THE GOSPEL VERSUS PERSECUTION.
THERE was a time when a man endangered his life if he said anything contrary to the established forms of religion, and in some places the same is still true to-day. But is it right for man to take the life of his fellow-man should any form of religion be opposed or questioned, no matter how good that religion might be? Every one will acknowledge that the teaching of Christ is unquestionably right. His religion is absolutely perfect. No fault can possibly be found with the principles that the Saviour presented as a rule of life. And yet Satan has been questioning and strenuously opposing the Lord in His work for thousands of years, still God has not yet taken the life of the great arch-enemy. If men would only listen to each other calmly, and keep underfoot this desire to destroy all who do not agree with them, how many mistakes and gross wrongs would be saved, and how much more rapidly the world would advance in the knowledge of Christ! For centuries there has been a bitter warfare between those professing Catholicism and those professing Protestantism. Thousands of Protestants have been slain by the Catholics, and again, in places and times where the opportunity presented itself, many Catholics have been slain by professing Protestants. What awful harm this has done to the cause of Christ! And how shamefully has it misrepresented Him! The Saviour came into the world to save men's lives, and not to kill. The Gospel is a Gospel of salvation, and not a decree of death. Then why should men seek to kill each other just because they can not agree? When any one has the spirit of killing in his heart, is it not perfectly plain that he is not inspired by the Spirit of the Master? And whether we be Catholic or Protestant, when we see a man allowing himself to get angry with a fellow-man who does not agree with his religion, should we not know that such an one is not filled with the pure Gospel of Christ? He is surely being led by some other spirit. The Saviour makes perfectly plain who is the author of murder. He says: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:44. Then how clear it is that any one whose heart is filled with hate and murder can not belong to Christ! He can not be drinking from the pure stream of the Gospel of Christ. For centuries before He was born of a woman the Son of God knew that Judas would betray Him. He said, "The Son of man goeth as it is written of Him; but wo unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!" Matt. 26:24. In the prophets and in the Psalms it is foretold that Judas would betray the Master. And during all His ministry upon earth, as He walked and talked with His disciples, He was perfectly aware of what Judas would do. Yet there is not the least evidence that Christ even snubbed Judas, much less formed a conspiracy to kill him. The Saviour did all He could to save Judas, and that right in the face of the fact that He knew the awful work that the betrayer was contemplating. Is there not a wonderful lesson for us in the Saviour's treatment of Judas? and does He not show us by every act of His life that the work of a real Christian is to live and teach the Gospel of love and life, and not harbor the sentiments of hate and death? And whether we be Catholic or Protestant, the lesson is an important one to consider. The Lord has great mines of the most soul-inspiring truth in His Word, and it is in a special manner designed for the people of this generation. But the heart that is shut up by prejudice and hatred, is holding itself away from this heaven-given blessing and light. And whatever may be our religious belief, or if we have no religion at all, we should recognize the importance of heeding the voice of God in His Word. T.