St. Paul the Apostle was laboring in Macedonia. He had there learned
that through the famine which then prevailed the pious converts in
Judea were in pecuniary straits. He had applied for aid in their
behalf to the brethren in Macedonia, and they, considering their
poverty, had responded in the most liberal manner to his appeal.
He informs the church of Corinth of this large benevolence, and
states his conviction that the Corinthian believers, who were so
much richer than those of Macedonia, would not allow themselves
to be outdone in the extent of their bounty. Not satisfied with
having informed them by letter, he also sends to them Titus and
other Christian ministers to explain to them fully the wants of
their suffering brethren and to raise the necessary supplies. Now,
it appeared requisite for the information of those who were not
sufficiently acquainted with the men sent that they should carry
with them some introduction, some credentials. St. Paul, therefore,
accredits them in the words of the text: "Whether any do inquire of
Titus or of our brethren, they are the messengers of the churches
and the glory of Christ."
It is not my intention, on the present occasion, to dwell upon
the circumstances to which our text most immediately refers. My
object is to impress upon your minds the solemn character of the
ministerial office as explained by the expression: "messengers of
the churches." The epistle of this Sunday suggests this, and the
fact that it is the ----th anniversary of my ministry among you
lends it a personal coloring. Two chief items commend our thoughts:
_I. The office of Christ's ministers_, _II. the duty of Christ's
people,--what is it?_
The office of Christ's ministers,--what is it? Announces Paul in
the text: "They are the messengers of the churches." We all know
the office of a messenger. It is to bear a message from one person
to another person. This figure is frequently made use of in the
Bible to illustrate the intercourse between God and man. Thus it is
employed in reference to the Lord Himself. From all eternity He had
been in the bosom of the Father, and when the fullness of time was
come, He appeared in the form of a man, to make known, to declare,
the message of the Father. That message was the unfolding of the
everlasting covenant whereby God might be just and yet pardon and
save the sinner. Hence, the Prophet Malachi predicts Christ's coming
under this very name of Messenger: "The Lord whom ye seek, shall
suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant,
whom ye delight in." Our blessed Lord, accordingly, was a messenger.
The angels, also, have often been employed to bring messages
from God to man. They, likewise, are spoken of under this title.
The Greek word which we translate "angel" means "messenger." The
vision which Jacob saw at Bethel, the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the ladder, aptly represents the services of those
heavenly beings who are continually descending and ascending with
tidings respecting the business which is being transacted between
heaven and earth. Hence, the angel, or messenger, who appeared to
Zacharias and told the purpose of his visit from the courts above:
"I am Gabriel," said he, "that stand in the presence of God, and am
sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings."
But, besides the Lord Jesus and the angels, it has pleased God in
His mercy and condescension to make use of _men_ as His messengers
to the human race, and so they are described in the Word of God.
We read: "Thus spake Haggai, the Lord's messenger," and St. Paul,
in writing to the Philippians, respecting their minister, says: "I
supposed it necessary to send unto you Epaphroditus, my brother and
companion in labor, but your messenger."
But, alas, through the corruption of our common nature, everything
human is liable to be perverted. There are many who profess to
be the Lord's messengers, who are not such. It is, accordingly,
intimated in the Scripture, for the warning of Lord's people,
that there are two classes of messengers, the evil and the good.
In the history and prophecies of the Old Testament we read of
false prophets who were not sent, and yet they ran and taught the
people perverse doctrines and led many away from the true service
of the living God. In the days of Israel in the wilderness there
were Korah, Dathan and Abiram, who, contrary to the spirit of God,
taught the people to rebel against Moses and Aaron. The Prophet
Jeremiah speaks of a very busy set of false prophets who did not
stand in the Lord's counsel and misled His people. And in the New
Testament they are not missing,--there were the Pharisees, Judas,
Hymenaeus, and Alexander. St. Paul bitterly complains about some
who, to gain their own selfish purposes, pretended to be apostles,
but who were not. Our Lord admonishes that, at all times of the
Christian dispensation, we may expect false prophets wearing the
clothing of sheep. Now, how are we to distinguish between the real
and pretended messengers of Christ? The Lord Himself has told us:
"By their fruits ye shall know them." If, therefore, a minister does
not bring forth the proper fruits, say what he will to the contrary,
he is not accredited by Christ,--he is not the Lord's messenger.
One chief point by which we may judge is the "fruits of the lips."
What message does he deliver? Is it the Lord's message, or is it
some conceit of his own? The popish priest, who preaches salvation
by works, the intercession of the Virgin, the lying delusion of
purgatory, delivers not the Lord's message. The Unitarian minister,
who talks of the virtues of humanity, who denies the Trinity, the
atonement of the Redeemer, the converting and sanctifying operations
of the Holy Spirit, he, too, certainly does not deliver the Lord's
message. And to come nearer to ourselves, he who professes to be a
Lutheran minister, and who yet denies the doctrine of Justification
by Faith only, who does not preach the regenerating power of the
Holy Sacrament of Baptism, and the real presence of Christ's body
and blood in the Lord's Supper, he, likewise, whatever may be his
profession to the contrary, does not deliver the Lord's message.
What is the Lord's message? The voice said: "Cry," and the faithful
messenger said: "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass. The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth, but the Word of our God shall stand
forever." "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and
he that hath _my Word_, let him speak my Word faithfully."
"Preach the Word," was St. Paul's advice to Timothy. "Preach the
Word"; "be instant" with that word "in season and out of season";
in the pulpit and out of the pulpit; in the schoolroom and on the
platform; in the sick chamber and in the abodes of health; in the
highways and in the byways. Only one-half of a minister's duty is
done when the services of the sanctuary are over, and the marriages,
funerals, and baptisms are performed. "The minister," one has
remarked, "is a physician. He has a vast field before him. He has
to study a variety of constitutions. He has to furnish himself with
the knowledge of the whole system of remedies. He is to be a man of
skill and expediency. If one thing fails, he must know how to apply
another. He must be able to speak a word in season, to deliver the
Lord's message to the saint and to the sinner, to the heavy-laden
and to the presumptuous, to the contrite and to the inquirer,--to
all, in short, that come." "For the priest's lips," says Malachi,
"should keep knowledge, and they should seek the Law at his mouth."
For this reason, he will unceasingly be on the lookout for tidings.
He will not, indeed, originate new things. He will not speak
anything which comes into his own head, but he will diligently study
what the Word of the Lord says, and that will he, no matter who may
be present in the congregation, boldly and unreservedly deliver.
He will deliver the whole counsel of God. He will be zealous for
the truth, and neither teach nor tolerate any manner or degree of
error; but, above all, he will preach, as the most important part
of his message, Christ Jesus. Other preaching may inform the head
and please the ear, but it is the setting forth of Christ in all His
willingness to pardon, Christ in all His mightiness to save, which
alone can storm the outworks and force the citadel of the heart.
It is not the flowery language and the rounded period, embellished
with sparkling figures and brilliant metaphors, that will of itself
win souls to the Lord. No, it is the discriminating, earnest, and
affectionate preaching of Christ, whether in the polished language
of the scholar or in the ruder accents of a less accomplished
zeal,--it is this preaching alone which is worthy of the name.
The minister of Christ has a much more important matter in hand
than some imagine. As a faithful messenger, he is to deliver, not
information about political issues, lectures on morals, literature,
and topics of the day, but he is to give hearers a full exhibition
of Christ as He is revealed in the Bible and ought to be imprinted
on every human heart,--the sinner's Hope, the sinner's Refuge,
the sinner's Surety and Substitute, the sinner's High Priest and
Advocate, the sinner's All and in all.
This, dear members and hearers, is the message. And oh, what a
blessing such a message is! How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of him that bringeth these good tidings; that publisheth peace;
that bringeth these good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation.
As refreshing rain upon the dry, parched soil, so is such a faithful
message to them that hear him.
And this is the character which he who now addresses you is anxious
to sustain, as minister of this congregation. For ---- years have
I preached this message of redemption among you. Most graciously
have you received it at my lips, which leads me to thank God and
take courage, asking for the Spirit's influence to make that message
effectual. This, then, is the duty of Christ's ministers.
What, to come to the next consideration, is the duty of Christ's
people?
If it is the duty of Christ's ministers to declare His message, it
is equally the duty of Christ's people to receive that message. Now,
it is well to note that, according to God's Word, our message is
twofold. It is Law, and it is Gospel. Both we are to proclaim,--the
Law, which demands, threatens, and condemns in its sharpness
and terror, and shows us our sin and the wrath of God; and the
Gospel, which shows us our Savior and the grace of God, and offers
forgiveness, life, and salvation in its sweetness and comfort. Can
you bear to be thus slain by the Law? Can you bear to speak with
the lesson of this Sunday--the ministry of John the Baptist, the
man girt about with a leathern girdle, expressing himself in the
language of bold reproof, and declaring that "even now the ax
is laid unto the root of the trees," and that "every tree which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire"?
Can you bear to be told that, virtuous as many of you may be, you
must seek salvation as sinners? Can you bear to be told that, if any
man will be Christ's disciple, he must deny himself daily, and take
up his cross, and follow his Lord wherever He may lead? Can you bear
to have it forced upon you: "Be not conformed to this world"?
These things belong to the message, and we would not be ministers of
the Gospel of Christ without telling you them. And remember, too,
that you must receive them not with your ears only, but with your
hearts. Believe me, it is not enough to come hither and to attend
these messages, and as you quit the sanctuary to say you are pleased
with the sermons you hear. Highly as we, that are ministers, value
your kind regard and affectionate esteem, we miss our object if that
is all we accomplish. No, beloved, we seek not your praise, but you.
We want your eye to pass on from the servant to his Master, from the
messenger to Him that sent Him. Like John, we are but His voice, the
voice of one that crieth amid this wilderness and waste. He that
cometh is Christ. We are but the tube, or trumpet, through which He
speaks. Forget thus the messenger, shut your eyes upon the preacher,
and think of the Savior. Hear His voice, let that go to your heart.
One more duty,--assist the messenger. Various are the means and
channels in which that may be done. We have in our midst a willing
band of Sunday-school teachers; what are they doing but helping to
bring the message to the hearts of our youth? We have those who are
not ashamed or afraid to invite others to come and hear the message
spoken in public, those who encourage some to go and hear it in
private, in catechetical instruction. Then, too, are our church
societies laboring usefully in the Lord. Many are the means and ways
in which these messengers may be assisted in the performance of
their duty, and to so assist in the duty of all. My dear members,
may God continue to bless, as He has visibly and bountifully
blessed, these past years, His message and His messengers and those
that hear it! The Lord hear and answer this our petition for our
Great Redeemer's sake! Amen.