THERE is but one positive message that can meet the wants of the sin-burdened SOUL. It is the message concerning Christ, who came into the world to seek and 'to save the lost. How can we so present Christ to those who are weary of sin and its wages, as to win them to his service and to a nobler life?
This is the question which burdens the heart of every true minister of Christ, whether he be an evangelist or pastor. What is the message concerning Christ best calculated to win men to his love and service? Perhaps we can not better answer this question than by referring to the greatest preacher and evangelist of the first century--Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. When he went to the great and wicked city of Corinth he determined, as he afterwards wrote them, "not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2) What he meant by this is stated more fully further on, when he says: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures:" (1 Cor. 15:3, 4) This message was "unto Jews a stumblingblock, and unto Gentiles foolishness; but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1:23, 24)
These wonderful facts concerning Christ, considered in their relation to human guilt and human need, constitute, the apostle tells us, both "the power of God and the wisdom of God." We have here that which meets the most fundamental requirements of the human soul--power and wisdom: wisdom to see the path of duty and of safety, and power to walk therein; wisdom to recognize in the Hero of the gospel story one who is both Savior and Lord, and the power by which we, commit ourselves to him for time and for eternity; wisdom to discern in Christ the solution of life's problems and the true ideal, and the power to put ourselves under his tuition and leadership; wisdom to see in him the remedy for our sins, and the power to accept the salvation that is offered to us freely in him; wisdom to understand what requirements he makes of us in order that we be reconciled to God, and the power to comply with these requirements. The wisdom is his and the power is his, and they are communicated to us to the extent that we believe the message concerning him, which Paul calls "the gospel."
It was God's method of bringing these two elements--wisdom and power--within the reach of men by embodying them in the person of his Son. But in order that this wisdom and power might be available for man's use, it was necessary that Christ should suffer for our sins--the just for the unjust--and, being buried, should arise again from the dead, in order that man might see in him the love of God and the wisdom of God. Love is the greatest dynamic force in the universe. It is the love of God in Christ, seeking man's salvation, that breaks the hardened heart of the sinner and brings him to repentance. There is no story so wonderful, so attractive, so powerful in winning its way to human hearts as the story of Christ, who, "though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be rich."
The story of Christ's birth and youth and ministry, as he went about doing good, ministering to the manifold needs of men, dying at last, not for sins which he had committed, but for our sins and transgressions, and rising again from the dead, is the story that is transforming the world, and putting a new emphasis on human life and destiny. Kings and potentates, philosophers, statesmen, poets, and scholars of renown, have yielded their hearts and their lives to the magic power of this story, as well as the millions of men in the humbler walks of life, who find in this simple gospel message a power which has given new hope and inspiration to their lives. Behind the story itself there lies the sublime, the amazing truth that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life." No man can ever receive this truth into his mind and heart and live thereafter the old life of sin and indifference, because its transcendent power, working in the heart, brings forth the fruits of righteousness.
