SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6823, 29 September 1883, Page 3 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

i I "ETERNAL LIFE, THE GIFT OF GOD J THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OOR ? LORD." lir THE REV. J. W. JOHSSTONE, M.A. Incumbent of Christ Church; Eumore, . i Sydney, f " The wase3 of sin is (loath ; bnt tho sift of Gcd is otornil life, through Jceus.. Christ our. Lord."— Eomans vi. 23. 3 The second part of our text presents a contrast with the'first. clause, and is radiant with hop , ; and comfort. Its precious aunouuceineut, so divine, so full of cucpassioc, bo adapted to the wants, the misery, aud the danger which threaten the sinner, is truly a message of mercy. It is like the dsyspring from on high that visits us, "to give light.to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide their feet into the way of peace." "The gift of God," it declares, "it eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Let us ponder this sacred word thoughtfully anJ devoutly, and try with such eagernesH and sincerity of soul rs befit the subject to understand its rneani' gaud profit by its blnsse.l truths. And, first ot al , , it tolls of life w!.ich is eternal, which cmnes, not js the result of plans or efforts, hut as a froe gift. 1. What is this life which shall know no end, and which is freely bestowed by Him who is the great source of life ? Life has loug been as a mystery, and certainly it exhibits features hard to comprehenJ. About the fact ->f life, its iiinumerablo gradations, its curious any beautiful forms, its interesting manifestations, there can be no question. It has existed ou our globe for ages iu endless variety and rich profusion. Vou see it to-day everywhere throughout thu vast vegetable world, in the myriads of insects, in the birda of the a ; r, and in the- mill'ons of tho human race scattered over the face of th- earth, But, though life throughout all these gradations and varieties presents many striking resom'dances, there are remarkable diiferences, and especially as we ascend in Che scalij of organised beings ; for, though we observe in some of the :nfeiior tribes indications of thought, calculation, and affection, we can find nj evidence of a moral •nature, of conscience, of the tense of God, of i lght or wrong; or responsibility, of immortility, of judgment to come. In tlie-te respects wo discern a most real and uond-rful difference b-tween man aud iill the lover grades of organised creitures, and const quensly n higher and nobler kind of life. We find then in man _what we designate | life in common with other creatures -de- j rivfd, nourished, manifested, and matured | in modes to a large extent the s%me or ; similar; but yet we can hardly fail to see . that, at the tamo time, in him it is far i higher and more complex, and capable of : incomparably greater and grander develop- : mmt and manifestations. Here, then, i 3 i ife in man—anira il, intellectual, moral, ] and, we may add, spiritual; that is, the : power, the capacity, to know God, to love i Him, to trust ia Him, to become assimilated ' to His image, to do His will, to 2DJoy His i friendship, to walk in the light of His j countenance, and to be exalted with His t righteousness. This is the highest, purest, ' and most blessed kind of lifo known on i earth ; aud while, in regard to man, it pre- i supposes an organised living being, and the i possession and extreiso of faculties, in- * telk'ctun.l, moral, and spiritual, it implies f and demands as the essential condition of its f health and nurture au>l growth union with t the great Fountain of life—with God Him- 1 self. f God is the grand, the inexhaustible source ■* of life; separated from Him by sin, by ( ignorance or false views, by conscious guilt, £ did.rust, and enmity,- the created miud a carries in it the seeds of dta'.h; and, in f order to live, it. must be restored to God, f and God must bo lvstorcd to it—to its know- i lcjdgp, confidence, and lovo. { Accordingly our blersed Lord declares— c "This is eternal life that they might know I Thee the only truo God, and Jesus' Christ f whom Thou hast sent." Here wo are let t into l l ie very tecret of eternal life to which 1 God has called us iu Christ JosU3, and by J which we may be oxaitcd m thia work! and ■ in that which is to come. It consists in the c knowledge of God inChrist; that is to say, t the conscious, the .transforming, tbe blessed t acquaintance with God Himself, as One, and t with Jesus mi the manifestation of God in * the flesh. (Eph. i. 17-20; iv. 13; Col. i. i 10; 2 Peter i. 1 3, and ii. 20.) * Thia knowledge evidently implies a radical change from tbu death , of sin unto the life of e righteousnpss, the elements of that new, £ that spiritual life, which is begun on earth ; which is nurtured by all the gracious iu- t fluenees vouchsafed from above, and by all 1 the wise and wholesome discipline appointed g by the providence of God., - s Such knowledge embraces the beginning ( and progress of the spiritual, ths eternal r lifo, which is possessed and enjoyed even v here, and wh'ch, in its full development, a b-comes the perfection of ppiritnal life in I Heaven. This is, indeed, life, the only life J known to the Gospel of C'hri3t; and how a precious and beautiful this life, even on d earth, if it be not stunted and injured by o sin and by the things of the world, and if it a be duly nurtured and disciplined day by r day ! It tints t> comes fruitful and useful t and happy. It yields the peaceful fruits of ( righteousness; and, though it cannot originate the s»me vital'principle in others, it 0 can promote its growth and extend the p means for its multiplication, and thus in- i crease its joy. v And how sid the thought that this Diviao l> life in the soul ia so littlo prized, so no- a gleoted in many instances, so abused, and i almost destroyed! Lord open Thou our eyes that wo may perceive its transcend ant u value, its graiuieur, and its blessedness; t aud so be led to sork it, and to guard and o nourish it, that we may be stirred by its a pure impulse", animated by its bright hopes, g aud shaie Ihe eternal felicity that e.wnits it. s

2. With respect to the mode in which this liic is obtained the teaching of our text is i explicit, is Bass it is " the gift of God " About this point there should be no difficulty ; for is there any good thing that does not spring, cither directly or remotely, from > the exuberant Source of blessing? "Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from ' above, and come* down fr.un 'the Father of lights ;" " All tilings are of Him, and from Him, and to Him, to whom be honour and glory everlasting." Accordingly this spiritual and eternal ife, which has been described, isropn seated is a divine gift. And while it may be, and ;enerally is, found in connexion with re'igiouß ordinances, the diligent and devout itudy of the Word of God, and such conlitions and helps as are graciously pfforded is, it does not obtain its origin in ; rorr. these it does not and cannot spring. Tust as in the natural world, it is mainaincd and proved that life, however simple ii humble ita type, does not faring up pontaneously, and does not arise from any ,rrani;ements, however iugeniou l, , but iltrays from antecedent life ; so it is here. Ind the life that precedes this eternal life in iny soul is not of the earth, eat thy; but is icavi'nly ; it is originated by linn who is he overflowing fountain of life. " We are 3is workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." Jut though it be readily admitted thai this ife in iti origin, in its first motions, in its endeucics and affinities be divine, and, herifore, thooQect of infinite benevolence, ret it may not be so regarded when conlidcred in relation to its growth and naturity. Here theie arises the occasion 'or human eflort, for watching and prayer, or self-denial, . for faith and nope and latience, for activity and per.»e\ eranee in lie service of our Master in Heaveu. Is, lien, all this to r-'inain unrecognised and mrewarded? Tn one s»nse, and that, too, nil of encouragement to diligence aud faishulm&s, there will lie a reward—the Divine ipproval on earth, .ind in the future world a il.ice in tho " many mansions ;" the " orown if glory that fadeth not away ;'" ?. share in ;ho' puro and exalted society, the nobf xercibCrf, and the-sweet lepose of eternity. iideecl, throughout Holy Scripture there is ecogniaed a reward for diligence ana idehty in the service of God. - It is, howver, a reward, not of debt, but of £;raco ; ni so this eternal life in tho future, with | .11 its activity and enjoyment, will still bo ' the cift of God." The reason of this may >o rasily understood. It 13 plain that oiir Divine Master can iave no need of the services of Hie creaures, and that, therefore, the good works vhicb He requires of us must tie entirely or our benefit—nob for His—in order to noral improvement. "Cm a man bo proitiblc unto God as he that is wiae.may.be iroUtable nnto himself ? Is, it auy pleasure ;o tho Almighty that thou art righteous ? or s it gain to Him that thou inakest thy ways Ksrfect V .. (Job xxii. 2, 3.) ■ :, • ..

Some, however, are apt to speak aa if they thought that virtae is in itself naturally entitled to reward, and that if any conld lead a life of perfect and unsinning virtue, he might then justly claim to be rewarded with immortal happiness. But from the nature bt duty, it is evident that such a notion is quite groundless. For it is evident that a duty must be something that is due— a debt which we are bound to discbarge. That is the' very meaning of the word. And no one can be justly entitled to reward for merely, paying hi? debts. If a man fail to piT he was bound to pay, he i 3 liible to punishment. If he does piv hi? debts he is exempt from punishment,. and that is all he can claim. .Reward ia what a man is justly entitled .:to,/only, for doing something beyond'what he is bound to—something which he could not have been liable to puni ••hineut for not doing. "For instance, if a man devotes his own property, and time, and labour to the effecting of some great public benefit, when he.wa3 nGt required to do so, ihe nation will think him worthy of being rewarded by some''public ''honour bestowed on him;. There is a merit as regards them, and he is justly '''entitled'to their gratitude, and to any services .they may-he able to <io in return. • But the Most .High has evidently a just claim to the ob-diehce of His creatures, aud all they can do in the keeping <.f His commandments -can havo no claim of moiit in His sight,-being-only the payment of a debt due to' Him. And.t our Lord tells His disciples that when they have done all things, that He has commanded them, they are to. say,." We are unprofitable servants ; .we have, done that which it was our duty to do." And thus also tbe'Apostle Paul speiks of '.' death being the of sin, but eternal lifo the gift of God through Jesus Christ/our.Lord." ;■ ..-.■•"■ . ■3. And here we meet the last interesting topic in our text, the thonght that ;this'jire-' cious life, though divine and gratuitous, is bestowed through' a certain medium.- It comes to us "through Jesns Christ our L0r.1." ' '■' '■■ -. ..■■■■■ ,■

"Mauy to-slay see no necessity for, and refuse to recoguise, such a medium of rli\ ino life in man. They can see in the Ciettbr and Sovereign Lord of all, only benevolence, pity, unbounded and "almost ' unrestricted good-will towards His creatures, the disposition to overlook the £ullie3 and errors and weaknesses of their imperfect-nature, and to provide rest and happiness for them all beyond the grave ; or, perhaps, it should rather be said in the grave. And in man they can perceive co reason, or necessity, cr propriety, for the generous and self-sacri-ficing interposition of a Mediator. Tn their view he has the same nature, tendencies, weaknesses to-diy that he presented countless ages ago, wben he fiisfc appeared on our globe. Indeed, it would seem that he is gradually rising in the scale of being and growing better, and.therefore needs still less and less any divine aid and e::tranrous help. How strange that intelligent thoughtful men do not, or will not, see how one-sided and imperfect and consequently erroneous are such hypotheses ! For surely there is far more to be observed in regard to the Divine Being than His good-will and pity, and far moie iu regari to man than the weakness and imperfection of hn nature. The God of Nature as well ai of Revelation actually manifests Himself as a beiug of justice and terrible mijesty, who is holy and true, as well as good, who reigns on a throne established in righteousness, who is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works, who loves righteousness and will honour and reward it, and hates iniquity in all its form , ", and punishe* it. And in mau may bo seen far more than the feebleness and imperfection supposed to spring from a creature that is wholly material, fur you observe in him intelligence, will, conscience, a capacity for iadelinite i-nptovtment, wants which the world can never fill, ardeut aspirations aftir God and immortality, the stnse of tin and guilt, serious and painful apprehension*, about the future, and the deep need of pardon and peace with God. Aud these faculties,-wants, feelingv and desires can never be satisfactorily accounted for or ex- I plaine i on the theory that he is simply and entirely a material being, or thi>i he has been evolved from lower types in the c urse of u long series of ages. We must go back then to the old story found in the giand old Book of God, the story that tells us of man's original condition of holiness and hippiuess, ■ii-i sflinp'ntton nnd apoataay, anil the eiTects, of his sin on the race. And if this old story thab runs throughout Revelation from first to la3t as well as the teaching God, and His laws and government in our' world, be accepted, the difficulties respecting the necessity for tho Mediator will vanish; and it will-become obvious that salvation in all its fulness and freeness, and eternal life with all its felicity, must be the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Andso we 'find it .declared in a revelation that shall never prove obsolete. " God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Johu iii. 16). And again, "God commendeth His lovo towards us, in that while wo were yet sinners, Christ died for us;" and still further, "Being justified freely by His graci. , , through the redemption that is iu Jesus Christ whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in Mis blood, to declaie His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. To declare at this time His righteousness that He irjight be just, and the justifier of him who believeth iu Jesus" (Romans in. 2i 26). Thus it is that the difficulties in the way of reconciliation with (tod- have been removed, the Divine government ia upheld in its integrity and power, free and ample provision is made for the wants of the vast human family and' all who feel their need and are willing to partake of it may share its benefits and live for ever.

We live under aneconomy oE which Lag been introduced and maintained through the mediation, of the Son of Goci; and. it ;is under it, and there alone, we can find suitable supplies for our chief needs, the forgiveness of siii," strength to help up in our struggles against siu and temptation, real and abiding.comfort, under our Forrows, the sanctification 'of the soul, victory over death, the .hope, the pledge, the. foretaste of eternal life, arid, finally, this life itselt in all its- -perfection ami. blessedness'. . Hence, Jeaus Christ is said to be " the way, the truth and. the life"—ti'io medium of access to God, the light .'of the world, and the means by which we obtain' tlie holy, happy life that shall last for ever; and the song that aacend3, froin myriads of the redeemed in Heaven therefore is arid shall be—," Worthy 13 the Lamb that was slain to reesive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."

WHILE IT IS CALLED TO-DAY. ABisE.for thd diiy'is passing, And you lio dreaming on ; The others bavo buckled their armour. And forth to the llghtjlmvc- gone; A place in Iho ranks awaits you. Each, mini has somo.part to play..; Tho p.ist and tho futnre arc notning In tho faco of tho atom to-day. Rise from your dreams of the future— Of gaining some hard fought held; Of storming some airy fortress, Or bidding some giant yield ; Your future has def ds ol glory, Of honour (God grant it may ') But jour arm will never be stronger, Or tUo need so groat—as to-day. Rise ' for tlio day i 3 p issin;: T.iu sound that you sc ireely heir Is tho onemy mirchiug to battle— Ati-<o ' for tlio too is hero btay not to vour my»[,oi!, Or tho hour viJ ttriko nt last. Whou from dr Jime of coming battle, You m.iy wakf to find U past.