Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1895-04-11
NUMBER 35
CHRISTIAN ENpEAvoR.
Topic For the Week BeginDins April IL
Comment bY Rev. .. RI. DnNIa

Topic For the Week BeEinnine April Il.
Comment by Rev. s. III. Doyle.
ToPIc--Risen with christ-from whatf-
Rom. Vi, LIP; 2O-2s. An Easter mesting.J
The practical lessons from the resur-
rection Of Christ are many and impor-
tant. In this twelfth chapter of Ro-
mans Paul deals principally with the
question Of holiness, Of sanctifcation, IL
lustrating and enforcing the necessity
Of dying unto sin and living unto God,
by the resurrection OF Christ, who died
unto sin and now ever more h7efh unto
God. The topical references emphasize
two ideas-frst, that with Christ we die
unto sin, and. second, with him we live
unto God
\ With Christ we die unto sin. lin
that he died, He died unto sin" (verse
l0). Christ died unto sin. This may
mean several things-that He died for
the destruction OF sin; that He died for
It's expiation or on account Of sin. In
any sense it means that Christ separated
Himself. by His death, for the burden
of mans sin, which He had willingly
assumed. With Christ believers also die
to sin, but in an entirely different sin
II is personal, iDdwellinR sin to which
they die. or from which they separate
themselves. But Christ not only died to
sin, but died to it once for al. BY His
death He threw Off the burden Of sin
forever So the Christian must die once
for all to sin. There must be no return
or no continuance in sin after we have
once separated ourselves from it. It is
true that the greater the sin the greater
is the grace Of God in forgiving it, and
yet we are not to sin that grace may
the more abound. 1t cannot be. 1t ia
self contradictory. Death and life are
antagonistic, and therefore il we are
dead to sin we cannot be alive to sin.
To live in sin would be therefore an
evidence that we have not died to sin
with Christ.
2. With Christ we live unto God "In
that He liveth, He hveth unto God
tverse 10). Others who were raised from
the grave arose to live AZ before, but
Christ arose to live unto God, not,
though, that He had not lived unto God
before His death. In Him the believer
also rises to live unto God. Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead in
deed unto sin, but alive unto God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord (verse
I'D. To die unto sin is only half the
story We must live unto God. We
must not only put of the old man, but
put ON the new. We must not only
cease to do evil. but learn to do well
Repentance includes turning from sin
and turning to God Sanctifcation
includes dying unto sin and living
unto God. We rise with Christ Jesus
from sin that we may live with Him
unto God This is the object of the
Christians life. not to yield himself unto
sin, but to yield himself entirely unto
God We are freed from sin and be-
come the servants Of God that we may
have fruit unto holiness and the end
everlasting life. For the wages Of sin
is death, but the gift Of God il eternal
life. through Jesus Christ. y
Bible Readings -Ps. xvii, rs; Isa.
xvi. 10; Math- xxii. 81. 80; Luke xx,
81, 58; Rom. vii. 40; viii, II; Cor.
vi, IA: XIV, 1920; III Cor. xiii, a;
Gal ii, 20; Eph. ii, 4-6; Phil. iii,
1914; Col. ii, II; iii, IA; I Thess. iv,
IS, IA; IITim- ii. ii, 12; John iii, 2.