The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-16

turned upon one question. and that the simplest
possible question that could have been submitted
to a moral agent For, mark you, God has al
ways seen fit to test his creatures by prospective
rather than moral requirements You do it in
your family! You do not require as test of
obedience. or of training, rather as the ex-
massive test that your children should 20
through all the requirements of system of
moran pnllosophy. but you teach them obedience
by faith, that they must not touch particular
article and the question is can he keep hs little
fingers of of it, The moment you tell 1im he
must not his little fingers begin to itch and
you tell him he must not do it. Now the only
test that God gave to Adam was that he must
not eat particular article Of food. The test all
finished there-turned upon that one simple
thing But Adam yielded to temptation end
say that God could not have given a smaller test
upon which to hang the fate of a race than that
Jesus came into the world and he proclaimed the
purpose of his errand. II come to do Thy will Thy
Will is 1t to lay down my life; will do it 1t was
the exhaustive test. 1t was not simply dying,
1t was the test trials that gathered around that
death, and the approaches from it to reach the
cross The approaches lay through the garden
OF Gethesemane, and as he lay stretched upon
the damp earth, as the story goes, the silence Of
that night was disturbed by the crying of bitter
tears What was the meaning of that2 1t was the
scene of passing through the ordeal of terrible
temptations obstructing his way to the cross
that, possibly. might prevent him reaching it
sinless. All, if in that terrible time rebellion
had arisen up in the heart of JesIsl If In that
trying hour he had hesitated and perhaps
turned back; if in that moment human
passion had stained the soul of His
Son, God would have failed in his mis-
sion. and the death of Christ would
not have been the act of complete and exhaust
i've obedience to the will of God. Nay, nay; and
not only must he die, but in all the inirmities of
human weakness, His deity in the abyss, and In
human feebleness, He must stand there resisting
an attack without resistance; stand there resist
less until the last bolt had been hurled from the
fold of heaven, and the last arrow had been shot
from the culver of hell. What if Jesus had
failed2 What if He had died failing of absolute
obedience to divine authorityg Then the gates
of mercy had been closed forever against our
guilty world. The problem of personal righteous
ness and human being would have been dsas-
trously answered. Jesus Christ would have died
a sinner, and Satan would have been the con-
queror of Christ, and sin arising would have sub
merged the eternal throne of righteousness, and
death, riding upon the topmost wave, would
have swept around, and around without mount
or beach on which to break. and the desolate
universe of Gods righteousness would have
divided, and sin would have been triumph
ant But, ah! blessed be His name!
He came forth from the conditions masterful and
victorious, wherefore He passed through the gates
Of death triumphing over it, and reached the
throne of His glory, and from that throne He
has proclaimed Himself prince OF life and re-
storer of perfect life to all that believe in His
faith. Jesus Christ had passed through death in
order to open the gates of immortality to man
kind. He died that He might become the con-
querer of death. He consented to pass through
the dark caverns of death in order that He might
illumine it with His own eternal presence. Let
the same mind be with US that was with Christ
Jesus. obedient to the will of God, and let us 80
conduct ourselves that we can accomplish the
mission of Christ and rise triumphant In the
glorious salvation, and the grand acclaim shall
go up from the voice of many waters, Halle
luiah! hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent,
and the whole earth is full of glory.