Badges.

The badge of Judaism was circumcision. That of Christianity is baptism. The first is a piece of the man taken off. The other is the whole man buried. Therein lies the immense difference between the two. Judaism, whose principle is law, and was ordained of God for a new test of man, proposed only the cutting off of his bad ways and the taking up with good ones. Christianity, introduced and established upon the revelations made by that test, reaches to the root. It says in its badge, You have been proved sinful to the core; you need not wait till the day of judgment to be tried; you have been tried and are condemned already; by the sentence of God you are now a dead man and you need a new life-not a mending of the old, but an altogether new one, the eternal life which dwells in Christ from all eternity, which He imparts to every one who casts the look of faith upon Him. It is a life whose nature is like God's, holy; to which sin can never attach, and from which sin can never proceed. And the Holy Spirit imparted to those who possess it, gives power to that new life to bring forth fruit to God, and to make it manifest that they are the children of God.

Thus, while the principle of Judaism is Law, because man was yet under trial, the principle of Christianity is Grace, because man under the trial has been condemned, and a condemned man has no hope save in the grace of supreme power.

This explains too why man naturally loves Law and hates Grace.

The one leaves him still a hope of getting on without a Saviour; the other leaves him none. Only such as are conscious of being condemned already can possibly love Grace, and to such the Lord Jesus Christ is everything, for "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Such also learn to glory only in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it was there the claims of God's holy law were met, and from there grace righteously flows down to us unto eternal life.

"Glory unto Jesus be !
From the curse who set us free ;
All our guilt on Him was laid,
He the ransom fully paid."

Why God MUST judge sin, and judge it ETERNALLY?

There is no subject which, disturbs men like that of eternal judgment. There is no end of the twisting and turning to which they have resorted to nullify the plain and abounding statements of it in Scripture. Yet it requires but little thoughtfulness to see the absolute necessity of it.

Sin produces abundant wrong between man and man, as we know too well, but though we may thoughtlessly imagine this is all of it, it is far from being so.

"Sin is lawlessness" says the correct rendering of i John 3:4. That is, it is that mind in the creature which refuses subjection to Him who, being the Creator, is also the Governor. The question then is this, Is God going to govern, or the creature ? Who is finally going to occupy the throne which will rule heaven and earth, to the eternal peace and blessing of all who love what is good ?

Suppose some wicked man, robber and murderer, gathered to himself others like himself, and sought to overthrow the government of the United States, what would be the plain duty of the government? These men might commit crimes against their fellows, but that is not the root of the matter. They want to overthrow the Power, so that they may have their own way at all times and everywhere, and this is what must be put down, and put down for good. Love for the nation and its welfare demands it.

Lawlessness, or sin, has come into that great creature, Satan. He is a robber and a murderer, and he wants the throne. Man, another great creature, has done the same. He has joined with Satan to cast God off the throne and have it for himself. God must judge the rebels or be dethroned by them. He must consign them to eternal chains, or they would forever disturb the peace and bliss of His realms, as they have been doing ever since they rebelled.

Under limitations God has permitted this revolt to go on thus far, because of great, and good, and glorious ends which He has determined to bring about in connection with His Son Jesus Christ, and all who now own Him and cease to be rebels.

But those ends which He has revealed in His Word are now nearing completion, and then, swiftly and in the majesty of His power, He will show that the throne is His, and that none shall henceforth disturb its blessed, fatherly rule of love forever.

The Secret of Power for Christian Testimony.

" Many things I suppress and hold back for the sake of the prince and our university. If I were elsewhere, I should vomit them out against Rome, or rather Babylon, the devastator of Bible and Church. The truth about the Bible and the Church, my Spalatin, cannot be discussed without offending this beast. Therefore do not hope that I shall be quiet and undisturbed unless you wish me to give up theology altogether. Let our friends think me mad. This affair will not have an end, if it be of God, until all my friends desert me, as His disciples and acquaintances deserted Christ, and truth be left alone, which will save itself by its own power, and not by mine, nor thine, nor any man's. This hour I have expected from the beginning. If I perish, the world will lose nothing. The Wittenbergers, by the grace of God, have already progressed so far that they do not need me at all. What will you ? I, worthless man that I am, fear I may not be counted worthy to suffer and die for such a cause. That felicity belongs to better men, not to so vile."-Luther.

We underline those words of Luther's which reveal the secret of his power in testimony. Truth had set that dear man's soul free. He knew its power therefore, and trusted it. As to himself, he was nothing. He may well be borne with for the violence of his language against that great enemy of truth-Rome.

Had the multitude of so-called Protestants, who are n ow drifting back toward Rome, known the power of truth in their souls as did Luther, they could never smile on that " Mother of Harlots" as they do. Were even statesmen true lovers of their country, they could never offer her protection, for they must know that instead of being "subject to the powers that be," as the word of God enjoins upon all Christians, she is ever plotting to bring the powers in subjection to her.