The Gospel and Its Power.
THE word of God is the Gospel which was preached by the apostles and early Christians. It knew naught of any of the subtle philosophies of the schoolmen, none of the interpretation of creeds, none of the traditions of men, none of the errors of paganism. It presented God's law as the great moral mirror which revealed sin. It pointed to the history of the past as the record, not of human devices and victories, but of God's ruling and overruling providences, despite human plotting and ambition. It predicted by the inspiration of the Infinite wisdom the fall and rise of kingdoms, empires, nations, and the ultimate triumph of Christ over all sin, even as He was the mighty Creator who brought all things into existence. And above all, it presented the love of God to a rebellious world, manifest in the Lord Jesus Christ,—God with us,—who took upon Him man's nature, who lived our Example, died our Sacrifice, and now lives, a pitiful, all-sufficient High Priest, a mighty Redeemer, a present Helper, one able to save to the uttermost all who would come to Him. This was the Gospel preached by the early church. BEFORE that Gospel,—the simple facts of the Bible,—sent home by the Spirit of Christ, Jewish traditions were swept away like cobwebs, pagan gods crumbled into dust, pagan shrines melted away, and by the love and mercy of God in it, pagan hearts were won and transformed from sin to righteousness. The life in that word, the life of God from above, regenerated men. It changed the heart. It found them in sin and sinning; it saved them from sin and sinning. The disobedient to God's law were made obedient; and the law which condemned in every particular became a blessed witness to the perfection of the righteousness placed upon and wrought within the character and life of every one who accepted by faith Jesus Christ as the Saviour. Rom. 3 : 21, 22.