The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-06-20

v s@@A@H~ On the day of
Pentecost Peter said: This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we are
witnesses. Therefore being at the
right hand of God exalted he
hath shed forth this" When stephen
was dying he looked up steadfastly
into heaven, and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing on the right hand
of God When Saul of Tursus was
lying on his face in the Damascus
road, a voice from heaven said: Il am
Jesus" The revelation is progress
sive: Peter said: "tie is there; Ste
phen saw Him there; Saul heard Him
speak from there.
In every instance that the Scrip.
ture speaks of the eXaltation of
Christ, it calls Him by His human
name: Jesus. And thus is emphasized
what is too often lost sight of, the fact
that He is exalted in His humanity.
There IS a Man in heaven, a Man in
physical body of flesh and bones
This same Jesus" Is at the right hand
VI Nbl II liAt AtAs b'AS ~ 49,
nailed to a cross for our sins.
The opening statement of the epistle
contains a cluster of glories that
thrills the souls included in the our
of the text. The value to US of that
revelation of His glories is enhanced
by the closing declaration which tells
Us how He got there and reveals the
rich personal interest in the heavens
that every believing sinner has:
"When he had by himself purged our
sins, he sat down" When He had
done this, but not until then When
He had settled forever the question
Of sin when He had purged the last
stain so that no trace remained upon
the believer.
l lock at the cross where He hung
nailed, but He is not there. A dead
man on a cross is no symbol of u
holy Christianity Iloot into the tomb
where He lay beneath the awful load
of my sins and, behold, it is empty.
left behind Him forever in defeat l
look up to heaven and there l see
Him without my sins, and the Lords
song begins in my soul 1t was my
sins that nailed Him to the cross, and
because He died for me, and in that
death effaced all my guilt. God has
exalted Him at His own right hand.
"He sat down" Sat down because
His work was done, as one who rests
from toll. His session there in the
heavens is the eternal y%indication of
that cry of triumph that from the
cross has echoed round the world &:
III is finished!' Finished, so that
nothing remains to be donel Fin
ished, because sin is purged and put
away. Finished according to all the
types and shadows of the law! Fin
ished precisely as all Scripture had
foretold Finished, the judgment en-
jured. and the believer delivered
from #. He has done what no priest
Of old would have dared He has gone
into the inner sanctuary and taken a
seat at Gods right hand of power.
"E1ery priest standetlI daily minister
ing and offering oftentimeS the same
sacrifices, which can never take away
sins states chapter 10 of this epistle.
The priest stood. for the tabernacle.
and the temple after it, contained no
article of furniture upon which one
could sit. He stood because his work
was never done. Day after day. the
offering On the braZen altar, morning
and evening the lamps trimmed and
burning on the golden lampstand-
sacrifices that could take away
sils. But this man. it is added.
"after He had offered one sacrifice for
sins forever, sat down on the right
hand Of Cod"
O soul, look up and see Him there.
and remember how He reached that
place we behold him who hath been
made a little lower than the angels,
even Jesus, because of the suffering
Of death crowned with glory and hon
or" (Heb. 30 r. W. Crowned with
glory and honor because of that death
into which He went for our sins. Be
hold Him there and make no more
vain attempts to add to His finished
work. 1t is this that saves, not some
thing that you must do but the work
already done for you. Doing or
done?' Here is the essential differ
ence between Christianity and all of
mans religion, Of whatever name. To
spell the latter requires but two let
ters: DO For Christianity. four
letters are rpOufrpd ca ~ J+
you tried a thousand years you could
add nothing to this finished work.
You would only mar it and dim the
glory belonging to Christ alone. The
gospel is the proclamation of a fin
ished work which God invites Door
sin-laden men to accept and to rest
in with Himself forever. This is the
glad story our God 50 joys to tell!
o. weary soul, believe it and rest and