Sermon preached in Union Church on Sunday morning, by the Rev.
Darwent.
phesians I. 7. "In Whom we fave our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.""
St. Paul tries to put in as few words as possible what he meant by the Gospel. We do sometimes like to put a great subject into a few words. And Paul sums it up in this way, "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.""
His idea of salvation, if he were asked to give a summary of it the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness covers the whole ground. That is Paul's idea. And now I will quote a modern man who from his character and experience will be conceded to have known some: thing about it. Lord Lincolnshire says he once asked General Booth what he meant by the salvation he spent his life preaching. The old General said that by salvation he meant forgiveness. He said that! word met the case, and covered the ground better than any other.
Forgiveness of trespasses! To be forgiven, that is the most wonderful miracle God can work for us.
Only the riches of His grace can give it. Do we believe that? Do we believe that the forgiveness of sins t# a very wonderful thing? Do we of the 20th century think that? Do we care anything about it? Do we see any peculiar favour in it? I think not. I think that masses of people who have gone to church all their lives think it is quite an easy thing. I think multitudes hear "about it quite moved. There is a great deal of interest in the question of immortality—in the church and out of it. We all know that scientific men
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.