On
Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come
from? The answer is from the
people who uttered them. But, how
did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, many from Rev
Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, some from Rev Geordie Menzies-Grierson, but
overall mostly from Bryan. He
always has a few great ones to share. On to the On Point quotes –
And Digory could say nothing, for tears
choked him and he gave up all hopes of saving his Mother’s life; but at the
same time he knew that the Lion knew what would have happened, and that there
might be things more terrible even than losing someone you love by death. But now
Aslan was speaking again, almost in a whisper:
“That is what would have happened, child,
with a stolen apple. It is not what will happen now. What I give you now will
bring joy. It will not, in your world, give endless life, but it will heal. Go.
Pluck her an apple from the Tree.”
For a second Digory could hardly understand.
It was as if the whole world had turned inside out and upside down. And then,
like someone in a dream, he was walking across to the Tree, and the King and
Queen were cheering him and all the creatures were cheering too. He plucked the
apple and put it in his pocket. Then he came back to Aslan.
“Please,” he said, “may we go home now?” He had forgotten to
say “Thank you,” but he meant it, and Aslan understood.
CS
Lewis
The Magician's Nephew
Help me to be, to think, to act what is right because it is right;
make me truthful, honest, and honorable in all things; make me intellectually
honest for the sake of right and honor and without thought of reward to me.
General Robert E. Lee, Christian
Gentleman
www.orderofcenturions.org
Liberty ... is a political situation denoting the lawful
capability of the citizen to defend himself and his near and dear without
interference from the state.
Colonel Jeff Cooper
20th and 21st
century American patriot and
firearms expert
One day Confucius and his students were walking through
the forest and came upon a woman weeping bitterly by an open grave. One student
asked why she was crying, and she said, ‘First, my husband's father was killed
here by a tiger. Then the tigers ate my husband. Now they have eaten my son.’
Confucius then asked the woman why she did not leave the forest, and she said,
‘Because there is no oppressive government here.’ Confucius then turned to his
students and said, Remember this: Oppressive government is more terrible than
tigers.
Confucius
6th and 5th
century BC Chinese scholar and author
Propers
The Propers for today are found
on Page 217-218, with the Collect first:
Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
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O
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ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we
beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in
body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dru Arnold read
the Epistle for today, which came from Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians beginning
at the Fifteenth Verse of the
Fifth Chapter. “… the days are
evil. … understand… what the will
of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled
with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ; …” God wants us to be happy, to be good and to enjoy life. The key to happiness is to do what God
asks of you. No more (you can’t),
no less. Though you fall short,
keep trying, that is all God asks.
If you find this no other place, listen to the words of St. Paul.
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S
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ee then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but
as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not
unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with
wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your
heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in
the fear of God.
Jack Arnold read today’s Holy Gospel, which came from
the Twenty-Second Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew beginning at
the First Verse. Talking to the
priests and scribes, Jesus told one of the wedding parables, “The kingdom of
heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent
forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would
not come. Again, he sent forth other
servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my
dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto
the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm,
another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated
them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth:
and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up
their city. Then” he sent “his servants … into the highways” to “gather…
together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was
furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw
there a man which had not on a wedding-garment: and he saith unto him, Friend,
how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment?[1]
And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
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J
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esus said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he
sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have
prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are
ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways,
one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants,
and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof,
he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and
burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but
they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and
as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into
the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and
good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to
see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment: and he
saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment?
And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
Sermon
– Rev Jack Arnold – Time and Action
Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel
together and is partly contained in the forewords above.
Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
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O
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ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we
beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in
body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect’s prayer that God
might keep us from the things that are bad for us so we can do the things He
wants us to do ties perfectly with the Epistle and Gospel as almost aways it
does. Thomas Cramner was one smart man is all I have to say, how he managed to
theme the collects around the unifying message of the Epistle and the Gospel is
nothing short of brilliant.
One word that intrigues me from
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is “circumspectly”; which when I looked it up
meant “wary and unwilling to take risks.”
I believe Paul meant in these troubled days, we should not be taking
risks with our faith, but walking in that which has been tried and true for
over two thousands years. We cannot risk comprising the integrity of the faith,
with new fangled modernistic New Age spirituality, as some of the more liberal
mega churches are wont to do.
Paul warns us against the dangers
of drunkenness, but he does not mean never to drink wine, as some, (the
Puritans) would take, but rather have “moderation in all things”; which is a
similar idea to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for
me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will
not be mastered by anything.” This seems to be the unifying theme of both the
Epistle and the Gospel for today.
Rather than turn to the excesses of this world, Paul says we must turn
to God and be filled with His Grace of the Holy Spirit. Making joyful noises to
the Lord, be it in prayer or in song, and giving thanks always for all things
to God.
In our lives, we should be
grateful to God more than we are.
At least, I know I am often not thankful to Him, when I should be. That
is the troublesome aspect of having free will, we so often exercise it, not to
the Glory of God, but for our own means.
We have to turn away from that temptation, and let the Holy Spirit in
and guide us, to thanking God for what He has done for us in our lives.
The Gospel’s story has troubled
me for many years now, wondering why the King cast out a man, whose only error
appeared to be that of the wrong clothes. When I thought about it more, and in
many discussions, I came to realize that the wrong clothes was Jesus metaphor
for one that is not prepared for heaven, not walking in God, not filled with
the Holy Spirit, and that is why he was cast out of the wedding (which is
implied to be heaven. And the King stands in for God in the tale.)
The Collect, Epistle and Gospel
tie together, laying out, detailing and reinforcing the same message
ultimately. We have to ready and
willing to listen to God, and walk in God, and act with the Holy Spirit in us,
in order to have the right “clothes” to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Heaven is at the end of an
uphill trail. The easy downhill
trail does not lead to the summit.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
Bishop Ogles’
Sermon
We are oft fortunate to get
copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes.
Today is one of those Sundays.
Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always, it will
give you a lot to consider in your heart.
Sermon Notes
Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity
13 October
2013, Anno Domini
Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
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O
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ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we
beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in
body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Certainly, God is full of goodness for He is all-in-all, and there is
no imperfection or impurity in Him. Therefore, His goodness is bountiful! Every
good and perfect gift comes down from God. (James 1:17) James does not say,
‘some, or ‘most’, but ALL good gifts! These gifts include life, joy, love,
friends, family, church, and health. If it is GOOD, it is from GOD! The servant
of God is both ready and cheerful in his approach to service. Those things
commanded by Christ will certainly be accomplished by His elect if they are
READY to proceed in joy and not dread.
The Epistle
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ee then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but
as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not
unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with
wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your
heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in
the fear of God.
The Holy Gospel
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J
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esus said, The kingdom of
heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent
forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would
not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are
bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed,
and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it,
and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant
took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the
king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed
those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The
wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore
into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those
servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they
found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when
the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a
wedding-garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not
having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the
servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called,
but few are chosen.
In the Prayer of Collect, the Epistle and the following Gospel, we have a clear
call to reliance upon the bountiful blessings of God to grant us provision of
both body and soul. Without that provision, we are naked and without
sustenance. God is not the Maker of His Masterpiece of Creation – mankind – for
the sake of living a life of spiritual or physical penury, but to receive all
of the blessings our teeming cups can hold of His bountiful storehouse of
blessings. To some, He gives not only spiritual, but great material blessings
according to each our individual capacity to use to His glory and not that of
self.
Jesus so often spoke in Parables so that those whose hearts are open and humble
might understand; and so those whose hearts were arrogant, proud and hardened
would not so understand. We understand as much truth as we are willing to
digest. It was against the interests of the worldly interests of the rulers of
the Jews to understand and, so, they blinded their own eyes to profound truth.
The arrogance of the mind despises mystery. It must pry into every mystery and
pretentiously invent its secrets. We stake out our gardens of theology and
plant, respectively, our trees of Calvin, Arminius, or some other, while
refusing to hear any contrary points from Scripture. We will accept only those
parts of Scripture that will water our preferred trees. But Christ, in His
parables, is a revealer of mystery to the open hearts of the faithful, and
Concealer of Mystery to those who proudly assert THEIR own opinions to the
detriment of faith.
The sermon text today is of a great man who was planning a grand
wedding feast for His Son. He had gone to great expense and time-consuming
preparation to insure that every detail was perfect. So, Jesus opens the
Parable with the story of a marriage feast. Marriage is so important to Christ
that He performed His first miracle at Cana of Galilee (which just happened to
be a marriage feast.
From its inception as the first institution of God in the Garden at
Eden, marriage has been sacred and Holy to God – and it must be to us as well.
It is an earthly model for the Kingdom of God and the great marriage between
Christ and His Bride, the Church.
Let’s examine
the nature, first of all, of this invitation:
1.
It is extended to everyone, wide
and far.
2.
It will be rejected by the
heartless and indifference
3.
Rejection provokes the
justifiable ANGER of GOD! – Each of us exists either under His kind favor or
His great anger. Under God's anger, or under God's love, we must be, whether we
will or not. We cannot flee from His presence. We cannot go from His Spirit. If
we are loving, and so rise up to heaven, God is there—in love. If we are cruel
and wrathful, and so go down to hell, God is there also—in wrath. With the
clean He will be clean; with the froward man He will be froward. On us, and us
alone, it depends whether we shall live under God's anger or live under God's
love.
“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which
made a marriage for his son,” This certain king is God the Father. Do I need tell you who the son
represents? None other than Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God.
“And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden
to the wedding: and they would not come.” The great prophets
were these servants who called those who were bidden to come, but Israel would
not hear them and did not come. They even stoned many of these prophet
messengers, and others they sawed in half.
“Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them
which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings
are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.” The Great King leaves nothing to chance. He
prepares ALL we need for our comfort and nourishment and joy. The
sacrifice has been made for us – all we must do is come. He desires to honor us
by allowing us to honor His Beloved Son.
“But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to
his farm, another to his merchandise:”
Here we see the dreadful preoccupation of the world, and even the church, with
our own devices – money, trade and barter, etc. The service to God seems a
light thing to them. We today are sorrowfully no different. We ‘do our duty’ in
attending service once on Sunday, go back to our troughs and mud, and live as
if God were not watching.
“And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them
spitefully, and slew them.”
You will recall how wrongly they treated Samuel, Moses, Jeremiah and all the
prophets. Even Abel was slain by his brother for living and teaching
righteousness. The Apostles, most of whom died brutal deaths, were no
less dishonored by those who knew no honor.
“But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he
sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” If you have been living under the delusion that
God will always show mercy and kindness, you are wrong. Christ Himself shall
return to claim His own, and the remainder shall be put to the sword and cast
into Hell without mercy! They will have sealed their own fate through the
neglect of the things of God. If you have not loved God in this life, you
cannot love Him in the next. The tares (unbelievers) shall be gathered by the
Holy Angels and burned.
“Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but
they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as
ye shall find, bid to the marriage.” Most of
the Israel depended upon their pedigree as sons of Abraham; however, they did
not rightfully belong to the Old Testament Church of Abraham who looked to the
coming of Christ. These being rejected, God turns to all who will come. All who
love Christ are adopted into that great Church and are Israel indeed. None are
to go without invitation! “
“So those servants went out into the highways, and
gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding
was furnished with guests.“
This is like the great dragnet
of souls mentioned in Matthew 13:47-48. It
drew every kind of fish, both good and bad, and the fisherman (angels) sat down
and separated them. Or the fields of wheat and tares growing together picture
this same truth.
“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there
a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him,
Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless. 13 Then said the king to the
servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Do we desire to be properly attired at this great and distinguished
feast? If so, we must take on the White Robe of Righteousness which
Christ offers to cover our rags and filth. The prodigal son received that
Robe from His Father on his return from feeding the pigs in a far country. See also,
Isaiah 4:1 – “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man,
saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be
called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” These are the
seven churches, I humbly believe, who wish to be nominal Christians only. They
will eat their own bread and not the Bread of Heaven He offers, and will wear
their own filthy rags of sin instead of His Robe of Righteousness. But
they desire the dignity of being called, only, by His name.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Friend, it is quite possible that you have been called and invited, but never
accepted the invitation. A gift may be offered, but it is not fully a gift
until it has been received. Have you accepted, with serious heart and intent, the
Redemption made available through the blood of Christ? Are you of that FEW who
are both called and chosen; or have you left the forgotten invitation among all
of the worldly papers that clutter your desk?
Rev Rick Reid of
Saint Peter’s Sunday Sermon
We are happy to have a
sermon from Reverend Rick Reid, minister of Saint Peter’s, whose congregation
is right at the Worldwide Headquarters of the Anglican Orthodox Church. Rev Rick has all the resources and challenges
right at hand.
Overcoming Fear
The world we live in affords us so many opportunities to experience
fear and anxiety, but there can be no mistaking that God does not intend for us
to live a life of fear. God’s word is filled with promises, that we can
overcome any fear, and that we do not need to let it affect us. In fact, the phrase
do not fear or fear not is mentioned 365 times in the Bible. When Timothy was going through a tough
time as a young Pastor, Paul
wrote to him in his second letter: 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear:
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
This verse tells us the spirit of fear is not of God! We can know if we have fear, it is not
what God wants for us. He did not give it to us. We know when we feel fear, we know it isn’t from God.
We have to realize God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but He did give us a
different spirit. He gave us His Spirit, The Holy Spirit, (the great
comforter).
Paul again tells Timothy 2 Timothy 1:14 That good thing which was committed unto
thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. And also tells the
Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.
God’s Spirit lives in, and abides in, you. Not just near you, but right
inside of you! Everywhere you go, and in everything you do, God’s Spirit is
with you. Since God’s Spirit is in us, we are not to be afraid. The Spirit that
He has given us is not cowardly or timid, is not lacking in love, and is not
confused and unstable. It is a Spirit of power, love and a sound mind.
No matter what we are going through, or how weak our human spirit
feels, we have power (already), on the inside of us. When we feel like we
cannot get along with another person, or when we don’t like anyone, much less
love them, we have love on the inside of us. When we feel life is too much,
that there are too many decisions to be made, and we feel like we are losing
our minds, we must remember we have a sound mind right on the inside of us! We
don’t have to be afraid, because God has given us His Spirit to combat anything
that would make us afraid.
We may not always feel like His Spirit is there doing His job, but that
isn’t because of anything God has, or hasn’t done. We have to nurture and grow
in Christ so we can recognize and receive that gift in our lives. We can’t live
our lives always being worldly or carnal minded, and expect to fully and
completely, receive that gift.
As Paul told the Corinthians in his first letter: (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, 3:1-3), And I,
brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even
as unto babes in Christ.2 I have fed you with milk, and not
with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye
able.3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
What he is saying is that even though they are believers, Paul could
only give them the milk of God’s word……meaning the basic elementary things, and
could not give them the meat….the deeper and even more useful things of God
because they were still carnally or worldly minded. They were still following
after the flesh rather than following after the spirit.
If we want to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in our lives as
effectively as He can, we must seek after spiritual things. We must take time
to read and study God’s word, to pray, and to have fellowship with our Lord.
When we do these things we are stirring up the gift that God has given
to us, as Paul instructed Timothy to do in his second letter. (2 Timothy 1:6). 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God,
which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. He says as we stir
up the gift, the fear will decrease and we will see that power, love, and sound
mind, increase in our day to day life.
So begin to stir up the gift that God has given you to help you conquer
any fear that is trying to have a hold in your life, and remember fear's allies
are sin and Satan. Paul has this to say about Satan in his second letter to the
Corinthians: (2nd
Corinthians 2:11) “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us:
for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
If you know your enemy, you know how to
defeat him. We must all be positive thinkers regarding Satan: Positive that he
does indeed, exist. Positive that he wants to defeat us and keep us from
heaven. Positive that evil is lurking in many corners of the world. Most
importantly, we must also be positive that our Lord and Saviour is stronger
than any enemy we may encounter.
As we read in 1st John 4:4“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater
is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”St. Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Philippians: Philippians 4:7-8
“And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
In other words we need to fix our thoughts
on Jesus for he is always true, as he told us: I am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
The next time you are gripped by fear remember what we talked about
today, and remember the words of the Psalmist:
Psalms 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will
trust in thee.
Rev Bryan Dabney
of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon
We are fortunate to
have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you
want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, expouse the
truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I
commend it to your careful reading.
Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
Prior to our regeneration in Christ Jesus, all of us had been involved
in one sort of sinful behavior or another. Even as babes in Christ, we might
have occasionally wandered away from the-straight-and-narrow-way on account of
our relationship with friends and relatives who were of the unregenerated
masses. God did not save us so that we could keep to our old ways, neither did
he fill us with his most holy Spirit so that we might continue to follow after
the wicked spirit of this world. In our epistle, St. Paul admonished us to, See
then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time
because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16).
He also warned the Thessalonians, . . . we beseech you, brethren, and
exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to
walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more (I Thessalonians 4:1-7).
To the Corinthian church he wrote, Know ye not that ye are the temple
of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the
temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are (3:16-17).
And in that same letter he stated rather pointedly that, I wrote unto
you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the
fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with
idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written
unto you not to keep company, if any that is called a brother be a fornicator,
or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner;
with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that
are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without
God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person
(5:9-13).
He advised the Ephesian church to, walk as children of the light: (for
the fruits of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (5:11).
And to the Colossians (3:1-10), he wrote, If ye then be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify
therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, in which is
idolatry ... seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on
the new man which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of him that
created him.
The crux of the issue is this: because our bodies are temples of the
living God, we should be on guard against the devil’s attempts to steer us out
of a godly path and into paths of unrighteousness. A true Christian is a
regenerated person because he or she has been born again through the power of
the Holy Ghost. Such a person is then expected to serve the Lord Jesus Christ
by bearing fruit on his behalf. But such cannot be accomplished if said person
continues to engage in the unfruitful works of darkness of his or her former
life apart from Christ. That makes it doubly important that we be mindful of
our words and deeds for they serve as the billboard of our faith and practice.
If our lives lived do not match what we say we believe, then our
witness will be treated as hypocrisy by those who heard our testimony. And so,
without a doubt we should engage in self-examination, and that ought to lead us
into self- judgment, as this is what God desires else he will scourge and
chasten us as a godly parent would do to an unruly child.
But there is an important distinction between the regenerated person’s
godly self-judgment and that of the many self-help programs which are in vogue
today. Throughout history, men have sought to remake themselves into a
something new or better as per some artificial standard of reputed excellence.
Profane man is notorious for setting up standards for himself apart from God.
The irony of it all is that he rarely ever follows them. To borrow a line from
the Communists, “rules are like pie crusts, made to be broken.”
There can be no doubt who is behind such thinking. Satan loves to have
human beings elevate themselves as paragons of virtue only to topple them
through their vanity and pride. The modern political mantra of “Yes-you-can” is
overflowing with the failed notion of self-reformation as described by our Lord
in St. Luke’s gospel (11:14-28). In very straight-forward language, our Lord
said that without a change of heart brought on by the Holy Spirit, the
unregenerate cannot have anything but a temporary respite from an indwelling by
demonic spirits. Only through the acceptance of our Lord’s sacrifice can one
truly find relief from the perils of the world, the flesh and the devil.
The current New Age movement is nothing more than demonic influence
masking as some trendy religious choice. Through its gurus and guides, the
forces of darkness have ensnared a host of unsuspecting souls. These false
teachers have led their charges in every direction but toward the truth of
Jesus Christ as found within the pages of the Holy Bible.
St. Peter once said of these, But there were false prophets also among
the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them... And many
shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be
evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make
merchandise of you... [These are those who] walk after the flesh...
presumptuous... selfwilled... wells without water, clouds that are carried with
a tempest: to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever... While they
promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of
whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage (II St. Peter 2:1-19)
And St. John observed in his first epistle (4:1-6), Beloved, believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many
false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that
it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he
that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world,
and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he
that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the
spirit of error.
The unregenerate today are possessed by this same spirit of error which
the beloved apostle made mention of in his first epistle. Such persons can seek
peace and safety all they want, but their ungodly beliefs and practices will
net them little except more misery and hopelessness. Their cult gatherings and
mantra chanting will not get them to the next level of consciousness, only a
one-way ticket to hell itself.
As the apostle Paul once penned (II Corinthians 5:11) Knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord, we persuade men . . . and such is part and parcel of
our Christian witness. We should persuade as many as we can to seek after the
truth of God in Christ Jesus. We should encourage them to learn of him and seek
his forgiveness for their sins. We should inform them of the great, condescending
love which he has for his own, and, in turn, that they should love him and have
heaven, rather than to be separated from his love and mercy for an eternity in
the fires of perdition.
Because we love the Godhead, our Christian witness must include our
admonition to all that they put on the new man of the Spirit of God and discard
the old man of the flesh. To effectually know the salvation of God, one must be
born again of the Holy Ghost, and then afterwards, such a person must endeavor
to maintain fellowship with the Father by living his or her life in a manner
that keeps the flesh under control and subservient to the will of God. If we
truly are in Christ, we will have this new nature. We will shun evil in every
form and appearance; for in so doing, we will not bring disrepute on the word
of God by acts of ungodliness. That is what St. Paul was speaking of when he
encouraged us to walk circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15). As regenerated people, we
have been called to put on that new man of the Scriptures and avoid any false
recreation that has been shaped by the will of our adversary. Therefore , my
brethren, walk circumspectly.
Let us pray,
|
F
|
ather, bless us with thy most holy Spirit, so that
we might be able to walk circumspectly in this life and lead others to do the same; for this we
ask in the name of our only Mediator and Advocate even Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
From
Bishop Jerry
ONE
BLOOD
by J. C.
Ryle
"He made from one blood
every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined
appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings" Acts 17:26
This is a very short and simple text, and
even a child knows the meaning of its words. But simple as it is, it supplies
food for much thought, and it forms part of a speech delivered by a great man
on a great occasion.
The speaker is the Apostle of the
Gentiles, Paul. The hearers are the cultivated men of Athens, and
specially the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The place is Mars' Hill
at Athens, in full view of religious buildings and statues, of which even the
shattered remains are a marvel of art at this day. Never perhaps were such a
place, such a man, and such an audience brought together! It was a strange
scene. And how did Paul use the occasion? What did this Jewish stranger, this
member of a despised nation, coming from an obscure corner of Asia, this little
man whose "bodily presence was weak," and very unlike the ideal
figure in one of Raphael's paintings—what does he say to these
intellectual Greeks?
He tells them boldly the unity of the true
God. There is only one God, the maker of heaven and earth, and not many
deities, as his hearers seem to think, a God who needed no temples made with
hands, and was not to be represented by images made of wood or metal or stone.
Standing in front of the stately Parthenon
and the splendid statue of Minerva, he sets before his refined hearers the
ignorance with which they worshiped—the folly of idolatry—the
coming judgment of all mankind—the certainty of a resurrection—and
the absolute need of repentance. And not least, he tells the proud men of
Athens that they must not flatter themselves that they were superior beings, as
they vainly supposed, made of finer clay, and needing less than other races of
men. No! he declares that "God has made of one blood all nations."
There is no difference. The nature, the needs, the obligation to God of all
human beings on the globe are one and the same.
I shall stick to that expression "one
blood," and confine myself entirely to it. I see in it three great points—
1. A point of fact.
2. A point of doctrine.
3. A point of duty.
Let me try to unfold them.
I. In the first place comes
the point of FACT. We are all made "of one blood." Then
the Bible account of the origin of man is true. The Book of Genesis is right.
The whole family of mankind, with all its thousand millions, has descended from
one pair—from Adam and Eve.
This is a humbling fact, no doubt—but
it is true. Kings and their subjects, rich and poor, learned and unlearned,
prince and pauper, the educated Englishman and the untutored African, the
fashionable lady of London and the North American squaw—all, all might trace
their pedigree, if they could trace it through sixty centuries, to one man and
one woman. No doubt in the vast period of six thousand years immense varieties
of races have gradually been developed. Hot climates and cold climates have
affected the color and physical peculiarities of nations. Civilization and
culture have produced their effect on the habits, demeanor, and mental
attainments of the inhabitants of different parts of the globe. Some of Adam's
children in the lapse of time have been greatly degraded, and some have been
raised and improved. But the great fact remains the same. The story written by
Moses is true. All the dwellers in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America originally
sprang from Adam and Eve. We were all "made of one blood."
Now why do I dwell on all this? I do it
because I wish to impress on the minds of my readers the plenary inspiration
and divine authority of the Book of Genesis. I want you to hold fast the old
teaching about the origin of man, and to refuse steadily to let it go.
I need hardly remind you that you live in
a day of abounding skepticism and unbelief. Clever writers and lecturers are
continually pouring contempt on the Old Testament Scriptures, and especially on
the Book of Genesis. The contents of that venerable document, we are frequently
told, are not to be read as real historical facts, but as fictions and fables.
We are not to suppose that Adam and Eve were the only man and woman originally
created, and that all mankind sprang from one pair. We are rather to believe
that different races of human beings have been called into existence in
different parts of the globe, at different times, without any relationship to
one another. In short, we are coolly informed that the narratives in the first
half of Genesis are only pleasing Oriental romances, and are not realities at
all! Now, when you hear such talk as this, I charge you not to be moved or
shaken for a moment. Stand fast in the old paths of the faith, and especially
about the origin of man. There is abundant evidence that Moses is right, and
those who impugn his veracity and credibility are wrong. We are all descended
from one fallen father. We are "all of one blood."
It would be easy to show, if the limits of
this paper permitted, that the oldest traditions of nations all over the globe
confirm the account given by Moses in the most striking manner. Geikie, in his
'Hours with the Bible', has briefly shown that the story of the first pair, the
serpent, the fall, the flood, and the ark are found cropping up in one form or
another in almost every part of the habitable world. But the strongest proof of
our common origin is to be found in the painful uniformity of man's moral
nature, whatever be the color of his skin. Go where you will on the globe, and
observe what men and women are everywhere. Go to the heart of Africa or China,
or to the remotest island of the Pacific Ocean, and mark the result of your
investigations. I boldly assert that everywhere, and in every climate, you will
find the moral nature of the human race exactly the same. Everywhere you will
find men and women are naturally wicked, corrupt, selfish, proud, lazy,
deceitful, godless— servants of lusts and passions.
And I contend that nothing can reasonably
account for this but the first three chapters of Genesis. We are what we are
morally, because we have sprung from one parent, and partake of his nature. We
are all descendants of one fallen Adam, and in Adam we all died. Moses is
right. We are all of "one blood."
After all, if doubt remains in any man's
mind, and he cannot quite believe the narratives of Genesis, I ask him to
remember what a deadly blow his unbelief strikes at the authority of the New
Testament. It is easy work to point out difficulties in the first book of the
Bible; but it is not easy to explain away the repeated endorsement which
Genesis receives from Christ and the Apostles. There is no getting over the
broad fact that creation, the serpent, the fall, Cain and Abel, Enoch, Noah,
the flood, the ark, Abraham, Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, are
all mentioned in the New Testament as historical things or historical persons.
What shall we say to this fact? Were Christ and the Apostles deceived and
ignorant? The idea is absurd. Did they dishonestly accommodate themselves to
the popular views of their hearers, in order to procure favor with them,
knowing all the time that the things and persons they spoke of were fictitious,
and not historical at all? The very idea is wicked and profane. We are shut up
to one conclusion, and I see no alternative.
If you give up the Old Testament, you must
give up the New also. There is no standing-ground between disbelief of the
supernatural narratives of Genesis and disbelief of the gospel. If you cannot
believe Moses, you ought not to trust Christ and the Apostles, who certainly
did believe him. Are you really wiser than the Lord Jesus Christ or Paul? Do
you know better than they? Cast such notions behind your back. Stand firm on
the old foundation, and be not carried away by modern theories. And as a great
cornerstone, place beneath your feet the fact of our text, the common origin of
all mankind. "We are all made of one blood."
II. From the point of fact
in our text I now pass on to the point of DOCTRINE. Are we all of
"one blood"? Then we all need one and the same remedy for the great
family disease of our souls. The disease I speak of is sin. We inherit it from
our parents, and it is a part of our nature. We are born with it, whether
gentle or simple, learned or unlearned, rich or poor, as children of fallen
Adam, with his blood in our veins. It is a disease which grows with our growth
and strengthens with our strength, and unless cured before we die, will be the
death of our souls!
Now, what is the only remedy for this
terrible spiritual disease? What will cleanse us from the guilt of sin? What
will bring health and peace to our poor dead hearts, and enable us to walk with
God while we live, and dwell with God when we die? To these questions I give a
short but unhesitating reply. For the one universal soul-disease of all Adam's
children there is only one remedy. That remedy is "the precious blood of
Christ." To the blood of Adam we owe the beginning of our deadly spiritual
ailment. To the blood of Christ alone must we all look for a cure.
When I speak of the "blood of
Christ," my readers must distinctly understand that I do not mean the
literal material blood which flowed from His hands and feet and side as He hung
on the cross. That blood, I doubt not, stained the fingers of the soldiers who
nailed our Lord to the tree; but there is not the slightest proof that it did
any good to their souls. If that blood were really in the Communion cup at the
Lord's Supper, as some profanely tell us, and we touched it with our lips, such
mere physical touch would avail us nothing. Oh no! When I speak of the
"blood" of Christ as the cure for the deadly ailment which we all
inherit from the blood of Adam, I mean the life-blood which Christ shed, and
the redemption which Christ obtained for sinners when He died for them on
Calvary—the salvation which He procured for us by His vicarious sacrifice—the
deliverance from the guilt and power and consequences of sin, which He
purchased when He suffered as our Substitute.
This and this only is what I mean when I
speak of "Christ's blood" as the one medicine needed by all Adam's
children. The thing that we all need to save us from eternal death is not
merely Christ's incarnation and life—but Christ's death. The atoning
"blood" which Christ shed when He died, is the grand secret of
salvation. It is the blood of the second Adam suffering in our stead, which
alone can give life or health and peace to all who have the first Adam's blood
in their veins.
I can find no words to express my deep
sense of the importance of maintaining in our Church the true doctrine of the
blood of Christ. One plague of our age is the widespread dislike to sound
doctrine. In the place of it, the idol of the day is a kind of jelly-fish
Christianity--a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or sinew--without any
distinct teaching about the atonement or the work of the Spirit, or
justification, or the way of peace with God--a vague, foggy, misty
Christianity, of which the only watchwords seem to be, "You must be
liberal and kind. You must condemn no man's doctrinal views. You must think
everybody is right, and nobody is wrong."
And this Creedless kind of religion, we
are actually told, is to give us peace of conscience! And not to be satisfied
with it in a sorrowful, dying world, is a proof that you are very
narrow-minded! Satisfied, indeed! Such a religion might possibly do for
unfallen angels. But to tell sinful, dying men and women, with the blood of our
father Adam in their veins, to be satisfied with it, is an insult to common
sense, and a mockery of our distress. We need something far better than this.
We need the blood of Christ.
What says the Scripture about "that
blood"? Let me try to put my readers in remembrance. Do we want to be
clean and guiltless now in the sight of God? It is written that "the blood
of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin"—that "it justifies"—that
"it makes us near to God"— that "through it there is redemption,
even the forgiveness of sin"—that it "purges the
conscience"—that "it makes peace between God and man"—that it
gives "boldness to enter into the holiest." Yes! it is expressly
written of the saints in glory, that "they had washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb," and that they had
"overcome their souls' enemies by the blood of the Lamb" (1 John 1:7;
Col. 1:20; Heb. 10:19; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:14; Eph. 2:13; Rom. 5:9; Rev. 7:14).
Why, in the name of common sense, if the
Bible is our guide to heaven, why are we to refuse the teaching of the Bible
about Christ's blood, and turn to other remedies for the great common
soul-disease of mankind? If, besides this, the sacrifices of the Old Testament
did not point to the sacrifice of Christ's death on the cross, they were
useless, unmeaning forms, and the outer courts of tabernacle and temple were
little better than shambles. But if, as I firmly believe, they were meant to
lead the minds of Jews to the better sacrifice of the true Lamb of God, they
afford unanswerable confirmation of the position which I maintain this day.
That position is, that the one "blood of Christ" is the spiritual
medicine for all who have the "one blood of Adam" in their veins.
Does any reader of this paper want to do
good in the world? I hope that many do. He is a poor style of Christian who
does not wish to leave the world better, when he leaves it, than it was when he
entered it. Take the advice I give you this day. Beware of being content with
half-measures and inadequate remedies for the great spiritual disease of
mankind. You will only labor in vain if you do not show men the blood of the
Lamb. Like the fabled Sisyphus, however much you strive, you will find the
stone ever rolling back upon you.
Education, sobriety, cleaner dwellings,
popular concerts, blue ribbon leagues, white cross armies, penny readings,
museums, all are very well in their way; but they only touch the surface of
man's disease—they do not go to the root. They cast out the devil for a little
season; but they do not fill his place, and prevent him coming back again.
Nothing will do that but the story of the cross applied to the conscience by
the Holy Spirit, and received and accepted by faith. Yes! it is the blood of
Christ—not His example only, or His beautiful moral teaching, but His vicarious
sacrifice that meets the needs of the soul. No wonder that Peter calls it
"precious." Precious it has been found by the heathen abroad, and by
the noble and the peasant at home. Precious it was found on a death-bed by the
mighty theologian Bengel, by the unwearied laborer John Wesley, by the late
Archbishop Longley, and Bishop Hamilton in our own days. May it ever be
precious in our eyes! If we want to do good, we must make much of the blood of
Christ. There is only one fountain that can cleanse any one's sin. That
fountain is the blood of the Lamb.
III. The third and last
point which arises out of our text is a point of DUTY. Are we all of
"one blood"? Then we ought to live as if we were. We ought to behave
as members of one great family. We ought to "love as brethren." We
ought to put away from us anger, wrath, malice, quarreling, as specially
hateful in the sight of God. We ought to cultivate kindness and charity towards
all men. The dark-skinned African, the dirtiest dweller in some vile slum of
London, has a claim upon our attention. He is a relative and a brother, whether
we like to believe it or not. Like ourselves, he is a descendant of Adam and
Eve, and inherits a fallen nature and a never-dying soul.
Now what are we Christians doing to prove
that we believe and realize all this? What are we doing for our brethren? I
trust we do not forget that it was wicked Cain who asked that awful question,
"Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen. 4:9).
What are we doing for the heathen abroad?
That is a grave question, and one which I have no room to consider fully. I
only remark that we do far less than we ought to do. The nation whose proud
boast it is that her flag is to be seen in every port on the globe, gives less
to the cause of foreign missions than the cost of a single first-class ironclad
man-of-war.
But what are we doing for the masses at
home? That is a far graver question, and one which imperiously demands a reply.
The heathen are out of sight and out of mind. The English masses are near by
our own doors, and their condition is a problem which politicians and
philanthropists are anxiously trying to solve, and which cannot be evaded. What
are we doing to lessen the growing sense of inequality between rich and poor,
and to fill up the yawning gulf of discontent? Socialism, and communism, and
confiscation of property are looming large in the distance, and occupying much
attention in the press. Atheism and secularism are spreading fast in some
quarters, and specially in overgrown and neglected parishes, Now what is the
path of duty?
I answer without hesitation, that we need
a larger growth of brotherly love in the land. We need men and women to grasp
the great principle, that we are all of "one blood," and to lay
themselves out to do good. We need the rich to care more for the poor, and the
employer for the employed, and wealthy congregations for the working-class
congregations in the great cities, and the West End of London to care more for
the East and the South. And, let us remember, it is not merely temporal relief
that is needed. The Roman emperors tried to keep the proletarians and the lower
classes quiet by the circus games and donations of food. And some ignorant
modern Britons seem to think that money, cheap food, good dwellings, and
recreation are healing medicines for the evils of our day in the lowest stratum
of society. It is a complete mistake. What the masses need is more sympathy,
more kindness, more brotherly love, more treatment as if they were really of
"one blood" with ourselves. Give them that, and you will fill up half
the gulf of discontent.
It is a common saying in this day, that
the working classes have no religion, that they are alienated from the Church
of England, that they cannot be brought to church, and that it is hopeless and
useless to try to do them good. I believe nothing of the kind. I believe the
working classes are not one jot more opposed to religion than the "upper
ten thousand," and that they are just as open to good influences, and even
more likely to be saved if they are approached in the right way. But what they
do like is to be treated as "one blood," and what is needed is a
great increase of sympathy and personal friendly dealing with them.
I confess that I have immense faith in the
power of sympathy and kindness. I believe the late Judge Talfourd hit the right
nail on the head when he said, in almost his last charge to a Grand Jury at
Stafford Court, "Gentlemen, the great need of the age is more sympathy
between classes." I entirely agree with him; I think an increase of
sympathy and fellow-feeling between high and low, rich and poor, employer and
employed, parson and people, is one healing medicine which the age demands.
Sympathy, exhibited in its perfection, was
one secondary cause of the acceptance which Christ's gospel met with on its
first appearance in the heathen world. Well says Lord Macaulay, "It was
before Deity taking a human form, walking among men, partaking of their
infirmities, leaning on their bosoms, weeping over their graves, slumbering in
the manger, bleeding on the cross, that the prejudices of the synagogue, and
the doubts of the academy, and the swords of thirty legions, were humbled in
the dust." And sympathy, I firmly believe, can do as much in the
nineteenth century as it did in the first. If anything will melt down the cold
isolation of classes in these latter days, and make our social body consist of
solid cubes compacted together, instead of spheres only touching each other at
one point, it will be a large growth of Christlike sympathy.
Now I assert confidently that the English
working man is peculiarly open to sympathy. The working man may live in a poor
dwelling; and after toiling all day in a coal pit, or cotton mill, or iron
foundry, or dock, or chemical works, he may often look very rough and dirty.
But after all, he is flesh and blood like ourselves. Beneath his outward
roughness he has a heart and a conscience, a keen sense of justice, and a
jealous recollection of his rights as a man and a Briton. He does not want to
be patronized and flattered, any more than to be trampled on, scolded, or
neglected; but he does like to be dealt with as a brother, in a friendly, kind,
and sympathizing way. He will not be driven; he will do nothing for a cold,
hard man, however clever he may be.
But give him a Christian visitor to his
home who really understands that it is the heart and not the coat which makes
the man, and that the guinea's worth is in the gold, and not in the stamp upon
it. Give him a visitor who will not only talk about Christ, but sit down in his
house, and take him by the hand in a Christlike, familiar way. Give him a
visitor, and specially a clergyman, who realizes that in Christ's holy religion
there is no respect of persons, that rich and poor are "made of one
blood," and need one and the same atoning blood, and that there is only
one Savior, and one Fountain for sin, and one heaven, both for employers and
employed. Give him a clergyman who can weep with those who weep, and rejoice
with those who rejoice, and feel a tender interest in the cares, and troubles,
and births, and marriages, and deaths of the humblest dweller in his parish.
Give the working man, I say, a clergyman of that kind, and, as a general rule,
the working man will come to his church, and not be a communist or an infidel.
Such a clergyman will not preach to empty benches.
How little, after all, do most people seem
to realize the supreme importance of brotherly love and the absolute necessity
of imitating that blessed Savior who "went about doing good" to all,
if we would prove ourselves His disciples! If ever there was a time when
conduct like that of the good Samaritan in the parable was rare, it is the time
in which we live. Selfish indifference to the needs of others is a painful
characteristic of the age. Search the land in which we live, from the Isle of
Wight to Berwick-on-Tweed, and from the Land's End to the North Foreland, and
name, if you can, a single county or town in which the givers to good works are
not a small minority, and in which philanthropic and religious agencies are not
kept going, only and entirely, by painful begging and constant importunity. Go
where you will, the report is always the same. Hospitals, missions at home and
abroad, evangelistic and educational agencies, churches, chapels, and mission
halls—all are incessantly checked and hindered by lack of support.
Where are the Samaritans, we may well ask,
in this land of Bibles and Testaments? Where are the Christians who live as if
we are "all of one blood"? Where are the men who love their
neighbors, and will help to provide for dying bodies and souls? Where are the
people always ready and willing to give unasked, and without asking how much
others have given? Millions are annually spent on sports, and hunting, and
yachting, and racing, and gambling, and balls, and theaters, and dressing, and
pictures, and furniture, and recreation. Little, comparatively, ridiculously
little, is given or done for the cause of Christ. A miserable guinea
subscription too often is the whole sum bestowed by some Croesus on the bodies
and souls of his fellow-men. The very first principles of giving seem lost and
forgotten in many quarters. People must be bribed and tempted to contribute by
bazaars, as children in badly-managed families are bribed and tempted to be
good by sugar-plums! They must not be expected to give unless they get
something in return! And all this goes on in a country where people call
themselves Christians, and go to church, and glory in ornate ceremonials, and
theatrical performances, and what are called "peppy services,"
and profess to believe the parable of the Good Samaritan. I fear there will be
a sad waking up at the last day.
Where, after all, to come to the root of
the matter, where is that brotherly love which used to be the distinguishing
mark of the primitive Christians? Where, amid the din of controversy and
furious strife of parties, where is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the
primary mark of spiritual regeneration? Where is that charity, without which we
are no better than "sounding brass and tinkling cymbals"? Where is
the charity which is the bond of perfectness? Where is that love by which our
Lord declared all men should know His disciples, and which John said was the
distinction between the children of God and the children of the devil? Where is
it, indeed?
Read in the newspapers the frightfully
violent language of opposing politicians. Mark the hideous bitterness of
controversial theologians, both in the press and on the platform. Observe the
fiendish delight with which anonymous letter-writers endeavor to wound the
feelings of opponents, and then to pour vitriol into the wound. Look at all
this ghastly spectacle which any observing eye may see any day in England. And
then remember that this is the country in which men are reading the New
Testament and professing to follow Christ, and to believe that they are all of
"one blood." Can anything more grossly inconsistent be conceived? Can
anything be imagined more offensive to God? Truly, it is astonishing that such
myriads should be so keen about Christian profession and external worship, and
yet so utterly careless about the simplest elements of Christian practice.
Where there is no love there is no spiritual life. Without brotherly love,
although baptized and communicants, men are dead in trespasses and sins.
I shall wind up all I have to say on the
point of duty by reminding my readers of the SOLEMN WORDS which Matthew records
to have been spoken by our Lord in the twenty-fifth chapter of his Gospel. In
the great and dreadful day of judgment, when the Son of man shall sit on the
throne of His glory, there are some to whom He will say, "Depart from Me,
you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his
angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you
gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn't take Me in; I was
naked and you didn't clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn't take care of
Me.' "Then they too will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or
thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help
You?' "Then He will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did not do
for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.' "And they
will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life." (Matthew 25:41-46)
I declare I know very few passages of
Scripture more solemn and heart-searching than this. It is not charged against
these unhappy lost souls, that they had committed murder, adultery, or theft,
or that they had not been church-goers or communicants. Oh, no! nothing of the
kind. They had simply done nothing at all. They had neglected love to
others. They had not tried to lessen the misery, or increase the happiness, of
this sin-burdened world. They had selfishly sat still, done no good, and had no
eyes to see, or hearts to feel, for their brethren the members of Adam's great
family. And so their end is everlasting punishment! If these words cannot set
some people thinking when they look at the state of the masses in some of our
large towns, nothing will.
And now I shall close this paper with
three words of FRIENDLY ADVICE, which I commend to the attention of all who
read it. They are words in season for the days in which we live, and I am sure
they are worth remembering.
(a) First and foremost, I charge you never
to give up the old doctrine of the plenary inspiration of the whole Bible. Hold
it fast, and never let it go. Let nothing tempt you to think that any part of
the grand old volume is not inspired, or that any of its narratives, and
especially in Genesis, are not to be believed. Once take up that ground, and
you will find yourself on an inclined plane. Well will it be if you do not slip
down into utter infidelity! Faith's difficulties no doubt are great; but the
difficulties of skepticism are far greater.
(b) In the next place, I charge you never
to give up the old doctrine of the blood of Christ, the complete satisfaction
which that atoning blood made for sin, and the impossibility of being saved
except by that blood. Let nothing tempt you to believe that it is enough to
look at the example of Christ, or to receive the sacrament which Christ
commanded to be received, and which many nowadays worship like an idol. When
you come to your deathbed, you will need something more than an example and a
sacrament. Take heed that you are found resting all your weight on Christ's
substitution for you on the cross, and His atoning blood, or it will be better
if you had never been born.
(c) Last but not least, I charge you never
to neglect the duty of brotherly love, and practical, active, sympathetic
kindness towards every one around you, whether high or low, or rich or poor.
Try daily to do some good upon earth, and to leave the world a better world
than it was when you were born. If you are really a child of God, strive to be
like your Father and your great elder Brother in heaven. For Christ's sake, do
not be content to have religion for yourself alone. Love, charity, kindness,
and sympathy are the truest proofs that we are real members of Christ, genuine
children of God, and rightful heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
Of "one blood" we were all born.
In "one blood" we all need to be washed. To all partakers of Adam's
"one blood" we are bound, if we love life, to be charitable,
sympathizing, loving, and kind. The time is short. We are going, going—and
shall soon be gone to a world where there is no evil to remedy—and no scope for
works of mercy. Then for Christ's sake let us all try to do some good before we
die, and to lessen the sorrows of this sin-burdened world.
[1]
In that day, the giver
of such a feast would have provided wedding garments for those who traveled far
and were unable to bring one. In
our case, Jesus provides the appropriate garb to those who will wear it, not
just accept it and put it to one side.
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