Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-01-22
LARORERS WITH GOD.

divisions amongst the members. Some Of
them claimed to be the followers of Paul,
and others declared that they were the fol-
lowers of Apollos. Between Paul and Apol-
los there existed no doctrinal difference. The
creed of both was the same. Their hearers,
as the members of modern congregations Of
ten do, lost sight Of the gospel preached by
these ministers, and became followers of the
men, and not of Christ, whom they preached.
In the 9th verse of the Sd chapter Of 1st Cor
inthians, we find these words: "We are Ia
borers together with Cod" 1t is evident
that the translators thought that the idea the
Apostle had in view when using these words,
was that ministers of the gospel, as he him
self and Apollos were, are joint laborers with
God in the salvation of the sinner This is
true, as we propose to show but it is doubt
full whether this was the prominent idea in
the mind of the Apostle when using these
words From the context, it would seem that
he designed impressing upon the minds of the
Corinthian church, that he and Apollos, so
far from being divided, were laboring togeth-
er in the same good work Of preaching the
everlasting gospel to sinners. Thus would he
impress it upon their minds that those who
followed Paul, followed also Apollos The
words themselves admit of this construction.
1t is, however, true, that Paul and Apolos,
and all other ministers of the gospel, are Ia
borers together with God in the great work
of Christianizing the world. Not only are
ministers of the gospel laborers together with
God in this work Of salvation, but all Chris
tians are chosen of God to work with him in
the evangelizing of the world. The redemp-
ton of the world is the exclusive work Of the
trune-God. Christ furnished the ransom
price of the sinner. With this no created
being had anything to do. 1t was all of God
to man, an unmer;ted gift, and hence all of
grace Salvation and redemption, technical
ly, are not the same. Redemption means, in
the proper sense, ransom by the blood of
Christ from the penalties of Gods violated
law. Man became sinner by transgreSsiEg
the law ofGod. So soon as he became sim
ner, he became liable to the penalties of the
law which he violated This penalty was
death. Christ redeemed him by dying for
him. Salvation, in its theological sense,
means the deliverance from the reigning in
Auence of sin, and preparation for heaven
In this work of preparing the sinner for
heaven, ministers of the gospel, and professed
Christians, are workers together with God.
No one can accomplish anything, either in the
conviction, conversion or sanctifcation of the
sinner, without the direct operation of the
Holy Spirit upon the sinner; but commonly,
God uses men as instruments for eftecting the
work of saving sinners. Not only is it true,
that Paul may plant and All Apollos water,
but unless God effects a change Of heart,
there will be no increase. We find something
analogous to this in nature God furnishes
the soil, the rain, the sunshine, and the mus
cles of the man; but unless the man labor
there will be no harvest. The husbandman
is a laborer together with God in making
crop. The increase of the field depends most
absolutely upon God, and yet it seems to de-
pend wholly upon the tilcr of the soil. God
and the husbandman labor together in ma
king the bread which feeds the household OF
the latter.
In the work of salvation everything is we'll
ordered. Every one has work to do, and
there is work enough for all. The command
which all indiscriminately receive IS, 60 into
nv vineyard and work. The man Of one
talent is not permitted to spend the day in
idleness on account of his poverty, and the
man who has ten talents is not excused be-
cause he has been blessed with much.
In a practical point of view, a large num-
Der of professed Christians think, or at least
act, as if they had nothing to do with the sal
vation of the world. Their Christianity ex-
tends no farther than SELF In opposition to
this theory, God holds each one of us account
able to him for the salvation Of some one.
There is a sense in which every man is
preacher of the gospel. He is set apart, not
by laying on of the hands of bishops or pres
byters but by the ordinance of the king and
head of the church. The poor man, as he
works at his daily labor, must preach Christ;
he must work with God and under Gods di-
rection for the salvation of his fellow mortas.
The mother, as she attends to her household
duties, must preach Christ. She, too, has been
made laborer, together with God, in this
work of saving sinners