Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-08-12
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REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
(Orlginal.j
CO.LABORERS.

lorgnal.]
CO.LABORERS.
Paul. in his first epistle to the Church Of
Corinth, says: "We are laborers together
with God ye are Gods husbandry-God's
building" 1st Cor. 3 g. The prououn eve" !"
in the above quotation, refers to ministers Of
the gospel, and "ye" refers, primarily, to the
members of the Church of Corinth but is
designed to include the members of the
Church universal.
1t would be difficult, if not impossible, to
express more concisely and more fully, the
duties of the gospel ministry than they are
stated in this short sentence. Ministers of
the gospel are co laborers with God, and the
church is Gods 6eld-God's building. Moth.
ing can be more Numerically opposed to the
popular notion of the gospel ministry, than
this positive declaration of the Apostle. The
popular notion of the gospel ministry is that
it is simply secular profession-an honorable
and easy mode of making living. Parents
persuade their sons to study for the ministry
rather than prepare for any other profession,
because, say they, the title "Rev." introduces
the child of poverty and obscurity into the
society of the rich and renowned. Not only
so, but the masses are firmly persuaded that it
is much easier to preach than it is to plow.
Paul says the gospel minister is co.labor-
er with God. In another place the minister
is said to be an ambassador for Christ. The
prince of peace selects his own ambassadors,
6ts them for the position they are to occupy,
and prepares them for the work they are de-
signed to perform. As no earthly prince
would commit the selecting Of his ambassa-
dors to foreign courts into the hands of any
one, 80 Jesus Christ reserves to himself the
exclusive right to select his ambassadors. The
ambassadors of Jesus are co-laborers with
God. They have assigned to them partic,
ular work. By them this work can be done,
and by no one else.
If it be asked what are the ambassadors
of the cross required to do? we answer, lst.
Negatively, they are not required to make an
atonement for sin. This is a work far too
great for any created being to perform. 1t
is the prerogative of the Goldman, Jesus
Christ alone, to satisfy the penal demands of
the law of God. Jesus Christ died for sin in
the room and stead Of sinners, and by his
death made a proper atonement for sin. 2.
Neither is the minister Of the gospel required
to cooperate with God in working out and
bringing in justifying Righteousness. This is
$50 the exclusive prerogative of Jesus Christ.
In the room and stead of sinners, he obeyed
the precepts as we'll as suffered the penal
demands of Gods law. By his death he
took away the guilt of sin, and by bis obe'
dience he brought in an everlasting right
eousness.
Afirmatively, we might say, in general
terms, that the duties of the Gospel minister,
or ambassador for Christ, is to pursuade men
to accept of Christ as their saviour. Or to
give the language of Paul himself: "Now
then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech you by us; we pray you in
Christ's stead, be you reconciled to God"
This is plain. The minister of the gospel as
the duly authorized ambassador for Christ, is
sent into the world for the special purpose of
persuading men to be reconcled to God,
whom, by their sins, they have grievously
offended. In the commission which the Sa.
viour gave to his first apostles, and through
them to their successors for all time, they
are instructed to 60 into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. Nothing
can be palmer than this. The most illlterate
can, if he will, understand it. In one place,
Paul says that the duty Of the Gospel minis
ter is TO plant and water the Church of God.
AS co laborer with God, he claims that he
planted the Church in the city of Corintb,
and that Apollos watered it. Still he dis
claims that either he or Apollos were in any
sense the efficient cause Of the Corinthians
believing. They were neither convicted nor
con, erted by him nor by Apollos. This is
manifest from the figure he uses. Planting
and watering are not the efficient cause of
vegetation Heat is just as essential to vege-
tation, as either planting or watering; and,
moreover, without heat planting and water
ing will avail nothing. The apostle does not
leave US to an inference from we'll chosen
figure, but positively says that although he
planted the Church in Corinth and Apol-
los watered it, "God gave the increase" In
the conviction and conversion of those who
afterward formed the Church at Corinth,
and in bringing them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord, Paul and Apollos
we're nothing more than instruments in the
hands of God. For the purpose OF turning
the Corinthians from the service of sin and
Satan, God selected Paul as his ambassador,
and for the purpose Of building them up in
holiness, Apolos was selected.
Some one may ask, "Cannot God, with.
out the aid of ministers Of the gospel, convict
and convert sinners and build up believers in
holiness?" We might answer this question
by asking another. "Cannot God clear up
the forest, break up the soil, plant the seed
and thus produce food for man and beast
without the cooperation of mau?'' These two
questions are very similar, anu Ihe answer
to the last will serve as an answer to the first.
Does the farmer dispense with the use of
means? Not with impunity is the reply
made by all experience and observation. So
far as omnipotence is concerned, God can do
all things that are not inconsistent with his
other attributes Since we must believe that
God always wills and acts consistently with
himself, we may safely conclude that in no
other way can God convict and convert sin.
or, nd h,;ld IN hel;evers in holiness but