Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-12-28

Confidence In the Gospel.
IL was the proud declaration OF Paul
of Tarsus, Il am not ashamed OF the
Gospel of Christ" The audacity OF
this statement equals it's simplicity.
For Paul wrote these words not TO
servile captives or ignorant barbara
ans. but to arrogant Romans, men Il
strong mentality, and physically tne
victors of the whole known world. 10
the Roman, the incarnation of law, the
historic exponent of sheer force, the
suggestion of salvation" through
grace" seemed as the merest babble-
a fantastic conceit whose only purpose
could be to point jest amid the Or
gies of a bacchanalian feast. 1t was
highly audacious therefore ror pro-
vincial Paul seriously to urge upon
Romans the idea of redemption
through an obscure Galilean whom
Procurator PLATE had put out OF the
way in the reign of Tiberious Caesar.
Yet that persistent Paul continued to
affirm, Il am not ashamed of the evan
gel" Put positively this means that
he had every confidence in the gospel
He was sure of his grounds in preach
ing it; he was convinced that the
gospel was needed, and that it could
do for men what it said it would do.
In Pauls estimation, the gospel was
no forlorn hope, but a live principle
of spiritual victory. Paraphrased in
to slightly different terms his words
meant: Il am not COMPOUNDED in view
OF the gospel" There was nothing
in its advocacy which need cause Paul
embarrassment or involve him in logi-
cal or moral difficulties. The gospel
was understandable, justifiable. 1t
might be the scott of the Roman, but
it was the power of God. AS pro-
fessors of the Christian faith, we need
a little confidence in the gospel today.
It's force has not abated through the
ages, its monumental triumphs mark
the whole course of historic develop
ment through the centuries until now.
And yet the temptation will come, es-
pecially to minds of certain type, to
doubt the practical worth of the Cos
pei, and to confess to kind of shame
when its claims are urged. The temp
tation to depreciation, or to de-
spair of the gospel, comes most fire.
quently from confronting of human
life in the two extremes of the social
scale. 1t is felt in the presence of the
highly cultured, and is also suggested
in view of the degradation OF the out
cast classes. Culture is not properly
the foe of Christianity. 1t has no
right to he, since 1t Is Christianity that
very largely has made culture. And
yet ever since the days of the Grecian
sneers at the, cause of the Galilean.
there have been many minds, of un-
doubted culture, to whom the preach
ing of the cross, even OF any cross.
has been foolishness. In presence of
his scarce concealed scorn,. the hum
Die believer is in danger of becoming
embarrassed, and of betraying con-
fusion of feeling when hailed, or per-
haps Knocked, as a Christian believer.
The false culture of the world puts on
so many airs, is so sure that it knows
everything that is worth knowing,
even if ignorant of Christianity ,dwells
in a region so far apart from the
planes of evangelical thought, and is
so unable,o or unwilling (which amounts
almost to the same thing to follow
ones argument when he speaks of the
new birth or the graciousness of the
system of salvation, that confusion,
silence and even assent seem easy for
the disconnected believer, who is not
indeed prepared, like Peter, to deny
his Lord, but yet is not ready on the
spot with strong and cogent ex-
PLANTATION of the claims of Jesus Christ
the Messiah But anti-Christian Gull
ture is wrong, and is answerable by
hundred valid arguments and a host
of examples of what Christianity can
do in the way OF Illuminating human
vision. consoling broken hearts. guild
ing hayward spirits, and supplying
dying grace to those who are soon
to cross the river into that realm
which would otherwise for all that
culture, can tell or show. remain for
ever the unknown. At the other ex-
IRENE of the social scale the conf
dence of some people in the gospel
would appear to be shaken by a con-
temptation OF the criminal classes and
of wrecked characters generally. We
are tempted to be ashamed of the gos-
pei because we think that there. in
such hayward souls the gospel has
failed We insensibly argue, if the
gospel is what il claims to be, why
should such characters exist at all in
human society. Is there not in the
gospel a morally preseryatiYe force
sufficient to salt all ranks with the
grace of goodness? How then shall
we account for the existence OF de-
PRAYED some would say reprobate,
classes, which represent a kind Of fe-
yerish fernlent. or horrid rot. in the
very cent of a so-called Christian
society? me answer to this objection
must cone from reference to the
very nature of the gospel. The gos-
pei is voluntary scheme. 1t is adj
dressed to mans free viii. Where
it is received it perfectly accomplishes
its work of character transformation.
Social depravity is not the fault Of the
gospel, for the gospel is not in, is not