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 It is believed that in the following discourse certain 
 Christian truths of essential importance— much over- 
 looked and misunderstood in these parts— are stated 
 with clearness and great plainness. This consideration, 
 together with others which do not here require to be 
 specified, led to its publication. 
 
 LANiiLKY, B. C, August 2nd. 1878. 
 
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L COR., 1st CHAP., 18th VERSE. 
 
 " tf(;t tliC prpa( bins: of the cross Is to them that perish fooUsh- 
 ness, hut unto us which are saved It Is the power of Ood." 
 
 The positions taken up by the opponents of the 
 Christian faith have often been widely apart. Some 
 have represented it as a pernicious and intolerable sys- 
 tem of priestcraft, supported at enormous expense, and 
 calculated to fetter the intellect and to retard the pro- 
 gress of scientific research and sound philosophy. Often 
 ignorant of its true character, sometimes ignorant even 
 of its leading features, and carried away in the pride 
 of reason by plausible but one-sided theories, they have 
 called upon their fellow men to meet its lofty demands 
 with steady, uncompromising resistance. Others im- 
 bued with a wilder and moie intolerant spirit, deeming 
 the subject unworthy of debate, or even of serious con- 
 sideration, have zealously advocated the utter suppres- 
 sion of the whole system h\ force ol arms. Perhaps a 
 more numerous and more dangerous class of opponents 
 are they who assume the attitude of indifference. [ 
 refer to' 1 hose who profess to look upon the religion of 
 Jesus merely as a harmless superstition. The various 
 religious systems devised by men, as well as that which 
 we believe to be divine in its origin, they class together 
 in the same category. They regard all as the varied 
 creations of credulous and superstitious nunds, differing 
 from one another only in degrees of absurdity, but all 
 alike destined to disappear at the approach of enlight- 
 ened reason. Even those who are Christians by pro- 
 fession, who in a general sort of way give their assent 
 to the religion of Jesus, are often found sceptical in 
 
(2) 
 niatt-rsof.lctall. Ami tliis seoptR-ism von fmiticnt- 
 Iv has ivfereiioe to the doctiinos of the cniss. When 
 It IS allirnicd that luvu are eitljor saved or not save.l ; 
 that men destitute ol faith in Christ, however lovahle 
 Jind unliable thev nia.\ be bv nature, are doomed to 
 destruction ; that unless men repent and l)e conver/ed 
 they Avill i)erish : when these doctrines of the cross 
 are proclaimed and applied, su<di persons tell us. 
 if not directly at least indirectlv, that upon those 
 matters they have their doubts.' It seems t) be 
 taken fi)r -ranted by them that the Scriptures do 
 not speak very clearly or verv explicith on these 
 points ; and that there is, therefore, rooni for diller- 
 ence of opinion. 
 
 r ai)peal to those amonjrst \ou who are accustomed 
 . to think on such matters if there is not a belief, com- 
 mon enou-h amongst those who are not prepared to 
 deny the doctrines of the cross, and who do not feel 
 inclined to do so, that this endless preacliin- about 
 laith, conversion, salvation without works, is just a 
 ^'pecies of foolishness. Yes. the preaching of the 
 cross IS still, in the estimution of thousands, fool- 
 ishness, sheer ibllv . 
 
 Why should the doctrines of the cross appear to be 
 foolishness ? I do not intend to enlarge o i this divi- 
 sion of my text, and, tlieretbre, I shall endeavor to an- 
 swer the question very brieHv. To an idolator, who 
 had no idea of receiving gratuitous favors from the mnU 
 he worshipped, who. when he asked benefits, felt him- 
 self placed under obligation to render service in some 
 f^rom or other in return, the proclamation of free par- 
 don, the unchanging love of God, endless life in bliss 
 solely for the sake of the Divine Saviour, would, we can 
 easily see, appear to be incredible, absurd, foolishness. 
 J his idea of rendering service, or as it is now more fre- 
 quently called, performing good works, in return for 
 the blessings of solvation, or as the price of them still 
 
:afc:-.^rfwf!^ 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 (3) 
 
 liJiiints the minds of jK^ople, When the oilers of a free 
 and full salvation are pressed npon their acceptance, 
 thev often incredulously exclaim, " Heaven on such 
 terms ? Impossible, incredible — to say so is foolishness." 
 
 Another reason whv the doctrines of the cross come 
 to l)e discredited is, some who protess to l)elieve them, 
 to have been converted, to be saved, lead openly im- 
 moral or grossly inconsistent lives. The conclusion 
 olten drawn from witnessing such cases — a conclusion 
 as illogical us unscriptural — is that ccmversion is noth- 
 ing more than a name, and that those who declare 
 themselves to have been the subjects of it labor under 
 a delusion. Of course the legitinuite inference would 
 be that those halntually inconsistent in their lives have 
 not been converted at all ; and that, if they say so, 
 they, it not attempting to deceive others, are a.ssuredly 
 deceiving themselves. 
 
 The preaching of the cross — that Jesus died on the 
 cross for sinners, and that any sinner that will may 
 have Him for a Saviour — although foolishness in the 
 estimation of the unsaved, is nevertheless the power of 
 Cod. While the vast multitudes, who embraced the 
 Christian religion during the first centuries of the 
 Christian era, furnish a strong- evidence of its divine 
 (M'igin. they also afiord a striking illustration of the 
 doctrine contained iu the text — '• the preaching of the 
 cross the power of God." 
 
 Of the si.ccGss which has attended the preaching of 
 the gospel during the .apostolic age we are assured by 
 Luke i»i the Acts of the Apostles. The sermon Peter 
 pn'ached on the day of Pentecost, resulted in the con- 
 version of three thousand souls. In the fourth chapter 
 of Acts we find that op{)osition began to be offered to 
 the preaching of the Apostles by the priests, by the cap- 
 tain of the temple, and b^' tlie Sadducees. We subse- 
 quently read that in every city towhich the Apostles went 
 they were insulted and abused. Yet notwithstanding 
 
(4> 
 
 (hoso n^Ivorsc external inHueiiees, God ^ave tostmumy 
 to the uord of His frpaee, and niultitu.les (,|' },(,th men 
 and women were added to tlie Church. 
 
 Towards the dose of the First Centi.rv, the i>ro- 
 consul <.f Hvthinia (Pliny), in his famous letter to the 
 Koman hmperor (Trajan), complains that "many of 
 every age an<l rank were hecominj; Christians; that in 
 cities and villa-e« as well as in the -.pen coimtrv the 
 t.mpk^ vvere deserted and the customarv sac.'ifices 
 neglected. 1 wo Christian fathers of the Sec(,nd 
 Century, m papers addressed to the Roman Kmi-eror 
 n.ention with triumph the multitude of Christians; 
 lioth ( hristum and heathen writ«^rs attest the diffu- 
 sion ot Christianity in the Thinl Centurv. And in 
 the Pourtli Century, the number of Ch'ristians ha<l 
 so increased that the Kmperor, prohablv from p<,licv, 
 publicly professed to be a l>eliever in 'the principles 
 ot Christianity. 
 
 The mere liu^t. however, that multitude-, renounced 
 one religious system and embraced another, do^s not 
 prove much. In every age and in every comitrv there 
 are always multitudes ready to abjure old opinions and 
 embrace new ones irrespective of their character. Oa- 
 inaliel, m his memorable counsel to the Sanhedrim 
 mentions one Theudas, who rose up - boasting himself 
 to be somebody," to whom about four hundred joined 
 themselves. Also, (me Jjdas, a Galilean, who also 
 drew away much people after him." .Just as if he 
 iKK said, -'You know the character of Theudas and 
 Judas, and you know also the nature of their teachin^r 
 and yet, strange to say, these men enjoyed ilv a whiW 
 considerable popularity." 
 
 Only let the promoters of new opinions be possessed 
 ot a large measure of conceit ; let them also possess 
 courage and self-possession, and ability to advocate 
 their views with fluency ; and let the adoption of th -ic 
 principles involve no pecuniary or temporal disadyan- 
 
'.">-' ^- 
 
 tage, then, however ridiculous or even unintelligible 
 their opinions may be in the judment of thinking men, 
 from amongst the unthinking multitude they will al- 
 ways command a following. •• Some to the fiuicination 
 of a name surrender judgment hoodwinked." 
 
 Mere success is no test of truth. It is when the suc- 
 cess of any religion cannot be accounted foi' by human 
 causes that we are entitled to have recours'3 to divine 
 in'erposition. 
 
 Now the rapid propagation of the religion of JesuH 
 cannot be accounted for by human causes. Its first 
 apostles, moving for the most pa.t in the humbler 
 spheres ol life, • >ssessed neither learning nor elo- 
 quence. This their hearers declared. Yet it is said 
 that the jjeople could not resist the power With which 
 thev spoke. The greatest of all the apost'jes, in certain 
 resj)ecls, was the apostle Paul. And he infornis us 
 that the jjeople of Corinth, in passing their opinions 
 respecting his personal appearance and preaching 
 ability, said that '' his bodily presence was weak and 
 his speech contemptible. ' He tells us in the same let- 
 ter that he came " not with excellency of speech ;" that 
 he preached " not with enticing words of man's wis- 
 dom ;' that he was with them " in weakness and in 
 fear and in much trembling." Yet notwithstanding 
 these drawbacks, his language in the second epistle to 
 the Corinthians is, " Thanks be unto God who alwavs 
 causeth us to triumph in every place and maketh known 
 the savour of His grace by us in every nlace." 
 
 And here it is worthy of mention that there were 
 no te!nix)ral advantages in the days of which we speak 
 1o induce men to become Christians. Converts from 
 heathenism to Christianity gained nothing, humanly 
 speaking, by the change. Those who cast in their lot 
 with the struggling, despised followers of Jesus, 
 were awa^e that in doing so they exposed them- 
 selves to great inconvenience and hardship. They 
 
umaumMi'itaw 
 
 ^■r::.m.^^m'-:^^ 
 
 ■■-i-?r'"' "r^TF- 
 
 (C) 
 
 knew beforehand that they might be called upon 
 to sever the ties of blood and relationship, forsake 
 father and mother, sister and brother, for the sake of 
 the truth ; that they might be called on even to yield 
 up life itself for Jesus sake. And in thousands of 
 cases the lile was demanded and willingly and cheer- 
 fully given. Yet, notwithstanding all these disadvan- 
 tages, insurmountable barriers to the progress of Chris- 
 tianity by all human rules of judgment, the religion of 
 Jesus flourishttd and extended itself till, in the Fourth 
 Century, it became the religion of the empire. Truly 
 the preaching of the cross — loolishness as it may appear 
 to be in the case of those who do i.ot understand it — 
 is the power of God. 
 
 The preaching of the cross, the power of God, is 
 further illustrated by the holy lives of its early 
 converts. Holiness was characteristic of them. 
 (Holiness is still characteristic of Christians, but in 
 these days it is difficult, often impossible, to distin- 
 guish between Christians and mere professors.) Their 
 beliefs seemed to their enemies an absurd super- 
 stition ; but their pure lives, their unselfishness, their 
 readiness to forgive injuries, their patient endur- 
 ance of insults, struck thein with amazement. Their 
 conduct seemed as strange as it was unaccountable. 
 Of course we know the love of Christ constrained them 
 to act thus. The preaching of the cross was to them 
 the power of God. 
 
 Yes, my friends, the old story of the cross has 
 v;ondrous power in it. Wherever it is proclaimed 
 in its purity and beautiful simplicity, it produces 
 an efiect. fn the course of centuries it has lost 
 nothing of its ancient energy. It still goes forth 
 conquering and to conquer. It proceeds in its on- 
 ward march with undiminished force, ever achiev- 
 ing fresh triumphs, bringing savage and civilized, 
 learned and unlearned, under its benign sway. Men 
 

 ai%sSnf"l,'"^'^^^^-d intellect h« 
 
 '-^^ a milhK f '^^P^ic« dare not^'?*'*' ^."^ ^^^n the 
 
 ^^a<i abandon .ri h ""^'^^^ ^^th hone ihl '^^''''S' 
 
 <"«lv enforced!' wmtTf '"^''*' -"I however r' 
 
 at heart '"'t'" P'^''"'""' «f men fc"" ^^ "^'trai^ 
 
 divested of tt f '"* '''^ """ds of X ,1* ''•>" .''"""gh 
 and disoM» "*"■ <"^ «""»equen' 7 j°"' '?'"*« >« 
 
 cate f- ^'"»' «"'*"« will no, ^^„er„t 
 
 l^wioent habits will be ,. ^'"*'> and v rtuous nnrt 
 
 ?he usual measure o" " ^^^^n «t' it etJ^ , 
 
 '••^ admitted, tend^ Z ?"'"P^^on. Mpn.„. V__^^f^^^^«^ 
 
 "^fed, tend.s to ele 
 
 Rental train 
 
 vate the character 
 
 Jt rends 
 
m' i^ 
 
 to withdraw the mind from things base, ig)ioble and 
 vicious. But while this is true, and while it may and 
 generally does produce an external refinement of man- 
 ners, it does not change the heart. Along side of 
 lofty genius, brilliant accomplishments, and manners 
 of courtly polish, vices rank and gross often grow in 
 luxuriant profusion — licentiousness, drunkenness, ly- 
 ing, deceit, indiflerence to the good of others. xVIen 
 of conmianding intellect and superior mental endow- 
 ments have not unfrequently been a disgrace to hu- 
 manity. But what mere learning has failed to effect, 
 the preaching of the cross has triumphantlv accom- 
 plished. 
 
 How it is or why it is that it does so, T cannot fully 
 explain. Why the loadstone attracts iron, why the 
 needle points to the pole, I cannot explain. But that 
 the loadstone does attract iron, and that the needle 
 does point to the pole, cannot be questioned. And that 
 the preaching of the cross does attract, does regenerate 
 men, cannot be doubted. From the Saviour on the 
 cross a healing virtue flows which cures the most malig- 
 nant evils, tilt most inveterate distempers Natures 
 hardened, selfish and grasping, have, under the gonial 
 life-giving rays which stream from the cross, been 
 softened — have become generous and sympathetic. 
 Natures degraded and sunken have, under its all-potent 
 influence, been raised to newness of lite— have become 
 new CREATURES (or new creations, as the word in the 
 original signifies) in Christ Jesus. " Old things have 
 passed away and all things have become new." 
 
 In the gospel, Simon says, " We have toiled all night 
 and have taken nothing. Nevertheless at thv word I will 
 let down the net. And when he had done so he enclos- 
 ed a great multitude of fishes." So multitudes in their 
 ig oranc(i of the power of the cross, or who in their 
 perverseness refuse to believe in its efficjicy to ease a 
 guilty conscience, to heal a broken heart, *o subdue a 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 

 4" 
 
 reVjellioiis will, toil on, struggle on from year to year, 
 but make no lieadway. The same failures, the same 
 shortcomings, characterise their lives. But when they 
 look in faith to the sufte-ing Saviour on the cross, in 
 obedience to His command, all is changed. The bur- 
 den of sin falls off. Xew life is impartid to them. A 
 new spirit possesses them. Sin loses its power. Joy 
 fills the heart, and the i)eace of God which passes all 
 understanding keeps their hearts and minds through 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 An here who desire to be reinstated in the favour 
 of God • To you let me say, " BehoM the Lamb of 
 God that taketh away the sin of the world." Waste no 
 more time in attempting to attain your object by any 
 other method. "No man cometh unto the Father, but 
 by Jesus Christ the Son." I have read somewhere, 
 of a Christian who, when in an anxious state about 
 his salvation, dreamed that he was in a very deep pit. 
 He could find no way of getting out, although he strug- 
 gled hard and long. But, just when he had abandoned 
 hope, his eye caught a star in the heavens, which, when 
 he gazed upon, drew him out of the pit. Whenever, 
 however, he looked aside, he descended again. Per- 
 ceiving this, he kept his eye fixed upon it till he was 
 securely placed i>n solid ground at the mouth of the pit. 
 Jesus Christ is called in Revelation " the bright and 
 Benighted sinner, behold Him ! and 
 
 morning star. - ^ 
 
 the darkness and terror of unbelief will disappear, and a 
 
 new morn of joy and peace will dawn upon your soul. 
 
 Christians, continue to look to the cross for sanctifi- 
 cation. The power which emanates from the cross is 
 exercised only while we gaze upon it, while we remain 
 in its light. How ma y forget this. 1 lence many make 
 little progress in the divine life. Many appear to re- 
 main stationary. They look aside to other objects— to 
 men, to books. They trust in prayers and religious ser- 
 vices for holiness. When they do this, their peace de- 
 
(10) 
 
 parts ; their terrors return. Any of jou in this state ? 
 Look again to Christ who spoke peace to you at first. 
 Trust in His atoning death. Confide in His boundless 
 love and mercy. Contemplate His matchless beauty 
 and excellence. And gradually, imperceptibly, almost 
 unconsciously you will rise above the world with its 
 sins and sorrows. 
 
 In conclusion — does the love of Christ, as discovered 
 in His awful and mysterious death on the cross, exert 
 any power over you ? Many are quite uninfluenced by 
 it. Many substantially say, " The preaching of 
 the cross tames the savage nature, subdues the most 
 turbulent passions, transforms and beautifies the black- 
 est characters We admit all that, and we glory in being 
 the professors of a reiigion which has done more than 
 any other, than all others put together, for the true hap- 
 piness and civilization of the human race." (For it is a 
 matter of fact that the three hundred and sixty-five 
 miUions of Christians are not the savage and unciviliz- 
 ed nations of the earth, but the nations which possess 
 the power, the commerce, and the literature of the 
 world). So far well — but what has the cross done for 
 you personally ? Has it discovered to you your guilt 
 and led you to cry for mercy ? Inclined by nature to 
 run into all kinds cf excess, do you find it restraining 
 you ? Ill your leisure moments do you turn to the old 
 story of redeeming love as to an ever new, ever con- 
 genial theme ? Can you sit with pleasure at the feet 
 of Jesus, as did Mary, contemplating the glory of the 
 God-man, peeking to obtain clearer views of his un- 
 speakable love ? 
 
 Be true to yourselves. Leave not the investigation 
 t'll you know how matters stand between God and 
 vour souls. 
 
-viM^-'