mat11 are the brande, the name oF the mal!ter bnmt on the slave. The most honoured of the apostles regards himself &11 the bmnded eervant of Christ. To no higher honour can any Christian aspire. Christianity is living, not for self, but for Chris'- We must all underste,nd thl\t Christ stands t.o us in the relation of, a Master. Our part ls to l!mbmit to his will The supreme and peculiar Christian duty is obedience to Obrist (John xiv. 21). IL THI!: TRUE IIERVANT Ol" OlramT BEAB.B TH'RI MAB.lt Ol" ms MASTER. St. Pl\ul bore on his body the scars of the sufferings he had endured in the service of Christ. These plainly marked him as Christ's. Christians must 11ll bear indicl\tions oF Christ on their lives. It may be granted tha.t St. Francis was none the better for ha.ving the wound-marks as of the nails of the cross in his ha.nds a.nd feet. Yet this stra.nge con-· dition was the last proof of his passiona.te ,identification of himself with Obrist in, thought and will and a.ffection. So the Christian must ever have the Na.me of Jesus upon him in the Christ-likeness of his life. ll is nscless to have it merely on the· tongue; it must be on the body, i.e. on the life. . • Ill THE MARKS OF CHRIST OOME THROUGH SUFFERING FOB. OBRIST. Thus St. Paul, received his. They were brands burnt in by fiery tria.ls. Suffering for Christ proves• our fidelity to him and brings out our Christ-likeness of character. 'l'hey, who are: like the rocky soil and receive the Word with joy1 but cannot withstand persecution, may sing of the sweetness of the Na.me of Jesus in sentimental hymns; but they ha.ve. no such Na.me brs.nded on their persons. After s.11 their enthusiasm has evaporated, we· 11!88 nothing but self left. The Christian must deny himself for Christ. His life .may not be so hard as St. Paul's. Ra.rely has such hardship been known as the great apostle endured; rarely have the brands been burnt so deep with such cruel fires. Yet all must have an experience that is similar in kind, though perhaps far less in degree." The sufferer, however, may console himself with the thought that the more fiery the trial he endures for Christ becomes, the deeper will be the sacred marks of the Name of Jesus upon him. Jilor nothing makes us so Christ-like .and nothing .binds us so near to Christ as patient suffering and toil for his sake. This sugge&ts the fear that it. is no• easy thing to be a Christian. Certainly to be a true Christian s.uch as St. Pa.ul was.is not easy; it is the depth of self-renunciation and the height of arduous fidelity. Count the cost, then. Look at the irons ready to brand the Name of Jesus before consenting to become his servant. But look a.lso on the other side, at .what ha suffered for us and at the glory of his service. . . IV. THE :BRANDS OF SEBVICE SHOULD BE THE SECURITY OF THE SERVANT OF CHBIBT. With such marks upon him, how dare any man trouble the apostle by questioning his authority ? Suffering for Christ should be a confirmation of our faith to others. , It, should also be a eecurity against the danger of unfaithfulness. How. can he who bears, the Name of Jesus thus conspicuously burnt in by, hard trial and loDg :se1·vice forsake., hill Master 2 Such bra.Dduhould be etemal.-W. F. A. HOMILETICAL INDEX TO
THE EPISTLE OF
ST. PAUL TO THE GALATIANS.
TIIEHR l'..t.Ga OH.APTER L The Dnty of Intoleranoe 65 TRRHB PA.GB The Destiny, Call, and Mission of The Inspired Authority of th~ Apostle 42 St. Paul 66 The Apostle's Companions 'in the God glorified in Man 66 Gospel ••• 43 The Churches of Galatia. ... 43 CH.APTER IL The Apostolio Benediction 44 The Sum aud Substance of the Epistle 44 The Battle of Cbristia::i. Liberty The Bad Defection of the Galatians 45 fought over the Case of Titns 92 The True Character of the Perverters 46 The Apostle takes Counsel with the The Apostle's Anathemas ~ other Apostles on perfectly Equal The Apostle's Explana-fa,b. of bis Se- Terms 94 ,-. verity 47 The Claims of the Poor Saints in The True Origin of the Apost.le;s Jerusalem 96 Gospel • 48 The Apostle's Rebuke of Peter at A Retrospect of his Career as a Jew • 48 Antioch 96 After hls Conversion he took no The True Way of Salvation 97 Counsel with_Menas to hls,Doctrine An Objection met 99 or Ca.rear ... ... ... 49 Fellowship with Christ in hls Death Proofs of his Entirely . Independe'nt and in his Life 100 Course after· Conversion • 50 The Nature and Conditions of Chris- The Gospel 'of Self-Sa.crifioe 62 tian Life 101 Paul's .,lntoleranoe of 'any other No Frnstration of Divine Grace in Gospel 53 the Apostle's Teachlng 102 Pa~'s Personal Grasp of the Gospel 64 The Apostolic Conference 102 lntirodtiotion 66 The Apostolio Strife at Antioch 103 Oqoasion ofthe Epistle 58 The Death of Legal Hope the Life of Position 60 Evangelical Obedience 105 .A.postolio Authority 63 Period of Third Visit to Jerusalem ... 106 f:Jlniefe ~aorifioe fe>r o~ Deliverance ~ Withstanding of Pet!lr at Antioch .,. lOi ii INDEX.
THl!M'W I"AGB TRl"~IR PAO ■