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GOD'S LOVE.
By Rev. E. C. Caldwell, D. D.
Undoubtedly John 3:16 is the heart
of John 3:l-2l. It Is also the hem
of the whole Bible. God's love for
lost sinners is the heavenly music Tun
ing all through th Bible from the
Orst great promise of love in Gen
) ,1 5,t0 tho last ?re*t invitation of
. Jove in Rev. 22:17, where it "echoes
fc oudest to linger longest in tho mem
(?ory-' So the Sunday-school Commit
lf IT haf1dune wel1 to make this verse
S I t en text for the lesson on John
* . ~ U fla8hea wlth the shining
Bold of God's marvelous love. Let us
notice some great truths this text
teaches us about God's love.
(1. The Freeness of God's Love.
"God so loved that He gave." The
coming ?f the Saviour was the result
of Cods love for lost sinners. He
1.?vp H&nd B3 Q conae(luenco of that
r J , ?? *BVG H,s only begotten Son
is the gi" of God's love He is
'?H.rri,,reSfntfd throuKhout the Bible.
rod h ? u ?' DOt that wa 1(>ved
God but that He loyed us> anj gent
lT? ?e [h0 Propitiation for our
12 (Vohn4:1?)- God was not a
eing who hated men and had to be
mad. love lhem ?y ^ to *
?bufferings and blood of His Son. He
U loved men before Christ came and suf!
I fered. It was His love that sent tho
\ the r0Ust.fr0m heaV6n t0 86ek and 8av?
I 01 ThlT8 l0?'. 'tWaS Wondro"B love,
The lo\e of t*od for me;
It sent the Saviour from above.
* To dia on Calvary."
2. The Holiness of God's Love.
We?r'V0V6 <" a h?>y and just lore.
, We have much preaching today about
bUt U 18 largely Immoral
love that is preached. His love is
Often represented as a good natured
' any w 1 "i" ?Verlook8 without
u A ^ ran righteou8 settlement of
aa a kitd " ?"en
an a kind of outer garment that God
Sh 7 a8ld6 Wb6n He pleaaes- And
John 3:16 is made to read: "God so
* 7;o\7ybody that everyb?dy win
n!? , * 1?" and be saved at laat."
'kind ft" i ! 8ay" noUlIn* ?? the
kind. It clearly implies that if men
Int ?h celi8Ve' " they w111 n?t ac
X UT G?d'8 love h?? pro~
ed, they will perish. "That who
SZZ-he\ieV6th ,n h,m should not
cus on th "i the Blble'8 locus clasai
cus on the love of God, In the very
hea.. of the great John 3:16 that
* Z ,0Ve "oa- imbedded
that vItable? Inexorable conclusion
ChTlst^is M&tX Wh? reJe0tS ?r ne?lecta
Christ as his personal Saviour is for
men 'a'd /?d -">?= "ot condemn
men. God does not damn men Men
condemn an<1 damn thom^ -
Christ W"'Ul r<*"=Uo? of Jbbus
? Chri8t ? For God sent not His qon
top the world to condemn the worhl
the, HaVe WorW might ?T.d He
?l .f\Veth ?n not con!
egotten Son of God. And this is the
Tzr::; tha\ught
rather than the ' darkne88
deeda were evil*,
,"nei,e0hh.1,nk ani1 preacb l?da7 more
n the ho"?eM ?t Qod.?
uestiou 0,8
wnv . "hal b" aettled In a
Justice s^rV0 Hia holiness and
eous h /? " l0,e' ">oljr and right
8 Thi ? ' ln John 3:16
lT ,? "T"h Lo'e
barriers a?rtr?aii " O'or'apa aH
and to ev"y ? .V"' t0 a" men
world thnt v d 80 the
th. world ot "the elect" or any sel^t
/
portion of mankind, but the world of
lost sinners. "Whosoever" includes
you and me and the last man out on
the uttermost fringes of this planet.
"There's a wldeness in God's mercy
like the wideness of the Bea." Christ
tasted death for every man. God's
love in Christ has accomplished three
wonderful things for every man of all
the world.
a. It has removed every barrier that
once stood between Himself and lost
mankind. Atonement 1b that work
"in which God so deals in Christ with
the sin of the world that it is no long
er a barrier between Him and man
kind." In the closing verse of "Just
as I am" we sing a most precious gos
pel truth when we sing: "Thy love
unknown has broken every barrier
down." Since Calvary the way to
heaven Is open to every man. So it
comes about that any man anywhere
can step towards heaven and know
that there are no obstacles in his way
outside of his own sinful heart; while
at the door of his heart the loving
Saviour is knocking for admission.
b. It has provided an atonement
sufficient for the Bins of every man of
all the world. The atonement is no
commercial transaction, where by
Christ shed bo many drops of blood
for so many sinners. If only one sin
ner were saved, no less blood would
have flowed from his wounded side;
and if every human being were to be
saved, no more blood would have been
required. His sacrifice is of "noblest
name and richest blood" and, there
fore, his blood has infinite propitia
ting power. "He is the propitiation
for our sins: and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole
world" (1 John 2:2). "His blood shall
never lose Its power till all the ran
somed hosts of Cod be Baved to sin
no more."
c. It has sent a Saviour adapted to
the needs of every man. Christianity
is the only universal religion. Christ
alone satisfies the deepest desires of
every human heart. Every man of
every race and clime and time can
say:
"Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in thee I find."
LIBRARIES.
Sunday-school libraries have rarely
ever been appreciated at their proper
value. A man in Vancouver, Canada,
has shown his estimate of their value
in a very practical way. He haB noti
fied the session of the church that he
will give $76 a year for this purpose
as long as he lives, and that at his
death -he will leave an endowment to
continue the payment of this amount.
This will mean that this Sunday
school will have a constant stream of
new books flowing into it to be read
by teachers and scholars.
A good, well selected library, prop
erly used, will be a great help to any
school or church. The books should
be chosen by those who know what
good books are, and new ones ought
to be supplied as often as possible.
Let those in authority in church and
Sunday-school think about this and
see If a fund cannot be provided.
The reward of faith is quietness and
confidence. ? Dr. David Smith.
No man has a right to be called
great at all If his aims are small. ?
Alexander Maclaren.
If you can keep Christmas for a
day, why not always? But you can
never keep it alone. ? Henry Van
A dreary place would be this earth,
Were there no little people in it;
The song of life would lose its mirth,
Were there no children to begin It.
? Whlttier.
YOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETIES
VISIONS AND TASKS.
M., Jan. 29. Soul-winning. Dan. 12:1-3.
T., Jan. 30. Spreading the Kingdom. lCor. 2:1-9.
W., Jan. 31. More givers. 2 Cor. 9:1-15.
T-. ?eb. 1. Deeper spiritual life. Eph. 3:13-21.
F., Feb. 2. Cleansing our cities. John 2:13-25.
8., Feb. 3. Working Tor peace. Matt. 5:9.
8., Feb. 4. Topic? Visions and Tasks. (Christian
Endeavor Decision Day.) Joel 2:28,
29; 2 Chron. 34:1-7.
How con its thow our willingne. t* to terve?
Ho v> do Ink* prepare t it for higher tasit?
W Mi claims has Christ upon us?
There are some people In the world
who live down in the hollows where
It is dark and damp and contracted,
and they see very little of the world
at large, and the result Is that their
lives are narrow and contracted. They
get very little pleasure out of their
lives and accomplish very little. There
are others who climb to the mountain
tops and look out over the broad ex
panse of the world. These see that
the world is very large and the more
they see of it, the more do their own
hearts and minds expand. The Chris
tian who takes a narrow view of life
and Its responsibilities and who thinks
that he has no connection with the
world except with his immediate sur
roundings will prove to be a very
poor kind of a Christian. He will get
very little enjoyment out of his relig
ion, and it will accomplish very little
in the world.
Soul Winning (Dan. 12:1-3): The
great work of the Christian is winning
souls for Christ. This is the work
that is most highly commended iu the
Scriptures. Daniel says that those
who win souls are wise, and because
of what they do, they will shine as the
stars forever and ever. In 1 Cor. 15:
41, the Apostle Paul tells us that there
will be a difference in the shining of
Christians In the world to come. If
we will look up into the heavens on
some cloudless night, we will see that
there are a few stars which are un
usually bright. These the astrono
mers call the stars of the first magni
tude. There are more of the second
magnitude, and still more of the third.
As the brightness decreases, the num
ber Increases, until we come to the
great Milky Way, which astronomers
tell us is made up of stars whose
brightness is so slight as we see
them that one cannot be dis
tinguished from another. The
brightness in Christians in heaven
will not be due to any partiality on
the part of God. He gives a crown of
life which stands for the salvation
which He bestows, but the brightness
comes from the work done for God
here in thisi world. It is, a very
pretty thought which is expressed in
one of our hymns which represents
each soul won for Christ as being a
star in our crown. In showing their
love and homage to the Saviour, the
redeemed will cast down their crowns
before him. Shall we be willing to
present to him a starless crown? Or,
as another one of our hymns says,
will we be willing to go to him empty
handed, having no souls won to pre
sent as evidence of our love and labor
for him? There is no one who cannot
do something in the way of winning
souls for Christ. It Is only a question
whether we will do what we can.
Spreading the Kingdom (1 Cor. 2:
1-9 ) : When we start out to work for
Christ, and for the upbuilding of his
kingdom, let us keep in mind the
great thought that what a lost soul
needs is Jesus Christ, and what we
ought to tell him is that Jesus died
that he might live. One reason that
so many people fail in the work of
winning souls is that they attempt to
tet}ch other things that are not essen
tial and try to win men to a particular
church or to some, particular idea
when what is needed is to win them
to Christ. Paul with all of his learn
Ing. did not attempt to argue with
~T, b?* *
, ?'VIne money to the service or
God I, an act of worship, The Bible
eaches that this Is ? B?r*
Chrl.H* the. pras,?r 18 service. When
there ?m '? roa"*>
here will be more of real joy and
Pleasune in giving than th J y aad
ZeZT" hb:,on- A
an man 8ahd some Ume
not a question with me of how H n!
can give to God's service W 1
littlA t /*??? , ??r\ice, but now
that aU tL ?n myself' ,n order
given lo h? r"8t that 1 haVe ma^ ^
without ft 'm' M?8t glvJnS 18 done
without T7 8erl?US thou^t and
thou, any consideration of th? ro
of the giver ISvery
onght To Th? h?a a?y means a' "1
of oM - 0 '0melhl"?- The Jews
two tLth." ?<1Ulr<:<1 to ?*"> ? least
)h . their Income besides
the free-will offering which they were
Whether weT 'r?m U? <?
J"* t,the " ??
b ing or not, we ouerht tn
"ottM8*.!! h' " Chrla!l? People
*onld all adopt the tithe plan and
the,r Income there
curing an Th ^ dlfflc"1"' "> se^
?or .heaLord?.m?0onreky
or anry ?y apec,al ?pSi!
money. h,ndered for the lack of
Deeper Spiritual Life (Eph. 3:13
Strnn fU ? timeS b?asts Of his
WeakMan"1 faCt ,8 that
weak Many animals are much atronir
er Physically than man is. but ,t fs"
I:; ' ?>""<"? nature that his
^eakness is especially shown. Many
a man feels that he 18 strong enough
to depend npon his own strength "^
has taoCrP"8hmBnt he
to meet the t" ?"e0 ?m*8 undert*ke?
to meet the temptations of Satan by
rin TU P?Wer* Tbe fact 18 ^at man
=r^WSSCJ!S
Z 'lT aoi' a-d "?><>? Him alone
or the strength needed in accomplish
aw
to do the work, It is only be
Which Cod provide". *Tt ? h?^
w?"r "'^"WUtyTany
hand ?Ply put yourself into God's
hands and go and do the work which
H J assigned. The carpenter's sTwiJ
P ane can do no work of itself, it i8
^"'V "Md ?' <?? carpenter
withered "h" .!?'d tho man *'"? the
red band to stretch forth his
but whe6nhhd n? 8trength t0 d<> this;
but when he put himself In Christ's
tZT, anf tr,ed to d? Just what jeau8
it torth ???; hS W8S Eble to 8tretch
that wm I th? 8tretching forth
that which was weak and useless be
wh7chTng aDd U86fu1' 80 th?
which seems useless to us will be
intTth T* and serv,ceable when put
him w^and ?f Je8US to be U8ed by
M^nlT 13 neC038ary 18 tor ?? to
H ?Ur ?wn weaknes8 and to
take the position of the Apoatle Paul
rstrr,.:*When 1 am ? .
Cleanstng Our Citie* (John 2:13
26) . We canot agree with the one who