National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-11-30
Iieystn T. hl.n should not perish, but have ever
THE PRICE PAID FOR WAN

| slRllneS tllEs nnQH men sold into the EerV1-
| tude Of sin. The death Of his Son buys back his
| right in them. He is our redeemer, our ransom.
| ana when God buys men he buys them ont of
| tie service Of sin into his own service. Where
| men and women are bought and sold at the auc-
| on block-as they once we're under the shadow
Of your Capitol-it is not an unprecedented thing
| lor spectator 20 inteFpose to prevent them from
| horrible destiny. The victims of such sale,
| dreading to fall into cruel hands; dreading hard
service, and, perhaps, shame and death, have been
| known TO beseeeh some ksnd- hearted iooker-on to
| interfere and save them. This Is exactly the
| loSa Of the text. Christians are men and women
vice by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
| Father'has interposed and they have changed
| hands. The price paid was the gilt Of his Son.
| TheIirst part Of this figure Implies the non
| ,preprietorship Of every believer in himself aye
are not your own A great many persons CON
task Of the soul to ITSELF to live to ITSELF without
positive self-njuryi such as that, perhaps, in
Wich II has tndulg ed hitherto but still to live to
lLlself. But when God purchases soul he destroys
the title Of that soul to itself. He tears It into
tatters Property cannot hold property. That
| which is another mans can acquire no right to
| that which is ats own. That was the relentless
| !oglc OF American slavery. The bondman had no
title in himself in his wife, in his children. he
was bought with price" Purchase carries with
1t title.
Just 50 the apostle Paul understood his relation
to his Master. 81 am crucihed with Chris"
That is, the Saul Of Tarsus in me-that would do
his own will, that would determine for himself
what was truth and what was duty, that was
Judaism embodied and Phariseeism embodied,
that went prosecuting Christians from city to city
that Saul Of Tars3s is dead; he Is Iust as dead
as was the body of Jesus when those disciples
took it reyeTently and tenderly from the cross.
II am crucifed with Christ" That is what the
apostle means. 1t is not mere figure Of speech,
meaning that so intense was his sympathy with
| that innocent and holy sufferer, so great
was his admiration Of him, that it seemed
| there with him and agOnizing there with
| him upon the cross. 1t means, rather, because
| Jesus, the Lord Of Glory, did that for me- take
| my old nature, the old man of sin and pride and
| seIhshness within me, and nail him, also,t the
| unfeeling wood; leave him there to die for Him
| who died for me; Just as the crucifxiOn con-
| demned sin in the flesh Of Jesus condemn sin
| in my own flesh" After he saw Jesus dying for
him the Apostle felt that he was no longer his
| own. Whose should he be? If he died to him
| self, to whom should he live? If the old man of
/ sin was destroyed, what new man should take
| possession Of his nature and control his life?
GoD's PRoPRIEroRsHIP IN MANKIND
| ?. The second part of the figure of the text is
| Gods prOprietOrship in US, because Of Jesus
| purchase. "Glorify God in your body and your
| spirit are GODS by that purchase. ''Neverthe-
| less" said the Apostle, al live; yet not l. but
Christ liveth in me- Saul of TarsIs is crucfed,
| dead and buried. FOR We are buried with him
| entOmbed with hlm-by baptism into death; that,
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory Of the Father, even so we also shoNld walk
in neWnGss OF life" This newness of life is life
to the glory of God, just the life of Jesus,
| OF whom the Father said: This is my be-
| loved Son, of whom am we'll pleased" When
| this Saul of Tarsus walks in newness of life
| what does he do? He begins to preach the Cos
| pei which he lately ridiculed. Ay, he goes first
| TO the very men, whom he lately sought that he
| might put them to death, to be healed of his
| blindness. What words those were: Brother
| Saul, the Lord (even Jesus that appeared un.o
! thee in the way as thou camest) hath sent me,
that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled
with the Holy GhOst!' When Jesus has died for
q man God owns him. He may resist the DrOpri-
etorshp; but that does not make it any the less
real. If you ask me why Jesus died. answer he
died to redeem you from sin: he died to secure a
bold upon your fallen nature: moral purchase
that would lift you out Of life of sin into life
of holiness; lite like that of the Lord Jesus
Christ; life that would please God and glOrify
him. He did not die that you might live the
fraction Of a life Of faith; that you might do
boys do when they pretend to swim-keep their
feet on the bottom, though they make the mo-
lions Of swimming; that you might make as
though you led Q life Of faith. He died to re-
deem you from your life in the old element, that
Of sin; ana to give you lie in a element, that
of holiness; that now being made free from sin
and become the servants Of God ye might have
ing life.
Take the figure of the slave and his old master,
and his new RedeemeT, as already presented in
this discussion. Let these parties live near to-
gether. A great many Christians live as though
they were still under obligation to lead their old
been purchased by the death Of Jesus
Just as though this slave, bought from fall
ing into the hands Of a cruel master, owing every
hour, every moment, every thought to his new
master, should yet, from the force of habit or di-
Yided affection, still undertake to the old.
Into the very idea Of property there certain
put there sums of money which represent to you
skill, labor, selfdenial. You have earned your
you; you may be defrauded of It by legal process;
you nay be torn away from it and imprisoned:
but II is yours nevertheless for represents what
you have put there. 1t is precisely so in the mat
ter of mans redemption from sin. Do you think
that the atonement is to be VOieeless when we are
Judged for the deeds done here in the body? God
has put into the atonemOnt an equivalent for our
holy lives; moral force to which, If we will
yield ourselves, net only future heaven is sure,
n lp ghur nnfn hara aha
such as will please God The truth is that when
you and stand in the clear light of another
known as they are known we shall discern two
lives that were possible to US. A life Of moral
heroism, a life Of conservation to God, (WhO3e we
9d spS S Ie lsV GOD en Pr6Rde O WeR he
laid help for US upon one that was mighty to
are now living. Now, want to urge here that
we are the property Of GOD, and that 1t is due to
him that We let him come into full and entire and
eternal possession Of his own.
WHAT is IT TO BE A CHRISTIAN.
Now. do not say that because Christian is
not all that he ought to be, and all that he wants
to be, he is not Christian. l only say this: that
God is entitled to the very most that we can
make OF ourselVes-tO the very best that we eau
do for him-and the world needs it. And there
is no way Of making this claim but by deliberate
attempt and determination to meet It. No man
ever uriited into eminent Christian character or
eminent Christian service. If he attained It he
put himself into Gods hands; he made the most
to the Transforming power of the Gross. He
loved much because he was much forgiven"
He thus judged that if one died for all then were
an Dead and that he died for all that they which
live should hencefOTth not live for themselves
but to him who died for them and rose again"
There is only one kind Of life that proceeds from
the Cross. You may live it in public sphere or
private sphere-in this profession or that profess
sion-but its character its source its inspiration
must be enc and the same. 1 was speaking the
other day with very candid and thoughtful gen
tlenGn, who quite won my heart by his frankness
ana c6uTtesy-a gentleman connected with the
public press. He admitted that the men of his
class were not generally ChrisGians-that they
seldom attended the sanctuary, but he claimed
tn3t they were doing Christ ian work-a work
IN harmony with the work of the churches, and
that they had morality a standard Of integrity,
which was their OVID: that they found It in their
reading, their work their associations IL Seemed
10 ne that the tallacy and the peril of the state
ment lay Just there. No profession or employ
tain standard Of morality such as it is safe for
man to eOnfide in it. II q man does not take his
Spiritual life from the life of God and his moral
ity from the teachings and example of the Lord
Jesus Christ; If he does not do this habitually
and consciously and perseveringly; f he does not
do IL as though the life Of his soul depended on
It, he is not doing all that he do for himself
all that he ought TO do for himself.
This is one of the greatest dangers Of our social
lfe-of cur community life. The average re-
IlgiOus life in church is satisfactory to most of
the members Of it. Just as when we go into
room, however the temperature may strike US at
nrst We soon adjust ourselves to it, become com
PORTABLE in it. so is it in church. We seek the
average level OF spiritual life within it.
But we are Gods as individuals. He has
redeemed us as individuals and he wants
the strength and tone of our individuality cX-
pressed in our spiritual life. 1 do not mean by
lhls that he wants US to be crooked sticks rest
less spirits, unable to work tremendously with
other Christians: but he us to be ourselves
for Christ and the church.
THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD.
6 But some one says, with y kind of hopeless |
ness, well, have my standard fixed; it Is low |
enough in all conscience. But it seems next TO |
impossible fer me to raise it, l would give the |
world II could realize my own idea OF what a |
Christian ought to be-" The only method of |
raising ones Christian standard is by recog-
niZIng Gods prOpTietOrship in him; by consider
ing what Christ has Suffered to redeem him: by |
living more IN the light OF the cross. Aspira-
tlOps are unaVailing, resolutions are unayailing
without the use Of means. There are influences /
IRON heaven which we il court and encourage. 20 /
which If We yield ourselves, we shall have no /
occasion to complain because our standard of |
Christian living Is low. We shall find our
selves in such close fellowship with God, in such
close sympathy with the Lord Jesus so under /
the power Of the Holy Spirit, that holy living will
become less and LEES a warfare between our two /
natures. and more and more the prevalent law
of OOE being.
am not speaking here Of our
Christian activities. They will take care
of themselves. For if we make the tree good
the fruit will be also good. / speaking of /
OurseGes; Of these bodies and souls and spirits