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Sunday to show how the absolution of Society looses a man from the weight of sin, by representing and making credible God's forgiveness how it opens him to hope and the path to a new life. Now, similarly, see how the anger of Society represents and makes credible God's wrath. So long as the Corinthians. petted this sinner, conscience slumbered; but when the voice of men was raised in condemnation, and he felt himself everywhere shunned, conscience began to do its dreadful work, and then their anger became a type of coming doom. Remember, therefore, there is a real power lodged in Humanity to bind as well as to loose; and remember, that Man, God's representative, may exercise this fearful power wrongly, too long, and too severely in venial faults, yet there is still a power, a terrible human power, which may make outcasts, and drive men to infamy and ruin. Whosesoever sins we bind on earth, they are bound.

Only, therefore, so far as man is Christ-like, can he exercise this power in an entirely true and perfect manner. The world's excommunication or banishment is almost always unjust, and that of the nominal Church more or less so.

The second ground on which human punishment rests is the reformation of the offender. "That the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Of all the grounds alleged for punishment, that of "an example to others" is the most heartless and the most unchristian. In Scripture I read of two principal objects of punishment:first, that which has been given already-punishment as an expression of right cous indignation; the other, the amelioration of the sinner, as is expressed in the above verse. And here the peculiarly merciful character of Christianity comes forth the Church was never to give over the hope of recovering the fallen. Punishment then, here, is remedial. If Paul punished, it was "that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." And hence

This subject is also treated of in a Sermon on "Absolution," which is published in the third volume of Mr. Robertson's Sermons.

(putting capital punishment out of the present question) to shut the door of repentance upon any sin, to make outcasts for ever, and thus to produce despair, is contrary to the idea of the Church of Christ, and alien from His Spirit. And so far as Society does that now, it is not Christianized, for Christianity never sacrifices, as the world-system does, the individual to the Society. Christianity has brought out strongly the worth of the single soul. Let us not, however, in treating of this subject, overstate the matter, for it would be too much to say that example is never a part of the object of punishment. Perhaps of the highest Christian idea of punishment it is not. Yet in societies, where, as the spirit of the old world still lingers, Christianity can never be fully carried out, it must be tolerated. For example, the army is a society which is incompatible with the existence of Christianity in its perfection. And here, too, we learn to look with an understanding eye at what else we must blame. When we censure the sanguinary laws of the past, we must remember that they did their work. And even now,. the severe judgments and animadversions of Society have their use. Christian they are not, worthy of a Society calling itself Christian they are not; but as the system of a Society only half Christian, such as ours, they have their expediency. Individuals are sacrificed, but Society is kept comparatively pure, for many are deterred from wrong-doing by fear, who would be deterred by no other motive.

The third ground is the contagious character of evil. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Observe, the evil was not a matter of example, but contagion. Seul an one as this incestuous man — wicked, impenitent, and unpunished-would infect the rest of the Church. Who does not know how the tone of evil has communieated itself? Worldly minds, irreverent minds, licentious minds, leaven Society. You cannot be long with persons who by innuendo, double meaning, or lax language, show an acquaintance with evil, without feeling in some degree assimilated to them, nor can you easily retain enthusiasm for right amongst those who detract

and scoff at goodness. None but Christ could remain with the impenitent and be untainted; and even where repentance has been deeply felt, familiarity with some kinds of vice unfits a man for association with his fellowmen. A penitent man should be forgiven; but unless you can insure the removal of the mental taint, it does not follow that he is fit for safe intimacy. Perhaps, never in this world again; and it may be part of his terrible discipline here, which we would fain hope is remedial, not penal, to retain the stamp of past guilt upon his character, causing him to be avoided, though forgiven.

The fourth ground was, Because to permit this would be to contradict the true idea of the Church of Christ, "Ye are unleavened." This is the idea of the Church of Christ, a body unleavened with evil, and St. Paul uses a metaphor taken from the Paschal Feast. It was eaten with unleavened bread, and every Jewish family scrupulously removed every crumb of leaven from the house before it began. In like manner, as that feast was eaten with no remnant of the old leaven, so is our Christian jubilee to be kept. All the old life has passed away. We may say, as Paul said of the Corinthians, "Ye are unleavened." A new start, as it were, has been given to you in Christ; you may begin afresh for life. Here, then, is the true conception of the Church regenerated Humanity, new life without the leaven of old evil.

Let us distinguish, however, between the Church visible and invisible. The Church invisible is "the general assembly and Church of the First-born" spoken of in Hebrews, xii. v. 23. It is that Idea of Humanity which exists in the Mind of God: such as Paul described the Church at Ephesus; such as no Church ever really was; such as only Christ of men has ever been; but such as every Church is potentially and conceivably. But the Church visible is the actual men professing Christ, who exist in this age, or in that: and

* See Mr. Robertson's Sermon on "The Victory of Faith,” Vol. III.

the Church visible exists, to represent, and at last to realize, the Church invisible. In the first of these senses, the Apostle describes the Corinthian Church as "unleavened;" i. e. he says, that is the idea of your existence. In the second sense, he describes them as they are, "puffed up, contentious, carnal, walking as men. Now, for want of keeping these two things distinct, two grave errors may be committed.

1. Undue severity in the treatment of the lapsed. 2. Wrong purism in the matter of association with the world, its people, its business, and its amusements. Into the first of these the Corinthians afterwards were tempted to fall, refusing reconciliation with the sinner. Into this the Church did fall, for a period, in the third century, when Novatian, laying down the axiom that the actual state of the Church ought to correspond with its ideal in fact, declaring that the Idea of the Church was its actual state very consistently with this false definition, demanded the non-restoration of all who had ever lapsed.

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But the attempt to make the Church entirely pure must fail: it is to be left to a higher tribunal. Such an attempt ever has failed. The parable of the wheat and the tares makes it manifest that we cannot eradicate evil from the Church without the danger of destroying good with it. Only, as a Church visible she must separate from her all visible evil, she must sever from herself all such foreign elements as bear unmistakable marks of their alien birth. She is not the Church invisible, but she represents it. Her purity must be visible purity, not ideal: representative, not perfect.

The second error was a misconception, into which, from the Apostle's own words, it was easy to fall; an over rigorous purism, or puritanism.

The Corinthians were to separate from the immoral; but in a world where all were immoral, how was this practicable? Should they buy no meat because the seller was a heathen? nor accept an invitation from him, nor transact business with him, because he was an idolater?

Against an extension of this principle he sedulously guards himself, in the ninth and tenth verses. Paul says to them, You are not to go out of the world, only take care that you do not recognize such sinners by associating with them as brothers, or as fulfilling, in any degree, the Christian idea. Indeed, afterwards, he tells them they were free to purchase meat which had been used in heathen sacrifices, and he contemnplates the possibility of their accepting invitations to heathen entertainments.

Lastly, let us apply the principles we have now gained to practical life as at present existing: let us see the dangerous results of that exclusiveness which affects the society of the religious only.

The first result that follows is the habit of judging. For, if we only associate with those whom we think religious, we must decide who are religious, and this becomes a habit. Now, for this judgment, we have absolutely no materials. And the life of Christ, at least, should teach us that the so-called religious party are not always God's religious ones. The publicans and the harlots went into the kingdom of Heaven before the Pharisees.

And the second result is censoriousness; for we must judge who are not religious, and then the door is opened for the slander, and the gossip, and the cruel harshness, which make religious cliques worse even than worldly

ones.

And the third result is spiritual pride; for we must judge ourselves, and so say to others, "I am holier than thou." And then we fall into the very fault of these Corinthians, who were rejoicing, not that they were Christians, but Christians of a peculiar sort, disciples of Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas. Had they been contented to feel that they had a common salvation that they had been named by the same Name, and redeemed by the same Sacrifice-vanity had been impossible, for we are only vain of that wherein we differ from others. So we, too often rejoicing in thin distinctions, "they," and "we," fall into that sin, almost the most hopeless of all sins,-spiritual pride.