Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-05-25

world, so far as we have any knowledge
them from their sacred books, ana 10
rites and ceremonies as practlced at 10
present time in their temples and cOnSf
Grated places.
Now, that this may be made to appear
let us look at .his central doctrine G
Christianity, first, from the Bible stand
point, and, second, from the STANDPOINT Q
( Pagauism.
L. The Bible standpoint. The Bibl
every where teaches that so lar as humal
law is concerned, there can be, IN caplto
! offenses, no such thing rs substitution
The innocent may not die for the guilty
Such usage. before mans law would tent
to overthrow all law. For mans life /
1 not his own he can not, if he would, Lay
it down until God, the owner OF that life
calls for it, and, on the other hand, society
| would be the loser and not the gamer DJ
| such usage, the good man would be cut OF
and the bad man, for whom his deatt
would, under this arrangement, be accept
| ed as an atonement, would live on Will
! his nature unchanged, his conscience un
| purged of crime, to contract more guilt II
| the psrpetration of like crimes and mlsde
| neanors. There is no way to satisfy humaL
law IN such cases except by the death OF
| the transgressor himself. = Who so shed
| deth mans blood by man shall his tlooC
be she'd
bub pIcClSUiJ tue OpIO=iLS u LAl> Il
taught concerning the II sjesty of the Di-
vine law. It's teachings is That man is s
sinner, and that he can give no excuse fol-
his sin, nor can he make an atonement fOI
that sin. If an atonement is made, II
must be in the person of a substitute. jew
ish worship taught, as its fundamental
principle, that sin could be pardoned in no
other way than by substituting an innocent
victim In the place of the real sinner who,
when the innocent was slain in his place.
might go free. This ordinance was OF God,
and shows that substitution was q divine
idea, emanating from God alone. All the
sacrifices pointed unerringly to the Great
Substitute, who was in the fullness of time
to make His appearance And when He
came, and this idea was embodied in flesh
and blood, and when the man Christ Jesus
died on the cross, the spotless Lamb of God,
oh! then the MANIFOLD wisdom Of God was
manifested to an admiring universe. This
was an idea that was too deep for Satan 10
penetrate. 1t was the working out of this
idea that counterworked all the deep de-
signs Of hell, and plucked man as q brand
from the eternal burnings.
And here, allow me to say, the objections
urged against substitution, when human
lawns concerned, do not hold good, when
it is the divine law that is to be satisfied,
from the simple fact that the su bstitute is
Divine being. His life, therefore, is bis
own, and he can do with it as he pleases
He chose to lay it down as ransom for
man. Ia constantly afirms, Il lay down
my life for myself No man taketh it from
me. L have power to lay il down, and |
have power to take it again"
Thu, mis- life was his own, and not the
property Of another, and the laying down
OF that life wos net, as in the case Of a mere
man IL would have been, the violation Of
any law.
And, in tae second place, when the death
of this substitute is accepted IL lieu of
mans death, no wrong is inflicted on So
clety; but, on the contrary, great good is
done. Provision is made in the doctrine
for making man new creature, for doing
for him what no Governor on earth can
do, for giving him 3 new heart, and thus
sending him forth to bless instead of ours
ing society.
This consideration, viz: the divinity Of
Christ, that answers all objections to His
standing as q substitute for man before the
Divine law, sets forth, at the same time,
the Infinite value and merit of His
death. The value of his death flows as 81
necessary consequence, from the dignity Of
his person. In him dwell, as we have
already seen, not only the fullness of man
hood but in him dWelt the fulness Of the
GOdnesd bodily. de who was very God,
as well as very man, was our substitute
lndeT the law. Ii l. this revelation that
" Hi1il Alu angels me supreme
efficacy of His atOning death. He who in
ne beginning Was with God and was God
whose glory man saw as the glory of the |
)nly Degotten of the Father; lie in whom |
iwelt all the fulness of Godhead He was |
bar substitute; He, and none other it was |
who was made sin for US; He it was who |
became a curse for US, to redeem US from
he curse OF the law. Ii was on such an |
One that the LORD laid the iniquity Of Us |
all, and whose soul was made offering |
'or sin. He bore our sins IN His own body |
IN the tree. He was wounded for our /
ransgressions and bruised for our iniqui- /
les. BY His stripes we are healed. lie is |
he One who was ed as a sheep to the |
laughter. He was cut off bu5 not for |
himself He, through the Eternal Spirit,
ffered Himself sacrifice without spot un- |
O God. 1t was his blood, the blood Of God |
Himself that saved His Church and made |
HIS people kings and priests unto God for |
,ver. W no can measure the value of /
UGH yiCariOus death II the nature of /
Christ was infinite, the merit Of His death |
must parIake of that nature and be Infinite |
.lsO. There is no such thing as exhausting
he merit of an atonement flowing from /
UGH death.
And so the Bible represents it. He was
up for Us ell. He is the Lamb |
# God who taketh away the sin of the
world. He made q Precipitation for our
ms, and not tor ours only, but for the
world. he tasted death for every man.
He is the Saviour of all men, not, howS
yer, in the sense that all shall be saved,
,ut in the sense that having made tuch an
tonement, God does now, in view of His
Ieath, make an honest and sincere offer of
ife to every one that accepts that offer
lie is not willing that any one should die,
'ut that all should come to q knowledge of
he truth and live. Over the pouring out of
he blood of the Son of God the good news
caches that there is life
Or all. He that believeth |
nd is baptized shall be saved, he that be
eveLh not shall be damned. Damned be-
ause be will not accept the substitute, the
an. ON that God himself found out for
lan and so turns this good news, intended
} be SAVIOR of life life unto life, into
avor of death unto death. Damned be-
ause be will not suffer Jesus to take his
lace under the law, but must needs satisfy
hat law himself Damned because he will
Ot allow Christ to be his champion, but
must needs go forth in his own mig hit to
ght his own battles. Damned, and must
f necessity be damned, because he can see
o beauty in the flower and crown of his
ace, no brightness in one who is the sun
righteousness Himself, the brightness Of
ne Fathers glory and express image of
lis person.
II. Let US now, in the second place ad-
ress ourselves to the more difficult task of
rowing that this idea of substitution, so
rominent in our Bible is a leading
bought in the religions of the heather
7orld. Let US look now ut this doctrine
rom the pagan standpoint and see if the
anne doctrine, in the midst of Overwhelm-