'A Sermon Preahed in the Union'Chureh op Sunday, April 10, 1927, by the' Rev. George A: 'Clayton' of the Religious: Tract Society.
"But thanks be write Got, which always leadeth us triumph. in Christ, and maketh manifest through. us the savour of His knowledge' in every place." 2, Cor. 2. 1618, Let. up try to see the. picture which St, Paul's readers would see as they read these words. Claudius, the Roman general, had marched siumphantly through France. Grosting: the Channel, he had met the British forces in battle and Aefeated them, and Caractacus, their king, lad been taken captive: "Clauins in due season returned to Rome, was accorded a public triumph, and, through, the breach which was made in the city wall on. such cations, senators and officials had gone forth to meet him. Let us Hand at the roadside as spectators. Here comes the great chariot, with ite prancing steeds, in which stands iandius, radiant and triumphant, Behind the chariot march the vietorious troops and among the troops one can. discern the "British cap-ives, clad in skins, chained and conquered., Round the conqueror' harlot and at intervals through the procession, youths are seen bearing. censers from which the smell of incense arises. 'That incense is grateful to the soldiers, for it signi fies that' the campaign is over and rewards are to be distributed; but} that same incense is hateful to the British warriors, for they are marching amid ltd odour to enptivity or] death. That triumph took place in the year of our Lord 51. "About, and, in comparing us to the incense-bearers, he reminds us that the xesponsibility for the world's salvation is through onus.. We all know the penetrating savour of burning injeense, for in the Chinese temples it is carried: into every cranny and) sees ea, then afer har eft the 'So in Rome, the censers Were swung and sticks of lighted incense thrown Jdown, the savour' would be carried into ' the houses and up the streets,- and if the -knowledge'.of Sesus as Saviour is to be carried to every hamlet of China and—into very place in Shanghai, then we as incense-bearers thus see to it that our lives are over sending forth truth and righteousness and peace, the and revealing to those round os the beauty of the Gospel of Christ.
Third, our serious respon ability stated In the words, "A aweer waur of Christ?" Once more the figure is changed, and those who have been compared to the captives and. the incense-besters. are. now compared to the incense itself, and Jost as in the triumphal processions the incense rose to the gods who iliad given the victory, so the incense our lives is offered. to the God] of Gods, Who, by triumphing. over ts, hax hind Us fe for His service, Savours of Life Conquerors or Captives first, our relationship to God as stated in the words, "God leadeth us in triumph in Christ." You will notice that the revised version has changed the inaccurate translation of the old version, and, instead of] saying, "Thanks be to' God who!
8 to triumph," rightly says, "Thanks be to God' who leads us in triumph." For there is no thought here of glory according to us because we share in some way as conquerors with Christ, The thoughe rather that which we find in the verse which declares that, being conquerors, we aye among. the captives marching in the train of the Groat Conqueror, and this is our Joy, for it is only' we allow Jesus Christ to defeat the sin, the pride, the carelessness, the selfishness in our hearts and become subject to His gracious sway, that! We can attain to the liberty of the children, of God. You will notice that St. Paul wishes this conquest of self by Christ to be a constant one, In his ease God began to triumph over him when he.was ar. rested on the road to Damascus and appointed to a life of hard service, but he knew that the evil in his own heart and the nature of his own temperament necessitated that Christ should constantly conquer! him, "Have we learnt this? we say with Dean Alford thi "God's defeats of us axe our veal] victories"
Second, our work for God as ted in the words, "Maketh mani fest through us the savour of His knowledge in every place." The figure is changed abruptly, in_ the manner characteristic of St, Paul, You will notice that the incense]
it floated among the soldiers reminded them that they had return-Jed safely from the dottle, whilst it drove the captives\to remember] their unhappy fate. The effect of the message which eir lives carry to those round about us is the same. Every day, everywhere, be-Jcause we are Christians a savour is} going forth from our lives, and [we remember that our lives are ever influencing others for good or ill, }we shall take care that they are pot marked by hasty, imperfect service of the King, and that they Jare not marred by catcless action jor speech. If we remember that] jevety tract distributed, every sermon preached, every "lesson in fachool, every friendly visit, every chat at the club, should be a savour lof life we shall become very earn-Jest and very sincere in the service] jof the King. I know that the final logue is with the other' man. may preach aright, and he may refuse to hear, I niay live in the ofice or on board ship as Christ} Himself did, "and the other—man may refuse to copy, but T cannot forget how the issue is complicated when I, a follower of Christ, do not live and speak as I ought. "The jaavour goes forth, the issue is with) him, but the blame for the issue may "rightly be mine.
As we think this out, we shall lask in the closing words of our] text, "Who is sufficient for these] things"? There is no. better answer than that given later in this spittle by St. Paul himself, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, Jbut.our sufficiency is from God." Tf we put that in the terms of our text, if means that our ability to] send forth the right savour depends on the degree to wheth we have allowed Christ to become con-Jqueror in our lives. Only when His] conquest is complete will the right savour go forth from your life or mine and the outcome of those lives be life-bringing.
'THe Chinese authorit ing for the owner of a pink-painted, car, No. 7178, which has been standing' in the Chinese City for the last! three days and on Sunday was taken' to the military headquarters.
AcconDING to Chinese press _re-! ports, the leader of the Young Japan arty is expected in Shanghai very soon to-negotiate with the Kuomintang authorities regarding the possibility of mutual ce-operation.
Tris Gnancial authorities of the Nationalist Government at Nanking are!inderstood to be preparing to fico getics of bonds, the proceeds)
ery te pee 'Tue political bureau of the! 'Nationalist Armies has established 1 school for the training of men and women, who will be sent to different! propaganda. places' to disseminate Nationalis The polite lotion so widely disse-[inated in modern times that, pol leies and not men. mist needs ponsible j Editor of the "China Weekly Review is amply justified by reference to the columns he controls. and: directs. I pen that sentence admitting his journalistic ability, his talent for sustained laboriousness and diligence, his personal qualities in his feapecity as a tive Amer~ epresentat the ian citizen for pleasant and friend ly intercourse, but there are other: things to be said as well.
For example, the following appeared editorially in his jou March 26, 1027:
"Neither Abe, American, the Japan, participating wwe succeeded. better with the Chinese.
Tu" the. International Settlement at Shanghai.
eneeocthe Prench have always goticn om' better with the Chinese from Dafetiy being enibely devoid Exfortanats Talal profs or Zeal ently being
a "of "he average 'Bnglishmany bat 'Which for" some reason "does not seem flict the -Amerieans, Cenadiana, 'Australinns, although they largely come of the same' stock The editorial policy of the "China Weekly Review" seeks, week by] week, with an gularity, to mal expense of us British int one wa the other, in this way or that, It. vvacillates only in so far as sometimes.
is the French who are brought in to point the moral which a his tale, sometimes it is the Japan-_ ese, and invariably the overweening. vanity of the Chinese is appealed to as the jury before which we English tand arraigned by this mischievous. man from Missouri, He charges us with racial "pre-Jodice, does this gentleman with his American - small-town elementary. conceptions of the wide world lying beyond the exclusive orbit of his buck board streets. Such is the difference in our respective prejudices that my Missouri friend will give Pump handle greeting of enthusias equality to any Chinaman in China probably grasping him by the should. for to enforce the honesty of th great idea—but will severely shut! him out from his home State where the largest pumpkins in the world grow—and J, the Englishman, will be more sparing in the handling Process, bat he comes into England as a free man, not ticketed, and with no price on his head, We are not spectacular successes as the slow; Progress of the horn-rimmed specta-les amongst my countrymen tends to rove, but we yield the Chinese the substance of equality of opportunity all the same, withholding only our enthusiasm for him at the expense lof our race—vhile Missouri tells him. what a fine fellow he is, but—"You can't come in!
The "feeling of superi the besetting. 8 Englishman" is flung at us confidence that no Englishman will dare to retort that his average is superior to the Chinese average. "It does not seem to affect the -Americans", our Editor adds, Well, he is an American and he knows his countrymen better than do,.but any American, any average tone who does not consider himself' superior to an average Chinese is, patting up such bluff that the laughable, Wherefore the Christian missionaries through preach the propagandist igs trid teachings and. publication have, laboured in China for centuries, At the present lime it ix estimated that {he"American People slone contribute reninataly about sear snthropi, and eluetional work?"
If average Americans do. not con-Sider themselves superior. to Chinese. am astenishe) that at it is always What Moscow thinks, respondent kindly: sends og. cotting 9 both, Untntunaaly, hig pears steal above two lined" of the "International" bub. doubtless they can be. filed in, aer fording fo taste if, any...
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.