OUR PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
THERE is danger, when contemplating the crucifixion of Christ, of allowing the mind to be absorbed in condemnation of those who were guilty of that awful sin. The lesson is lost to us if that is all that we learn from the story. Let us not forget that it is possible for us to “crucify the Lord afresh.” Thus do they who, having been once enlightened, and having tasted of the heavenly gift, and having been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, turn away from the truth. See Heb. 6:4-6. And they who, in partaking of the communion, do so in a merely formal manner, not discerning the Lord’s body, are guilty of His blood. 1 Cor. 11:27. The danger of judging others than ourselves is set forth in the epistle to the Romans in these words: “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” Ch. 2:1. And Christ emphasizes this danger by giving us the ultimate consequences: “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” Matt. 7:2. It would be well for us all to remember that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12), and take this counsel to our own hearts: “Let us not therefore judge one another any more; but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”