Why am I a Christian?

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume I, Issue 5, 1 November 1910, Page 10

Why am I a Christian?

(Sermon preached by the Bishop of Wniapu, at St. Augustine's, Napier.) " God ioas m Christ, reconciling the World unto Himself." — n. Cor., v., 19. It is sometimes wise to look to your foundations, especially m an age where everything is cast indiscriminately into the crucible of criticism Thank God, we are not afraid of criticism, not afraid of digging beneath the surface, not afraid of Time's decaying hand, not afraid of twentieth century knowledge or scientific discovery. We welcome light from every quarter whijh can cast its bright beams upon the foundations on which the great superstructm c of the Church is built up. 1. What think ye of Christ ? Whose Son is He? Is it possible that the great building of the Christian Church could after all rest on an insecure foundation ? Is it possible that the power of Christ, which has been

the most potent force m the world for so many centuries is after all only the result of the highest human manifestation of Godlikeness which men have hitherto seen or known ? Is it possible that Christ could have done what He has done, inspiied man as Re lms done, helped and consoled men as He has done, if He Himself had been but man ? Ts it -possible that the world is waiting for a still higher manifestation of the Eternal God 1. that God may speak to the worjd as a Keing who will supersede the Christ, and lead men still nearer to Himself? Is it possible that Je^us of Nazareth is only one out of many reflections of the infinite, and that Christianity's little day may pass and a more highly developed religion take' its place ! Is it possible that'Gfod was only m Christ as He maybe said to be m His Saints and Prophets? Did Christ reveal the mind and purpose and attitude of the Eternal Father? and did <iod speak to the world through Him as He has never spoken before or since ? Was Christ only the chief of the Saints, or was he unique^ differing m being and essence from men ? Was lie Divine? Is man an undeveloped Christ and capable of being what Christ was? However much we may exalt man, can we ever picture him sitting on Christ's throne ? How did Christ come to know so much of the Eternal God? If the forces of heredity and environment and education are impossible to account for it, is there atiy other possible cause ? 2. Are we afraid of facing these and similar questions which are constantly brought before us? Are we afraid of searching the very foundations on which our faith and hope are built? No — a thousand times — no. One thing alone is sufficient to answer all our questions, and that is : His sinlessness— one challenge alone stamps Him as unique, and that is : "Which of you convicteth me of sin." Study the lives of all the Saints m or out of the Calendar and you will find that the greater the degree of saintliness the greater the consciousness of sin. The nearer a man gets to God and holiness, the more he realizes his unworthiness, the more he is inclined to cry out : "God be merciful tc me a sinner," " Depart from me for I aw a sinful man, 0 Qod." Was there

any such consciousness of sin m Christ, any consciousness of defilement, and of the need of cleansing? No cry for pardon ever escaped His lips. Have we sufficiently grasped this thought and realized its true importance 1 ? Did Buddha or Mahomet or any other religious teacher or founder ever dare to make such a challenge 1 On the contrary each and all have been filled with the sense of their own un worthiness. Christ alone was unique m. this respect and how can we account for It 1 Only that He stood m a different relation to God the Father than any other being. 8. Again, has any other religious teacher dared to sum up the revelation of the Eternal God m His own Person 1 The most that can be said of any other teacher is that God used him as an instrument through which to declare His will, that God's Spirit inspired him to teach and reveal some aspects of Divine truth, but Christ stands on an absolutely different footing. Christ Himself is the revelation, the message, the unveiling, the pourtrayal. Christianity is not a code of moral rules and precepts, not a scheme apart from Christ. Chri&tianity is Christ, and Christ is Christianity. " Come unto me all ye that labour, tfec." " I and the Father are one." "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." "Come unto me," and you come to the rest which abideth for the people of God. Believe Me and you believe the Eternal Father. See Me and you see the Eternal God as far as mortal eyes can see. It is all so simple — and yet so authoritative : — It is union with Christ, which is union with God ; it is oneness with Christ, which is the guarantee and assurance of oneness with the Eternal for ever. It is Christ who will say at the last great day, " Come, ye blessed of My Father," or, " Depart from Me." Christ who will be the perfect J udge, Christ who will weigh the motives of every heart and the result of every life. Again it is all so simple, so authoritative. Can you possibly conceive of the most mature Saint making such a claim 1 ? Absolutely impossible ! Those three little words, "Come unto Me," are alone sufficient to stamp Christ and Christianity as absolutely unique, as absolutely difieient from every teacher and every

religion which the world has ever known. 4- Again, no one but Cod- Himself could have dared to teach the great truth which has done move for the world than all its philosophers and conquerors and heroes, viz., " God's littleness" God's greatness men have always felt, and that greatness seemed to be the great gulf between God and man. The great truth which has touched the heart of mankind, and which has supplied an answer to the cry of the human soul is God's littleness. The Moslem may tench "God is great," the Buddhist may teach that God is the great infinite soul unto which finite souls will be absorbed. Human systems may speak of God as the First Cause, the Absolute, the Necessary Being, the Unconditioned, the Summum Bonum, the Eternal Euergy, and what not, but man instinctively craves for a personal being, a personal God, a God who is not too great to be human nature's daily food, a God who has a heart as well as a mind, a God who can receive and bestow the great gift of love, a God who is not the slave of His own laws, and Who is not imprisoned m His own universe. It is Christ and Christ alone who has satisfied the craving of the human heart for a God of Love. It is the Christ aspect of the Eternal which has given to me a God whom 1 can fear because I can love. It is God m Christ who meets my utmost need, who not only brings me to my knees m penitence and sorrow, but who bids me to rise as a forgiven and redeemed child. It is God m Christ who comes so near to me m times of suffering and sorrow, It is God m Christ who supports and sustains me as I stand by the open grave. It is God m Christ who allows me to soar to regions beyond this mortal life, and to gaze, not into the mysteries of Nirvana, no' into a Heaven m which human personality is absorbed m Deity, not nto a sensual Paradise, but into a Kingdom m which each has realised ;he summit of his being and each has found his appointed work. 5. Men talk about Miracles— and what difficulty can I find to miracles when I kiiow who Christ is, when I know that Christ has revealed the great truth of God'B freedom ? Christ is the Great Miracle, and the Miracles of th,e Virgin birth and the Resurrected pale before the Miracle of the

Crucified. God's power, greatness, and superiority to His own laws are no difficulty^ but Gods condescension^ what I have called "littleness,'* is at once my difficulty and ray strength. I read and re-read the old stories of Bethlehem and Nazareth and Jerusalem, and I find there a God who comes to meet the needs of human nature, 1 realise that none but the only live God could dare to appeal to the world through His litttleness. I know that Christ could be none other than God Incarnate, for none but God Himself could ever dare to humble Himself as Christ did. 6. Christ is absolutely unique. Unique m the simplicity of His claims, unique m the natural fearlessness of these claims, unique m the claim to know and judge the hearts and motives of men, unique m His claim to sinlessness, unique m His claim to represent absolutely the Eternal God m His own Person, unique m daring to reveal to the world the very inmost feelings of the one God and Father of all. He was the Divine or the great insoluble mystery. I believe that it is m. possible to do justice to His claims and life except by freely and frankly falling down before Him and saying " Lord, 1 believe," etc. That is why I am a Christian, that is why I say from my heart : " And m Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, Born of the Virgin Mary." I believe that God has revealed Himself m Christ as He has never done before, or will do again, and therefore I believe that through Christ and Christ alone can men come into the true knowledge of the All Father, which is Life Eternal.