The Lord is concerned not only that men be for- iriven, but that His disciples should know tliat they are forgiven. The grace of forgiveness lias not its pi-oper power in transforming their lives unless they know that tliey have it. As long as men are under fear and doubt they are not Christ's freemen : their religion is still only regulative. It
is wlien tliey have an assured sense of forgiveness and reconciliation to God that a great impulse of gratitude, with a new life in their souls, makes them free indeed, and strong in their freedom to serve God. Christ accordingly eq^uips His Cliurch to convey this assurance of forgiveness, and if a Church does not succeed in doing this, especially if, as often, the current idea in the Clmrch is that to be assured of forgiveness is abnormal and unusual, the Church is greatly failing in its mission. If the form of our Lord's promise in Jn 20'^ 'Whose soever sins ye forgive, etc., seem too absolute, we must remember that the gift of the Holy Spirit, which He then gave the sign of imparting, is a gift of exceeding power, and that no limit can be set to the degree in which God through ( liri^t is willing to give the Spirit. ' He givcth n..i ihi. S|.iril hy measure' (Jn 3^). And our Loi.l i> >iii akiiiL;, accordiu" to His wont, to the ideal Chuicli, to the Church which receives in the fulness with which Ho is willing to bestow. Just as, speaking at the high level of the ideal, He says to His .servant.'^ in another place (Lk 10'"), ' He that heareth you heareth me : and he tliat de- spiseth you despiseth me' ; so He says here, ' Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven,' etc. But all these and such like promises depend for tlieir fulfilment on the Spirit of Christ working, nay, reigning, in the Chuich. This power and reign of the Spirit ebbs and flows according to the faith and receptivity of the Church ; and w liile it is the duty of the Church to believe in God being witli it, and while the Church ought to clothe itself with the mighty assurance of heaven assentin" to its judgments, it can dare to do so, and will be able to do so, only in innpoithin .as it has .sought and obtained the imiw .IhiiL; of tli.' Spirit.
The words of our l.oi.l I... fore us certainly do not mean that for;^i\ en.-s hy the mouth and at the -nill of man is always to be followed by a ratification of God in heaven, even though tliat man be an apostle. But they do imply that when Christ's servants do their work in the enlighten- ment and guidance of the Spirit, they will be able to convey messages of grace which will be accord- ing to the truth of things, and therefore valid in heaven : they will be able also to convey assur- ances of forgivene.ss, which will he owned of God as true, and will be made eflective by His Spirit in penitent souls. So then the great and chief means by which the Church has in all ages fulfilled tile work which is sustained by these startling promises, is the preaching of the gospel of recon- by Jesus Christ. By preaching in the Ihousands of ■ ■
souls have been n of sins and an )U^h tlie jneaching ittle or no separate there is a ' privacy
power of tlie rs|.iii(, lli. m all ages rei < n iim i assurance of foi un . ii.'>- is public, and tlie [.nail knowledge of individual
of publicity ' in which whatever nie-ssage lie has from God 'is made an absolution Divine in power and assurance to one and another of the hearers. So eflectual is preaching in the Spirit, that it may perhaps be found that in the Churches in Avhich there is no ordin.-'.nce with the title of 'private absolution,' the sense of forgiveness of sins is truer, deeper, and more widely spread than in those which have such an ordinance, and count it neces- sary. ( )bviously another means by wliich the
absolnli..ii l.. lli.- ]..nit.ait i-- hy I li.' -arraiiH.nts. But th.l.- 1- I.;!! ...-.;. -1. Ml nl-.. h.r ihr rhiir.h to aflbrdfiill ..|.|i..iiiimlv h.i iii.livi.hial h.l|. I., -..uls in spiritual tniublc, and su.h iii.llwdiuil .lealm- as may in its issue amount to private absolution. In every revival of religion the need for this is felt. There are souls in doubt whether their repentance and faith are true, and whether they are them-
ABSOLUTION
ABSOLUTION
selveb acctjitLil of dod Sui li s( mis seek the help of the (.liuuh, and (.ft( n ^u ilh piold liy it ' Inquiiy iDonis ' h ni. liiiii ut not ilili sinicc m moduli 'missions, and it is i mun >ti II ni^ foi people m tiouble of tonstun I | i cial
bin to long to uii))osoni th( i I i one
whom they feel to hi\ e sj mt I 1 \ m
gelical leligious iiewspapeis h o\e luu I i i it they supply a demand by setting apait a eoluiiin, often largely used, foi the answeis of some mmistei of reputation to men •» ho open then minds to him, confess then eliicf sms, doubts, or temptations, and seek eomfoit thiou_h him All tlie ( huidies, to a !,ie itci ( 1 h ss extent supplemc nt the pu irli ing ol th( A\ Old bj 'discipline, and tlieu idiiiis sion to communion and evelusion from it tell po\\ ei fully on the indn idual conscience The effectiveness of all such dealing has a natuial basis in the fact of experience that a man s judgment of himself IS gi eatly influenced by the jiid!,nicnt of his fellow -men. It belongs to human iiatuio tliat the judgment of the community in which a man lives &o tells upon his spiiit that it is haid foi him to beat uji a;,ainst it llus is c uued to a highei powei mtheChuuh, lu the splieie w lu u m the Spii it of Chi 1st w oiks 'Ihe fi slnnoii-v ot mi n who aie spiutually minded and in ediumuuion with God IS felt to ha\o an autliouty siieli that great lelief is given to souls by the Chuich's absolution, and gieat buiden imposed bj its le fusal And justly, foi the disceiiiment of spiuts is one of the {,itts ot the Spiut of ( bust to His servants The> all have it lu some measuie, some in a wonderful uieasuie (1 ( o 2' 1 da ii ' 4'), and It may be leealled that aft( i oui 1 old jiiomised to Petei that on him He woul.l budd His ( huieli. He did not say, as we should Imc cxjiected, 'I will give thee the kejsof the ( huK h, but ' the keys of the kingdom ot heaven' tiom which we infei that, while the Cliuieh and the kingdom aie not conteiminous, the Chuieh is meant to be a tiue lealization of the kingdom, and its ludgments valid foi that kingdom In \n il il ( Imidithis would be fulhlled In aii> In 1 i liuuh the power spoken of, at once gi K 11 11 I \ Inl v uies in its eflectiveness accoidiiu I il liilmssof the Spuit m its offace be u I 1 is