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'^. >. ^ s-;^ .■V'. 1 ', » w HO M AY Be Communicants • Presbyterian Church T^^ BEINO THIi: SUBSTANCE OE *^*§ertnon Prkachki) i\*St. Andrf:w's Church, Toronto ITflj SuNDkv^P&PBER 231(1, 1 887 ., Rev. D, li * AC^ONNELL, B.D. WlLLfl^HISON k CO. PUBI.ISHKK.S j Hiiu." Thcsi' .vords evidently go down to the fuiidnmentals. Th^y echo tlie words of our two texts. What, tlien, is " faith ill Christ:*" Wliat is meant by the reply of Paul and Silas to the jailer : " Believe on the Lord Jesus " ? These words clearly imply some helief abuut Jesus- We nnist believe some things about Him before we can lielieve on Him. Nay, we must believe oi-eat things abour Him before we can belitjve on Him in the sense of the New Testament writers — betore, that is, we can vield Him the ab.solute trust and the uncompromising' obedi- ence which He demands. On the other hand, faith /// Christ is consistent with much misbelief or imperfection of belief dbuut Him. The little chiM of a year old believes in his mother and holds out his arms to her trustfully as he would not to a strangei-; buthis belief about her must be very endnyonie. Many a man is a loyal sul)jeet of Britain who knows little of her historv, and who could not pass an exaiiunation on the British Constitution. There are men ready to die for their country who could not explain the difference between the system of government in Britain and that in the United States. So with loyalty to Christ. Men may be ready to obey His least commandment — willing to follow Him withersoever He leads — and vet may be sorely puzzled about the mystery of His Person. What is to be done in the case of such persons? Are they to be excluded from ( liurch fellowship until they can pronounce the Shibboleth of the creeds ? The Church is tolerant of nuich imperfection in the conduct of her members provided only " the root of the matter " is in them. Is not the author of " Ecce Homo " right when he maintains that "we ought to be just as tolerant I i; •ot' un iiiipcrt'ect creed as we uio of an iinpoi-t'ect prac- ' tice ? Everything wliicli can he urged in excuse for " the latter may also he pleaded for the former. If the •way to Christian action is heset hy corrupt hahits and •'misleading passions, the patli to Christian truth is 'overgrown with prejudices and strewn with fallen "theories and i-otting systems which hide it from our " view. It is <|uite as hard to think rightly as it is to " act rightly, or even to fee] rightly. And, as all allow that "an error is a less culpable thing than a crinu; oi- a "vicious i)assion, it is monstrous that it should l)e more "severely punished; it is iiKuistrous that Christ, who "was called the friend of publicans and sinners, "should be representek to know the truth concerning tliis great subject, and it is the duty of the teachers in the Church to " expound unto hiju the way of God more carefully" on this theme ; l)ut it is possible for liim to entertain mistaken notions regarding it and yet to have true faith in Jesus Christ. There are men who denv in terms the Deity of Christ, who yet bow^ before Him with more absolute reverence and submission than some of those who in terms acknowledge His Deity. Here is a man who saj^s, 'Jesus Christ is God, and I worship Him;' and yet he strives for riches as keenly, and regards his brother's rights as little, as if Jesus had never said, " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth," and as 8 if His Apostlt' Imd never written, " Not looking car',, of vou to Lis own things, but each of vou also to the thinji's of others." Yonder is a man who says, ' I accept Jesus as my Saviour an okes a pitying smile, who 'yet has some germ of true faith in the unseen Lord wliose image is before her; and these uninstructed, yet genuine, believers will go into the kingdom of heaven Ix'fore some self-conq)lacent and self-indulgent Protes- tants who confound knowledge of theology with faith in J<^sus Christ. "Faith in dirist and obedience to Him." The only faitli in Jesus that is worth anvthino- is faith that it I 9 I obeys — "faith working through love" "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." The loyal subject is the one who springs to arms at his country's bidding — not waiting to settle all disputed questions of political science. The true Christian is the man who obeys Christ without waiting to solve all the problenis of theology. He has warrant for hoping that, in the very path of obedience, there will come fuller light as to " who " the " Son of Man "' is. " If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." To the warm-hearted, sceptical Thomas, the Resurrection of Jesus seemed too great a fact to be accepted on anv testimonv without the evidence of his own senses ; but he had been ready to "die with" his beloved Friend, and when the gracious Master otiered him the proof he sought, his obedient soul cried out, " My Lord and my God ." There are not a few in our day to whom the Deity of Christ seems too great a truth to l)e believed, whose hearts would nevertheless bound with a joy unintelligil)le to those who have never wrestled with doubts, if it could only be made clear to them that that doctrine is not a mer(> speculation of theologians, but the statement of a blessed reality. " Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved." What, then, is His relation to me ? In what respect am I to believe on Him ? The word " saved " indicates that I am to believe in Him as a Saviour. I l)elieve in n)y physician as a healer : I may not under- stand his method of treatment, but I do his bidding in the matter of medicine. I believe in my friend as a friend — one whom I can trust: I may not understand his theologi- cal or scientiiic opinions, but I am quite sure that he will 10 stand by nie in tht- time of trial — that he will prove himself a friend in need. Jesus is Saviour: "He shall save His people from their sins:" I am to believe in Him as Saviour. When He savs to me, " This is My blood of the covenant, which' is shed for many unto remission of sins :" " Be of good cheer, thy sins are for- given," I am to take Him at His word, just as I do my physician, when he sayi<, ' Use this medicine, and you will be well to-morrow.' When He says, " Co'.ne unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," " Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me," I am to come and take His yoke — the yoke of submission to the Father's will, which He asks me to bear side by side with Himself, and learn the l)lessed lesson of obedience. When He says, " I am the Bread of Life," " The bread that I will give is My tlesh for the life of the world," " He that eateth Me, he also shall live because of Me," I am to appri>priate Him and feed on Him, 1)V thouoht and love and trust and ol)edience, for tlu' nourishment of uiy spirit's life, just as I feed on the daily bread whieli tlie Fatlier gives for my bodily life. I may ask, ' What has Jesus done for me that I .should believe in Him as my Saviour ^ ' Let us look at some of the answers given in the New Testament to this question. Hear Paul answer it: " Who, being in the form of God, counted it not <•. prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fashion as a man, he hund>led himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Where- fore also God highlv ^'xalted Him, and gave unto Him 11 the name which is above every nauu' : that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heavea and things on earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glouy of God the Father." (Phil. ii. 0-11.) Or listen to the glowing sentence into which he condenses the whole redeeming work of Christ : " Who loved me, and gave Himself up for me." (Gal. II. 20.) Hear Peter answer the (juestion : " Who His own self bare our sins in His own body upon tne tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteous- ness."— (1 Peter li. 24.) Hear John answer it: "Herein was the love of God manifested in us" {i.e. in our case) " that God hath sent His only begotten Son into the world that wo mio-ht live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitia- tion for our sins." Paul, Peter and John agree entirely as to the o-round on which the claims of Jesus rest. He is the " only begotten Son," who was "in the form of God," who •'emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,' who "gave Himself up for me," who " bare our sins," who is " the propitiation for our sins. ' Here is a personality that is uniipie ; here is One who occupies a unique rela- tion to God, and man, and sin. He is " the Way; ' shall we not "come" by Him unto the Father? He is '■ tlu' Truth;" shall we not "learn" Him, and be " tau'dit in Him, as truth is in Jesus" — all truth embodied in Him. all principles of true living contained in Him ? He is " the Life ; " shall we not " arise from the dead" and com*- to Him that we " may have life a" Shall we not realize in our e.Kperience His great word, "I cnmc that they I 12 may luive lifu, and may have it abundantly ? " He is ''the True Vine;" shall we not cling to Him, as the l)ranch to the vine-stock, that, sharing His life, as the branch shares the sap that Hows through the stem, we may grow and bear fruit '. He is " the Resurrection ; " shall we not l)elieve in Him, that we may " never die ? " He is " the First, and the Last, and the Living One," "alive for evermore:" shall we not with untroubled hearts yield ourselves to His keeping, who has the keys of Hades and of death, who will open the way for us to pass through, into the very presence of God '( II. In respect to JAfc What are the conditions, as regards conduct, of becoming a connnunicant in the Church '. There is an idea generally prevalent that a man should not "join the Church " without giving up a good many things which are regarded as inconsistent with a profession of religion. It is hekl that the professing Christian must not only give up whatever is sinful, but also refrain from many things that are lawful for other people. He must " come out and be separate " from the world, and especially from what are called " worldly" amusements and indulgences. The lists of such amuse- ments and indulgences vary in length according to the views, prejudices and upbringing of those wlio make them. Dancing, card-playing, theatre-going, billiards, the use of tobacco, the drinking of wine and spirits, are often found among the proscribed pleasures. Now, there is no manner of doul»t that Chri.st calls on His followers to '■ give up " much. " If thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it oil" and cast it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that one of thy mem- bers should perish and not thy whole body go into 13 hell." Whatever hinders tlie spiritual life - whatever threatens the