^ In Irvine, and wherever he went, his voice was recognized as that of a prophet of the Lord, whose lips had been touched
1 J. Eendel Harris, Life of F. W. Crosshy, 206. I THESS.-HEB. — 23 '
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with a coal from off the holy altar ; and whose mission was to present men with a lofty ideal, and through the medium of a beautified imagination to let them see the infinite love of God in a crucified, risen, and exalted Christ. And, as in the days of his strength he was pre-eminently a preacher of the gospel, even so, in the days of his weakness, this continued to be his heart's desire to the end, for it is told of him that, just before the final struggle, he said to his sister, " I think I could preach a sermon yet, and this would be the text," — and in his old musical tones, sounding loudly through the room, he cried, — " ' He is able to save to the uttermost.' " ^
^ The words have special point, if Sir W. M. Eamsay is right in his modified acceptance of Mr. Lewis's theory as to the origin of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He thinks that the Epistle was written by a member of the Pauline circle at Caesarea, during the two years of the Apostle's imprisonment, as a final appeal to the Jews of Jerusalem to accept the rejected Messiah, and to the Hebrew Christians to hold forth a full and untrammelled gospel. The sentence of death upon the nation abides as yet, but con- currently with it there runs the possibility of individual life. " He is always alive to keep saving those who keep coming unto God by him." 2
The text declares — I. That Christ can save to the uttermost. II. That we have the guarantee of His continual intercession. III. That the only condition of this salvation is coming to God through Him.
Utteemost Salvation.
** Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost."
1, What is salvation ? In classical literature and in the public inscriptions of Greece the words " save " and " saviour " nearly always refer to material preservation and safety. In the earlier stages of Israel's history it has a predominantly worldly and temporal meaning : at a later time the salvation longed for by the inspired writers is not merely worldly but spiritual,
^ A. Guthrie, Robertson of Irvine, 352.
' H. C. Lees, The Sunshine of the Good News, 39.
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involving a right relation to God, and a consequent state in one's self. Among Christians we find all three renderings of the word " save " in use — the lower, the middle, and the higher meaning. Some most earnestly desire safety from foes and the mischances of life. Some most frequently and most ardently desire the salvation of their souls after death from the flames of hell and the power of Satan. The more spiritual schools of Christianity rather lay stress on the need of salvation from one's own worse self and from the terrible power of evil habit.
2. Is Christ able to save ? This writer was sure that Christ could save, for his mind was fixed on the sacrifice and the inter- cession of Jesus. He looked on the cross and he saw there the Saviour dying for sin. He looked to the throne, and he saw there the Saviour pleading for sinners. And so the question, " Is Christ willing to save ? " was inept for him. To ask it would be as foolish as it would be for a drowning man to ask when he sees his rescuer swimming hard towards him, " Is he willing to save me ? " When Gordon looked for the deliverers who came too late, he did * not ask, " Are they willing to save ? " He only asked, " Are they ■ able to save ? Can they come in time ? "
And, indeed, it is only the shallow-minded who too readily answer in the affirmative the question, "Is Christ able to save ?" There are those who say, "Of course, God can save; He can forgive, and He can win, and the forgiving and the winning of souls present no difficulty to Him." They refuse to believe in any God who does not forgive and win every created soul. But on deeper thought the question becomes much less easy, and we say with Browning : — ■
It is by no breath, Turn of eye, wave of hand, that salvation joins issue with death.
This is the thought of the New Testament, and it is a true reading of life.
^ Hawthorne tells us, in Mosses from an old Manse, of a man who came into that strange intelligence office with a downcast look. It was such an aspect as he might have had had he lost the very soul out of his body and travelled all the world over, searching in the dust of the highways and along the shady foot-
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paths and beneath the leaves of the forest and among the sands of the seashore, in the hope of recovering it again. With a sad face he came up to the man of intelligence, " I have lost — " he began, and then he paused.