The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-02-29
DIR. SHINN's SERMON.
Christ's Mission Explained.
TOKYO, Jan. 20, 1896.

our last paper Is bnus reported IN the
Hartman Progress. 1t outlines the be-
lief of our church very faithfully on the
subject of the Mission of Christ:
Christ's Mission was to make Chris
tians. To do this it was necessary to
reveal certain great truths to man, such
as stimulate an ambition for the attain.
ments of the Christian life. First, the
character and purpose of God it was
necessary that man should know. And
Jesus was revelation of God. He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father. J"
The Fatherly attributes we're manifested
in the life of the Son. The truth Christ
taught he lived. He exemplified in his
life among men the desire and DISPOSE.
ton of God; bis sympathy and forgive
ness toward his children. Second: Je
sus was revelation of man, his perfect
life prophecy of what every human
life is capable of attaining. The souls
capacity for moral perfection was made
known in his life. Third: He revealed
Immortality, and again answered deep
need of humanity. By revealing these
great fundamental truths, he inspired
in man first faith in the high purpose
and possibility Of his life; and second,
in the capacity for reaching the divine
attainments.
All the titles given to Jesus in the
Old Testament and New signify clear
ly what his chief mission was. 1t was
not to save man from the wrath of God.
God loved sinful man not because Christ
came, but before he came. He 80 loved
the sinful world. ETC., Father sent the
Son because he loved his disobedient
children. Nor was it Christ's mission to
save man from an outward hell. There
is only one hell that man is to be saved
from. 1t is in man, not outside-sin in
the soul. Nor did he come to save man
from an outward Satan. Nor was it his
mission to save man from punishment.
There is no such thing as salvation
from punishment. Punishment is cor
receive. 1t is loves medicine to cure.
The certainty of punishment is Bible
doctrine. and l am sure it is the doc
trine of human experience. We as
church place tremendous stress upon
the absolute certainty of punishment
The substitutional theory of Christ's
atonement is false and degrading. 1t H.
censes men to sin. 1t is not safe to teach
vicious men that there is way to escape
deserved punishment. And to punish
an innocent person in place of the guilty
outrages even our lowest conception of
justice.
1t is because we Universalists do not
believe that forgiveness removes punish
ment, that we are so misunderstood.
There is no forgiveness until there
is repentance, and the sinner re.
pents only when he is punished. The
common conception of Christian saliva
ton is that it is to save man from flu
ture endless punishment; and this is
why we are so misunderstood, because
we protest against this as constituting
salvation. We believe the explicit
statements Of the Bible. We believe
the plain declaration: "Thou shalt call
his name Jesus, because he shall save
his people from their SINS" Please OBJ
serve it is salvation from something in
side of man-sin in the soul. And Jesus
is Saviour because he makes the only
saving power in the universe operative.
What is that power? 1t is simply that
power which will destroy sin. You
know what it is. The only antidote for
selfshness, which is the root Of sin.
Love is the power. Christ saves only by
getting this spiritual energy into the
souls of men. Love is the only nourish-
ment. Let it come in and set the soul
growing, and selfishness, sin, will begin
to depart. When it takes full posses
sion, sin will entirely vanish. 1t is the
only power that can displace or destroy
sin. And here is the method of saliva.
ton: the destruction of mems sins. and
not their souls.
The sinful, the lost are the very people
Christ came to save. Will he lose those
he came to save and save only the ones
he didn't come to save? Securing a
place of safety does not constitute heav-
en- as locality; it is spiritual condi-
ton. "The kingdom of God is within
you," said the Divine Teacher. 1t was
not the mission of Christ to create the
Utmost life, but to reveal it, and create
eternal life, which is love in the soul,
expanding, deepening the souls life. and
casting out selfshness. He came to es
tablish the kingdom of heaven in man.
He said, also. Il am come that ye might
have life, and that ye might have it more
abundantly." He that believeth my
word hath eternal life." In a word, he
came to make man righteous. Man is
not saved after he becomes good. right
eous. holy. He is saved by becoming
good. by becoming righteous, by becom-
ing holy. In this or in any other world
man will be saved when he becomes
Christ like. None OF us have reached