The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-04-11
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EASTER.
copyrighted. 1891

shifting from the cross over to the res
direction. The Easter festival Ia to be |
the chief OF holy days In the church TO |
come. The dominant word Of past the |
o,ogy has been 'death;" OF future theol- |
ogy II will be 'life." Gradually. per-
haps unconsciously, We are getting over |
10 the new position. Our doctrines may
remain substantially the same. but we
are looking at them from a new view
point; we are getting upon different
working basis. And In so doing we are
simply completing the work begun by
the great religious revolution Of the
sixteenth century; we are getting back
10 the theology of the New Testament.
II is the resurrection, and not the
cross, that was the mighty theme of
apostolic preaching for the latter was
hut the means, while the former was
the end. The cross stood for the cause
of the pardon of sin, but the resurrec-
ton for the fact of the putting away of
sin by the new life. The death of Christ
was subordinated to His rising again.
"It is Christ that died, yea rather that
f. risen again." exclaimed Paul. This
was the motive of Peters great pente-
costal sermon This Jesus hath God
raised up, whereof we all are wit
nesses." So much did Paul emphasize
the resurrection that he declared: IF
in this life only we have hope in Christ
we are of all men most miserable" To
the Ephesians he writes that the mar
vel of the ages is that God, ''even when
we are dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ Jesus; and hath
raised up together and made us sit
together in heaven-life in Christ Jesus"
He makes this to be the aim of God
in creation, "for whom He did foreknow,
He did also predestinate to be made like
the image of His Son, that He might be
the frst-born among many brethren"
The greatest, most dynamic fact con-
corning Christ was not His death, but
that He now ever liveth, for IF Christ
be not raised, your faith is vain; we
are vet In your sins" Not to multiply
quotations, If you read carefully the
epistles of the apostles you must be
struck by the fact that 1t was the res
direction and not the cross that was
the great burden of their preaching. 1t
was not until the corruption of Chris
tianity that the cross was elevated
above the resurrection, mistake that
fingers to this day. and one which is IL
Illustrative of profound misconception
OF the Gospel, as we shall see later on.
Let us ask why II is that the res
direction has this pregnant force. Why
did the immediate followers of Christ
so emphasize 1t; why should 1t always
now be theme even more to be put
to the front than the crucifixion? 1t is
simply because the resurrection means
a living, present Saviour, constant
daily Rescuer from sin; while the cross
means a dying Saviour, God partici-
pating in the woe consequent on sin
that thus He redeem us. The cross sig
nifies the means by which Is secured
the cancellation of sins, the wiping
away of the old writing on the hearts
guilty tablet; the resurrection means
the actual cancellation itself, the sub
stitution Of new for old writing. 1t Is
we'll to be given a medicine that Will
cure our disease; II is better to have
the Physician who can administer thar
medicine; the dying Saviour is the med
icine, the living Saviour is the Physi-
clan Who applies His own blood Ano
that blood is of no avail unless He ap'
plies 1t. The cross means the prepara'
ton for forgiveness, the resurrection
the actual salvation. AS Paul put II
For, IL when we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God by the death o.
His Son, much more, being reconciled
we shall be saved by His life"
l~aN ~ 0 lie 1vr1 n.
terial. whether we be saved by the
blood or the resurrection; that 1t Is onl,
a fine and useless distinction without
a real difference. But such Is not TIT
fact There Is profound gap between
the two theories. The one reduces sal
walton to a technicality, a courtroom
shift; the other makes salvation thu
working of an immanent Saviour-Deit!
constantly in men. The one lays TIT
foundation for the superstructure or lie
galizing sophistries about what consti
tutes saving faith and essentials ant
the like: the other sweeps away al
these confusing refinements and place
the soul as a child in the immediate
care Of a present loving Father-Sav
Jour. The one made possible the vas
perversions of the church; the other !
the very spirit Of the apostles. The on
produces a contempt Of God in unbliev
ing minds, as it shows Him to be a.
austere and exacting Judge; the otne
unfolds God as love and helpfuiness
not as a Judge letting q culprit go, pu
as Shepherd going out after M
sheep. To the one theory IL traceanl
most Of the bitter accusations OF IN
fdels against the church. while to tn
other very few have found obJecuor
Most Of the saints OF the churcn nav
shone as holy examples just In proper
ton as they made no practical use Q
the theory that their salvation was
title to a future world by the death
Jesus, treating 1t as a mystery they De
Iieved, but did not comprehend usin
as a working theory the idea OF rise s..
Lord saving them daily from evil. I'm
one theory has easily been perverte
into the corrupt doctrine that buccan
eer and lecher could live In his sins an
yet by orthodox belief In the atoms