South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-10-25
SAYS DEITY ONLY
CAN FORGIVE MAN
No Human Power Can Recreate
Soul, Declares Rev.
Mr.. Hunt.

Sunday morning at the Trinity
Methodist church. the pastor. Rev. c.
Hunt. opened a series Of sermons on
The Incompatible Christ Of Colos-
slams" All Of these sermons are to
be based On selections from Pauls
brilliant letter to the church at Closse.
Rev. Hunt spoke on Christ as Re-
deemer," from the words I'm Whom
We Have Our Redemption, the For
giveness of Our Sins"
Rev. Hunt said in part:
For our best conception OF Christ
we are probably indebted to Paul and
Paul's loftiest and profoundest con-
ceptiOn of the Christ is given in this
letter The two mountain weight
words that he uses in this particular
passage are. redemption and for
giveness' We have always failed
when trying 10 form a theory of re-
compton. Some important matter Is
sure to be omitted, or some foreign
idea dragged I'm. But, fortunately, no
fact needs to await an adequate the
DRY. The fact Of redemption has been
one Of the treasured experiences or
the followers of Jesus from the first.
Faul's choice OF this word is suggest
Se 1t implies that man was not only
lost in sin, but sold out TO a helpless
end hopeless slavery therein. He had
sold his soul to sin, and had nothing
with which to buy it back. Man was
like the child Of a wealthy home. kid.
mapped by brigands and held for ran
som. Jesus paid the ransom price
On Calvary and became the worlds
remeeder. Thus while the work OF
Christ as Redeemer emphasizes our
helpless bondage to sin and the abso-
lutte hopelessness of salvation apart
from Christ, il also gives evidence OF
Gods prior claim upon us. After all,
the world Of sin is not our home. We
are capives, stolen away from our
Fathers house. But redemption was
finished on the cross, the ransom price
paid, and man remains under the
power Of sin today by his own choice,
not because there is no deliverance.
God Alone FOrgives.
"Paul's other great word here is
forgiveness This means complete
deliverance from the power and PEN
atty of sin, not mere Communication OF
sentence. The forgiveness Of Christ
is absolute and unlimited. It includes
rest grafton. When Jesus Christ for
gives a man, he is not kept out Of the
inner circle on suspicion for a time
re Immediately his. The forgiveness
of God is not verbal nod superficial.
1t is not at all like parental pardon.
The penitent child comes to its earth
~ parent and is forgiven. but there is
10 inward change, no new heart that
Will henceforth shun disobedience. But
Jesus Christ fOrgives. He does lay
hold on the deepest impulses of the
heart and the man is a changed Great
ure. This is real forgiveness, stripped
of all its mechanical and superficial
1t goes without saying
that no priest or prelate can forgive
il this sense. When a man steps into
the confessional between the seekine
soul and God. and says. 'Absolve me,
ii is no wonder or surprise that the
same seeker will need TO come back
again the next day for some more for
giveness. 1t is the work of Deity to
re-create by fOrgiying love. and no
man can do that office. The un-
changed, continually SHINING, stream
OF life that pours forth from the con-
&c ssional is an unansv- cradle evidence
of the truthfulness Of this statement
in Christ is our redemption. and In
Christ is our forgiveness"