The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1913-08-19

referring to his deathless spirit, and
the faculty in him that is intended to
respond to God. and does 30 respond,
or is in open rebellion against him.
AS to the spiritual part of man, most
specific provision has been made, and
here is the realm of the impact of
God with man in the person of Jesus
Christ. God was manifest in the flesh
and brought himself into the place
where it became possible for him to
have perfect communion with man.
Here is the realm of redemption, and
it is In connection with this redemp-
ton that we get the truest idea of
the natural man.
There is no use denying that man
thinks very highly of himself. and it
is the spontaneous disposition of man.
when asked as to his moral or spir-
itual state, to say that he is perfectly
right. The redemptive work of Jesus
Christ throws the searchlight on man.
and he sees himself as God sees him,
and gets the correct answer to the
question, What is man that God should
first place he is not right. He is not
just slightly wrong. Taking the teach
ing of the only book that has ever
fairly depicted man, we must concede
that the picture is gruesome and sad.
At the very beginning of the race
when man had not gotten far from
the state of perfect innocence, it was
said that every imagination OF the
thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually Job said that If he at
tempted to justify himself his mouth
would condemn him. David said that
all men are gone astray, that they had
altogether become filthy, that there
was not one that did good. no. not
one. Isaiah saw that all of man pro
fessed righteousness was as filthy
rags, and that his iniquities like the
wind had taken him away. Jesus
Christ spoke of some men as gen.
Grafton of vipers. and questioned
whether out Of them, being evil. any
good thing could como. The picture
that Paul gives in his letters to the
Romans and Galatians is one that
God thinks on him, and there is moth
ing less that God could do for him
but to redeem him out of his wretch
edness and misery and death. AS God
thus saw him he saw in him the most
glowing possibilities of future great
ness and glory. The glory of the
Christian religion is that 1t makes pro-
vision for mans regeneration. not sim
ply his spiritual inward regeneration,
but the regeneration of man in his
whole being. Twice-born men can be
numbered this minute by the tens OF
thousands, men whose present is as
different from the past as day Is from
night. God sees in every man. how
ever low, an angel that is more beau
tiful than the angel. that the sculptor
sees In the block OF marble.
In the history of the human race
God has visited them in judgment, In
mercy. In the person Of Jesus Christ
God visited Jerusalem about nineteen
hundred years ago, and the saddest
moment in the history of Israel was
when she did not recognize the day of
her visitation, and to this day God is
visiting Israel in Judgment. AS God
now sees man IL his sinful condition,
and thinks on him, he wants to visit
him, and wishes to see in man his own
image now so marred restored. To
show this thoughtfulness and desire
to visit man in mercy he made the
greatest sacrifice that it was possible
for him to make, even that of his
son.