Ver. 14.-The cross of Christ. I. THE CROSS AS AN OBJECT OF GLORYD!O. 1. St. Pa.ul can glory in nothing else. Yet he had whereof to glory. His birth, his education, nnil liis rcli;;ioua cie'1'0tion11 had baen -sources of pri\ie ,to him, Hie,Qlij'jS~\IT\'llbtptin• moots, his apostolic authority, his mil!llionary triumphs, and his b~an3 eu4u1·a~ce of perBeCutions, rnigb.t be ta.ken as. reMor-is for self-glorillqation. Bu,t he fCJ0!:,tii the wholei Plainly no C~ristitm infc~ior. to, ~_t.: Paul can h~ve anything. in µinni;~_t. _to~-''.pro_ ud_ of. ll. The glorymg only begins 10 looking away.from tel/ to Christ. ~en :talk ,"f glory~a in their crosses. But -St. Paul boasted, not.in his own ·cross, :1~u~ only ,in t)le.cross of Christ, He mllde nothing of his sufferings for Ghrist, all his interet1t was e.llsorbed in Chriet't! trulferillgs for him..~.,. All the -0rightness .of 0hristian ~x,perl~ce c~ntro~ in Christ. 3, The grand ean.rae of .glorying ia the .cross qf Vhrut, .. 1'he. cro~s· ,•w~s the symbol of sharue; it has beoome th~. token .1ot. what we. mpl\t. .r~~l\teu~ly; adore. So complete is the tra.nsfonnation of ideas that WO can with aiffic11lty u'n4~r~ stand the paradox as it would strike ihe coutemporarie,s of St. Paul ,~hen h,e sp.oke .of ~lorying in t~e ?ross. It is &8 tho,ugh we spoke of priding O\lfselves. on I ili.~- go.ijq_~~ rhu; cross, this mstrument,of shameflil death ha11:becoµie t,li~,)em,b~em o,f t:~~is,tiaD,1,ty. Gleaming in gold on the-spires and dom~,~ ow cal;h-ictr:i.\s·, it typifies ~1/.e JA<jS~.fitl.'~ iru~h of Christi~ity. The glory of the_ oross. is n?t a merely mystl~LseP,~im~nt:.• ·I~ sprmgs from evident £acts: (1) the fidelity of·Christ as the g9~d Sbep~rd, who ~Qutd DOt forsake the fil)Ck ao<l, flee before the wplf; (2)Jbe pat~~9.e, ~ent)ehess, ;i.*d for-, giving spirit of Christ on the cross; but (3) chiefly the love of dbrist-.in. s_ll_ffer11)"· shame and anguish and death for us. There are some who would dispense'witn 'tb.:· doctrine of the cross; but a oroljS]ess Christiauit.Y w~J~e a ·lilU~ilated,,_i!P,Pl),tcrn~ goljPel, robbed of all eflic.acy, shorn of all glory. . . .. , . . ; ,,, :... , _- .. ;• •• .-·i ,( r II. THE CROSS AB ill 'INSTRUJlE21,TT_ OF DEA.TH. The cross do113 not .che,nge it~ natµre b_y willni.ng its glory. &ill, it is a cross-tool of _pain ;i.nd d·eat4.• I~ ~jl p.c;i i1i~s· tb.'an'. this to the Christian as it was n:o les~,to Ghrist. for Qhristianity is ;i;i.of~_cal,;n. accep~~ ance of what Christ has dpne in oµr stead; it is nrtjon with Christ,- firs~ in· 1:tis dea,~li, and then in his victory. L The cross means the,d,eath: CJ/ the ":"oflf to; u~.. 'Before, that glory of Divine love in hume.n passion all lesser lights fad.,e p.,n~\' peri11h, , As we look upon the cross the world luses it.s hold upon us. In the 'vision of' tr'uth arid purity e.~ ~ove eve~ to death,, tb,e t~reats of th!3 world's. hu,i:ts)qse,:~P~ir.. ~error _1p;1d tue. fascmat10ns of its pleasures their charm. .2. The c~oss _mriaq.s, ou.r .. pea_t.!f .. tp, the world. Joined.with Christ by faith., weha_ ve the old self. _killec;l,q.~t o_ r_.us. :. JU_._t_h__ er.to the power of the lower world has dragged U!i down to s1n:and;t~o1+,:ble. '.~4P,i~ ffro~OJ-: tion e.s we are united to the Crucifi!;ld we cease to h11,ve, the feeli!)gs and.1_~,¥~.rests wh_, 1c~. chain us to the ~arthly. St. Paul des~ribes a magnifac_ent Jdeal. .. Np ~,.i:o, op.. e~r.t~. has fully realized 1t. It mus~ be the,ai.m of the Chr1!it1an 1I1ore_ ana D?-Pr,e}p1 b~ ope with Christ, that _the cross may pass more d~ply intQ jtls soui ti1,l _all ~ls!l pi~}F.~.~o.f fad;:s~t :!:X=~ce~f the cross-its' d~th-power .hi: us, ,'i;~i·:g;1~fr ~ ~<Jhf~t':f.it~ 1 1
directly related. For. it is only after it has beep. tlie. ~nstrµ~ent of _deatli to 1~sJQ,,t,, we can rise in the new life .a.nd see it as the o~ 11,bs9rbU1g obJec~ of.sJiWY::;-:i"o/.r, lN~-, i,, Ver. 15.-'' A f'iew creature.". L ExTE~ll, BELIGI~N COUNTS FOR ~OT~r~f; :•1; neither is,circ~cision anyth.i'R,f}. • " Religion~$ w_h11·H·y in tst ... Jhe _s_ouL_, 1, :No, ff_te ~~¥._~'f1i value in itself. Nothing done to j;he body is of ~.D:Y reJi~C)u,s,account wha~ver. 1 .l'i ~l~~f is anything done by the buJy. A rite may be a symbol, and,~ ,sui;:l;i a.(m,e~ll~.iP.t grace; bnt St. Paul plainly teaches that it has Ill) magi~l eflica~y~ . 2: ,Ecclp_sia_!tf'f!l' position is in itself of no importance. Ci,i:cumci.sion was the seal of m~mberso.\p}ft;qiii., Jewish Church. Yet it was nothing. We may be members. of the ~t!~c~r~t sep~1.gf.,W:I} lll&Y hold high rank in the most augu11t Chu,ch. _.B,ut before God ..thfs is JUS~,fl]WlA~.·i 3. Doctrinal orthodoxy counts for notping. ~ot t~at. trqth is. un1mport11;ntr ·:.ou~ t1i;e IJ)ere ip t<.:lle.ctual grasp of theological'ideas lea v~ ;US where it jinds u~ ;, J ~!;\cl .t~ew~~e).( we_gp no further it is of no consequence whetlie.r those ideas are ..trut;1 ~~- 1_(;/;l~! J.v~ll~ versely, tv diBpeil.lle with ri~ to be in, ,QO C~µrch, or to be unort.µ~<lQl\'.,,,lf DI), c9p.~~w~ 1µ1tior,., N~ither, however, is it a merit,¥. some extravagan.t adipircr11__0,l t4.~ ._1df¥t.,P~ heresy strangely assert. If circumcision iiuwt anything, neither 1s unt!i,J'cumc1s~on.. . • II. 'l'nE OKE El!BENTIAL Ill 'l'O BECOME A NEW CREATURE, This great truth implies two otbere. L In religious matt.ers the i.m,portant question is as to what we are, It we.ttcr6 I&.Ot what is done to us or what we hold. ,All of importlLnce is in our own J,i.fci !l\ti VT, 1=10.J 'l'PIE EPIST.LE TO THE G.ilrATIAN& 3l3