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IN the following discourses there is a plain and faithful presen- tation of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Presbyterians speak in these pages ; bat the good news of salvation is ever one and the same. The Committee of the British American Book and Tract Society are responsible for the publication of the volume, which they hope will be abundantly owned and blessed by the Spirit of God for the conversion of sinners and the edification of saints. The volume will find Its way by the hands of our Colporteurs into thousands of homes in the most desolate sections of the Maritime Provinces ; and while there m ly be silence in the sanctuary, or distance, or illness may detain the worshipper from its sacred courts, these printed pages will eloquently tell the story of the Redeemer's grace, and His willingness and power to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him. There is but one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. So long as He is held forth, so long as Christ, the ciucified and iisen Lord, is faithfully proclamed, it matters little what name the loyal herald may bear. The Committee rejoice to place wiihin reach of all, this happy demonstration of the essential unity of the followers of Christ. We quote and gladly adopt the words of the eminent Reformers who issued the "Harmony of the Confessions of the Reformed Churches :" " Let US not th-nk it much to take them for brethren whom God vouclKsafeth to take for sons. There hath scarce been any age which hath seen all churches following altogetlier one thing in all points, so as there hath not always been some differences, either in doctrines or ceremonies or m manners; and yet were not Christian churches throughout the world therefore cut asunder. Let us not suffer the poison of discord to spread ; but let us kill this hurtful serpent, that we, being by a frieiully league united together in Christ, may vanquish all antichrists and may smg that hymn to the Lord our (Jod, 'Behold how good and joyful a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in LIFE IN CHRIST. ^' BY REV E. M:. SAUNDERS, D. D " For ye are flead, and your lif«i is hid with Christ in Uod ; when Christ, \'ho is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in Glory, Mortify, therefore, your mtmbers which are upon earth." — Cor. 3; 3, 4, n. ARTHLY mombors, fornication, nncleanncss, passion, evil (le-iiro and covetousness, wliich is idolatry, should be mortified, because the old sinful life is /oaf, the now holy life is /(>un(f, is conc-aled and will be reveuleil in the final revelation of Christ, who is* the life of all the The change to which all irrational creatures are born, and by whicli their short (existence is terminated, comes also upon man. The soul returns to God wlio gave it, and tlie dust returns to the earth w?ience it came. This is death. It is not annihila- tion, it is separation. Here separation, and not extin(>tion, is too evident to admit of doubt. But what of tlie first use of the word death found in scriptures'? The penalty hung over the heads of the parents of the human family for (>ating forbidden fruit, was death. They ate what was forl)idden, and, according to the Word of the Lord, they died. But they remain in possession of all the faculties of body, mind and sjiirit. There is no annihilation, but there is separation. The guilty, fallen creatures know it ; they feel it. What God, in creating them, has johied together, sin puts asunder. What has been forced apart ? They were created holy ; they bore the moral image of their Maker. Tlu; law of righteousness was the law of their lives. From being holy they became imholy. The law of 6 LIFE IN CHRIST. righteousness was exchanged for tlie law of sin. Heaven's eniploynientH an.l i.leuHiires by tlie fall lost tluur power to control and satisfy Adam and Eve and all their seed. After the tran.s- gression there is no resjjonse to their appeals. They call to dead beings. There is no life. "They are dead in tresspasses and sins." In th(! text tluire is another death. The niend)ers of a Corinthian Church are told that tlu^y are dead. This is the inspired designation of their moral and si)iritual state. How shall we cli.arly see this condition of this community of believers? They are told that before they acc.>i)t(Hl Christ they had walked and lived in fornication, uncleanness, inordinate alfection, evil concupiscence, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, lying and filthy communication. Now they are different. A radical change has taken place. Once they were hiwlessand godless ; now they are lunnble and devout, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. The death of the tyxt points to this change. It is the reversal of the death in Eden. Tiiere holiness was lost and sin found ; hero sin is lost and holiness found. There the law of righteousness was exchanged for the law of rebellion against Cod's government. The first change is called death ; the second is also called death. In both cases it is separation' and not annihilation. As heathen, sin reigned in their mortal bodies and in their immortal souls. But they died to sin and were made alive to God. The unholiness' of their natures vanished and gave place to the righteousness of Christ. " I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came sin revived and I died." This was the personal experi(Hice of Saul of Tarsus. The loss of one life precedes the obtaining of another. The cross crucified Saul to the world, and the world to Saul. To every Christian, therefore, the world is a dead, corrupt body. The life has gone out of it. The things loved are hated ; the things hated are loved. The analogy is both graphic MFE IN CHRIST. iind (Mupliatic. What aro the earth, skios, soasonn, storms, lieat, cold, ilarkiKiss and li<,dit, the commotions and activities of country, city and town to men and women Hleepin<,' in tlicir graves'! They liear not, they see not, they can^ not for these thin<^s. The screech of steam, tlie roar of tratlic, the feverish competition of tlie marts of commercie, the |>omp and jf litter of fashion, and the endless strug<,'les for existence ami pleasure are nought to them. They are dead to them. To the single and unitcid a|)peali-' of the world, the flesh ami the adversary, ever fruitful in devices of seductive power, christians are as irresponsive as the buried generations are to the material ohjecta of the life from which they have disappeared. The text, there- fore, tcsaches that there is a Life Ix)ST. Closely joined to the loss of this life is the finding of another life. Immediately following the words, " Ye are dead,' come the words, "your life." Of himsielf l*aul says, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live." The end of the old life Wiis the Ijeginning of *-lie new. Out of the decay of the seed-corn comes the germ of another plant. No sooner do the soul and sin Hei)arate than the soul and holiness come tog(;ther. Tlu; old fire goes out and the new fire is kindhnl. No one can tell when the death of the seed in the soil is complete, and when the new life begins. The law of Cod with the sword of the Spirit smites the old man and he dies. But the exhaling of the last breath of the natural man is followed by the inhaling of the first breath of the si)iritual man. Where death to sin ends, life to holiness begins ; hence the text tells of Life Found. When discoursing on this great subject Christ said, " 1 am the life." " I give unto them eternal life." The source then of the; Christian's life is not far to seek. " I live," said the old apostolic hero, "yet not T, l)ut Christ lives in me." The supply is not produced from within. It comes from without. Jesus 8 MFB m CIIRIHT. lo the Houive. In tin, holy seven howls on Uie s.n'en eandlestic^ka, the sevon pi])es and the* two olive trees supi)lyin^r the oil, ,„,' the Prophet's fi<.ure bv which he repres,.nts the Spirit flowing into the hearts of all saints ; and tluui their achievements an- not by might, not hy power,' but "by my Spirit, saith the Lonl of hosts." From* God all life i)roceeds. At first His Spirit br.K.ded over dead matter, and, under his inspiration, death produced life. " Thou sendest forth thy S])irit, they are created ; Thou takest away Thy Spirit, they die and return to their dust." P.ut Christ's life given to .lead siinu-rs .lillhs from all lif,.. It is neither Innnan nor ang(di.-. It reanimates the dry, I)I<.ached bones, scattered over the world's valley of ,leath. The wcrds of Christ, instinct with His S].irit, })orne by the silent voice of the Holy Ghost, by the printed ])age, and by the speech of living h,.ral(is of the cross, produce a shaking among disjointed skeletons. The result is reconstructiv.', the laying on of sinews, the covering with flesh and skin, and the rising up of a great army. Ezekiel's vision of bones is transformed into a vast army o/ living men. Dead matter, s(!ientists declare cannot produce life. Life is notself-^vnerated in dea.l .souls.-" If thou had'st known the gift of (iod, and who it is that si)eaks to thee, thou would'st have asked of Him and He would have given thee living water. It would be in you a w,dl of water, sj.ringing up into evcTlasting life." So spake Christ to the woman of Samaria. This shows that the life of the text is from Christ. Great indeed is the difference between the jierishabh^ and the imperishable. These elements determine value. For the value LIFK IN CimiHT. 9 of an iirti('l(' depends soiiH^whiit upon its power to resist wear nnd d(U'iiy. The holiness of man's nature, given at his creation, was not eternal. It was expos(Ml to dissolution. The evil that was j)ossihle came and man fell. He lost his holiness. The imag(! of God vanished. What was not given hy the Creator has been obtained and given hy the Saviour. The elements of the original structure, material, moral, mental and spiritual, were laid in ruins. (Ireat was the overthrow. How ditlerent would man's history have l)een had there ])cen no jn-ohation ; or had ho passed through it luispotted hy sin! .Men, animated l>y eternal lift^ would have Imhmi the peers of angels in liojiness and service. l>ut in Ilis ways, wliicli ;ue not our ways, the Creator's decrees niade it otherwis(!. Had the licly life, first bestowed rin man, contained in itself i»ei'manen"y and tlie j)ower to survive and flourish amid the dissolution of a perishulile universe, then the world, instead of being an Aceldama would have been a Paradise. Hut the life given was lost. Milton, however, is justified in singing of a Paradise regained. The new life oll'ered is not subjected to the conditions of the old life. There is for it no })rol)ation. The; life is eternal, essentially eternal, li matters not at wliat stage of life it is received, its continuance is as certain as its Ix-giiuiing. It livens and flouri.sbes amid all the vicissitudes jjossible in tiie history of man. Friends, families ar.d communities may be torn asunder and .scattered far and wide, l)ut the life of Cod in the soul dies not. It thrives in the hut of the ])easant, and in the })alace of the rich. Poverty does not crush it, neitluu- does luxury smother it. " I give mito them eternal life." " Because 1 live, ye shall live also." When tlie gates of death open, strengthened with a fortitude that never shrinks, and with a courage that never quails, the Christian fears no evil, Imt counts it a boon not only to beli(>ve on Christ, l)ut also to suirer and die for Him. This is the evidence of tho power and inspiration of the eternal life, derived from Christ, and manifested in this world. After crossing tlie boundary, 10 LIFE IN CHRIST. dividing this from tlie life beyond, still the life in the soul goes on. As John in vi.sion saw tlic glorified source of life, and heanl Him say, "I am He that liveth and was dead, and, behold, I am alive forever more." So every Christian will see Him. With Christ in glory the redeemed of every age >and nation will en.joy the certainties and blessedness of eternal existence, l-'arallel with the curi'(>nt of life, emanating fi-om all the unfallen intelligenctvs, and with that of Christ Hijnself, the volume of the life of the redeemed will flow on and on throu<'h the eternal future. The life, therefore, found is Eternai<. The works and ways of God are i'emarkal)le for the smallness and simplicity of the means employed, and the vastness