Evening journal., 1905-09-09

and OF Grace. The skins would be-
come useless and the wine lost The
new wine must have new wineskine
and thus both shoald be preserved.
Thus does the King warn His dis
ciples against the admixture of the old
religion Of Law-works with the new
religion OF salvation by Grace alone.
And yet this is precisely what has
been done throughout Christendom.
Judaism has been patched up and
adopted everywhere among the
churches and the old garment is la
belled 'Christianity The result is a
disgusting hodge podge. which is nei-
ther Judaism nor Christianity. but
lritualistic substitution Of dead works
for trust in the living Cod The
new wine of free salvation has been
poured into the old wineskins Of legal
] ism, and with what result? Why. the
lskinsare burst and ruined and the wine
/ Is spilled and most Of the precious.
life-giving draught Is lost. The Law
has lost its terror, because IL is mixed
with grace and grace has lost beauty
land character as grace, for it is mixed
with law works.
"Now, may God Himself deliver us
from any part in this grievous OUT
rage. Either we are saved by grace,
that is, Gods unmerited favor. or we
are forever lost. But il it is by Grace
il is no more Of works: otherwise,
Grace is no more grace. GRO. 11:6)
We are not Antinomists--we do not
plead for an excuse to sln-no regen-
crate man could do such q thing, but
we insist that Law and Grace are two
distinct and contrasting principles
which cannot be intermingled without
destroying both In the Law God is
prohibiting and requiring; in the Cos
pei of His Grace God is beseechine
land bestowing. The Law is the min
listration of condemnation and death;
the Gospel is a ministration of con-
demnation and death; the Gospel is a
lminisration Of justification and life
1.-THE Law Curses; the Gospel redeems
from the curse. The Law Kills; the
Gospel makes alive. The Law con-
ldemns the best man on earth; the
Gospel justihes the worst man on
earth. The law puts a great distance
between man and God: the Gospel
lbrings man nigh to God. The Law
lsays DO. then live;' the Gospel says
Live, then do The law was for the
Jews alone; the Gospel is for the. whole
world. The Law brings the guilty sim
ner face to face with his sin and
shows him how helpless he is-how ut
terly powerless he is-either to know
God to obey God or to please God;
the Gospel delivers the sinner from his
sin and gives him power over it, max
ling it possible for him to know God
and to obey God and to please God.
How, then. can the Law be mixed
with the Gospel without destroying
both the Law and the Gospel How
lean we patch the old garment witt
the new cloth? How shall we pre-.
serve the new wine in the old wine.
skins? God help us, we viii not try
, Rather we shall hold forth. not th'
lministration Of death. but the Wort
of Life. which says. Sin shall not have
dominion over you: for ye are not un
J der Law, but under Grace (Romanl
Is: 14)
rs it not significant that in this H.
Illustration the Lord Jesus speaks o
? a man, instead of a woman, in con
nection with such household duties al
sewing a patch on a garment and stor
: ing up wine in wineskins2 In Mat
] thew, Mark and Luke it is recordei
the same way. Well. the Man has no
Z done the patching, nor has He put tn
j NEW wine into the old wineskins. It i
: the woman-that is. the Church. i'm
' lfgure-who has wrought the mischie
{ And this has been the result Of de
= parting from the Word Of the MAJ
e lChrist Jesus. and resorting to huma
v devices and organizations and in