Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 77, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1914 — A Complete Salvation [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Complete Salvation

By Re*. PARLEY E. ZARTMANN, D. D. Srenttry at EtteMion DeputiMat Moody B&h Inrimte. CUcwo

TEXT—Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God -by him, seeing he ever llveth to make Intercession for them. —Heb. 7:25.

That Is exactly what Christ is to the believing souls he saves “completely.” It Is not only a fact but an assurance as well that the Jesus who is the only Saviour also is an all-sufficient Saviour. He Is not only the Name, he Is the all-pre-vailing Name. He is able to save to the uttermost; it Is a complete sal-

vatlon, extending to all particulars. No wonder those who put their trust in him unite In saying, Hallelujah I what a Saviour! The Epistle to the Hebrews is a series of contrasts between the good things of Judaism and the better things of Christ He is better than angels, than Moses, than Joshua, than Aaron; and the new covenant than the Mosaic covenant. In the section of the Epistle where the text occurs he is set forth as the Great High Priest and certified as superior to Melchisedec and any of the Aaronic priest? hood. He is the eternal one who abideth a priest forever. “This man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” 'The life in the power of which he ministers, and the life which he ministers, is a life that abides unchangeable. His priesthood is an everlasting one, ever living, ever active. There Is never-a moment In which his priestly action, his watchful care of us, his loving sympathy and succor, his working in us in the power of an endless life, Is not in full operation. Therefore he can nave completely. ■ Unto the Uttermost. We have here the very promise we need, lest we hesitate to begin the Christian life, or having begun, faint by the way. This is not only the heart of the gospel, but also the secret of Christian perfection. The salvation wrought by Christ for us and in us is not only negative, saving us from sin, but also positive, conferring on us eternal life. The work of Christ is set In contrast with that of the law. In verse 18 we read “for the law made nothing perfect;” but Christ saves completely. It has availed for the worst characters; the thief on the cross, Saul of Tarsus, John Bunyan, S. H. Hadley. It reaches the greatest numbers: 3,000 on the day of Pentecost, multitudes in mission fields, thousands under the preaching of Whitfield, Moody, Chapman, Sunday, and finally a nation in a day. It leaves nothing undone, It is a complete salvation. It meets the uttermost need of any man, anywhere, any time. What a word that is: Whatever you need, Jesus is able You have doubted it; some days you think you are saved, and some days you are in despair. The real trouble is, you are leaning upon some experience, looking for the repetition of some unusual feeling, depending, upon favorable circumstances. You have (forgotten what manner of Saviour Jesus is—the unchanging, eternal. Interceding, complete Saviour. Nothing is too hard for him. Start your thought of salvation not upon your feeling or your experience, but by apprehending what Christ really is for the human race: perfect God and perfect man; with God’s love and power, with man’s sympathy and experience, meeting our enemy and conquering him, and now gone into the holiest of all there to appear in the presence of God for us, ever living to intercede—his whole work appealing and availing that we may be the righteousness of God in him Get hold of what Christ’s finished work has done for you. Regenerating, Justifying, sanctifying; then remember that true faith takes what God provides, and needs no more for its ground and gladness than the fact that God said it. I Am Included. This complete salvation is for them that come unto God by him. You may be of the great and goodly number who receive It and rejoice in it. When the Lord said, Whosoever, he Included me. John 3:16 is still true; Jesus Christ Is the same yesterday, today, yes, and forever; still he says: No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. Still Christ is able to save unto the uttermost. What more could be done? What more could one want than a complete salvation? Believe wh*t God says; accept what God offers. "Your sins he will more than pardon; your cares he will more than bear; your temptations he will more than overcome; 1 your doubt he will more than dispel; your crosses he will more than carry; your perplexities he will more than resolve; your bereavements he will more than sweeten.” “Lord. I’ll trust thy wondrous lov% > Mighty to jpave.”