so strongly entrenched are they in their\nwickedness, they will never return from it. Moreover, should one of\ntheir wretched number be permitted to alleviate the distress of his\nbody and soul--to eat meat, to marry--he is afraid, he feels remorse\nof conscience; he is uncertain about sin and law, about death and\nhell; he calls not on God, nor serves him; all this, even though the\nbody should die ten deaths and the soul go to the devil a hundred\ntimes.\n\n14. Observe, then, the state of the world; how little flesh and blood\ncan accomplish even in their best efforts; how dangerous to undertake\nto rule by law alone--indeed, how impossible it is, without great\ndanger, to govern and instruct souls with mere laws, ignoring love and\nthe Spirit, in whose hands is the full power of all law. It is written\n(Deut 33, 2), \"At his right hand was a fiery law for them.\" This is\nthe law of love in the Spirit. It shall regulate all laws at the left\nhand; that is, the external laws of the world. It is said (Ex 28, 30)\nthat the priest must bear upon his breast, in the breastplate, \"the\nUrim and the Thummim\"; that is, Light and Perfection, indicative of\nthe priest's office to illuminate the Law--to give its true sense--and\nfaultlessly to keep and to teach it.\n\n15. In the conception, the establishment and the observance of all\nlaws, the object should be, not the furtherance of the laws in\nthemselves, not the advancement of works, but the exercise of love.\nThat is the true purpose of law, according to Paul here, \"He that\nloveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.\" Therefore, when the law\ncontributes to the injury rather than the benefit of our neighbor, it\nshould be ignored. The same law may at one time benefit our neighbor\nand at another time injure him. Consequently, it should be regulated\naccording to its advantage to him. Law should be made to serve in the\nsame way that food and raiment and other necessaries of life serve. We\nconsider not the food and raiment themselves, but their benefit to our\nneedy neighbor. And we cease to dispense them as soon as we perceive\nthey no longer add to his comfort.\n\n16. Suppose you were to come across an individual foolish enough to\nact with no other thought than that food and clothing are truly good\nthings, and so proceed to stuff a needy one with unlimited food and\ndrink unto choking, and to clothe him unto suffocation, and then not\nto desist. Suppose to the command, \"Stop, you have suffocated, have\nalready over-fed and over-clothed him, and all is lost effort now,\"\nthe foolish one should reply: \"You heretic, would you forbid good\nworks? Food, drink and raiment are good things, therefore we must not\ncease to dispense them; we cannot do too much.\" And suppose he\ncontinued to force food and clothing on the man. Tell me, what would\nyou think of such a one? He is a fool more than foolish; he is more\nmad than madness itself. But such is about the character of our\necclesiasts today, and of those who are so blind in the exercise of\nlaw as to act as if works were the only requisite, and to suffocate\nbody and soul, being ignorant that the one purpose of law is to call\nforth the exercise of love. They make works superior to love, and a\nmaid to her matron. Such perversion prevails to an extent distressing\nto think of, not to mention hearing and seeing it, or more, practicing\nand permitting it ourselves.\n\n17. The commandment of love is not a long one; it is short. It is one\ninjunction, not many. It is even not a commandment, and at the same\ntime is all commandments. Brief, and a unit in itself, its meaning is\neasily comprehended. But in its exercise, it is far-reaching, for it\nincludes and regulates all commandments. So far as works are enjoined,\nit is no commandment at all; it names no peculiar work. Yet it\nrepresents all commandments, because properly the fulfilment of all\ncommandments is the fulfilment of this. The commandment of love\nsuspends every commandment, yet it perpetuates all. Its whole purpose\nis that we may recognize no commandment, no work, except as love\ndictates.\n\n18. As life on earth apart from works is an impossibility, necessarily\nthere must be various commandments involving works. Yet Love is\nsupreme over these requirements, dictating the omission or the\nperformance of works according to its own best interests, and\npermitting no works opposed to itself.\n\nTo illustrate: A driver, holding the reins, guides team and wagon at\nwill. If he were content merely to hold the reins, regardless of\nwhether or no the team followed the road, the entire equipage--team,\nwagon, reins and driver--would soon be wrecked; the driver would be\nlying drowned in a ditch or a pool, or have his neck broken going over\nstumps and rocks. But if he dexterously regulates the movement of the\noutfit according to the road, observing where it is safe and where\nunsafe, he will proceed securely because wisely. Were he, in his\negotism, to drive straight ahead, endeavoring to make the road conform\nto the movement of the wagon, at his pleasure, he would soon see how\nbeautifully his plan would work.\n\n19. So it is when men are governed by laws and works, the laws not\nbeing regulated according to the people. The case is that of the\ndriver who would regulate the road by the movements of the wagon.\nTrue, the road is often well suited to the straight course of the\nwagon. But just as truly the road is, in certain places, crooked and\nuneven, and then the wagon must conform to the course and condition of\nthe road. Men must adapt themselves to laws and regulations wherever\npossible and where the laws are beneficial. But where laws prove\ndetrimental to men's interests, the former must yield. The ruler must\nwisely make allowance for love, suspending works and laws. Hence,\nphilosophers say prudence--or circumspection or discretion as the\necclesiasts put it--is the guide and regulator of all virtues.\n\n20. We read in a book of the ancient fathers that on a certain\noccasion of their assembling, the question was raised, which is really\nthe noblest work? Various replies were given. One said prayer, another\nfasting; but St. Anthony was of the opinion that of all works and\nvirtues, discretion is the best and surest way to heaven. These,\nhowever, were but childish, unspiritual ideas relating to their own\nchosen works. A Christian views the matter in quite a different light,\nand more judiciously. He concludes that neither discretion nor\nrashness avails before God. Only faith and love serve with him. But\nlove is true discretion; love is the driver and the true discretion in\nrighteous works. It always looks to the good of the neighbor, to the\namelioration of his condition; just as the discretion of the world\nlooks to the general welfare of the governed in the adjustment of\npolitical laws. Let this suffice on this point.\n\n21. But the question arises: How can love fulfil the Law when love is\nbut one of the fruits of faith and we have frequently said that only\nfaith in Christ removes our sins, justifies us and satisfies all the\ndemands of the Law? How can we make the two claims harmonize? Christ\nsays, too (Mt 7, 12): \"All things, therefore, whatsoever ye would that\nmen should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the\nlaw and the prophets.\" Thus he shows that love for one's neighbor\nfulfils both the Law and the prophets. Again, he says (Mt 22, 37-40):\n\"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God ... thy neighbor as thyself. On\nthese two the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.\" Where, then, does\nPaul stand, who says (Rom 3, 31): \"Do we then make the law of none\neffect through faith? God forbid: nay, we establish the law.\" Again\n(Rom 3, 28): \"We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith\napart from the works of the law.\" And again (Rom 1, 17), \"The\nrighteous shall live by faith.\"\n\n22. I reply: As we have frequently said, we must properly distinguish\nbetween faith and love. Faith deals with the heart, and love with the\nworks. Faith removes our sins, renders us acceptable, justifies us.\nAnd being accepted and justified as to our person, love is given us in\nthe Holy Spirit and we delight in doing good. Now, it is the nature of\nthe Law to attack our person and demand good works; and it will not\ncease to demand until it gains its point. We cannot do good works\nwithout the Spirit and love. The Law constrains us to know ourselves\nwith our imperfections, and to recognize the necessity of our becoming\naltogether different individuals that we may satisfy the Law. The Law\ndoes not exact so much of the heart as of works; in fact, it demands\nnothing but works and ignores the heart. It leaves the individual to\ndiscover, from the works required, that he must become an altogether\ndifferent person. But faith, when it comes, creates a nature capable\nof accomplishing the works the Law demands. Thus is the Law fulfilled.\n\nSo Paul's sayings on the subject are beautiful and appropriate. The\nLaw demands of us works; it must be fulfilled by works. Hence it\ncannot in every sense be said that faith fulfils the Law. However, it\nprepares the way and enables us to fulfil it, for the Law demands, not\nus, but our works. The Law constrains us--teaches us that we must be\nchanged before we can accomplish its works; it makes us conscious of\nour inability as we are. On the other hand, love and works do not\nchange us, do not justify us. We must be changed in person and\njustified before we can love and do good works. Our love and our works\nare evidence of justification and of a change, since they are\nimpossible until the individual is free from sin and made righteous.\n\n23. This explanation is given to enable us to perceive the true nature\nof the Law, of faith and of love; to ascribe to each its own mission;\nand rightly to understand the Scripture declarations in their\nharmonious relations that while faith justifies, it does not fulfil\nthe Law, and that while love does not justify, it does fulfil the Law.\nThe Law requires love and works, but does not mention the heart. The\nheart is sensible of the Law, but love is not. Just as the Law, in\nrequiring works before faith exists, is a sign to the individual\nleading him to recognize his utter lack of faith and righteousness,\nand to conclude he is conquered, so love in its fulfilment of the Law\nafter faith intervenes is a sign and a proof to the individual of his\nfaith and righteousness. Law and love, then, witness to him concerning\nhis unrighteousness or his righteousness. After faith comes, love is\nevidence of righteousness. Before faith, man is sensible of the Law's\noppression because he knows he does not possess what the Law requires.\nAnd the Law does not require a changed heart, but works. Love and\nworks do not effect the fulfilment of the Law; they are themselves its\nfulfilment.\n\n24. Now, though faith does not fulfil the Law, it contains that which\neffects its fulfilment; it secures the Spirit and love whereby the end\nis accomplished. On the other hand, if love does not justify us, it\nmakes manifest the faith whereby we are justified. Briefly, as Paul\nsays here, \"Love is the fulfilment of the law.\" His thought is:\nFulfilment of the Law is one thing, and effecting or furnishing its\nfulfilment another. Love fulfils the Law in the sense that love itself\nis its fulfilment; but faith fulfils it in the sense that it offers\nthat by which it is fulfilled. For faith loves and works, as said in\nGalatians 5, 6, \"Faith worketh through love.\" The water fills the\npitcher; so does the cupbearer. The water fills of itself; the\ncupbearer fills with the water--\"effective et formaliter implere,\" as\nthe sophists would say.\n\n25. Faith is ever the actor, and love the act. The law requires the\nact and thus forces the actor to be changed. The Law is then fulfilled\nby the act, which, however, the actor must perform. Thus Paul rejects\nthe fancies of the sophists, who in the matter of love would make a\ndistinction between the external work and the inner affection, saying:\n\"Love is an inner affection that loves our neighbor when in our heart\nwe wish him well.\" Its expression in works, however, they call the\nfruit of love. But we will not discuss this idea. Note, Paul terms\nlove not only an affection, but an affectionate good act. Faith and\nthe heart are the actor and fulfiller of the Law. Paul says, \"He that\nloveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.\" And love is the act, the\nfulfilling; for he says, \"Love is the fulfilment of the law.\"\n\n26. Another question arises: How can love for our neighbor be the\nfulfilment of the Law when we are required to love God supremely, even\nabove our neighbor? I reply: Christ answers the question when he tells\nus (Mt 22, 39) the second commandment is like unto the first. He makes\nlove to God and love to our neighbor the same love. The reason for\nthis is, first: God, having no need for our works and benefactions for\nhimself, bids us to do for our neighbor what we would do for God. He\nasks for himself only our faith and our recognition of him as God. The\nobject of proclaiming his honor and rendering him praise and thanks\nhere on earth is that our neighbor may be converted and brought into\nfellowship with God. Such service is called the love of God, and is\nperformed out of love to God; but it is exercised for the benefit of\nour neighbor only.\n\n27. The second reason why God makes love to our neighbor an obligation\nequal to love to himself is: God has made worldly wisdom foolish,\ndesiring henceforth to be loved amid crosses and afflictions. Paul\nsays (1 Cor 1, 21), \"Seeing that in the wisdom of God the world\nthrough its wisdom knew not God, it was God's good pleasure through\nthe foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.\"\nTherefore, upon the cross he submitted himself unto death and misery,\nand imposed the same submission upon all his disciples. They who\nrefused to love him before when he bestowed upon them food and drink,\nblessing and honor, must now love him in hunger and sorrow, in\nadversity and disgrace. All works of love, then, must be directed to\nour wretched, needy neighbors. In these lowly ones we are to find and\nlove God, in them we are to serve and honor him, and only so can we do\nit. The commandment to love God is wholly merged in that to love our\nneighbors.\n\n28. These facts restrain those elusive, soaring spirits that seek\nafter God only in great and glorious undertakings. It stops the mouths\nof those who strive after greatness like his, who would force\nthemselves into heaven, presuming to serve and love him with their\nbrilliant works. But they miss him by passing over him in their\nearthly neighbor, in whom God would be loved and honored. Therefore,\nthey will hear, on the last day, the sentence (Mt 25, 42), \"I was\nhungry, and ye did not give me to eat,\" etc. For Christ laid aside his\ndivinity and took upon himself the form of a servant for the very\npurpose of bringing down and centering upon our neighbor the love we\nextend to himself. Yet we leave the Lord to lie here in his\nhumiliation while we gaze open-mouthed into heaven and make great\npretensions to love and service to God.\n\n\nALL COMMANDMENTS SUMMED UP IN LOVE.\n\n\"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou\nshalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other\ncommandment, it is briefly summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt\nlove thy neighbor as thyself.\"\n\n29. Love being the chief element of all law, it comprehends, as has\nbeen made sufficiently clear, all commandments. Its one concern is to\nbe useful to man and not harmful; therefore, it readily discovers the\nway. Recognizing the fact that man, from his ardent self-love, seeks\nto promote his own interests and avoid injuring them, love endeavors\nto adopt the same course toward others. We will consider the\ncommandment just cited, noticing how ingeniously and wisely it is\narranged. It brings out four thoughts. First, it states who is under\nobligation to love: thou--the nearest, noblest, best individual we can\ncommand. No one can fulfil the Law of God for another; each must do it\nfor himself. As Paul says (Gal 6, 5), \"Each man shall bear his own\nburden.\" And (2 Cor 5, 10): \"For we must all be made manifest before\nthe judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done\nin the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or\nbad.\" So it is said, \"Thou, thou thyself, must love;\" not, \"Let\nsomeone else love for you.\" Though one can and should pray that God\nmay be gracious to another and help him, yet no one will be saved\nunless he himself fulfils God's command. It is not enough merely to\npray that another may escape punishment, as the venders of indulgences\nteach; much rather, we should pray that he become righteous and\nobserve God's precepts.\n\n30. Second, the commandment names the most noble virtue--love. It does\nnot say, \"Thou shalt feed thy neighbor, give him drink, clothe him,\"\nall of which things are inestimably good works; it says, \"Thou shalt\nlove him.\" Love is the chief virtue, the fountain of all virtues. Love\ngives food and drink; it clothes, comforts, persuades, relieves and\nrescues. What shall we say of it, for behold he who loves gives\nhimself, body and soul, property and honor, all his powers inner and\nexternal, for his needy neighbor's benefit, whether it be friend or\nenemy; he withholds nothing wherewith he may serve another. There is\nno virtue like love; there can be no special work assigned it as in\nthe case of limited virtues, such as chastity, mercy, patience,\nmeekness, and the like. Love does all things. It will suffer in life\nand in death, in every condition, and that even for its enemies. Well\nmay Paul here say that all other commandments are briefly comprehended\nin the injunction, \"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.\"\n\n31. Third, the commandment names, as the sphere of our love, the\nnoblest field, the dearest friend--our neighbor. It does not say,\n\"Thou shalt love the rich, the mighty, the learned, the saint.\" No,\nthe unrestrained love designated in this most perfect commandment does\nnot apportion itself among the few. With it is no respect of persons.\nIt is the nature of false, carnal, worldly love to respect the\nindividual, and to love only so long as it hopes to derive profit.\nWhen such hope ceases, that love also ceases. The commandment of our\ntext, however, requires of us free, spontaneous love to all men,\nwhoever they may be, and whether friend or foe, a love that seeks not\nprofit, and administers only what is beneficial. Such love is most\nactive and powerful in serving the poor, the needy, the sick, the\nwicked, the simple-minded and the hostile; among these it is always\nand under all circumstances necessary to suffer and endure, to serve\nand do good.\n\n32. Note here, this commandment makes us all equal before God, without\nregard to distinctions incident to our stations in life, to our\npersons, offices and occupations. Since the commandment is to all--to\nevery human being--a sovereign, if he be a human being, must confess\nthe poorest beggar, the most wretched leper, his neighbor and his\nequal in the sight of God. He is under obligation, according to this\ncommandment, not to extend a measure of help, but to serve that\nneighbor with all he has and all he controls. If he loves him as God\nhere commands him to do, he must give the beggar preference over his\ncrown and all his realm; and if the beggar's necessity requires, must\ngive his life. He is under obligation to love his neighbor, and must\nadmit that such a one is his neighbor.\n\n33. Is not this a superior, a noble, commandment, which completely\nlevels the most unequal individuals? Is it not wonderfully comforting\nto the beggar to have servants and lovers of such honor? wonderful\nthat his poverty commands the services of a king in his opulence? that\nto his sores and wounds are subject the crown of wealth and the sweet\nsavor of royal splendor? But how strange it would seem to us to behold\nkings and queens, princes and princesses, serving beggars and lepers,\nas we read St. Elizabeth did! Even this, however, would be a slight\nthing in comparison with what Christ has done. No one can ever equal\nhim in the obedience wherewith he has exalted this commandment. He is\na king whose honor transcends that of all other kings; indeed, he is\nthe Son of God. And yet he puts himself on a level with the worst\nsinners, and serves them even to dying for them. Were ten kings of\nearth to serve to the utmost one beggar, it would be a remarkable\nthing; but of what significance would it be in comparison with the\nservice Christ has rendered? The kings would be put to utter shame and\nwould have to acknowledge their service unworthy of notice.\n\n34. Learn, then, the condition of the world--how far it is, not only\nfrom Christ's immeasurable example, but from the commandment in this\nverse. Where are to be found any who comprehend the meaning of the\nlittle phrase \"thy neighbor,\" notwithstanding there is, beside this\ncommandment, the natural law of service written in the hearts of all\nmen? Not an individual is there who does not realize, and who is not\nforced to confess, the justice and truth of the natural law outlined\nin the command (Mt 7, 12), \"All things therefore whatsoever ye would\nthat men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.\" The light\nof this law shines in the inborn reason of all men. Did they but\nregard it, what need have they of books, teachers or laws? They carry\nwith them in the depths of their hearts a living book, fitted to teach\nthem fully what to do and what to omit, what to accept and what to\nreject, and what decision to make.\n\nNow, the command to love our neighbors as ourselves is equivalent to\nthat other, \"Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you,\" etc.\nEvery individual desires to be loved and not hated; and he also feels\nand sees his obligation to exercise the same disposition toward\nothers. The carrying out of this obligation is loving another as\nhimself. But evil lust and sinful love obscure the light of natural\nlaw, and blind man, until he fails to perceive the guide-book in his\nheart and to follow the clear command of reason. Hence he must be\nrestrained and repelled by external laws and material books, with the\nsword and by force. He must be reminded of his natural light and have\nhis own heart revealed to him. Yet admonition does not avail; he does\nnot see the light. Evil lust and sinful love blind him. With the sword\nand with political laws he must still be outwardly restrained from\nperpetrating actual crimes.\n\n35. The fourth thing the commandment presents is the standard by which\nwe are to measure our love--an excellent model. Those are particularly\nworthy instructions and commandments which present examples. This\ncommandment holds up a truly living example--\"thyself.\" It is a better\nmodel than any example the saints have set. The saints are dead and\ntheir deeds are past, but this example ever lives. Everyone must admit\na consciousness of his own love for himself; of his ardent concern for\nhis temporal life; of his careful nourishment of his body with food,\nraiment and all good things; of his fleeing from death and avoiding\nevil. This is self-love; something we are conscious of in ourselves.\nWhat, then, is the teaching of the commandment? To do to another as\nyou do to yourself; to value his body and his life equally with your\nown body and life. Now, how could God have pointed you to an example\ndearer, more pleasing and more to the purpose than this example--the\ndeep instinct of your nature? Indeed, your depth of character is\nmeasured by the writing of this command in your heart.\n\n36. How will you fare with God if you do not love your neighbor?\nFeeling this commandment written within your heart, your conscience\nwill condemn you. Your whole conduct will be an example witnessing\nagainst you, testifying to your failure to do unto others as the\nnatural instinct of your being, more forcibly than all the examples of\nthe saints, has taught you to do. But how will it go with the\necclesiasts in particular--the churchmen with their singing and\npraying, their cowls and bald pates, and all their jugglery? I make no\ncomment on the fact that they have never observed the commandment. I\nask, however, when has their monastic fanaticism permitted them time\nand opportunity to perceive for once this law in their hearts, to\nbecome sensible of the example set them in their own human instinct,\nor even to read the precept in books or hear it preached? Poor,\nmiserable people! Do you presume to think that God will make void\nthis, love's commandment, so deeply and clearly impressed upon the\nheart, so beautifully and unmistakably illustrated in your own\nnatures, and in the many written and spoken words as well--think you\nGod will do this on account of your cowls and bald pates, and regard\nwhat you have been devising and performing?\n\n37. Alas, how shamelessly the world has ignored this beautiful and\nimpressive commandment wherein are so skilfully presented the\nindividual, the task, the model and the sphere of labor! And, on the\nother hand, how shamefully it occupies itself with the very reverse of\nwhat is taught in this commandment! Its whole practice and tendency\nseem to be to place our responsibility upon others; monks and priests\nmust be righteous for us and pray in our stead, that we may personally\nbe excused. For the noblest virtue, love, we substitute self-devised\nworks; in the place of our neighbors we put wood and stone, raiment\nand food, even dead souls--the saints of heaven. These we serve; with\nthem we are occupied; they are the sphere wherein we exercise\nourselves. Instead of the noblest example--\"as thyself\"--we look to\nthe legends and the works of saints. We presume to imitate such\noutward examples, omitting the duty which our own nature and life\npresent and which the command of God outlines, notwithstanding such\nduty offers more than we could ever fulfil. Even if we could\naccomplish all it offers, we would still not equal Christ.\n\n\nLOVE WORKS ONLY GOOD TO ITS NEIGHBOR.\n\n\"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: love, therefore, is the\nfulfilment of the law.\"\n\n38. The Ten Commandments forbid doing evil to our neighbor--\"Thou\nshalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery,\" etc. The apostle,\nemploying similar phraseology, says that love observes all these\ncommands, injuring none. Not only that; it effects good for all. It is\npractically doing evil to permit our neighbor to remain in peril when\nwe can relieve him, even though we may not have been instrumental in\nplacing him where he is. If he is hungry and we do not feed him when\nit is in our power to do so, we practically permit him to die of\nhunger. We should take this view concerning any perilous condition,\nany adverse circumstance, with our neighbors. How love is the\nfulfilment of the Law, we have now heard.\n\n\n\n\n_Fifth Sunday After Epiphany_\n\nText: Colossians 3, 12-17.\n\n12 Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of\ncompassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; 13\nforbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a\ncomplaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye: 14\nand above all these things put on love, which is the bond of\nperfectness. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to\nthe which also ye were called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let\nthe Word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and\nadmonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,\nsinging with grace in your hearts unto God. 17 And whatsoever ye do,\nin word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving\nthanks to God the Father through him.\n\n\nTHE GLORIOUS ADORNMENT OF CHRISTIANS.\n\n1. This text is also a letter of admonition, teaching what manner of\nfruit properly results from faith. Paul deals kindly with the\nColossians. He does not command, urge nor threaten, as teachers of the\nLaw must do in the case of those under the Law. He persuades them with\nloving words in view of the blessing and grace of God received, and in\nthe light of Christ's own example. Christians should act with\nreadiness and cheerfulness, being moved neither by fear of punishment\nnor by desire for reward, as frequently before stated. This admonition\nhas been so oft repeated in the preceding epistle lesson that we know,\nI trust, what constitutes a Christian. Therefore we will but briefly\ntouch on the subject.\n\n\"Put on, therefore.\"\n\n2. In the epistle for New Year's day we have sufficiently explained\nthe meaning of \"putting on\"; how by faith we put on Christ, and he us;\nhow in love we put on our neighbor, and our neighbor us. The Christian\napparel is of two kinds--faith and love. Christ wore two manner of\ngarments--one whole and typical of faith, the other divided and\ntypical of love.\n\nPaul here has reference to the latter garment, love. He would teach us\nChristians the manner of ornaments and apparel we are to wear in the\nworld; not silk or precious gold. To women these are forbidden of\nPeter (1 Pet 3, 3), and of Paul (1 Tim 2, 9). Love for our neighbor is\na garment well befitting us--that love which leads us to concern\nourselves about the neighbor and his misfortunes. Such love is called\nthe ornament of a Christian character--an ornament in the eyes of men.\n\n3. Observe the tender and sacred style of the apostle's admonition, a\nstyle he is wont to use toward us. He does not drive us with laws, but\npersuades by reminding us of the ineffable grace of God; for he terms\nus the \"elect of God,\" and \"holy\" and \"beloved.\" He would call forth\nthe fruits of faith, desiring them to be yielded in a willing,\ncheerful and happy spirit. The individual who sincerely believes and\ntrusts that before God he is beloved, holy and elect, will consider\nhow to sustain his honors and titles, how to conduct himself worthily\nof them; more, he will love God with a fervor enabling him to do or\nomit, or to suffer, all things cheerfully, and will never know how to\ndo enough. But he who doubts such attitude of God toward himself will\nnot recognize the force of these words. He will not feel the power of\nthe statement that we are holy, beloved, elect, in the sight of God.\n\n4. Let us disregard, therefore, the saints who elect and love\nthemselves; who adorn themselves with the works of the Law; who\nobserve fasts and discipline; who regard raiment and position, for\nthey are unwilling to be sinners before God. Our ornaments are unlike\nthese, and not associated with such mockeries. They are honesty,\nsincerity, good works, service to our neighbor. We are unfettered by\nlaws regarding food, raiment, times, etc. We are holy in the sight of\nGod, before whom none can be holy until he sees himself a sinner and\nrejects his own righteousness. But the class mentioned are holy in\ntheir own estimation; therefore, they ever remain wicked--sinners in\nthe sight of God. We are beloved of God because we despise ourselves,\nwe judge and condemn ourselves and reject our self-love. The others,\nbecause they love and esteem themselves, are despicable and\nunacceptable in the sight of God. Again, we are chosen of God for the\nreason that we despise ourselves as filth. Such God chooses, and has\nchosen from eternity. Because the would-be saints elect themselves,\nGod will reject them, as indeed he has from eternity. Now, this is\nwhat Paul means by these words,\n\n\"A heart of compassion.\"\n\n5. They stand for a part of the ornament, the beautiful, charming\nChristian jewel, that becomes us better in the sight of God than\npearls, precious stones, silk and gold become us in the eyes of the\nworld. \"A heart of compassion\" is evidence of the true Christian. Paul\nwould say: \"Not simply in external deed, or in appearance, are ye to\nbe merciful, but in the inmost heart.\" He refers to that sincere and\nwhole-souled mercy characteristic of the father and mother who witness\nthe distress of a child for whom they would readily expose their lives\nor sacrifice all they possess. The Christian's mind and heart should\nbe constantly devoted to merciful deeds, with an ardor so intense as\nto make him unaware he is doing good and compassionate acts.\n\n6. With this single phrase Paul condemns the works and arbitrary rules\nof hypocritical saints, whose severity will not permit them to\nassociate with sinners. Their rigorous laws must be all-controlling.\nThey do nothing but compel and drive. They exhibit no mercy, but\nperpetual reproach, censure, condemnation, blame and bluster. They can\nendure no imperfection. But among Christians many are sinners, many\ninfirm. In fact, Christians associate only with these; not with\nsaints. Christians reject none, but bear with all. Indeed, they are as\nsincerely interested for sinners as they would be for themselves were\nthey the infirm. They pray for the sinners, teach, admonish, persuade,\ndo all in their power to reclaim. Such is the true character of a\nChristian. So God, in Christ, has dealt with us and ever deals. So\nChrist dealt with the adulteress (Jn 8, 11) when he released her from\nher tormentors, and with his gracious words influenced her to\nrepentance and suffered her to depart. We read of St. Antony having\nsaid that Paphrutius knew how souls are to be saved, because he\nrescued a certain individual from brethren who persecuted and\noppressed him for his transgression. See \"Lives of the Fathers.\"\n\nWere God to deal with us according to the rigor of his laws, we should\nall be lost. But he mercifully suspends the Law. Isaiah says (ch. 9,\n4): \"For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the\nrod of his oppressor, thou hast broken.\" God now only persuades.\n\n7. Note how involved in the Law and in hypocrisy they still are who\nesteem themselves prominent saints and at the same time are intolerant\nof the infirmities of Christians. If they fail to find perfect\nholiness--a miracle of purity--in those who possess Christ and know\nthe Gospel, then nothing is as it should be; the heavens are on the\npoint of falling and the earth about to be destroyed. They can only\njudge, censure and deride, saying: \"Oh, yes, he is truly evangelical;\nindeed, he is a visionary!\" Thus they indicate their utter blindness.\nWith the beam constantly in their own eyes, they show how little they\nknow of Christ.\n\nKnow, then, when you meet one so ready to censure and condemn, one\nrequiring absolute perfection in Christians--know that such a one is\nmerely an enforcer of the Law, a base hypocrite, a merciless jailer,\nwith no true knowledge of Christ. As, with Christians, there is no law\nbut all is love, so neither can there be judgment, condemnation and\ncensure. And he who calls another a visionary is certainly a visionary\nten-fold himself. In the thing for which he judges and condemns\nanother, he condemns himself. Since he ignores mercy and all but the\nLaw, he finds no mercy in the sight of God; in fact, he has never\nexperienced, never tasted, God's mercy. To his taste, both God and\nneighbor are bitter as gall and wormwood.\n\n8. But tender mercy is to be shown only to Christians and only among\nChristians. With the rejecters and persecutors of the Gospel we must\ndeal differently. It is not right that my charity be liberal enough to\ntolerate unsound doctrine. In the case of false faith and doctrine\nthere is neither love nor patience. Against these it is my duty\nearnestly to contend and not to yield a hair's breadth.\nOtherwise--when faith is not imperiled--I must be unfailingly kind and\nmerciful to all notwithstanding the infirmities of their lives. I may\nnot censure, oppress nor drive; I must persuade, entreat and tolerate.\nA defective life does not destroy Christianity; it exercises it. But\ndefective doctrine--false belief--destroys all good. So, then,\ntoleration and mercy are not permissible in the case of unsound\ndoctrine; only anger, opposition and death are in order, yet always in\naccordance with the Word of God.\n\n9. On the other hand, they who are mercifully tolerated must not\nimagine that because they escape censure and force, their beliefs and\npractices are right. They must not construe such mercy as\nencouragement to become indolent and negligent, and to continue in\ntheir error. Mercy is not extended them with any such design. The\nobject is to give them opportunity to recover zeal and strength. But\nif they be disposed to remain as they are, very well; let them alone.\nThey will not long continue thus; the devil will lead them farther\nastray, until finally they will completely apostatize, even becoming\nenemies to the Gospel. Such will be their end if they permit mercy to\nbe lavished upon them in vain. We may not be indolent and asleep in\nthe matter of our false doctrines, relying upon the fact that we are\nnot despised nor constrained of men. There is particular need to be\nactive and diligent, for the devil neither sleeps nor rests. We need\nbeware that he does not lead us where we will never enjoy God's mercy.\n\n\"Kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering.\"\n\n10. These words represent the other elements of Christian character.\nKindness you will find defined in the second epistle lesson for the\nearly Christmas service. It characterizes the conduct of the\nindividual who is gentle and sympathetic to all; who repels none with\nforbidding countenance, harsh words or rude deportment. We Germans\nwould call such a one affable and friendly disposed. Kindness is a\nvirtue not confined to certain works; it modifies the whole life. The\nkindly person is obliging to everyone, not displeased with any, and is\nattractive to all men. In contrast are those peculiar characters who\nhave pleasure in nothing but their own conceits; who insist on others\naccommodating themselves to them and their ways, while they yield to\nnone. Such individuals are termed \"uncivil.\"\n\n11. But the liberality of kindness is not to be extended to false\ndoctrine. Only relative to conduct and works is it to be exercised. As\noft before stated, love with all its works and fruits has no place in\nthe matter of unsound doctrine. I must love my neighbor and show him\nkindness whatever the imperfections of his life. But if he refuses to\nbelieve or to teach sound doctrine, I cannot, I dare not, love him or\nshow him kindness. According to Paul (Gal 1, 8-9), I must hold him\nexcommunicated and accursed, even though he be an angel from heaven.\n\nThus remarkably do faith and love differ and are distinct. Love will\nbe, must be, kind even to the bitterest enemy so long as he assails\nnot faith and doctrine. But it will not, it cannot, tolerate the\nindividual who does, be it father, mother or dearest friend. Deut 13,\n6-8. Love, then, must be exercised, not in relation to the doctrine\nand faith of our neighbor, but relative to his life and works. Faith,\non the contrary, has to do, not with his works and life, but with his\ndoctrine and belief.\n\n12. I think we must know by this time the meaning of \"lowliness\" of\nmind--esteeming one's self least and others greater. As Christ\nillustrates it, occupying the lowest seat at the wedding, and this\ncheerfully. We are to serve even when our service is not desired, and\nto minister unto our enemies. So Christ humbled himself before Judas\nthe betrayer, and before all of us. He came, not to be served, but to\nserve. That humbleness of mind is a rare virtue is not to be wondered\nat, for every Christian grace is a rarity. Particularly are graces\nlacking with those who, professing to know most of Christ, find\nsomething to censure in all Christians. Christianity Paul calls a\nmystery of God; and it is likely to continue so.\n\n13. \"Meekness\" is opposed to anger. The meek man is not easily excited\nto exhibit anger, to curse, smite, hate, or wish evil to any, even an\nenemy. To refrain thus is an art. Hypocrites--in fact, all the\nworld--can be meek toward friends and those who treat them well. But\ntrue meekness and humility will remain only among the elect and\nbeloved saints of God, as Paul here implies. Even among these are many\ndeficient in all, or at least a large part, of the Christian graces.\nHypocrites may thus find something to censure, something whereat to be\noffended, in the beloved, elect saints of God. And the true saints\nhave occasion to exercise mercy, humility, meekness and forbearance.\nThey whom Paul here terms elect and beloved saints of God, though\nslightly deficient in humility, meekness and forbearance, are not\ntherefore unholy, not rejected and despised.\n\n14. Paul makes a distinction between longsuffering and forbearance, as\nin Romans 2, 4: \"Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and\nforbearance and longsuffering?\" In \"longsuffering\" we have the thought\nhere and there expressed by God in the Psalms and elsewhere by the\nHebrew \"arich apaim\"--\"slow to wrath.\" God patiently bears with evil.\nIndeed, he repeatedly delays vengeance, apparently more ready to\nforgive than to punish, even under extreme provocation and having just\nreason to chastise. Longsuffering extends farther than patience.\nPatience bears evil and injustice; but longsuffering delays\npunishment. It does not design to punish; it would not take hasty\nrevenge. Unlike the revengeful, it wishes no one evil. Many we see,\nindeed, who suffer much and are patient but at the same time trust in\na final avenging. The longsuffering Christian, however, is opposed to\nrevenge, desiring the sinner to amend his ways.\n\n\"Forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a\ncomplaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye.\"\n\n15. In this verse all law is abolished among Christians. One is not\npermitted to demand, through process of law, the recovery of his\nproperty. He must forgive and yield. Christ's example enjoins this\nprinciple; he has forgiven us. And what is the extent of his\nforgiveness? He pardons past sins, but that is not all; as John says\n(1 Jn 2, 1-2), \"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,\nJesus Christ the righteousness and he is the propitiation for our\nsins.\"\n\n16. Note, it is the true Christian saints whom Paul describes, but he\nlooks upon them as infirm to the extent of offending and complaining\nagainst one another. This is a state of affairs by no means becoming\nChristians and saints. So I say Christ's kingdom is a mystery obscure\nbeyond the power of our preaching and teaching sufficiently to\nexplain. Unbelievers cannot be induced to work, but believers cannot\nbe withheld from working. Some would not believe and some would not\nlove.\n\nIt is true of Christ's kingdom that his Christians are not perfectly\nholy. They have begun to be holy and are in a state of progression.\nThere are still to be found among them anger, evil desire, unholy\nlove, worldly care and other deplorable infirmities, remains of the\nold Adam. Paul speaks of these things as burdens which one must bear\nfor a neighbor (Gal 6, 2), and in Romans 15, 1, he admonishes us to\n\"bear the infirmities of the weak.\" Likewise Christ loved his apostles\nmuch and suffered much from them, and he still daily bears with his\nown.\n\n17. Some, enumerating the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians\n5, 22-23, say a Christian should be gentle, meek, longsuffering,\nchaste; and they look upon this passage as a law commanding such\nfruits. Hence they refuse to recognize as Christians any who fail to\npossess the fruits in perfection. Now, such individuals cannot believe\nthere is a Christ, certain as the fact is. They judge malignantly,\ncomplaining that Christians do not exist. They take offense at Christ\nfor his superior wisdom. For Christ has given us scriptural authority\nfor knowing Christians by their fruits. He says (Mt 7, 16), \"By their\nfruits ye shall know them.\" Here they are emphatic.\n\n18. Can you locate the failure of such an individual? He fails in the\nfact that he understands absolutely nothing of Christ's kingdom. For\nhe misinterprets the passages referring to Christians. He understands\nthe statement that Christians should be kind and meek, to mean they\nmust never become angry, must bear anything and show impatience toward\nnone; if they do not so, they cannot be Christians, for they have not\nthe fruits. Dear man, what but his own blindness can lead him to such\na conclusion? He fancies Christianity to be a holy order of\nperfection, altogether without infirmity, a perfection as in heaven\namong the angels. But tell me, where do the Scriptures speak thus of\nChristians?\n\nBut whoso recognizes Christianity as a progressive order yet in its\nbeginning, will not be offended at the occasional manifestation of\nungentleness, unkindness and impatience on the part of a Christian;\nfor he remembers that Christians are commanded to bear one another's\nburdens and infirmities. He knows that the enumeration of the fruits\nof the Spirit is not a record of laws the observance of which is\nimperative or Christ will be denied. He is aware the passage is to be\ninterpreted as meaning that Christians are to strive to be kind; that\nis the mark at which they aim. However, even though they have made a\nbeginning and some progress in this virtue, they often are unkind and\nbear fruits directly the opposite of the fruits of the Spirit. True,\nthe text quoted says we should be kind, but it does not say we are\nkind. We are tending toward it, we are in a state of progression; but\nduring the progress much of the old and as yet untransformed nature is\nintermingled.\n\n19. Know, then, that in a mysterious way Christ is in his saints, and\nbeware of judging or condemning anyone when you have not positive\nassurance that he believes and teaches contrary to the Gospel. But\nwhoso does oppose the Gospel, you may safely judge to be without\nChrist, and under the sway of the devil. Pray for such a one and\nadmonish him, in the hope of his conversion. But in the case of one\nwho endorses and honors the Gospel, observe Paul's comment (Rom 14,\n4): \"Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? to his own lord\nhe standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord\nhath power to make him stand.\" And again (1 Cor 10, 12): \"Wherefore\nlet him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.\" Christ\nwould be at the same time hidden and revealed, found and not found. He\npermits the intermingling of some infirmities with the fruits of the\nSpirit, that he may conceal himself, and that malicious judges may be\noffended.\n\n\"And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of\nperfectness.\"\n\n20. From longsuffering and meekness the apostle distinguishes love and\nother jewels of spiritual beauty whereof we have already heard, though\nall are comprehended in love. As faith is the chief element of\nChristian character, so love is chief of the fruits of the Spirit, the\njewel of surpassing beauty. Therefore Paul says, \"Above all these\nthings put on love.\" Love transcends mercy, kindness, meekness and\nhumility. Paul calls it \"the bond of perfectness\" because it unites\nhuman hearts; not a partial unity, based on similarity or close\nrelationship, but a complete unity among all men and in all relations.\nIt makes us of one mind, one heart, one desire. It permits no one to\noriginate a peculiar order of doctrine or faith. All who love are of\nthe same belief. Consequently there is the same purpose of heart with\nthe poor and the rich, with rulers and subjects, the ill and the well,\nthe high and the low, the honored and the disgraced. The loving heart\npermits all to share in its good; more, it participates in the\nadversities of all men, regarding them as its own. Where love is,\nperfect unity and communion obtain in every event, good or bad. It is\na most perfect bond.\n\n21. Where love is lacking, hearts are united and aims single in but\nfew relations; in most things there is disagreement. For instance:\nRobbers have a common bond, but it is no more than a common purpose in\ncommitting robbery and murder. Worldly friends are of the same mind so\nfar as concerns their own interests. Monks are united in relation to\ntheir order and their honor. Herod and Pilate agreed, but simply in\nregard to Christ. For the most part it is exceptional that one monk,\npriest or layman agrees with another. Their bond of union is weak;\nthey are as chaff bound with straw.\n\n\"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also ye\nwere called.\"\n\n22. There is much to threaten the sundering of love's bond. The devil\nnever sleeps, but continually stirs up discord and unrest. Paul does\nnot deny that the bond is assailed. But he exhorts us to resist,\nremembering that love must be exercised by opposition. He admonishes\nus to let the peace of Christ have dominion in our hearts. The thought\nof the verse is: Though the peace of the world and the flesh abides\nnot, though you must witness the forces of discord and disruption,\nnevertheless let your hearts have peace in Christ.\n\nWe spoke of the peace of God in the epistle selection for the Fourth\nSunday in Advent--Philippians 4, 7. This is the peace whereunto the\nGospel calls; not the peace of the world, the flesh or the devil, but\nthe peace that passeth all understanding, of which Paul tells us. We\nare to hold the peace of God, not only when all is well, but when sin,\ndeath, the flesh, the world and all calamities rage.\n\n\"And be ye thankful.\"\n\n23. \"Thankfulness\" here may be taken in either of two senses: First,\nthankfulness toward God, Paul's thought being: Let the remembrance of\nall God has done for you move you to gratitude for his grace and\nmercy, a gratitude to which shall succeed love and peace. Secondly, we\nmay understand thankfulness toward men--gratitude for all the benefits\nreceived from our fellows. The apostle elsewhere (2 Tim 3, 2) speaks\nof there being, in the last days, among other vices, that of\n\"unthankfulness\" of men toward each other. Let everyone make choice\nfor himself of the two applications. It is my opinion, since Paul\nlater takes up the subject of gratitude to God, and since he is here\nhandling that of love to our neighbor--it is my opinion he has\nreference here to gratitude to our fellowmen. This, I think, is his\nmeaning.\n\nMan is glad to have love shown him; he is quite willing to receive\ngood from others and to be dealt with according to the Gospel. At the\nsame time, he is not disposed to manifest love to his fellows: favors\nshown him are lost upon his ingratitude. Though love is not defeated\nby ungratefulness--for it bears all things (1 Cor 13, 7)--yet\nunthankfulness produces weariness and aversion; and it is a base,\nunjust and shameful thing for one who continually lends assistance not\nto be served in return.\n\n24. Paul says on this topic (Gal 6, 6), \"Let him that is taught in the\nWord communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.\" And he\ndeclares (1 Tim 5, 17) that they who labor in the Word and doctrine\nare worthy of double honor. In the ninth chapter of First Corinthians\nhe speaks at length on how teachers are entitled to support, saying\nthe mouth of the threshing ox should not be muzzled; that would be\ngross ingratitude. Of such unthankfulness he here hints. It is true\ntoday, and ever has been, that preachers of the Word of God must in\ngeneral seek their own bread, and receive ingratitude as their reward\nfor the wonderful blessings they confer. Were it their part to\ncelebrate masses and indulgences, gratitude would be forthcoming;\ngreat would be the gifts and service rendered them as expression of\nthankfulness. But just as ungratefully were the Levites treated under\nthe old Law, in contrast with the favor shown the priests of idols and\ngroves.\n\n\"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching\nand admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,\nsinging with grace in your hearts unto God.\"\n\n25. This verse appropriately follows the injunction to be thankful.\nPaul would say: Be careful to honor teachers and preachers, being\ngrateful that they handle the Word and may richly impart it to you. I\ndo not imagine Paul refers to the giving of the Word of God from\nheaven, for it is not within man's power to so give it; God alone can\ncommit it to us. So he has done and continues to do. On every occasion\nwhen he permits the Gospel to be preached, he showers the message upon\nus abundantly, withholding no essential knowledge. But, after it is\ngiven, we ought to be thankful and to faithfully read and hear it,\nsing and speak it, and meditate upon it day and night. And it should\nbe our part to secure teachers enough to minister it to us liberally\nand continuously. This is what is meant by letting the Word of God\ndwell among us richly.\n\n26. Satiated, indolent spirits soon grow tired and dismiss their\npastors to go wherever they wish. The latter are forced to seek a\nliving by other work, and thus God's Word is neglected and becomes\nrare and thinly sown in the land. Nehemiah (ch. 13, 10) complains that\nthe Levites, because of lack of support, were forced to leave their\nworship and temple and flee to the fields or start false worship and\nfables to mislead the people. They then received enough to exist--they\nbecame wealthy.\n\nIt has come about in the Christian Church that as often as the support\nof godly pastors and teachers has grown to be a burden, as Augustine\nlaments has been the case, these have been either forced to neglect\nthe Word to labor for their own support, or forced to invent that\nwretched, accursed worship now prevalent throughout the world and\nwhereby the preachers have attained lordly position. With the revival\nof the Gospel the financial difficulty mentioned is recurring, and it\nwill continue to recur. One hundred dollars cannot now be raised for\nthe support of a good schoolmaster or preacher where formerly a\nthousand dollars--yes, incomputible sums--were contributed toward\nchurches, institutions, masses, vigils and the like. Once more God\npunishes ingratitude by permitting his preachers to withdraw wholly\nfrom the ministry and to engage in their own support, or by sending\nupon the people even greater delusions than ever, which defraud them\nof wealth and destroy body and soul. For they refuse to let the Word\nof God dwell among them richly. Paul adds the modifying phrase,\n\n\"In all wisdom.\"\n\n27. Were we to have the Word of God so richly as to ring in every\nstreet corner, to be sung everywhere by all children--as they designed\nwho into the pulpits and the lessons introduced canonical prayers and\nsinging and reading--what would all this profit without an\nunderstanding mind--without wisdom? For the Word of God was given to\nmake us wise. It was intended that we should understand it; that it\nshould be preached and sung intelligibly. And they who minister it,\nwho sing and speak it, ought to be wise, understanding everything\npertaining to the salvation of the soul and the honor of God. That is\nwhat it means to have the Word of God dwell among us in all wisdom.\nHere Paul briefly overthrows the vociferous practices of the churches\nand monasteries where so much preaching and reading obtain while at\nthe same time the Gospel is not understood. He seems to have foreseen\nthe coming time when the Word of God should freely prevail, but with\nno resulting wisdom; the time when men should daily increase in\nignorance and fanaticism until they should become mere dolts, so\ncompletely void of wisdom as to call vociferation and boasting divine\nworship, and to regard that preaching the salvation of souls.\n\n28. What it is to teach and to admonish has been frequently explained.\nHere Paul makes the duty of instruction common to all\nChristians--\"teaching and admonishing one another.\" That is, aside\nfrom the regular office of preaching, each is to teach himself and\nothers, thus making everyday use of the Word of God, publicly and\nprivately, generally and specially.\n\n29. As I see it, the apostle's distinction of the three words--psalms,\nhymns and spiritual songs--is this: \"psalms\" properly indicates those\nproductions of David and others constituting the Book of Psalms;\n\"hymns\" refers to the songs of the prophets occasionally mentioned in\nthe Scriptures--songs of Moses, Deborah, Solomon, Isaiah, Daniel,\nHabakkuk, with the Magnificat, the Benediction, and the like, called\n\"Canticles\"; \"spiritual songs\" are those not written in the Scriptures\nbut of daily origin with men. Paul calls these latter \"spiritual\" to a\ngreater degree than psalms and hymns, though he recognizes those as\nthemselves spiritual. He forbids worldly, sensual and unbecoming\nsongs, desiring us to sing of spiritual things. It is then that our\nsongs are calculated to benefit and instruct, as he says.\n\n30. But what is the significance of Paul's phrase \"with grace\"? I\noffer the explanation that he refers to the grace of God and means\nthat the singing of spiritual songs is to be voluntary, uncompelled,\nspontaneous, rendered with cheerfulness and prompted by love; not\nextorted by authority and law, as is the singing in our churches\ntoday. No one sings, preaches or prays from a recognition of mercy and\ngrace received. The motive is a hope for gain, or a fear of\npunishment, injury and shame; or again, the holiest individuals bind\nthemselves to obedience, or are driven to it, for the sake of winning\nheaven, and not at all to further the knowledge of the Word of\nGod--the understanding of it richly and in all wisdom, as Paul desires\nit to be understood. I imagine Paul has in mind the charm of music and\nthe beauty of poetry incident to song. He says in Ephesians 4, 29:\n\"Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good\nfor edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that\nhear.\" Likewise should songs be calculated to bring grace and favor to\nthem who hear. Foul, unchaste and superfluous words have no place\ntherein, nor have any inappropriate elements, elements void of\nsignificance and without virtue and life. Hymns are to be rich in\nmeaning, to be pleasing and sweet, and thus productive of enjoyment\nfor all hearers. The singing of such songs is very properly called in\nHebrew singing \"with grace,\" as Paul has it. Of this character of\nsongs are the psalms and hymns of the Scriptures; they are good\nthoughts presented in pleasing words. Some songs, though expressed in\ncharming words, are worldly and carnal; while others presenting good\nthoughts are at the same time expressed in words inappropriate,\nunattractive and devoid of grace.\n\n\"Singing with grace in your hearts unto God.\"\n\n31. Paul does not enjoin silence of the lips. He would have words of\nthe mouth proceed from the heart sincerely and fervently; not\nhypocritically, as Isaiah mentions (ch. 29, 13), saying: \"This people\ndraw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor\nme, but have removed their heart far from me.\" Paul would have the\nWord of God to dwell among Christians generally, and richly to be\nspoken, sung and meditated upon everywhere; and that understandingly\nand productive of spiritual fruit, the Word being universally prized.\nHe would that men thus sing unto the Lord heartfelt praise and thanks.\nHe says let the Word \"dwell\" among you. Not merely lodge as a guest\nfor a night or two, but abide with you forever. He is constantly\napprehensive of human doctrines.\n\n\"And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the\nLord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.\"\n\n32. The works of Christians are not circumscribed by name, time nor\nplace. Whatever Christians do is good; whenever done it is timely;\nwherever wrought it is appropriately. So Paul names no work. He makes\nno distinction, but concludes all works good, whether it be eating or\ndrinking, speaking or keeping silence, waking or sleeping, going or\nstaying, being idle or otherwise. All acts are eminently worthy\nbecause done in the name of the Lord Jesus. Such is Paul's teaching\nhere. And our works are wrought in the name of the Lord Jesus when we\nby faith hold fast the fact that Christ is in us and we in him in the\nsense that we no longer labor but he lives and works in us. Paul says\n(Gal 2, 20), \"It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.\"\nBut when we do a work as of ourselves, then it is wrought in our own\nname and there is nothing good about it.\n\n33. The expression \"in the name of God,\" or \"Go in the name of Jesus,\"\nis frequently uttered falsely and in cheer hypocrisy. The saying is,\n\"All misfortunes rise in the name of God.\" For teachers of false\ndoctrines habitually offer their commodities in the name of God. They\neven come in the name of Christ, as he himself foretells. Mt 24, 24.\nTo sincerely and earnestly speak and work in Jesus' name, necessarily\nthe heart must accord with the utterances of the mouth. As the lips\ndeclare in the name of God, so must the heart confidently, with firm\nfaith, hold that God directs and performs the work. Peter teaches the\nsame (1 Pet 4, 11): \"If any man ministereth [perform anything],\nministering as of the strength which God supplieth.\" Then will the\nventure prosper. No Christian should undertake to do any deed in his\nown ability and directed by his own judgment. Rather let him be\nassured that God works with and through him. Paul says (1 Cor 9, 26):\n\"I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating\nthe air.\"\n\n34. Such an attitude will result in praise and thanks to God as the\none to whom are due all honor and praise for every good thing. So Paul\nteaches and also Peter. Immediately after declaring that we are to\nwork according to the ability which God gives, Peter adds \"that in all\nthings God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.\" But he who\nundertakes anything in his own ability, however he may glorify God\nwith his lips, lies and deceives, like the hypocrite in the Gospel.\nThankfulness, therefore, is the only duty we can perform unto God; and\nthis is not to be rendered of ourselves, but through our Mediator,\nJesus. Without him none can come to the Father, none can be accepted.\nOf this fact we have often spoken.\n\n\n\n\n_Third Sunday Before Lent_\n\nText: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5.\n\n24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth\nthe prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that\nstriveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they\ndo it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I\ntherefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the\nair: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any\nmeans, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be\nrejected. 1 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our\nfathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2\nand were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and\ndid all eat the same spiritual food; 4 and did all drink the same\nspiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed\nthem: and the rock was Christ. 5 Howbeit with most of them God was not\nwell pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.\n\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN RACE FOR THE PRIZE.\n\n1. This lesson is a part of the long four-chapter instruction Paul\ngives the Corinthians. Therein he teaches them how to deal with those\nweak in the faith, and warns rash, presumptuous Christians to take\nheed lest they fall, however they may stand at the present. He\npresents a forcible simile in the running of the race, or the strife\nfor the prize. Many run without obtaining the object of their pursuit.\nBut we should not vainly run. To faithfully follow Christ does not\nmean simply to run. That will not suffice. We must run to the purpose.\nTo believe, to be running in Christ's course, is not sufficient; we\nmust lay hold on eternal life. Christ says (Mt 24, 13), \"But he that\nendureth to the end, the same shall be saved.\" And Paul (1 Cor 10,\n12), \"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he\nfall.\"\n\n2. Now, running is hindered in two ways; for one, by indolence. When\nfaith is not strenuously exercised, when we are indolent in good\nworks, our progress is hindered, so that the prize is not attained.\nBut to such hindrance I do not think Paul here refers. He is not\nalluding to those who indolently run, but to them who run in vain\nbecause missing their object; individuals, for instance, who pursue\ntheir aim at full speed, but, deluded by a phantom, miss their aim and\nrush to ruin or run up against fearful obstacles. Hence Paul enjoins\nmen to run successfully while in the race, that they may seize the\nprize and not lose it by default. In consequence the race is hindered\nwhen a false goal is set up or the true one removed. The apostle says\n(Col 2, 18), \"Let no man rob you of your prize.\" It is true, however,\nthat an indolent, negligent life will eventually bring about loss of\nthe prize. While men sleep, the enemy very soon sows tares among the\nwheat.\n\n3. The goal is removed when the Word of God is falsified and creations\nof the human mind are preached under the name of God's Word. And these\nthings readily come about when we are not careful to keep the unity of\nthe Spirit, when each follows his own ideas and yields to no other,\nbecause he prefers his own conceit.\n\nSuch must be the course of events where love is lacking. The strong\nand the learned desire to be looked upon as peculiarly commendable,\nwhile the weak in the faith are despised. Thus the devil has abundant\nopportunity to sow tares. Paul calls love the unity of the Spirit, and\nadmonishes (Eph 4, 3) that we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit\nin the bond of peace. In Second Thessalonians 2, 10 he proclaims the\ncoming of Antichrist \"because they received not the love of the\ntruth\"; that is, true love.\n\n\"And every man that striveth in the games [that striveth for the\nmastery].\"\n\n4. Were he who competes in a race to attempt other things or to make a\nsuccess of other matters at the same time, he would not gain much;\nrather he would soon be defeated, lose the race and everything. If he\nwould truly strive, he must attend to no other thing. All else must be\nneglected and attention centered upon the contest alone. Even then the\nwinner must have fortune's favor; for they who neglect all to run do\nnot all gain the prize.\n\nLikewise in the Christian contest it is necessary, and in an even\nhigher degree, to renounce everything and to devote oneself only to\nthe contest. He who would in addition seek his own glory and profit,\nwho would find in the Word and Spirit of God occasion for his own\npraise and advantage after the manner of the dissenters and\nschismatics--what can such a one expect to win? He is wholly entangled\nin temporal glory and gain; bound hand and foot, a complete captive.\nThe race he runs is the mere dream race of one lying upon his couch an\nindolent captive.\n\n\"I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating\nthe air.\"\n\n5. Paul here points to himself as exemplar and hints at the cause of\nfailure, viz., lapse from love and the use of the divine word in a\nwilful, ambitious and covetous spirit, whereas the faith which worketh\nby love is lacking. Under such conditions, false and indolent\nChristians run indeed a merry race; yet God's Word and ways in which\nthey are so alert and speedy are merely a show, because they make them\nsubserve their own interests and glory. They fail, however, to see\nthat they race uncertainly and beat the air. They never make a serious\nattempt, nor do they ever hit the mark. While it is theirs to mortify\nambition, to restrain their self-will and to enlist in the service of\ntheir neighbors, they do none of these things. On the contrary, they\neven do many things to strengthen their ambition and self-will, and\nthen they swear by a thousand oaths that they are seeking not their\nown honor but the honor of God, their neighbor's welfare and not their\nown.\n\nPeter says (2 Pet 1, 9-10) this class are blind and cannot see afar\nand have forgotten they were purged from their old sins, because they\nfail to make their calling sure by good works. Therefore, it comes\nabout that, as Paul says, they run uncertainly, beating the air. Their\nhearts are unstable and wavering before God, and they are changeable\nand fickle in all their ways, James 1, 8. Since they are aimless and\ninconstant at heart, this will appear likewise as inconstancy in\nregard to works and doctrines. They undertake now this and now that;\nthey cannot be quiet nor refrain from factional strife. Thus they miss\ntheir aim or else remove the goal, and cannot but deviate from the\ntrue and common path.\n\n\"But I buffet [keep under] my body, and bring it into bondage\n[subjection].\"\n\n6. The apostle's thought is the same as in his statement above, \"Every\nman that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things.\"\nBy \"keeping under the body\" Paul means, not only subduing the carnal\nlusts, but every temporal object as well, in so far as it appeals to\nbodily desire--love of honor, fame, wealth and the like. He who gives\nlicense to these things instead of subduing them will preach to his\nown condemnation, however correct his preaching be. Such do not permit\nthe truth to be presented; this is true particularly of temporal\nhonor. These words of the apostle, then, are a fine thrust at\nambitious and self-centered preachers and Christians. Not only do they\nrun in vain and fight to no purpose; they become actual castaways with\nonly the semblance--the color--of Christianity.\n\n\nEXAMPLES FROM SCRIPTURE.\n\n\"For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were\nall under the cloud.\"\n\n7. Paul cites a terrible example from Scripture to prove that not all\nobtain the prize who run. There were about six hundred thousand of\nthem, all of whom walked in the way of God and enjoyed his word and\nhis confidence so completely as to be protected under the cloud and\nmiraculously to pass through the sea; yet among the vast number who\nran at that time only two, Joshua and Caleb, obtained the prize. They\nalone of all that multitude reached the promised land.\n\nLater on in the chapter (verses 11-12) Paul explains this fact,\nsaying: \"Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and\nthey were written for our admonition ... wherefore let him that\nthinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.\" The design of these\ndealings of God with Israel is to terrify the pride, false wisdom and\nself-will; to deter men from despising their fellows and from seeking\nto make the Word of God minister to their own honor or profit in\npreference to the honor and profit of others. The intent is to have\neach individual put himself on an equality with others, each to bear\nwith his fellow, the weak enduring the strong, and so on, as enjoined\nin the four chapters.\n\n8. How many great and noble men may have been among the six hundred\nthousand, men to whom we would have been unworthy to hand a cup of\nwater! They included the twelve princes of the twelve tribes, one of\nwhom, Nahshon, Matthew (ch. 1, 4) numbers in the holy lineage of\nChrist. There were also the seventy elders who shared in the spirit of\nMoses, Eldad and Medad in particular (Num 11, 27), and all the other\ngreat men aside from the faction of Korah. All these, mark you, strove\nin the race. They did and suffered much. They witnessed many miracles\nof God. They aided in erecting a grand tabernacle and in instituting\ndivine worship. They were full of good works. Yet they failed, and\ndied in the wilderness. Who is so daring and haughty he will not be\nrestrained and humbled by so remarkable an example of divine judgment?\nWell may it be said, \"Let him that ... standeth take heed lest he\nfall.\"\n\n9. Well, the example of Israel is one readily understood. God grant we\nmay heed it! Let us examine the apostle's text yet further--his\nmention of baptism and spiritual food, using Christian terms and\nplacing the fathers upon the same plane with us Christians, as if they\nalso had had Baptism and the Holy Supper.\n\nHe would have us know, first, the oft-repeated fact that God from the\nbeginning led, redeemed and saved his saints by two\ninstrumentalities--by his own word and external signs. Adam was saved\nby the word of promise (Gen 3, 15): The seed of the woman shall bruise\nthe serpent's head; that is, Christ shall come to conquer sin, death\nand Satan for us. To this promise God added the sign of sacrifice,\nsacrifice kindled with fire from heaven, as in Abel's case (Gen 4, 4),\nand in other cases mentioned in the Scriptures. The word of promise\nwas Adam's Gospel until the time of Noah and of Abraham. In this\npromise all the saints down to Abraham believed, and were redeemed; as\nwe are redeemed by the word of the Gospel which we believe. The fire\nfrom heaven served them as a sign, as baptism does us, which is added\nto the word of God.\n\n10. Such signs were repeated again and again at various times, the\nlast sign being given by Christ in his own person--the Gospel with\nbaptism, granted to all nations. For instance, God gave Noah the\npromise that he should survive the flood, and granted him a sign in\nthe ship, or ark, he built. And by faith in the promise and sign Noah\nwas justified and saved, with his family. Afterward God gave him\nanother promise, and for a sign the rainbow. Again, he gave Abraham a\npromise, with the sign of circumcision. Circumcision was Abraham's\nbaptism, just as the ark and the flood were that of Noah. So also our\nbaptism is to us circumcision, ark and flood, according to Peter's\nexplanation. 1 Pet 3, 21. Everywhere we meet the Word and the Sign of\nGod, in which we must believe in order to be saved through faith from\nsin and death.\n\n11. Thus the children of Israel had God's word that they should\ninherit the promised land. In addition to that word they were given\nmany signs, in particular those Paul here names--the sea, the cloud,\nthe bread from heaven, the water from the rock. These he calls their\nbaptism; just as our baptism might be called our sea and cloud. Faith\nand the Spirit are the same everywhere, though the signs and the words\nvary. Signs and words indeed change from time to time, but faith in\nthe one and same God continues. Through various signs and revelations,\nGod at different times bestows the same faith and the same Spirit,\neffecting through these in all saints remission of sins, redemption\nfrom death, and salvation, whether they lived in the beginning or at\nthe end of time, or while time progressed.\n\n12. Such is Paul's meaning when he says the fathers did eat the same\nmeat, and drink the same drink as we. He, however, qualifies with the\nword \"spiritual.\" Externally and individually Israel had signs and\nrevelations different from ours; but the Spirit and their faith in\nChrist was identical with our own. Spiritual eating and drinking is\nsimply believing in God's Word and sign. Christ says (Jn 6, 56), \"He\nthat eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in\nhim.\" And in the preceding verse, \"My flesh is meat indeed, and my\nblood is drink indeed.\" That is, He that believeth in me shall live.\n\n\"For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them.\"\n\n13. In other words, they believed in the same Christ in whom we\nbelieve, though he was yet to come in the flesh; and the sign of their\nfaith was the material rock, from which they physically drank water,\njust as we in partaking of the material bread and wine at the altar\nspiritually eat and drink the true Christ. With the outward act of\neating and drinking we exercise inward faith. Had the Israelites not\npossessed the word of God and faith as they drank from the rock, the\nact of drinking would not have benefited their souls. Neither would it\nprofit us to receive bread and wine at the altar if we were without\nfaith. Indeed, had not the Word of God come first, the rock would not\nhave yielded water and command faith. Likewise, if God's Word did not\naccompany bread and wine, they would not be spiritual food nor\nexercise faith.\n\n14. So it is ever the same spiritual meat and drink which God embodies\nin his word and sign, whatever its material and external form may be.\nWere he to command me to lift up a mere straw, immediately the straw\nwould hold for me spiritual food and drink. Not because of any virtue\nin the straw, but because it is a revelation and sign of the divine\ntruth and presence. Again, if God's Word and his sign be lacking or\nunrecognized, the very presence of God himself has no effect. Christ\nsays of himself (Jn 6, 63), \"The flesh profiteth nothing.\" He makes\nthat statement because his hearers pay no heed to the words in which\nhe speaks of his flesh, though it is these which make his body the\ntrue meat, according to his declaration (v. 58), \"This is the bread\nwhich came down out of heaven.\" Therefore we are not to regard unduly,\nas blind reason does, the works, signs and miracles of God; rather we\nare to recognize his message therein. This is the act of faith.\n\n15. The apostle refers to a single type--the rock, saying: \"They drank\nof a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ.\" By\nthis statement he makes all the figures and signs granted to the\npeople of Israel by the Word of God refer to Christ; for where the\nWord of God is, there Christ is. All the words and promises of God are\nconcerning Christ. Christ himself refers the serpent of Moses to\nhimself, giving it a typical significance, Jn 3, 14. We may truly say\nthe Israelites looked upon the same serpent we behold, for they saw\nthe spiritual serpent that followed them, or Christ on the cross.\nTheir beholding was believing in the Word of God, with the serpent for\na sign; even as their spiritual drinking was believing in the Word of\nGod with the rock for a sign. Without the Word of God, the serpent\ncould have profited them nothing; nor could brazen serpents\ninnumerable, had the Israelites gazed upon them forever. Likewise the\nrock would have profited them nothing without the word of God; they\nmight have crushed to powder all the rocks of the world or drank from\nthem to no purpose.\n\n16. According to the general principle here laid down by Paul, by\nusing the rock as illustration, we may say the Israelites partook of\nthe same bread of heaven whereof we eat; and they ate of the spiritual\nbread of heaven which followed them--Christ. With them, eating was\nbelieving in the Word of God, while they had for their sign the bread\nfrom heaven whereof they physically partook. Had not this Word\naccompanied the bread, it would have been simply material food,\nincapable of profiting the soul or calling forth faith. Christ says\n(Jn 6, 32), \"It was not Moses that gave you the bread out of heaven;\nbut my Father giveth you the true bread out of heaven.\" And (verse\n58), \"Not as the fathers ate [manna], and died.\" Even Moses says (Deut\n8, 3), \"And fed thee with manna ... that he might make thee know that\nman doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out\nof the mouth of Jehovah.\"\n\nIn other words, \"In the material manna you must not merely see the\nwork--the act of satisfying the appetite--but much rather the word of\npromise bringing you the bread of heaven; for by that word you live\nforever if you have faith.\"\n\n17. We may say the same concerning the sea and the cloud. The children\nof Israel walked under the same cloud that shadows us; that means,\nthey walked under the spiritual cloud that followed them--Christ.\nOtherwise expressed, walking under the cloud was simply believing in\nthe word of God, the word they had in their hearts, which told them to\nfollow the cloud. Without that word they would have been unable to\nbelieve or to follow; indeed, with the word lacking, the cloud would\nnever have appeared. Therefore, the cloud was called the glory of the\nLord whose appearance had been promised.\n\nSo we see how we must in all things have regard to the word of God. To\nit faith must attach itself. Without it, either there are no signs and\nworks of God, or else, existing, and regarded with the physical eyes\nonly, without reference to the Word, they cause one to open his mouth\nin wonderment for a while like everything else which is new, but they\ndo not profit the soul nor do they appeal to faith.\n\n18. Some take the words \"which followed them\" to mean that the\nspiritual rock accompanied the children of Israel, companioning with\nthem--\"comitante petra,\" not \"petra consequente,\" Christ being\nspiritually present in the word and by faith. This view they endeavor\nto base upon the Greek text. I have rendered it: \"the rock following.\"\nThe point is not worth contention. Let each understand it as he may.\nBoth interpretations given are correct. I hold to what I have offered\nbecause all the circumstances of the incident, and earlier words of\nGod, pointed to a future Christ, a Christ who should follow, in whom\nthey should all believe. Thus Abraham saw behind him the ram in the\nthicket and took and sacrificed him; that is, he believed in the\nChrist who afterward should come and be sacrificed.\n\n19. Again, some say the common noun in the clause \"and the rock was\nChrist\" means the material rock; and since Christ cannot be material\nrock they explain the inconsistency by saying the rock signifies\nChrist. They here make the word \"was\" equivalent to \"signifies.\" The\nsame reasoning they apply to certain words of Christ; for instance,\nthey say where Christ, referring to the Holy Supper (Mt 26, 26),\ncommands, \"Take, eat; this is my body\"--they say the meaning is, \"This\nbread signifies, but is not truly, my body.\" They would thereby deny\nthat the bread is the body of Christ. In the same manner do they deal\nwith the text (Jn 15, 1) \"I am the true vine,\" in making it \"I am\nsignified by the vine.\" Beware of such reasoners. Their own malice has\nled them to such perverting of Scripture. Paul here expressly\ndistinguishes between material and spiritual rocks, saying: \"They\ndrank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was\nChrist.\" He does not say the material rock was Christ, but the\nspiritual rock. The material rock was not spiritual, and did not\nfollow or go with them.\n\n20. The explanations and distortions of such false reasoners are not\nneeded here. The words are true as they read; they are to be\nunderstood in substance and not figuratively. So in John 15, 1,\nChrist's reference is not to a material but a spiritual vine. How\nwould this read, \"I am signified by a spiritual vine\"? Christ is\nspeaking of that which exists, and must so be understood--\"I am\"; here\nis a true spiritual vine. Similar is John 6, 55, \"My flesh is meat\nindeed.\" The thought is not, \"My flesh signifies, or is signified by,\ntrue meat\"; spiritual meat is spoken of and the meaning is, \"My flesh\nis substantially a food; not for the stomach, physically, but for the\nsoul, spiritually.\" Neither must you permit the words \"This is my\nbody\" to be perverted to mean that the body is but signified by the\nbread, as some pretend; you must accept the words precisely as they\nmean--\"This bread is essentially, by a real presence, my body.\" The\nforcing of Scripture to meet one's own opinions cannot be tolerated. A\nclear text proving that the infinitive \"to be\" is equivalent to\n\"signify\" would be needed; and, even though this might be proven in a\nfew instances, it would not suffice. It would still have to be\nindisputably shown true in the place in question. This can never be\ndone. Now, the proposition being impossible, we must surrender to the\nWord of God and accept it as it stands.\n\n21. Christ has been typified by various signs and objects in the Old\nTestament, and the rock is one of them. Note first, the material rock\nspoken of had place independently of man's labor and far from man's\ndomain, in the wilderness, in desolate solitude. So Christ is a truly\ninsignificant object in the world, disregarded, unnoticed; nor is he\nindebted to human labor.\n\n22. Further, water flowing from the rock is contrary to nature; it is\npurely miraculous. The water typifies the quickening spirit of God,\nwho proceeds from the condemned, crucified and dead Christ. Thus life\nis drawn from death, and this by the power of God. Christ's death is\nour life, and if we would live we must die with him.\n\n23. Moses strikes the rock at the command of God and points to it,\nthus prefiguring the ministerial office which by word of mouth strikes\nfrom the spiritual rock the Spirit. For God will give his Spirit to\nnone without the instrumentality of the Word and the ministerial\noffice instituted by him for this purpose, adding the command that\nnothing be preached but Christ. Had not Moses obeyed the command of\nGod to smite the rock with his rod, no water would ever have flowed\ntherefrom. His rod represents rod of the mouth whereof Isaiah speaks\n(ch. 11, 4): \"He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and\nwith the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.\" \"A sceptre of\nequity is the sceptre of thy kingdom.\" Ps 45, 6.\n\n\n\n\n_Second Sunday Before Lent_\n\nText: Second Corinthians 11, 19-33; 12, 1-9.\n\n19 For ye bear with the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves. 20 For\nye bear with a man, if he bringeth you into bondage, if he devoureth\nyou, if he taketh you captive, if he exalteth himself, if he smiteth\nyou on the face. 21 I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had\nbeen weak. Yet whereinsoever any is bold (I speak in foolishness), I\nam bold also. 22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am\nI. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23 Are they ministers of\nChrist? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more\nabundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in\ndeaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save\none. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I\nsuffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; 26 in\njourneyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in\nperils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in\nthe city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils\namong false brethren; 27 in labor and travail, in watchings often, in\nhunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28\nBesides those things that are without, there is that which presseth\nupon me daily, anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am\nnot weak? who is caused to stumble, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs\nglory, I will glory of the things that concern my weakness. 31 The God\nand Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed for evermore knoweth\nthat I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king\nguarded the city of the Damascenes in order to take me: 33 and through\na window was I let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his\nhands.\n\n1 I must needs glory, though it is not expedient; but I will come to\nvisions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ,\nfourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of\nthe body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up even to the\nthird heaven. 3 And I know such a man (whether in the body, or apart\nfrom the body, I know not; God knoweth), 4 how that he was caught up\ninto Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for\na man to utter. 5 On behalf of such a one will I glory: but on mine\nown behalf I will not glory, save in my weakness. 6 For if I should\ndesire to glory, I shall not be foolish; for I shall speak the truth:\nbut I forbear, lest any man should account of me above that which he\nseeth me to be, or heareth from me. 7 And by reason of the exceeding\ngreatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted overmuch,\nthere was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to\nbuffet me, that I should not be exalted overmuch. 8 Concerning this\nthing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And\nhe hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is\nmade perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in\nmy weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.\n\n\nPAUL'S GLORY IN HIS LABOR AND SUFFERING.\n\n1. They who praise themselves are fools according to the views and\nspeech of the world. The saying is, \"Self-praise is unsavory.\" It is\nforbidden by Solomon in Proverbs 27, 2: \"Let another man praise thee,\nand not thine own mouth.\" And Christ says (Jn 8, 54), \"If I glorify\nmyself, my glory is nothing.\" Paul acknowledges that he had to become\na fool, something for which he had no desire, by reason of the\nnecessity laid upon him to praise himself. The false apostles, as\nfalse spirits habitually do, delivered great, fine, splendid speeches\nto the multitude, in their vainglorious attempt to raise themselves\nabove Paul, thereby to make contemptible and insignificant that\napostle and his doctrine.\n\n2. Paul was little concerned that he personally should be lightly\nesteemed and the false apostles highly honored, but he could not bear\nto have the Gospel perish in that way and his Corinthian converts\nseduced. Therefore he exerts himself to the utmost, at the risk of\nbecoming a fool by his boasting. But he, in his strong spiritual\nwisdom, glories in a masterly manner, and skilfully puts to shame the\nboasts of the false apostles.\n\nFirst, he shows them he can glory in the very things wherein they\nglory, and in even more. At the same time he declares himself a fool\nfor glorying. He might have said: \"Foolish, indeed, are they, and\nboorish creatures, who glory in themselves. They should feel shame to\nthe very depth of their heart. No true, sane man boasts of what he is.\nThe wicked and the frivolous do that.\" But the apostle's attack is not\nquite so severe and harsh. He addresses them civilly and delicately in\nthat he makes himself appear a fool, as if to say: \"Look! how becoming\nself-praise is in myself, although I have grounds for my glorying. But\nhow much more disgraceful for you to boast when perhaps none of your\nclaims are true.\" So Paul wears the foolscap, that those coarse fools\nmight have a mirror in which to behold their real selves. This is\nwisely making foolishness minister to the good of the neighbor and to\nthe honor of the Gospel. To the just, even folly is wisdom, just as\nall things are pure and holy unto him.\n\n3. Second, Paul deals the false apostles a stout blow when he shows\nthem to be ignorant of the grounds in which a true Christian seeks his\nglory. For, as he teaches them, a Christian glories in the things\nwhereof other men are ashamed--in the cross and in his sufferings.\nThis is the true art of glorying. To this he refers when he says (Gal\n6, 14), \"Far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord\nJesus Christ.\" But the false apostles are careful to avoid glorying\nthus; for they flee with alacrity from reproach and affliction, rather\nseeking a life of ease and honor. They ever would have prominence over\ntheir fellows, be superior to and unlike others--certain indication\nthat they lack the right spirit and are not of God. Christ testifies\n(Jn 5, 44), \"How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and\nthe glory that cometh from the only God ye seek not?\"\n\n4. The main point of this lesson is that in a preacher or a teacher no\nvice is more injurious and venomous than vainglory. It is true,\nhowever, that avarice also is an evil characteristic of false\nteachers, being found hand in hand with vainglory. For the sake of\nprofit, for the purpose of gain, the false teachers aspire to\nprominence, to honor and position. With them, nothing but current coin\nwill pass, and what does not pay dividend is unprofitable. Any other\nvice is more endurable in a preacher than these two, though none is\ncompatible with goodness, blamelessness and perfection being required\nin the ministry according to Paul, Titus 1, 7. This is not surprising,\nfor the two vices under consideration are essentially and directly\nopposed to the nature of the ministry. The ministry is ordained to\nhave as its aim the glory of God and its promotion. Psalm 19, 1\naffirms, \"The heavens declare the glory of God.\" And ministers must,\nfor God's glory, suffer reproach and shame. Jeremiah complains (ch.\n20, 8), \"The word of Jehovah is made a reproach unto me, and a\nderision, all the day.\" The world will not endure the Word. For him\nwho in preaching seeks his own honor, it is impossible to remain in\nthe right path and preach the pure Gospel. Consequently he avoids\nstriving for God's honor; he must preach what pleases the people, what\nbrings honor to himself and magnifies his skill and wisdom.\n\n5. Avarice, too, is, according to its very nature, opposed to the\ninterests of the ministry. Just as the ministry is to be devoted to\nGod's honor at the expense of our own, so is it to be devoted to the\ninterests of our neighbor and not to our own. Otherwise it is an\ninjury rather than a benefit. With the false teacher seeking only his\nown good, it is impossible for him to preach the truth. He is\ncompelled to speak what is pleasing to men in order to gratify his\nappetites. Therefore Paul (Rom 16, 18) says of such preachers that\nthey serve their own bellies. And in many places the Scriptures\nreprove avarice. Let him, then, who would be a preacher guard\nvigilantly against vainglory and avarice. But, should he feel himself\nin the clutch of these sins, let him avoid the ministry. For under\nsuch conditions he will accomplish no good; he will only dishonor God,\nseduce souls and be a thief and robber in the acquisition of property.\nWith this explanation, the lesson is now easily understood, but we\nwill consider a few points.\n\n\"For ye bear with the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves.\"\n\n6. Paul commends the Corinthians for their patience and wisdom in six\npoints: as wise men, they cheerfully endure the foolish; they bear\nwith those who bring them into bondage and oppress them; with those\nwho devour them; with those who take from them [or take them captive];\nwith those who exalt themselves; with those who smite them in the\nface. But his commendation is meant to pave the way for his folly--to\nprepare them to suffer him the more readily. He would say, \"Since you\nsuffer so much from them who injure you--and you are wise in that--I\ntrust you will bear with me who have wrought you only good, when I act\nthe fool for a little; particularly when my object in it is your\ngood--to preserve the Gospel among you in opposition to the false\napostles.\" Note how tenderly and patiently he deals with the\nCorinthians when he might have severely reproved them for tolerating\nthe false apostles. He commends them as does a father a timid child,\nand yet, while commending them he censures both them and their false\nteachers. He handles them as tenderly as if he held a raw egg in his\nhand, in order not to distract or terrify them.\n\n7. Paul delivers a masterly stroke when with the same words he praises\nthe Corinthians and rebukes them and their false apostles. His\ncommendation of their patience is in reality reproof, blows and wounds\nfor the false teachers. He would say:\n\n\"I have preached the Gospel to you at my own expense and jeopardy. By\nmy labor have ye attained to its blessing. Ye have done nothing for me\nin return, and I have been no tax upon you. Now, upon my departure,\nothers come and exploit you, and seek honor and profit from my labor.\nThey would be your masters and I am to be ignored. They boast as if\nthe accomplishment were all theirs. Of these ye must be disciples and\npupils. Their preaching ye must accept, while my Gospel must become\nodious. My case is that of the bee who labors to make honey and then\nthe idle drones and the earthworms come and consume the sweet not of\ntheir making. In me is illustrated Christ's proverb (Jn 4, 37), 'one\nsoweth, and another reapeth.' Continually one enters into the fruits\nof another's labor. One must toil and incur danger, while another\nreaps the benefit in security.\n\n8. \"Ye can suffer these false apostles, though they be fools and teach\nonly foolishness. In this ye display wisdom and patience. But ye do\nnot so suffer me, who taught you true wisdom. Nor do ye permit me much\nenjoyment of my labor. Further, ye can permit them to make servants of\nyou, to be your lords and to order you to do their bidding. And ye\nobey. But I who have made myself your servant, I who have served you\nwithout profit to myself, that ye might be lords with Christ, must now\nbe ignored and all my labors be lost. They rule you at their pleasure,\nand their pleasure is all they consult. You suffer yourselves to be\ndevoured. That is, your property is consumed; for ye bestow it upon\nthem abundantly, as Psalm 14, 4 has it, 'Who eat up my people.' Upon\nsuch as these ye can shower goods and gifts, and can permit them to\ndevour you as they please. But I have never enjoyed aught of your\nproperty. All my service has been without recompense, that ye might\nbecome rich in Christ.\n\n\"Again, ye suffer the false teachers to take from you beyond your\nconsent; to exalt themselves above you, to esteem themselves better\nthan you and me, and to exercise their arrogance upon you. But ye deal\nnot so with me, who have sacrificed my own substance, and have taken\nfrom others, that I might bring the Gospel to you; who have not\nexalted myself above any, but have yielded to all and served them. The\nfalse apostles permit you to serve them; in fact, trample you beneath\ntheir feet. They even smite you in the face; that is, they reproach\nyou publicly, put you to shame, and abuse you with rude and insolent\nwords. They act as if ye were beasts of burden and they your real\nmasters. All this ye suffer. But my patience with you, my parental\ntenderness, past and present, is remembered no more. Paul is now\nrepresented as having wrought no good at Corinth.\"\n\n\nPAUL'S DESCRIPTION OF FALSE TEACHERS.\n\n9. Note the master hand wherewith Paul portrays the character of false\nteachers, showing how they betray their avarice and ambition. First,\nthey permit true teachers to lay the foundation and perform the labor;\nthen they come and desire to do the work over, to reap the honors and\nthe benefits. They bring about that the name and the work of the true\nteachers receive no regard and credit; what they themselves have\nbrought--that is the thing. They make the poor, simple-minded people\nto stare open-mouthed while they win them with flowery words and\nseduce them with fair speeches, as mentioned in Romans 16, 18. These\nare the idle drones that consume the honey they will not and cannot\nmake. That this was the condition of affairs at Corinth is very clear\nfrom this epistle--indeed, from both epistles. Paul continually refers\nto others having followed him and built upon the foundation he has\nlaid. Messengers of the devil, he terms them.\n\n10. And such false teachers have the good fortune that all their folly\nis tolerated, even though the people realize how these act the fool,\nand rather rudely at that. They have success with it all, and people\nbear with them. But no patience is to be exercised toward true\nteachers! Their words and their works are watched with the intent of\nentrapping them, as complained of in Psalm 17, 9 and elsewhere. When\nonly apparently a mote is found, it is exaggerated to a very great\nbeam. No toleration is granted. There is only judgment, condemnation\nand scorn. Hence the office of preaching is a grievous one. He who has\nnot for his sole motive the benefit of his neighbor and the glory of\nGod, cannot continue therein. The true teacher must labor, and permit\nothers to have the honor and profit of his efforts, while he receives\ninjury and derision for his reward. Here the saying holds true: \"To\nlove without guerdon, nor wearying of the burden.\" Only the Spirit of\nGod can inspire such love. To flesh and blood it is impossible. Paul\nhere scores the false prophets when he says, \"Ye suffer fools gladly\";\nin other words, \"I know the false preachers often act as fools, nor\ncan they help it, because their teaching is false; yet ye excuse\nthem.\"\n\n11. In the second place such teachers are disposed to bring the people\ninto downright bondage and to bind their conscience by forcing laws\nupon them and teaching work-righteousness. The effect is that fear\nimpels them to do what has been pounded into them, as if they were\nbond-slaves, while their teachers command fear and attention. But the\ntrue teachers, they who give us freedom of conscience and create us\nlords, we soon forget, even despise. The dominion of false teachers is\nwillingly tolerated and patiently endured; indeed, it is given high\nrepute. All those conditions are punishments sent by God upon them who\ndo not receive the Gospel with love and gratitude. Christ says (Jn 5,\n43): \"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another\nshall come in his own name, him ye shall receive.\" The Pope, with his\nspiritual office, became our lord, and we became his captives, through\nhis doctrine of human works. And our present-day schismatics pursue\nthe same object with their fanciful doctrine concerning their works.\n\n12. In the third place, false teachers flay their disciples to the\nbone, and cut them out of house and home, but even this is taken and\nendured. Such, I opine, has been our experience under the Papacy. But\ntrue preachers are even denied their bread. Yet this all perfectly\nsquares with justice! For, since men fail to give unto those from whom\nthey receive the Word of God, and permit the latter to serve them at\ntheir own expense, it is but fair they should give the more unto\npreachers of lies, whose instruction redounds to their injury. What is\nwithheld from Christ must be given in tenfold proportion to the devil.\nThey who refuse to give the servant of the truth a single thread, must\nbe oppressed by liars.\n\n13. Fourth, false apostles forcibly take more than is given them. They\nseize whatever and whenever they can, thus enhancing their insatiable\navarice. This, too, is excused in them. Thus, the great establishments\nof the Pope did not suffice for him; with various artifices, bulls,\nlaws and indulgences, he has brought under his power land and people\nand all they possess, exhausting the world by usury. And so it should\nbe, for this state of affairs was richly deserved by men for despising\nthe Gospel and its preachers.\n\n14. Fifth, these deceitful teachers, not satisfied with having\nacquired our property, must exalt themselves above us and lord it over\nus. Not only do they possess all property, but they must for that very\nreason become our superiors; must have precedence and receive honor.\nWe bow our knees before them, worship them and kiss their feet. And we\nsuffer it all, yes, with fearful reverence regard it just and right.\nAnd it is just and right, for why did we not honor the Gospel by\naccepting and preserving it?\n\n15. Sixth, our false apostles justly reward us by smiting us in the\nface. That is, they consider us inferior to dogs; they abuse us, and\ntreat us as foot-rags. I venture to say we became sensible of such\ntreatment when, under the Papacy, we were readily put in the van,\ncursed, condemned and delivered to the devil. We endured it all,\nsuffered most patiently, and yielded up property, honor, body and\nsoul. Fault in a sincere teacher, however, could by no means be\ntolerated. Very well, then; God is just, and it is his judgment that\nwe must honor the messengers of Satan a thousand times more than his\nown, and do and suffer everything.\n\n\"I speak by way of disparagement [speak as concerning reproach], as\nthough we had been weak.\"\n\n16. There are two ways of interpreting this sentence: First, as\nmeaning: \"I speak as one of the weak whose folly you must endure; for\nwhich I deserve reproach, since I ought to bear with you.\" From such\nmeaning I to this day have seen no cause to swerve. The other\ninterpretation is: \"I speak as one reproached--after the manner of the\nweak.\" Or, more fully expressed: \"I can speak in two ways of myself\nand my class: First, with honor, because of our strength in the sight\nof God and the spiritually-minded, worthy of honor, noble; not weak\nbut strong, able. But I will not at present employ this way, for we\nare now despised; we are not known as honorable. And all because of\nthe false prophets. I will, then, present myself in the other light,\nas I am regarded--despised, held in reproach and disrespect, weak and\nincapable. But even this condition shall be an occasion of glory for\nme; my reproach and weakness is more honorable than their honor, power\nand strength. What would my glory be should my actual strength inspire\nmy speech!\" \"Weakness,\" according to Paul's own later interpretation,\nimplies being regarded worthless, unfit, a failure. The apostle's\nmeaning, then, is: \"I, too, will be one of the boasting fools. You\nwill excuse it in me for I speak from the standpoint of my critics,\nthat of a man contemptible, foolish, incompetent. Before God, however,\nI feel that I am a quite different being.\"\n\n17. And recollect, Paul says, \"Because ye are wise, ye suffer fools\ngladly,\" implying that one fool cannot tolerate another. The saying\nis, \"Two fools in one house will not do.\" Reason and wisdom are\nrequired, to bear with another's infirmities and to excuse them.\n\n\"Yet whereinsoever any is bold.\"\n\n18. That is, in whatever the false apostles can boast, I can likewise\nglory. Here we are shown what is the ground of the false apostles'\nboasting: their outward respectability--being of Abraham's seed,\nchildren of Israel, Christ's preachers. Therein they think to far\nexcel the Corinthians, claiming their doctrine and works to be of\ngreater weight because they have Moses and the prophets for their\nteachers. But they failed to perceive that their boast is of mere\nexternals, that render no one righteous or better before God. The\nmajority of the Hebrews, of the Israelites, of the seed of Abraham,\nand of the preachers of Christ are lost. Names are of no consequence;\nthey only make a fine show and serve to seduce the simple-minded. Paul\nboasts of his origin and yet derides his boasting, calling it fool's\nwork. His object is to destroy the boasting of the false prophets,\nthat the people might not be deceived.\n\n19. Note how, even in Paul's time, great men erred concerning the true\nsense of the Gospel, and many noble preachers would have estimated\nChristian life by a merely external appearance and name. The true\nspiritual preachers must have been few. Should it be strange, then,\nthat in our time sincere preachers are not numerous, and that the\nmajority of ministers riot in what they themselves seem and do? It\ncannot and shall not be otherwise. The thievish drones, which are\nprone to riot, let them riot! We will resist to the utmost of our\npower, commending the matter to God, who doubtless will grant us\nsufficient honor and profit, both temporally and eternally, though we\nmust labor gratuitously, accepting injury and derision as our reward.\nOur adversaries will not long continue their persecutions, for, as\nPaul says just preceding our lesson, they will eventually receive\ntheir deserts.\n\n20. Again, Paul boasts of certain temporal afflictions wherein he\nexcels the false apostles, who suffer nothing, for the sake of either\nthe word or of souls, but only boast of name and person. Among the\nafflictions he mentions, he names having been a night and a day in the\ndeep. Some refer this allusion to the voyage of which Luke writes\n(Acts 27, 20-21), when for fourteen days Paul and his companions ate\nnothing and saw never a star, being day and night continually covered\nby the surges and waves of the sea. Others think Paul was, like Jonah,\npersonally sunk into the deep sea, though but for a day and a night.\nSuch is the clear meaning of the text. Yet others interpret it as\nhaving reference to a prison or dungeon, because the Greek text makes\nno mention of the sea--simply \"the deep.\"\n\n\"Who is weak, and I am not weak?\"\n\n21. Of external afflictions affecting not his own person, but\ndistressing others, Paul mentions two: he is weak if another is weak,\nand burns if another is offended. Thereby he plainly portrays the\nardor of his heart--how full of love he is; the defects and sorrows of\nothers pain him as his own. By \"weakness,\" I imagine, he means, not\nbodily infirmity, but weakness of faith. He refers to those who, young\nin the faith, have a tender and frail conscience, thereby betokening\nimmaturity and feebleness of faith. He says (Rom 14, 2), \"He that is\nweak eateth herbs\"; and in First Corinthians 8, 12, that we sin\nagainst Christ if we wound a weak conscience. These weak ones Paul\ndoes not reject. He receives them and conducts himself as if he, too,\nwere weak. He asserts (1 Cor 9, 22), \"To the weak I became weak, that\nI might gain the weak.\"\n\n22. This interpretation of the sentence is borne out in his allusion\nto \"that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches.\"\nPaul would say: \"I exert myself, I have a continual care, I urge and\nadmonish constantly, that offenses and false doctrine may not invade\nand destroy my planting; may not violate and ruin the weak\nconsciences.\" As seen in his epistle to the Corinthians, directed\nagainst the false apostles, and in that to the Thessalonians, such is\nhis vigilant anxiety to guard them from the tempter that he sends them\na special messenger, and he exultingly declares it is life to him to\nlearn of their steadfastness.\n\n23. Likewise, by the assertion that he burns, we are to understand\nthat he is exceedingly grieved and pained if one is offended; that is,\nif through misleading doctrines or examples one in any wise falls from\nthe faith. Of the offense to faith, he says much in Romans 14. Not\ndesiring to be offended with the offended, as he became weak with the\nweak, he says: \"I burn and sorrow for them.\"\n\n\"I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago.\"\n\n24. Of the translation of Paul into the third heaven many have\nwritten, perplexing themselves over what constituted the first, second\nand third heavens, and the paradise. Paul himself, who had the\nexperience, does not tell, and declares no man can tell, for none may\nutter the words he heard. Therefore, we must humbly acknowledge we do\nnot know the nature of these things. And it matters not. Paul does not\nboast of his experience for the purpose of imparting knowledge to us\nor of enabling us to duplicate it. The purpose of his boasting is\nsimply to stop the mouths of the fanatics and to show how paltry was\ntheir glory in comparison with his own. Certain it is, however, that\nPaul was ravished from this life into a life ineffable; otherwise his\nexpression would be meaningless.\n\n\nPAUL'S THORN IN THE FLESH AND HUMILITY.\n\n\"There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan.\"\n\n25. And must this mighty apostle, O merciful God, be subject to trials\nlest he exalt himself because of his great revelations? Then how\nshould others, how should such infirm beings as we, be free from\nself-exaltation? Many teachers have explained Paul's thorn to be the\ntemptations of the flesh. The Latin text is responsible for this\ninterpretation; it reads, \"stimulus carnis,\" a spear, or thorn for the\nflesh. Yet that rendering does not do justice to the words. Paul is\nnot in the habit of terming temptations of the flesh \"thorns.\" The\nthorn stands rather for something painful and afflicting. In \"a thorn\nof the flesh\" the thought is not of an instrumentality whereby the\nflesh stings, but of something that stings the flesh. The Greek text\nimpels us to the thought of a thorn for the flesh, or a thorn upon or\nin the flesh. The idea is much like that in the German proverb, \"The\nclog is bound to the dog's neck.\" We may imagine Paul expressing\nhimself: \"As a clog to a dog's neck, as a ring in a bear's nose, a bit\nin a horse's mouth or a gag in the mouth of a swine, in order to\nrestrain them from running, biting and general mischief,--so is my\nthorn a clog to my body lest I exalt myself.\"\n\n26. But Paul himself explains the nature of the clog, or thorn. He\ncalls it \"a messenger of Satan,\" a devil, to \"buffet\" him, or to flay\nand jog him. Hence a spiritual trial cannot be meant. The explanation\nappeals to me that the persecutions and sufferings the apostle\nrecounts above constitute the devil's flaying. Thus his meaning would\nbe: \"I have received great revelations, for which reason the clog is\nbound to the dog; that is, the many dangers and misfortunes with which\nthe angel of the devil buffets and humiliates my body will make me\nforget to exalt myself. They are the thorn in my flesh, or upon my\nbody; for God will not permit it to come upon my soul.\"\n\n27. Yet the text seems to imply some peculiar work of the devil upon\nPaul's body, for it says the thorn, or clog, is the messenger Satan\nemploys to beat his body; and also that the apostle diligently but\nunavailingly thrice besought the Lord to remove it. I do not imagine\nhim praying for the cessation of persecutions in a spirit of\nunwillingness to suffer them. But since he does not specify the\naffliction, we must let it remain a secret one, a distress known only\nto himself. It is enough for us to know that while God had given him\ngreat revelations, revelations beyond human ken, he also bound the\nclog to him--gave him a thorn for his body--to prevent his exaltation\nof himself; and that the knowledge of the buffetings and flaying\ncaused by this clog, or devil, are likewise beyond human ken.\n\n\"My power is made perfect in weakness.\"\n\n28. It is a strange sort of strength which is weak and by its weakness\ngrows stronger. Who ever heard of weak strength? or more absurd still,\nthat strength is increased by weakness? Paul would here make a\ndistinction between human strength and divine. Human strength\nincreases with enhancement and decreases with enfeeblement. But God's\npower--his Word in us--rises in proportion to the pressure it\nreceives. It is characteristic of God the Creator that he creates all\nthings from naught, and again reduces to naught all created things.\nHuman power cannot do this. The power of God is the true palm-wood\nwhich buoys itself in proportion as it is burdened and weighted.\n\n29. Note here, \"weakness\" is not to be understood in a spiritual\nsense, as on a previous occasion, but externally; as not illness\nalone, but every sort of evil, misfortune, suffering and persecution\ncalculated to buffet and humble the body. The power of Christ, in\nconnection with which spiritual weakness cannot exist, is invoked\nagainst this weakness likewise. He says, \"Most gladly will I glory in\nmy weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.\" And his\nweaknesses he immediately explains as infirmities, injuries,\nnecessities, persecutions and distresses. The thought, then, is:\nChrist is not mighty within us, his word and his faith are not strong\nin us, unless our bodies suffer affliction. The false apostles,\nhowever, take excellent care to escape suffering.\n\n\n\n\n_Sunday Before Lent_\n\nText: First Corinthians 13.\n\n1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,\nI am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have the\ngift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I\nhave all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am\nnothing. 3 And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I\ngive my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.\n4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth\nnot itself, is not puffed up, 5 doth not behave itself unseemly,\nseeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; 6\nrejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; 7\nbeareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth\nall things. 8 Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies,\nthey shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;\nwhether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. 9 For we know in\npart, and we prophesy in part; 10 but when that which is perfect is\ncome, that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child,\nI spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that\nI am become a man, I have put away childish things. 12 For now we see\nin a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but\nthen shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. 13 But now\nabideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is\nlove.\n\n\nPAUL'S PRAISE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE.\n\n1. Paul's purpose in this chapter is to silence and humble haughty\nChristians, particularly teachers and preachers. The Gospel gives much\nknowledge of God and of Christ, and conveys many wonderful gifts, as\nPaul recounts in Romans 12 and in First Corinthians 12. He tells us\nsome have the gift of speaking, some of teaching, some of Scripture\nexposition; others of ruling; and so on. With Christians are great\nriches of spiritual knowledge, great treasures in the way of spiritual\ngifts. Manifest to all is the meaning of God, Christ, conscience, the\npresent and the future life, and similar things. But there are to be\nfound few indeed who make the right use of such gifts and knowledge;\nwho humble themselves to serve others, according to the dictates of\nlove. Each seeks his own honor and advantage, desiring to gain\npreferment and precedence over others.\n\n2. We see today how the Gospel has given to men knowledge beyond\nanything known in the world before, and has bestowed upon them new\ncapabilities. Various gifts have been showered upon and distributed\namong them which have redounded to their honor. But they go on\nunheeding. No one takes thought how he may in Christian love serve his\nfellow-men to their profit. Each seeks for himself glory and honor,\nadvantage and wealth. Could one bring about for himself the\ndistinction of being the sole individual learned and powerful in the\nGospel, all others to be insignificant and useless, he would willingly\ndo it; he would be glad could he alone be regarded as Mister Smart. At\nthe same time he affects deep humility, great self-abasement, and\npreaches of love and faith. But he would take it hard had he, in\npractice, to touch with his little finger what he preaches. This\nexplains why the world is so filled with fanatics and schismatics, and\nwhy every man would master and outrank all others. Such as these are\nhaughtier than those that taught them. Paul here attacks these\nvainglorious spirits, and judges them to be wholly insignificant,\nthough their knowledge may be great and their gifts even greater,\nunless they should humble themselves and use their gifts in the\nservice of others.\n\n3. To these coarse and mean people he addresses himself with a\nmultitude of words and a lengthy discourse, a subject he elsewhere\ndisposes of in a few words; for instance, where he says (Phil 2, 3-4),\n\"In lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; not\nlooking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the\nthings of others.\" By way of illustration, he would pass sentence upon\nhimself should he be thus blameworthy; this more forcibly to warn\nothers who fall far short of his standing. He says,\n\n\"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels.\"\n\n4. That is, though I had ability to teach and to preach with power\nbeyond that of any man or angel, with words of perfect charm, with\ntruth and excellence informing my message--though I could do this,\n\"but have not love [charity],\" and only seek my own honor and profit\nand not my neighbor's, \"I am become sounding brass, or a clanging\ncymbal.\" In other words, \"I might, perhaps, thereby teach others\nsomething, might fill their ears with sound, but before God I would be\nnothing.\" As a clock or a bell has not power to hear its own sound,\nand does not derive benefit from its stroke, so the preacher who lacks\nlove cannot himself understand anything he says, nor does he thereby\nimprove his standing before God. He has much knowledge, indeed, but\nbecause he fails to place it in the service of love, it is the quality\nof his knowledge that is at fault. 1 Cor 8, 1-12. Far better he were\ndumb or devoid of eloquence, if he but teach in love and meekness,\nthan to speak as an angel while seeking but his own interests.\n\n\"And if I have the gift of prophecy.\"\n\n5. According to chapter 14, to prophesy is to be able, by the Holy\nSpirit's inspiration, correctly to understand and explain the prophets\nand the Scriptures. This is a most excellent gift. To \"know mysteries\"\nis to be able to apprehend the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures, or\nits allegorical references, as Paul does where (Gal 4, 24-31) he makes\nSarah and Hagar representative of the two covenants, and Isaac and\nIshmael of the two peoples--the Jews and the Christians. Christ does\nthe same (Jn 3, 14) when he makes the brazen serpent of Moses typical\nof himself on the cross; again, when Isaac, David, Solomon and other\ncharacters of sacred history appear as figures of Christ. Paul calls\nit \"mystery\"--this hidden, secret meaning beneath the primary sense of\nthe narrative. But \"knowledge\" is the understanding of practical\nmatters, such as Christian liberty, or the realization that the\nconscience is not bound. Paul would say, then: \"Though one may\nunderstand the Scriptures, both in their obvious and their hidden\nsense; though he may know all about Christian liberty and a proper\nconversation; yet if he have not love, if he do not with that\nknowledge serve his neighbor, it is all of no avail whatever; in God's\nsight he is nothing.\"\n\n6. Note how forcibly yet kindly Paul restrains the disgraceful vice of\nvainglory. He disregards even those exalted gifts, those gifts of\nexceeding refinement, charm and excellence, which naturally produce\npride and haughtiness though they command the admiration and esteem of\nmen. Who would not suppose the Holy Spirit to dwell visibly where such\nwisdom, such discernment of the Scriptures, is present? Paul's two\nepistles to the Corinthians are almost wholly directed against this\nparticular vice, for it creates much mischief where it has sway. In\nTitus 1, 7, he names first among the virtues of a bishop that he be\n\"non superbus,\" not haughty. In other words that he do not exalt\nhimself because of his office, his honor and his understanding, and\ndespise others in comparison. But strangely Paul says,\n\n\"If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I\nam nothing.\"\n\n\nLOVE THE SPIRIT'S FRUIT RECEIVED BY FAITH.\n\n7. We hold, and unquestionably it is true, that it is faith which\njustifies and cleanses. Rom 1, 17; 10, 10; Acts 15, 9. But if it\njustifies and purifies, love must be present. The Spirit cannot but\nimpart love together with faith. In fact, where true faith is, the\nHoly Spirit dwells; and where the Holy Spirit is, there must be love\nand every excellence. How is it, then, Paul speaks as if faith without\nlove were possible? We reply, this one text cannot be understood as\nsubverting and militating against all those texts which ascribe\njustification to faith alone. Even the sophists have not attributed\njustification to love, nor is this possible, for love is an effect, or\nfruit, of the Spirit, who is received through faith.\n\n8. Three answers may be given to the question. First, Paul has not\nreference here to the Christian faith, which is inevitably accompanied\nby love, but to a general faith in God and his power. Such faith is a\ngift; as, for instance, the gift of tongues, the gift of knowledge, of\nprophecy, and the like. There is reason to believe Judas performed\nmiracles in spite of the absence of Christian faith, according to John\n6, 70: \"One of you is a devil.\" This general faith, powerless to\njustify or to cleanse, permits the old man with his vices to remain,\njust as do the gifts of intellect, health, eloquence, riches.\n\n9. A second answer is: Though Paul alludes to the true Christian\nfaith, he has those in mind who have indeed attained to faith and\nperformed miracles with it, but fall from grace through pride, thus\nlosing their faith. Many begin but do not continue. They are like the\nseed in stony ground. They soon fall from faith. The temptations of\nvainglory are mightier than those of adversity. One who has the true\nfaith and is at the same time able to perform miracles is likely to\nseek and to accept honor with such eagerness as to fall from both love\nand faith.\n\n10. A third answer is: Paul in his effort to present the necessity of\nlove, supposes an impossible condition. For instance, I might express\nmyself in this way: \"Though you were a god, if you lacked patience you\nwould be nothing.\" That is, patience is so essential to divinity that\ndivinity itself could not exist without it, a proposition necessarily\ntrue. So Paul's meaning is, not that faith could exist without love,\nbut on the contrary, so much is love an essential of faith that even\nmountain-moving faith would be nothing without love, could we separate\nthe two even in theory.\n\nThe third answer pleases me by far the best, though I do not reject\nthe others, particularly the first. For Paul's very first premise is\nimpossible--\"if I speak with the tongues of angels.\" To speak with an\nangelic tongue is impossible for a human being, and he clearly\nemphasizes this impossibility by making a distinction between the\ntongues of men and those of angels. There is no angelic tongue; while\nangels may speak to us in a human tongue men can never speak in those\nof angels.\n\n11. As we are to understand the first clause--\"If I speak with the\ntongues of angels\"--as meaning, Were it as possible as it is\nimpossible for me to speak with the tongues of angels; so are we to\nunderstand the second clause--\"If I have all faith, so as to remove\nmountains\"--to mean, Were it as possible as it is impossible to have\nsuch faith. Equally impossible is the proposition of understanding all\nmysteries, and we must take it to mean, Were it possible for one to\nunderstand all mysteries, which, however, it is not. John, in the last\nchapter of his Gospel, asserts that the world could not contain all\nthe books which might be written concerning the things of the kingdom.\nFor no man can ever fathom the depths of these mysteries. Paul's\nmanner of expressing himself is but a very common one, such as: \"Even\nif I were a Christian, if I believed not in Christ I would be\nnothing\"; or, \"Were you even a prince, if you neither ruled men nor\npossessed property you would be nothing.\"\n\n\"And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor.\"\n\n12. In other words, \"Were I to perform all the good works on earth and\nyet had not charity--having sought therein only my own honor and\nprofit and not my neighbor's--I would nevertheless be lost.\" In the\nperformance of external works so great as the surrender of property\nand life, Paul includes all works possible of performance, for he who\nwould at all do these, would do any work. Just so, when he has\nreference to tongues he includes all good words and doctrines; and in\nprophecy, understanding and faith he comprises all wisdom and\nknowledge. Some may risk body and property for the sake of temporal\nglory. So Romans and pagans have done; but as love was lacking and\nthey sought only their own interests, they practically gave nothing.\nIt being generally impossible for men to give away all their property,\nand their bodies to be burned, the meaning must be: \"Were it possible\nfor me to give all my goods to the poor, and my body to be burned.\"\n\n13. The false reasoning of the sophists will not stand when they\nmaliciously deduct from this text the theory that the Christian faith\nis not effectual to blot out sin and to justify. They say that before\nfaith can justify it must be garnished with love; but justification\nand its distinctive qualities as well are beyond their ken.\nJustification of necessity precedes love. One does not love until he\nhas become godly and righteous. Love does not make us godly, but when\none has become godly love is the result. Faith, the Spirit and\njustification have love as effect and fruitage, and not as mere\nornament and supplement. We maintain that faith alone justifies and\nsaves. But that we may not deceive ourselves and put our trust in a\nfalse faith, God requires love from us as the evidence of our faith,\nso that we may be sure of our faith being real faith.\n\n\nTHE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE.\n\n\"Love suffereth long, and is kind.\"\n\n14. Now Paul begins to mention the nature of love, enabling us to\nperceive where real love and faith are to be found. A haughty teacher\ndoes not possess the virtues the apostle enumerates. Lacking these,\nhowever many gifts the haughty have received through the Gospel, they\nare devoid of love.\n\nFirst, love \"suffereth long.\" That is, it is patient; not sudden and\nswift to anger, not hasty to exercise revenge, impatience or blind\nrage. Rather it bears in patience with the wicked and the infirm until\nthey yield. Haughty teachers can only judge, condemn and despise\nothers, while justifying and exalting themselves.\n\n15. Second, love is \"kind.\" In other words, it is pleasant to deal\nwith; is not of forbidding aspect; ignores no one; is kind to all men,\nin words, acts and attitude.\n\n16. Third, love \"envieth not\"--is not envious nor displeased at the\ngreater prosperity of others; grudges no one property or honor.\nHaughty teachers, however, are envious and unkind. They begrudge\neveryone else both honor and possessions. Though with their lips they\nmay pretend otherwise, these characteristics are plainly visible in\ntheir deeds.\n\n17. Fourth, love \"vaunteth not itself.\" It is averse to knavery, to\ncrafty guile and double-dealing. Haughty and deceptive spirits cannot\nrefrain from such conduct, but love deals honestly and uprightly and\nface to face.\n\n18. Fifth, love is not \"puffed up,\" as are false teachers, who swell\nthemselves up like adders.\n\n19. Sixth, love \"doth not behave itself unseemly\" after the manner of\nthe passionate, impatient and obstinate, those who presume to be\nalways in the right, who are opposed to all men and yield to none, and\nwho insist on submission from every individual, otherwise they set the\nworld on fire, bluster and fume, shriek and complain, and thirst for\nrevenge. That is what such inflating pride and haughtiness of which we\nhave just spoken lead to.\n\n20. Seventh, love \"seeketh not her own.\" She seeks not financial\nadvancement; not honor, profit, ease; not the preservation of body and\nlife. Rather she risks all these in her ... [text missing from this\nedition] ... is no such thing as the Church of Christ nor as true\nChristians. Many erring spirits, especially strong pretenders to ...\n[text missing from this edition]\n\n21. Eighth, love \"is not [easily] provoked\" by wrong and ingratitude;\nit is meek. False teachers can tolerate nothing; they seek only their\nown advantage and honor, to the injury of others.\n\n22. Ninth, love \"taketh not account of [thinketh no] evil.\" It is not\nsuspicious; it puts the best construction on everything and takes all\nin good faith. The haughty, however, are immeasurably suspicious;\nalways solicitous not to be underrated, they put the worst\nconstruction on everything, as Joab construed Abner's deeds. 2 Sam 3,\n25. This is a shameful vice, and they who are guilty of it are hard to\nhandle.\n\n23. Tenth, love \"rejoiceth not in unrighteousness [iniquity].\" The\nwords admit of two interpretations: First, as having reference to the\ndelight of an individual in his own evil doings. Solomon (Prov 2, 14)\nspeaks of those who \"rejoice to do evil.\" Such must be either\nextremely profligate and shameless, characters like harlots and\nknaves; or else they must be hypocrites, who do not appreciate the\nwickedness of their conduct; characters like heretics and schismatics,\nwho rejoice when their knavery succeeds under the name of God and of\nthe truth. I do not accept this interpretation, but the other. Paul's\nmeaning is that false teachers are malicious enough to prefer to hear,\nabove all things, that some other does wrong, commits error and is\nbrought to shame; and their motive is simply that they themselves may\nappear upright and godly. Such was the attitude of the pharisee toward\nthe publican, in the Gospel. But love's compassion reaches far beyond\nits own sins, and prays for others.\n\n24. Eleventh, love \"rejoiceth with [in] the truth.\" Here is evidence\nthat the preceding phrase is to be taken as having reference to\nmalicious rejoicing at another's sin and fall. Rejoicing in the truth\nis simply exulting in the right-doing and integrity of another.\nSimilarly, love is grieved at another's wrong-doing. But to the\nhaughty it is an affliction to learn of uprightness in someone else;\nfor they imagine such integrity detracts from their own profit and\nhonor.\n\n25. Twelfth, love \"beareth all things.\" It excuses every failing in\nall men, however weak, unjust or foolish one may be apparently, and no\none can be guilty of a wrong too great for it to overlook. But none\ncan do right in the eyes of the haughty, who ever find something to\nbelittle and censure as beyond toleration, even though they must hunt\nup an old fence to find the injury.\n\n26. Thirteenth, love \"believeth all things.\" Paul does not here allude\nto faith in God, but to faith in men. His meaning is: Love is of\ndecidedly trustful disposition. The possessor of it believes and\ntrusts all men, considering them just and upright like himself. He\nanticipates no wily and crooked dealing, but permits himself to be\ndeceived, deluded, flouted, imposed upon, at every man's pleasure, and\nasks, \"Do you really believe men so wicked?\" He measures all other\nhearts by his own, and makes mistakes with utmost cheerfulness. But\nsuch error works him no injury. He knows God cannot forsake, and the\ndeceiver of love but deceives himself. The haughty, on the contrary,\ntrust no one, will believe none, nor brook deception.\n\n27. Fourteenth, love \"hopeth all things.\" Love despairs of no man,\nhowever wicked he may be. It hopes for the best. As implied here, love\nsays, \"We must, indeed, hope for better things.\" It is plain from this\nthat Paul is not alluding to hope in God. Love is a virtue\nparticularly representing devotion to a neighbor; his welfare is its\ngoal in thought and deed. Like its faith, the hope entertained by love\nis frequently misplaced, but it never gives up. Love rejects no man;\nit despairs of no cause. But the proud speedily despair of men\ngenerally, rejecting them as of no account.\n\n28. Fifteenth, love \"endureth all things.\" It endures whatever harm\nbefalls, whatever injury it suffers; it endures when its faith and\nhope in men have been misplaced; endures when it sustains damage to\nbody, property or honor. It knows that no harm has been done since it\nhas a rich God. False teachers, however, bear with nothing, least of\nall with perfidy and the violation of plighted faith.\n\n29. Sixteenth, love never faileth; that means, it abides forever, also\nin the life to come. It never gives up, never permits itself to be\nhindered or defeated by the wickedness or ingratitude of men, as do\nworldly individuals and false saints, who, immediately on perceiving\ncontempt or ingratitude, draw back, unwilling to do further good to\nany, and, rendering themselves quite inhuman, become perfect\nmisanthropes like Timon in his reputation among the Greeks. Love does\nnot so. It permits not itself to be made wicked by the wickedness of\nmen, nor to be hindered in well-doing. It continues to do good\neverywhere, teaching and admonishing, aiding and serving,\nnotwithstanding its services and benefits must be rewarded, not by\ngood, but by evil. Love remains constant and immovable; it continues,\nit endures, in this earthly life and also in the life to come. The\napostle adds, \"Whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away;\nwhether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be\nknowledge, it shall be done away.\" Love he commends above all other\nendowments, as a gift that can never pass, even in the life to come.\nThose other gifts, the boast of the false apostles, are bestowed only\nfor this present life, to serve in the administering of the\nministerial office. Prophecy, tongues, knowledge, all must cease; for\nin yonder life each individual will himself perceive perfectly and\nthere will be no need for one to teach another. Likewise, all\ndifferences, all inequalities, shall be no more. No knowledge and no\ndiversity of gifts is necessary; God himself will be all in every\nsoul. 1 Cor 15, 28.\n\n30. Here Paul gives utterance to the distinction between the life of\nfaith here below and that heavenly life of divine vision. He would\nteach that we have in this life and the other the same possession, for\nit is the same God and the same treasures which we have here by faith\nand there by sight. In the objects themselves there is no difference;\nthe difference consists in our knowledge. We have the same God in both\nlives, but in different manner of possession. The mode of possessing\nGod in this life is faith. Faith is an imperfect, obscure vision,\nwhich makes necessary the Word, which, in turn, receives vogue through\nthe ministry, tongues and prophecy. Without the Word, faith cannot\nlive. But the mode of possessing God in the future life is not faith\nbut sight. This is perfect knowledge, rendering unnecessary the Word,\nand likewise preaching, tongues and prophecy. These, then, must pass.\nPaul continues,\n\n\"We know in part, and we prophesy in part.\"\n\n31. \"We know in part\"; that is, in this life we know imperfectly, for\nit is of faith and not of sight. And we \"prophesy in part\"; that is,\nimperfectly, for the substance of our prophecy is the Word and\npreaching. Both knowledge and prophecy, however, reveal nothing short\nof what the angels see--the one God. \"But when that which is perfect\nis come, that which is in part shall be done away.\"\n\nHe proves this by way of illustration and contrasts the child with the\nman. To children, who are yet weak, play is a necessity; it is a\nsubstitute for office and work. Similarly, we in the present life are\nfar too frail to behold God. Until we are able, it is necessary that\nwe should use the medium of Word and faith, which are adapted to our\nlimitations.\n\n\"For now we see in a mirror [through a glass] darkly; but then face to\nface.\"\n\n32. Faith, Paul tells us, is like a mirror, like a riddle. The actual\nface is not in the glass; there is but the image of it. Likewise,\nfaith gives us, not the radiant countenance of eternal Deity, but a\nmere image of him, an image derived through the Word. As a dark riddle\npoints to something more than it expresses, so faith suggests\nsomething clearer than that which it perceives. But in the life to\ncome, mirror and riddle, faith and its demonstration, shall all have\nceased to be. God's face and our own shall be mutually and clearly\nrevealed. Paul says, \"Now I know in part; but then shall I know fully\neven as also I was fully known [know even also as I am known].\" That\nis, God now knows me perfectly, clearly and plainly; no dark veil is\nupon myself. But as to him, a dark veil hides him from me. With the\nsame perfect clearness wherewith he now knows me, I shall then know\nhim--without a veil. The veil shall be taken away, not from him, but\nfrom me; for upon him is no veil.\n\n\nTHE GREATEST CHRISTIAN VIRTUE IS LOVE.\n\n\"But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of\nthese is love.\"\n\n33. The sophists have transgressed in a masterly manner as regards\nthis verse. They have made faith vastly inferior to love because of\nPaul's assertion that love is greater than faith and greater than\nhope. As usual, their mad reason blindly seizes upon the literal\nexpression. They hack a piece out of it and the remainder they ignore.\nThus they fail to understand Paul's meaning; they do not perceive that\nthe sense of Paul concerning the greatness of love is expressed both\nin the text and the context. For surely it cannot be disputed that the\napostle is here referring to the permanent or temporary character\nrespectively of love and other gifts, and not to their rank or power.\nAs to rank, not faith only, but the Word, surpasses love; for the Word\nis the power of God unto salvation to all that believe. Rom 1, 16. Yet\nthe Word must pass. But though love is the fruit of the Word and its\neffect, it shall never be abolished. Faith possesses God himself. It\npossesses and can accomplish all things; yet it must cease. Love gives\nand blesses the neighbor, as a result of faith, and it shall never be\ndone away.\n\n34. Now, Paul's statement that love is greater than faith and hope is\nintended as an expression of the permanence, or eternal duration, of\nlove. Faith, being limited as to time in comparison with love, ranks\nbeneath it for the reason of this temporary duration. With the same\nright I might say that the kingdom of Christ is greater upon earth\nthan was Christ. Thereby I do not mean that the Church in itself is\nbetter and of higher rank than Christ, but merely that it covers a\ngreater part of the earth than he compassed; for he was here but three\nyears and those he spent in a limited sphere, whereas his kingdom has\nbeen from the beginning and is coextensive with the earth. In this\nsense, love is longer and broader than either faith or hope. Faith\ndeals with God merely in the heart and in this life, whereas the\nrelations of love both to God and the whole world are eternal.\nNevertheless, as Christ is immeasurably better and higher and more\nprecious than the Christian Church, although we behold him moving in\nsmaller limits and as a mere individual, so is faith better, higher\nand more precious than love, though its duration is limited and it has\nGod alone for its object.\n\n35. Paul's purpose in thus extolling love is to deal a blow to false\nteachers and to bring to naught their boasts about faith and other\ngifts when love is lacking. His thought is: \"If ye possess not love,\nwhich abides forever, all else whereof ye boast being perishable, ye\nwill perish with it. While the Word of God, and spiritual gifts, are\neternal, yet the external office and proclamation of the Word, and\nlikewise the employment of gifts in their variety, shall have an end,\nand thus your glory and pride shall become as ashes.\" So, then, faith\njustifies through the Word and produces love. But while both Word and\nfaith shall pass, righteousness and love, which they effect, abide\nforever; just as a building erected by the aid of scaffolding remains\nafter the scaffolding has been removed.\n\n36. Observe how small the word \"love\" and how easily uttered! Who\nwould have thought to find so much precious virtue and power ascribed\nby Paul to this one excellence as counterpart of so much that is evil?\nThis is, I imagine, magnifying love, painting love. It is a better\ndiscourse on virtue and vice than are the heathen writings. The model\nthe apostle presents should justly shame the false teachers, who talk\nmuch of love but in whom not one of the virtues he mentions is found.\n\nEvery quality of love named by him means false teachers buffeted and\nassaulted. Whenever he magnifies love and characterizes her powers, he\ninvariably makes at the same time a thrust at those who are deficient\nin any of them. Well may we, then, as he describes the several\nfeatures, add the comment \"But you do very differently.\"\n\n37. It is passing strange that teachers devoid of love should possess\nsuch gifts as Paul has mentioned here, viz., speaking with tongues,\nprophesying, understanding mysteries; that they should have faith,\nshould bestow their goods and suffer themselves to be burned. For we\nhave seen what abominations ensue where love is lacking; such\nindividuals are proud, envious, puffed up, impatient, unstable, false,\nvenomous, suspicious, malicious, disdainful, bitter, disinclined to\nservice, distrustful, selfish, ambitious and haughty. How can it\nconsistently be claimed that people of this stamp can, through faith,\nremove mountains, give their bodies to be burned, prophesy, and so on?\nIt is precisely as I have stated. Paul presents an impossible\nproposition, implying that since they are devoid of love, they do not\nreally possess those gifts, but merely assume the name and appearance.\nAnd in order to divest them of those he admits for the sake of\nargument that they are what in reality they are not.\n\n\n\n\n_First Sunday In Lent_\n\nText: Second Corinthians 6, 1-10.\n\n1 And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not\nthe grace of God in vain 2 (for he saith, At an acceptable time I\nhearkened unto thee, and in a day of salvation did I succor thee:\nbehold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of\nsalvation): 3 giving no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our\nministration be not blamed; 4 but in everything commending ourselves,\nas ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities,\nin distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors,\nin watchings, in fastings; 6 in pureness, in knowledge, in\nlongsuffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned, 7\nin the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of\nrighteousness on the right hand on the left, 8 by glory and dishonor,\nby evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as\nunknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as\nchastened, and not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as\npoor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all\nthings.\n\n\nAN ENTREATY TO LIVE AS CHRISTIANS.\n\n1. This lesson is an admonition to the Corinthians calculated to\nstimulate them in the performance of the duties they already\nrecognize. The words are easily enough said, but execution is\ndifficult and practice rare. For Paul gives a strange description of\nthe Christian life, and the color and characteristics with which he\nexhibits it render it decidedly unprepossessing. First he says:\n\n\"And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the\ngrace of God in vain.\"\n\n2. He calls the Corinthians co-workers, as in First Corinthians 3, 9,\nwhere he puts it: \"We are God's fellow-workers; ye are God's\nhusbandry, God's building.\" That is, we labor upon you with the\nexternal Word--teaching and admonishing; but God, working inwardly\nthrough the Spirit, gives the blessing and the success. He permits not\nour labor with the outward Word to be in vain. Therefore, God is the\ntrue Master, performing inwardly the supreme work, while we aid\noutwardly, serving him through the ministry.\n\nThe apostle's purpose in praising his co-laborers is to prevent them\nfrom despising the external Word as something inessential to them, or\nwell enough known. For though God is able to effect everything without\nthe instrumentality of the outward Word, working inwardly by his\nSpirit, this is by no means his purpose. He uses preachers as\nfellow-workers, or co-laborers, to accomplish his purpose through the\nWord when and where he pleases. Now, since preachers have the office,\nname and honor of fellow-workers with God, no one may be considered\nlearned enough or holy enough to ignore or despise the most inferior\npreaching; especially since he knows not when the hour may come\nwherein God will, through preachers, perform his work in him.\n\n3. Secondly, Paul shows the danger of neglecting the grace of God. He\nboldly declares here that the preaching of the Gospel is not an\neternal, continuous and permanent mode of instruction, but rather a\npassing shower, which hastens on. What it strikes, it strikes; what it\nmisses, it misses. It does not return, nor does it stand still. The\nsun and heat follow and dry it up. Experience shows that in no part of\nthe world has the Gospel remained pure beyond the length of man's\nmemory. Only so long as its pioneers lived did it stand and prosper.\nWhen they were gone, the light disappeared; factious spirits and false\nteachers followed immediately.\n\nThus Moses announces (Deut 31, 29) that the children of Israel will\ncorrupt themselves after his death; and the book of Judges testifies\nthat so it really came to pass. Each time a judge died in whose days\nthe Word of God obtained sway, the people fell away and became more\nwicked than before. King Joash did what was right so long as the high\npriest Jehoiada lived, but after the latter's death this had an end.\nAnd following the time of Christ and his apostles, the world was\nfilled with seditious spirits and false teachers. Paul, in fact,\ndeclares (Acts 20, 29): \"I know that after my departing grievous\nwolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock.\" So also we\nnow have the pure Gospel. This is a time of grace and salvation and\nthe acceptable day; but should the world continue, this condition,\ntoo, will soon pass.\n\n4. To receive the grace of God in vain can be nothing else than to\nhear the pure word of God which presents and offers his grace, and yet\nto remain listless and irresponsive, undergoing no change at all.\nThus, ungrateful for the Word and unworthy of it, we merit the loss of\nthe Word. Such as these are described in the parable (Lk 14, 16-24)\nwhere the guests bidden to the supper refused to come and went about\ntheir own business, thus provoking the master's anger until he swore\nthey should not taste his supper.\n\nSimilar is Paul's threat here, that we may take heed and accept the\nGospel with fear and gratitude. Christ says (Jn 12, 35), \"Walk while\nye have the light, that darkness overtake you not.\" I should think we\nmight have learned wisdom from experience--from the darkness we\nsuffered under the Papacy. But that is all forgotten; we show neither\ngratitude nor amendment of life. Very well, we shall find out the\nconsequences.\n\n\nSALVATION WHEREVER THE GOSPEL IS SENT.\n\n\"Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of\nsalvation.\"\n\n5. These words portray the richness of the salvation wherever the\nGospel goes: nothing but grace and help; no wrath or punishment.\nIndeed, these are words of unutterable meaning the apostle here\nemploys.\n\nFirst, he tells us that it is an \"acceptable time,\" as the Hebrew\nexpresses it. Our own way of putting it would be: \"This is a gracious\ntime, a time when God turns away his wrath and is moved only by love\nand benevolence toward us and is pleased to do us good.\" All our sins\nare forgotten; he takes no note of the sins of the past nor of those\nof the present. In short, we are in a realm of mercy, where are only\nforgiveness and reconciliation. The heavens are now open. This is the\ntrue golden year when man is denied nothing. So Paul says, \"At an\nacceptable time I hearkened unto thee\"; that is: \"I am kindly disposed\ntoward thee. Whatsoever thou shalt even desire and ask for, thou shalt\nsurely receive. Be not neglectful, therefore, and ask while the\nacceptable time continues.\"\n\n6. Second, Paul declares that it is a day of blessing, \"a day of\nsalvation.\" It is a day of help, wherein we are not only acceptable\nand assured of God's favor and good will toward us, but we experience\neven as we have been assured--that God really does help us. He\nverifies his assurance, for his beneficence gives testimony that our\nprayers are heard. We call it a happy day, a blessed day, a day of\nabundance; for these two truths are inseparably related--that God is\nfavorable toward us, and that his kindness is the proof of his favor.\nGod's favor toward us is revealed in the first clause, which speaks of\nan acceptable time; that he extends help to us is revealed in the\nsecond clause, telling of a blessed day of succor. Both these facts\nare to be apprehended by faith and in good conscience; for a\nsuperficial judgment would lead to the view that this period of\nblessing is rather an accursed period of wrath and disfavor. Words\nlike these, of spiritual meaning, must be understood in the light of\nthe Holy Spirit; thus shall we find that these two glorious, beautiful\nexpressions refer to the Gospel dispensation and are intended to\nmagnify all the treasures and the riches of the kingdom of Christ.\n\n\"Giving no occasion of stumbling [no offense] in anything.\"\n\n7. Since this is a time of blessing, let us make right use of it, not\nspending it to no purpose, and let us take serious heed to give\noffense to none; thus avoiding reproach to our ministry. It is evident\nfrom the connection to what kind of offense the apostle has reference;\nhe would not have the Gospel doctrine charged with teaching anything\nevil.\n\n8. Two kinds of offense bring the Gospel into disgrace: In one case it\nis the heathen who are offended, and this because of the fact that\nsome individuals would make the Gospel a means of freedom from\ntemporal restraint, substituting temporal liberty for spiritual. They\nthus bring reproach upon the Gospel as teaching such doctrine, and\nmake it an object of scandal to the heathen and worldly people,\nwhereby they are misled and become enemies to the faith and to the\nWord of God without cause, being the harder to convert since they\nregard Christians as licentious knaves. And the responsibility for\nthis must be placed at the door of those who have given offense in\nthis respect.\n\nIn the other case, Christians are offended among themselves. The\noccasion is the indiscreet exercise of Christian liberty, which\noffends the weak in faith. Concerning this topic much is said in First\nCorinthians 8 and Romans 14. Paul here hints at what he speaks of in\nFirst Corinthians 10, 32-33: \"Give no occasion of stumbling, either to\nJews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God: even as I also please all\nmen in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the\nmany that they may be saved.\" He takes up the same subject in\nPhilippians 2, 4, teaching that every man should look on the things of\nothers. Then no offense will be given.\n\n\"That our ministration [the ministry] be not blamed.\"\n\n9. Who can prevent our office being vilified? for the Word of God must\nbe persecuted equally with Christ himself. That the Word of God is\nreviled by unbelievers ignorant of faith in God is something we cannot\nprevent. For, according to Isaiah 8, 14 and Romans 9, 33, the Gospel\nis a \"rock of offense.\" This is the offense of the faith; it will\npursue its course and we are not responsible.\n\nBut for love's offense, offense caused by shortcomings in our works\nand fruits of faith, the things we are commanded to let shine before\nmen, that, seeing these, they may be allured to the faith--for offense\nin this respect we cannot disclaim responsibility. It is a sin we\ncertainly must avoid, that the heathen, the Jews, the weak and the\nrulers of the world may never be able to say: \"Behold the knavery and\nlicentiousness of these people! Surely their doctrine cannot be true.\"\nOtherwise our evil name and fame and the obstacles we place before\nothers will extend to the innocent and holy Word God has given us to\napprehend and to proclaim; it must bear our shame and in addition\nbecome unfruitful in the offended ones. Grievous is such a sin as\nthis.\n\n\nMARKS OF CHRISTIANS AS MINISTERS OF GOD.\n\n\"But in everything commending ourselves, as ministers of God, in much\npatience.\"\n\n10. The apostle here portrays the Christian life in its outward\nexpression. Not that it is possible for anyone thereby to become a\nChristian, or godly; but, being servants of God, or Christians and\ngodly people, we furnish in this manner, according to Paul's statement\nhere, the evidence thereof as by fruits and signs.\n\nMark his phrase \"ministers of God.\" What a remarkable service for God\nis this wherein we must endure so much suffering, so much affliction,\nprivation, anxiety, stripes, imprisonment, tumult or sedition, labor,\nwatching, fasting, and so on! No mass here, no vigil, no\nhallucinations of a fictitious service of God; it is the true service\nof God, which subdues the body and mortifies the flesh. Not, indeed,\nas if fasting, watching and toiling are to be despised because they do\nnot make just. Though we are not thereby justified, we must\nnevertheless practice those things, instead of giving rein to the\nflesh and indulging our idleness.\n\n11. Paul also mentions sedition. Not that by our teaching or life we\nshould be guilty of sedition against others; rather, we should be\nquiet and obedient. See Romans 13. Christ says (Mt 22, 21), \"Render\ntherefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.\" Paul's meaning is\nthat when we become victims of sedition on the part of others we\nshould submit; just as we are not to inflict upon others privations,\ndistresses, stripes or imprisonment, but rather to accept them at\ntheir hands. So Paul heads the list with patience; which does not\nproduce sedition, but endures it.\n\nIt is a consolation in these times when we are charged with raising\nseditions, to reflect that it is the very nature and color of the\nChristian life that it be criticised as seditious when the fact is it\npatiently bears sedition directed against itself. Thus was it with\nElijah, who was accused by King Ahab of troubling Israel and exciting\nturbulence. 1 Kings 18, 17-18. Then, when we are charged with guilt in\nthis respect, let us remember that not only did the apostles have to\nhear the same accusation, but even Christ himself, with all his\ninnocence, was so accused. More than that, he was falsely reviled upon\nthe cross with a superscription charging sedition; in fact, he was\neven put to death as a Jewish king guilty of opposition to Caesar and\nof enticing and inciting the people.\n\n12. The remaining marks of the Christian life--patience, affliction,\nnecessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, labor, watching,\nfasting, purity, etc., are easily interpreted; it is readily seen how\nthey are instrumental in our service to God. God will not have\nindolent, idle gluttons, nor sleepy and impatient servants. Most\nadroitly does Paul score in particular our fine idle youths who draw\ninterest from their money, have an easy life, and imagine their\ntonsures, their long robes and their howling in the churches excuse\nthem from labor. All men should labor and earn their bread, according\nto Paul. 2 Thes 3, 12. By labor, our text teaches, we serve God; more\nthan that, our labor is testimony to the fact that we serve God.\n\n\"In knowledge.\"\n\n13. What is meant here? With Paul, knowledge signifies discretion,\nunderstanding, reason. He speaks of the Jews (Rom 10, 2) as having \"a\nzeal for God, but not according to knowledge\"; that is, a zeal without\nreason, without understanding, without discretion. His message here,\nthen, is: \"We should conduct ourselves in Christian affairs with\nbecoming reason and moderation lest we give offense to the weak by a\npresumptuous use of Christian liberty. Rather we should, with\ndiscretion and understanding, adapt ourselves to that which promotes\nthe neighbor's welfare. Likewise, when we labor, fast, or when we\nregulate our sexual relations, we are to exercise reason, lest the\nbody should be injured by too much fasting, watching and toil, and\nalso by needless abstention from sexual intercourse. Let everyone take\nheed to remain within bounds by using reason and discretion. The\napostle counsels the married (1 Cor 7, 5) not to defraud each other\ntoo long, lest they be tempted. In all such matters, he would impose\nno measures and rules, no limits and laws, after the manner of the\ncouncils, the popes and the monks. He leaves it wholly to each\nindividual's discretion to decide and to test for himself all\nquestions of time and quantity bearing upon the restraints of his\nflesh.\n\n\"In longsuffering, in kindness.\"\n\n14. The meaning of these phrases has been stated in many other places,\nparticularly in connection with Romans 2 and Galatians 5.\n\n\"By the Holy Spirit.\"\n\n15. What are we to understand here? The words may have one of two\nmeanings: First, the apostle may have reference to the Holy Spirit in\nperson, who is God. Second, he may have reference to the spirit of\nindividuals, or their spiritual condition. \"Holy Spirit\" may be\nintended to stand for \"spirituality,\" Paul's meaning being: \"Beware of\nthe professedly spiritual, or of things glittering and purporting to\nbe spiritual; beware of them who make great boast of the Spirit and\nnevertheless betray only a false, unclean, unholy spirit, productive\nof sects and discord. Abide ye in that true, holy spirituality\nproceeding from God's Holy Spirit, who imparts unity and harmony,\ndetermination and courage.\" As Paul expresses it elsewhere (Eph 4, 3),\n\"Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of\npeace.\" They, then, who continue in one faith, one mind and\ndisposition, give testimony by the reality and saintliness of their\nspiritual life and by the presence of the Holy Spirit that they are\nservants of God. For true spirituality, or a holy walk in the Spirit,\nmeans to be in heart and mind at one with the Spirit, through faith.\n\n\"In love unfeigned, in the word of truth.\"\n\n16. As the apostle opposes the Holy Spirit to false sects and false\nprophets, so he opposes unfeigned love to indolent Christians who in\ntrue faith and unity of mind possess marks of true spirituality, but\nare nevertheless indolent, cold, in fact false as regards love.\n\nAgain, he opposes the \"Word of Truth\" to abusers of the Word of God,\nwho misconstrue it and comment upon it according to their own fancy,\nand for their own honor and profit. While much that purports to be\nspiritual has not the Word as source and gives honor to the Spirit at\nthe expense of the Word, the class under consideration profess to\nmagnify the Word; they would be master interpreters of the Scriptures,\nconfident that their explanations are correct and superior. In\ncondemnation of this class, Peter says (1 Pet 4, 11), \"If any man\nspeaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God,\" and not his own word.\nIn other words, let him be assured he speaks the Word of God and not\nhis own. God's Word Paul here terms the \"Word of truth\"; that is, the\ntrue Word of God and not our own misconstrued, falsified word palmed\noff as God's Word. In our idiom we would say \"the real Word\" where the\nHebrew has \"Word of truth,\" or \"true Word.\"\n\n\"In the power of God.\"\n\n17. Peter speaks also of this power, in the verse before mentioned:\n\"If any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God\nsupplieth.\" And Paul elsewhere declares (Col 1, 29): \"Whereunto I\nlabor also, striving according to his working, which worketh in me\nmightily\"; and again (Rom 15, 18): \"For I will not dare to speak of\nany things save those which Christ wrought through me, for the\nobedience of the Gentiles.\" Christians should have the assurance that\nthey are the kingdom of God, and that in whatever they do, especially\nin undertakings of a spiritual character, which have the salvation of\nsouls as aim, they beware of everything not absolutely known as true,\nso that the work be not theirs but God's.\n\nIn God's kingdom God alone is to speak, reign and act. Christ says (Mt\n5, 16): \"Even so let your light shine before men, that they may see\nyour good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven\"--may glorify\nhim as the worker, and not yourselves. Seductive spirits, however,\ncome cavorting in their own power, throw the pictures out of the\nchurches and establish rules of their own, without caring whether it\nis done in the power of God. The consequence is that their work is\nneither permanent nor fruitful.\n\n\nTHE ARMOR OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.\n\n\"By the armor of righteousness.\"\n\n18. This armor Paul more fully describes in Ephesians and in\nThessalonians. Sufficient explanation of it has been given in the\nlesson for Advent. There is the \"shield of faith,\" the \"helmet of\nsalvation,\" the shoes of \"the preparation of the Gospel of peace,\" and\nso on. Paul includes them all under the term \"armor of righteousness,\"\nand, in his epistle to the Ephesians, under the phrase \"armor of God,\"\nto teach Christians to eschew and to forsake carnal, worldly weapons\nfor these. He would have them know themselves a spiritual people,\nspiritually warring against the spiritual enemies enumerated here and\npointed out on the right hand and on the left.\n\n19. On the left hand he places dishonor and evil report, in that we\nappear to men as deceivers, unknown, in conflict with death,\nchastened, sorrowful, poor and needy. Scorn is hurled in our faces and\nthe reputation accorded us is that of deceivers. The Christian must\nnot only be unknown, friendless and a stranger, but men will also be\nashamed of him--even his best friends--in consequence of the reproach\nand evil report under which he lies in the eyes of the great, the\nwealthy, the wise and the powerful of the world.\n\nHe must be as one dying--continually expecting death by reason of the\nhatred and envy directed against him, and the various persecutions he\nsuffers. He must be beaten and scourged; must at times feel the weight\nof the enmity and envy wherewith the world inflicts torment. He is\nlike the sorrowful, for so ill does he fare in the world, he has\nreason to sorrow. He resembles the poor in that nothing is given him\nbut injuries; he possesses nothing, for if he has not been deprived of\nall his possessions he daily expects that extremity.\n\nLest he despair of his hope in God and grow faint, he must be armed on\nthe left hand against these enemies with a divine armor: with a firm\nfaith, with the comfort of the divine Word, with hope, so that he may\nendure and exercise patience. Thereby he proves himself to be a true\nservant of God, inasmuch as false teachers and hypocrites, with all\ntheir pompous worship, are incapable of these things.\n\n20. On the right he places honor and good report, inasmuch as we are\nafter all true, well known, alive, defiant of death, full of joy,\nrich, possessing all things. The Christian will have always a few to\nhonor and commend him; some there will be to give him a good report,\nto praise him as true and honest in doctrine. And there will be some\nwho receive and acknowledge him, who are not ashamed of him. Life\nremains in spite of death oft faced, even in scourgings. He rejoices\nwhen things with him are at the worst, for his heart remains joyful in\nGod, that joy finding expression in words, deeds and manner. Though\npoor in the goods of the world, he does not die of hunger, and he\nmakes many spiritually rich through the Word. Even though he have no\npossessions at all, he suffers no lack but has in hand all things; for\nall creatures must serve the believer. As Christ promised (Mk 9, 23),\n\"All things are possible to him that believeth.\" For himself, it is\ntrue, he possesses nothing, and gladly he endures his need; but for\nhis neighbor's sake he can do all things, and all he has he is ready\nto place at the disposal of his neighbor whenever need requires. These\nblessings also give occasion for a powerful armor, for we must guard\nagainst pride and haughtiness.\n\n21. Thus the Christian is quite untrammeled. His eyes are fixed upon\nGod alone. Always choosing the safe middle path he steers clear of\ndanger on the right and on the left. He permits not the evil to\noverthrow him nor the good to exalt, but makes use of both to the\nhonor of God and the benefit of his neighbor. This, Paul instructs us,\nshould be the manner of our life now while the season of grace\ncontinues; nor must we fail to heed this! This is the true service of\nGod, the service well pleasing to him; unto which may God help us.\nAmen.\n\n\n\n\n_Second Sunday In Lent_\n\nText: First Thessalonians 4, 1-7.\n\n1 Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus,\nthat, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God,\neven as ye do walk,--that ye abound more and more. 2 For ye know what\ncharge we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of\nGod, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; 4\nthat each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in\nsanctification and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust, even as the\nGentiles who know not God; 6 that no man transgress, and wrong his\nbrother in the matter: because the Lord is an avenger in all these\nthings, as also we forewarned you and testified. 7 For God called us\nnot for uncleanness, but in sanctification.\n\n\nEXHORTATION TO HOLINESS.\n\n1. This lesson is easy of interpretation. It is a general and earnest\nadmonition on the part of Paul, enjoining us to an increasing degree\nof perfection in the doctrine we have received. This admonition, this\nexhortation, is one incumbent upon an evangelical teacher to give, for\nhe is urging us to observe a doctrine commanded of God. He says, \"For\nye know what charge [commandments] we gave you through the Lord\nJesus.\" Whatever Christians do, it should be willing service, not\ncompulsory; but when a command is given, it should be in the form of\nexhortation or entreaty. Those who have received the Spirit are they\nfrom whom obedience is due; but those not inclined to a willing\nperformance, we should leave to themselves.\n\n2. But mark you this: Paul places much value upon the gift bestowed\nupon us, the gift of knowing how we are \"to walk and to please God.\"\nIn the world this gift is as great as it is rare. Though the offer is\nmade to the whole world and publicly proclaimed, further exhortation\nis indispensable, and Paul is painstaking and diligent in\nadministering it. The trouble is, we are in danger of becoming\nindolent and negligent, forgetful and ungrateful--vices menacing and\ngreat, and which, alas, are altogether too frequent.\n\nLet us look back and note to what depths of darkness, of delusion and\nabomination, we had sunk when we knew not how we ought to walk, how to\nplease God. Alas, we have forgotten all about it; we have become\nindolent and ungrateful, and are dealt with accordingly. Well does the\napostle say in the lesson for the Sunday preceding this (2 Cor 6, 1):\n\"And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the\ngrace of God in vain, for he saith, At an acceptable time I hearkened\nunto thee, and in a day of salvation did I succor thee.\"\n\n3. In our present lesson he treats chiefly of two vices: unchastity,\nwhich is a sin against oneself and destructive of the fruits of faith;\nand fraud in business, which is a sin against the neighbor and\nlikewise destructive of faith and charity. Paul would have every man\nkeep himself chaste and free from wrong against every man, pronouncing\nthe wrath of God on offenses of this character.\n\n4. It was a fact reflecting much credit and honor on the Thessalonians\nin contrast to the Corinthians and the Galatians, that they continued\nupright in doctrine and true in the knowledge of the faith, though\nperhaps deficient in the above-mentioned two self-evident features of\nChristian life. While it is true that if sins of immorality are not\nrenounced God will punish, yet punishment in such cases is for the\nmost part temporal, these sins being less pernicious than such gross\noffenses as error in faith and doctrine.\n\n5. Paul, however, threatens such sins with the wrath of God, lest\nanyone become remiss and indolent, imagining the kingdom of Christ a\nkingdom to tolerate with impunity such offenses. As Paul expresses it,\n\"God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification [holiness].\"\nThe thought is: Unchastity does not come within the limits of\nChristian liberty and privilege, nor does God treat the offender with\nindulgence and impunity. No, indeed. In fact, he will more rigorously\npunish this sin among Christians than among heathen. Paul tells us (1\nCor 11, 30) that many were sickly and many had succumbed to the sleep\nof death in consequence of eating and drinking unworthily. And Psalm\n89, 32 testifies, \"Then will I visit their transgression with the\nrod.\"\n\n6. True, they who sin through infirmity, who, conscious of their\ntransgressions, suffer themselves to be reproved, repenting at\nonce--for these the kingdom of Christ has ready pity and forbearance,\ncommending them to acceptance and toleration (Rom 15; Gal 6, 1; 1 Cor\n13, 7); but that such vices be regarded generally lawful and\nnormal--this will not do! Paul declares, \"This is the will of God,\neven your sanctification.\" And he speaks of \"how ye ought to ...\nplease God.\" His thought is: Some consider these sins a matter of\nlittle moment, treat them as if the wind blew them away and God rather\nhad pleasure in them as trivial affairs. But this is not true. While\nGod really bears with the fallen sinner, he would have us perceive our\nerrors and strive to mend our lives and to abound more and more in\nrighteousness. His grace is not intended to cloak our shame, nor\nshould the licentious abuse the kingdom of Christ as a shield for\ntheir knavery. Paul commands (Gal 5, 13), \"Use not your freedom for an\noccasion to the flesh\"; and Peter (1 Pet 2, 16), \"As free, and not\nusing your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of\nGod.\"\n\n7. Paul, following the Hebrew way of speaking, has reference to\nchastity where he says \"your sanctification.\" He terms the body \"holy\"\nwhen it is chaste, chastity being, in God's sight, equivalent to\nholiness. \"Holiness,\" in the Old Testament, is a synonym for \"purity.\"\nAgain, \"holiness\" and \"purity\" are regarded as the same thing in First\nCorinthians 7, 14: \"Else were your children unclean; but now are they\nholy.\"\n\n8. The nature of the holiness and purity whereof he speaks he makes\nplain himself in the words: \"That ye abstain from fornication; that\neach one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in\nsanctification and honor.\" The apostle does not here prohibit\nmatrimony, but licentiousness, and unchastity outside the marriage\nstate. He who is careful to keep his vessel--his body--chaste, who\ndoes not commit adultery and is not guilty of whoredom--this man\npreserves his body in holiness and purity, and properly is called\nchaste and holy. The same thought is borne out in the succeeding\nverse:\n\n\"Not in the passion of lust [in the lust of concupiscence], even as\nthe Gentiles.\"\n\n9. The Gentiles, who know not God, give themselves up to all manner of\nuncleanness, or disgraceful vices, as Paul records in Romans 1, 29-31.\nNot that all gentiles are guilty in that respect. Paul is not saying\nwhat all heathen do; he merely states that with the gentiles such\nconduct is apparent, and quite to be expected from people \"who know\nnot God.\" Under such conditions, one allows the sin to pass\nunreproved, as does Paul himself. Notwithstanding he censures them who\nconsent to sin of this character when knowing better, and who do not\nrestrain the evil-doers. Rom 1, 32. But in the case of Christians,\nwhen any fall into such sin they are to be reproved and the sin\nresisted; the offense must not be allowed to pass as with the\ngentiles. In the case of the latter the lust of concupiscence holds\nsway; no restraints are exercised and the reins are given to lust, so\nthat its nature and passion are given free expression, just as if this\nwere a provision of nature, when the fact is it is a pest to be\nhealed, a blemish to be removed. But there is none to heal and\ndeliver, so the gentiles decay and go to ruin through evil lust. \"Lust\nof concupiscence\" would be, with us, \"evil lust.\" The conclusion is\nsimple:\n\n\"That no man transgress and wrong his brother in the matter.\"\n\n10. In other words, that no one take for himself what belongs to\nanother, or use the property of another for his own benefit, which may\nbe done by a variety of tricks. To \"defraud in any matter\" is to seek\ngain at the expense of a neighbor. On this latter subject much has\nbeen written elsewhere, particularly in the little treatise on\nMerchants and Usury, showing the great extent to which extortion is\npracticed and how charity is rarely observed. It is on this topic that\nPaul here would fix our attention.\n\n\n\n\n_Third Sunday In Lent_\n\nText: Ephesians 5, 1-9.\n\n1 Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in\nlove, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an\noffering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell. 3 But\nfornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be\nnamed among you, as becometh saints; 4 nor filthiness, nor foolish\ntalking, or jesting, which are not befitting: but rather giving of\nthanks. 5 For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor\nunclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any\ninheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no man deceive you\nwith empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God\nupon the sons of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with\nthem; 8 for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk\nas children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness\nand righteousness and truth).\n\n\nEXHORTATION TO BE IMITATORS OF GOD.\n\n1. This is a letter of admonition, instructing Christians, according\nto the plan underlying Paul's epistles, not to become sluggish and\ncareless, but by their deeds to evince their faith, and honor and\nproclaim the Word he has taught them; for the sake of the gentiles and\nunbelievers, that these may not take offense at the doctrine of\nChrist.\n\n2. To begin with, having shown that we were made children of God\nthrough Christ, he admonishes us to be followers, or imitators, of the\nFather, as beloved children. He employs the most endearing of\nterms--\"beloved children\"--to persuade us by the Father's love to love\neven as we are loved. But what manner of love has God manifested\ntoward us? It was not simply that love manifest in the fact that he\ngives temporal support to us unworthy beings in common with all the\nwicked on earth; that he permits his sun to rise on the just and on\nthe unjust and sends rain on the grateful and on the ungrateful, as\nChrist mentions (Mt 5, 45) in connection with his command to be\nperfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect. Not only thus did God\nlove us, but in a special way: he has given his Son for us. In\naddition to showering upon us both temporal and eternal blessings he\nhas given his own self; he has completely poured out himself for us,\nwith all he is, with all he has, with all he does,--and we were\nnothing but sinners, unworthy creatures, enemies and servants of the\ndevil. More than this would be beyond even his grace and power.\n\nHe who despises such glow of love, which fills all heaven and earth\nand is beyond all power to comprehend it; who does not permit this\nlove to kindle and incite in him love for his neighbor whether enemy\nor friend--such a one is not likely ever to become godly or loving by\nsuch measures as laws or commandments, instruction, constraint or\ncompulsion.\n\n3. \"Walk in love,\" counsels the apostle. He would have our external\nlife all love. But not the world's love is to be our pattern, which\nseeks only its own advantage, and loves only so long as it is the\ngainer thereby; we must love even as Christ loved, who sought neither\npleasure nor gain from us but gave himself for us, not to mention the\nother blessings he bestows daily--gave himself as a sacrifice and\noffering to reconcile God unto ourselves, so that he should be our God\nand we his children.\n\nThus likewise should we give, thus should we lend, or even surrender\nour goods, no matter whether friends claim them or enemies. Nor are we\nto stop there; we must be ready to give our lives for both friends and\nenemies, and must be occupied with no other thought than how we can\nserve others, and how both our life and property can be made to\nminister to them in this life, and this because we know that Christ is\nours and has given us all things.\n\n\"To God for an odor of a sweet smell [for a sweet-smelling savor].\"\n\n4. This expression Paul takes from the Old Testament. There the\ntemporal sacrifices are described as being \"a sweet-smelling savor\"\nunto God: that is, they were acceptable and well-pleasing to him; but\nnot, as the Jews imagined, because of the value of the work or of the\nsacrifices in themselves. For such thoughts they were chastised by the\nprophets often enough. They were acceptable on the ground of the true\nsacrifice which they foreshadowed and encircled. Paul's thought is\nthis: The sacrifices of the Old Testament have passed. Now all\nsacrifices are powerless but that of Christ himself; he is the\nsweet-smelling savor. This sacrifice is pleasing to God. He gladly\naccepts it and would have us be confident it is an acceptable offering\nin our stead. Moreover, there is no other sacrifice the Christian\nChurch can offer for us. The once-offered Christ alone avails.\nAlthough, following his example, we present our bodies a sacrifice, as\ntaught in Romans 12, 1, yet we do not do so in behalf of ourselves or\nothers; that is the function of the one sacrifice alone--Christ.\nTherefore, all sacrifices offered in the mistaken notion that they\navail for us, or even secure forgiveness of sin, are wicked and\nunsavory. But more of this elsewhere.\n\n\nSINS NOT TO BE NAMED AMONG CHRISTIANS.\n\n\"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not\neven be named among you, as becometh saints.\"\n\n5. In naming uncleanness in addition to fornication, the reference is\nto all sensual affections in distinction from wedded love. They are\ntoo unsavory for him to mention by name, though in Romans 1, 24 he\nfinds it expedient to speak of them without disguise. However, also\nwedded love must be characterized by moderation among Christians.\nWhile there is a conjugal duty to be required by necessity, it is for\nthe very purpose of avoiding unchastity and uncleanness. The ideal and\nperfect condition, it is true, would be cohabitation with a sole view\nto procreation; however, that is too high for attainment by all.\n\n6. Paul declares that the sin he indicates should not be named of the\nEphesians. Unquestionably, among Christians there will always be some\ninfirm one to fall; but we must labor diligently, correcting, amending\nand restraining. We must not suffer the offense to go unchallenged,\nbut curtail and remedy it, lest, as remarked in the preceding lesson,\nthe heathen stumble, saying: \"Christians tolerate such vices among\nthemselves; their conduct is not different from our own.\" An\noccasional fall among Christians must be borne with so long as right\nprevails in general, and such things are neither tolerated nor taught,\nbut reproved and amended. Paul gives the counsel (Gal 6, 1) that the\nbrethren restore the fallen in a spirit of meekness; and he blames the\nCorinthians for not reproving them who sin. 1 Cor 5, 2. A sin, once\npunished, is as if the sin did not exist; it is no longer a matter of\nreproach.\n\n7. Likewise with covetousness: we are to understand that it is not to\nbe named of Christians. That is, should one be covetous, should one\ndefraud another or contend with him about temporal advantage, as\nevidently was true of the Corinthians (1 Cor 6, 1), the offense must\nnot be suffered to go unreproved and uncorrected. The Gospel must be\ncarefully upheld and preserved among the multitude, \"that our\nministration be not blamed.\" 2 Cor 6, 3.\n\nI make this point for the sake of those who, so soon as they observe\nthat all Christians are not perfectly holy, but will occasionally\nstumble and fall, imagine there is no such thing as a Christian and\nthe Gospel is impotent and fruitless. Just as if to be a Christian\nmeant the mountain already climbed and complete, triumphant victory\nover sin! The fact is, it is rather a contest, a battle. Wherever\nthere is a contest, or a battle, some of the combatants will flee,\nsome will be wounded, some will fall and some even be slain. For\nwarfare is not unaccompanied by disaster if it be real warfare.\n\n8. The writer of the epistle goes on to assign the reason why it does\nnot sound well to hear such things concerning Christians--because they\nare saints and it behooves saints to be chaste and moderate, and to\npractice and teach these virtues. Note, he calls Christians \"saints,\"\nnotwithstanding that in this life they are clothed with sinful flesh\nand blood. Doubtless the term is not applied in consequence of their\ngood works, but because of the holy blood of Christ. For Paul says (1\nCor 6, 11): \"But ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were\njustified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of\nour God.\" Being holy, we should manifest our holiness by our deeds.\nThough we are still weak, yet we ought duly to strive to become chaste\nand free from covetousness, to the glory and honor of God and the\nedifying of unbelievers.\n\n\"Nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not\nbefitting.\"\n\n9. \"Filthiness\"--scandalous talk--is unchaste language suggestive of\nfornication, uncleanness and carnal sins. It is common in taverns and\ngenerally found as accompaniment of gluttony, drunkenness and\ngambling. Especially were the Greeks frivolous and adepts in this\nrespect, as their poets and other writers attest. What Paul refers to\nin particular is the lewd conversation uttered in public without fear\nand self-restraint. This will excite wicked thoughts and give rise to\nserious offenses, especially with the young. As he states elsewhere (1\nCor 15, 33), \"Evil companionships [communications] corrupt good\nmorals.\" Should there be any Christians forgetful enough to so\ntransgress, the offense must be reproved; otherwise it will become\ngeneral and give the congregation an ill repute, as if Christians\ntaught and tolerated it the same as the heathen.\n\n\nFOOLISH TALKING AND JESTING.\n\n10. By \"foolish talking\" is indicated the fables and tales and other\nlore in which the Greeks particularly abound--a people who possess a\nspecial faculty for fiction of this sort. Similar are the tales\ncommonly related by our women and maidens while spinning at the\ndistaff, also those which knaves are fond of relating. Here belong\nalso worldly songs which either relate lewd matters or turn upon\nslippery, frivolous themes. Such are \"The Priest of Kalenburg,\"\n\"Dietrich of Berne\" and innumerable others.\n\n11. Particularly unchristian is every kind of such buffoonery in the\nchurch when men are gathered to hear and learn the Word of God. But\nthe practice is common where many come together. Even where at first\nthings of a serious nature are discussed, men soon pass to frivolous,\nwanton, foolish talk, resulting in a waste of time and the neglect of\nbetter things. For instance, on the festival of Easter, foolish,\nridiculous stories have been introduced into the sermon to arouse the\ndrowsy. And at the Christmas services, the absurd pantomime of rocking\na babe, and silly declamations in rhyme, have found vogue. Similarly\nthe festivals commemorating the three holy kings, the passion of\nChrist, Dorothy and other saints were characterized.\n\n12. In this category should also be classed the legends of the saints\nand the confused mass of lies concerning miracles, pilgrimages,\nmasses, worship of saints, indulgencies, and so on, which once\ndominated the pulpit. Yet these falsehoods are too gross to be called\nmerely foolish. They are not just frivolous lies merely destructive of\ngood morals, such as Paul refers to here, but they completely\noverthrow faith and the Word of God, making sainthood impossible. Such\nkind of jesting is altogether too serious. Those, however, who have\nseen into them treat them as lies of the same frivolous and abominable\ncharacter as the fables or old women's tales mentioned by Paul 1 Tim\n4, 7. But while the latter are mere human tales which nobody believes,\nwhich no one will place reliance on, serving as mere occasion of\nmerriment, without becoming a source of general moral corruption, an\nobstacle to improvement and a cause of cold, indolent Christianity,\nthe falsehoods of the pulpit are diabolical tales held as truth in all\nseriousness, but a comedy for the devil and his angels.\n\n13. \"Jesting\" has reference to those conversational expedients which\npander to gaiety in the form of scandal; they are called among us\nbanter and badinage. Laughter, mirth and gaiety is their purpose, and\nwe meet with them generally in society and high life. Among the\nheathen, jesting was counted a virtue, and therefore received the\ntitle \"eutrapelia\" by Aristotle. But Paul calls it a vice among\nChristians, who certainly may find conversational expedients of a\ndifferent kind, such as will inspire a cheerful and joyous spirit in\nChrist. True, Christians are not all so pure but that some may err in\nthis matter; but the Christian Church does not command jesting, nor\nsuffer any member to abandon himself to the practice. It reproves and\nprohibits it, particularly in religious assemblies, and in teaching\nand preaching. For Christ says (Mt 12, 36) that at the last day men\nmust give account of every idle, unprofitable word they have spoken.\nChristians should be a very firm, though courteous, people. Courtesy\nshould be coupled with seriousness, and seriousness with courtesy,\naccording to the pattern of the life of Christ supplied in the Gospel.\n\n\"Which are not befitting.\"\n\n14. Paul apparently would include in the catalog all unprofitable\nlanguage of whatever name. I would call those words unprofitable which\nserve not to further the faith nor to supply the wants of the body and\npreserve it. We have enough else to talk about during this short\nlifetime, if we desire to speak, enough that is profitable and\npleasant, if we talk only of Christ, of love and of other essential\nthings. The apostle mentions the giving of thanks. It should be our\ndaily and constant employment to praise and thank God, privately and\npublicly, for the great and inexpressible treasures he has given us in\nChrist. But it appears that what is needful is relegated to the rear,\nwhile objects of indifference are brought to the fore.\n\nNow, mark you, if Paul will not tolerate banter and suggestive\nconversation among Christians, what would he say of the shameful\nbackbiting which is heard whenever people meet, though but two\nindividuals? Yes, what would be his judgment of those who in public\npreaching clinch and claw, attack and calumniate each other?\n\n\nFRUITLESS CHRISTIANS ARE HEATHEN.\n\n\"For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person,\nnor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the\nkingdom of Christ and God.\"\n\n15. Hereby he declares in dry words that the man who does not exhibit\nthe fruits of faith is a heathen under the name of a Christian. Here\nis absolute condemnation in a word. The whoremonger is a denier of the\nfaith; the unclean person is a denier of the faith; the covetous\nindividual is a denier of the faith: all are rebellious, perjured and\nfaithless toward God. Paul tells Timothy (1 Tim 5, 8): \"But if any\nprovideth not for his own, and specially his own household, he hath\ndenied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.\" How could he utter\nanything more severe, more terrifying?\n\nHe begins, \"For this ye know.\" In other words: Doubt not; do not find\nvain comfort in the thought that this is a jest or an aspersion. A\nChristian name, and association with Christians, will count for\nnothing. It will profit you as little as it profits the Jews to be\nAbraham's seed and disciples of Moses. Christ's words (Mt 7, 21)\nconcern every man: \"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,\nshall enter into the kingdom of heaven.\" There must be performance;\nfaith must be manifested by works.\n\n16. If the great fire of divine love which he uses as his first\nargument will not draw us, then may the terrible threat of hell fire\nprove a sufficient incentive. In other words, if men follow not God,\nwalking in love and showing their faith by their deeds, let them know\nthey are not God's children, not heirs in his kingdom, and therefore\nare unquestionably heirs of the evil one in hell. He who is unmoved by\nthe threats of hell fire must truly be a stick or a stone; indeed, he\nmust have a heart like an anvil, as Job says.\n\n17. The writer of the epistle passes unusually severe sentence upon\nthe covetous man, for he calls him an idolater, or a worshiper of a\nfalse God. Plainly, Paul entertained special enmity against the\ncovetous, for in Colossians 3, 5 he defines this sin in a similar\nmanner. His reasoning, I judge, is this: All other sinners turn to use\nwhat they have and make it subservient to their lusts. Fornicators and\nthe unclean make their bodies serve their pleasure. The haughty employ\nproperty, art, reputation and men to secure honor to themselves. The\nunhappy idolater alone is servant to his possessions; his sin is to\nsave, guard and preserve property. He dare not make use of it either\nfor himself or for others, but worships it as his god. Rather than\ntouch his money, he would suffer both the kingdom of God and of the\nworld to perish. He will not give a farthing to the support of a\npreacher or a schoolmaster for the sake of advancing God's kingdom.\nBecause he places his confidence, his trust, in his money rather than\nin the living God, whose promises concerning ample support are\nabundant, his real God is his money, and to call him an idolater is\nentirely just. And, in addition, he must renounce heaven! A shameful\nvice, indeed! O contemptible Unbelief! what a dangerous vice art thou!\n\n\nDECEPTION BY EMPTY WORDS.\n\n\"Let no man deceive you with empty words.\"\n\n18. This applies to those who gloss their unchastity over, as if it\nwere but a trivial sin. And some have been even such vulgar teachers\nas to consider no unchastity evil except adultery, and to accept it as\na normal function, like eating and drinking. The Greek philosophers\nand poets were of this class. And Terence says, \"It is neither a sin\nnor a shame for a youth to commit fornication.\" To obey such doctrine\nwould be to know nothing of God and to live in the lust of\nconcupiscence, like the gentiles who know not God, of whom we heard in\nthe preceding lesson. All arguments of this character are vain words;\nthey may fascinate the reason after a fashion; yet they are vain and\nfutile, unable to profit their authors.\n\nCovetousness likewise has much false show and glitter. When one\ndefrauds another or seeks his own advantage to the injury of others,\nhis act is not at all called sin, but cleverness, economy and\nsagacity, though meanwhile the poor must suffer want and even die of\nhunger. Such arguments are merely the specious and blind utterances of\nheathen, contrary to Christian love.\n\n19. But we have additional light upon this subject, showing that\nbecause of such practices the wrath of God comes upon the unbelieving.\nIn First Corinthians 10, 18 are cited numerous examples of punishment\nfor the sin of fornication. See also Num 25. Again, because of\nwantonness, covetousness and unchastity, the entire world was\ndestroyed by the flood. This is a severe utterance but true and\nindubitable.\n\n\"For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of\ndisobedience.\"\n\n\"Sons of disobedience\"--in other words, they who have fallen from the\nfaith. Thus we see that he who does not show his faith by his deeds,\nis accounted practically an infidel. In fact, he is worse than an\ninfidel; he is an apostate Christian, or an apostate from the faith.\nTherefore comes the wrath of God upon such, even here on earth. This\nis why we Germans must suffer so much famine, pestilence, war and\nbloodshed to come upon us.\n\n20. Among these idle chatterers and misleading teachers the sluggards\nand drones should beware of being classified, who, with better light\nthan the heathen, know full well that covetousness and unchastity are\nsin. While they teach nothing to controvert this, they notwithstanding\ntrust for salvation in a faith barren of works, on the ground that\nworks cannot effect salvation. They know full well that a faith barren\nof works is nothing, is a false faith; that fruit and good works must\nfollow a genuine faith of necessity. Nevertheless they go on in carnal\nsecurity, without fear of the wrath and judgment of God, who wants the\nold Adam to be crucified, and to find good fruit on good trees.\n\nIt is possible that St. Paul does not refer in this passage to those\nwho, like the heathen, teach and maintain by specious arguments that\nunchastity is no sin; nevertheless there is reason to apprehend that\nthe reward of the heathen will be meted out to them likewise; for they\nlive like the heathen, being strangers to both chastity and kindness.\nAnd our apprehension is so much more justified because they have a\nbetter knowledge of the wrong they commit. This is Paul's standpoint\nwhen he asks (Rom 2, 3): \"And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest\nthem that practice such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt\nescape the judgment of God?\" \"After thy hardness and impenitent\nheart,\" he adds, thou \"treasurest up for thyself wrath.\"\n\n\"Be not ye therefore partakers with them; for ye were once darkness,\nbut are now light in the Lord.\"\n\n21. Peter similarly counsels (1 Pet 4, 3) to let the time past of our\nlives suffice us to have wrought the will of the gentiles, and no\nlonger be partakers with them, but live the rest of our time to the\nwill of God. While we were gentiles we knew not that all those things\nwere sin, because of the darkness of unbelief, which prevented our\nknowing God. But now we have become a light in the Lord. That is, we\nhave been so amply enlightened through Christ that we not only know\nGod and what he desires, and understand what sin and wrong are, but we\nare also able to light others, to teach them what we know. Paul\ncommends the Philippians for being a light in the world, among an evil\nand untoward generation. Phil 2, 15. And, similarly, when we were\ngentiles we not only were darkened, not only were ignorant and went\nastray, but we were darkness itself, leading others into the same\ncondition by our words and deeds. We have reason, then, to be thankful\nunto him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1\nPet 2, 9), and to \"walk as children of light.\"\n\n\"For the fruit of the light [Spirit] is in all goodness and\nrighteousness and truth.\"\n\n22. Since Paul is speaking of light, it would have been more to the\npoint had he said \"fruit of the light,\" in accordance with the Latin\nversion, than \"fruit of the Spirit,\" the Greek rendering. And who\nknows but it may, in the Greek, have been altered to harmonize with\nGalatians 5, 22, where Paul speaks of the \"fruit of the Spirit\"? It\nmatters little, however; evidently \"Spirit\" and \"light\" are synonymous\nin this place.\n\n\"Goodness\" is the fruit of light, or of the Spirit, as opposed to\ncovetousness. The Christian is to be good; that is, useful, gladly\nworking his neighbor's good. \"Righteousness,\" as fruit of the Spirit\namong men--for the Spirit also is righteous before God--is opposed to\ncovetousness. The Christian must not take another's possessions by\nforce, trickery or fraud, but must give to each his due, his own, even\nto the heathen authorities. See Rom 13, 1. \"Truth\" is the fruit of the\nSpirit as opposed to hypocrisy and lies. A Christian is not only to be\ntruthful in word, but honest in life. He should not bear the name\nwithout the works; he cannot be a Christian and yet live a heathenish\nlife, a life of unchastity, covetousness and other vices.\n\n\n\n\n_Fourth Sunday In Lent_\n\nText: Galatians 4, 21-31.\n\n21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the\nlaw? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the\nhandmaid, and one by the freewomen. 23 Howbeit the son by the handmaid\nis born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through\npromise. 24 Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two\ncovenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which\nis Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to\nthe Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children. 26\nBut the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother. 27 For\nit is written,\n\n  Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not;\n  Break forth and cry, thou that travailest not:\n  For more are the children of the desolate than of her that hath the\n    husband.\n\n28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But as\nthen he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born\nafter the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 Howbeit what saith the\nscripture? Cast out the handmaid and her son; for the son of the\nhandmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman. 31\nWherefore, brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of the\nfreewoman.\n\n\nTHE CHILDREN OF PROMISE.\n\nThis lesson is amply expounded in my commentary on the Epistle to the\nGalatians. It is unnecessary to repeat the exposition here, for it may\nbe found and read there. He who desires further information on the\nsubject may read the postils on the epistle lesson for the Sunday\nafter Christmas and that for New Year's Day. There he will find all\ninformation. Thus will be obviated the necessity of repeating the\ndiscourse in various places.\n\n\n\n\n_Fifth Sunday In Lent_\n\nText: Hebrews 9, 11-15.\n\n11 But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come,\nthrough the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,\nthat is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of\ngoats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all\ninto the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the\nblood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them\nthat have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh: 14\nhow much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal\nSpirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your\nconscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this\ncause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken\nplace for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the\nfirst covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of\nthe eternal inheritance.\n\n\nCHRIST OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST.\n\n1. An understanding of practically all of the Epistle to the Hebrews\nis necessary before we can hope to make this text clear to ourselves.\nBriefly, the epistle treats of a two-fold priesthood. The former\npriesthood was a material one, with material adornment, tabernacle,\nsacrifices and with pardon couched in ritual; material were all its\nappointments. The new order is a spiritual priesthood, with spiritual\nadornments, spiritual tabernacle and sacrifices--spiritual in all that\npertains to it. Christ, in the exercise of his priestly office, in the\nsacrifice on the cross, was not adorned with silk and gold and\nprecious stones, but with divine love, wisdom, patience, obedience and\nall virtues. His adornment was apparent to none but God and possessors\nof the Spirit, for it was spiritual.\n\n2. Christ sacrificed not goats nor calves nor birds; not bread; not\nblood nor flesh, as did Aaron and his posterity: he offered his own\nbody and blood, and the manner of the sacrifice was spiritual; for it\ntook place through the Holy Spirit, as here stated. Though the body\nand blood of Christ were visible the same as any other material\nobject, the fact that he offered them as a sacrifice was not apparent.\nIt was not a visible sacrifice, as in the case of offerings at the\nhands of Aaron. Then the goat or calf, the flesh and blood, were\nmaterial sacrifices visibly offered, and recognized as sacrifices. But\nChrist offered himself in the heart before God. His sacrifice was\nperceptible to no mortal. Therefore, his bodily flesh and blood\nbecomes a spiritual sacrifice. Similarly, we Christians, the posterity\nof Christ our Aaron, offer up our own bodies. Rom 12, 1. And our\noffering is likewise a spiritual sacrifice, or, as Paul has it, a\n\"reasonable service\"; for we make it in spirit, and it is beheld of\nGod alone.\n\n3. Again, in the new order, the tabernacle or house is spiritual; for\nit is heaven, or the presence of God. Christ hung upon a cross; he was\nnot offered in a temple. He was offered before the eyes of God, and\nthere he still abides. The cross is an altar in a spiritual sense. The\nmaterial cross was indeed visible, but none knew it as Christ's altar.\nAgain, his prayer, his sprinkled blood, his burnt incense, were all\nspiritual, for it was all wrought through his spirit.\n\n4. Accordingly, the fruit and blessing of his office and sacrifice,\nthe forgiveness of our sins and our justification, are likewise\nspiritual. In the Old Covenant, the priest with his sacrifices and\nsprinklings of blood effected merely as it were an external\nabsolution, or pardon, corresponding to the childhood stage of the\npeople. The recipient was permitted to move publicly among the people;\nhe was externally holy and as one restored from excommunication. He\nwho failed to obtain absolution from the priest was unholy, being\ndenied membership in the congregation and enjoyment of its privileges;\nin all respects he was separated like those in the ban today.\n\n5. But such absolution rendered no one inwardly holy and just before\nGod. Something beyond that was necessary to secure true forgiveness.\nIt was the same principle which governs church discipline today. He\nwho has received no more than the remission, or absolution, of the\necclesiastical judge will surely remain forever out of heaven. On the\nother hand, he who is in the ban of the Church is hellward bound only\nwhen the sentence is confirmed at a higher tribunal. I can make no\nbetter comparison than to say that it was the same in the old Jewish\npriesthood as now in the Papal priesthood, which, with its loosing and\nbinding, can prohibit or permit only external communion among\nChristians. It is true, God required such measures in the time of the\nJewish dispensation, that he might restrain by fear; just as now he\nsanctions church discipline when rightly employed, in order to punish\nand restrain the evil-doer, though it has no power in itself to raise\npeople to holiness or to push them into wickedness.\n\n6. But with the priesthood of Christ is true spiritual remission,\nsanctification and absolution. These avail before God--God grant that\nit be true of us--whether we be outwardly excommunicated, or holy, or\nnot. Christ's blood has obtained for us pardon forever acceptable with\nGod. God will forgive our sins for the sake of that blood so long as\nits power shall last and its intercession for grace in our behalf,\nwhich is forever. Therefore, we are forever holy and blessed before\nGod. This is the substance of the text. Now that we shall find it easy\nto understand, we will briefly consider it.\n\n\"But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come.\"\n\n7. The adornment of Aaron and his descendants, the high priests, was\nof a material nature, and they obtained for the people a merely formal\nremission of sins, performing their office in a perishable temple, or\ntabernacle. It was evident to men that their absolution and\nsanctification before the congregation was a temporal blessing\nconfined to the present. But when Christ came upon the cross no one\nbeheld him as he went before God in the Holy Spirit, adorned with\nevery grace and virtue, a true High Priest. The blessings wrought by\nhim are not temporal--a merely formal pardon--but the \"blessings to\ncome\"; namely, blessings which are spiritual and eternal. Paul speaks\nof them as blessings to come, not that we are to await the life to\ncome before we can have forgiveness and all the blessings of divine\ngrace, but because now we possess them only in faith. They are as yet\nhidden, to be revealed in the future life. Again, the blessings we\nhave in Christ were, from the standpoint of the Old Testament\npriesthood, blessings to come.\n\n\"Through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,\nthat is to say, not of this creation.\"\n\n8. The apostle does not name the tabernacle he mentions; nor can he,\nso strange its nature! It exists only in the sight of God, and is ours\nin faith, to be revealed hereafter. It is not made with hands, like\nthe Jewish tabernacle; in other words, not of \"this building.\" The old\ntabernacle, like all buildings of its nature, necessarily was made of\nwood and other temporal materials created by God. God says in Isaiah\n66, 1-2: \"What manner of house will ye build unto me?... For all these\nthings hath my hand made, and so all these things came to be.\" But\nthat greater tabernacle has not yet form; it is not yet finished. God\nis building it and he shall reveal it. Christ's words are (Jn 14, 3),\n\"And if I go and prepare a place for you.\"\n\n\"Nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own\nblood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained\neternal redemption.\"\n\n9. According to Leviticus 16, the high priest must once a year enter\ninto the holy place with the blood of rams and other offerings, and\nwith these make formal reconciliation for the people. This ceremony\ntypified that Christ, the true Priest, should once die for us, to\nobtain for us the true atonement. But the former sacrifice, having to\nbe repeated every year, was but a temporary and imperfect atonement;\nit did not eternally suffice, as does the atonement of Christ. For\nthough we fall and sin repeatedly, we have confidence that the blood\nof Christ does not fall, or sin; it remains steadfast before God, and\nthe expiation is perpetual and eternal. Under its sway grace is\nperpetually renewed, without work or merit on our part, provided we do\nnot stand aloof in unbelief.\n\n\"For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer,\" etc.\n\n10. Concerning the water of separation and the ashes of the red\nheifer, read Numbers 19; and concerning the blood of bulls and goats,\nLeviticus 16, 14-15. According to Paul, these were formal and temporal\npurifications, as I stated above. But Christ, in God's sight, purifies\nthe conscience of dead works; that is, of sins meriting death, and of\nworks performed in sin and therefore dead. Christ purifies from these,\nthat we may serve the living God by living works.\n\n\"And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant [testament],\"\netc.\n\n11. Under the old law, which provided only for formal, or ritualistic,\npardon, and restored to human fellowship, sin and transgressions\nremained, burdening the conscience. It--the old law--did not benefit\nthe soul at all, inasmuch as God did not institute it to purify and\nsafeguard the conscience, nor to bestow the Spirit. It existed merely\nfor the purpose of outward discipline, restraint and correction. So\nPaul teaches that under the Old Testament dispensation man's\ntransgressions remained, but now Christ is our Mediator through his\nblood; by it our conscience is freed from sin in the sight of God,\ninasmuch as God promises the Spirit through the blood of Christ. All,\nhowever, do not receive him. Only those called to be heirs eternal,\nthe elect, receive the Spirit.\n\n12. We find, then, in this excellent lesson, the comforting doctrine\ntaught that Christ is he whom we should know as the Priest and Bishop\nof our souls; that no sin is forgiven, nor the Holy Spirit given, by\nreason of works or merit on our part, but alone through the blood of\nChrist, and that to those for whom God has ordained it. This matter\nhas been sufficiently set forth in the various postils.\n\n\n\n\n_Palm Sunday_\n\nText: Philippians 2, 5-11.\n\n5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who,\nexisting in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with\nGod a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a\nservant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in\nfashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto\ndeath, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly\nexalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10\nthat in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven\nand things on earth and things under the earth, 11 and that every\ntongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God\nthe Father.\n\n\nCHRIST AN EXAMPLE OF LOVE.\n\n1. Here Paul again presents to us as a powerful example of the\ncelestial and eternal fire, the love of Christ, for the purpose of\npersuading us to exercise a loving concern for one another. The\napostle employs fine words and precious admonitions, having perceived\nthe indolence and negligence displayed by Christians in this matter of\nloving. For this the flesh is responsible. The flesh continually\nresists the willing spirit, seeking its own interest and causing sects\nand factions. Although a sermon on this same text went forth in my\nname a few years ago, entitled \"The Twofold Righteousness,\" the text\nwas not exhausted; therefore we will now examine it word by word.\n\n\"Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.\"\n\n2. You are Christians; you have Christ, and in him and through him all\nfullness of comfort for time and eternity: therefore nothing should\nappeal to your thought, your judgment, your pleasure, but that which\nwas in the mind of Christ concerning you as the source of your\nwelfare. For his motive throughout was not his own advantage;\neverything he did was done for your sake and in your interest. Let men\ntherefore, in accord with his example, work every good thing for one\nanother's benefit.\n\n\"Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an\nequality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking\nthe form of a servant.\"\n\n[\"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal\nwith God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the\nform of a servant.\"]\n\n3. If Christ, who was true God by nature, has humbled himself to\nbecome servant of all, how much more should such action befit us who\nare of no worth, and are by nature children of sin, death and the\ndevil! Were we similarly to humble ourselves, and even to go beyond\nChrist in humility--a thing, however, impossible--we should do nothing\nextraordinary. Our humility would still reek of sin in comparison with\nhis. Suppose Christ to humble himself in the least degree--but a\nhair's breadth, so to speak--below the most exalted angels; and\nsuppose we were to humble ourselves to a position a thousand times\nmore abased than that of the devils in hell; yet our humility would\nnot compare in the least with that of Christ. For he is an infinite\nblessing--God himself--and we are but miserable creatures whose\nexistence and life are not for one moment secure.\n\n4. What terrible judgment must come upon those who fail to imitate the\nineffable example of Christ; who do not humble themselves below their\nneighbors and serve them, but rather exalt themselves above them!\nIndeed, the example of Christ may well terrify the exalted, and those\nhigh in authority; and still more the self-exalted. Who would not\nshrink from occupying the uppermost seat and from lording it over\nothers when he sees the Son of God humble and eliminate himself?\n\n5. The phrase \"form of God\" does not receive the same interpretation\nfrom all. Some understand Paul to refer to the divine essence and\nnature in Christ; meaning that Christ, though true God, humbled\nhimself. While Christ is indeed true God, Paul is not speaking here of\nhis divine essence, which is concealed. The word he uses--\"morphe,\" or\n\"forma\"--he employs again where he tells of Christ taking upon himself\nthe form of a servant. \"Form of a servant\" certainly cannot signify\n\"essence of a real servant\"--possessing by nature the qualities of a\nservant. For Christ is not our servant by nature; he has become our\nservant from good will and favor toward us. For the same reason\n\"divine form\" cannot properly mean \"divine essence\"; for divine\nessence is not visible, while the divine form was truly seen. Very\nwell; then let us use the vernacular, and thus make the apostle's\nmeaning clear.\n\n6. \"Form of God,\" then, means the assumption of a divine attitude and\nbearing, or the manifestation of divinity in port and presence; and\nthis not privately, but before others, who witness such form and\nbearing. To speak in the clearest possible manner: Divine bearing and\nattitude are in evidence when one manifests in word and deed that\nwhich pertains peculiarly to God and suggests divinity. Accordingly,\n\"the form of a servant\" implies the assumption of the attitude and\nbearing of a servant in relation to others. It might be better to\nrender \"Morphe tu dulu,\" by \"the bearing of a servant,\" that means,\nmanners of such character that whoever sees the person must take him\nfor a servant. This should make it clear that the passage in question\ndoes not refer to the manifestation of divinity or servility as such,\nbut to the characteristics and the expression of the same. For, as\npreviously stated, the essence is concealed, but its manifestation is\npublic. The essence implies a condition, while its expression implies\naction.\n\n7. As regards these forms, or manifestations, a threefold aspect is\nsuggested by the words of Paul. The essence may exist without the\nmanifestation; there may be a manifestation without the corresponding\nessence; and finally, we may find the essence together with its proper\nmanifestation. For instance, when God conceals himself and gives no\nindication of his presence, there is divinity, albeit not manifest.\nThis is the case when he is grieved and withdraws his grace. On the\nother hand, when he discloses his grace, there is both the essence and\nits manifestation. But the third aspect is inconceivable for God,\nnamely, a manifestation of divinity without the essence. This is\nrather a trick of the devil and his servants, who usurp the place of\nGod and act as God, though they are anything but divine. An\nillustration of this we find in Ezekiel 28, 2, where the king of Tyre\nis recorded as representing his heart, which was certainly decidedly\nhuman, as that of a god.\n\n8. Similarly, the form, or bearing, of a servant may be considered\nfrom a threefold aspect. One may be a servant and not deport himself\nas such, but as a lord, or as God; as in the instance just mentioned.\nOf such a one Solomon speaks (Prov 29, 21), saying: \"He that\ndelicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become\na son at the last.\" Such are all the children of Adam. We who are\nrightly God's servants would be God himself. This is what the devil\ntaught Eve when he said, \"Ye shall be as God.\" Gen 3, 5. Again, one\nmay be a servant and conduct himself as one, as all just and faithful\nservants behave before the world; and as all true Christians conduct\nthemselves in God's sight, being subject to him and serving all men.\nThirdly, one may be not a servant and yet behave as one. For instance,\na king might minister to his servants before the world. Before God,\nhowever, all men being servants, this situation is impossible with\nmen; no one has so done but Christ. He says at the supper (Jn 13,\n13-14): \"Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I\nam,\" and yet I am among you as a servant. And in another place (Mt 20,\n28), \"The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.\"\n\n9. From these explanations Paul's meaning must have become clear. His\nthought is: Christ was in the form of God; that is, both the essence\nand the bearing of Deity were his. He did not assume the divine form\nas he did that of a servant. He was, I repeat it; he was in the form\nof God. The little word \"was\" expresses that divinity was his both in\nessence and form. The meaning is: Many assume and display an\nappearance of divinity, but are not themselves actually divine; the\ndevil, for instance, and Antichrist and Adam's children. This is\nsacrilege--the assumption of divinity by an act of robbery. See Rom 2,\n22. Though the offender does not look upon such conduct as robbery, it\nis none the less robbing divine honor, and is so regarded by God and\nangels and saints, and even by his own conscience. But Christ, who had\nnot come by divinity through arrogating it to himself, but was divine\nby nature according to his very essence, did not deem his divinity a\nthing he had grasped; nor could he, knowing divinity to be his very\nbirthright, and holding it as his own natural possession from\neternity.\n\n10. So Paul's words commend Christ's essential divinity and his love\ntoward us, and at the same time correct all who falsely assume a\ndivine form. Such are we all so long as we are the devil's members.\nThe thought is: The devil's members all would be God, would rob the\ndivinity they do not possess; and they must admit their action to be\nrobbery, for conscience testifies, indeed must testify, that they are\nnot God. Though they may despise the testimony of conscience and fail\nto heed it, yet the testimony stands, steadfastly maintaining the act\nas not right--as a malicious robbery.\n\nBut the one man, Christ, who did not assume the divine form but was in\nit by right and had a claim upon it from eternity; who did not and\ncould not hold it robbery to be equal with God; this man humbled\nhimself, taking upon him the form of a servant--not his rightful\nform--that he by the power of his winning example, might induce them\nto assume the bearing of servants who possessed the form and character\nof servants, but who, refusing to own them, appropriated the\nappearance of divinity upon which they had no claim, since the essence\nof divinity was forever beyond them.\n\n11. That some fail to understand readily this great text, is due to\nthe fact that they do not accept Paul's words as spoken, but\nsubstitute their own ideas of what he should have said, namely: Christ\nwas born true God and did not rob divinity, etc. The expression \"who,\nexisting in the form of God\" sounds, in the Greek and Latin, almost as\nif Christ had merely borne himself as God, unless particular regard be\ngiven to the words \"existing in,\" which Paul contrasts with the phrase\n\"took upon him.\" Christ took upon himself the form of a servant, it is\ntrue, but in that form was no real servant. Just so, while dispensing\nwith a divine appearance, behind the appearance chosen was God. And we\nlikewise take upon ourselves the divine form, but in the form we are\nnot divine; and we spurn the form of servants, though that is what we\nare irrespective of appearance. Christ disrobes himself of the divine\nform wherein he existed, to assume that of a servant, which did not\nexpress his essential character; but we lay aside the servant form of\nour real being and take upon ourselves, or arrogate to ourselves, the\nform of God to which we are not fitted by what we are in reality.\n\n12. They are startled by this expression also: \"Christ thought it not\nrobbery to be equal with God.\" Now, at first sight these words do not\nseem to refer solely to Christ, since even the devil and his own, who\ncontinually aspire to equality with God, do not think their action\nrobbery in spite of the testimony of their conscience to the contrary.\nBut with Paul the little word \"think,\" or \"regard,\" possesses a\npowerful significance, having the force of \"perfect assurance.\"\nSimilarly he says (Rom 3, 28), \"We reckon therefore that a man is\njustified by faith apart from the works of the law\"; and (1 Cor 7,\n40), \"I think [deem] that I also have the spirit of God.\" But the\nwicked cannot boast it no robbery when they dare take upon themselves\nthe form of God; for they know, they are satisfied in themselves, that\nthey are not God. Christ, however, did not, nor could he, think\nhimself not equal to God; in other words, he was confident of his\nequality with God, and knew he had not stolen the honor.\n\nPaul's words are chosen, not as an apology for Christ, but as a severe\nrebuke for those who arrogate to themselves the form of God against\nthe protest of conscience that it is not their own but stolen. The\napostle would show how infinitely Christ differs from them, and that\nthe divine form they would take by theft is Christ's by right.\n\n13. Paul does not use this expression, however, when he refers to\nChrist's assumption of the servant form which is his, not by nature,\nbut by assumption. The words produce the impression that Christ took\nby force something not his own. Paul should be expected to say: \"He\nheld it not robbery to assume the form of a servant.\" Why should he\nrather have chosen that form of expression in the first instance,\nsince Christ did not assume the divine form, but possessed it as his\nvery own--yes, laid it aside and assumed a form foreign to his nature?\nThe substance of the matter is that he who becomes a servant does not\nand cannot assume anything, but only gives, giving even himself. Hence\nthere is no warrant here to speak of robbery or of a disposition to\nlook upon the matter in this light.\n\nOn the other hand, assumption of the divine form necessarily involves\ntaking, and altogether precludes giving. Hence there is warrant to\nspeak of robbery in this connection, and of men who so view it. But\nthis charge cannot be brought against Christ. He does not render\nhimself guilty of robbery, nor does he so view his relation, as all\nothers must do. Divinity is his by right, and so is its appropriate\nform a birthright.\n\n14. Thus, it seems to me, this text very clearly teaches that to have\ndivine form is simply to assume in regard to others, in word and deed,\nthe bearing of God and Lord; and that Christ meets this test in the\nmiraculous signs and life-giving words, as the Gospels contend. He\ndoes not rank with the saints who lack the divine essence; he has, in\naddition to divine form, the divine essence and nature. On the other\nhand, the servant, or servile, form implies acting toward others, in\nword and deed, like a servant. Thus Christ did when he served the\ndisciples and gave himself for us. But he served not as the saints,\nwho are servants by nature. Service was, with him, something assumed\nfor our benefit and as an example for us to follow, teaching us to act\nin like manner toward others, to disrobe ourselves of the appearance\nof divinity as he did, as we shall see.\n\n15. Unquestionably, then, Paul proclaims Christ true God. Had he been\nmere man, what would have been the occasion for saying that he became\nlike a man and was found in the fashion of other men? and that he\nassumed the form of a servant though he was in form divine? Where\nwould be the sense in my saying to you, \"You are like a man, are made\nin the fashion of a man, and take upon yourself the form of a\nservant\"? You would think I was mocking you, and might appropriately\nreply: \"I am glad you regard me as a man; I was wondering if I were an\nox or a wolf. Are you mad or foolish?\" Would not that be the natural\nrejoinder to such a foolish statement? Now, Paul not being foolish,\nnor being guilty of foolish speech, there truly must have been\nsomething exalted and divine about Christ. For when the apostle\ndeclares that he was made like unto other men, though the fact of his\nbeing human is undisputed, he simply means that the man Christ was\nGod, and could, even in his humanity, have borne himself as divine.\nBut this is precisely what he did not do; he refrained: he disrobed\nhimself of his divinity and bore himself as a mere man like others.\n\n16. What follows concerning Christ, now that we understand the meaning\nof \"form of God\" and \"form of a servant,\" is surely plain. In fact,\nPaul himself tells us what he means by \"form of a servant.\" First: He\nmakes the explanation that Christ disrobed, or divested himself; that\nis, appeared to lay aside his divinity in that he divested himself of\nits benefit and glory. Not that he did, or could, divest himself of\nhis divine nature; but that he laid aside the form of divine\nmajesty--did not act as the God he truly was. Nor did he divest\nhimself of the divine form to the extent of making it unfelt and\ninvisible; in that case there would have been no divine form left. He\nsimply did not affect a divine appearance and dazzle us by its\nsplendor; rather he served us with that divinity. He performed\nmiracles. And during his suffering on the cross he, with divine power,\ngave to the murderer the promise of Paradise. Lk 23, 43. And in the\ngarden, similarly, he repelled the multitude by a word. Jn 18, 6.\n\nHence Paul does not say that Christ was divested by some outside\npower; he says Christ \"made himself\" of no repute. Just so the wise\nman does not in a literal way lay aside wisdom and the appearance of\nwisdom, but discards them for the purpose of serving the simple-minded\nwho might fittingly serve him. Such man makes himself of no reputation\nwhen he divests himself of his wisdom and the appearance of wisdom.\n\n17. Second: Christ assumed the form of a servant, even while remaining\nGod and having the form of God; he was God, and his divine words and\nworks were spoken and wrought for our benefit. As a servant, he served\nus with these. He did not require us to serve him in compensation for\nthem, as in the capacity of a Lord he had a just right to do. He\nsought not honor or profit thereby, but our benefit and salvation. It\nwas a willing service and gratuitously performed, for the good of men.\nIt was a service unspeakably great, because of the ineffable greatness\nof the minister and servant--God eternal, whom all angels and\ncreatures serve. He who is not by this example heartily constrained to\nserve his fellows, is justly condemned. He is harder than stone,\ndarker than hell and utterly without excuse.\n\n18. Third: \"Being made in the likeness of men.\" Born of Mary, Christ's\nnature became human. But even in that humanity he might have exalted\nhimself above all men and served none. But he forbore and became as\nother men. And by \"likeness of men\" we must understand just ordinary\nhumanity without special privilege whatever. Now, without special\nprivilege there is no disparity among men. Understand, then, Paul says\nin effect: Christ was made as any other man who has neither riches,\nhonor, power nor advantage above his fellows; for many inherit power,\nhonor and property by birth. So lowly did Christ become, and with such\nhumility did he conduct himself, that no mortal is too lowly to be his\nequal, even servants and the poor. At the same time, Christ was sound,\nwithout bodily infirmities, as man in his natural condition might be\nexpected to be.\n\n19. Fourth: \"And being found in fashion as a man.\" That is, he\nfollowed the customs and habits of men, eating and drinking, sleeping\nand waking, walking and standing, hungering and thirsting, enduring\ncold and heat, knowing labor and weariness, needing clothing and\nshelter, feeling the necessity of prayer, and having the same\nexperience as any other man in his relation to God and the world. He\nhad power to avoid these conditions; as God he might have demeaned and\nborne himself quite differently. But in becoming man, as above stated,\nhe fared as a human being, and he accepted the necessities of ordinary\nmortals while all the time he manifested the divine form which\nexpressed his true self.\n\n20. Fifth: \"He humbled himself,\" or debased himself. In addition to\nmanifesting his servant form in becoming man and faring as an ordinary\nhuman being, he went farther and made himself lower than any man. He\nabased himself to serve all men with the supreme service--the gift of\nhis life in our behalf.\n\n21. Sixth: He not only made himself subject to men, but also to sin,\ndeath and the devil, and bore it all for us. He accepted the most\nignominious death, the death on the cross, dying not as a man but as a\nworm (Ps 22, 6); yes, as an arch-knave, a knave above all knaves, in\nthat he lost even what favor, recognition and honor were due to the\nassumed servant form in which he had revealed himself, and perished\naltogether.\n\n22. Seventh: All this Christ surely did not do because we were worthy\nof it. Who could be worthy such service from such a one? Obedience to\nthe Father moved him. Here Paul with one word unlocks heaven and\npermits us to look into the unfathomable abyss of divine majesty and\nto behold the ineffable love of the Fatherly heart toward us--his\ngracious will for us. He shows us how from eternity it has been God's\npleasure that Christ, the glorious one who has wrought all this,\nshould do it for us. What human heart would not melt at the\njoy-inspiring thought? Who would not love, praise and thank God and in\nreturn for his goodness, not only be ready to serve the world, but\ngladly to embrace the extremity of humility? Who would not so do when\nhe is aware that God himself has such precious regard for him, and\npoints to the obedience of his Son as the pouring out and evidence of\nhis Fatherly will. Oh, the significance of the words Paul here uses!\nsuch words as he uses in no other place! He must certainly have burned\nwith joy and cheer. To gain such a glimpse of God--surely this must be\ncoming to the Father through Christ. Here is truly illustrated the\ntruth that no one comes to Christ except the Father draw him; and with\nwhat power, what delicious sweetness, the Father allures! How many are\nthe preachers of the faith who imagine they know it all, when they\nhave received not even an odor or taste of these things! How soon are\nthey become masters who have never been disciples! Not having tasted\nGod's love, they cannot impart it; hence they remain unprofitable\nbabblers.\n\n\"Wherefore also God highly exalted him.\"\n\n23. As Christ was cast to the lowest depths and subjected to all\ndevils, in obeying God and serving us, so has God exalted him Lord\nover all angels and creatures, and over death and hell. Christ now has\ncompletely divested himself of the servant form--laid it aside.\nHenceforth he exists in the divine form, glorified, proclaimed,\nconfessed, honored and recognized as God.\n\nWhile it is not wholly apparent to us that \"all things are put in\nsubjection\" to Christ, as Paul says (1 Cor 15, 27), the trouble is\nmerely with our perception of the fact. It is true that Christ is thus\nexalted in person and seated on high in the fullness of power and\nmight, executing everywhere his will; though few believe the order of\nevents is for the sake of Christ. Freely the events order themselves,\nand the Lord sits enthroned free from all restrictions. But our eyes\nare as yet blinded. We do not perceive him there nor recognize that\nall things obey his will. The last day, however, will reveal it. Then\nwe shall comprehend present mysteries; how Christ laid aside his\ndivine form, was made man, and so on; how he also laid aside the form\nof a servant and resumed the divine likeness; how as God he appeared\nin glory; and how he is now Lord of life and death, and the King of\nGlory.\n\nThis must suffice on the text. For how we, too, should come down from\nour eminence and serve others has been sufficiently treated of in\nother postils. Remember, God desires us to serve one another with\nbody, property, honor, spirit and soul, even as his Son served us.\n\n\n\n\nSUMMER PART\n\n\n\n\n_Easter Sunday_\n\nText: First Corinthians 5, 6-8.\n\n6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven\nleaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a\nnew lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been\nsacrificed, even Christ: 8 wherefore let us keep the feast, not with\nold leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with\nthe unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.\n\n\nEXHORTATION TO WALK AS CHRISTIANS.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: This and all the following sermons on the Epistle Texts\nwere first printed in 1540 and 1543 and included in the Epistle\nPostil.]\n\n1. When God was about to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he\ncommanded, shortly before their departure, that they should eat the\nPassover the night they started; and as a perpetual memorial of their\nredemption, they were annually, on the recurrence of the season, to\ncelebrate the feast of Easter for seven days. A specially urgent\nfeature of the command was that on the first evening of the feast they\nmust put out of their houses all leaven and leavened bread, and during\nthe seven days eat none but the unleavened bread, or cakes. Hence the\nevangelists speak of the feast as the Feast (or Days) of Unleavened\nBread. Mk 14, 1; Lk 22, 1.\n\n2. Paul, in this lesson, explains the figure in brief but beautiful\nand expressive words. He is prompted to introduce the subject by the\nfact that in the preceding verses of this chapter he has been\nreproving the Corinthians for their disposition to boast of the Gospel\nand of Christ while abusing such liberty unto unchastity and other\nsins. He admonishes them that, possessing the Gospel and having become\nChristians, they ought, as becomes Christians, to live according to\nthe Gospel, avoiding everything not consistent with the faith and with\nChristian character--everything not befitting them as new creatures.\n\n3. So the apostle uses the figure of the Paschal lamb and unleavened\nbread requisite at the Jews' Feast of the Passover, in his effort to\npoint the Corinthians to the true character and purpose of the New\nTestament made with us in the kingdom of Christ. He explains what is\nthe true Paschal Lamb and what the unleavened bread, and how to\nobserve the real Passover, wherein all must be new and spiritual. In\nthe joy and wealth of his mind he presents this analogy to remind them\nthat they are Christians and to consider what that means.\n\nHis meaning is: Being Christians and God's true people, and called\nupon to observe a Passover, you must go about it in the right way,\nputting away from you all remaining leaven until it shall have been\npurged out utterly.\n\nWhat Paul means by \"leaven\" is told later in his phrase \"neither with\nthe leaven of malice and wickedness\"; he means whatever is evil and\nwicked. Everything foreign to Christianity in both doctrine, or faith,\nand life, is \"leaven.\" From all this Paul would have Christians purge\nthemselves with the same thoroughness with which the leaven was to be\nput away from their Easter according to the law. And, holding to the\nfigure, he would have us observe our Passover in the use of the sweet\nbread, which, in distinction from the leaven, signifies sincerity and\ntruth, or a nature and life completely new.\n\n4. The text, then, is but an admonition to upright Christian works,\ndirected to those who have heard the Gospel and learned to know\nChrist. This is what Paul figuratively calls partaking of the true\nunleavened bread--or wafers, or cakes. We Germans have borrowed our\nword \"cakes\" from the phraseology of the Jewish Church, abbreviating\n\"oblaten,\" wafers, into \"fladen,\" or cakes. How else should we\ngentiles get the idea of cakes on Easter, when at our Passover we, by\nfaith, eat the Paschal Lamb, Christ? We are admonished to partake of\nthe true unleavened bread, that life and conduct may accord with faith\nin Christ, whom we have learned to know. Paul's admonition begins:\n\n\"Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?\"\n\n5. This by way of introducing the succeeding admonitions. Leaven is a\ncommon figure with the apostle, one he uses frequently, almost\nproverbially; employing it, too, in his epistle to the Galatians (ch.\n5, 9). Christ, also, gives us a Scripture parable of the leaven. Mt\n13, 33. It is the nature of leaven that a small quantity mixed with a\nlump of dough will pervade and fill the whole lump until its own acid\nnature has been imparted to it. This Paul makes a figure of spiritual\nthings as regards both doctrine and life.\n\n6. In Galatians 5, 9 he makes it more especially typify false\ndoctrine. For it is just as true that the introduction of an error in\nan article of faith will soon work injury to the whole and result in\nthe loss of Christ. Thus it was with the Galatians. The one thing\ninsisted upon by the false apostles was circumcision, though they\nfully intended to preach the Gospel of Christ. Such innovation will\npursue its course with destructive sweep until even the uncontaminated\npart becomes worthless; the once pure mass is wholly corrupted. The\napostle writes to the Galatians (ch. 5, 2): \"Behold, I Paul say unto\nyou, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you\nnothing.\" Again (verse 4), \"Ye are severed from Christ--ye are fallen\naway from grace.\"\n\nBut in this text he has reference more particularly to an erroneous\nidea concerning life and conduct. In this instance it is likewise true\nthat, once the flesh be allowed any license, and liberty be abused,\nand that under the name of the Gospel, there is introduced a leaven\nwhich will speedily corrupt faith and conscience, and continue its\nwork until Christ and the Gospel are lost. Such would have been the\nfate of the Corinthians had not Paul saved them from it by this\nepistle admonishing and urging them to purge out the leaven of\nlicense; for they had begun to practice great wantonness, and had\ngiven rise to sects and factions which tended to subvert the one\nGospel and the one faith.\n\n7. This is, then, wise counsel and serious admonition, that faithful\nguard be maintained against the infusion or introduction into doctrine\nof what is false, whether it pertains to works or faith. The Word of\nGod, faith and conscience are very delicate things. The old proverb\nsays: \"Non patitur jocum fama, fides, oculus;\"--Good reputation, faith\nand the eye--these three will bear no jest.\n\nJust as good wine or precious medicines are corrupted by a single drop\nof poison or other impurity, and the purer they are, the more readily\ndefiled and poisoned; so, also, God's Word and his cause will bear\nabsolutely no alloy. God's truth must be perfectly pure and clear, or\nelse, it is corrupt and unprofitable. And the worst feature of the\nmatter is, the sway and intrenchment of evil is so strong that it\ncannot be removed; just as leaven, however small the quantity, added\nto the lump of dough, soon penetrates and sours the whole lump, while\nit is impossible to arrest its influence or once more to sweeten the\ndough.\n\n8. The proposal of certain wise minds to mediate, and effect a\ncompromise, between us and our opponents of the Papacy, is wrong and\nuseless. They would permit preaching of the Gospel but at the same\ntime retain the Papistical abuses, advocating that these errors be not\nall censured and rejected, because of the weak; and that for the sake\nof peace and unity we should somehow moderate and restrict our\ndemands, each party being ready to yield to the other and patiently\nbear with it. While in such case no perfect purity can be claimed to\nexist, the situation can be made endurable if discretion is used and\ntrouble is taken to explain.\n\nNay, not so! For, as you hear, Paul would not mix even a small\nquantity of leaven with the pure lump, and God himself has urgently\nforbidden it. The slight alloy would thoroughly penetrate and corrupt\nthe whole. Where human additions are made to the Gospel doctrine in\nbut a single point, the injury is done; truth is obscured and souls\nare led astray. Therefore, such mixture, such patchwork, in doctrine\nis not to be tolerated. As Christ teaches (Mt 9, 16), we must not put\nnew cloth upon an old garment.\n\n9. Nor may we in our works and in our daily life tolerate the yielding\nto the wantonness of the flesh and at the same time boast the Gospel\nof Christ, as did the Corinthians, who stirred up among themselves\ndivisions and disorder, even to the extent of one marrying his\nstepmother. In such matters as these, Paul says, a little leaven\nleavens and ruins the whole lump--the entire Christian life.\n\nThese two things are not consistent with each other: to hold to the\nChristian faith and to live after the wantonness of the flesh, in sins\nand vices condemned by the conscience. Paul elsewhere warns (1 Cor 6,\n9-10): \"Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor\nadulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor\nthieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,\nshall inherit the kingdom of God.\" Again (Gal 5, 19-21): \"The works of\nthe flesh are manifest ... of which I forewarn you, even as I did\nforewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the\nkingdom of God.\"\n\n10. Warrant is given here likewise for censuring and restraining the\nrash individuals who assert that men should not be terrified by the\nLaw, nor surrendered to Satan. No! it is our duty to teach men to\npurge out the old leaven; we must tell them they are not Christians,\nbut devoid of the faith, when they yield to the wantonness of the\nflesh and wilfully persevere in sin against the warning of conscience.\nWe should teach that such sins are so much the more vicious and\ndamnable when practiced under the name of the Gospel, under cover of\nChristian liberty; for that is despising and blaspheming the name of\nChrist and the Gospel: and therefore such conduct must be positively\nrenounced and purged out, as irreconcilable with faith and a good\nconscience.\n\n\"Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are\nunleavened.\"\n\n11. If we are to be a new, sweet lump, Paul says, we must purge out\nthe old leaven. For, as stated, a nature renewed by faith and\nChristianity will not admit of our living as we did when devoid of\nfaith and in sin, under the influence of an evil conscience. We cannot\nconsistently be \"a new lump\" and partake of the Passover, and at the\nsame time permit the old leaven to remain: for if the latter be not\npurged out, the whole lump will be leavened and corrupted; our\nprevious sinful nature will again have supremacy and overthrow the\nfaith, the holiness upon which we have entered and a good conscience.\n\n12. Paul does not here speak of leaven in general; he commands to\npurge out the \"old leaven,\" implying there may be good leaven.\nDoubtless he is influenced by respect for the words of the Lord Christ\nwhere (Mt 13, 33) he likens the kingdom of heaven also to leaven. In\nthis latter case leaven cannot be bad in quality; rather, the object\nin mixing it with the lump is to produce good, new bread. Reference is\nto the Word of God, or the preaching of the Gospel, whereby we are\nincorporated into the kingdom of Christ, or the Christian Church.\nThough the Gospel appears to be mean, is despicable and objectionable\nto the world, yet such is its power that wherever introduced it\nspreads, finding disciples in whom it works; it transforms them,\ngiving to them its own properties, even as leaven imparts its powers\nto the dough and causes it to rise.\n\nBut Paul refers here to old, inactive and worthless leaven. He means\nteachings, views, or manner of life resulting from the Old Adam, from\nflesh and blood, and destructive of the pure, new doctrine, or a\nnature renewed by Christianity. Later on he terms it the \"leaven of\nmalice and wickedness,\" and in the verse under consideration bids the\nCorinthians be a new, pure lump.\n\n13. Note the apostle's peculiar words. He enjoins purging out the old\nleaven, assigning as reason the fact: Ye are a new and unleavened\nlump. By a new unleavened lump he means that faith which clings to\nChrist and believes in the forgiveness of sin through him; for he\nimmediately speaks of our Passover: Christ, sacrificed for us. By this\nfaith the Corinthians are now purified from the old leaven, the leaven\nof sin and an evil conscience, and have entered upon the new life; yet\nthey are commanded to purge out the old leaven.\n\n14. Now, how shall we explain the fact that he bids them purge out the\nold leaven that they may be a new lump, when at the same time he\nadmits them to be unleavened and a new lump? How can these Corinthians\nbe as true, unleavened wafers, or sweet dough, when they have yet to\npurge out the old leaven?\n\nThis is an instance of the Pauline and apostolic way of speaking\nconcerning Christians and the kingdom of Christ; it shows us what the\ncondition really is. It is a discipline wherein a new, Christian life\nis entered upon through faith in Christ the true Passover; hence,\nEaster is celebrated with sweet, unleavened bread. But at the same\ntime something of the old life remains, which must be swept out, or\npurged away. However, this latter is not imputed, because faith and\nChrist are there, constantly toiling and striving to thoroughly purge\nout whatever uncleanness remains.\n\n15. Through faith we have Christ and his purity perfectly conferred\nupon ourselves, and we are thus regarded pure; yet in our own personal\nnature we are not immediately made wholly pure, without sin or\nweakness. Much of the old leaven still remains, but it will be\nforgiven, not be imputed to us, if only we continue in faith and are\noccupied with purging out that remaining impurity.\n\nThis is Christ's thought when he says to his disciples (Jn 15, 3),\n\"Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto\nyou,\" and in the same connection he declares that the branches in him\nmust be purged that they may bring forth more fruit. And to Peter--and\nto others--he says (Jn 13, 10), \"He that is bathed needeth not save to\nwash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not\nall.\" These passages, as is also stated elsewhere, teach that a\nChristian by faith lays hold upon the purity of Christ, for which\nreason he is also regarded pure and begins to make progress in purity;\nfor faith brings the Holy Spirit, who works in man, enabling him to\nwithstand and to subdue sin.\n\n16. They are to be censured according to whose representations and\nviews a Christian Church is to be advocated which should be in all\nrespects without infirmity and defect, and who teach that, when\nperfection is not in evidence, there is no such thing as the Church of\nChrist nor as true Christians. Many erring spirits, especially strong\npretenders to wisdom, and precocious, self-made saints, immediately\nbecome impatient at sight of any weakness in Christians who profess\nthe Gospel faith; for their own dreams are of a Church without any\nimperfections, a thing impossible in this earthly life, even they\nthemselves not being perfect.\n\n17. Such, we must know, is the nature of Christ's office and dominion\nin his Church that though he really does instantaneously, through\nfaith, confer upon us his purity, and by the Spirit transforms our\nhearts, yet the work of transformation and purification is not at once\ncompleted. Daily Christ works in us and purges us, to the end that we\ngrow in purity daily. This work he carries on in us through the agency\nof the Word, admonishing, reproving, correcting and strengthening; as\nin the case of the Corinthians through the instrumentality of Paul.\nChrist also uses crosses and afflictions in effecting this end.\n\nHe did not come to toil, to suffer and to die because he expected to\nfind pure and holy people. Purity and holiness for us he has acquired\nin his own person to perfection, inasmuch as he was without sin and\nperfectly pure from the moment he became man, and this purity and\nholiness he communicates to us in their flawless perfection in so far\nour faith clings to him. But to attain personal purity of such\nperfection requires a daily effort on the part of Christ, until the\ntime shall have come that he has wrought in us a flawless perfection\nlike his own.\n\nSo he has given us his Word and his Spirit to aid us in purging out\nthe remaining old leaven, and in holding to our newly-begun purity\ninstead of lapsing from it. We must retain the faith, the Spirit and\nChrist; and this, as before said, we cannot do if we give place to the\nold carnal disposition instead of resisting it.\n\n18. Note, one thing the text teaches: Even the saints have weakness,\nuncleanness and sin yet to be purged out, but it is not imputed unto\nthem because they are in Christ and occupied in purging out the old\nleaven.\n\n19. Another thing, it teaches what constitutes the difference between\nthe saints and the unholy, for both are sinful; it tells the nature of\nsins despite the presence of which saints and believers are holy,\nretaining grace and the Holy Spirit, and also what sins are\ninconsistent with faith and grace.\n\n20. The sins remaining in saints after conversion are various evil\ninclinations, lusts and desires natural to man and contrary to the Law\nof God. The saints, as well as others, are conscious of these sins,\nbut with this difference: they do not permit themselves to be overcome\nthereby so as to obey the sins, allowing them free course; they do not\nyield to, but resist, such sins, and, as Paul expresses it here,\nincessantly purge themselves therefrom. The sins of the saints,\naccording to him, are the very ones which they purge out. Those who\nobey their lusts, however, do not do this, but give rein to the flesh,\nand sin against the protest of their own consciences.\n\nThey who resist their sinful lusts retain faith and a good conscience,\na thing impossible with those who fail to resist sin and thus violate\ntheir conscience and overthrow their faith. If you persist in that\nwhich is evil regardless of the voice of conscience, you cannot say,\nnor believe, that you have God's favor. So then, the Christian\nnecessarily must not yield to sinful lusts.\n\n21. The Holy Spirit is given for the very purpose of opposing sin and\npreventing its reign. Paul says (Gal 5, 17): \"For the flesh lusteth\nagainst the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ... that ye may\nnot do the things that ye would.\" And again (Rom 8, 13): \"If by the\nSpirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.\" Also\n(Rom 6, 12): \"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye\nshould obey the lusts thereof.\"\n\n\"For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ.\"\n\n[\"For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.\"]\n\n22. Here Paul assigns his reason for the statement just made--\"Ye are\nunleavened.\" They are a new, unleavened or sweet lump, not because of\nany merit on their part, not because of their own holiness or\nworthiness, but because they have faith in Christ as the Passover\nsacrificed for them. This sacrifice makes them pure and holy before\nGod. They are no more the old leaven they were when out of Christ. By\nthis sacrifice they are reconciled with God and purified from sin.\n\n23. Likewise for us God institutes a new ordinance, a new festival.\nThe old has given place to something wholly new. A different and\nbetter Passover sacrifice succeeds that of the Jews. The Jews had\nannually to partake of their offered sacrifice, but they were not\nthereby made holy nor pure from sin. Theirs was a sign or earnest of\nthe true Passover to come, the Passover promised by God, in the shed\nblood of which we are washed from sin and wholly healed--a Passover\nthe partaking whereof we must enjoy by faith. We have now one\nperpetual and eternal Easter festival, wherein faith is nourished,\nsatisfied and gladdened; in other words, we receive remission of sins\nand comfort and strength through this our Passover, Christ.\n\n24. The meaning of the phrase \"sacrificed for us\" has been explained\nin the sermon on the Passion of Christ. Two thoughts are there\npresented: First, necessity of considering the greatness and terror of\nthe wrath of God against sin in that it could be appeased and a ransom\neffected in no other way than through the one sacrifice of the Son of\nGod. Only his death and the shedding of his blood could make\nsatisfaction. And we must consider also that we by our sinfulness had\nincurred that wrath of God and therefore were responsible for the\noffering of the Son of God upon the cross and the shedding of his\nblood.\n\nWell may we be terrified because of our sins, for God's wrath cannot\nbe trivial when we are told no sacrifice save alone the Son of God can\nbrave such wrath and avail for sin. Do you imagine yourself able to\nendure that wrath of God, or to withstand it if you will not consider\nthis and accept it?\n\n25. The second thought presented in the sermon mentioned is, the\nnecessity of recognizing the inexpressible love and grace of God\ntoward us. Only so can the terrified heart of man regain comfort. It\nmust be made aware why God spared not his own Son but offered him a\nsacrifice upon the cross, delivered him to death; namely, that his\nwrath might be lifted from us once more. What greater love and\nblessing could be shown? The sacrifice of Christ is presented to us to\ngive us sure comfort against the terrors of sin. For we may perceive\nand be confident that we shall not be lost because of our sins when\nGod makes such a sacrifice the precious pledge to us of his favor and\npromised salvation.\n\nTherefore, though your sins are great and deserve the awful wrath of\nGod, yet the sacrifice represented by the death of the Son of God is\ninfinitely greater. And in this sacrifice God grants you a sure token\nof his grace and the forgiveness of your sins. But that forgiveness\nmust be apprehended by the faith which holds fast the declaration,\n\"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.\" By this promise must faith\nbe comforted and strengthened.\n\n\"Wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with\nthe leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of\nsincerity and truth.\"\n\n26. Having, then, a Paschal Lamb and a true Easter, let us rightly\nvalue them. Let us observe the festival with the gladness it ought to\ninspire. Let us no longer eat the old leaven, but true wafers and\npaschal cakes. Where the Paschal Lamb is, there must be the unleavened\nbread. The former is Christ sacrificed for us. To this sacrifice we\ncan add nothing; we can only receive and enjoy it by faith,\nrecognizing it as a gift to us.\n\nHowever, possessing the Paschal Lamb, it is incumbent upon us to\npartake also of the sweet festal bread; in other words, while\nembracing the faith of the Passover, we are to maintain the true\ndoctrine of the Gospel, illustrating it by the godly example of our\nown lives. We should live an eternal Easter life, as it were, to carry\nout Paul's analogy, a life wherein we, as justified, sanctified and\npurified people, continue in peace and the joy of the Holy Spirit, so\nlong as we remain on earth.\n\n27. In this verse, as in the preceding one, Paul contrasts the leaven\nand the unleavened bread. He makes leaven a general term for\neverything which proceeds from flesh and blood and an unrenewed sinful\nnature, but classifies it under two heads--the leaven of malice and\nthe leaven of wickedness. By \"malice\" we understand the various open\nvices and sins which represent manifest wrong to God and our neighbor.\n\"Wickedness\" stands for those numerous evil tricks, those nimble,\nsubtle, venomous artifices practiced upon Christian doctrine and the\nWord of God with intent to corrupt and pervert them, to mislead hearts\nfrom the true meaning thereof. Paul warns (2 Cor 11, 3): \"But I fear,\nlest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your\nminds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is\ntoward Christ.\" Under \"wickedness\" comes also such evils as hypocrisy\nand other false, deceptive dealing practiced in the name of God by way\nof adorning and covering the sin; false teaching and deceptive action\npassed off as right, proper and Christian. Such wickedness Christ\nterms \"the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.\" Mk 8, 15.\nThis sort of leaven, particularly, we have in the world to an\nunspeakable extent in this last and worst of times.\n\n28. To the leaven of malice and of wickedness, Paul opposes the leaven\nof sincerity and truth. To be sincere is to live and act in an upright\nChristian way, prompted by a faithful, godly heart, a heart kindly\ndisposed to all and meditating wrong and injury to none; and to deal\nas you would be dealt with. To be true is to refrain from false and\ncrafty dealing, from deceit and roguery, and to teach and live in\nprobity and righteousness according to the pure Word of God. Truth and\nsincerity must prevail and be in evidence with Christians, who have\nentered upon a relation and life altogether new; they should celebrate\nthe new Easter festival by bringing faith and doctrine and life into\naccord with it.\n\n\n\n\n_Easter Monday_\n\nText: Acts 10, 34-43.\n\n34 And Peter opened his mouth, and said: Of a truth I perceive that\nGod is no respecter of persons: 35 but in every nation he that feareth\nhim, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him. 36 The word\nwhich he sent unto the children of Israel, preaching good tidings of\npeace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)--37 that saying ye\nyourselves know, which was published throughout all Judaea, beginning\nfrom Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38 even Jesus of\nNazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power:\nwho went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the\ndevil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things\nwhich he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom\nalso they slew, hanging him on a tree. 40 Him God raised up the third\nday, and gave him to be made manifest, 41 not to all the people, but\nunto witnesses that were chosen before of God, even to us, who ate and\ndrank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he charged us to\npreach unto the people, and to testify that this is he who is ordained\nof God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him bear all\nthe prophets witness, that through his name every one that believeth\non him shall receive remission of sins.\n\n\nTHE BLESSINGS OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION.\n\n1. This sermon Peter preached to Cornelius, the Cesarean centurion, a\ngentile but a believer, and to the centurion's assembled friends,\nPeter having been summoned by Cornelius and having responded to the\ncall in obedience to a revelation and to the Holy Spirit's command, as\nrelated in the preceding verses of the chapter. It is an excellent\nsermon and bears strong testimony to Christ's resurrection. As should\never be the case with the sermons of apostles and preachers of the\nGospel, it is not only a historical record of Christ's life, death and\nresurrection, but portrays the power and blessing thereof. The entire\nsermon being easily understood without explanation--for it is itself\nan exposition of the article on Christ's resurrection--we will go over\nit but briefly.\n\n2. First, Peter begins with the inception of the preaching of the\nGospel of Christ, suggesting how it was promised in the Scriptures,\nbeing declared by the prophets, that Christ should come with a new\ndoctrine, confirming it by miracles; also that he must suffer and die\nand rise from the dead, establishing thus a new kingdom; and how the\npromise was fulfilled. For confirmation of his words Peter appeals to\nhis hearers, reminding them of their own knowledge that such was the\npromise of the Scriptures, and that the message has gone forth, not\nbeing uttered secretly, in a corner, but being proclaimed throughout\nall Judea; and how John the Baptist had shortly before testified he\nwas sent as Christ's herald to prepare his way by directing and\nleading the people to Christ, etc.\n\n\nTHE GOSPEL A DOCTRINE OF PEACE.\n\n3. Then Peter explains this new Gospel message as the doctrine of\npeace, the peace proclamation commanded of God; in other words,\nsalvation and every good thing. The apostle portrays it as a\ncomforting message, a Gospel of joy and grace, a message not accusing,\nthreatening and terrifying with a vision of God's wrath for our sin,\nas did Moses with his doctrine of the Law. Peter offers to the\nhitherto terrified, God's favor, remission of sins and eternal life.\n\nSimilarly, of old did the prophets prophesy of this Gospel, calling it\nthe message of peace. Peter's language is borrowed from them. For\ninstance, Zechariah prophesies (ch. 9, 10), \"He shall speak peace unto\nthe nations.\" And Isaiah (ch. 52, 7), \"How beautiful upon the\nmountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that\npublisheth peace!\" Paul offers the same thought (Eph 2, 17), \"And he\ncame and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them\nthat were nigh.\" A delightful message is this in which God recalls his\nwrath and, as Paul says (2 Cor 5, 18-20), reconciles us unto himself,\nhaving commanded the Gospel to be preached to the world for that very\npurpose, and the office of preaching to be called the ministry of\nreconciliation; and God admonishes us to be reconciled unto himself,\nto be his friends, that we may from him receive grace and every good\nthing.\n\n4. Second: Peter declares what the Gospel message records concerning\nChrist: what he has wrought and the nature of his office--how he\npreached and worked miracles in the service, and for the relief, of\nall men; what thanks and reward his own people accorded him, in that\nthey nailed him to the cross and put him to death; that nevertheless\nChrist was not destroyed by the power of the world nor overcome by\ndeath, but even retained his freedom, showing himself after death and\nletting his voice be heard; and that he is now exalted Lord and Judge\nover all.\n\n\nTHE ARTICLE OF FAITH ON THE RESURRECTION.\n\n5. Here are comprised in a few words the entire history of the Gospel,\nand the articles of the Christian faith; but particularly does Peter\ndeal with the article of the resurrection, the fact that Christ has,\nin his own person, completely overcome death and reigns eternal King\nand Lord of life. In proof of the truth of this article, the apostle\nadduces the fact of Christ's manifesting himself alive to his\ndisciples, eating and drinking with them and appointing them special\nwitnesses to these things as men to whom the doctrine had been proven,\nhad been established by actual sight of the miracles.\n\n6. Third: Peter states the item of chief importance in the article,\nthe blessing resulting to us. He explains first why Christ suffered\nall these things, and how the Gospel was to be published and received;\nChrist's motive in it all was not his advantage but our good. Before\nwe could know the truth and be blessed, it was necessary that the\nmessage be preached. God commanded the apostles, Peter says, to preach\nthe Gospel in all the world that all men might know it; and thus the\nblessing is brought to men through the public office of the ministry.\n\n7. Fourth: Our obligation concerning the message brought to us, and\nwhat it works in ourselves, is indicated in these concluding words of\nPeter's sermon:\n\n\"To him bear all the prophets witness, that through his name every one\nthat believeth on him shall receive remission of sins.\"\n\n8. This verse constitutes the principal theme of the sermon. It is one\nof the greatest in the writings of the apostles. It contains the vital\nelement of the Gospel message, teaching how we may appropriate its\nblessing, how obtain what it offers, namely, by faith; faith lays hold\nof what is offered us in the Gospel. The message is preached that we\nmay receive and retain it. Through the Word the blessing is pronounced\nour own--it is offered to, or given, us; but by faith we receive it,\nmake it our own, permit it to work in us.\n\n9. This power and work in us is called by Peter \"remission of sins.\"\nThis is the blessing, the possession, conferred through the preaching\nof the doctrine of Christ, or the articles of faith, particularly the\narticles of the resurrection. The meaning of the new message of\ncomfort, the new declaration of peace, is that Christ, through his\nresurrection, has in himself conquered our sin and death, has turned\naway the wrath of God and procured grace and salvation; that he has\ncommanded forgiveness to be preached unto us, desiring us to believe\nhe gives it and confidently to receive it through faith.\n\n10. Faith must be of such character as to apprehend and hold fast the\ntruth Peter declares in this verse. It must say \"in his name.\" That\nis, must ascribe to Christ alone the entire agency, merit and power\nresponsible for remission of sins; must believe we have forgiveness,\nnot through our own worthiness, but for Christ's sake alone; must\nbelieve that by virtue of Christ's resurrection we obtain remission of\nsins, every namable element not from Christ being completely excluded,\nand the honor given to him alone.\n\nWhat does the work, the ability, of all mankind amount to when it\ncomes to accomplishing or meriting a thing of such magnitude as\nremission of sins and redemption from death and eternal wrath? How\nwill it compare with the death and shed blood of the Son of God, with\nthe power of his resurrection? How will it divide honors with him in\nhaving merit to secure remission of sin and redemption from death? The\nefficacy of Christ's death and blood alone God would have preached in\nall the world and accepted by mankind. Therein he rejects the boasting\nof the Jews and of all aspirers to holiness through their own works,\nteaching them they cannot obtain his favor through the Law, or by\ntheir own efforts. In Christ's name alone is remission of sins\nreceived, and that through faith.\n\n11. Salvation through Christ, according to Peter, was before that time\nproclaimed in the Scriptures, being declared by all the prophets. This\nis truly strong testimony adduced by the apostle; the Jewish people\ncertainly ought to believe their own prophets unless they wilfully are\nhardened and lost. Much more should we gentiles have faith in Christ's\natonement, being obliged to confess that not in any wise have we done\naught that such grace should be offered and given to us. We certainly\nought to be honest enough to honor Christ to the extent of believing\nthe apostles, in fact the Scriptures entire. We ought to be ashamed to\ndoubt or question the fact of forgiveness of sins and justification\nbefore God through Christ alone, to which all Scripture testifies. If\nwe are honest with ourselves, we must confess it the truth, or secure\nforgiveness of sins or be justified before God by our own works.\n\n12. Now we have heard what is the substance, the chief doctrine, of\nthe Scriptures, the teaching to which all portions lead; namely, to\nteach and confirm the article of faith: we have remission of sins for\nChrist's sake, through faith. We have heard that such was the faith of\nthe fathers, the prophets and all saints, from the beginning of the\nworld, and later was the doctrine preached by Christ himself, and also\nthe doctrine of the apostles, who were commanded to publish it to the\nworld. To this day the same doctrine prevails, and it will until the\nend be unanimously accepted by the whole Christian Church, with the\nexception of our present opponents. The Christian Church has ever, as\na unit, believed, confessed and contended for this article, the\narticle maintaining that only in the name of the Lord Christ is\nremission of sin obtained; and in this faith its members have been\njustified before God and saved. Thus by such testimony is the\nfoundation of our doctrine laid sufficiently firm; that article was\nwith power contended for, defended and established long before our\ntime.\n\n13. He who inquires, who would know exactly, what the Christian Church\never holds and teaches, especially concerning the all-important\narticle of justification before God, or the forgiveness of sins, over\nwhich there has always been contention, has it here plainly and\nexactly in this text. Here is the unwavering testimony of the entire\nChurch from the beginning. It is not necessary, then, to dispute about\nthe doctrine any more. No one can name any just reason, or have any\nexcuse, for doubts on the subject; or reasonably wait for further\ndeterminations of investigating councils.\n\nIn this text we see that the reliability of the article of faith has\nlong ago been proven, even in ancient time, by the Church of the\nprimitive fathers, of the prophets and the apostles. A solid\nfoundation is established, one all men are bound to believe and\nmaintain at the risk of their eternal salvation, whatever councils may\nestablish, or the world advance and determine, to the contrary.\nIndeed, the sentence has been declared to us; we are commanded to shun\nevery other doctrine that may be believed, taught or ordained. Paul\nsays (Gal 1, 8): \"But though we, or an angel from heaven, should\npreach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you,\nlet him be anathema.\"\n\n14. You see now against what the Papacy with all its adherents\nblusters and rages, and how they are to be regarded who refuse to hear\nand to tolerate the article Peter here advances and confirms by the\ntestimony of all the prophets and of the Scriptures entire; who cease\nnot to persecute godly and innocent ones for their acceptance of this\narticle of faith, under the pretense of being themselves the Church\nand of magnifying its name to the utmost while opposing us, though at\nthe same time their doctrine, faith and deeds openly testify against\nthem, proclaiming their belief and teaching to be contrary to the\ntestimony of all the prophets and of the entire Church.\n\nBy no means can they be the Church who so rashly contradict Peter and\nthe Scriptures, who even trample under foot, in his Word, Christ\nhimself, the Head. Rather, they must be wicked devils, a miserable\nrabble, the worst enemies of the Christian Church; more wicked and\npernicious than heathen or Turks.\n\n15. Lastly: Peter, by way of proving conclusively to the world that\nthis one Lord, as he names him, Jesus of Nazareth, is the true Messiah\npromised of old in the Scriptures, says: \"To him bear all the prophets\nwitness.\" The prophets plainly speak of such a person, one to be born\nof David's flesh and blood, in the city of Bethlehem, who should\nsuffer, die and rise again, accomplishing just what this Jesus has\naccomplished and even proven by miraculous signs. Therefore, truly the\nJews and the non-Christians have no reason to doubt concerning Christ,\nno reason to await the coming of another.\n\n16. Further, Peter, citing the testimony of the prophets, indicates\nthe nature of Christ's kingdom as not external power; not temporal\ndominion like that of earthly lords, kings, and emperors; not dominion\nover countries or control of people, property and temporal concerns;\nbut a spiritual, eternal kingdom, a kingdom in the hearts of men, an\nauthority over, and power opposed to, sin, everlasting death and hell,\na power able to redeem us from those things and bestow upon us\nsalvation. Salvation is ours, Peter teaches, through the preaching of\nthe Gospel, and is received by faith. Faith is the obedience every man\nmust render unto the Lord. By faith he makes himself subject to Christ\nand partaker of his grace and blessings. Paul also (Rom 1, 5) uses the\nterm \"unto obedience of faith.\"\n\n\n\n\n_Easter Tuesday_\n\nText: Acts 13, 26-39.\n\n26 Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you\nthat fear God, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth. 27 For\nthey that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him\nnot, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath,\nfulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And though they found no cause of\ndeath in him, yet asked they of Pilate that he should be slain. 29 And\nwhen they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, they took\nhim down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him\nfrom the dead: 31 and he was seen for many days of them that came up\nwith him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the\npeople. 32 And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the\nfathers, 33 that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in\nthat he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,\nThou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34 And as concerning\nthat he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to\ncorruption, he hath spoken on this wise, I will give you the holy and\nsure blessings of David. 35 Because he saith also in another psalm,\nThou wilt not give thy Holy One to see corruption. 36 For David, after\nhe had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep,\nand was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: 37 but he whom God\nraised up saw no corruption. 38 Be it known unto you therefore,\nbrethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of\nsins: 39 and by him every one that believeth is justified from all\nthings, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.\n\n\n1. This sermon Paul preached in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia,\nto the assembled Jews and gentiles. Note, he says, \"whosoever among\nyou feareth God.\" It is a counterpart of the sermon in the preceding\nepistle lesson delivered by Peter at Cesarea. Here also the first part\nof the sermon is simply a narration of the historical facts of\nChrist's resurrection, and designed to prove Christ the true Messiah\npromised in the Scriptures. This is sufficiently demonstrated by the\nfacts in the case that by his own divine power and strength Christ\nrescued himself from death and the grave, and rose from the dead and\nshowed himself alive and talked with men, something no man but Christ\nalone had ever done or ever can do. Paul elsewhere (Rom 1, 3-4) says\nthat this Jesus our Lord was born of the seed of David according to\nthe flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God with power by the\nresurrection from the dead.\n\n2. Not content with a mere narration of the history of the\nresurrection, Paul cites Scripture testimony incontestably proving\nthat Christ necessarily must rise from the dead and set up his\nspiritual and eternal kingdom through the Word he commanded the\napostles to publish world-wide. He also discloses the true meaning of\nScripture from revelation itself, showing how to seek and find Christ\ntherein. The preceding Gospel lesson also spoke of this.\n\n3. Third, as was true of Peter, Paul does not fail to mention what is\nof surpassing importance, the use of the historical parts of Scripture\nand the blessing and benefit accruing to us from that which Scripture\nproclaims and witnesses; also the method of appropriating its power\nand blessing. And he concludes with a beautiful utterance of apostolic\npower, showing how we are to obtain remission of sins and be saved. He\nsays: \"Through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins: and\nby him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from\nwhich ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.\" This certainly\nis a powerful passage and so plain it needs no comment, no further\nexplanation. It is a point most firmly established and emphasized\neverywhere in Paul's epistles. We should note well and remember such\nclear passages, that we may gain strength and assurance as to the\nground of Christian doctrine. Seeing how perfectly, as faithful,\ntruthful and harmonious witnesses, these two apostles agree in their\npreaching, we are justified in confidently drawing the conclusion that\nany doctrine at variance with theirs, any teaching concerning the\nremission of sins and our salvation contrary to theirs, is not of the\nchurch, but of the devil's accursed teachers, a doctrine of Satan's\nown. Gal 1.\n\n\n\n\n_Easter Tuesday_\n\nSecond Sermon. Same Text. Acts 13, 26-39.\n\n\nTHE WORD AND THE RESURRECTION.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: This sermon appeared first in the Church Postil, the\nExplanation of the Epistle and Gospel Texts from Easter to Advent.\nPrinted by Hans Lufft, Wittenberg, 1559.]\n\n1. This sermon was preached by Paul in the synagogue at Antioch of\nPisidia, where were gathered with the Jews some Greek converts.\nWherever in a city Jews were to be found, there also were their\nsynagogues in which they taught and preached; and many gentiles,\ncoming to hear, were converted to God through the preaching of his\nWord. Undoubtedly it was by God's wonderful direction that the Jews\nwere dispersed throughout the world among the gentiles, after the\nfirst destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. Inasmuch as this\ndispersion resulted in the spread of the Word, they were instrumental\nin securing salvation for the gentiles and in preparing the way for\nthe world-wide preaching of the Gospel by the apostles. For wherever\nthe apostles went they found Jewish synagogues and the opportunity to\npreach to a regular congregation, through whom their Gospel might be\nwidely disseminated because of the many gentiles also in attendance.\nHad not these gentiles been already accustomed to the Jewish\nsynagogues, they would not have listened to the apostles, nor even\npermitted them publicly to preach, strangers that they were.\n\n2. Thus it is Paul comes into the synagogue on the Sabbath, a time\nwhen the congregation was wont to assemble and read the Scriptures. He\nand Barnabas being guests from the country of the Jews, Paul is\nbesought to give an exhortation, or sermon, to the people, whereupon\nhe rises and delivers a fine, lengthy discourse concerning Christ: how\nin the Scriptures he had been promised unto the fathers and to David\nthe king, had been born of the seed of David and had received the\npublic testimony of John the Baptist; how Christ was sacrificed by the\nJews (Peter gives the same account in the preceding epistle lesson);\nhow he rose from the dead and for some time showed himself alive; how\nhe then commanded his apostles to publish to the world the new\ndoctrine that God's promise to the Jews had been fulfilled; and how,\nby his resurrection, he brought to them the promised blessing, namely,\nthe remission of sins unattainable through the Law of Moses and all\ntheir ordinances, but dispensed and imparted alone to faith in the\nChrist proclaimed.\n\n3. As stated later in the text, there were, beside the Jews, many\ngentiles present at the preaching of this sermon, and at its\nconclusion they besought Paul to speak to them again between sabbaths.\nAccordingly, when he came to the synagogue the next sabbath, he found\nalmost the whole city assembled.\n\nBut to return to the first sermon: Paul says, \"Brethren, children of\nthe stock of Abraham\"--or, native Jews--\"and those among you that fear\nGod\"--who are gentiles. Now, though this could not but be a discourse\nobjectionable and highly offensive to the Jews, Paul opens with tender\nand nicely chosen words meant to conciliate and to secure their\nrespectful attention. He highly honors them by addressing them as the\npeople chosen by God in preference to all the gentiles; as children of\nthe holy fathers who had a special claim to the promise of God. But,\nagain, he vitiates his pleasing impression when he proclaims to the\nJews naught else but the crucified and risen Christ, and concludes\nwith the statement that with nothing but Moses' Law and ordinances\nthey ranked no higher in the sight of God than the gentiles.\n\n\nTHE WORD OF SALVATION.\n\n4. Paul's discourse is in perfect harmony with Peter's sermon. Peter\nspeaks of God having sent unto the Jews heralds proclaiming peace; and\nPaul here says, \"To you [us] is the word of this salvation sent.\"\nNotwithstanding the joy and comfort wherewith these words are fraught,\nthey could not please the Jews. The Jews disdained the idea--in fact,\nit was intolerable to them to hear it expressed--that after their long\nexpectation of a Messiah to be lord and king of the world, they should\nreceive a mere message, and at that a message rendering of no\nsignificance at all that Law and government for which they had\nexpected, through that Messiah, exaltation and world-wide acceptance.\nIndeed, such an issue could only mean to them having entertained a\nvain hope.\n\n5. Paul makes his teaching yet more offensive by not referring to the\nGospel simply as the word of peace, as Peter does, but by giving it\nthe greater and grander title, \"the word of salvation\"; in other\nwords, a doctrine calculated to heal and save. No grander name could\nbe found for the Gospel; for a message of salvation is an expression\nof God's grace, forgiveness of sins, abiding peace and life eternal.\nMoreover, these blessings were not to be bestowed upon the Jews alone;\nthey were to be equally shared with the gentiles, who had no knowledge\nof God, of the Law, or of divine worship. The gentiles were thus to be\nmade the equals of the Jews, leaving the latter without preference or\nspecial merit before God, and without advantage and lordship over the\nformer in the world.\n\n6. Thus early in his discourse Paul grows blunt and severe, kneading\nJews and gentiles into one lump. Indeed, he plainly tells the Jews\nthat the Law of Moses did not secure to them the favor of God in the\npast and would be equally profitless in the future; that through the\nGospel message, and only so, they, and all gentiles as well, were to\nbe delivered from sin, death and the power of the devil, and to become\nGod's people, with power over all. Yet he presents no other tangible\ntoken of the great boon he calls salvation and blessedness than his\npreaching alone.\n\nNow, one may say: \"The word I hear, and Paul I see, a poor human\nbeing; but this salvation--grace, life and peace--I behold not. On the\ncontrary, I daily see and experience sin, terror, adversity, suffering\nand death, until it seems as if in all humanity none are so utterly\nforsaken by God as the Christians, who hear this message.\"\n\n7. But this is precisely the precious doctrine to be learned if we are\nto be God's children and sensible of his kingdom within us, a doctrine\nbeyond the knowledge and experience of the Jews with their Law and of\nthe gentiles with their wisdom drawn from reason--this it is: our\nsalvation stands in the word Paul here declares of Christ, a word\nwhich, in name and reality, is a word of salvation and peace; for\nsalvation and peace are the blessings which it offers and imparts.\n\n8. God has sent this word, Paul says. Its origin and conception is not\nwith man. It is not the edict of the Roman emperor, nor the command of\nthe high-priest at Jerusalem. It is the Word of the God of heaven. In\nit he speaks. He will have the message preached by poor human beings\nas a power unto happiness and salvation, both in name and reality.\nSuch the Law never was. Paul says (Rom 1, 16): \"I am not ashamed of\nthe Gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one\nthat believeth.\" And God himself has bound up with it our salvation\nwhen he manifests himself in the voice heard from heaven at Jordan,\nsaying of Christ, \"This is my beloved Son\"--who is to be heard.\n\n9. God desires Christ's Word to be heard. Otherwise expressed, his\ncommand is: \"Here ye have the Word of peace and salvation. Not\nelsewhere may you seek and find these blessings. Cling to this Word if\nyou desire peace, happiness and salvation. Let befall what may,\ncrosses, afflictions, discord, death--whether you be beheaded, or fall\nvictim to pest or stroke, or in whatever manner God may call you\nhome--in it all, look only upon me, whose Word promises that you shall\nnot die, what seems death being but a sweet sleep, ay, the entrance\ninto life eternal.\" Christ says (Jn 8, 51): \"Verily, verily, I say\nunto you. If a man keep my Word, he shall never see death.\"\n\nNote, it is the keeping of the Word on which Christ lays stress.\n\"Keeping\" is holding fast to the promise, feeling and all senses to\nthe contrary, doubting not the truth of the message heard. For he who\npromises is not man; it is the Lord of heaven and earth and all that\nin them is, who has to this moment controlled and preserved the same.\nOne hundred years ago, what were you and I and all men now living but\nabsolutely nothing? How and from what was creation effected when there\nwas nothing to start with? \"He spake and it was done\"--that was\ncreated which before had not existence--declares Psalm 33, 9, quoting\nfrom Genesis 1; \"he commanded, and it stood fast.\"\n\n10. Being the Word of God, the Gospel is an entirely different thing\nfrom man's word, no matter though it be spoken by a mere man or even a\ndonkey. Therefore, let there be, now or henceforth, discord, terror of\nsin; the menace of death and hell, of the grave and corruption: come\nupon you what may--only press to your heart this Word that Christ has\nsent you a message of salvation--of redemption, of triumph over all\nthings; and that he commands you to believe it. Then you will perceive\nthat he, as your God and Creator, will not deceive you. What are\ndeath, the devil and all creatures as a match for Christ?\n\n11. The glory of Christ's message, then, here called by Paul \"the word\nof salvation,\" is much greater and higher than would have been the\npromise of all the kingdoms, all the riches and splendors of the\nworld, yes, of both heaven and earth. For what could they benefit if\none possessed not the Word of salvation and eternal life? With all\nthese, when assailed by sins, or by the distress and danger of death,\none must still say, \"Away with all the blessings and joys of the\nworld, so that I may hear and have altogether the message of salvation\nsent by Christ.\" You must hold fast to it and know that it alone gives\neternal peace and joy; that it must receive your faith in spite of all\napparent contradiction; that you must not be governed by your reason\nor your feelings, but must regard that as divine, unchangeable and\neternal truth which God has spoken and commands to be proclaimed. Such\nis Paul's exhortation addressed primarily to the Jews to accept this\nmessage as sent by God and as being the bearer of wondrous blessings.\n\n12. Next, he proceeds to remove their chief stumbling-block, the thing\nof greatest offense to them. He warns them against the course adopted\nby them of Jerusalem, who had the Word of salvation from Christ\nhimself, who read it in the prophets every day, who should have had no\ntrouble perceiving that the prophets testified to Christ and that\nthere was complete harmony between their teaching and that of Christ\nand the apostles, yet would not understand. Because Christ came not in\nthe manner they desired, they condemned the very One whom they read of\nin the Scriptures as appearing with this Word of salvation, the time\nof whose coming had been pointed out, leaving them to know it had long\nsince arrived and they had no reason to wait for another. They\nunderstood not the Scriptures because their minds were completely\nhardened and dominated by the fixed idea that Christ should reign as a\ntemporal king. So thoroughly was the whole Jewish nation impressed\nwith this belief that the very apostles had no other conception of\nChrist's kingdom, even after his resurrection. As John says (ch. 12,\n16), they did not understand the Scriptures until Christ ascended to\nheaven and the Holy Spirit came.\n\nSo long as there hangs before one's eyes this curtain--the carnal\nfancy of a temporal kingdom for Christ, an earthly government for his\nChurch--the Scriptures cannot be understood. As Paul says of the Jews\n(2 Cor 3, 14), the veil remaineth in the reading of the Scriptures.\nBut this lack of understanding is inexcusable. That is gross and\nwilful blindness which will not receive the instruction and direction\nimparted by the apostles. The Jews continue to rave against the\nGospel; they will hear nothing of the Christ, though even after\ncrucifying him they receive the offer of repentance and remission of\nsins at the hands of the apostles.\n\n13. That Paul should make bold to tell the most prominent men and\nrulers of the whole Jewish nation--the heads of God's people, pillars\nof the Church, as we would say--that not only the common rabble, but\nlikewise they themselves did not know and understand the Scriptures\ncommitted to them; ay, that, not content with such ignorance and\nerror, they had themselves become the individuals of whom they read,\nthe murderers and crucifiers of the Son of God, their Saviour--this\nwas a matter of grave offense indeed!\n\nOffensive indeed was it to have this accusation brought against them,\na people among whom God had ordained his worship, his temple and\npriesthood, and for whom he had instituted a peculiar government,\ngiving the high-priest power to say, Do so or you will be put to\ndeath. Deut 17, 12. And of them were the glorious and great council of\nthe seventy-two elders originally ordained through Moses (Ex 18,\n25-26), the council called the Sanhedrim. They ruled the entire people\nand certainly knew right and wrong according to their law.\n\nWas there not reason here to tear Paul to pieces with red-hot pinchers\nas a seditious character, a public blasphemer, speaking not only\nagainst the Jewish government but against the honor of God himself;\ndaring to accuse all the princes of the nation of being in error, of\nknowing nothing of the Scriptures, even of being murderers of the Son\nof God? The Pope and his crowd lack the credentials of such glory and\nendorsement by God. They have merely reared a system of self-devised\ndoctrine and idolatry, which they still defend. Hence, whatever\ncensure and condemnation we heap upon the Pope and his crowd is small\nin comparison to the thrust Paul dealt the Jewish leaders.\n\n14. Note, Paul does not stand back for anything. He teaches men\nutterly to disregard the hue and cry of the offended Jews that they\nwere the high-priests, teachers, rulers in a government ordained by\nGod and commanding the obedience of the people; that teaching\ndisobedience to them was equivalent to teaching disobedience to\nparents and to civil government, yes, to God himself--something in the\nnature of the case not to be tolerated. Yet Paul fearlessly does so\nteach, as an apostle of God and in fulfilment of God's command. How\nmuch more would Paul oppose our popish deceivers who, without the\nauthority of God's Word, boast themselves heads of the Church and of\nthe people of God, at the same time neither teaching nor understanding\nthe Scriptures, but offering their own drivel as God's commands!\n\n15. But what cause has Paul at heart that he dares so boldly condemn\nthe judgment of these exalted officials? It is this, according to his\nown statement: There is One called Jesus Christ, of whom the prophets,\nin fact the entire Scriptures, speak. Him the Jews refuse to know. He\nis higher and greater than the high-priests and the rulers, greater\nthan the temple or the whole city of Jerusalem. And the Jews know his\ncoming means their passing, and their obedience to him as Lord and\nSupreme Ruler. Therefore, they are inexcusable in their rejection of\nChrist. Of no avail is their evasion, \"God has given us the dominion\nand the supreme power, and has commanded obedience to us in equal\ndegree with obedience to parents.\"\n\n16. The fact that an individual is a lord or a prince, a father or a\nmother, a child or a subject, administers authority or obeys it, will\nnot excuse him from being baptized and believing in Christ. For Christ\nis sole and supreme Lord over all kings, princes and governors. True,\nwe should be obedient to parents and to civil authority, but not to\nthe extent of disobeying the Lord, him who has created and subjected\nto himself emperors and magistrates equally with the lowliest of men.\n\nBut the gentlemen and lords at Jerusalem, like those of our day, were\nunwilling to permit obedience to any but themselves. From such\nconditions arises the present dispute about ecclesiastical authority.\nTo go counter to it in obeying God's command--this the ecclesiasts\nunjustly call disobedience and sedition. But such must be our course\nif we are to be loyal to our Lord and theirs, whom they deny.\n\n17. In the matter of salvation, Caiaphas or Pope, Caesar or king,\navails naught; none avails but Jesus Christ. \"Him,\" says Paul, \"the\nrulers of Jerusalem, the Holy City, have killed. Though ye were\nordained by God and given authority, God no longer regards you,\nbecause ye reject Christ. Ye have become great blockheads, blind\nleaders, understanding not at all the Scriptures. Yet ye should and\nwould teach others, just as Moses and the prophets have pointed to\nthis Christ promised to you and to all the world for salvation and\nsolace. Persisting in your blindness, ye have brought him to the\ncross, though finding in him no cause for condemnation. Surely, he did\nyou no injury; he deprived you of naught, neither money, goods, honor\nnor power, but has brought you all good--even salvation--if ye will\nbut receive him. But ye made yourselves the very ones who fulfilled\nthe Scriptures ye daily read--those who put Christ to death and\nbrought to pass the fact that he rose from the dead (though without\nthanks to you or to Satan) and became a Lord commanding the obedience\nof all creatures.\n\n\"We shall no longer regard what ye, or all the world, have to say of\nour preaching Christ; it is all the same to us whether you rage or\nsmile. For we boast the Lord, the Son of God, made Lord over all the\nfathers through his resurrection. It is his will that we preach of\nhim, and that all men believe. Since ye refuse him, your God-given\nprivilege ceases, which, however, was granted only until the advent of\nthe Messiah. We must withdraw from you, renouncing your authority and\npriesthood, and Jerusalem itself. We tell you plainly that we cannot\nand will not obey you in opposition to the will of the Lord.\"\n\n18. Mark you, in order to make the Jews Christians, Paul had to preach\nthat Christ was already come; that he was no longer to be looked for.\nHe was obliged to bring home to them what they had done to Christ,\nthey the rulers and chief of those bearing the name of God's people\nand entrusted with the Law and the order of divine worship--he was\nforced to do so that they might perceive their sin and quit their\nboast of having the true Law and worship, having nothing whatever\nwherein to glory before God. For, though possessing the Law of Moses\nand having heard often enough the Word of God, they would not\nrecognize and receive the Messiah sent by God in accordance with his\npromise, but condemned him and became his murderers.\n\nIn view of this fact, what does their boast about being Abraham's\nchildren, God's people, possessors of the prophets and the Law and the\npriesthood, amount to? These privileges only magnify their sins, only\nmake their guilt the more grievous, before God. Not as blind, ignorant\nheathen, but as a people who have, and should know, the Word of God,\nthey wilfully put to death God's Son. Thus we have the first part of\nPaul's sermon.\n\n\nTHE RESURRECTION AND FAITH.\n\n19. The second part deals with the resurrection of Christ and its\npower through faith. This is the goal Paul has in view when he tells\nthem that they have slain the Christ, thus effecting their\ncondemnation by God and forfeiting whatever glory they possessed as\nJews, gaining shame and wrath before God in its stead. To be still\ndelivered from such condemnation, and to obtain justification and\nsalvation, as he expresses himself toward the end, it is necessary to\nhear and believe the word concerning the selfsame Christ. Moreover,\ninasmuch as they with their leaders have refused to receive and\nrecognize this Messiah when he preached and wrought miracles in\nperson; now, that he is invisible and absent in the body, they are\ncalled upon to receive him whom they themselves have crucified unto\ndeath, and to believe that he is risen from the dead as Lord over all,\naccording to the testimony of the apostles.\n\nThe dreams of the past they are now utterly to forsake, and their\nexpectations of a Messiah still to come and elevate them with their\nLaw and manner of worship to fame, riches and position, and to spread\nabroad their Moses and their priesthood in all the earth. They must\nnow thank God for being placed on the same footing with the gentiles,\nin that they may come with them to the Word of salvation for the\npurpose of obtaining God's favor, remission of sins and life eternal.\n\n\nOLD TESTAMENT TESTIMONY.\n\n20. Paul supports his discourse on the resurrection of Christ with\nmany strong Scripture texts. There is no doubt that he dwelt on these\nat length and preached quite a sermon, which, however, has not been\nrecorded here in full, but only in part. The apostle's purpose was to\npoint us to the Old Testament Scriptures, that we might there make\ndiligent study for ourselves of how forcibly the prophets have spoken\nconcerning Christ, his works and his kingdom.\n\n21. The first text Paul cites is from the Second Psalm, which treats\nthroughout of the Messiah and his reign, as even the Jews at the time\nwhen wisdom still prevailed had to admit. Christ's own words are: \"I\nwill tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my Son; this\nday have I begotten thee.\" Paul says he is here quoting from the First\nPsalm, though in all editions, old and new, this psalm comes second in\norder.[2] But the apostle does not have reference to the technical\narrangement of the psalms in a book, but to the order of his\nquotations. The thought is: \"First, I will prove it from the psalm,\"\nor, \"First, as written in the psalm.\" Just as the preacher of today\nsays, \"I observe, first,\" or, \"It is written, first, in the psalm,\"\nwhether the psalm be the first, second, twentieth or thirtieth, he not\nhaving reference to the order of the psalm but to the order in which\nhe cites it.\n\n[Footnote 2: Since Luther's time this discrepancy has been removed by\nallowing the change, \"second psalm.\"]\n\n22. But how does Paul make this text prove the resurrection of Christ?\nIt is truly a strong statement, and no doubt the apostle fully\nexplained it, amplifying it beautifully and well. The psalm refers to\nthat Messiah, or King, who shall reign in the Jewish nation, among the\npeople; for the writer says plainly, \"I have set my king upon my holy\nhill of Zion,\" or Jerusalem. The King, then, must be true man like\nother men. Indeed, the psalmist adds that the kings and rulers of\nearth shall rage and persecute him, which could not be unless he\nreigned upon earth.\n\n23. But this verse also makes the King true God, for here God calls\nhim his own Son, begotten of himself in his divine, eternal essence\nand majesty. He is, then, not an adopted Son, but the true Son of God\nby birth. Being man, however, just like others, he must, in accord\nwith his human nature, die; indeed, he must suffer crucifixion and\ndeath at the hands of the lords of the world. But, again, if he be\nalso the begotten Son of God and therefore true God, he cannot, even\naccording to his human nature, remain in death; he must come forth\nfrom it, must triumph over it, becoming Lord of life and death\nforever. Here is an indivisible Being, at the same time a Son of the\nvirgin of the house of David and of God. Such cannot remain in death.\nIf he enter death, it must be to overcome and conquer it, yes, to slay\nit, to destroy it; and to bring to pass that in him as Lord shall\nreign naught but life, life for all who receive him. This subject is\nelsewhere more fully expounded.\n\n24. But the succeeding text cited on the resurrection--from Isaiah 55,\n3--reads yet more strangely: \"I will give you the holy and sure\nblessings of David,\" which in the Hebrew is: \"I will make an\neverlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.\" The\nprophet has reference to the promise made to David in Second Samuel 7,\nconcerning Christ. In the preceding verses of the chapter, Isaiah most\ntenderly entreats and invites the whole world to receive the promises\nof salvation, for thereby shall the poor, the wretched and the\nafflicted obtain the great treasures of joy and salvation. And\nimmediately following the verse quoted, he speaks of the Messiah, the\npromised seed of David, as given to the Levites for a \"witness\"--in\nother words, a preacher sent by God--and for \"a leader and commander\nto the peoples.\" The thought is of a King and Ruler differing from\nMoses and his priests and exponents of the Law; a ruler differing from\nevery other lord, ruler and king, from David and all worldly rulers\nwhatever, subjecting everything to himself. Not that this Leader\nshould set up a new temporal government, or extend Jewish authority\namong the gentiles, but that both Jews and gentiles should receive him\nand believe in him, obtaining the fulfilment of that promise he here\nterms a covenant of the sure mercies of David. This covenant, God\nsays, he enters into and keeps, a divine, sure covenant: through\nChrist shall be given whatever blessings God's mercy shall bestow,\nwith remission or blotting out of sins, redemption from death and life\neternal.\n\n25. Now, if the Christ of this covenant is true man and, as the\npromise to David is, of David's flesh and blood; and if he is to bring\neternal mercy, he must likewise be God, such gift being in the\nprovince and power of God alone. This being true, he cannot remain in\ndeath, although he may suffer death by reason of his human nature; he\nmust of his own power rise from the dead. Only so can he raise others\nand give them everlasting life; only so can he truly be called eternal\nKing of grace, righteousness and life, according to the sure promise\nof God.\n\n26. Therefore, wherever the Scriptures speak of Christ's eternal\nkingdom, and of everlasting grace, they point out this article of the\nresurrection of Christ. No doubt, the apostle in explanation of the\ntext from the Second Psalm quoted other Old Testament passages; for\ninstance. Psalm 110, 1: \"Jehovah saith unto my lord, Sit thou at my\nright hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool\"; also verse 4:\n\"Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever.\"\nIn these passages God has promised to give us Christ, him who was to\nsit at his right hand--that is, have the omnipotent, divine power\npossible only to an eternal Lord and King--and at the same time to\nhave his kingdom on earth, at Zion--or Jerusalem; and who was,\nmoreover, to be a priest forever, being taken from among men and like\nunto them, even in his ability to die, yet at the same time continuing\na priest forever, thereby forestalling the necessity of remaining in\ndeath and grave.\n\n27. The third passage cited by Paul is taken from the Sixteenth Psalm,\nwhich is in reality one of the Messianic psalms. This is the psalm\nPeter in his first sermon on the day of Pentecost more fully explains,\ndrawing from it the irresistible conclusion, so apparent in his own\nwords, that Christ indeed has died; not, however, to become victim to\ndecay in the tomb, but, proof against mortal destruction and hurt, to\narise on the third day.\n\n\n\n\n_Easter Wednesday_\nALSO SUITED TO EASTER TUESDAY.\n\nText: Colossians 3, 1-7.\n\n1 If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that\nare above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set\nyour mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are\nupon the earth. 3 For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in\nGod. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall\nye also with him be manifested in glory. 5 Put to death therefore your\nmembers which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion,\nevil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; 6 for which things'\nsake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience: 7 wherein\nye also once walked, when ye lived in these things.\n\n\nEXHORTATION TO TRULY GOOD WORKS.\n\n1. We have been hearing of the glorious message of Christ's\nresurrection, how that resurrection took place and how we must\nbelieve, for our own blessing, comfort and salvation. Now, that we may\nbe sincerely thankful to God for this inestimable blessing, and that\nour attitude toward the doctrine of the resurrection may be one to\ntruly honor and glorify it, we must hear also, and practice, the\napostles' teaching of its essential fruits, and must manifest them in\nour lives. Therefore, we will select Paul's admonition to the\nColossians (ch. 3), which has to do with this topic particularly.\n\nObserve here, Paul exhorts Christians to be incited by the\nresurrection of Christ unto works truly good and becoming; the text\ndeclares unto us the supreme blessing and happiness the resurrection\nbrings within our reach--remission of sins and salvation from eternal\ndeath. Lest, however, our wanton, indolent nature deceive itself by\nimagining the work is instantaneously wrought in ourselves, and that\nsimply to receive the message is to exhaust the blessing, Paul always\nadds the injunction to examine our hearts to ascertain whether we\nrightly apprehend the resurrection truth.\n\n\nHOW WE ARE RISEN WITH CHRIST.\n\n2. By no means are we simply to assent to the words of the doctrine.\nChrist does not design that we be able merely to accept and speak\nintelligently of it, but that its influence be manifest in our lives.\nHow is a dead man profited, however much life may be preached to him,\nif that preaching does not make him live? Or of what use is it to\npreach righteousness to a sinner if he remain in sin? or to an erring,\nfactious individual if he forsake not his error and his darkness? Even\nso, it is not only useless but detrimental, even pernicious in effect,\nto listen to the glorious, comforting and saving doctrine of the\nresurrection if the heart has no experience of its truth; if it means\nnaught but a sound in the ears, a transitory word upon the tongue,\nwith no more effect upon the hearer than as if he had never heard.\n\nAccording to Paul in the text, this nobly-wrought and precious\nresurrection of Christ essentially must be, not an idle tale of fancy,\nfutile as a dead hewn-stone or painted-paper image, but a powerful\nenergy working in us a resurrection through faith--an experience he\ncalls being risen with Christ; in other words, it is dying unto sin,\nbeing snatched from the power of death and hell and having life and\nhappiness in Christ. In the second chapter (verse 12), the apostle\nputs it plainly, \"buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also\nraised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him\nfrom the dead.\"\n\n3. If, Paul says, ye have apprehended by faith the resurrection of\nChrist and have received its power and consolation, and so are risen\nwith him, that resurrection will surely be manifest in you; you will\nfeel its power, will be conscious of its working within. The doctrine\nwill be something more than words; it will be truth and life. For them\nwho do not thus apprehend the resurrection, Christ is not yet risen,\nalthough his rising is none the less a fact; for there is not within\nthem the power represented by the words \"being risen with Christ,\" the\npower which renders them truly dead and truly risen men.\n\nSo Paul's intent is to make us aware that before we can become\nChristians, this power must operate within us; otherwise, though we\nmay boast and fancy ourselves believing Christians, it will not be\ntrue. The test is, are we risen in Christ--is his resurrection\neffective in us? Is it merely a doctrine of words, or one of life and\noperating power?\n\n4. Now, what is the process of the life and death mentioned? How can\nwe be dead and at the same time risen? If we are Christians we must\nhave suffered death; yet the very fact that we are Christians implies\nthat we live. How is this paradox to be explained? Indeed, certain\nfalse teachers of the apostles' time understood and explained the\nwords in a narrow sense making them mean that the resurrection of the\ndead is a thing of the past according to Paul's words in Second\nTimothy 1, 10, and that there is no future resurrection from temporal\ndeath. The believer in Christ, they said, is already risen to life; in\nall Christians the resurrection is accomplished in this earthly life.\nThey sought to prove their position by Paul's own words, thus\nassailing the article of the resurrection.\n\n5. But we will ignore these teachers as being condemned by Paul, and\ninterpret the words as he meant them, his remarks both preceding and\nfollowing making it clear and unquestionable that he refers to the\nspiritual resurrection. This fact is certain: If we are, at the last\nday, to rise bodily, in our flesh and blood, to eternal life, we must\nhave had a previous spiritual resurrection here on earth. Paul's words\nin Romans 8, 11 are: \"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus\nfrom the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the\ndead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit\nthat dwelleth in you.\" In other words: God having quickened, justified\nand saved you spiritually, he will not forget the body, the building\nor tabernacle of the living spirit; the spirit being in this life\nrisen from sin and death, the tabernacle, or the corruptible\nflesh-and-blood garment, must also be raised; it must emerge from the\ndust of earth, since it is the dwelling-place of the saved and risen\nspirit, that the two may be reunited unto life eternal.\n\n6. The apostle, then, is not in this text referring to the future\nresurrection of the body, but to the spiritual rising which entails\nthe former. He regards as one fact the resurrection of the Lord\nChrist, who brought his body again from the grave and entered into\nlife eternal, and the resurrection of ourselves, who, by virtue of his\nrising, shall likewise be raised: first, the soul, from a trivial and\nguilty life shall rise into a true, divine and happy existence; and\nsecond, from this sinful and mortal body shall rise out of the grave\nan immortal, glorious one.\n\nSo Paul terms believing Christians both \"dead\" and \"alive.\" They are\nspiritually dead in this life and also spiritually alive.\nNevertheless, this sinful temporal life must yet come to an end in\nphysical death, for the destruction of the sin and death inherent\ntherein, that body and spirit may live forever. Therefore he says:\n\n\"If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are\nabove, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.\"\n\n7. In other words: Seek and strive after what is above--the things\ndivine, heavenly and eternal; not the terrestrial, perishable,\nworldly. Make manifest the fact that you are now spiritually raised\nand by the same power will later be raised bodily.\n\n8. But does this mean that we, as Christians, are no more to eat and\ndrink, to till the ground, to attend to domestic or public duties, or\nto engage in any kind of labor? Are we to live utterly idle,\npractically dead? Is that what you mean, Paul, when you say we are not\nto seek the things of earth, though all these are essentially incident\nto life? What can you say to the fact that Christ the Lord is,\nhimself, with us on earth? for he said before his ascension to heaven\n(Mt 28, 20): \"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the\nworld\"; and also the baptism which he commands, the sacrament and the\noffice of Gospel ministry whereby he governs his Church here--these\nare things of earth.\n\n9. Paul, however, explains in the succeeding verse what he means by\n\"things that are upon the earth\" and \"things that are above.\" He is\nnot telling us to despise earthly objects. He does not refer to God's\ncreated things, all which are good, as God himself considered them;\nnor has he reference to the Christian who, in his earthly life, must\ndeal with the things of creation. He has in mind the individual\nwithout knowledge of God; who knows no more, and aims no further, than\nreason teaches, that reason received from parents at physical birth;\nwho is an unbeliever, ignorant of God and the future life and caring\nnot for them; who follows only natural understanding and human desire\nand seeks merely personal benefit, honor, pride and pleasure. The\napostle calls that a worldly life where the Word of God is lacking, or\nat least is disregarded, and where the devil has rule, impelling to\nall vices.\n\nPaul would say: Ye must be dead to a worldly life of this sort, a life\nstriven after by the heathen, who disregard God's Word and suffer the\ndevil to have his way with them. Ye must prove the resurrection of\nChrist in you to be something more than vain words. Ye must show there\nis a living power manifest in you because ye are risen, a power which\nmakes you lead a different life, one in obedience to the Word and will\nof God, and called the divine, heavenly life. Where this change does\nnot take place, it is a sign ye are not yet Christians but are\ndeceiving yourselves with vain fancies.\n\n10. Under the phrase \"things that are upon the earth\"--worldly\nthings--Paul includes not only gross, outward vices, sins censurable\nin the eyes of the world, but also greater immoralities; everything,\nin fact, not in accordance with the pure Word of God, faith and true\nChristian character.\n\n\nSPIRITUAL AND CARNAL WORLDLINESS.\n\n11. In order to a better understanding of the text, we shall adopt\nPaul's customary classification of life as spiritual and carnal. Life\non earth is characterized as of the spirit, or spiritual; and of the\nflesh, or carnal. But the spiritual life may be worldly. The worldly\nspiritual life is represented by the vices of false and self-devised\ndoctrine wherein the soul lives without the Word of God, in unbelief\nand in contempt of God; or, still worse, abuses the Word of God and\nthe name of Christ in false doctrine, making them a cover and ornament\nfor wicked fraud, using them falsely under a show of truth, under\npretense of Christian love.\n\nThis is worldly conduct of the spiritual kind. It is always the worst,\never the most injurious, since it is not only personal sin, but\ndeceives others into like transgression. Paul refers, in the epistle\nlesson for Easter, to this evil as the \"old leaven\" and the \"leaven of\nwickedness.\" And in Second Corinthians 7, 1, he makes the same\nclassification of spiritual and carnal sin, saying, \"Let us cleanse\nourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.\" By defilement of\nthe spirit he means those secret, subtle vices wherewith man pollutes\nand corrupts his inner life in the sight of God; his sins not being\nmanifest to the world, but deceiving human reason and wisdom.\n\n12. If we would be Christians we must, first of all, be dead to\nconduct of this sort. We must not receive nor tolerate the worldly\ndoctrine and corrupt inventions originating with ourselves, whether in\nthe nature of reason, philosophy or law, theories ignoring the Word of\nGod or else falsely passing under its name. For such are wholly of the\nworld; under their influence man has no regard to God's will and seeks\nnot his kingdom and eternal life. They are meant merely to further the\nindividual's own honor, pride, renown, wisdom, holiness or something\nelse. Though boast is made of the Gospel and of faith in Christ, yet\nit is not serious, and the individual continues without power and\nwithout fruit.\n\n13. If we are risen with Christ through faith, we must set our\naffections upon things not earthly, corruptible, perishable, but upon\nthings above--the heavenly, divine, eternal; in other words, upon\ndoctrine right, pure and true, and whatever is pleasing to God, that\nhis honor and Christ's kingdom may be preserved. Thus shall we guard\nourselves against abuse of God's name, against false worship and false\ntrust and that presumption of self-holiness which pollutes and\ndefrauds the spirit.\n\n14. Under carnal worldliness Paul includes the gross vices,\nenumerating in particular here, fornication, uncleanness,\ncovetousness, and so on, things which reason knows to be wicked and\ncondemns as such. The spiritual sins take reason captive and deceive\nit, leaving it powerless to guard against them. They are termed\nspiritual sins not simply because of their spirit-polluting character,\nfor all vices pollute the spirit, the carnal vices among them; but\nbecause they are too subtle for flesh and blood to discern. The sins\nof the flesh, however, are called carnal, or body-polluting, because\ncommitted by the body, in its members.\n\nNow, as we are to be dead unto spiritual sins, so are we to be dead\nunto carnal sins, or at least to make continual progress toward that\nend, striving ever to turn away from all such earthly things and to\nlook toward the heavenly and divine. He who continues to seek carnal\nthings and to be occupied with them, has not as yet with Christ died\nunto the world. Not having died, he is not risen; the resurrection of\nChrist effects nothing in him. Christ is dead unto him and he unto\nChrist.\n\n15. Paul's admonition is particularly necessary at the present time.\nWe see a large and constantly-increasing number who, despite their\nboast of the Gospel and their certain knowledge of the polluting and\ncondemning power of spiritual and carnal sins, continue in their evil\ncourse, forgetful of God's wrath, or endeavoring to trust in false\nsecurity. Indeed, it is a very common thing for men to do just as they\nplease and yet pretend innocence and seek to avoid censure. Some would\nrepresent themselves guileless as lambs and blameless; no act of\ntheirs may be regarded evil or even wrong. They pretend great virtue\nand Christian love. Yet they carry on their insidious, malicious\nfrauds, imposing falsehoods upon men. They ingeniously contrive to\nmake their conduct appear good, imagining that to pass as faultless\nbefore men and to escape public censure means to deceive God also. But\nthey will learn how God looks upon the matter. Paul tells us (Gal 6,\n7) God will not, like men, be mocked. To conceal and palliate will not\navail. Nothing will answer but dying to vice and then striving after\nwhat is virtuous, divine and becoming the Christian character.\n\n16. Paul enumerates some gross and unpardonable vices--fornication, or\nunchastity, and covetousness. He speaks also of these in Ephesians 5,\n3-5 and in First Thessalonians 4, 3-7, as we have heard in the epistle\nlessons for the second and third Sundays in Lent. He enjoins\nChristians to guard against these sins, to be utterly dead to them.\nFor they are sensual, acknowledged such even among the gentiles; while\nwe strive after the perfect purity becoming souls who belong to Christ\nand in heaven. It is incumbent upon the Christian to preserve his body\nmodest, and holy or chaste; to refrain from polluting himself by\nfornication and other unchastity, after the manner of the world.\n\n17. Similarly does the apostle forbid covetousness, to which he gives\nthe infamous name of idolatry in the effort to make it more hideous in\nthe Christian's eyes, to induce him to shun it as an abominable vice\nintensely hated of God. It is a vice calculated to turn a man wholly\nfrom faith and from divine worship, until he regards not, nor seeks\nafter, God and his Word and heavenly treasures, but follows only after\nthe treasures of earth and seeks a god that will give him enough of\nearthly good.\n\n18. Much might be said on this topic were we to consider it relative\nto all orders and trades in succession. For plainly the world,\nparticularly in our day, is completely submerged in the vice of\ncovetousness. It is impossible to enumerate the subtle arts it can\ninvent, and the good and beautiful things it knows how to pass off\nwhereunder it masks itself as a thing not to be considered sinful, but\nrather extremely virtuous and indicative of uprightness. And so\nidolatry ever does. While before God it is the worst abomination,\nbefore the world its appearance and reputation are superior. So far\nfrom being recognized as sin, it is considered supreme holiness and\ndivine worship.\n\nThe very worship of Mammon wears an imposing mask. It must not be\ncalled covetousness or dishonest striving after property, but must be\nknown as upright, legitimate endeavor to obtain a livelihood, a\nseeking to acquire property honestly. It ingeniously clothes itself\nwith the Word of God, saying God commands man to seek his bread by\nlabor, by his own exertions, and that every man is bound to provide\nfor his own household. No civil government, no, nor a preacher even,\ncan censure covetousness under that guise unless it be betrayed in\ngross robbing and stealing.\n\n19. Let every man know that his covetousness will be laid to the\ncharge of his own conscience, that he will have to answer for it, for\nGod will not be deceived. It is evident the vice is gaining ground.\nWith its false appearance and ostentation, and its world-wide\nprevalence, it is commonly accepted as legal. Without censure or\nrestraint, men are engrossed in coveting and accumulating to the\nutmost. Those having position and power think they have the right to\nacquire by violence as much as they can, daily making assessments and\nimposts, and new oppressions and impositions upon the poor. And the\ncommon rabble seek gain by raising prices, by extortion, fraud, and so\non. Yet all desire not to be charged with wrong-doing; they would not\nthey should be called unchristian on account of their conduct. Indeed,\nsuch excess of covetousness obtains that the public robbing and\nstealing, and the faithlessness and fraud, of the meanest hirelings,\nservants and maids everywhere can no longer be restrained.\n\n20. But who would care to recount the full extent of this vice in all\ndealings and interests of the world between man and man? Enough has\nbeen said to induce every one who aims to be a Christian to examine\nhis own heart and, if he find himself guilty of such vice, to refrain;\nif not, to know how to guard against it. Every individual can readily\nperceive for himself what is consistent with Christian character in\nthis respect, what can be allowed with a good conscience; for he has\nChrist's rule of dealing as we would be dealt with, which insures\nequality and justice. Where unfairness exists, covetousness must\nobtain to some extent.\n\n21. If you will not desist from the vice of covetousness, then know\nyou are not a Christian, not a believer, but, as Paul calls you, a\nbase, detestable idolater, having no part in God's kingdom; for you\nare living wholly to the world and without intent to rise with Christ.\nYou will receive no blessing from the joy-inspiring and gracious\nrevelation that Christ died and rose for sinners. You cannot say,\n\"Therefore he died for me, I trust.\" Truly, Christ died for you, but\nif you continue in your wickedness, using this revelation as a cloak\nfor your mean covetousness, do not--such is the declaration of the\ntext--by any means apply that comforting promise to yourself. Although\nChrist indeed died and rose for all, yet unto you he is not risen; you\nhave not apprehended his resurrection by faith. You have seen the\nsmoke but have not felt the fire; you have heard the words but have\nreceived nothing of their power.\n\n\nTHE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.\n\n22. If you would be able honestly to boast of this revelation as unto\nyou, if you would have the comfort of knowing that Christ, through his\ndeath and resurrection, has blessed you, you must not continue in your\nold sinful life, but put on a new character. For Christ died and rose\nfor the very purpose of effecting your eventual death with him and\nyour participation in his resurrection: in other words, he died that\nyou might be made a new man, beginning even now, a man like unto\nhimself in heaven, a man having no covetous desire or ambition for\nadvantage over a neighbor, a man satisfied with what God grants him as\nthe result of his labor, and kind and beneficent to the needy.\n\n23. In his desire to arouse Christians to the necessity of guarding\nagainst such vices as he mentions, Paul strengthens his admonition, in\nconclusion, by grave threats and visions of divine wrath, saying, \"for\nwhich things' sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of\ndisobedience\"; that is, upon the unbelieving world, which regards not\nthe Word of God, does not fear or believe in it nor strive to obey it,\nand yet is unwilling to be charged with idolatry and other unchristian\nprinciples, desiring rather to be considered righteous and God's own\npeople.\n\nIn the last quoted clause Paul also implies that worldly conduct, the\nlife of worldly lusts such as covetousness and other vices, is\ninconsistent and impossible with faith, and that the power of Christ's\nresurrection cannot reach it. For this reason he terms them \"sons of\ndisobedience,\" who have not faith and who, by their unchristian\nconduct, bring God's wrath upon themselves and are cast out from the\nkingdom of God. God seriously passes sentence against such conduct,\ndeclaring he will reveal his wrath against it in bodily punishment in\nthis world and eternal punishment in the world hereafter. Elsewhere\nPaul says practically the same thing (Eph 5, 6): \"For because of these\nthings cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience.\" See\nalso Rom 1, 18.\n\n24. Such is the admonition of Paul unto all who would be called\nChristians. He reminds them whereunto the Gospel of Christ calls them\nand what his resurrection should work in them--death to all life and\ndoctrine not in harmony with God's Word and God's will--and that if\nthey believe in the risen and living Christ, they, as risen with him,\nshould seek after the same heavenly life where he sits at the right\nhand of God, a life where is no sin nor worldly error, but eternal\nlife and imperishable treasures to be possessed and enjoyed with\nChrist forever.\n\n25. But the revelation of Christ's resurrection can be apprehended by\nnothing but faith. The things Paul here tells us of life and glory for\nChristians in the risen Christ are not apparent to the world; in fact,\nChristians themselves do not perceive them by external sense. Notice,\nhe says, \"Ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.\" The world\ndoes not understand the Christian life and has no word of praise for\nit; it is hostile to the faith and cannot tolerate the fact that you\nbelieve in Christ and refuse to join hands with it in love for worldly\nlusts. A hidden life indeed is the Christian's; not only hidden to the\nworld, but, so far as external perception goes, to the Christian\nhimself. Nevertheless, it is a life sure and in safe keeping, and in\nthe hereafter its glory shall be manifest to all the world. For Paul\nsays:\n\n\"When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also\nwith him be manifested in glory.\"\n\n26. Here is comfort for Christians in this earthly life where, though\nthey receive the doctrine of Christ and apprehend him by faith, their\nresurrection seems to the world and to their own perceptions untrue;\nwhere they must contend with sin and infirmities and moreover are\nsubject to much affliction and adversity; and where consequently they\nare extremely sensible of death and terror when they would experience\njoy and life. In this verse Paul comforts them, showing them where to\nseek and surely apprehend their life.\n\n27. Be of good cheer, he would say, for ye are dead to the worldly\nlife. This life ye must renounce, but in so doing ye make a precious\nexchange. Dying unto the world is a blessed experience, for which ye\nwill obtain a life far more glorious. Ye are now, through Christ's\ndeath, redeemed from sin and from death eternal and are made\nimperishable. Upon you is conferred everlasting glory. But this risen\nlife ye cannot yet perceive in yourselves; ye have it in Christ,\nthrough faith.\n\nChrist is spoken of as \"our life.\" Though the life is still unrevealed\nto you, it is certain, insured to you beyond the power of any to\ndeprive you of it. By faith in Christ's life, then, are ye to be\npreserved and to obtain victory over the terrors and torments of sin,\ndeath and the devil, until that life shall be revealed in you and made\nmanifest to men.\n\nIn Christ ye surely possess eternal life. Nothing is lacking to a\nperfect realization except that the veil whereby it is hidden so long\nas we are in mortal flesh and blood, is yet to be removed. Then will\neternal life be revealed. Then all worldly, terrestrial things, all\nsin and death, will be abolished. In every Christian shall be manifest\nonly glory. Christians, then, believing in Christ, and knowing him\nrisen, should comfort themselves with the expectation of living with\nhim in eternal glory; the inevitable condition is that they have\nfirst, in the world, died with him.\n\n28. Paul does not forget to recognize the earthly environment of\nChristians and saints, for he says: \"Put to death therefore your\nmembers which are upon the earth.\" Though acknowledging Christians\ndead with Christ unto worldly things and possessing life in Christ, he\nyet tells them to mortify their members on earth, and enumerates the\nsins of fornication, covetousness, etc.\n\nThis is truly a strange idea, that it should be necessary for men who\nhave died and risen with Christ and hence have been made really holy,\nto mortify worldly inclinations in their bodily members. The apostle\nrefers to this subject in Romans 7: 5, 8, 23, and elsewhere,\nfrequently explaining how, in the saints, there continue to remain\nvarious lusts of original sin, which constantly rise in the effort to\nbreak out, even gross external vices. These have to be resisted. They\nare strong enough utterly to enslave a man, to subject him to the\ndeepest guilt, as Paul complains (Rom 7, 23); and they will surely do\nit unless the individual, by faith and the aid of the Holy Spirit,\noppose and conquer them.\n\n29. Therefore, saints must, by a vigorous and unceasing warfare,\nsubdue their sinful lusts if they would not lose God's grace and their\nfaith. Paul says in Romans 8, 13: \"If ye live after the flesh, ye must\ndie; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye\nshall live.\" In order, then, to retain the Spirit and the incipient\ndivine life, the Christian must contend against himself.\n\nThis cannot be accomplished by the monastic hypocrisies wherewith some\nexpect to resist sin. For the pollution of sin is not merely something\nadhering to the clothing, or to the skin externally, and easily washed\noff. It is not something to be discharged from the body by fasting and\ncastigation. No, it penetrates the flesh and blood and is diffused\nthrough the whole man. Positive mortification is necessary or it will\ndestroy one. And this is how to mortify sin: It must be perceived with\nserious displeasure and repented of; and through faith Christ's\nforgiveness must be sought and found. Thus shall sinful inclinations\nbe resisted, defeated and restrained from triumphing over you. More\nhas been said on this topic elsewhere.\n\n\n\n\n_Sunday After Easter_\n\nText: First John 5, 4-12.\n\n4 For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is\nthe victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. 5 And who is\nhe that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the\nSon of God? 6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus\nChrist; not with the water only, but with the water and with the\nblood. 7 And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit\nis the truth. 8 For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and\nthe water, and the blood: and the three agree in one. 9 If we receive\nthe witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of\nGod is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son. 10 He that\nbelieveth on the Son of God hath the witness in him: he that believeth\nnot God hath made him a liar; because he hath not believed in the\nwitness that God hath borne concerning his Son. 11 And the witness is\nthis, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.\n12 He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God\nhath not the life.\n\n\nVICTORIOUS FAITH.\n\n1. This epistle selection was primarily arranged for this particular\nSunday because it treats of baptism and of the new birth of the\nbelieving Christian. It was in former time customary in the Church to\nbaptize immediately after Easter those who had accepted the Christian\nfaith and had been instructed in its precepts. This day is also called\n\"Dominicam in albis,\" and by us Germans \"Weiszer Sonntag\" (White\nSunday), because the candidates for baptism were clad in white linen\nas indicative of their cleansing and new birth; just as today children\nto be baptized are arrayed in a white christening-robe.\n\n\nTHE NEW BIRTH.\n\n2. While this lesson does not treat of the resurrection of Christ, it\nhas reference to its fruits: faith, the very essence of Christianity,\nhere expressed as being born of God; and the evidence of the Holy\nSpirit, received through baptism, which assures us we are children of\nGod and have, through Christ, eternal life and all blessings.\n\n3. Though John's language is, as usual, plain and simple, yet, in the\nears of men generally, it is unusual and unintelligible. The world\nestimates it as similar to the prattle of children or fools. What,\naccording to the world's construction, is implied by the statement,\n\"Whatsoever is begotten [born] of God overcometh the world?\"\nOvercoming the world, the unconverted would understand to mean\nbringing into subjection to oneself every earthly thing and assuming\nthe position of sovereign of the world. Yet more absurd in the ears of\nthis class is the saying that we must be born of God. \"Did one ever\nhear of such a thing,\" they might exclaim, \"as children born of God?\nIt would be less ridiculous to say we must be born of stones, after\nthe idea of the heathen poets.\" To the world there is no birth but\nphysical birth. Hence such doctrine as our lesson sets forth will ever\nbe strange, unintelligible, incomprehensible, to all but Christians.\nBut the latter speak with new tongues, as Christ in the last chapter\nof Mark (verse 17) says they shall, for they are taught and\nenlightened by the Holy Spirit.\n\n4. Clearly, then, when the Scriptures speak of being born of God, it\nis not in a human sense; the reference is not to the conditions of our\ntemporal lives, but to those exalted ones of a future existence. To\nsay we must be born of God is equivalent to saying that if man is to\nbe redeemed from sin and eternal death, to enter into the kingdom of\nGod and into happiness, his physical birth will not suffice; all which\nnature, reason, free-will and human endeavor may afford is inadequate.\nPhysical birth, it is true, answers for everything in the way of\ntemporal possession and achievement, everything great, powerful,\nnoble, rich, wise, learned; in short, every exalted and desirable\nthing of earth. But all such possession and achievement serves only\nthe physical existence; it is swept away by death, to which event it\nis ever subject.\n\nHence becomes necessary a new and different birth, a birth more\nsignificant than that of the natural man even in the case of emperors,\nkings, or the wisest and most influential of earth. For as Isaiah says\n(ch. 40, 6): \"All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as\nthe flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth.\" The\ndemand is for a divine birth, a birth in which parentage is wholly of\nGod; a birth signifying the operation of God's divine power in man, a\npower achieving something beyond the attainment of his natural\ncapacities and effecting in him new understanding and a new heart.\n\n5. The process is this: When the individual hears the Gospel message\nof Christ--a message revealed and proclaimed not by the wisdom and\nwill of man, but through the Holy Spirit--and sincerely believes it,\nhe is justly recognized as conceived and born of God. John in his\ngospel (ch. 1, 12) says: \"As many as received him, to them gave he the\nright to become children of God, even to them that believe on his\nname.\" And in the first verse of the chapter including our text, he\ntells us: \"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of\nGod.\" Through that faith, for the sake of his Son, God accepts us as\nhis children, pleasing to him and heirs of eternal life; and the Holy\nSpirit will be sent into our hearts, as is explained later.\n\n6. This doctrine condemns those arrogant teachers who presumptuously\nexpect to be justified before God by their own merits and works. They\nimagine that their wisdom, learning, good judgment, intelligence, fair\nreputation and morality entitle them, because of the good they are\nthus enabled to do, to the favor of God and to reception up into\nheaven. But the Scriptures clearly teach the very reverse, that all\nthese things are nothing in the eyes of God. It is sheer human effort;\nit is not being born of God. However wise and powerful you might be,\nif even the noblest, most beautiful, fruit human nature can produce,\nyou could not see the kingdom of God unless you became a wholly\ndifferent person, unless you were born anew, according to Christ's\nwords in John 3, 3. And this is something impossible to your natural\npowers. You certainly cannot make yourself of other parentage than you\nare. God must begin the work in you, communicating his seed--his\nWord--by virtue of which the Holy Spirit operates in you, enabling\nyou, by faith, to cling to the promise, as said before.\n\n7. Now, he who is thus born of God, John declares, overcomes the\nworld. Verily, this is a significant and forcible assertion the Holy\nSpirit makes; it represents a tremendous power, a great work. The\nchild of God must, indeed, attempt and accomplish great things. The\nbirth effected through the Word and faith makes men true sovereigns,\nabove all earthly rulers; it gives them power even to overcome the\nworld, something impossible to any Roman or Turkish potentate. They\neffect not their victory by physical force or temporal power, but by\nthe spiritual birth, through faith. As John says immediately after the\nclause we are discussing, \"This is the victory that hath overcome the\nworld, even our faith.\" Here is his own explanation of what he means\nby being born of God.\n\n\nTHE TWO KINGDOMS.\n\n8. Now, in order to understand the nature of the spiritual victory and\nhow it is effected, we must know just what John means by the term\n\"world.\" The reference is not to dominion over territory, to property\nor money. He implies the existence of two kingdoms. In one, the\nkingdom of God, the heavenly kingdom of Christ, is included, first,\nthe angels in heaven, who are the chief lords, the inner circle of\ncounselors; second, the entire Christian Church on earth, under one\nhead, Christ the Lord and King. In the other kingdom, the hellish\nkingdom, the devil is prince, and his mighty counselors and servants\nare the angels who with him fell from heaven; it also includes the\nworld, those on earth who teach, believe and live contrary to Christ,\nwho represent the heathen, the Jews, the Turks and false Christians.\n\nBy the heavenly kingdom of God we must understand, not only spiritual\nlife and godly people, but the lord and regent of that kingdom--Christ\nwith his angels, and his saints both living and dead. Thus, too, the\nkingdom of the world represents not only the earthly life with its\nworldly interests, but particularly its lord and regent--the devil and\nhis angels, and all unchristian, godless, wicked people on earth. So,\nwhen John says, \"Whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world,\"\nhe means by \"world\" the devil and his whole earthly dominion.\n\n9. Now, the workings of these two kingdoms are plainly evident, though\nthe leaders--Christ the Lord, and the devil--are not visible to mortal\neyes. Christ rules direct and effectually, in his own power, through\nthe Word and through the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers,\nmaintaining them in the faith and in the knowledge of his Word, and\nprotecting from the devil's wrath and subtlety; further, he rules\nthrough his angels, who guard his followers; again, he rules through\nhis people themselves, who exercise authority one over another in\nloving service, each teaching, instructing, comforting and admonishing\na noble little band of godly, obedient, patient, chaste, kind,\ntractable, benevolent souls.\n\nThe nature of the devil's kingdom, the manner of life the world leads,\nis easily apparent. This kingdom is simply a huge booth filled with\nfaithless, shameless, wicked individuals, impelled by their god to\nevery sort of disobedience, ingratitude and contempt of God and his\nWord; to idolatry, false doctrine, persecution of Christians and the\npractice of all wantonness, mischief, wickedness and vice.\n\n10. These two kingdoms are opposed. They continually contend for the\ncrown; they war with each other for supremacy. Christians are brought\ninto the conflict to hold the field against God's enemy, whose rule of\nthe world is one of falsehood and murder; they must contend with the\nenemy's servants, his horde of factious spirits and basely wicked\nindividuals, in an effort to restrain evil and promote good.\nChristians must be equipped for the fray; they must know how to meet\nand successfully resist the enemy, how to carry the field unto\nvictory, and hold it.\n\n\nFAITH THE VICTOR.\n\n11. Therefore, when John says, \"Whatsoever is begotten of God\novercometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the\nworld, even our faith,\" his purpose is to admonish Christians that\nbelievers must manifest the power and working of faith in life and\ndeed. In fact, his chief aim in writing this text was to reprove false\nChristians who are pleased to hear the doctrine that we are saved\nthrough Christ alone, our works and merits not earning our salvation;\nand who imagine the hearing of this doctrine constitutes them\nChristians and that there is no necessity for any effort or contention\non their part. They forget that they must, through faith, become new\npersons fitted to overcome the world and the devil.\n\n12. Victory over the devil is the sign of the true Christian. Thereby\nwe may know men are born of God, may distinguish them from the false\nchildren who enjoy but the semblance of God's Word and never\nexperience its power. Such are mere \"mondkinder\"\n(moon-children)--still-born, destitute of real divine life, or divine\npower. It cannot be said we have been born of God when we continue in\nour old dead and worldly course, and as before lie and live in sin at\nthe devil's pleasure. No, as children of God we must resist the devil\nand his entire kingdom. If, then, instead of overcoming the world you\nallow it to overcome you, then, boast as you may of faith and Christ,\nyour own conduct testifies that you are not a child of God.\n\nTo illustrate, beginning with some of the lower and grosser sins: If\nyou boast of being a child of God, but still live in fornication,\nadultery, and such vices, the devil has already overcome you and\nwrested you from the kingdom of God. If you are miserly, injuring your\nneighbor by usury, by overcharging, by false wares and fraudulent\nbusiness, you have permitted the world and your own flesh to overcome\nyou for a penny. If you entertain envy and hatred toward your\nneighbor, you are at once thereby a captive servant of the devil. The\nsame principle holds in the case of sins more subtle and refined,\nwhere the malicious knavery of the devil must be resisted. For\ninstance, the devil deceives with misleading doctrines, impelling men\nto idolatry, false faith, presumption, despair, blasphemy, and so on.\nNow, if you yield to him, suffering yourself to be seduced, what will\nit profit you to boast of the Gospel faith? for you have not properly\ngrasped God's Word, you have not rightly recognized God in Christ, but\ncontinue in error, in false fancies, captivated and deceived by the\ndevil.\n\n13. It requires something more than mere human wisdom and skill, more\nthan human power, to withstand and overcome an enemy so formidable as\nthe devil. As said before, the Christian must be fortified with the\nknowledge of how to guard against his wiles and deceptions and how to\nwithstand him. Hence a Christian is called a person who is born of\nGod. He must be different from an intelligent heathen and a skillful\nworldling to rightly understand God's Word and apprehend Christ\nthrough faith, and must use such knowledge as weapons of offense and\ndefense in the conflict. Thus will he be able to withstand the devil\nand the world and to gain the victory. God's Word and faith are the\npower which will bring him through; he cannot be overcome so long as\nhe adheres to them.\n\nIn this connection are John's words immediately preceding our text:\n\"This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his\ncommandments are not grievous.\" Then he goes on, \"For whatsoever is\nbegotten of God overcometh the world,\" etc. Such is the power\nrepresented by genuine new birth, that therein the devil, the world\nand all evil are overcome. Just as, in physical birth, a normal child\nfully born into the world may overcome a slight offensive disease,\nwhile an abnormal or still-born child perishes of its own weakness.\n\n14. For example, if I have faith and am born of God, I will not\npollute myself with unchastity and fornication, I will not bring\ndisgrace upon another's spouse or child. The new birth will indeed\nteach me not to reject shamefully the treasure I have in Christ, not\nto lose it willingly, and not to drive from me the indwelling Holy\nSpirit. Faith, if it truly dwells in me, will not permit me to do\naught in violation of my conscience and of the Word and the will of\nGod.\n\nShould I be tempted by avarice to deceive and defraud my neighbor, or\nto close my hand when I should give him aid, if I am a Christian and\nborn anew my faith will protest and turn me from such action. Can I\ninjure my neighbor or permit him to suffer want when I might\ncontribute to his relief, if I am aware that Christ has given his body\nand shed his blood for me? How can there enter into the heart of the\nChristian who believes he has received ineffable and eternal treasures\nthrough the Son of God, the inclination to permit his neighbor to\nsuffer a trivial want when he can easily extend relief? Much less\nwould it be possible for the Christian to injure or to do injustice to\nhis neighbor for the sake of shamefully gaining some small advantage.\nRather he would reflect: \"If I am, through Christ, a child of God and\nan heir of heaven, the sum of this world's goods is far too\ninsignificant to induce me, for the sake of a penny, to deceive or\ndefraud anyone.\"\n\nThen, too, if the devil tempt you by his tyrannical, factious spirits,\nor even by your own thoughts, to forsake your pure doctrine for his\ndeceptions, you as a Christian are to resist the temptation,\nremembering the blessings you have through faith received from Christ\nin the Gospel; you have been liberated from darkness, blindness and\nerror; have learned rightly to know God; and have obtained the sure\nconsolation of grace and salvation, being aware upon what you must\ndepend in life and death. Why, then, yield to the devil, allowing\nyourself to be robbed of salvation and eternal life? Why not much\nrather let go every earthly thing than to deny the Word of God or to\npermit this blessed consolation to be perverted, falsified and wrested\nfrom you?\n\n15. So, then, John says, \"This is the victory that hath overcome the\nworld, even our faith.\" It is, indeed, saying very much for the\nChristian faith to attribute to it such power over the devil and the\nworld--a power transcending all human ability. It requires an agency\ngreater and higher than human strength to triumph over the devil,\nespecially in the perplexing conflicts of conscience, when he vexes\nand tortures the heart with terror of God's wrath in the attempt to\ndrive us to despair. At such times all our works must immediately sink\nout of sight, leaving no help or victory except the faith that clings\nto the word of Christ the Lord, believing that, for the sake of his\nbeloved Son, God will be merciful and will not condemn us for our sins\nand unworthiness if we believe in him. Such faith as this stands fast\nand gains the victory; neither the devil nor the gates of hell can\nprevail against it.\n\n16. The same is true in all temptations. Before we can resist and\novercome, we must have faith to believe that through Christ we have\nremission of sins and the favor of God; that God gives us help and\nstrength to enable us to stand in the conflict and successfully resist\nthe devil, the world, the flesh and death; that we obtain the victory\nby the divine power of the Holy Spirit, lacking whose help we all\nwould be far too weak to win. Without faith, we are under the power of\nthe devil and sin, being subject to them by natural birth. We can be\nliberated in no other way than through faith in Christ.\n\n17. That John has reference to faith in Christ is plainly evident from\nhis query, \"Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth\nthat Jesus is the Son of God?\" The apostle's purpose therein is to\nmake plain just what the true Scriptural faith is and what it implies.\nFor there are other beliefs which the world calls faith. The Jews, the\nTurks, the Papists, claim they also believe in God who created heaven\nand earth. That such belief is not the true faith, however, is proved\nby the fact of its ineffectiveness. It does not contend and overcome,\nand it permits the believer to remain as he is, in his natural birth\nand under the power of the devil and sin.\n\nBut the faith which believes Jesus is the Son of God is the true,\ntriumphant sort. It is an invincible power wrought in the hearts of\nChristians by the Holy Spirit. It is a sure knowledge, that does not\ngaze and vacillate hither and thither according to its own thoughts.\nIt apprehends God in Christ the Son sent from heaven, through whom God\nreveals his will and his love and transfers us from sin to grace, from\ndeath to a new and eternal life; a refuge and trust that relies not\nupon its own merit or worthiness, but upon Christ the Son of God, and\nin his might and power battles against the world and the devil.\nTherefore, the Christian faith is not the cold, ineffective, empty,\nlifeless conception which Papists and others imagine it to be; no, it\nis a living, active power, ever followed by victories and other\nappropriate fruits. Where such fruits are lacking, faith and the new\nbirth are not there.\n\n\nTHE SOURCE OF FAITH.\n\n18. Thus we have the first part of our sermon on the new birth and\nfaith. For the second part, John shows whence and by what means comes\nthe faith productive of victory; he says: \"This is he that came by\nwater and blood, even Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with\nthe water and with the blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth\nwitness, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three who bear\nwitness [in earth], the Spirit, and the water, and the blood,\" etc.\n\n19. John speaks of Christ's kingdom, and of the office the Holy Spirit\nbears outwardly and visibly in the Christian Church, represented in\nthe ministerial office and the sacraments. He says: \"There are three\nwho bear witness [in earth].\" John, as usual, employs the word\n\"witness\" in connection with the thought of preaching; it is a word he\nfrequently uses. For instance, in the beginning of his gospel, where\nhe speaks of John the Baptist, he says (ch. 1, 7): \"The same came for\na witness, that he might bear witness of the light.\" So, in his use of\nthe phrase \"witness\" or \"bearing witness,\" we are to understand simply\nthe public preaching of God's Word. Again, Christ says (John 16,\n9-14), that the Holy Spirit shall bear witness of him; that is, he\nshall publicly fill the ministerial office. This is God's own witness\nto his Son. And here John tells us we have the victory over the devil\nand the world, through faith, for the sake of Christ the Son of God.\n\n20. This witness Christ himself ordains shall ever go forth, and\nremain, in the Church. To this end Christ sent the Holy Spirit; to\nthis end Christ himself called and gave the Holy Spirit to the\napostles and their successors, ministers, preachers and teachers, as\nPaul tells us (Eph 4, 11-13), who are to exercise the Word, that the\nWord may resound always and everywhere in the world, reaching to\nchildren's children, and on down to future generations. Were the\nwitness not in the Church, the pulpit--in fact, the entire outward\nadministration of the Church--would be useless, for every man could\nread the Scriptures for himself. But for the sake of the uninstructed\nmasses and the constantly rising young who, as yet in ignorance of the\nWord, need admonition--for the sake of these, the Spirit must bear\npublic witness or administer the preaching office that they, too, may\nlearn to know the grace of God manifest and given to us through\nChrist, and that God's wondrous works may be publicly recognized and\nextolled by us in opposition to the devil and the world.\n\n21. Wherever such witness is borne, there certainly will be some\nfruit. The witness never fails of effect. Some surely will be reached;\nsome will accept and believe it. Since it is the witness of the Holy\nSpirit, and the apostle says here, the Spirit beareth witness, he will\nbe effective, producing in us that to which John refers when he says\nwe are children of God, and have the victory and eternal life. So the\nWord--or the Gospel message accompanied by the witness of the\nSpirit--and faith are vitally related. In the last analysis they are\ninseparable. Without faith, preaching will be fruitless; and faith has\norigin in the Word alone. Therefore, we should gladly hear and handle\nthe Word. Where it is, there is also the Holy Spirit; and where the\nSpirit is, there must be at least some believers. Even if you have\nalready heard the Word and obtained faith, it will always continue to\nstrengthen you as you hear it. One knows not at what hour God may\ntouch and illumine his or another's heart. It may be in a time when we\nleast look for it, or in the individual of whom we have least\nexpectation. For the Spirit, as Christ says, breathes where he will,\nand touches hearts when and where he knows them to be receptive.\n\n22. It is relative to the power and energy wrought by the Holy Spirit\nthat John speaks, indicating the source and means of the power of this\nwitness, when he says of Christ, \"This is he that came by water and\nblood,\" etc. In this sentence is included all we possess in the\nkingdom of Christ, and here is extolled the efficacy of our beloved\nbaptism and the blood or sufferings of Christ. Here John unites all\nthe elements in one bundle, so to speak, making a triune witness. They\nbear joint witness to our faith and confirm it--these three: the\nwater, the blood and the Spirit.\n\n\nBAPTISM BY WATER AND BLOOD.\n\n23. Christ comes, first, \"by water\"; that is, by holy baptism. He\nemploys baptism as an outward sign of his work in the new birth of man\nand in man's sanctification. This water by which Christ comes cannot\nbe a mere, empty sign; for he comes not merely to cleanse or bathe the\nbody with water, but to purify the whole man from all pollution and\nblemishes inherent in him from Adam. Christ has instituted a cleansing\nwholly unlike the Mosaic ablutions under the Old Testament\ndispensation. Moses came with various laws relating to washings and\npurifications, but they were only cleansings of the body or of the\nflesh and had daily to be repeated. Now, since these ceremonials\ncontributed nothing to man's purification in God's sight--a thing to\nbe effected by nothing short of a new birth--Christ came with a new\norder of cleansing, namely, baptism, which is not a mere external\nablution from physical impurities, but a washing effective in man's\npurification from the inward pollution of his old sinful birth and\nfrom an evil conscience, and bringing remission of sin and a good\nconscience toward God, as Peter says. 1 Pet 3, 21. Paul, also (Tit 3,\n5), calls baptism the \"washing of regeneration and renewing of the\nHoly Spirit.\"\n\n24. Christ first instituted baptism through John the Baptist. To\ndistinguish it from the Mosaic baptism, the old Jewish rite of\nwashings, Christ styles it \"a baptism unto repentance and the\nremission of sins.\" He designs that therein man shall perceive his\ninner impurities and know them to be, in God's sight, beyond the power\nof outward Mosaic ablutions to reach; shall know also that\npurification of the conscience and remission of sins must be sought\nand obtained through the power of Christ the Lord, who instituted\nbaptism.\n\n25. Secondly, that this cleansing of sin may be effected in us through\nbaptism, something more than mere water must be present. Mere water\ncould effect no more than do ordinary washings, and no more than\nJewish and Turkish baptisms and washings effect. There must be a power\nand force accompanying the water effective to work inward\npurification, the purification of the soul. Therefore, John says,\nChrist came, not by water alone, but also by blood; not the blood of\nbulls, or of calves, or of goats, those Old Testament sacrifices, but\nhis own blood, as Paul declares. Heb 9, 12. He comes through the\npreaching office of the New Testament, which is his rule upon earth,\nimparts to us the effective power of his shed blood, his sacrifice for\nour sins, and thus applies to us the treasure wherewith he purchased\nour redemption.\n\n26. Hence there is now in baptism this efficacy of the blood of\nChrist. That is the true caustic soap which not only removes the\nuncleanness of the outer man, but penetrates to the inner nature,\nconsuming its impurities and cleansing them away, that the heart may\nbecome pure in God's sight. Thus, the blood of Christ is so\neffectively mingled with the baptismal water that we must not regard\nit as mere water, but water beautifully dyed with the precious crimson\nblood of our dear Saviour, Christ. Baptism, then, cannot rightly be\nregarded a physical cleansing, like the Mosaic ablutions, or like the\ncleansing the bathhouse affords; it is a healing baptism, a baptism or\nwashing with blood, instituted by none but Christ, the Son of God, and\nthat through his own death.\n\n27. In the record of Christ's passion, careful note is made of the\nfact that blood and water flowed immediately from the spear-thrust in\nChrist's side as he hung upon the cross; it is pointed out as a\nspecial miracle. The design there is to teach that Christ's shed blood\nis not without significance, but stands for a washing or bath whose\nefficacy is present in the baptism with water; and that from the slain\nbody of Christ issues an unceasing stream of water and blood, flowing\non down through the entire Christian Church, wherein we must all be\ncleansed from our sins. What makes baptism so precious, so holy and\nessential is the mingling and union of the water with the blood of\nChrist; to be baptized into Christ with water is really to be washed\nand cleansed with the blood of Christ.\n\n\nTHE SPIRIT.\n\n28. To these two John adds a third witness, \"the Spirit.\" The Spirit\nbears witness with the water and the blood; in fact, through these\nother two he operates. It is the Holy Spirit himself; not as he is\ninvisible up in heaven in his divine essence, but the Spirit who\npublicly manifests himself through his external office and permits\nhimself to be heard through his Word. As John here asserts, the Spirit\nbears witness on earth with both the water and the blood.\n\n29. Neither Moses nor any other teacher in his doctrines of personal\neffort and external purifications, his washings and his sprinklings of\nthe blood of sheep and goats--no such teacher brings and gives the\nSpirit. With them is no Spirit, no divine power, no regeneration of\nman. Any unbelieving, spiritless, wicked knave can exercise human\neffort and practice physical cleansing. But Christ alone brings with\nhim the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us\nthrough the blood and water issuing from the divine side. The Spirit\nmakes us partakers of its cleansing influence through the external\noffice of preaching and through the sacraments, which are called the\noffice and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Through these the Spirit works in\nthe Christian Church just as he did at first, among the apostles on\nthe Day of Pentecost, and will continue to do in the whole world, unto\nthe last day. Without his ministration we would never obtain, nor know\nanything about, the saving power of Christ's blood in baptism.\n\n30. Such is the kingdom Christ unceasingly develops through the\nChristian Church. In him we have eternal purification when to the\nwater is added the Spirit, who through the Word enkindles the heart\nand purifies it, not with the cleansing qualities of the water alone,\nbut with the healing efficacy of the blood of Christ, whereby sins are\nexterminated and God's wrath appeased. Although the work of our\nredemption was wrought once for all in Christ's blood shed upon the\ncross and is sufficient to cancel the sins of the entire world, yet\nChrist so instituted it that the same efficacy should remain forever,\nand be daily distributed and offered to us through the Holy Spirit.\n\n31. This work of the Holy Spirit is neither received nor perceived\nexcept through faith in this witness, the preached word of\nChrist--when with the heart man grasps it and confidently believes it\nis fulfilled in himself as the Word declares. Thus is the heart really\ncleansed, the individual born anew, through the Holy Spirit present in\nthe sacred cleansing of water and of the blood of Christ.\n\nPeter (1 Pet 1, 2) speaks of the sanctification of Christians as the\n\"sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ\" upon us by the Holy Spirit\nthrough the public preaching of the Gospel. This sprinkling radically\ndiffers from the Jewish sprinkling of water, or of the ashes of a red\nheifer, or of the blood of a dead lamb or goat, round about the altar\nand upon the applicants for purification. In the sanctification of\nChristians, the true consecrated water and the sprinkled blood of\nChrist are combined; that is, the message concerning the shed blood of\nour Lord Jesus Christ is \"sprinkled,\" so to speak, upon the soul, and\nwherever that Word touches the soul it is effective. The blood in this\ncase is not the ineffective, lifeless blood of a slain animal, but the\npotent, living blood of the Son of God. Under its application the soul\ncannot remain impure. Christ's blood purifies and heals from sin and\ndeath; it strikes at their very foundation, and entirely releases us\nfrom their power and grants us eternal life for soul and body.\n\n32. Note, this text is a grand sermon on the witness Christians have\nhere on earth, which the apostle in concluding explains and extols in\nbeautiful and comforting words. He calls it a witness that God himself\nbears to his Son and that serves to assure us of being the children of\nGod and possessors of eternal life. For he says: \"And the witness is\nthis, that God gave unto us eternal life,\" etc. This is indeed an\nexcellent witness, which God himself witnesses and declares to you,\nand the Holy Spirit brings and reveals to you. God cannot lie nor\ndeceive, he is the eternal, unchangeable truth, as already mentioned.\nIf you believe this witness, you certainly have received and possess\nit, as John again says: \"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the\nwitness in him.\"\n\n\nFAITH TO BE IMPLICIT.\n\n33. The true, saving doctrine of the Christian faith is this: There\nmust be witness and confidence of heart so absolute as to leave no\nroom for doubt that, through Christ, we are God's children and have\nremission of sins and eternal life. By way of showing us how God\nearnestly enjoins such faith upon us and forbids us to have any doubts\non the subject, John says, \"He that believeth not God hath made him a\nliar; because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne\nconcerning his Son.\"\n\n34. This passage annihilates the pernicious, damnable, diabolical\ndoctrine of the Papists, who shamelessly claim it is right to doubt\nand that a Christian should doubt his title to grace. This doctrine is\nequivalent to teaching the propriety of disbelieving the testimony of\nGod. It is charging God with falsehood, dishonoring and blaspheming\nthe Lord Christ, openly affronting the Holy Spirit, knowingly plunging\npeople into unpardonable sins and blasphemies and consequently sending\nthem to the devil without hope or comfort of salvation.\n\n35. Such is the beautiful fruit of papistical doctrine; such is\npapistical holiness. This is what they who would be the Christian\nChurch recommend to us. They would have us, with them, openly and\nfearlessly charge God with falsehood, trample his Word under foot and\nworship the devil in his stead. Further, they require us to praise and\nhonor them and render them thanks, rejoicing to be offered their\nstipulated terms of friendship. At the same time they have not in a\nsingle instance repented of their abominable idolatry or acknowledged\ntheir error; rather they plume themselves on having in their purity\ntaught no wrong. If we will not accede to their demands, we must be\npersecuted, put to death, exterminated everywhere in the world with\nfire and sword. But the devil and death may accede in our stead. Let\nthe godly Christian desire and pray that God may hurl such accursed\ndoctrine into the abyss of hell and punish as they deserve the\nimpenitent blasphemers since they will not cease. And let all the\npeople say, Amen, amen.\n\n36. Note particularly the consolation of Paul's concluding words. Here\nhe embraces in one clear word the whole substance of the Gospel when\nhe says: \"He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son\nof God hath not the life.\" How could he speak plainer and more\nforcibly? What is the need of further inquiry and investigation or\ndiscussion of this theme? Do you wish to have assurance of eternal\nlife? According to this verse, you have it truly if you possess Christ\nthe Son of God; and you have Christ when you believe this witness and\npreaching as John says, and you should confidently rely upon it in\nlife and in death as the divine, eternal truth. But if you believe\nnot, you have not life; and all effort and suffering on your part,\nyes, combined with the effort and suffering of the whole world, will\nprofit you nothing. You have not the Son of God if you do not believe\nGod's witness of him but charge God with falsehood.\n\n\n\n\n_Second Sunday After Easter_\n\nText: First Peter 2, 20-25.\n\n20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye\nshall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it,\nye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For\nhereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving\nyou an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 who did no sin,\nneither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled,\nreviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed\nhimself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 who his own self bare our\nsins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might\nlive unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye\nwere going astray like sheep; but are now returned unto the Shepherd\nand Bishop of your souls.\n\n\nPATIENCE UNDER TRIBULATION.\n\n1. This epistle lesson is a beautiful selection from apostolic\nteaching. Doubtless it was intentionally arranged for this Sunday; for\nPeter's concluding words, \"For ye were going astray like sheep; but\nare now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls,\" accord\nwith the gospel selection about the Good Shepherd. Yet it might also\nproperly serve in part for the text of a sermon on the passion of\nChrist; for the sufferings of Christ are here presented as an example\nunto us. In the preceding part of the chapter, Peter taught the\nChristians how, having obtained faith, they are to exhibit its\nfruits--good works in the various stations of life. Particularly does\nhe admonish them to manifest the fruit of patience under crosses and\nafflictions.\n\n2. When the individual accepts Christ and begins to profess his faith\nin word and life, invariably--it cannot be otherwise--the world, that\neternal enemy of Christ and faithfully-obedient servant of the devil,\nwill be dissatisfied. The world regards it contemptible, disgraceful,\nto live any life but one pleasing to itself, to do and speak aught but\nas it desires. Its rage is excited toward the Christian and it\nproceeds to persecute, to torture, even to murder him when possible.\nWe often hear the wiseacre scoffers say that Christ could have enjoyed\npeace had he desired to. The same may be said of Christians; they\ncould have peace and pleasure if they would but take advice and\nconform to the world.\n\n3. What are we to do? It is a fact that to maintain and obey the truth\nis to stir up wrath and hatred. Even the heathen assert as much. But\nthe fault lies not with the advocate of truth but with its rejecters.\nIs the truth not to be preached at all? Must we be silent and permit\nall mankind to go direct to hell? Who could or would heap upon himself\nthe guilt of such negligence? The godly Christian, who looks for\neternal life after the present one and who aims to help others to\nattain unto the same happy goal, assuredly must act the part he\nprofesses, must assert his belief and show the world how it travels\nthe broad road to hell and eternal death. And to do so is to\nantagonize the world and incur the displeasure of the devil.\n\n4. Now, since there is no escaping the fact that he who would confess\nChrist and make the world better must, in return for his service and\nbenefactions, heap upon himself the enmity of the devil and his\nadherents, as Peter says--since this is the case, we must remember\nthat it is incumbent upon us to have patience when the world manifests\nits bitterest, most hateful enmity toward our doctrine and toward our\nvery lives, when it reviles and slanders and persecutes us to the\nutmost for our principles. Peter here admonishes and persuades\nChristians unto patience under these circumstances, and at the same\ntime seeks to comfort them with tender and impressive words.\n\n5. First, Peter reminds the believers of their calling--of their\nreason and purpose in embracing Christianity. He says, in effect:\n\"Remember, belief in Christ necessitates confession of him, and the\nentire Christian Church is numbered in the holy, divine calling that\nstands for the praise of God and the promotion of his kingdom.\" An\nessential feature of this calling is the suffering of evil in return\nfor good. It seems inevitable that Christians be condemned in the eyes\nof the world and incur its highest displeasures; that they be destined\nto take up the gauntlet against the devil and the world. It is said\n(Ps 44, 22): \"For thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are\naccounted as sheep for the slaughter,\" or for the sacrifice.\nSacrificial sheep were kept in an enclosure, not permitted to go to\npasture with the others. They were not kept for breeding, but to be\ndaily, one after another, slaughtered.\n\n6. Paul would say: \"What will you do, beloved Christians? Will you\nlive in the world and not encounter any persecution because of your\ngood deeds? Will you rage at the wickedness of the world, and in your\nrage become wicked yourself and commit evil? Understand, you are\ncalled to suffer persecutions; they are a consequence of your baptism,\nyour Christianity. For these you renounced the devil and professed\nChrist. You are baptized unto the suffering of every sort of\nmisfortune, unto the enduring of the world and the devil.\" You cannot\nescape the smoke when compelled to live in the inn where the devil is\nhost and the whole house is filled with it. Again, if you would have\nfire, you must have smoke as a consequence; if you would be a\nChristian and a child of God, you must endure the resultant evils that\nbefall you.\n\n7. In short, the Christian, because he is a Christian, is subjected to\nthe holy and precious cross. He must suffer at the hands of men and of\nthe devil, who plague and provoke him; outwardly with misery,\npersecution, poverty and illness, or inwardly--in heart--with their\npoisonous darts. The cross is the Christian's sign and watchword in\nhis holy, precious, noble and happy calling unto eternal life. To such\na calling must we render full dues and regard as good whatever it\nbrings. And why should we complain? Do not even wicked knaves and\nopposers of Christians often suffer at the hands of one another what\nthey are not pleased to endure? And every man must frequently suffer\ninjuries and misfortunes relative to body, property, wife and\nchildren.\n\n8. Then, if you would be a Christian and live justly in your calling,\nbe not so terribly alarmed, so filled with hostile rage, so extremely\nimpatient, at the torments of the world and the devil. If you are\nunwilling to suffer and to be reviled and slandered, if you prefer\nhonor and ease, then deny Christ and embrace the delights of the world\nand the devil. You will not, even then, be wholly free from suffering\nand sorrow, though it will be your prerogative not to suffer as a\nChristian and for the sake of Christ. At the same time, you will\ndiscover that even though you enjoy only pleasure on earth, it will be\nbut for a brief time and ultimately you will find the bitter end of\nthe pleasure sought.\n\n\nCHRIST OUR PATTERN.\n\n9. In the second place, by way of rendering more impressive his\nadmonition, Peter holds up the example of our real Master, our Leader\nand Lord, Christ, who endured persecutions similar to ours, and\nhimself suffered more than any. The apostle refers to him in a truly\nscriptural way--as of a twin or dual character. He presents him not as\nan example of a saint in the ordinary sense, but as the real Shepherd\nand Bishop of our souls, who suffered for us, making sacrifice for our\nsins in his own body on the cross. In this capacity, he is our\ntreasure, comfort and salvation.\n\n10. The apostle beautifully and strikingly points out the sublime\nperfections of our Pattern, in his suffering, by way of gently urging\nus to patience. He presents the chief points of Christ's endurance,\nexamples of real patience; all our sufferings, when compared with\nthose of Christ, are cast into the shade. \"The passion of Christ,\"\nPeter would say, \"the suffering of the Lord, is a surpassing, a\npreeminent and sublimely glorious thing, transcending every other\ninstance of suffering; first, because it was for an example to us;\nsecond, because he suffered to save us; third, because he suffered\ninnocently in all respects, never having committed any sin.\" In these\nthree points we must leave to him alone the distinction, humbling\nourselves before them; even had we suffered death in its every form,\nwe must cry that all our suffering is nothing in comparison with his.\n\nEven if we could attain to the sublimest, the supreme, the most\nglorious degree of suffering, it would be but walking in his\nfootprints, following his example; it would be but to fall far short\nof his suffering. He would stand preeminent--the Master. He would\nmaintain immeasurable superiority and we would still be left to follow\nas best we could. The extent of his agony, the intensity and\nbitterness of his sufferings, no one on earth can comprehend. And if\nit be beyond our comprehension, how much more is it beyond our power\nto imitate or experience. We may thank God we have it before us for an\nexample to behold and follow. True, we fall far short of perfect\nfollowing, but we may approach it in proportion to our sufferings,\nfaith and patience; for one may exceed another in these things.\n\nChrist is an example, Peter says, for all saints; not for a certain\nfew. Contrasted with Christ, all saints must with downcast eyes\nconfess: \"Intense, bitter, grievous as our sufferings truly are, when\nthe sufferings of Christ our Lord are mentioned we will willingly keep\nsilent; for no human example of suffering will compare with that of\nChrist.\"\n\n11. Now, this one fact, that one so exalted as Christ himself, the\nonly and eternal Son of God, has trod the path of suffering before us,\nenduring unlimited distress, agony transcending the power of humanity\nto experience--this alone should be enough to admonish and urge anyone\nto patiently endure affliction. Why, then, should we disciples, we who\nare so insignificant and inexperienced in comparison with our\nMaster--why should we be at all troubled at any suffering for his\nsake? especially when all he asks of us is to follow him, to learn of\nhim and to remain his disciples. Here, mark you, is the example set\nbefore the entire Christian Church, the pattern she is to follow to\nthe extent of at least walking in Christ's steps, at the same time,\nhowever, remembering that her most intense sufferings are naught in\ncomparison to a single drop of his shed blood, as we shall hear later.\n\n12. Again, this example assumes its ineffable and inimitable character\nfrom the fact that Christ suffered not for himself, nor yet merely as\nan example, but in our stead. This act, to say the least, transcends\nall human ability. No saint can boast of equaling this example, can\nsay he suffered for another as Christ suffered for our sins. No, here\nall boasting is summarily disposed of. In respect to atonement, Christ\nleft us no example, for none can imitate him in that. He stands alone\nthere. He alone was called to suffer for all men; for those\nindividuals now called and holy, and for the still uncalled and\nsinners.\n\n13. The atonement is the chief, the most exalted, article of the\nChristian doctrine. Faith alone apprehends it as the highest good, the\ngreatest blessing, of our salvation, and recognizes that we cannot, by\nour works or our sufferings, do or merit anything in atoning for sin.\nThe manner in which this subject is scripturally presented prohibits\nus from adding to it anything of human origin. But so the accursed\npopedom has done in the teachings of its pillars and supporters the\nmonks, who regard the sufferings of Christ as merely an example to us.\nThey pervert and render immaterial the fact that he suffered for us;\nthey place the entire responsibility upon ourselves, as if we, by our\nown works or our suffering are to make satisfaction for our sins, to\nappease God's wrath and to merit grace. This is a doctrine not found\nin the Word of God, but is of their own trivial, self-selected,\nself-devised and false human teachings.\n\n14. They have carried their untruthful, worthless inventions to the\nextent of claiming for the saints not only sufficient acquired merit\nfor their own salvation, but a large accumulated surplus available for\nothers, which they have bequeathed to the Pope, thus furnishing him\nwith an abundant treasury. The Pope, through indulgences, is to\ndistribute this excess, these superfluous merits, as he feels\ndisposed, at the same time dipping out for himself and his shorn fat\nswine the riches of the world; indeed, the ecclesiasts distribute\ntheir own merits and works. This is the refined monastic chastity,\npoverty and rigid obedience of the orders--nothing but shameless\nfalsehood and scandalous vice, practiced under that covering, both\nprivately and publicly, with the exception of a few who were sincere\nin their desire to be monks, of whom I was one. These falsehoods the\norders readily sold to the laity on deathbeds and under other\ncircumstances.\n\nIndeed, wretched mortals who had incurred a death penalty and were\nabout to be publicly executed, they referred not to Christ for\ncomfort, but counseled patience in their own well-deserved suffering\nand death; as if God would accept their pain as atonement for their\nsins if only they suffered patiently. Purchasing of merit was the\necclesiasts' chief doctrine, their strongest point. They fearlessly\nproclaimed it in public, and through its influence erected numerous\nchurches and cloisters and satiated the avarice and cupidity of the\nPope. And I too, alas, was one of these knaves until God delivered me.\nAnd now, God be praised, I am execrated and condemned by the hellish\nseat of the Roman dragon with its scales because I assailed this papal\ndoctrine and would not justify it.\n\n15. Oh, the shameful abomination, that in the temple of God and in the\nChristian Church must be taught and received things which make wholly\ninsignificant the sufferings and death of Christ! Gracious God! what\ncan be said for human merit--for superfluity of human merit--when not\none saint on earth has, with all his pains, suffered enough to cancel\nhis own obligations; much less to be entitled to the honor of making\nhis sufferings avail anything before God's judgment-seat, by way of\nremuneration or satisfaction for the mortal sins of others in the face\nof divine wrath? Note, Peter says Christ left us an example that we\nshould follow his steps; which is but concluding that no saint ever\nwrought or suffered enough to warrant the claim: \"I have accomplished\nthe measure--reached the limit; Christ is no more an example and\npattern for me.\" No; the saint ought to be ashamed to boast of his\nsufferings in comparison to those of Christ, and ought to rejoice in\nthe privilege of being partaker of the divine pain, of sharing it so\nfar as he can, and thus be found in the footsteps of Christ.\n\n16. The theme of Christ's passion, then, must far outrank every other.\nHis sufferings are like pure and precious gold, compared to which ours\nare as nothing. No one but Christ has suffered for the sins of\nanother. No man has ever paid the price of his own sins, great or\nsmall. Even if man's suffering could avail aught for sin, the\nindividual could not go beyond expiating his own sins. But Christ had\nno need at all to suffer for himself; for, as follows in the text, he\nhad committed no sin. He suffered to leave us an example, but yet also\nto bring to man the great blessing of being able to say, \"My sins and\nthe sins of the whole world were atoned for upon the cross, blotted\nout, through Christ's death.\" Peter, Mary, John the Baptist, and every\nsoul born of woman must include himself or herself in this statement,\n\"Christ also suffered for you.\"\n\n17. In the third place, Christ stands preeminent, above all others, in\nthe affirmation of Peter, quoted from Isaiah 53, 9:\n\n\"Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.\"\n\n18. You may draw your own conclusions as to the eminence of such a\none; for certainly there is to be found no other human being who has\nnot at some time sinned in word or deed. \"If any man stumbleth not in\nword, the same is a perfect man,\" says James 3, 2. But where is this\nperfect man, and what is his name? It is this Christ, he alone of all,\nJames should have added. For Peter excludes all other individuals, in\none class, saying, \"Ye were going astray like sheep.\" And later on\n(ch. 3, 18) he tells us plainly, \"Christ also suffered for sins once,\nthe righteous for the unrighteous.\" This statement leaves no man\ninnocent of sin, either in word or deed; and in word and deed is\nincluded man's whole life. Speech and action are associated in various\nScripture references; as in Psalm 34, 13-14: \"Keep thy tongue from\nevil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do\ngood.\" But in speech is the greatest liability to error. In teaching,\ncounseling, admonishing, consoling and censuring, and in confessing\nthe truth, no one indeed will be found so perfect in his utterances as\nnever to commit a blunder.\n\n19. But Christ is the one perfect example in this respect. It is\nimpossible for saints to attain to his faultlessness. Surely no\nman--unless he desires to be a liar and a true disciple of the devil\ninstead of a child of God and a faithful Christian--will be\npresumptuous enough to put himself on an equality with Christ, will\ndare boast himself without sin in word and act. Christ alone has\nsuffered, the righteous for the unrighteous; that prerogative can\nhonorably and truthfully be ascribed only to Christ the Lord, and is\nhis perpetually. No man is just and innocent in word and act. All must\nconfess their sufferings, of whatever nature, to be the result of\ntheir own sins, and well deserved chastisement. For the fact of having\nescaped the eternal wrath, condemnation and punishment of God, they\nmust thank this just one alone, he who, being himself blameless,\nvoluntarily suffered to make satisfaction for the unrighteous, and\nappeased God's wrath. The sufferings of all saints, then, must be\nrated far below those of Christ the Lord. The saints must clothe and\nadorn themselves with his innocence, and with the entire Christian\nChurch pray, \"Forgive us our trespasses\"; and they must confess the\narticle, \"I believe in the forgiveness of sins.\"\n\n20. Now, let us sum up the three arguments Peter uses in admonishing\nChristians to patience in suffering. First: He says, \"Hereunto were ye\ncalled.\" Though you do have to suffer much and severely, you have ever\nbefore you the example of Christ, to the limit of whose sufferings you\ncan never attain. You dare not boast even if you have suffered\neverything. Moreover, you are under obligation to suffer for God's\nsake. Second: Christ did not suffer for his own sake, nor of\nnecessity; he suffered for your sake, and all from good will toward\nyou. Third: He was wholly innocent--free from sin; internally--in\nheart--and externally--in word and deed. For where evil dwells in the\nheart, it cannot long remain concealed. It must manifest itself in\nwords, at least. Christ says (Mt 12, 34), \"Out of the abundance of the\nheart the mouth speaketh.\"\n\n21. Why, then, should you complain of your suffering or refuse to\nsuffer what your sins really deserve? Indeed, you deserve much more\nthan you receive--even eternal suffering. But God forgives you and\nremits the eternal punishment for the sake of Christ the Lord,\ndesiring that you patiently endure the lesser suffering for the utter\nmortification of the sins inherent in your flesh and blood. To make\nsuch lot the less grievous to you, Christ has gone before and left you\nan example of perfect patience under the most intense suffering, an\nexample equaled nowhere in the world. The Supreme Majesty, God's own\nSon, suffered in the most ignominious manner the extremity of torture,\npain and anguish in body and soul, something intolerable to mere human\nnature; and that innocently, and for us condemned sinners--suffering\nfor the sins of strangers.\n\n\"Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered\nthreatened not.\"\n\n22. To further emphasize and make effectual in us the example of\nChrist's patience, Peter proceeds to analyze it, to show it in its\ntrue colors, to mention the details and make plain how it differs from\nany other example of suffering. He has told us before that Christ did\nno sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Why, then, did the Jews\npersecute and crucify him--put him to death? Inquire into his entire\nlife history and you will find that no one could justly impeach, nor\ncould convict, him for any sin. He himself appealed to his enemies to\nprove aught of sin in him. No one could show an injury he had ever\ndone to anyone, or a wrong he had ever taught or practiced. On the\ncontrary, he had gone about to bring to the Jewish nation the grace\nand salvation of God. He had revealed God's Word, opened the eyes of\nthe blind, healed the sick, cast out devils, fed great multitudes when\nhungry and lacking food. In short, in all his life, there was nothing\nin word or act but truth, goodness, beneficence and a disposition to\naid. In return for the good he wrought, he was compelled to receive\nthe ungrateful reward of man's hatred and condemnation. His enemies\nwere moved solely by obdurate, diabolical hatred, and could not cease\ntheir persecutions until they brought him to the cross, where he was\ndisgracefully hung up nude between two murderers, being lifted up as\nunworthy to touch the earth and to live among men.\n\n23. Christ was under no obligation to endure disgrace and\nill-treatment. He might have refrained from his benevolent\nministrations when he saw the futility of his efforts with the Jews.\nBut he did not so; even in his sufferings upon the cross he charitably\nprayed for his enemies. He had authority, he had power enough, and he\nwould have been justified in the action, had he revenged himself on\nhis furious enemies, invoked evil upon them, and execrated them as\nthey deserved to be execrated; for they had treated him with gross\ninjustice before all the world, as even the testimony of his betrayer\nand his judge and all creatures admitted, and had bitterly reviled him\nwhen he hung upon the cross. But he did none of these things. He bore\nwith ineffable meekness and patience all the ill-treatment his enemies\ncould heap upon him. Even in his extremity of anguish, he benevolently\ninterceded for them to his Heavenly Father, to which act the prophet\nIsaiah (ch. 53) offers a tribute of high praise.\n\n24. Notice, we have here in all respects a perfect and inimitable\nexample of patience--patience of the most exalted kind. In this\nexample we may behold as in a glass what we have yet to learn of calm\nendurance, and thus be impelled to imitate that example in some small\nmeasure at least.\n\n25. Not without reason does Peter applaud the fact that when Christ\nwas reviled he reviled not again, and when he suffered he threatened\nnot. Though to endure undeserved violence and injustice is hard\nenough, that which more than aught else naturally renders suffering\ngrievous and makes men impatient is to experience the monstrous\nunfairness of receiving the mean and vexatious reward of ingratitude\nfrom individuals who have enjoyed one's favors and greatest\nbenefactions. Base ingratitude is extremely painful for human nature\nto endure. It makes the heart flutter and the blood boil with a spirit\nof revenge. When no alternative presents, an outburst of reviling,\nexecration and threatening follows. Flesh and blood has not the power\nof restraint to enable it to remain calm when evil is returned for\nfavors and benevolence, and to say, \"God be thanked.\"\n\n26. Mark the example of Christ, however, and there learn to censure\nyourself. Beloved, how can you complain when you see how infinitely\ngreater was the grief and how much more painful the anxiety endured by\nyour beloved Lord and faithful Saviour, the Son of God himself, who\nyet bore all patiently and submissively and, more than that, prayed\nfor those instrumental in causing that agony? Who with a single drop\nof Christian blood in his heart would not blush with shame to be\nguilty of murmuring at his sufferings when, before God, he is so\nsinful and is deserving of much more affliction? Wicked, unprofitable\nand condemned servant must he be who does not follow his Lord's\nexample of endurance but presumes to think himself better and nobler\nthan Christ; who with inimical spirit murmurs, complaining of great\ninjustice, when he really deserves affliction, and when he suffers\ninfinitely less than did his dear, righteous, innocent Lord. Beloved,\nif Christ so suffered in return for the great blessing he conferred,\nbe not too indolent to imitate him in some degree by suffering without\nanger and reproaches. Less reason have you to be angry and reproachful\nfrom the fact that you, too, were one whose sins brought Christ to the\ncross.\n\n27. But you may say: \"What? Did not Christ revile when (Mt 23) he\ncalled the scribes and pharisees hypocrites, murderers, serpents, a\ngeneration of vipers, and even more severely rebuked them?\" I reply:\nOh yes, we would gladly follow Christ's example here; we could\ncheerfully revile and accuse. It is much easier than being patient. We\nwould need no Master to help us in this. But note what Peter says:\nWhen Christ was about to suffer death, having fulfilled the obligation\nof his ministry--having proclaimed the truth, rebuked falsehood and\nbeen brought to the cross therefor--and being about to conclude his\nmission by suffering, he reviled not; as a sheep for the slaughter, he\npermitted himself to be executed and opened not his mouth against his\ncalumniators and murderers. See Isaiah 53, 7.\n\n28. It is necessary, then, to make a distinction here. Reviling--or\npronouncing execrations and threats--is of two kinds. In one case it\nis official and pronounced of God; in the other, without authority and\ncomes from man. It was one of the duties of Christ's office on earth,\nand one now incumbent upon those called to bear that office after him,\nto assert the truth and censure the evil. Such a course is essential\nto the honor of God and the salvation of souls; for if the truth were\nto be ignored, who would come to God? Official chastisement is a work\nof divine, Christian love. It is a parental duty imposed of God. God\nhas implanted in the parent nature intense love for the child; at the\nsame time, if parents are godly and have proper affection for their\nchildren they will not connive at, or let pass unpunished, the\ndisobedience of the latter. They must chastise, both with reproof and\nwith keen rods. These are official strokes--love stripes--enjoined of\nGod, and their infliction is our duty. They are not injurious, but\nbeneficial. Solomon says (Prov 13, 24): \"He that spareth his rod\nhateth his son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.\" And\nJesus the son of Sirach says in Ecclesiasticus: \"He that loveth his\nson causeth him oft to feel the rod, that he may have joy of him in\nthe end.\"\n\n29. So everyone may, and should, reprove when official duty or his\nneighbor's case requires; it serves to reform the subject. To quote\nSolomon again (Prov 27, 6): \"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but\nthe kisses of an enemy are profuse [deceitful].\" Reproofs and stripes\nprompted by love and a faithful heart are beneficial. On the other\nhand, an enemy may use fair and flattering words when he has enmity\nand deceit at heart, preferring to let you go on to ruin rather than\nby gentle reproof to warn of danger and rescue you from destruction.\nThe faithful, conscientious physician must often, of necessity and\nwith great pain to the patient, amputate a limb in order to save the\nbody.\n\nPaul, too, commands pious bishops to be urgent in season, out of\nseason; to reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering. 2 Tim 4,\n2; Tit 2, 15. By our silence to commend or to encourage to evil the\nwrong-doer would not be to manifest one's love to the offender, but\nrather to give him over wholly to death and the devil.\n\n30. It was this love and sincerity of heart which prompted Christ in\nhis office to censure and rebuke, for which he merited only wrath and\nhatred; as we say, he sought his stripes. But the duty of his office\nrequired such action on his part. His motive was to turn the\ntransgressors from their blindness and malice, and to rescue them from\nperdition; and he could not be deterred by the consequent persecution,\ncross and death which awaited. But having fulfilled his official\nduties, and the hour of his suffering having arrived, he suffered\npatiently, permitting his enemies to heap upon him all possible evil\nin return for his manifested love and blessings. Instead of angrily\nreviling and execrating while, suspended from the cross, he endured\nthe most shameful calumnies, he, with strong cries and with tears,\nprayed, \"Father, forgive them.\" It was, indeed, a heart of\nunfathomable love that, in the midst of extreme suffering, had\ncompassion on its persecutors and blessed them in greater measure than\nparent can bless child or one individual bless another.\n\n31. Observe, then, the distinction between official and unofficial\ncensure and rebuke; the former is prompted by love, and the latter by\nwrath and hatred. The world, however, is artful and cunning enough\nwhen it hears this distinction, to pervert and confuse the two,\nexercising its own revenge under the name of official zeal and\nreproof. For instance, if a preacher is disposed to act the knave, he\ncan easily give vent to his personal anger and vengeance in his pulpit\nutterances, censuring and rebuking as he pleases, and then claim it is\nall in obedience to the demand of office and for the good of the\npeople.\n\nAgain, a judge, a mayor, or other prominent official, desiring\nrevengefully to satisfy a personal grudge, can more successfully\naccomplish his object under the title of the office he bears and the\nobligations imposed upon him for the punishment of the wicked than in\nany other way. This practice now frequently obtains since the world\nhas learned to use the Gospel to conceal its malice and knavery, to\nadorn it with the name of a divinely appointed office. It ever uses\nthe name and Word of God to cloak its infamy. But who is vigilant\nenough to elude such knavery and to make the children of the devil\nhonest? Let him who would be a Christian, then, take heed how he shall\nanswer such accusation. Assuredly God will not allow himself to be\ndeceived. He will, in due time, relieve the innocent victim of\ninjustice, and his punishment will seek out the wicked. Peter says,\nfurther:\n\n\"But committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.\"\n\n32. Who revealed to Peter the nature of Christ's thoughts upon the\ncross? The apostle has just been saying that Christ reviled not nor\nthought of revenge, but rather manifested love and good-will toward\nhis virulent enemies. How could Christ approve such malice? Truly he\ncould not endorse it. Nor could he commend his enemies for crucifying\nhim and putting him to death upon the cross without cause. No such\nconclusion may be drawn. The devil and his adherents must not construe\nthe passage to mean license to heap all manner of torture and distress\nupon Christ and his saints as upon those who must not only patiently\nbear these things, unmoved by revengeful desires, but must render\ngratitude to their persecutors as if their acts were praiseworthy. No;\nthis can by no means be permitted.\n\nCould I be said to suffer innocently if I am obliged to confess I am\nwell treated? Several times in this epistle Peter admonishes\nChristians not to suffer as evil-doers, thieves, murderers. But if I\nsuffer innocently and am unjustly treated, I am not to justify the\nill-treatment and strengthen the enemy in his sins; for, so doing, I\nwould approve his conduct and assume the guilt attributed. That\nprinciple would be pleasing to the Pope and the devil and to tyrants;\nthey would willingly have it obtain. They are not wholly satisfied\neven to murder the innocent; they would prefer to be justified in\ntheir action--to have us confess to wrong-doing. But that is something\nno Christian heart will do; it may be left to the devil.\n\n33. But the Papists will say: \"However, it is written, You must suffer\nand not revile; you must thank God for persecution and pray for your\nenemies.\" That is true; but it is one thing to suffer patiently, the\nwhile wishing your enemies well and praying for them, and quite a\ndifferent thing to justify them in their conduct. I must cease not to\nconfess the truth and maintain my innocence, both in heart and with my\nlips. But if men will not accept my word, my heart must tell me I have\nsuffered injustice. Rather should I endure ten deaths, could my\nenemies inflict them, than to condemn myself in violation of\nconscience. So, when Peter made this little statement about Christ not\nreviling nor threatening, which was true, he did not mean that Christ\njustified his persecutors in their treatment of him. But what are we\nto do? If we do not justify our enemies when they make us suffer, they\nwill do even worse things to us; for they desire the name and the\ncredit, in the eyes of the world, of having done right by us. Yes, as\nChrist has somewhere said, they would have it thought they do God\ngreat service by murdering us. Now, who is to judge and decide the\nquestion?\n\n34. Peter declares that Christ committed the matter to him who judges\nrighteously. How should he do otherwise, knowing that his persecutors\ntreated him unjustly and yet maintained the contrary? There was for\nhim no judge on earth. He was compelled to commit the matter to that\nrighteous judge, his Heavenly Father. Well he knew that such sins and\nblasphemies could not go unpunished. No, the sentence was already\npassed, the sword sharpened, the angels given orders, for the\noverthrow of Jerusalem. Previous to his sufferings, on his way to\nJerusalem, as Christ beheld the city, he announced its coming doom and\nwept over it. Therefore, he prays for his enemies, saying: \"Dear\nFather, I must commit the matter to thee, since they refuse to hear or\nto see the wrong they do. Well I know they are rushing into thy wrath\nand thy terrible punishment, but I pray thee to forgive them what they\ndo to me.\" And so they would have been forgiven had they afterward\nrepented at the apostles' preaching, and had they not further sinned\nin persecuting God's Word and thus brought upon their unrepentant\nselves ultimate punishment.\n\n\nCHRIST OUR EXAMPLE IN SUFFERING.\n\n35. Observe, as Christ did, so should we conduct ourselves in our\nsufferings; not approving or assenting to whatever may be heaped upon\nus, but yet not seeking revenge. We are to commit the matter to God,\nwho will judge aright. We cannot maintain our rights before the world;\ntherefore we must commit our cause to God, who judges righteously and\nwho will not allow calumniation of his Word and persecution of\nbelievers to pass unpunished. We must, however, pray for our\npersecutors, that they may be converted and escape future wrath and\npunishment; and so we do. If it is possible for some of the bishops\nand other Gospel-persecuting tyrants to be converted, we will heartily\npray and desire that their conversion may come to pass. But if it be\nimpossible, as now, alas, is to be feared, since, after having been\nmuch admonished and often prayed for and having enjoyed the best\nadvantages, they wittingly rage against the known truth--if so, then\nwe must commit them to God's judgment. What more can we do?\n\nI am persuaded that the intolerable persecution and calumniating of\nthe Gospel prevalent today cannot be permitted to pass with impunity.\nIt must ultimately meet the coming judgment upon the Papacy and\nGermany. Of this there can be no doubt. But it is ours to continue\npreaching, praying, admonishing and beseeching, in the hope of\neffecting repentance. Then, if our enemies still refuse to turn from\ntheir evil ways, if they perish in their impenitence, what can we do\nbut say: \"Dear God, we commit the matter to thee. Thou wilt punish\nthem; thou canst, indeed, most terribly.\"\n\n36. Such, mark you, is the example of Christ, presented to the entire\nChristian Church--set up as a pattern for her. Hence it is the duty of\nthe Church, as Peter elsewhere tells us, to arm herself with the same\nmind which was Christ's, to suffer as Christ did and to think: If\nChrist, my Lord and Leader, has suffered for me with so great meekness\nand patience, how much more reason have I to submit to suffering! And\nwhat can it harm me to suffer when I know it is God's will? Not\nbecause the suffering in itself is so perfecting and precious, but for\nthe sake of the dear Saviour who suffered for me. I know, too, that my\npersecutors thus commit most abominable sins against God and incur his\nwrath and punishment. Why, then, should I be impatient or desire\nrevenge? I am already too highly honored of God in the fact that my\nsufferings meet his approbation and that he will perfectly avenge me\nof mine enemies. What can it advantage me for them to burn eternally\nin hell? I will rather pray and use my utmost efforts for their\nconversion. If I fail and they are determined to persist in their\ncourse, I must bring the matter home to God--must commit it to him.\n\n\"Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we,\nhaving died unto sins, might live unto righteousness.\"\n\n37. Peter's is the true preaching concerning the passion of Christ. He\nteaches not only the merit in Christ's sufferings, but introduces both\nthemes--its efficacy and example. Such is Paul's custom, also. In this\nverse Peter presents Christ's sufferings in the light of a sacrifice\nfor sin. They constitute a work acceptable to God as satisfaction for\nthe sins of the whole world and effective to reconcile him to men. So\ngreat is God's wrath toward sin that none but that eternal one, the\nSon of God, could avert it. He had himself to be the sacrifice, to\nallow his body to be nailed to the cross. The cross was the altar\nwhereupon the sacrifice was consumed--wholly burned--in the fire of\nhis unfathomable love. He had to be his own high priest in this\nsacrifice: for no earthly mortal, all being sinners and unclean, could\noffer to God the sacrifice of his beloved and wholly sinless Son; the\nboasting of the priests of Antichrist in regard to their masses, to\nthe contrary notwithstanding. Now, by the single sacrifice of God's\nSon, our sins are remitted and we obtain grace and forgiveness; and\nthis fact can be grasped in no other way than through faith.\n\n38. Peter mentions the ultimate object of the divine sacrifice made\nfor us, what it accomplished in us, the fruit Christ's passion shall\nyield; for he would not have the Christian Church overlook that point,\nor neglect to preach it. Christ, he tells us, took upon himself our\nsins, suffering the penalty. Therefore, Christ alone is entitled to be\ncalled a sacrifice for all our sins. It was not designed, however,\nthat after the sacrifice we should remain as before; on the contrary,\nthe purpose was ultimately to work in us freedom from sins, to have us\nlive no longer unto sin but unto righteousness. Now, if in Christ our\nsins are sacrificed, they are put to death, blotted out; for to\nsacrifice means to slay, to kill. Under the Old Testament\ndispensation, all sacrifices had to be presented to God slain. Now, if\nour sins are put to death, it is not meant that we are to live in\nthem.\n\n39. Therefore, the saving doctrine of remission of sins and of\nChrist's grace cannot be so construed as to admit of our continuing in\nthe old life and following our own desires. According to Paul (Rom 6,\n1-8), enjoying grace and remission of sins does not give license to\nlive in sin. How shall we who are dead to sin live any longer therein?\nThe very fact that we may be reckoned dead unto sins means they may no\nlonger live and reign in us. In Christ's holy body were they throttled\nand slain expressly that they might also be slain in us.\n\n40. Be careful, then, what you believe and how you live, that the\nefficacy of Christ's sufferings may be manifestly fulfilled in you.\nIf, through faith, you have rightly apprehended his sacrifice, its\nvirtue will be indicated in the subduing and mortifying of your sins,\neven as they are already slain and dead through his death on the\ncross. But if you continue to live in sins, you cannot say they are\ndead in you. You but deceive yourself, and your own evidence is false\nwhen you boast of Christ in whom all sins are put to death, if sin\nremains vigorous in you. We naturally conclude it is inconsistent for\nsin to be dead in us and yet alive; for us to be free from sin and yet\ncaptive or fast therein. This fact has already been sufficiently\npointed out.\n\n41. It is ours, Peter says, not only to believe that Christ has,\nthrough the sacrifice of his own body, put to death sin and liberated\nus therefrom--a thing the combined sacrifices of all mortal bodies\ncould never have effected--but, sin being put to death by him, to\nendeavor to become ever more and more free from sin's sway in our\nbodies, and to live henceforth unto righteousness, until we shall be\ncompletely and finally released from sin through death. Therefore, if\nbefore you believed on Christ you were an adulterer, a miser, a\ncoveter, a maligner, you ought now to regard all these sins as dead,\nthrottled through Christ; the benefit is yours through faith in his\nsacrifice, and your sins should henceforth cease to reign in you. If\nyou have not so received the sacrifice, you cannot boast of Christ and\nfaith. Though Christ has died for you, though your sins have been put\nupon him and reckoned dead, still you are not rid of those sins if you\ndo not desire to be, if you do not, through faith, apprehend Christ\nand his blessing, nor in your life and conduct follow his example.\n\n42. Now you will say: \"But you teach that we are all sinners, that\nthere is not even a saint on earth without sin. And surely we must\nconfess the article, 'I believe in the remission of sins,' and must\npray, 'Forgive us our debts.'\" I reply, most assuredly you never will\nattain sinless perfection here on earth; if such were the case you\nwould have no further need for faith and Christ. At the same time, it\nis not designed that you should continue as you were before obtaining\nremission of sins through faith. I speak of known sins wittingly\npersisted in, in spite of the rebuke and condemnation of conscience.\nThese should be dead in you; in other words, they are not to rule you,\nbut you are to rule them, to resist them, to undertake their\nmortification. And if occasionally you fail, if you stumble, you\nshould immediately rise again, embrace forgiveness and renew your\nendeavor to mortify your sins.\n\n\"By whose stripes ye were healed.\"\n\n43. It seems as if Peter could not sufficiently exalt and make\nimpressive Christ's sufferings. He brings in nearly the entire\nFifty-third chapter of Isaiah in the attempt. Note how, in regard to\nthe efficacy of works, he always significantly introduces the two\nthemes at the same time--how he carefully distinguishes between\nperforming human works in obedience to Christ's example, and receiving\nby faith the merit of Christ's work. First, we have, \"Who his own self\nbare our sins in his body upon the tree ... by whose stripes ye were\nhealed.\" This is the vital part in our salvation. Christ alone could\nfully accomplish the work. This doctrine must be taught in its purity\nand simplicity, and must so be believed, in opposition to the devil\nand his factions. Only so can we maintain the honor and the office of\nChrist wherein is anchored our salvation. But the second part of the\ndoctrine must not be overlooked. There are false Christians who accept\nonly the first part and make no effort to reform themselves; but,\nbeing liberated from our sins and in a state of salvation, we may not\nagain defile ourselves therewith. Where these two principals of the\nChristian doctrine are not maintained in their proper relation, injury\nmust result to the truth in two respects: they who are occupied solely\nwith their own works corrupt the true doctrine of faith; they who\nneglect to follow the example of Christ retard the efficacy and fruit\nof that faith.\n\n\"For ye were going astray like sheep.\"\n\n44. Here Peter bluntly and clearly points out the fact I have stated,\nthat liberation from sin and death was effected not by our works and\nmerits, but by Christ's wounds and death alone. Forgiveness cost you\nnothing, Peter teaches; no blood, no wounds. You were powerless in\nthis direction. You were but miserable, erring, lost sheep, separated\nfrom God, condemned to hell and unable to council or help yourselves.\nIn just such condition are all they who are out of Christ. As Isaiah\nthe prophet says more plainly in the chapter from which these words\nare taken (verse 6): \"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have\nturned every one to his own way.\" That is, whatever our lives,\nwhatever our intent, we but turned farther away from God. As it is\nwritten (Ps 14, 3): \"They are all gone aside; they are together become\nfilthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.\"\n\n45. That men are prone to go astray like sheep is clearly exhibited in\ntheir conduct; history proves it. It has ever been the case that when\nmankind was divided into various idolatries or false services of God,\ninto superstitions numerous and varied, even when God's people thought\nto have attained the perfection of holiness--then one ran here and\nanother there, ever seeking and seeking to come upon the road to\nheaven but getting farther and farther from it. It was exactly the\ncase of the sheep straying from the flock and lost to the shepherd:\nthe farther it runs and the more it follows the voice of strangers,\nthe farther astray it goes. It continues to wander and to flee until\nit finally perishes, unless it hears again the voice of the shepherd.\nLet no one, then, dare boast of having himself found the right way to\nheaven, of having merited God's grace and the remission of sins by his\nown manner of life. All men must confess the truth of Scripture\ntestimony that we were but erring sheep, fleeing ever farther from our\nShepherd and Saviour, until he turned us back to himself.\n\n\"But are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.\"\n\n46. You have now heard the voice of your Shepherd, who has brought you\nback to himself, from your erring and idolatrous ways. It was not your\nown effort that effected your return; it was accomplished at the cost\nof your Shepherd's wounds and shed blood. Be careful, then, Peter\nwould say, to live not like erring and lost sheep; but, being\nconverted--turned back--follow your beloved Saviour. In him you have a\ngodly Shepherd who faithfully pastures and cares for you; and also a\nloyal Bishop who ever watches over and guards you, not permitting you\nto stray.\n\n47. Immeasurably gracious and comforting are these words. But the\nmeaning of the word \"bishop\" has been miserably obscured and perverted\nby our idolatrous priests and episcopal frauds. Likewise have they\nperverted and corrupted the terms \"ecclesiasts,\" \"Church,\" \"divine\nservice,\" \"priest,\" etc., by their antichristian rule. Only those have\nright to the name \"ecclesiast\" who have been redeemed from their sins\nthrough Christ's wounds, and who live holy lives. But the Papists have\ntaken the name away from true Christians and applied it to the Pope's\nbesmeared, and shaven-headed ones. Again, when we hear the word\n\"bishop\" we think only of great, pointed caps and of silver staves. As\nif it were sufficient to place in the Church such masks, such carved\nand hewn idols! For they are nothing better; in fact, they do more\nharm.\n\nAccording to the Scriptures, a true bishop is an overseer, a guardian,\na watchman. He is like unto the householder, the warder of the city,\nor any judicial officer or regent who exercises constant oversight of\nstate or municipal affairs. Formerly there were bishops in each\nparish, deriving their name from the fact that their office required\noversight of the Church and the guarding against the devil, against\nfalse doctrines and all manner of offenses. Paul, too (Acts 20, 28),\nreminds the bishops of their office, saying: \"Take heed unto\nyourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made\nyou bishops [overseers].\" And overseers should bishops still be, as in\nfact all godly preachers and carers for souls are. But in all Popedom\nthe office now is but a mere name, to the sin and shame of the entire\nChristian Church.\n\n48. Now, Christ our Lord is that faithful Guardian, that true Bishop,\nwho above all others is entitled to the name (with him office and name\nare identical), and who bears it with due honor, to our eternal\nhappiness. For, standing at the right hand of God and showing his\nwounds, he unceasingly intercedes for us before the Father; and\nmoreover, on earth he rules, sustains, nourishes and protects, through\nhis Word, his sacraments and the efficacy of the Holy Spirit, the\nlittle flock that believe in him. Were he not present with and\nwatching over us here, the devil would long ago have overthrown and\ndestroyed us, and also the Word of God and the name of Christ. And\nsuch is the case when God in wrath turns away his eyes from the world\nto punish its ingratitude. Then immediately everything falls into the\ndevil's power. Therefore, pure doctrine, faith, confession and the use\nof the sacraments are dependent for their perpetuity solely upon the\nvigilant guardianship of our beloved Shepherd and Bishop.\n\n49. Comforting, indeed, is it to have in Christ a priest so faithful\nand righteous; though, alas, the worthy name of \"priest\" also has been\nsubjected to shame and contempt because of the Pope's disgraceful,\nshaven, shallow-headed occupants of the office. Comforting, indeed, it\nis to be the happy lambs who have a welcome refuge in the Shepherd and\nfind in him joy and comfort in every time of need, assured that his\nperfect faithfulness cares for and protects us from the devil and the\ngates of hell. Relative to this subject, the entire Twenty-third Psalm\nis a beautiful and joyous song, of which the refrain is, \"The Lord is\nmy Shepherd.\"\n\n\n\n\n_Third Sunday After Easter_\n\nText: First Peter 2, 11-20.\n\n11 Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from\nfleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 having your behavior\nseemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as\nevil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify\nGod in the day of visitation.\n\n13 Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether\nto the king, as supreme; 14 or unto governors, as sent by him for\nvengeance on evil-doers and for praise to them that do well. 15 For so\nis the will of God, that by well-doing ye should put to silence the\nignorance of foolish men: 16 as free, and not using your freedom for a\ncloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all men.\nLove the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.\n\n18 Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only\nto the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19 For this is\nacceptable, if for conscience toward God a man endureth griefs,\nsuffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and\nare buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do\nwell, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is\nacceptable with God.\n\n\nOUR CHRISTIAN DUTIES.\n\n1. This epistle selection, too, is an admonition to good works, or the\nfruits of faith. It touches upon nearly every condition of life,\nteaching how each individual should live and conduct himself. But\nfirst, Peter admonishes Christians in general that in their\nintercourse with gentiles, or the unbelieving world, they give no real\noccasion for censure or reproach concerning their conduct. The\nadmonition seems to hinge upon the fact that Christians, as the\napostle reminds them in the first and second chapters, have been\ncalled to a lively, a never-dying, hope of an imperishable inheritance\nin heaven, and of eternal joy and salvation; that they are now\nredeemed, having obtained remission of sins through the precious blood\nof Christ; and again, that they are become a holy nation and royal\npriesthood, to show forth and magnify the grace of God, they who in\ntime past were not God's people and had not obtained grace. \"But now,\"\nPeter would say, \"you have obtained grace through the divine calling\nof Christ, through the suffering of your Lord. Live, then, as a holy\npeople of God and citizens of heaven.\"\n\n2. We have already heard that in the Christian life are two essential\nprinciples, two principles upon which Christian teachers may lay\nemphasis. First, faith in the fact that through Christ's blood we are\nreleased from sin and have forgiveness; second, being forgiven, our\nnatures are to be changed and we are to walk in newness of life. In\nbaptism, when we first believe, we obtain not only remission of sins\nwhereby we are of grace made children of God, but also the power to\npurge out, to mortify, the remaining sins. Our transgressions are not\nforgiven, Paul says (Rom 1, 6), with the privilege of continuing in\nthem, as the insolent rejecters of grace imagine. It is this way: Our\nsins being blotted out through the blood of Christ, we need not to\nmake remuneration or render satisfaction for them; we are children of\ngrace and enjoy forgiveness. Nevertheless, inherent sin is not\nentirely purged out, or mortified.\n\n\nREMISSION AND MORTIFICATION DEFINED.\n\n3. There is difference between remission of sins and mortification of\nthem. The distinction should be made clear for the sake of combating\nthose who confound and pervert the two principles by their false\ndoctrines. In regard to remission, the Pope and many others have\ntaught that forgiveness of sins is obtained through the foolishness of\nmen's own self-elected works, the satisfactions of their own devising.\nThis error has ever prevailed in the world. Cain was the first to make\nit, and it will continue to the end. And where this error is refuted,\nfalse teachers are found who, on the other hand, accept and boast of\nthe doctrine of grace without enjoying its happy results. They proceed\nas if mere forgiveness were enough, and without further effect than\naverting punishment; as if it leaves us where we were before, not\nameliorating in any wise our moral condition; and as if no more is to\nbe known about Christ and the Gospel.\n\nTherefore, they who claim to be Christians must learn that, having\nobtained forgiveness without merit on their part, they should\nhenceforth give no place to sins, but rather resist their former evil\nlusts and avoid and flee from the fruits and works thereof. Such is\nthe substance of this lesson.\n\n4. But note from the apostle's words how his view has changed since\nthe time when, as a fisherman of Bethsaida, he went about with the\nLord previous to the Lord's death and resurrection. At that time Peter\nand the other apostles, in fact the entire Jewish nation, had no other\nconception of Christ's kingdom--or the kingdom of God--than as an\nearthly one wherein they should know only happiness, figuring as\nwealthy farmers, citizens, noblemen, counts and lords. The sum of the\nworld's goods should be theirs, and all the gentiles their vassals.\nThey were to be thenceforth undisturbed by enemies, wars, famine or\nmisfortune, and to enjoy the extremity of peace, leisure and happiness\nunder their supreme King, the Messiah. Such were their hopes, even\ntheir expectations. With these pleasing fancies were their minds\nfilled. And just so today are the Jews full and drunken with their\nvisionary dreams.\n\n\nTHE NATURE OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM.\n\n5. Observe here, however, Peter teaches that the lot of the sharer in\nChrist's kingdom is quite the reverse of what he once imagined. \"O\nbeloved Christians,\" he would say, \"who are called and baptized into\nthe royal and priestly kingdom of Christ, I have now to tell you\nthings quite different from the ideas and dreams you and I used to\nentertain. We are, it is true, citizens, counts and lords in the\nkingdom where Christ reigns supreme over all earthly kings and lords,\nand where is only eternal riches, peace and happiness in every form;\nbut the life of that kingdom is unlike that of earthly kings and\ndominions. You are not, be it known, lords and noblemen in a worldly\nsense; neither is Christ a king as the world regards kingliness, and\nthe kingdom of the world is not in harmony with his. Know, then, you\nmust regard yourselves strangers and pilgrims in the kingdom of the\nworld.\n\n\"Therefore, I admonish you that, having now become\nChristians--brothers in the eternal heavenly kingdom--your manner of\nlife should be such as becomes them who are no longer of a worldly\nkingdom. Regard this earthly life only as the traveler or pilgrim\nregards the country wherein he journeys, the inn where he procures a\nnight's lodging. He does not expect to remain in the city, to be mayor\nor even a citizen. He finds there his food, but his thoughts are cast\nbeyond its gates, to the place where home is. So,\" Peter says, \"must\nyou look upon your earthly course. You did not become Christians with\nthe prospect of reigning here on earth, as the Jews fancy they shall\nreign and be established. The dwelling-place, the citizenship and the\nauthority of Christians are to be found in another direction, not in\nthis world. Therefore, think of yourselves as pilgrims on earth,\ndirecting your attention toward other possessions and another country,\nwherein you shall be lords forever, and where no discord nor\nmisfortune such as you must endure in this earthly harbor shall ever\nenter.\"\n\n\nCHRISTIAN USE OF THIS LIFE.\n\n6. But how is indifference to this life to be accomplished? Peter goes\non to say: \"Be subject to every ordinance of man ... whether to the\nking ... or unto governors\"; again, \"Servants, be in subjection to\nyour masters ... also to the froward.\" How is it consistent with royal\ncitizenship in a celestial country to be a pilgrim on earth? How can\nwe live here with wives and children, houses and lands, and being\ncitizens under a temporal government, and yet not be at home? There is\na distinction here which, as before said, was at first difficult for\nthe beloved apostles themselves to understand. But to Christians,\nespecially those of today, it should be clear. Christ and the apostles\ndo not, in this teaching, design the rejection of external government\nand human authority--what Peter here terms ordinances of men. No, they\npermit these to remain as they are; moreover, they enjoin us to submit\nto and make use of them.\n\n7. This is the difference to be kept in mind: We are to conduct\nourselves in our earthly stations and occupations as not regarding\nthis life our true kingdom and best good. And we are not to think the\nlife beyond holds nothing more nor better than what we possess here,\nas do the Jews and the Turks. Although they believe in the\nresurrection of the dead, they carnally imagine the future life will\nbe like the present except for its perfect peace and happiness, its\nfreedom from misfortune, persecution and all ills. It is the\nprerogative of the Pope and his holy epicures to believe nothing in\nany respect.\n\nEvery Christian, be he lord or servant, prince or subject, should\nconduct himself as befits his station, using in trust whatever God has\ngiven him--dominion and subjects, house and home, wife and children,\nmoney and property, meat and drink. He is to regard himself solely as\na guest of earth, as one eating his morsel of bread or taking his\nlunch in an inn; he must conduct himself in this earthly harbor as a\npious guest. Thus may he actually be a king reigning with fidelity, or\na lord faithful to his office, and at the same time declare: \"I count\nnothing on this life. I do not expect to remain here. This is but a\nstrange country to me. True, I am seated in the uppermost place at\ntable in this inn; but the occupant of the lowest seat has just as\nmuch as I, here or yonder. For we are alike guests. But he who\nassigned my duty, whose command I execute, gave me orders to conduct\nmyself piously and honorably in this inn, as becomes a guest.\"\n\n8. So should Christians in all stations of life--lords and ladies,\nservants and maids--conduct themselves as guests of earth. Let them,\nin that capacity, eat and drink, make use of clothing and shoes,\nhouses and lands, as long as God wills, yet be prepared to take up\ntheir journey when these things pass, and to move on out of life as\nthe guest moves on out of the house or the city which is not his home.\nLet them conduct themselves as does the guest, with civility toward\nthose with whom they come in contact, not infringing on the rights of\nany. For a visitor may not unrestrainedly follow his own pleasure and\ninclinations in the house of a stranger. The saying is: \"If you would\nbe a guest, you must behave civilly; otherwise you may promptly be\nshown the door or the dungeon.\"\n\n9. Christians should be aware of their citizenship in a better\ncountry, that they may rightly adapt themselves to this world. Let\nthem not occupy the present life as if intending to remain in it; nor\nas do the monks, who flee responsibility, avoiding civil office and\ntrying to run out of the world. For Peter says rather that we are not\nto escape our fellows and live each for himself, but to remain in our\nseveral conditions in life, united with other mortals as God has bound\nus, and serving one another. At the same time, we are to regard this\nlife as a journey through a country where we have no citizenship--where\nwe are not at home; to think of ourselves as travelers or pilgrims\noccupying for a night the same inn, eating and drinking there and then\nleaving the place.\n\n10. Let not the occupants of the humbler stations--servants and\nsubjects--grumble: \"Why should I vex myself with unpleasant household\ntasks, with farm work or heavy labor? This life is not my home anyway,\nand I may as well have it better. Therefore, I will abandon my station\nand enjoy myself; the monks and priests have, in their stations,\nwithdrawn themselves from the world and yet drunk deeply, satisfying\nfleshly lusts.\" No, this is not the right way. If you are unwilling to\nput up with your lot, as the guest in a tavern and among strangers\nmust do, you also may not eat and drink.\n\nSimilarly, they who are favored with loftier positions in life may\nnot, upon this authority, abandon themselves to the idea of living in\nthe sheer idleness and lustful pleasure their more favored station\npermits, as if they were to be here always. Let them reason thus:\n\"This life, it is true, is transitory--a voyage, a pilgrimage, leading\nto our actual fatherland. But since it is God's will that everyone\nshould serve his fellows here in his respective station, in the office\ncommitted to him, we will do whatever is enjoined upon us. We will\nserve our subjects, our neighbors, our wives and children so long as\nwe can; we would not relax our service even if we knew we had to\ndepart this very hour and leave all earthly things. For, God be\npraised, had we to die now we would know where we belong, where our\nhome is. While we are here, however, on the way, it is ours to fulfill\nthe obligations of our earthly citizenship. Therefore, we will live\nwith our fellows in obedience to the law of our abiding-place, even\nunto the hour wherein we must cross the threshold outward, that we may\ndepart in honor, leaving no occasion for complaint.\"\n\n11. Thus, mark you, should every Christian conduct himself here on\nearth, according to Peter. In the first place, he should know where is\nhis real home, his fatherland. We learn this through faith in Christ,\nwhereby we become children of God, heirs of eternal life, citizens of\nheaven. Accordingly, we sing: \"Now we pray thee, Holy Spirit, for true\nfaith,\" etc., when we depart home from this wretchedness. This\nsentiment accords beautifully with the text here where Peter calls us\n\"sojourners and pilgrims\"--wayfarers in earthly wretchedness, desiring\nhome and casting our thoughts beyond the gates of our sojourning-place.\nSecond, though we must suffer this wretched condition in a foreign\nland, we are under obligation to render every honor to the host and to\nrespect the inn, making the best of whatever may befall us.\n\n12. The prophet Jeremiah found it necessary to give admonition of this\nsort to his wretched Jewish countrymen in Babylon who longed\nunspeakably to be home again and almost despaired because of having so\nlong to suffer misery among strangers when many of their brethren were\nat home. Other prophets had encouraged them with the promise of soon\nbeing returned. Consequently many of them ceased to till the land and\nneglected to provide for a livelihood. To these Jeremiah writes (ch.\n29, 10): \"Ye must have patience, for ye are not so soon to return--not\ntill seventy years be accomplished.\" Meanwhile, though in wretchedness\nand captivity, they were to do as he bids in verses 5-7: \"Build ye\nhouses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of\nthem. Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for\nyour sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear\nsons and daughters: and multiply ye there, and be not diminished. And\nseek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried\naway captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace thereof\nshall ye have peace.\"\n\nThat there in their misery they should build houses and make\nthemselves citizens of Babylon, should marry and rear children--yes,\ngive their children in marriage--as if they were to remain there\npermanently--this injunction of the prophet was altogether\ndisagreeable and annoying to them. And still more offensive was the\ncommand to pray for the city and kingdom wherein they were captives.\nMuch rather would they have prayed for liberation; for, influenced by\nthe other prophets, they hoped to return home the following year.\n\n13. Now, how was it with them? The godly, faithful ones had reason to\nhope and trust in release and a return to their own kingdom. Surely\nthere was no pleasure, no joy, for them in their present miserable\ncondition, as in Psalm 137 they testify and complain by the rivers of\nBabylon. There they cried and wept and had not an hour of enjoyment\nwhen they thought of home. The long seventy years their hearts\ncontinually stood at the gate ready to depart, so that they had no\ninclination whatever to build houses, to cultivate farms, to make\ngardens, to take wives and rear children. Nevertheless, the prophet\nbids them meet all the requirements of citizens of that country; and\nmore than that, to pray for their hosts in the same spirit in which\nthey would pray for their neighbors and fellow-citizens, asking God\nfor peace and prosperity upon the city.\n\n\nCHRISTIANS SUBJECTS OF TWO KINGDOMS.\n\n14. So, too, Christians are subjects of two kingdoms--they have\nexperience of two kinds of life. Here on earth where the world has its\nhome and its heavenly kingdom, we surely are not citizens. According\nto Paul (Phil 3, 20), \"our conversation\"--our citizenship--\"is with\nChrist in heaven\"; that is, in yonder life, the life we await. As the\nJews hoped to be released from Babylon, we hope to be released from\nthis present life and to go where we shall be lordly citizens forever.\nBut being obliged to continue in this wretched state--our Babylon--so\nlong as God wills, we should do as the Jews were commanded to\ndo--mingle with other mortals, eat and drink, make homes, till the\nsoil, fill civil offices and show good will toward our fellows, even\npraying for them, until the hour arrives for us to depart unto our\nhome.\n\n15. He who is guided by these facts, who comprehends the distinction\nbetween the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of the world, will know\nhow to resist successfully all classes of fanatics. For these latter\npaint this life in a terrible aspect. They want to run out of the\nworld entirely, and are unwilling to associate with anyone; or they\nproceed to disturb civil regulations and to overthrow all order; or\nagain, as with the Pope, they interfere in secular rule, desiring\ntemporal authority, wholly under the name and color of Christianity.\n\nHaving as Christians forgiveness of sins, and being now people of God,\nchildren of his kingdom, citizens no longer of Babylon but of heaven,\nlet us know that during the period of our sojourn here among\nstrangers, it is ours to live righteously, honorably and chastely, to\nfurther civil and domestic peace and to lend counsel and aid to\nbenefit even the wicked and ungrateful, meanwhile constantly striving\nafter our inheritance and keeping in mind the kingdom whither we are\nbound.\n\n16. In short, a Christian must be one who, as Paul says (1 Cor 7,\n29-31), uses this world as not abusing it, who buys and possesses as\nthough he possessed not, who has wife and children as though he had\nthem not and who builds as though not building. How is it possible to\nreconcile these seeming inconsistencies? By making the Christian faith\ndistinct from the faith of the Jews and Turks--yes, of the Papists\neven: by accepting the fact that the Christian's attitude toward this\nearthly life is the attitude of the guest; that in such capacity is he\nto build, to buy, to have dealings and hold intercourse with his\nfellows, to join them in all temporal affairs--a guest who respects\nhis host's wishes, the laws of the realm and of the city and the\ncustoms of the inn, but at the same time the Christian refrains from\nattesting his satisfaction with this life as if he intended to remain\nhere and hoped for nothing better. Thus will the Christian pass\nthrough every temporal event in the right way--having every possession\nas though not having it, using and yet not cleaving to it; not so\noccupied with the temporal as to lose the eternal, but leaving\nbehind--forgetting--the former while striving after the latter as the\ngoal set before him.\n\n17. Therefore, they who presume to run out of the world by going into\nthe desert or the wilderness; who, unwilling to occupy the inn but\nfinding it indispensable nevertheless, must become their own\nhosts--these are great and unreasonable fools. Surely they must eat\nand drink and have clothing and shelter. With these things they cannot\ndispense, even if they can withdraw from all society. Nor is their\naction forsaking and fleeing the world, as they imagine it to be.\nWhatever your station and condition, whatever your occupation in life,\nof necessity you must be somewhere on earth while mortal life is\nyours. Nor has God separated you from men; he has placed you in\nsociety. Each individual is created and born for the sake of other\nindividuals. But observe, wherever you are and whatever your station,\nyou are, I say, to flee the world.\n\n\nHOW TO ESCAPE THE WORLD.\n\n18. But how are we to flee the world? Not by donning caps and creeping\ninto a corner or going into the wilderness. You cannot so escape the\ndevil and sin. Satan will as easily find you in the wilderness in a\ngray cap as he will in the market in a red coat. It is the heart which\nmust flee, and that by keeping itself \"unspotted from the world,\" as\nJames 1, 27 says. In other words, you must not cling to temporal\nthings, but be guided by the doctrine of faith in Christ, and await\nthe eternal, heavenly inheritance; and in that faith and that hope are\nyou to execute the trust and work committed to you here, declaring the\nwhile: \"That which I do here is not the chief good, the thing of real\nvalue, for which I live; though such is the case with the world, the\nJews, the Turks and the Papists. I hold this temporal life as a\ntavern, valuing it no more than the guest values the inn where he\nenjoys food and lodging, while heart and mind turn ever to his own\nhome.\"\n\nWhat tolerance would there be for one foolish enough to declare: \"I\nwill not eat nor drink here. I will behave peculiarly, smashing\nwindows and turning things upside down, for this is not my\nabiding-place\"? For the very purpose of advancing himself on his\njourney, the traveler should make use of the inn, accepting whatever\nis offered.\n\n19. Likewise should Christians use the world, constantly casting their\nthoughts beyond this life, notwithstanding they have here house and\nhome, wife and children. These are for the present life only, yet the\nChristian owes them due consideration, the while he asserts: \"Today we\nare here, tomorrow elsewhere. Now we avail ourselves of this inn, the\nnext day of another. We do not expect to remain here.\"\n\nRelative to this subject, Peter in his beautiful Pentecostal sermon\nsays concerning David, who nevertheless was a holy king, that he did\nnot ascend into the heavens, but, having fulfilled the will of God,\nfell asleep. Peter, so far from being willing to disparage David's\noffice and rule, to criticise him therein for wrong-doing, rather\nmagnifies it in glowing terms. David was a king, and cast not aside\nhis crown; no, he retained his royal glory. He held his office as a\nGod-intrusted one, in the execution whereof he served God. Similarly\nshould the righteous ruler do--in fact, all men in their respective\noffices and stations. Let them remember they are not placed where they\nare to choose their own pleasure, but solely for the service of God.\nSuch is their duty so long as they are here--transients, like the\nstranger at the inn with other guests, who conducts himself with\nrespect to the needs and the pleasure of his fellows, doing as they\ndo, and in case of danger and necessity uniting with them in the\neffort to help and protect.\n\n20. King David did not regard his kingdom and his God-bestowed\nblessings as his real glory, but as his office, his opportunities for\nservice in this earthly pilgrimage. In it all he remains a guest,\nexpecting to leave this tarrying-place for a certain abode. Hence he\nsays (Ps 39, 12): \"I am a stranger with thee, a sojourner, as all my\nfathers were.\" How is that? Has a king of David's glorious rank\noccasion to speak thus? Is he a guest who occupies a royal throne, who\nis lord of landed estate and of more than twelve hundred thousand\npeople according to his own calculation? This is David's meaning: In\nhis kingdom he serves God as a transient here on earth, and set apart\nby God for that purpose; but at the same time as a citizen of God's\nkingdom in another life, another existence, which he regards more\nglorious than earthly glory, and as affording something better than a\ntemporal crown.\n\n\nREASONS TO ABSTAIN FROM CARNAL LUST.\n\n21. Such is Peter's teaching. He admonishes Christians to Christlike\nlives and works in view of the fact that they are called to great\nglory, having become through Christ a royal priesthood, a people of\nGod and citizens of heaven. He would have them occupy this temporal\nworld as guests, striving after another and eternal kingdom; that is,\nto abstain from all carnal lusts and maintain a blameless walk, a life\nof good works. The apostle assigns two reasons for such self-denial:\nFirst, that we may not, through carnal, lustful habits, lose the\nspiritual and eternal; second, that God's name and the glory we have\nin Christ may not be slandered among our heathen adversaries, but\nrather, because of our good works, honored. These are the chief\nreasons for doing good works. They ought most forcibly to urge us to\nthe performance of our duties.\n\n22. Peter admonishes, first, to \"abstain from fleshly lusts, which war\nagainst the soul.\" He implies that if we do not resist carnal\ninclinations, but rather follow them, we shall lose our priceless\neternal inheritance. To be a stranger on earth, striving after another\nand better life, is inconsistent with living in fleshly lusts as if\none's sole intent was to remain in the world forever. If you would\nhave the things of one life, Peter says, you must forsake the things\nof the other. If you forget your fatherland and lie drunken with this\ncarnal life, as does the heathen world in living in unbelief and\nwithout hope of eternal life, you will never reach yonder existence;\nfor so you reject it.\n\nIt is necessary to strive if we are to withstand the lusts of the\nflesh; for these, Peter says, war against the soul--against faith and\nthe good conscience in man. If lust triumphs, our hold on the Spirit\nand on faith is lost. Now, if you would not be defeated, you must\nvaliantly contend against carnal inclinations, being careful to\novercome them and to maintain your spiritual, eternal good. In this\ninstance, our own welfare demands the conquest.\n\n23. In the second place, God's honor calls for it. God's honor here on\nearth is affected by our manner of life. We are to avoid giving\noccasion for our enemies to open their mouths in calumniation of God's\nname and his Word. Rather must we magnify the name of God by our\nconfession and general conduct, and thus win others, who shall with us\nconfess and honor him. Christ commands (Mt 5, 16): \"Even so let your\nlight shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify\nyour Father who is in heaven.\"\n\n24. Peter proceeds to enumerate certain good works appropriate to\nChristians in all stations of life, particularly those Christians\nunder authority, or in a state of servitude--men-servants and\nmaid-servants. In the apostle's day, Christians had to submit to\nheathen authority--to serve unbelieving masters. Peter admonishes\nChristians to glorify God by their conduct, patiently bearing the\nviolence and injustice offered, and forbearing to return evil; as we\nheard in the epistle lesson for the preceding Sunday which follows\ntoday's text. But to take up all the good works Peter enumerates here\nwould require too much time at present.\n\n\n\n\n_Third Sunday After Easter_\nSecond Sermon.\n\nText: First Corinthians 15, 20-28.\n\n20 But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of\nthem that are asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also\nthe resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in\nChrist shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ\nthe firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then\ncometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the\nFather; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and\npower. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under\nhis feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For,\nHe put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All\nthings are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who\ndid subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been\nsubjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to\nhim that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.\n\n\nWe have no desire to reject the Sunday epistle readings in common use\nup to this time, particularly as some of them are excellent and\nprofitable; nevertheless, a different order and selection might well\nhave been made. For portions have been taken from James for the two\nSundays following, the intent of the compilers having been to choose\nsomething from each of the apostles, among whom they regarded James\none of the chief. These selections, however, seem not to have been\nwritten by an apostle; they do not at all compare with the selections\nfrom the other apostles. It were better for the instruction and\ncomfort of the people, and as befitting this season, to handle the\narticle of the resurrection--concerning the resurrection of both\nChrist and ourselves, or of all the dead--between Easter and\nPentecost. It seems appropriate so to do, making selections from the\npreaching of the apostles; for instance, the entire fifteenth chapter\nof Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, which treats throughout of\nthe resurrection of the dead. Therefore, we shall arrange this chapter\nto the present and following Sundays. It is our intent to so use it\nhereafter, and they who feel disposed may adopt it likewise. But it is\nnot our purpose in so doing to restrict those who prefer the old\narrangement. The entire fifteenth chapter, however, being amply\nexplained in special sermons, we would advise everyone to read those\nexpositions.\n\n\n\n\n_Fourth Sunday After Easter_\n\nText: First Corinthians 15, 35-50.\n\n35 But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what\nmanner of body do they come? 36 Thou foolish one, that which thou\nthyself sowest is not quickened except it die: 37 and that which thou\nsowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it\nmay chance of wheat, or of some other kind; 38 but God giveth it a\nbody even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. 39\nAll flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one flesh of men, and\nanother flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of\nfishes. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial;\nbut the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the\nterrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another\nglory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star\ndiffereth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection\nof the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:\n43 it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in\nweakness; it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body; it is\nraised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a\nspiritual body. 45 So also it is written, The first man Adam became a\nliving soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 Howbeit\nthat is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then\nthat which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the\nsecond man is of heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that\nare earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are\nheavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy we shall\nalso bear the image of the heavenly.\n\n50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the\nkingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.\n\n\nThis selection follows immediately after the one we have arranged for\nthe preceding Sunday, concerning the resurrection of the dead. In the\ntext Paul deals with the question, How are the dead raised, and with\nwhat body do they come? This passage likewise is treated fully enough\nin the sermons on the fifteenth chapter, and they who desire may read\nthose discourses; they are too lengthy to insert here.\n\nThe selection from the first chapter of James, however, having\ncommonly been read for this Sunday, and as it contains good\ninstruction and admonition, we will, for the sake of some who may\ndesire to retain it, allow it to remain; and we will make some\nexplanation of it lest we be thought to desire its rejection\naltogether. It was not, however, written by an apostle. It does not\nbear the apostolic stamp in all particulars, and is not in every\nrespect compatible with the true doctrine.\n\n\n\n\n_Fourth Sunday After Easter_\nSecond Sermon.[1]\n\nText: James 1, 16-21.\n\n16 Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every\nperfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,\nwith whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.\n18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we\nshould be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.\n\n19 Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to\nhear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 for the wrath of man worketh\nnot the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore putting away all filthiness\nand overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted\nword, which is able to save your souls.\n\n[Footnote 1: This sermon was printed first in the \"Two Sermons on\nAnger,\" by Luther, Wittenberg, 1536.]\n\n\n1. This lesson was addressed to all Christians. Particularly was it\nmeant for the time when they had to endure from the unbelieving world\npersecutions severe and oft; as James indicates at the outset, where\nhe says (verses 2-4): \"Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall\ninto manifold temptations; knowing that the proving of your faith\nworketh patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may\nbe perfect and entire.\" Again (verse 12): \"Blessed is the man that\nendureth temptation.\"\n\n\nWHY MEN REJECT THE GOSPEL.\n\n2. Two things there are which part men from the Gospel: one is angry\nimpatience, and the other evil lust. Of these James speaks in this\nepistle. The former sin, he says, arises under persecution--when for\nthe sake of Christ the Lord you must give up property and honor, and\nrisk body and life; must be regarded as fools, as the drudges, yes,\nthe footstool, of the world. Painful and intolerable to the point of\ndiscouragement and weariness is such a lot, particularly when it is\napparent that your persecutors enjoy good fortune, having honor, power\nand wealth, while you suffer constantly. Peter, too, admonishes (1 Pet\n3, 10), upon authority of Psalm 34, 12-14: He who would be a Christian\nmust be prepared to avoid evil and do good, to seek peace, to refrain\nhis tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile, and must commit\nhimself to God.\n\nIn the case of a great many people otherwise favorably disposed toward\nthe Gospel, it is nothing but persecution which deters and repels them\nfrom it. They cannot endure the injuries and reproaches they must\nsuffer for its sake. But for the precious holy cross which is laid\nupon Christians, and their inability to overcome indignation and\nimpatience, the world would long ago have been crowded with\nChristians. But on account of trials men recoil, saying: \"Rather than\nendure these, I will remain with the majority; as it is with them, so\nbe it with me.\"\n\n3. The second thing to which James refers is worldly\nlust--\"filthiness,\" as James terms it. This, too, is a prevailing\nevil, particularly with the common people. When they once hear the\nGospel they are prone to think right away that they know all about it.\nThey cease to heed it and drown in lust, pride and covetousness of the\nworld, being concerned entirely with accumulating wealth and seeking\npleasure.\n\n4. That these two evils prevail is apparent to the eyes of all men\ntoday. We fear that we shall fare no better than the prophets and the\napostles; these things are likely to continue. Nevertheless, we must\nunceasingly exert ourselves in behalf of ourselves and others to guard\ndiligently against both these evils. Particularly must we not\nimpatiently murmur and rage against God; we must also show meekness\ntoward our fellowmen, to the end that wrath everywhere may be quelled\nand subdued, and only patience and meekness reign among Christians.\n\n5. As I said before, such seems to be the trend of the whole text. The\napostle gives a reason why we should be patient to the extent of not\nallowing ourselves to be vexed with them who injure us, especially\nungrateful rejecters of the Word of God or persecutors of Christians.\nThe reason he assigns is the debt of gratitude we owe: we are to\nremember the great good we receive from God in heaven--\"Every good\ngift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father\nof lights.\"\n\n\nOUR BLESSINGS OUTWEIGH OUR ILLS.\n\n6. If you carefully balance our gifts and trials against each other\nand weigh them carefully, you will find the blessings conferred upon\nyou so numerous and rich as far to outweigh the injuries and\nreproaches you must incur. Therefore, if you are assailed by the\nworld, and are provoked to impatience by ingratitude, contempt and\npersecution, compare with your trials the blessings and consolations\nyou have in Christ and his Gospel. You will soon find you have more\nreason to pity your enemies than you have to murmur and to rage\nagainst them.\n\n7. Again, concerning them who live in worldly lusts--in \"filthiness,\"\nas the apostle terms it: let not their conduct induce you to forsake\nthe Gospel to be like them; for their portion is altogether paltry in\ncomparison with your glorious blessings and divine riches. Take\nthought, then, and do not allow yourselves to be misled either by the\nwanton wickedness of the world, through the injury and pain it may\ninflict, or by the prosperity of the world's wealthy, who live\nriotously in all manner of voluptuousness. Look upon what you have\nfrom the Father in comparison--his divine blessings, his perfect\ngifts.\n\n8. For the sake of distinction, we shall designate by \"good gifts\" the\nblessings we enjoy here in this life; by \"perfect gifts\" those\nawaiting us in the life to come. James implies this distinction when\nhe says: \"Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth,\nthat we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.\" In the\nterms \"good gifts\" and \"perfect gifts,\" the apostle comprehends all\nour blessings, those we have already received in the present life and\nthose to be ours in the life to come.\n\n9. I will not now speak particularly of earthly, transient and\nchangeable blessings, such as temporal goods, honor, a healthy body\nand others, but could we only compare our blessings with these and\nweigh our treasures and surpassing blessings, we should presently\nconclude that ours transcend in value a hundred thousand times\nanything the world possesses and boasts. Many individuals there are\nwho would give thousands of dollars to have the sight of both eyes. So\nmuch do they prize the blessing of sight, they would willingly suffer\na year's illness or endure other great inconveniences to obtain it.\nLess sensible would they be to such discomforts than to the\ndeprivation of the thing they desire.\n\nOf physical blessings particularly, we shall not now speak, however,\nsave to mention that they are never equaled by physical ills. Who can\npurchase or merit, even by enduring tenfold his present physical ills,\nthe very least of God's gifts; as, for instance, the beholding of the\nlight of the beautiful sun for a single day? And so long as mortal\nlife itself remains, you have the greatest of blessings, one\noutweighing far all gold and silver and all the misfortunes you may\nendure.\n\n\nOUR BLESSINGS IN CHRIST'S RESURRECTION.\n\nBut we shall speak now particularly of the blessings we have in\nChrist's resurrection, a subject appropriate to this Paschal season.\nThe text says, Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from\nthe Father of lights. For God has begun the work of edifying us, of\nbuilding us up, and will constitute us his own children, his heirs.\nThis work, James says, is wrought through the Gospel, or \"the word of\ntruth,\" as he terms it.\n\n10. But what does the resurrection advantage us? It has already\nbrought us this gain: our hearts are enlightened and filled with joy,\nand we have passed from the darkness of sin, error and fear into the\nclear light; the Christian is able to judge all sects, all doctrines\nof devils, that may arise on earth. Is it not a thing of unspeakable\nvalue, a precious gift, to be enlightened and taught of God to the\nextent of being able to judge correctly every doctrine and every kind\nof conduct exhibited in this world, and to show all men how to\nlive--what to do and what to avoid? Well may we boast, then, of having\nhere on earth also a Father--\"the Father of lights\"--from whom we\nreceive blessings of such magnitude that man should willingly yield\nbody and life for their attainment.\n\nWhat would I in my darkness not have given to be liberated from the\nvery dread which prompted the celebration of masses and other\nabominations, yes, from the torture and anguish of conscience which\nleft me no rest? or to have instruction enabling me rightly to\ninterpret a single psalm? I would, for such enlightenment, readily\nhave crawled on the ground to the ends of the earth. Thank God, we now\nhave the blessed treasure abundantly, the great and precious light,\nthe gracious Word. What is the sum of all suffering and misfortune\ncompared to this light?\n\n11. Secondly, through Christ's resurrection we have a good, joyous\nconscience, one able to withstand every form of sin and temptation and\nto maintain a sure hope of eternal life. The great, glorious gifts and\nblessings of the resurrection are these: the Gospel, Holy Baptism, the\npower of the Holy Spirit, and comfort in all adversity. What is a\nslight injury or the loss of some temporal blessing in comparison with\nthese? What reason has any man to murmur and to rage when such divine\nblessings are his, even here in this life, blessings which none can\ntake away or abridge?\n\nIf, then, you are called to renounce money, possessions, honor and\nmen's favor, remember you have a treasure more precious than all the\nhonors and all the possessions of the world. Again, when you see one\nliving in great splendor, in pleasure and presumption, following his\nown inclinations, think thus: \"What has he? A wretched portion, a\nbeggarly morsel. In contrast, I have divine grace enabling me to know\nGod's will and the work he would have me do, and all in heaven and on\nearth is mine.\" Look, says James, upon the treasure already obtained\nfrom the Father of lights--his great and glorious gifts.\n\n12. But these do not represent the consummation of resurrection\nblessings. We must yet await the real, the perfect, gifts. Our earthly\ncondition does not admit of perfection; hence we cannot truly\nperceive, cannot comprehend, our treasure. We are but \"a kind of\nfirst-fruits of his creatures.\" God has only commenced to work in us,\nbut he will not leave us in that state. If we continue in faith, not\nallowing ourselves to be turned away through wrath and impatience, God\nwill bring us to the real, eternal blessings, called \"perfect gifts,\"\nthe possession of which excludes error, stumbling, anger, and any sin\nwhatever.\n\n\nTHE FUTURE LIFE OF BLESSEDNESS.\n\n13. That future existence, James goes on to say, will be one wherein\nis \"no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning\"--no\nalternating of light and darkness. In other words, there will not be\nthe variation and instability characteristic of this world, even of\nthe Christian life--today joyous, tomorrow sad; now standing but soon\ntottering. It is in the Christian life just as in the physical world:\nwe find variableness and continual change--light is succeeded by\ndarkness, day by night, cold by heat; here are mountains, there\nvalleys; today we are well, tomorrow ill; and so it goes. But all this\nchange shall be abolished. The present life shall be succeeded by one\nwherein is no variation, but a permanence and eternity of blessing. We\nshall unceasingly behold God in his majesty where dwells no darkness,\nno death, plague nor infirmity, but pure light, joy and happiness.\nLook to this future life! call it to mind, when assailed by the world\nand enticed to anger or evil lust. Remember the great blessings of\nheaven assuredly promised you, and whereof Christ your Head has\nalready taken possession, that he may make sure your entrance into the\nsame blessings. These should be to you far more precious and desirable\nthan the things of earth, which all men must leave behind.\n\n14. To these things the Christian should direct his thoughts and\nefforts, that he may learn to prize his blessings, to recognize his\ntreasures as great and glorious, and to thank God for the beginnings\nof his grace and blessing bestowed here below. Let us ever look and\nturn toward true knowledge and understanding, toward righteousness and\nlife; so shall we attain that perfection wherein we are freed from the\npresent imperfect, unstable existence, the yoke we now bear upon our\nnecks and which continually weighs upon us and renders us liable to\nfall from the Gospel.\n\nImpulse and aid for such pursuit we are to receive from the holy cross\nand persecution, as well as from the example of the world. With what\nease the poor, wretched people are wrested from the Word and from\nfaith, wherein they might enjoy unspeakable grace and blessings, by\nthe sordid, beggarly pleasures to be sought for here!\n\n15. Therefore, James says: \"Why trouble yourselves about earthly\nblessings, which though God-given are transitory? Why not much rather\nrejoice in the comforting prospect of the great heavenly blessings\nalready abundantly yours and which cannot be taken from you?\" And by\nway of explanation he says further: \"Of his own will he brought us\nforth by the word of truth.\"\n\n\nGOD'S CHILDREN BEGOTTEN BY THE WORD.\n\n16. The first, and in fact the best, thing Christ has sent us from on\nhigh is sonship. He brought us forth, made us his children, or heirs.\nWe are truly called children born of God. But how are we born? Through\n\"the Word of truth,\" or the true Word. By this statement James makes a\nwide thrust at all factions and sects. For they also have a word and\nboast much of their doctrine, but theirs is not the Word of truth\nwhereby men are made children of God. They teach naught, and know\nnaught, about how we are to be born God's children through faith. They\nprate much about the works done by us in the state derived from Adam.\n\nBut we have a Word whereby, as we are assured, God makes us his\nbeloved children and justifies us--if we believe in that Word. He\njustifies us not through works or laws. The Christian must derive his\nsonship from his birth. All whittling and patching is to no purpose.\nThe disciples of Moses, and all work-mongers, would effect it by\ncommandments, extorting a work here and a work there, effecting\nnothing. New beings are needed, children of God by birth, as John 1,\n12 says.\n\n17. The children of God, John tells us, are they who believe on the\nname of Christ; that is, who sincerely cling to the Word. John extols\nthe Word as the great, the mighty, gift. They are children who cleave\nto the message that through Christ God forgives their sins and\nreceives them into his favor; who adhere to this promise in all\ntemptations, afflictions and troubles. The Word here on earth is the\njewel which secures sonship. Now, since God has so greatly blessed you\nas to make you his own begotten children, shall he not also give you\nevery other good?\n\n18. Whence, then, do you derive sonship? Not from your own will, not\nfrom your own powers or efforts. Were it so, I and other monks surely\nshould have obtained it, independently of the Word; it would have been\nours through the numerous works we performed in our monastic life. It\nis secured, James says, \"of his will.\" For it never entered into the\nthought of any man that so should we be made children of God. The idea\ndid not grow in our gardens; it did not spring up in our wells. But it\ncame down from above, \"from the Father of lights,\" by Word and Spirit\nrevealed to us and given into our hearts through the agency of his\napostles and their successors, by whom the Word has been transmitted\nto us. Hence we did not secure it through our efforts or merits. Of\nhis Fatherly will and good pleasure was it conferred upon us; of pure\ngrace and mercy he gave it.\n\n\nCHRISTIANS THE FIRST-FRUITS.\n\n19. James says, \"That we should be a kind of first-fruits of his\ncreatures\"; that is, the newly-begun creature, or work, of God. By\nthis phrase the apostle distinguishes the creatures of God from the\ncreatures of the world, or creatures of men. Likewise does Peter when\nhe says (1 Pet 2, 13), \"Be subject to every ordinance [or creature] of\nman\"; that is, to everything commanded, ordained, instituted, made, by\nmen. For instance, a prince constitutes men tax-gatherers, squires,\nsecretaries, or anything he desires, within the limits of his power.\n\nBut new creatures are found with God. They are styled \"creatures of\nGod\" because he has created them as his own work, independently of\nhuman effort or human power. And so the Christian is called a \"new\ncreature of God,\" a creature God himself has made, aside from all\nother creatures and higher than they. At the same time, such creation\nof God is only in its initial stage. He still daily operates upon it\nuntil it becomes perfect, a wholly divine creature, as the very sun in\nclearness and purity, without sin and imperfection, all aglow with\nlove divine.\n\n20. Take into careful consideration these facts. Keep before you the\ngreat blessing, honor and glory God has conferred upon you in making\nyou heirs of the life to come, the life wherein shall be no\nimperfection nor variation, the life which shall be an existence in\ndivine purity and protection like God's own. Do not, then, by any\nmeans allow yourselves to be provoked to anger by the wretched,\nsordid, beggar's wallet which the world craves. Rather, much rather,\nrejoice in the divine blessings, and thank God for having made you\nworthy of them. Whether sweet or bitter--in comparison with these let\neverything else be spurned. \"For I reckon that the sufferings of this\npresent time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall\nbe revealed to us-ward\"--to us the children of God--says Paul in\nRomans 8, 18.\n\n\nIMPATIENT ANGER FORBIDDEN.\n\n21. So James draws the conclusion: \"Let every man be swift to hear,\nslow to speak, slow to wrath.\" In other words, in receiving counsel or\ncomfort be swift; but do not permit yourselves readily to criticise,\ncurse, or upbraid God or men. James does not mean to prohibit reproof,\ncensure, indignation and correction where the command of God or\nnecessity requires; but he forbids rashness or hastiness on our part,\ndespite our provocation in the premises. When we are provoked we\nshould first hear what the Word of God says and be advised thereby. It\nis the right and true counsel, and we should ever permit ourselves to\nbe led by it; according to its teaching should all our decisions,\nreproofs and censures be regulated. In immediate connection, James\nbids us receive the Word with meekness; we are not to be incensed when\ncensured by its authority, or to become impatient and murmur when we\nhave to suffer something because of it.\n\nThe reason James assigns for restraining our anger is: \"For the wrath\nof man worketh not the righteousness of God.\" This is a truth admitted\neven by the heathen--\"Ira furor brevis est,\" etc.--and verified by\nexperience. Therefore, upon authority of Psalm 4, 4, when you feel\nyour wrath rising, sin not, but go to your chamber and commune with\nyourself. Let not wrath take you by surprise and cause you to yield to\nit. When slander and reproach is heaped upon you, or curses given, do\nnot rashly allow yourself to be immediately inflamed with anger.\nRather, take heed to overcome the provocation and not to respond to\nit.\n\n22. The apostle's first point, then, is: Christians should guard\nagainst yielding to wrath and impatience, and should remember the\ngreat blessings they enjoy--gifts wherewith all the advantages and\nfavors of the world are unworthy of comparison.\n\n23. Similarly, James says regarding the other point: \"Wherefore\nputting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness,\" etc. By\n\"filthiness\" he means the impure life of the world--indulgence,\nvoluptuousness and knavery of every sort. These things, he would say,\nshould be far from you Christians who enjoy blessings so great and\nglorious. Could you rightly recognize and appreciate these blessings,\nyou would regard all worldly pursuits and pleasures mere filth in\ncomparison. Nor is this overdrawn; they are such when contrasted with\nthe good and perfect heavenly gifts and treasures.\n\n24. \"Receive with meekness the implanted word.\" You have the Word,\nJames says, a Word which is yours not by your own fancy or effort, but\nwhich God, by grace, gave to you--implanted in you. It has free\ncourse--is preached, read and sung among you. (By the grace of God, it\nis free among us, too.) In this respect, God be praised, there is no\nlack. It is of the utmost importance, however, to receive it, to make\nprofitable use of it; to handle it with meekness that we may hold it\nfast and not allow it to be effaced by anger under persecution or by\nthe allurements of worldly lusts. Christ says (Lk 21, 19), \"In your\npatience possess ye your souls [ye shall win your souls].\"\n\n\nMEEKNESS AND PATIENCE ENJOINED.\n\nMeekness and patience are necessary to enable us to triumph over the\ndevil and the world. Without them we shall not be able to hold fast\nthe Word in our strife against those evil forces. We must fight and\ncontend against sin, but if we essay to cool our wrath by grasping the\ndevil and his followers by the hair and wreaking vengeance upon them,\nwe will accomplish nothing and may thereby lose our treasure, the\nbeloved Word. Therefore, lay hold of the Word planted or engrafted\nwithin you, that you may be able to retain it and have it bring forth\nits fruit in yourself.\n\n\nTHE POWER OF THE WORD.\n\n25. It is a Word, says James in conclusion, \"which is able to save\nyour souls.\" What more could be desired? You have the Word, the\npromise of all divine blessings and gifts. It is able to save you if\nyou but steadfastly cleave to it. Why, then, need you take any account\nof the world, and anything it may do, whether good or evil? What\ninjury can the world render, what help can it offer, so long as you\nhold the treasure of the Word? Observe that the apostle ascribes to\nthe spoken Word, the preached Gospel, the power to save souls.\nSimilarly, Paul commends it to the Romans (ch. 1, 16), in almost the\nsame words, as \"the power of God unto salvation to every one that\nbelieveth.\"\n\n26. Now, the Word is implanted within you in a way to give you the\ncertain comfort and sure hope of your salvation. Be careful, then, not\nto permit yourselves to be wrested from it by the wrath or the filth\nof the world. Take heed to accept in purity and to maintain with\npatience the Word so graciously and richly given you by God without\neffort or merit on your part. Those who are without the Word, and yet\nendeavor to attain heaven, what efforts have they made in the past!\nwhat efforts are they making today! They might torment themselves to\ndeath; they might institute and celebrate every possible service--they\nwould accomplish nothing. Is it not better to cling to the Word and\nmaintain this treasure whereby you attain salvation and divine sonship\nthan to permit the world to wrest you from it through persecution,\npassion or moral filth the source of its own ruin and perdition?\n\n\n\n\n_Fifth Sunday After Easter_\n\nText: First Corinthians 15, 51-58.\n\n51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall\nall be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the\nlast trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised\nincorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must\nput on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But\nwhen this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal\nshall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that\nis written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy\nvictory? O death, where is thy sting? 56 The sting of death is sin;\nand the power of sin is the law: 57 but thanks be to God, who giveth\nus the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Wherefore, my beloved\nbrethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of\nthe Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the\nLord.\n\n\nYou will find this lesson explained in the special sermons on the same\nchapter.\n\n\n\n\n_Ascension Day_\n\nText: Acts 1, 1-11.\n\n1 The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus\nbegan both to do and to teach, 2 until the day in which he was\nreceived up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy\nSpirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 to whom he also showed\nhimself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by\nthe space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the\nkingdom of God: 4 and being assembled together with them, he charged\nthem not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the\nFather, which, said he, ye heard from me: 5 for John indeed baptized\nwith water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days\nhence.\n\n6 They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying,\nLord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he\nsaid unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the\nFather hath set within his own authority. 8 But ye shall receive\npower, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my\nwitnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto\nthe uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had said these things,\nas they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of\ntheir sight. 10 And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as\nhe went, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 who also\nsaid, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus,\nwho was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner\nas ye beheld him going into heaven.\n\n\nThis epistle text is simply a narrative concerning the visible\nascension of Christ into heaven. It is in itself clear. Whatever it\nmay be necessary to say relative to the article of Christ's ascension,\nwe shall leave for the sermons on the Festivals of Christ as they\noccur at intervals during the year, at which times it is fitting to\nspeak particularly of each article concerning Christ.\n\n\n\n\n_Sunday After Ascension Day_\n\nText: First Peter 4, 7-11.[1]\n\n7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind,\nand be sober unto prayer: 8 above all things being fervent in your\nlove among yourselves: for love covereth a multitude of sins: 9 using\nhospitality one to another without murmuring: 10 according as each\nhath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good\nstewards of the manifold grace of God; 11 if any man speaketh,\nspeaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth,\nministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things\nGod may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the\ndominion for ever and ever. Amen.\n\n[Footnote 1: This sermon appeared as early as 1525 in pamphlet form.]\n\n\nEXHORTATION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING.\n\n1. This text, too, is an admonition to Christian living, a discourse\nconcerning the fruits of a good tree, a figure applied to the\nChristian; in other words, concerning the fruits of the one who,\nthrough faith, has obtained redemption from sin and death and has a\nplace in the kingdom of grace and of eternal life. Such a one is\nexhorted to live henceforth in a manner indicative of the fact that he\nhas apprehended the treasure of salvation and is become a new man.\n\n\nEXHORTATION TO SOBERNESS.\n\n2. Certain good works are also introduced, and in the first part of\nour text Peter makes an especially emphatic continuation of the\nadmonition in the foregoing part of the chapter, warning Christians to\nabstain from gross vices--carnal lusts--which in the world lead to\nobscenity, and from the wild, disorderly, swinish lives of the heathen\nworld, lives of gormandizing, guzzling and drunkenness. Peter\nadmonishes Christians to endeavor to be \"sober unto prayer.\" The\nepistle was written chiefly to the Greeks, the masses of which people\nwere very social, and inclined to carouse and gormandize. And we\nGermans are accused of the same excess; not without some reason\neither.\n\n3. With intent to turn Christians from these vices unto temperance and\nsobriety, Peter reminds them, as all the apostles are wont to do, of\nthe obligations particularly incident to the Christian calling, to the\nonly true, divine service, the things for the sake of which they have\nbecome Christians and which distinguish them from the remainder of the\nworld. His meaning is: It is not for Christians to lead lives\nheathenish, profligate and riotous; to indulge in gormandizing,\nguzzling, carousing and demoralizing of themselves. They have\nsomething nobler to do. First, in that they are to become different\nbeings, and be occupied with the Word of God wherefrom they derive\ntheir new birth and whereby they preserve it. Second, being born anew,\nthey have enemies to fight; so long as they live on earth, they must\ncombat the devil, also their own flesh, which is corrupted by the\ndevil until it is full of evil lusts. Having, then, to assume the\nobligations of this calling and contest, they must not give way to\ndrowsy indolence; much less may they become foolish, drunken sots,\nindifferent to all issues and heedless of their obligations. Rather,\nthey have need to be watchful and sober, ever ready with the Word of\nGod and with prayer.\n\n4. These are the two kinds of armor, two weapons of defense, whereby\nthe devil is vanquished and of which he is afraid: First, diligence in\nhearing, learning and practicing the Word of God, that instruction,\ncomfort and strength may be received; second, sincere petitioning upon\nthe authority of that Word, a crying and calling to God for help when\ntemptations and conflicts arise. One or the other of these weapons of\ndefense must continually be in active exercise, effecting perpetual\nintercourse between God and man--either God speaking to us while we\nquietly listen, or God hearing our utterances to him and our petitions\nconcerning our needs.\n\nWhichever the weapon we wield, it is unendurable to the devil; he\ncannot abide it. Christians need both equipments, that their hearts\nmay ever turn to God, cleave to his Word, and continually, with\nceaseless longing, pray a perpetual Lord's Prayer. Truly, the\nChristian should learn from the temptations and straits wherewith the\ndevil, the world and the flesh constantly oppress him, to be ever on\nhis guard, watching for the enemy's point of attack; for the enemy\nsleeps not nor rests a single moment.\n\n5. Here is applicable Peter's injunction for the Christian to keep\nwithin the bounds of physical temperance and sobriety; not to overload\nthe body and injure it by excessive eating and drinking: so as to be\nwatchful, intelligent, and in a mood, to pray. He who is not careful\nto discharge the obligations of his office or station with temperance\nand sobriety, but is daily in a sottish condition, is incapable of\npraying or performing any other Christian duty; he is unfit for any\nservice.\n\n6. Right here a special admonitory sermon might well be preached to us\ndissolute Germans, in warning for our excesses and drunkenness. But\nwhere would be forthcoming a sermon forcible enough to restrain the\nshameful sottishness and the drink devil among us? The evil of\noverindulgence has, alas, swept in upon us like a torrent,\noverwhelming as a flood all classes. It daily spreads further and\nfurther throughout the nation, embracing every station from the lowest\nto the highest. All preaching, all admonition, seem far too weak--not\nvain and impotent, but despised and scorned--to meet the emergency.\nBut the apostles, and even Christ himself, declared that in the end of\nthe world such a state of affairs should obtain. For that very reason\ndid Christ (Lk 21, 34) admonish Christians to take heed to themselves\nlest at any time their hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and\ndrunkenness and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon them\nunawares.\n\n7. Now, God having in his infinite goodness so richly shed upon us\nGermans in these latter times the Gospel light, we ought, in honor and\ngratitude to him, to try to reform ourselves in the matter of\nintemperance. We should fear lest through this evil besides committing\nother sins we draw upon us the wrath and punishment of God. For naught\nelse can result from the pernicious life of intemperance but false\nsecurity, and contempt of God. Individuals continually dead in\ndrunkenness, buried in excesses, living like swine, cannot fear God,\ncannot be occupied with divine things.\n\n8. Had we no other incentive to abandon our intemperate living, the\nscandalous reputation we have among the nations ought to move us to\nreform. Other countries, particularly those bordering on Germany,\nregard us with extreme contempt, calling us drunken Germans. For they\nhave virtue enough to abstain from excessive drinking. The Turks are\nreal monks and saints in this respect; so far are they from the evil\nof intemperance that in obedience to the teaching of their Mohammed\nthey prohibit the drinking of wine or any other intoxicant, and punish\nthe offense as the greatest evil in their midst. For this very reason\nare they better soldiers than our drunken masses. They are always\nawake and vigilant, alert concerning their own interests, planning\nattacks upon us and continually extending their dominion, while we lie\nsleeping in our excesses as if we could withstand the Turks by\ndrunkenness and carousing.\n\n9. But what is the use of multiplying words on the subject when the\nevil prevails to such extent as to be common custom in the land? No\nlonger confined to the rude, illiterate rabble, to country villages\nand public taverns, it has penetrated all cities and entered nearly\nevery house, being particularly prevalent among the nobility--in the\ncourts of princes. I recall that when I was young drunkenness was\nregarded an inexpressibly shameful thing among the peerage, and that\nthe dear lords and princes restrained it with serious prohibitions and\npunishments. But now it is more alarmingly prevalent among them than\namong farmers. It is generally the case that when the great and good\nbegin to go down, they sink to a lower level than others. Yes,\nintemperance has attained such prevalence that even princes and lords\nhave learned the habit from their young noblemen and are no longer\nashamed of it. Rather, they call it honorable, making it a civil\nvirtue befitting princes and noblemen. Whosoever will not consent to\nbe a drunken sot with them, must be discountenanced; while the knights\nwho stand for beer and wine obtain high honors, and great favors and\nprivileges, on account of their drinking. They desire fame in this\nrespect, as if they had secured their nobility, their shield and\nhelmet, by the very fact that they exceed others in the shamelessness\nof their tippling.\n\n10. Yes, and have we not further reason for checking the evil when\neven the young practice it without fear or shame? They learn it from\nthe aged, and unrestrained they disgracefully and wantonly injure\nthemselves in the very bloom of life, destroying themselves as corn is\ncut down by hail and tempest. The majority of the finest, most\npromising young people, particularly the nobility, they of court\ncircles, ruin their health, body and life, before arriving at\nmaturity. How can it be otherwise when they who should restrain and\npunish commit the same sins themselves?\n\n11. Hence Germany has always been a wretched country, chastised and\nplagued by the drink devil, and completely immersed in this vice,\nuntil the bodies and lives of her people, as well as their property\nand honor, are shamefully consumed and only a sordid existence\nremains. He who would paint the conditions must portray something\nswinish. Indeed, but a small proportion of the inhabitants of Germany\nare undebased by this evil. These are children, girls and women. Some\nsense of propriety in the matter remains to them, though occasionally\nwe find even under the veil some intemperance; however, it is with\nrestraint. Enough modesty remains to inspire the universal sentiment\nthat so disgraceful a thing is it for a woman to be drunk, such a one\ndeserves to be trampled upon in the streets.\n\n12. In the light of their example, let us men learn to see our own\nshame and to blush for it. While noting how disgraceful is drunkenness\nfor women, let us remember it is much more so for ourselves. We ought\nto be saner and more virtuous; for, according to Peter, the woman is\nthe weaker vessel. Because of the weakness of women, we ought to have\nmore patience with them. Man being endowed with a broader mind,\nstronger faculties and firmer nature, he should be the saner being,\nthe farther removed from the brute. It stands to reason that it is a\nmuch greater disgrace for him to indulge in the vice of drunkenness.\nIn proportion to the nobility of his creation and the exalted nature\nwherewith God has endowed him, should be the disgrace of such\nunreasoning, brutish conduct on his part.\n\n13. What can be said for us? So complete is the perversion of all\nmanly virtue and honor in our conduct in this respect that it cannot\nbe surpassed by any other possible degradation of manhood. There\nremains to us but an atom of good reputation, and that is to be found\namong the women. The occasional instance of drunkenness among them but\nemphasizes our own disgrace. All countries look upon us with scorn and\ncontempt, regarding us as shameful and sordid creatures, day and night\nbent upon making ourselves surfeited and stupid, possessing neither\nreason nor intelligence.\n\nThe evil would be more tolerable, more excusable, if drinking and\ncarousing had any limit, if intoxication were but an occasional\nthing--the case of a person inadvertently taking one drink too much,\nor of taking a stimulant when tired from excessive labor and worry. We\nexcuse it in women who may chance to drink a little more at wedding\nparties than they are accustomed to at home. But this excessive\nguzzling kept up unceasingly day and night, emitting only to be filled\nagain, is wholly inconsistent with the character of a prince, a\nnobleman, a citizen, yes, of a human being, not to mention the life of\na Christian; it is really more in keeping with the nature and work of\nswine.\n\n14. Now, when God and all mankind permit you to eat and to drink, to\nenjoy good things, not merely what is necessary for actual\nsubsistence, but in a measure calculated to afford gratification and\npleasure, and you are yet not satisfied with that privilege--when such\nis the case, your sordid and gluttonous tendencies are worthy one born\nsolely to consume beer and wine. But such are the excesses now to be\nseen in the courts of princes--the banqueting and the drinking--that\none would think they meant to devour the resources of the country in a\nsingle hour. Lords, princes, noblemen--the entire country, in\nfact--are ruined, reduced to beggary, for the particular reason that\nGod's gifts are so inhumanly wasted and destroyed.\n\n15. As I said before, the evil of drunkenness has, alas, gained such\nascendency as to be past restraint unless the Word of God may exert\nsome controlling influence among the few, the individuals who are\nstill human and who would be Christians. The masses will remain as\nthey are, particularly as the civil government makes no effort to\nrestrain the evil. It is my opinion that if God does not sometime\ncheck the vice by a special judgment--and until he does it will never\nbe punished and restrained--even women and children will become\ninebriate, and when the last day arrives no Christian will be found\nbut all souls will descend drunken into the abyss of hell.\n\n16. Let all who desire to be Christians know that it is incumbent upon\nthem to manifest the virtue of temperance; that drunken sots have no\nplace among Christians, and cannot be saved until they amend their\nways, until they reform from their evil habits. Concerning them Paul\nsays plainly (Gal 5, 19-21): \"Now the works of the flesh are manifest,\nwhich are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,\nsorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions,\nparties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I\nforewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such\nthings shall not inherit the kingdom of God.\"\n\nHere you see that he who lies day and night in drunkenness has no more\ninheritance in the kingdom of God than the whoremonger, adulterer, and\nsuch like. Know then, just as idolatry, adultery and so on, are sins\nexcluding you from heaven, so too, drunkenness is a sin which bars you\nfrom the blessings of baptism, and from remission of sins, faith in\nChrist and your personal salvation. Hence, if you would be a Christian\nand saved, you must be careful to lead a sober and temperate life. But\nif you disregard this admonition and yet hope to be saved--well, then\ncontinue to be an infidel and a brute so long as God permits.\n\n17. Were you a Christian, even if you could permit yourself to be\nunmoved by the physical injury wherein, by drunkenness, you plunge\nyourself, not only wasting your money and property, but injuring your\nhealth and shortening your life; and if you could permit yourself to\nbe unmoved by the stigma justly recognized by men and angels as\nattaching to you, a filthy sot--even then you ought to be moved by\nGod's command, by the peril of incurring eternal damnation--of losing\nGod's grace and eternal salvation--to refrain from such unchristian\nconduct. O God, how shameless and ungrateful we are, we so highly\nblessed of God in having his Word and in being liberated from the\ntyranny of the Pope, who desired our sweat and blood and tortured our\nconsciences with his laws--how ungrateful we are in the face of these\nthings not to amend our lives in some measure in honor to the Gospel,\nand in praise and gratitude to God!\n\n18. Where peradventure there are still pious parents or godfearing\nChristian rulers, they ought, for the sake of lessening the evil of\nintemperance, to restrain their children and domestics with serious\nchastisements. Pastors and preachers are under obligation to admonish\nthe people frequently and faithfully, holding up to them God's\ndispleasure and wrath and the injuries to soul, body and property\nresultant from this evil, to the intent that at least some might be\nmoved and profited. And they who wantonly and openly persist in the\nvice, being not disposed to amend their conduct but at the same time\nboast of the Gospel, should not be allowed to participate in the\nsacrament of the Lord's Supper nor to act as sponsors at baptism.\nPreachers and pastors should hold such as openly antichristian, and\nshould make a distinction against them the same as with manifest\nadulterers, extortioners and idolaters. Such is Paul's command (1 Cor\n5, 11): \"I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is\nnamed a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a\nreviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to\neat.\"\n\n\nNECESSITY FOR PRAYER.\n\n19. But we will not now remark further upon this subject. To return to\nPeter: He admonishes us to be sober so that we may give ourselves to\nprayer, as becometh those who are Christians and have turned from the\nvile, heathenish conduct of the world. Just preceding our text, in\nverse 3, he says: \"For the time past may suffice to have wrought the\ndesire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts,\nwinebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries.\" He\nadmonishes us as being now called and ordained to contend against the\ndevil by faith and prayer. Later on (ch. 5, 8) he brings in the same\nwarning in clearer phrase, exhorting Christians to be sober and\nwatchful. Do you ask, What is the great necessity therefor? he says:\n\"Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion [in the midst of a flock\nof sheep], walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.\"\n\nPeter's meaning is this: Since you are a people called to contend with\nthis powerful spirit which is more intent on seizing your souls than\nis the wolf on seizing the sheep, it is essential you should take\nthought how to withstand him. Resistance is effected only through\nfaith and prayer. But soberness and vigilance are necessary to enable\none to pray. With gormandizers and drunkards, reason is dethroned and\nthey are rendered incapable of respecting anything, or of performing\nany good work. Therefore, the ability to pray and call upon God has\nbeen taken from them and the devil overcomes and devours them at his\nwill.\n\n20. The diligence in prayer which characterized Christians of the\nprimitive Church, even while undergoing great persecution, is apparent\nto us. They were more than willing to assemble daily for prayer\ntogether, not only morning and evening, but also at certain other\nappointed hours; and frequently they watched and prayed entire nights.\nSome of them, according to St. Augustine, carried their vigils to such\nextent as at times to abstain from food for four days. True, this was\ngoing to somewhat of an extreme, particularly when later the practice\ncame to be an example and a commandment. Yet their habit of perfect\nsobriety morning, evening and at all times is commendable. With the\ncessation of this practice in the congregations, there succeeded the\nwretched order of monks, who pretend to do the praying for others.\nThey, it is true, observed the same appointed hours, the same seasons\nof prayer, in their matins, vespers, and so on, but they did not\nreally pray; they merely kept up an incessant sound, muttering and\nhowling.\n\nWe still retain from the ancient custom the observance of morning and\nevening prayers in schools for children. But the same practice should\nobtain in every Christian family. Every father is under obligation to\ntrain up his children to pray at least at the beginning and the close\nof day, commending to God every exigency of this earthly life, that\nGod's wrath may be averted, and deserved punishment withheld.\n\n21. Under such conditions, we would be properly instructed and not\nhave to be subjected to intolerable oppression and to prohibitions\nrelative to eating, drinking and dressing, being guided by nature's\ndemands and our own honor and pleasure. Yet we would not be inordinate\nand brutish in these things nor shamefully dethrone reason.\nDrunkenness is a sin and a shame to any man, and would be even were\nthere neither God nor commandment; much less can it be tolerated among\nChristians. There is more virtue in this respect among the very\nheathen and Turks. They put us to shame, while it is our place to set\nan example shaming them. Our characters ought to be so noble as to\ngive no chance for offense at our conduct, that the name of God be not\ndefamed but glorified, as Peter admonishes in the conclusion of this\nepistle lesson.\n\n\nTEMPERANCE IN ALL THINGS.\n\n22. What we have said in regard to sobriety, we must also say relative\nto that other virtue--temperance,[2] to which Peter gives first place.\nThey are mutually related, but temperance respects not only eating and\ndrinking, but is opposed to all immoderation in outward life--in\nclothing, ornament, and so on; to whatever is superfluous, or\nexcessive; to any extravagant attempt to be greater and better than\nothers. To such extent has immoderation gained the upper hand in the\nworld, there is nowhere any limit to expense in the way of household\ndemands, dress, wedding parties and banquets, in the way of\narchitecture, and so on, whereby citizens, rulers and the country\nitself are impoverished, because no individual longer keeps within\nproper bounds. Almost invariably the farmer aspires to equal the\nnobleman, while the nobleman would excel the prince. As with sobriety,\nso with the virtue of temperance--there is scarce to be found an\nexample of it in our midst, so completely has self-control, sincerity\nand discipline given way.\n\n[Footnote 2: The German text uses the two words \"maszig\" and\n\"nichtern,\" which may be rendered \"temperate\" and \"sober.\"]\n\n23. At the same time the apostle does not forbid appropriate and\nrespectable recognition of the things of physical well-being, in\nkeeping with each individual's station in life, even including things\nministering pleasure and joy. For Peter would not have filthy, rusty,\ngreasy monks nor sour-faced saints, with the hypocrisy and show of\ntheir simulated austere and peculiar lives, wherein they honor not\ntheir bodies, as Paul says (Col 2, 23), but are ever ready to judge\nand condemn other people--the maiden, for instance, who chances to\njoin in a dance or wears a red dress. If you are a Christian in other\nrespects, God will easily allow you to dress and to adorn yourself,\nand to live with comfort, even to enjoy honor and considerable\npleasure, so long as you keep within proper bounds; you should,\nhowever, not go beyond the limits of temperance and moderation. In\nother words, do not overreach propriety and self-restraint, regardless\nof real pleasure, in the endeavor to show off in excessive and\nunprofitable squandering. Such conduct results in confusion and\ntrouble--chastisement sent of God; in taxes, extortion, robbing and\nstealing, until finally lords and subjects are ruined together.\n\n\"Above all things being fervent in your love [have fervent charity]\namong yourselves; for love [charity] covereth a multitude of sins.\"\n\n24. In the foregoing part of the text, Peter admonishes Christians\nconcerning their obligations to themselves; here he tells what is to\nbe their conduct toward others. He embraces all the good works named\nin the second table of the commandments as obligations we owe to our\nneighbor, in the little but forcible and comprehensive\nphrase--\"fervent in your love.\" This virtue, too, is incumbent on the\nChristian who must contend against the devil and pray. For prayer is\nhindered where love and harmony are displaced by wrath and ill-will.\nThe Lord's Prayer teaches: \"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our\ndebtors.\"\n\nHow can they pray one for another who feel no interest in a neighbor's\nwants, who rather are enemies, entertaining no good will toward one\nanother? Where hearts are inflamed with hatred toward men, prayer has\nceased; it is extinguished. Hence, antichristians and all popedom,\nhowever holy their appearance, cannot pray while enemies to the Word\nof God and persecutors of Christians. He who repeats the Lord's Prayer\nwhile indulging wrath, envy and hatred, censures his own lips; he\ncondemns his own prayer when he seeks forgiveness from God but does\nnot think of forgiving his neighbor.\n\n25. With Christians there must be, not merely natural human affection\nsuch as exists even among heathen, but ardent, fervent love; not the\nmere appearance of love, the smoke--false, hypocritical love, as Paul\ncalls it (Rom 12, 9)--but real fervor and fire, which consent not to\nbe easily extinguished, but which endure like the love between husband\nand wife, or the love of parents for children. True conjugal and\nparental love is not easily quenched, even though the object of its\naffection be weak, diseased or dangerously ill. Rather the greater the\nneed and the danger of one individual, the more is the heart of the\nother moved and the brighter does love burn.\n\n26. Such sincere love, as the apostle elsewhere styles it, must exist\namong Christians who are all children of one Father in heaven and\nbrothers and sisters. Indeed, they are under obligation to love even\ntheir enemies--who are human beings of the same flesh and blood--and\nto wish no one evil but rather to serve all wherever possible. This\nlove is the beautiful red robe for the adornment of Christians,\nsupplementing the pure white garment of faith received in baptism. It\nis to be worn in obedience to the example of Christ, who for us, even\nwhile we were enemies, wore the same red garment of love when he was\nsprinkled with his own blood. It was then he burned with the intense\nfire of ineffable and most exalted love.\n\n27. The apostles were moved to admonitions of this character because\nthey clearly perceived the great weakness and imperfection bound to\nexist among Christians even in their outward lives. They knew that no\none could, in his everyday life among men, live so discreetly as not\nat some time or other, by word, gesture or act, to give offense to\nsomeone, moving him to anger. Such perfection of life is found in no\nfamily, not even with husband and wife. The case is the same as in the\nhuman body: one member frequently comes in conflict with another; a\nman may inadvertently bite his tongue or scratch his face. He who\nwould be a saint so stern and selfish as to endure no evil words or\nacts, and to excuse no imperfections, is unfit to dwell among men. He\nknows nothing of Christian love, and can neither believe nor put into\npractice the article of the Creed concerning the forgiveness of sins.\n\n28. So the Christian's fire of love must be characterized, not by a\ndull, cold red, but by a warm scarlet--according to the Scriptures (Ex\n26, 1), \"Coccum bis tinctam\" (rose-red). This love retains its fire\nand is really true, having which the Christian is not easily\ndisheartened and overcome by wrath, impatience and revenge, but to a\ncertain extent is able to endure and tolerate attacks upon himself\ncalculated to distress. It manifests itself more strongly in suffering\nand enduring than in action.\n\n29. Therefore, Peter extols such love, declaring it to be a virtue\npotent not only to bear but to cover \"a multitude of sins.\" This\nstatement he introduces from the Proverbs of Solomon (ch. 10, 12). The\nPapists, however, pervert its meaning, explaining it in a way at\nvariance with the doctrine of faith; they make of love to one's\nneighbor a work or virtue having merit with God. It is their desire to\ndraw the conclusion that for the sake of our love our sins are\ncovered; that is, forgiven and exterminated. But we shall not notice\nthe dolts. It is clear enough from the text that reference is to\nhatred and love received from men; our own sins are not intended here,\nbut the transgressions of others. To cover our sins in the sight of\nGod, yet other love is requisite--the love of the Son of God, who\nalone is the bearer of sins in God's sight, and who, as John the\nBaptist says, takes away, bearing them upon his own shoulders, the\nsins of the whole world, including our own. And the example of his\nlove teaches that we, too, should in love cheerfully bear and freely\nforgive the sins of others against us.\n\n30. Solomon contrasts the two opposing principles of envious hatred\nand love, and shows the effect of each. \"Hatred,\" he says, \"stirreth\nup strifes; but love covereth all transgressions.\" Where hatred and\nenmity dwell in the heart, they must inevitably stir up strife and\nbring misfortune. Animosity cannot restrain itself. It either bursts\nout in pernicious language clandestinely uttered against the object of\nenmity, or it openly demeans itself in a manner indicating its ill\nwill. Hence follow reveling, cursing, quarreling and fighting, and,\nwhen wholly unrestrained, cruelty and murder.\n\nThese things are due to the fact that the eyes of Younker Hate are so\nblinded by scorn and venom that he can see only evil in every man with\nwhom he comes in contact; and when he actually finds it he will not\nlet it alone, but stirs it, roots and frets in it, as the hog roots\nwith defiled snout in offensive filth. \"You must have viewed your\nneighbor from behind,\" we say when one can speak and think only the\nworst of a neighbor though he may have many good traits. Hate really\ndesires only that everyone be an enemy to his neighbor and speak the\nworst about him, and if he hears aught in his neighbor's favor, he\nputs upon it the very worst construction, with the result that the\nother party is embittered and in turn comes to hate, curse and revile.\nThus the fire burns until only discord and mischief can obtain.\n\n31. But on the other hand, as Solomon tells us, Love is a virtue pure\nand precious. It neither utters nor thinks any evil of its neighbor.\nRather, it covers sin; not one sin, nor two, but \"a multitude of\nsins\"--great masses of them, forests and seas of sin, as it were. That\nis, love has no desire to reflect itself in a neighbor's sins and\nmaliciously rejoice in them. It conducts itself as having neither seen\nnor heard them. Or, if they cannot be overlooked, it readily forgives,\nand so far as possible mends matters. Where nothing else can be done,\nit endures the sins of a neighbor without stirring up strife and\nmaking a bad matter worse.\n\n32. The apostle, upon authority of observation and experience,\nacknowledges that where people dwell together there must be mutual\ntransgressions; it cannot be otherwise. No one will always do what is\npleasing to others, and each is liable to commit open wrong. Peter\nwould teach that since men must live together in their respective\nstations in life--for the Scriptures make no recognition of singular\nand intolerant saints who would promptly run out of the world when\nsome little thing takes place at variance with their opinions--he who\nwould live peaceably must so control himself as to be able to bear\nwith others, to overlook their imperfections, and to cover their\ntransgressions and thus avert further resulting evil.\n\nWhere no toleration is exercised, where no wrong is forgiven and\nforgotten, hate and envy must find place. The sole office of these is\nto stir up strife and contention. No peace and rest is to be had where\nthey exist; wrangling and fighting, oppression and bitterness, must\nobtain. The unbounded ill-will, the innumerable strifes and wars,\nhaving place on earth, all result from the abominable evil of the lack\nof love among us and from the prevalence of pernicious hate, which\nleads to anger and revenge when opposition offers. Thus we become\nenemies to one another instead of to evil, when it is our duty to love\nour fellow-men.\n\n33. Now, if you would live as a Christian and enjoy peace in the\nworld, you must make every effort to restrain your anger and not to\ngive way to revenge as do others. Rather you must suppress these\npassions, subduing your hatred by love, and be able to overlook and\nbear, even though you have to suffer great pain and injustice. So\ndoing you will develop a noble character fitted to accomplish much\ngood through patience and humility, to allay and abolish enmity, and\nstrife, and thereby to reform and convert others. If you are unwilling\nto be patient under injustice, then go on hating and envying,\nimpatiently blustering about and seeking revenge. But from such a\nproceeding only strife and disquietude can be your portion, though\nyour complaints be long and your lamentations loud. You may run hither\nand thither, and still you will not find the truth otherwise than as I\nhave stated. This text would have to be done away with first, and the\nScriptures falsified.\n\n34. Paul, having in mind Solomon's saying about love, in extolling the\nsame virtue amplifies the latter's statement with various expressions,\nin the thirteenth of First Corinthians. Among other things he says\nthere (verses 5-8): \"Love seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh\nnot account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth\nwith the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all\nthings, endureth all things. Love never faileth,\" etc. This, mark you,\nis \"being fervent in love,\" as Peter calls it. Here is the heat, the\nfire, effective to consume all evil and to replace it with only good.\nThis fire will not permit itself to be quenched; it surmounts all\nchecking. Whatever of evil is heaped upon it, it remains in itself\ngood, and works only good.\n\n35. The essential property, the \"differentia essentialis,\" of genuine\nlove, as its nature requires fervency, is the fact that it cannot be\nembittered. He who has it, will not cease to love, to do good and to\nendure evil. In a word love cannot hate; it cannot be at enmity with\nanyone. No evil can be wrought too great for love to endure. No one\ncan commit against it more sins than it can cover. It cannot be\nenraged to the point of refusing to forgive. Its attitude is not\nunlike that of the mother toward her child. The child may be imperfect\nand impure, even filthy, but the mother notes it not, even if she sees\nit. Her love blinds her. The eyes wherewith she looks upon her child\nas the beautiful and God-given fruit of her own body are so pure that\nshe overlooks all imperfections, regarding them as nothing. Indeed,\nshe excuses, even glorifies, them. Although the child squints, it must\nnot be called squint-eyed, but love-eyed, and even a wart must be\nthought to become it.\n\n36. Behold, this is covering sins with love--a virtue peculiar to\nChristians. The world does not possess that virtue. Such love is\nimpossible to it, whatever its pretensions and ostentations in that\nrespect. However precious the world's love may be, it is subject to\ndelusion, vanity and hypocrisy; for the world is false in appearance\nand pretension. No worldling likes to be regarded hateful and envious\ntoward his neighbor, but succeeds in conducting himself, so far as\nword and gesture are concerned, in an affable manner to all. This\nattitude he maintains so long as we show him favors and obey his\npleasure. But when our love for him becomes a little disaffected and\nwe happen to offer a word he regards insulting, he promptly withdraws\nhis affections and begins to complain and to rage as if he had been\ndone a great wrong. He makes out he is under no obligation to endure\nthe injustice; and he boastingly plumes himself on having shown great\nfaithfulness and love to the offender, such fidelity as would have led\nhim readily to share with that one the very heart in his body, and now\nhe is so ill repaid that henceforth he will leave such people to be\nserved by the devil.\n\nSuch is the world's love. The world loves not \"in deed,\" but \"in\nword,\" as John expresses it. 1 Jn 3, 18. It has no sincerity of heart.\nIts love is a mere ignis-fatuus, shining but having no fire; a love\nwhich endures not, but is blown out by a breath--extinguished with a\nword. The reason of it all is, the world seeks only its own. It would\nbe served, would receive from others, and not make any return,\nparticularly if response must entail any suffering and forbearance on\nits part.\n\n37. \"But,\" you may say, \"shall evil go unpunished? What would be the\nresult were all evil to be tolerated and covered up? Would not that be\ngiving the wicked opportunity to carry out their evil designs? Would\nit not encourage them in their wickedness until life would not be safe\nto anyone?\" I reply: We have often stated what individuals properly\nmerit our anger, and the extent and manner of punishment to be awarded\nthem. It is truly the office of civil government and also of the\nfather of every family to visit anger upon evil, and to punish and\nrestrain it. Again, every pastor and preacher is commissioned--yes,\nevery godly Christian--to admonish and censure when he sees a neighbor\ncommitting sin, just as one brother in a family admonishes another.\nBut to be angry with evil and to inflict official\npunishment--punishment by virtue of office--is a different thing from\nbeing filled with hatred and revenge, or holding ill-will and being\nunforgiving.\n\n38. It is not inconsistent with the character of love to be angry and\nto reprove when a neighbor is observed to sin. But true love feels no\ninclination to behold the sin and disgrace of a neighbor; rather, much\nrather, it desires his improvement. Just as parents correct with a rod\na disobedient and obstinate child but do not cast it out and become\nenemies to it because of that disobedience, their object being only to\nreform the child, while the rod is cast away after chastisement; so,\ntoo, according to Christ's words (Mt 18, 15-17), you may censure your\nbrother when he sins, and manifest your displeasure and indignation,\nthat he may perceive and confess his wrong-doing, and if he does not\nthen amend his conduct, you may inform the congregation. At the same\ntime, his obstinacy does not justify you in becoming his enemy, or in\nentertaining ill-will toward him. As said before, love to be true must\nnot be dull and cold, too indifferent to perceive a neighbor's sins;\nit must endeavor to relieve him thereof. It must have the red fire of\nfervor. He who truly loves will be distressed that a beloved neighbor\nwickedly trespasses against God and himself. Again, true love does not\npale with hatred and revenge. It continues to glow red when the\npossessor's heart is moved with sympathy, is filled with compassion,\nfor its neighbor. True, when fervor and admonition fail to effect any\nreform, the sincere-hearted Christian must separate himself from his\nobstinate neighbor and regard him as a heathen; nevertheless, he must\nnot become his neighbor's enemy nor wish him evil.\n\n39. Anger and censure prompted by sincere love are very different from\nthe wrath, hatred and revengefulness of the world, which seeks only\nits own interests and is unwilling to tolerate any opposition to its\npleasure. True love is moved to anger only when a neighbor's good\ndemands. Though not insensible to evil and not approving evil, it is\nyet able to tolerate, to forgive and cover, all wrongs against itself,\nand it leaves untried no expedient that may make a neighbor better.\nSincere love makes a clear distinction between the evil and the\nperson; it is unfriendly to the former, but kind to the latter.\n\n\"Using hospitality one to another without murmuring: according as each\nhath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good\nstewards of the manifold grace of God.\"\n\n40. Having admonished all Christians to love one another generally,\nPeter mentions various instances where love should be externally\nmanifested among Christians, and speaks particularly of those who have\nbeen favored above others with special gifts and special offices in\nthe Church, whereby they are able to serve their fellows. Thus he\nteaches that the Christian's whole external conduct should be\nregulated by that love which seeks not its own advantage, which aims\nnot at profiting itself, but lives to serve its neighbor.\n\n41. First, Peter says, \"Using hospitality one to another.\" The\nreference is to works of love relative to the various physical needs\nof a neighbor. Christians are to serve one another by ministering\ntemporal blessings. Especially are the poor and the wretched to be\nremembered, they who are strangers or pilgrims among us, or come to us\nhouseless and homeless. These should receive the willing ministrations\nof Christians, and none be allowed to suffer want.\n\n42. In the apostles' time, the primitive days of the Church,\nChristians were everywhere persecuted, driven from their possessions\nand forced to wander hither and thither in poverty and exile. It was\nnecessary then to admonish Christians in general, and particularly\nthose who had something of their own, not to permit these destitute\nones to suffer want, but to provide for them. So, too, is it today\nincumbent upon Christians to provide for the really poor--not lazy\nbeggars, or vagabonds--the outdoor pensioners, so called; and to\nmaintain those who, because of old age or other infirmity, are unable\nto support themselves. The churches should establish common treasuries\nfor the purpose of providing alms for cases of this kind. It was so\nordained of the apostles in Acts 6, 3. Paul, also, in many places\nadmonishes to such works of love; for instance (Rom 12, 13):\n\"Communicating to the necessities of the saints.\"\n\n43. Moreover, as Peter says, hospitality is to be extended \"without\nmurmuring\"--not with reluctance and aversion, as the way of the world\nis. The world is particularly reluctant when called upon to give to\nChrist the Lord, in other words to his poor servants the pastors and\npreachers, or to their children, into whose mouths they must count\nevery bit of bread. It regards oppressive and burdensome the\ncontributing of even a dime for that purpose. At the same time, it\nlavishly bestows its gifts upon the devil; as, for instance, under\npopedom it gave liberally and willingly to indolent, useless monks and\nshameless, wicked knaves, impostors and seducers. Such is the\ninconsistence of the world; and it is a just punishment from God that\nit is made unworthy to contribute where it well might toward the\npreservation of God's Word and his poor Church; and that it must give\nto other and ungrateful purposes. Christian love must be sincere\nenough to do good \"without murmuring.\" Paul says (Rom 12, 8) to \"let\nhim that showeth mercy do so with cheerfulness,\" or willingly, without\nrestraint. Again (2 Cor 9, 7), \"God loveth a cheerful giver,\" etc.\n\n\nSTEWARDS OF GOD'S GIFTS.\n\n44. Peter speaks also of love's work in relation to the gifts of the\nHoly Spirit, which are bestowed for the good of the entire Church and\nparticularly for its spiritual offices or government. He would have\nthe Spirit's gifts used in the service of others, and admonishes\nChristians to consider all they have as given of God. The heathen have\nno such thought, but live as if life and all they possess were of\ntheir own attaining. But let Christians know they are under obligation\nto serve God with their gifts; and God is served when they employ them\nfor the advantage and service of the people--reforming them, bringing\nthem to a knowledge of God, and thus building up, strengthening and\nperpetuating the Church. Of such love the world knows nothing at all.\n\n45. So then, Peter says, we are to use the gifts called\nspiritual--gifts of the Holy Spirit--in the Christian Church \"as good\nstewards of the manifold grace of God.\" He would have us know they are\nconferred upon us of grace. They are not given us to exalt ourselves\ntherewith, but to make us stewards of the house of God--of his Church.\nThey are manifold and variously distributed; for no one may possess\nall. Some may have certain gifts and offices, and other individuals\ncertain others. But the mutual way in which these gifts are united and\nrelated makes one individual serve another.\n\n46. Peter would remind especially each individual to take heed to the\nduties of his particular office. In the pursuance of his own\noccupation, each is to attend faithfully to whatever is committed to\nhis charge; to do whatever he is commanded to do. As the Scriptures\nteach in many places, there is no work nobler than being obedient to\nthe particular calling and work assigned of God, and satisfied\ntherein; faithfully serving one's neighbor and not gazing after what\nis committed to, or enjoined upon, another, nor presuming to transcend\nthe limits of one's own commission. Many fickle, unstable spirits,\nhowever, especially the presumptuous, proud and self-sufficient,\nimagine themselves to have such measure of the Spirit and of skill\nthat their own calling is not sufficient for them; they must control\nall things, must superintend and criticise the work of others. They\nare malignant souls, doing nothing but to stir up mischief, and having\nnot the grace to perform any good work, even though they have noble\ngifts. For they do not make use of the gifts of their office to serve\ntheir neighbors; they only minister therewith to their own glory and\nadvantage.\n\n47. The apostle goes on to show how God distributes his gifts in\nvarious ways; he speaks of \"manifold gifts.\" Paul likewise (1 Cor 12,\n4-5) teaches that each one is given a special gift, and a particular\noffice wherein he is to exercise his gift, continuing in his own\nsphere until called to another. Again, Paul says (Rom 12, 6-7):\n\"Whether prophecy, let us prophesy ... or ministry, let us give\nourselves to our ministry.\" It is not enough to have numerous special\ngifts; grace is also requisite--\"manifold grace of God,\" Peter says.\nWe must so use our gifts that God may be pleased to add his blessing,\nif we would successfully and profitably serve the Church and\naccomplish good. God's grace will not be given to those who do not, in\nfaith and in obedience to his command, fulfill the obligations of\ntheir calling. Now Peter proceeds to illustrate, giving a rule of how\nwe are to use our individual gifts. He says:\n\n\"If any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man\nministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth.\"\n\n48. It is highly essential that the Church observe this doctrine. Had\nit been regarded heretofore, the world would not have been filled with\nanti-christian errors and deceptions. For it fixes the bounds, it sets\nthe mark, for all aspiring church members, however exalted their\noffice and gifts; the limits of these they must not transcend.\n\n49. The apostle classifies Church government in two divisions:\nteaching, or \"ministering\" the Word; and holding office and fulfilling\nits duties in accordance with the teachings of the Word. In both\ncases, he tells us, we are to take heed that we are not actuated by\nour own ideas and pleasures; our teaching and ruling must ever be\nGod's Word and work or office.\n\n50. The workings of the Christian Church are not the same as the\nprocesses of civil government. They are unlike the operations that\nhave to do with outward things, with temporal possessions. In the\nlatter case men are guided by their own understanding. At the dictates\nof their own reason do they rule, instituting laws and regulations,\nand prohibiting, receiving and distributing according to those\nregulations. In the Christian Church we have a spiritual government of\nthe conscience, an effecting of obedience in God's sight. Whatever is\nspoken or taught, promised or done, we may be assured, will avail and\nstand before God; indeed, we may know it has origin with him, whereby\nwe are justified in declaring: \"God himself uttered the command or\nperformed the work; for in us, his tabernacles where he lives and\nrules, essentially he, as rightful Master in the house, commands and\nperforms all, though employing the instrumentality of men's lips and\nhands.\"\n\n\nASSURANCE OF PURE DOCTRINE ESSENTIAL.\n\n51. In the first place, therefore, it is necessary that both preachers\nand hearers take heed to doctrine and have clear, unmistakable\nevidence that what they embrace is really the true Word of God\nrevealed from heaven; the doctrine given to the holy and primitive\nfathers, prophets and apostles; the doctrine Christ himself confirmed\nand commanded to be taught. We are not permitted to employ the\nteaching dictated by any man's pleasure or fancy. We may not adapt the\nWord to mere human knowledge and reason. We are not to trifle with the\nScriptures, to juggle with the Word of God, as if it would admit of\nbeing explained to suit the people; of being twisted, distended and\npatched to effect peace and agreement among men. Otherwise, there\nwould be no sure, permanent foundation whereon the conscience might\nrely.\n\n52. Nor is it any more admissible for one who chances to have an\noffice of greater influence than others, who is peculiarly holy, or\nwho is of exalted spirit and intellect--even though he were an\napostle--to presume upon his gifts and the office and take authority\nto teach according to his own inclinations, requiring his hearers to\naccept unquestioningly his word and rely upon it because what he\nteaches must be right. But thus the Pope in time past persuaded the\nworld that because he occupied the seat of the apostles, the highest\noffice, and assembled the councils, the latter could not err, and that\ntherefore all men are obliged to believe and obey what they resolve\nand confirm.\n\n53. This theory is opposed by Peter's teaching, and all the Scriptures\nforbid men, at the peril of losing eternal salvation, to rely on or\nrespect anyone or anyone's gifts, in the things pertaining to faith.\nThe Scriptures teach rather that we are to prove and judge all\ndoctrine by the clear and sure Word of God given us from heaven and\nsupported by the reliable, concurrent testimony of the apostles and\nthe Church from the beginning. Paul, by way of denouncing the false\nteachers who boasted of being disciples of eminent apostles and relied\nupon the latter and their reputation, pronounced this sentence (Gal 1,\n8): \"Though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any\ngospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be\nanathema.\"\n\n54. Similarly, in the offices or government of the Church, there must\nfirst be convincing evidence that command and office are instituted of\nGod. No one may be permitted to institute, promise or do anything of\nhis own power or pleasure and compel men to regard it as divine\nauthority or as essential to salvation, simply because of his\nappointment to office. Nevertheless, the Pope, by virtue of his\necclesiastical office, undertook to domineer over all men, to issue\ncommands and institute laws and religious services binding upon\neveryone.\n\nHe who holds and would exercise office in the Church must first give\nclear Scripture proof of having derived his office from the authority\nof God. He must be able to say: \"I did not institute such and such a\nproceeding; it is of God.\" Then they who comply may be assured they\nare obeying, not the individual, but God.\n\n55. For instance, if in obedience to Christ's command I, as a carer of\nsouls, or servant of the Church, administer the holy sacrament or\npronounce absolution; if I admonish, comfort, reprove; I can say:\n\"That which I do, I do not; Christ performs it.\" For I act not of my\nown design, but in obedience to the command of Christ--to his\ninjunction. The Pope and his adherents cannot make the above\nassertion. For they pervert the order and commandment of Christ the\nLord when, in the sacrament, they withhold the cup from the laity, and\nwhen they change the use of the sacrament or mass, making it a\nsacrifice for the living and the dead. And thus they do also by\ninnumerable other abominations in their false worship, things\nestablished without God's command, indeed contrary thereto; for\ninstance, the invocation of dead saints, and similar idolatries,\nintroduced by the Pope under cover of his office, as if he had the\npower from Christ to institute and command such things.\n\n\nASSURANCE OF DIVINE EFFICIENCY ESSENTIAL.\n\n56. In the second place, it is not enough that office and commandment\nbe God-appointed. We his ministers should be conscious--and the people\nshould so be taught--that efficacy of office is not of human effort,\nbut is God's power and work. In other words, that which the office was\ndesigned to accomplish is not effective by virtue of our speech or\naction, but by virtue of God's commandment and appointment. He it is\nwho orders; and himself will effectively operate through that office\nwhich is obedient to God's command. For instance, in baptism, the\nLord's Supper and absolution, we are not to be concerned about the\nperson administering the sacraments or pronouncing absolution--who he\nis, how righteous, how holy, how worthy. Worthiness or unworthiness of\neither administering or receiving hand effects nothing; all the virtue\nlies in God's command and ordinance.\n\n57. This is the explanation of Peter's phrase, \"the strength or\nability which God supplieth.\" Effect is produced, not through man's\npower, not in obedience to man's will; but through the \"strength\" of\nGod and because of his ordering. No man has a right presumptuously to\nboast his own power and ability effective, as the Pope does in his\npretensions about keys and ecclesiastical power. Know that it is\nnecessary to the efficacy of your office and the salutary character of\nyour work or authority in the Church that God himself give and exert\nthe influence. And that influence is exerted when, as before said,\nGod's Word and testimony are present that the ministry in question is\ncommanded, or authorized, of God.\n\n58. Therefore it is earnestly enjoined that in the Church no attempt\nshould be made by any individual to institute any order or perform any\nwork, much or little, great or small, merely at the prompting of his\nown inclinations or in obedience to the advice of any man. Let him who\nwould teach and work be sure that his words and acts are really of\nGod--commanded by him. Until he is certain in this respect, let him\nabandon his office--suspend his ministry; let him engage in something\nelse for a time. Nor should we hear or believe anything presented to\nus that does not bear indisputable evidence of being the divine Word,\nor command. For God will not permit mockery of himself in the things\nof his own prerogative and on which depends the salvation of souls;\nfor souls will be led to eternal ruin where this rule and command are\ndisregarded.\n\n\"That in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.\"\n\n59. Here is named the motive for all effort in the Christian\ncommunity. No one may seek for nor ascribe to himself power and honor\nbecause of his office and gifts. Power and glory belong only to God.\nHe himself calls his Church, and rules, sanctifies and preserves it\nthrough his Word and his Spirit. To this end he bestows upon us his\ngifts. And all is done purely of grace, wholly for the sake of his\nbeloved Son, Christ the Lord. Therefore, in return for the favor and\nineffable goodness bestowed upon us regardless of our merits, we ought\nto thank and praise God, directing all our efforts to the recognition\nand glory of his name.\n\n\n\n\n_Pentecost_\n\nText: Acts 2, 1-13.\n\n1 And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together\nin one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the\nrushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were\nsitting. 3 And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like\nas of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. 4 And they were all\nfilled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as\nthe Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem\nJews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this\nsound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded,\nbecause that every man heard them speaking in his own language. 7 And\nthey were all amazed and marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these\nthat speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we, every man in our own\nlanguage wherein we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and\nthe dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Capadocia, in Pontus and\nAsia, 10 in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya\nabout Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11\nCretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty\nworks of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying\none to another. What meaneth this? 13 But others mocking said, They\nare filled with new wine.\n\n\nTHE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.\n\n1. The historical facts of this day, as well as the beautiful sermon\nthe Holy Spirit delivered through the apostle Peter, which might\nappropriately be fully treated at this time, we shall leave for the\nspecial sermons on the various festivals of the year. For the present\nwe will but briefly speak of the occasion of this festival, and of the\noffice of the Holy Spirit.\n\n2. The festival we call \"Pentecost\" had origin as follows: When God\nwas about to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, he permitted\nthem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover on the night of their\ndeparture; and commanded them on every annual recurrence of the season\nto observe the same feast in commemoration of their liberation from\nbondage and their departure from Egypt. Fifty days later, in their\njourney through the wilderness, they arrived at Mount Sinai. There God\ngave them the Law, through Moses; and there they were commanded to\nobserve annually, in commemoration of that giving of the Law, the\nfiftieth day after the Feast of the Passover. Hence the name \"Feast of\nPentecost,\" the word \"Pentecost\" coming from the Greek \"Pentecoste,\"\nor \"fiftieth day.\" Our Saxons, rather more in conformity to the Greek,\nuse the word \"Pfingsten.\" So we have it here of Luke: \"When the day of\nPentecost was now come,\" or \"fully come\"--when the Jews had properly\ncommemorated the giving of the Law of God on Mount Sinai--the Holy\nSpirit came, in accordance with Christ's promise, and gave them a new\nlaw. We now celebrate this feast, not because of the old historical\nevent, but because of the new one--the sending of the Holy Spirit. It\nis in order, then, to give a little instruction concerning the\ndifference between our Pentecost and that of the Jews.\n\n\nLITERAL LAW AND SPIRITUAL LAW.\n\n3. The occasion of the Jews' observance was the giving of the literal\nlaw; but it is ours to celebrate the giving of the spiritual law. To\npresent the point more clearly, we cite Paul's distinction of the two\ncovenants. 2 Cor 3, 6. And these two covenants respectively relate to\ntwo kinds of people.\n\n4. First, there is the written law commanded of God and composed of\nwritten words. It is styled \"written\" or \"literal\" because it goes no\nfarther and does not enter the heart, nor are there any resulting\nworks other than hypocritical and extorted ones. Consisting only of\nletters--a written law--it is wholly dead. Its province being to kill,\nit ruled a dead people. With dead hearts men could not sincerely\nobserve the commandments of God. Were every individual left to do as\nhe pleased, being uninfluenced by fear, not one would be found\nchoosing to be controlled by the Law.\n\nUnquestionably, human nature is conscious of the fact that while it\nprefers to follow its own inclinations it is impelled to do otherwise;\nfor it reasons: \"If I observe not God's commandments, he will punish\nme, casting me into hell.\" Thus our nature is conscious of obeying\nunwillingly and contrary to desire. Because of the punishment men\nfear, they soon become enemies to God; they feel themselves sinners,\nunable to stand before God, and consequently not acceptable to him.\nIndeed, they would rather there were no God. Such enmity to God\nremains persistently in the heart, however beautifully nature may\nadorn itself outwardly. We see, therefore, how the Law, so long as it\nconsists merely of written words, can make no one righteous, can enter\nno heart. Upon this topic we have elsewhere preached and written at\nlength.\n\n5. The other law is spiritual; not written with ink and pen, nor\nuttered by lips as Moses read from the tables of stone. We learn from\nthe historical record of the event that the Holy Spirit descended from\nheaven and filled all the assembled multitude, and they appeared with\nparting, fiery tongues and preached so unlike they were wont to do\nthat all men were filled with amazement. The Spirit came pouring into\ntheir hearts, making them different beings, making them creatures who\nloved and willingly obeyed God. This change was simply the\nmanifestation of the Spirit himself, his work in the heart. He wrote\nin those hearts his pure and fiery flame restoring them to life and\ncausing them to respond with fiery tongues and efficient hands. They\nbecame new creatures, aware of possessing altogether different minds\nand different tendencies. Then all was life and light; understanding,\nwill and heart burned and delighted in whatever was acceptable to God.\nSuch is the true distinction between the written law of God and the\nspiritual. Herein we perceive what is the work of the Holy Spirit.\n\n\nTHE OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.\n\n6. From this we should learn what is the office of the Holy Spirit in\nthe Church, and how or by what means he is received in the heart and\nworks there. In time past it was preached that he merely endorses what\nthe councils conclude and the Pope establishes in the Spiritless papal\nChurch. The fact is, however, the doings of Pope and councils are mere\noutward matters; they relate to external commands and government. The\nabove theory is, therefore, wholly inconsistent and perverse. Of the\nwork of the Holy Spirit, the Papists make a dead, written law, when it\nis really a living, spiritual law. Thus they render the Holy Spirit a\nMoses, and his words mere human prattle. It is all due to ignorance of\nthe character of the Holy Spirit, of the purpose of his coming and the\nnature of his office. Therefore, let us learn and firmly grasp those\nthings and be able rightly to distinguish the Spirit's office.\n\n7. Observe here, the Holy Spirit descends and fills the hearts of the\ndisciples sitting in fear and sorrow. He renders their tongues fiery\nand cloven, and inflames them with love unto boldness in preaching\nChrist--unto free and fearless utterance. Plainly, then, it is not the\noffice of the Spirit to write books or to institute laws. He writes in\nthe hearts of men, creating a new heart, so that man may rejoice\nbefore God, filled with love for him and ready, in consequence, to\nserve his fellows gladly.\n\n8. What are the means and process the Spirit employs to change and\nrenew the heart? It is through preaching Jesus Christ the Lord, as\nChrist himself says (Jn 15, 26): \"When the Comforter is come, whom I\nwill send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which\nproceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me.\" As we have\noften heard, the Gospel is the message God would have preached\nworld-wide, declaring to every individual that since no man can\nthrough the Law be made righteous, but must rather become more\nunrighteous, God sent his own beloved Son to shed his blood and die\nfor our sins, from which sins we could not be released by our own\neffort.\n\n9. It is not enough simply that Christ be preached; the Word must be\nbelieved. Therefore, God sends the Holy Spirit to impress the\npreaching upon the heart--to make it inhere and live therein.\nUnquestionably, Christ accomplished all--took away our sins and\novercame every obstacle, enabling us to become, through him, lords\nover all things. But the treasure lies in a heap; it is not everywhere\ndistributed and applied. Before we can enjoy it, the Holy Spirit come\nand communicate it to the heart, enabling us to believe and say, \"I\ntoo, am one who shall have the blessing.\" To everyone who hears is\ngrace offered through the Gospel; to grace is he called, as Christ\nsays (Mt 11, 28), \"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy\nladen,\" etc.\n\n10. Now, with the belief that God has come to our rescue and given us\nthis priceless blessing, inevitably the human heart must be filled\nwith joy and with gratitude to God, and must exultingly cry: \"Dear\nFather, since it is thy will to manifest toward me inexpressible love\nand fidelity, I will love thee sincerely, and willingly do what is\npleasing to thee.\"\n\nThe believing heart never sees God with jealous eye. It does not fear\nbeing cast into hell as it did before the Holy Spirit came, when it\nwas conscious of no love, no goodness, no faithfulness, on God's part,\nbut only wrath and displeasure. But once let the Holy Spirit impress\nthe heart with the fact of God's good will and graciousness towards\nit, and the resulting joy and confidence will impel it to do and\nsuffer for God's sake whatever necessity demands.\n\n11. Let us, then, learn to recognize the Holy Spirit--to know that his\nmission is to present to us the priceless Christ and all his\nblessings; to reveal them to us through the Gospel and apply them to\nthe heart, making them ours. When our hearts are sensible of this work\nof the Spirit, naturally we are compelled to say: \"If our works avail\nnaught, and the Holy Spirit alone must accomplish our salvation, then\nwhy burden ourselves with works and laws?\" By the doctrine of the\nSpirit, all human works and laws are excluded, even the laws of Moses.\nThe Holy Spirit's instruction is superior to that of all books. The\nSpirit-taught individual understands the Scriptures better than does\nhe who is occupied solely with the Law.\n\n12. Hence, our only use for books is to strengthen our faith and to\nshow others written testimony to the Spirit's teaching. For we may not\nkeep our faith to ourselves, but must let it shine out; and to\nestablish it the Scriptures are necessary. Be careful, therefore, not\nto regard the Holy Spirit as a Law-maker, but as proclaiming to your\nheart the Gospel of Christ and setting you so free from the literal\nlaw that not a letter of it remains, except as a medium for preaching\nthe Gospel.\n\n\nBELIEVERS MUST YET RESIST SIN.\n\n13. Here we should be intelligent and know that in one sense all is\nnot accomplished when the Holy Spirit is received. The possessor of\nthe Spirit is not at once entirely perfect, pure in all respects, no\nmore sensible of the Law and of sin. We do not preach the doctrine\nthat the Spirit's office is one of complete accomplishment, but rather\nthat it is progressive; he operates continuously and increasingly.\nHence, there is not to be found an individual perfect in righteousness\nand happiness, devoid of sin and sorrow, ever serving all men with\npleasure.\n\nThe Scriptures make plain the Holy Spirit's office--to liberate from\nsin and terror. But the work is not then complete. The Christian must,\nin some measure, still feel sin in his heart and experience the\nterrors of death; he is affected by whatever disturbs other sinners.\nWhile unbelievers are so deep in their sins as to be indifferent,\nbelievers are keenly conscious of theirs; but Christians are supported\nby the Holy Spirit, who consoles and strengthens till his work is\nfully accomplished. It is terminated when they no longer feel their\nsins.\n\n14. So I say we must be prudent; we must take heed we do not\narrogantly and presumptuously boast possession of the Holy Spirit, as\ndo certain proud fanatics. The danger is in becoming too secure, in\nimagining ourselves perfect in all respects. The pious Christian is\nstill flesh and blood like other men; he but strives to resist evil\nlusts and other sins, and is unwillingly sensible of evil desires. But\nhe who is not a Christian is carelessly secure, wholly unconcerned\nabout his sins.\n\n15. It is of no significance that we feel evil lusts, provided we\nendeavor to resist them. One must not go by his feelings and consider\nhimself lost if he have sinful desires. At the same time he must, so\nlong as life lasts, contend with the sins he perceives in himself. He\nmust unceasingly groan to be relieved of them, and must permit the\nHoly Spirit to operate in him. There is in believers continual\ngroaning after holiness--groaning too deep for expression, as Paul\nsays in Romans 8, 26. But Christians have a blessed listener--the Holy\nSpirit himself. He readily perceives sincere longing after purity, and\nsends the conscience divine comfort.\n\nThere will ever be in us mingled purity and imperfection; we must be\nconscious both of the Holy Spirit's presence and of our own sins--our\nimperfections. We are like the sick man in the hands of the physician\nwho is to restore him to health. Let no one think: \"Here is a man who\npossesses the Holy Spirit; consequently he must be perfectly strong,\nhaving no imperfections and performing only worthy works.\" No, think\nnot so; for so long as we live in the flesh here on earth, we cannot\nattain such a degree of perfection as to be wholly free from weakness\nand faults. The holy apostles themselves often lamented their\ntemptations and sorrows. Their feelings concealed from them the Holy\nSpirit's presence, though they were aware of his strengthening and\nsustaining power in their temptations, a power conveyed through the\nWord and through faith.\n\n16. The Holy Spirit is given only to the anxious and distressed heart.\nOnly therein can the Gospel profit us and produce fruit. The gift is\ntoo sublime and noble for God to cast it before dogs and swine, who,\nwhen by chance they hear the preached message, devour it without\nknowing to what they do violence. The heart must recognize and feel\nits wretchedness and its inability to extricate itself. Before the\nHoly Spirit can come to the rescue, there must be a struggle in the\nheart. Let no one imagine he will receive the Spirit in any other way.\n\n17. We see this truth illustrated in the narrative here. The beloved\ndisciples were filled with fear and terror. They were disconsolate and\ndiscouraged, and sunk in unbelief and despair. Only with great\ndifficulty and effort did Christ raise them again. Yet their only\nfailing was their faintheartedness; they feared the heavens would fall\nupon them. Even the Lord himself could scarce comfort them until he\nsaid: \"The Holy Spirit shall descend upon you from heaven, impressing\nmyself upon your hearts until you shall know me and, through me, the\nFather. Then will your hearts be comforted, strengthened and filled\nwith joy.\" And so was the promise fulfilled to them on this day of\nPentecost.\n\n\n\n\nLuther's Church Postil contains no sermons on the epistle selections\nfor Whit-Monday and Whit-Tuesday.\n\n\n\n\n_Pentecost Monday_\n\nText: Acts 2, 14-28.\n\n\nOnly the text, without a sermon, is printed in the edition of 1559 of\nLuther's works. This and the following epistle text are too long to\nconsider here, as they contain so many beautiful quotations from the\nOld Testament, which should not be passed over too briefly. Hence\ntheir discussion is reserved for their proper place.\n\n\n\n\n_Pentecost Tuesday_\n\nText: Acts 2, 29-36.","title":"Epistle Sermons, Vol. 2: Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":118545}