PULPIT MESSAGES

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 101, 23 January 1933, Page 10

PULPIT MESSAGES

Wellington Churches

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Definition by St. Paul

“Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; all things are passed away; behol.d all things are become new,” ii. Corinthians v., was the text taken by Mr. K. H. Evans at the Roseneath Presbyterian Church on Sunday evening.

“Paul’s definition of the Christian life must be recognised as authoritative,” said Mr. Evans. “He had lived the old life as a natural man. But since

the incident on the Damascus road he had experienced tht fullness of the new life in Christ. It is true in the latter sense he refers to himself as the least of all saints; but does not our judgment do him greater justice when looking back over history we see him as a model of Chris-

tian virtue and integrity? Consequently his references to the Christian life sound a note of certainty which is not lacking in our text. “The Christian life, Paul indicates, has more than a superficial meaning. It is more than the rejection of certain habits and the cultivations of new. It is something which cuts at the very roots of life, and forms a new creation. 'lf any man be in Christ, he is a new creature?

“My first thought is that whereas every man passes through one stage of life, the Christian passes through two. Firsty, there is the discovery of self. Secondly—and herein lies the difference between the old life and the new—he discovers Christ.

“ ‘He (Christ) died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,’ writes Paul. If these words mean anything at all, they mean this—most people discover themselves; fewer discover Christ. The natural man discovering himself strains after many .things—wealth, business, or pleasure. His life revolves around the centre of self. We see an extreme example in the gambler, who cares not a fig for the feelings of others, but also in an excessive pride of dress and vanity of good looks. The characteristic of this life is dissatisfaction. “Christ calls us from the hustle and bustle which we call life, and offers us a new life in Himself. Those happy ones who accept it find their whole world changed—‘all things become new? This leads to my second thought: What is the secret of living the new life? The key words are, ‘in Christ? Around many of our grandest mountains live people who have never attempted to reach the great slopes, and consequently have missed the exhilaration of height.' Many dwellers in the Christian life are like these people. They are content with the plains, and have not realised the rich possibilities of their faith.

“It is not enough to take Christ as we see Him in our literature or our creeds, although both can be extremely helpful. We must experience life in Him, and it is only when we seek for reality that it comes in fullness. It is then we see His great love, and feel our helplessness. It is in our utter despair, as when Paul was humbled at Damascus, that Christ takes us into His service. The new man is born.

‘‘‘Old things are passed away: behold all things become new’ Well, as a final point, isn’t this just what the world is seeking to-day? What are the new things A living not unto oneself, an unselfishness, and a passion for the welfare of men and women. A journalist has recently written a book on his trip through Europe to investigate the causes of the world depression. His summing ’up is somewhat like this —the world crisis is a crisis of distribution. "Then the new life in Christ obviously offers a solution. The new man in Christ will play a great part in the future of the world. For if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away, . behold all things ‘become new? Haye we this new life?”