Ver. 22.-Those who do not love Oh1·ist. I. THERE ABE sucH. Alas! how ma-.:iy! Not those who have never heard of him, but those who have heard much of him-those before whom the great revelation of Christ has been spread out. Not those who have been brought up under sceptical influences, but those who have been trained in Christian homes. How many of those to whom Christ has been made kilown as fully as he ca:i be to any who have not received him, yet do not love him! This is (1) strauge, (2) saddening, (3) explicable ouly upon belief in the extreme virulence of sin. II. 'l'HE l;{EINOUSNESS OF THEIR srn. Cons:der: 1. Christ is altogether lovely ancl lovable. 'l'here is nothing in him to clleck Jove, but everything to encourage it. 2. He has never done the slightest evil to any man. 3. He has relinquished heaven for men. 4. He has humbled himself to assume human nature for men. 5. He hns lived for men, 6. He has died for men. 7. He is willing to redeem men from all things evil, and to ensure to them all things good. Not to love such a Being as this is the chief of crlmes. No tale of guilt could bo sterner. It is a fearful revelation of the "carnal heart," which is enmity against God and Christ, instead of lo'l'e. III. Timm DOOM. They aro "anathema "-accursed, 'l'hcir crime merits completest condemnation. if they can be guilty of this, they can be guilty of anything. Their sentence is" everiasting destruction from the presence of the Lord;" their home, with "the devil and his angels." Their choice is to be accursed. 'l'hey choose the curse rather than the blessing which Christ waits to bestow. 'l'hey choose tho curso rather than the One who nlone can deliver them from it. '!'hey a~e now accursed; their present condition is this condition, and their future condition will be this unless they " turn to the Lord." IV. A SOLEMN QUESTION-Do WE LOVE CHRIST? 1. Not-Do we admire him? He is admired even by atheists. 2. Not-Do we abstain from hostility towards him? 3. Not-Do we t:J,ke his n:J,me upon our lips, observe his day, meet with his people? 4. Not even-Do we work for him? 5. llut-Has he touched our heart? Do we love him? Christ is the 9reat test applied to human he:J,rts. The issua reveals conditiun, character, prospect.-H,
Vers. 1, 2.-The law of Christian giving. It is interesting to note that one of tho first and most natural expressions of the Christian spirit was a consideration of .1370 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. [cu. xvI. 1-24.
the needs of the poorer members of the Church, and a readiness to share what crood thin~s were possessed with them. Of this spirit Barnabas is presented to u~ as offering the highest example (Acts iv. 36). His thought and feeling in this matter had very probably influenced his companion St. Paul. We can well understand that th4l Jewish Christians, dwelling in the holy city, would be placed under great disabilities. Many of them were very poor; their opinions would prevent their obtaining the ordinary charities; perhaps they found it even difficult to secure remunerative labour; and, when times of famine and distress came, they would be the first to suffer. When Christianity was proclaimed freely to the Gentiles, there was this grave danger to face; the separation between Jew and Gentile miaht be kept up within Christianity, and the conception of one Church--one floclt under one Shepherd-might fail to be realized. 'l'o correct this tendency, St. Paul sought to keep up the sympathy of the newer Gentile with the ol<ler Jewish Church, and guided the expression of such sympathy, letting it take the form of collections and money gifts. In the passage now before us the principles upon which Christian givin"0 should be regulated are indicated. They concern- I. THE CL~IM OF ALL TO A SHARE IN CHRISTIAN GIFTS. Nothino- that a man possesses is his own. Money, talents, position, influence,-all are Divine gifts and trusts; none are sent for the man's sake alone who receives them. He is only made an agent for ministering God's good gifts· to others. The whole Church has its claim to share in whatever good things any of its members possesses. It should be impossible to find, among Christians, an unrelieved sufferer, or a helpless, poverty-stricken beggar. We must distinguish between charity and the meeting of the family claims of our brethren in the Lord. It is not charity, it is duty, it is faithfulness, that leads us to share what is entrusted to us with those who share in the same salvation, and who have the same "good hope through grace." We do not speak of charity among brothers and sisters of the same family, and the right view of Christian giving is taken only when the Christian Church is regarded as a family. . II. THE l>"EED FOR PREPARATION BY PREVIOUS STORING. The claims upon us only come at times, but they do come at times in forms quite beyond our meeting, if we have made no preparations. And there is the further danger that when, through circumstances of distress, our feelings arc unusually moved, we act from impulse, not from principle. So St. Paul urges that the separation of shares for the needy brethren be made regularly, as a matter of duty; that a proportion of all our acquisitions be regniarly set aside and stored up for due occasions, and that so we keep our brethren and their needs constantly in mind. III. 'l'HE TIME MOST SUITABLE FOR BUCH STORING. "First day of the week." The Lord's day. The memorial day of the Lord's resurrection; which, we cannot doubt, bad become the Christian day for worship. When minds were directed more especially to Christian privileges and duties, the separations and storings would be more liberally clone, and would be made acts of worship. It seems probable that the amounts thus regularly laid by were not stored privately, but made offerings at public worship, and stored by the treasurers. IV. THE UULE THAT REGULATES THE AMOUNT STORED. Many have argued for a tenth, but it was not in St. Paul's way to fix any limitations upon the free expression of Christian feelinu. He does r.ot mean to suggest any proportion by his law, "As God hath prosper~d him." Really he means, "Let your separation for others be accordin.,. to your sense of God's goodness to you." And this he suggests because, while th; due provibion for the poor is of grave importance, it is even more important that our storing and giving should be a means of grace to ourselves, an agency of spiritual culture. Practically it is found that brotherly and generous regard for our needy fellow-Christians bears most directly on the• efficiency of our own graces and the culture of the true Christian spirit. "The liberal soul is made fat."-R. 'l'.