The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-12-02

Only express the wei recognized principle
that privilege increases responsibility and
responsibility deepens guilt. OF course he
knew no better. But that only made his
case the worse, for il ever there was 4
man who ought to have known better "A
was he. And SO he takes his place as
chief of sinners" And he humbly adds.
u obtained mercy"
And he repeats this. For he was twice
mercied. 1t is not Gods way to put
6lasphemers INTO the ministry. And so, as
he thinks Of the Lords exceeding album
dant grace" in calling him to the apostle
ship, ne says, Il obtained mercy, because
did it ignorantly in belief" But for a
lost, dead sinner a plea like this avails
absolutely nothing. For such, the one
and only plea is chat Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners"
THE WORK OF REDEMPTION.
The Epistle to the Romans goes on to
unfold the doctrine of salvation. Sin ar
raigns the sinner before the Divine judg-
ment seat, and he stands there as guilty
and doomed. Salvation therefore can only
be through redemption, and redemption
must be by blood. But as we have seen,
sin has another aspect: it corrupts and
depraves the whole spiritual being. The
sinner therefore needs new nature He
must be born again, born from above
But these truths must never be separat-
ed. The Spirits work depends upon the
work of Christ. Hence the emphasis with
which we are told that Christ came by
water and blood; not by water alone, but
by water and biood-as the r. V. renders
it, by the water and the blood"
We all know what the blood means. We
are redeemed by the precious blood of
Christ as of lamb without blcmish and
without spot" But some of US are much
at sea about the water. The water and
the blood are fgurative expressions. But
the figures are typical And il we under
stand the types, both win turn our
thoughts to the sacrifice of Calvary. The
water was "the water of publication" of
Numbers 10. Water that owed its cere-
monial efficacy to the sin offering. But
the sin Offering was only FOR a redeemed
people; people already redeemed by the
blood of the Paschal Lamb When the
Lord returns in blessing to Israel, then,
as Ezekiel SO teaches us, He will come "by
the water" But this is because His first
coming was not by the water only, but
by the water and the blood. The blood
has already been shed, redemption is ac-
complished.
The two, / repeat, must never be sepa-
rated. And as redemption is altogether
the Apostles ministry (Gal l: l, f. W,
1T is. mot from men, neither through
man." No ordinance or Sacrament" has
anything to do with it. Men can fix time
and place for ordinances, for ordinances
relate to earth; but the new birth is from
above. The Spirit breathes where He
wills.
It is to this thirty-sixth chapter of Eze-
kiel that these words of Christ refer.
Three elements in the new birth are speci-
he'd in the prophecy
~ 1T will sprinkle clean water upon
you, and We shall be clean" ". 25)
(2) Il will give you new heart"
". 26.)
81, "And /. 7 will put Ny Spirit within
THE WATER OF REGENERATION."
In Matt. 1928, the time of it's fulfill
ment for the man is designated by the
Lord as "The Regeneration" And in the
only other passage in the New Testament
where that word occurs, it is used in con-
nection with "the water of publication"
and the Ezekiel prophecy. | allude of
course to Titus 3:5: "He saved us by
he washing of regeneration and renew
ng of the Holy Ghost" The word here
washing" for it is noun substantive
md not verb; and the r. v gloss (mar-
yin) is misleading, for loutron is never
Used in the Greek Bible for "the LAYER"
But in the Greek Version of Ecclus :25
t is used for the vessel which held "the
water of publication
But to return to the Divinely appointed
lite of the Jewish religion, What was the
ymbolism of the water? Scripture itself
supplies the answer. The word loutron.
ike the word Regeneration" occurs only
vice in the New Testament. / have al
eady spoken of Titus 3:5; the other pas
age is Eph. 5:26. Christ gave Himself
or the Church, chat He might sanctify
md cleanse it with the loutron of water
~ the Word" In the type the Israehte
cached the sacrifice by means of the wa
er; in the antitype the believer reaches
he sacrifice by means of the Word. Hence
he language of Scripture, "the loutron Of
water in the Word" The water of puri-
generation; and it is by the Word that
he sinner is born again to God. 1t has
nothing to do with mystic arts or shib-
,oleths after the pattern of ancient Pa
anism. eve are born again" las the in
pired Apostle teachesl ''by the Word of
sod'-"the living and eternally abiding
Word of God"
rror or misapprehension, it is added,
And this is the Word which by the Cos
el is preached unto you''-preached. as
e had already declared, with the Holy
shost sent down from Heaven" Not
he Spirit without the Word, nor the
Word without the Spirit, but the Word
reached in the power of the Spirit.
In all this the truth of Christianity is
he counterpart and complement of the
eaching of the Old Testament. How can
inners, helpless, hopeless, dead = as dead
s dry bones scattered on the earth-be
orn again to God? "Can these bones
ve?" was the question which led the
rophet to cast himself on God. And the
7th chapter of Ezekiel gives the answer:
reach to them. Cali upon them to hear
he Word of the Lord. ". a.. This is
mans part; or if anything more remains
/ is Prophecy unto the breath"-pray
hat the Spirit may breathe upon these