peace: yet, even, before He returned to the Father's presence, man scornfully rejected Him, sordidly betrayed Him, cruelly persecuted and vilely slew Him; aye, and daily since that time He has been derided, forsaken, sold, crucified afresh and put to an open shame. But all these slights and assaults on the Person of Jesus have been blasphemies against the essence of God, for Christ was the incarnate Life, the incarnate Love of God. It is justice unalloyed, then, the heralding of the second Advent of Jesus -"Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kingdoms of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen." Yet, behold the mercy of God. He will judge the world by Him who has passed through the world. He will arraign mankind before Him who is not only very God but also very Man. Just as now we have an High Priest, so then we shall have a Judge who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. Even the tones of condemnation will be gentle and sad, tuned with the sympathy of compassion. And who shall conceive the music of the blessing, crowned with the sympathy of commendation! Himself has suffered being tempted; He has felt the pangs and terrors of conflict as well as the joy of victory. He will not only approve but He will appreciate. He will not only rejoice over, but He will rejoice with all those on whom He passes sentence: "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord:" thou art partaker of My joy, for I was partaker of thy sorrow. There is yet another thought-"the Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son;" not only the judgment to come, but all judgment, the judgment which is proceeding day by day around us and within us. Is there no such judgment? At Christ's first coming He said, "I judge no man-I came not to judge the world but to save the world." But He said again, "For judgment I am come into the world; now is the judgment of this world." These apparently opposite sayings are not contradictory. His life was not a formal or final judgment against men, but it created the standard of judgment. Every thought, or word, or deed of ours, which comes short of that standard, condemns us. Our own hearts condemn us, and God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things. Do you remember how He stood of old within the circle of His enemies and friends, saying, "Which of you convinceth Me of sin?" Does He not stand in our midst to-day with the words, Which of you is not convinced by me of sin? But "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." "He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth notis condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God." Do ye now believe? I do not ask about your historic and dogmatic faith, though I rejoice to think that most of you have at least this groundwork and foundation for the higher blessing. You do believe that Christ lived, and died, and rose again those centuries ago; you do believe that He was very God of very God, and very man born of the Virgin Mary. It may be you can go a step further and say, "He was God incarnate for me, He was crucified for me." But is that Sacrifice, that Death, a force with you? Has it raised you from dead works to serve the living God? Are you identified with Him, nailing your sins and failures to His cross, commending every act of your life to His grace, going always in the might and merit of His name? Then, though you, like the rest of men, must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, there is no condemnation for you, you are in Christ Jesus. Only judge ye yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord. Examine your selves whether ye are in the Faith or no. The name of Jesus is not a passport to heaven unless it is a power on earth. "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." Let us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, but still with unflinching courage and trust, for it is God that worketh in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. And in the end, I pray, I believe the Almighty will prevail. But if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Where shall be pride in that day? How shall false lives, how shall lust draw near? There are the shrinking figures that would but cannot flee away and hide themselves, and there is the awful voice which breaks the spell for them: "Depart self-condemned, condemned already!" |