XXXV.

The Law of the Christian Life.

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."COLOSSIANS iii. 17.

VARIOUS are the obligations of life, and many the

bonds which prevail in human society. All men have, consciously or unconsciously, a distinct principle of action, a ruling passion, which guides their course and more or less clearly shapes their character. The patriot acts for his country, the politician for his party, the soldier lives in unswerving obedience to his commander, and the courtier in devotion to his prince; the philosopher spends his life in intellectual discussion and theorizing, and the man of science in the pursuit of his special study. The life of the Christian disciple is found in devotion to his Lord for him this devotion encircles all other bonds, and hallows all other obligations. He is not his own, and ought not to live to himself, but to the Lord who created him, and who has redeemed him with His blood. He is to do all things in the name of Christ Jesus. Thus the Apostle adds a general exhortation which comprehends, completes, and crowns all that preceded it. "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."*

*The and is omitted in the oldest MSS.

I. These words strictly define the regulative principle of the Christian life. The name of Christ is the element in which the whole course of life is to be pursued, which furnishes a motive for all, and gives a character to all. The great evil in the world is the constant tendency in men to live for themselves, to act in their own name and strength, and for their own selfish purposes. This, in fact, was the very beginning of sin, and brought about the ruin of the creature that God had made in His own image. Man started to live for himself, and to act on his own account and in his own name. In their pursuits, engagements, undertakings, and enterprizes, men for the most part think only of themselves, and seek their own fancied good independently of God, and without any knowledge of Him. But the Christian is a new creature, who has received a new law of being, under which he is to live to his Divine Master, and to do all that he does in the name of the Lord Jesus. How glorious is that name! It suggests both the transcendent dignity and the godlike achievement of Christ. As Jesus, He is the Saviour of sinners; as Lord, He is the King of men and Ruler of all. The very designation brings to mind all that He was and did on earth, and all that He is now doing enthroned in heaven; having reached the glory of the crown through the suffering of the cross. In His name the Christian is to live and act. This rule was laid down repeatedly by our Lord Himself when He dwelt among men: "Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name... he shall not lose his reward." (Mark ix. 41.) "Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me." (Matt. xviii. 5.) "If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." (John xiv. 14.) What does this mean-in the name of Christ? Manifestly that He is to be the law, the motive, the pattern, and the end of the Christian's life.

"In the name of the Lord Jesus"-for His sake. True

Christian action is the offspring of love to Christ and respect to His authority, having its foundation and root in Him. "The love of Christ constraineth us," says St. Paul, "because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again." (2 Cor. v. 14, 15.) How deep, mighty, and all-pervading is this as a principle of the spiritual life. It descends into the depths of the renewed nature, touches all the springs of human action, stirs up the holiest emotions of the soul, and draws forth all its energies in allegiance and devotedness to the Saviour. It is the strongest and purest impulse that can sway the heart of man. He who feels it and cherishes it will hold back nothing which Christ requires. In the name of the Lord Jesus -in His spirit. His life on earth is before us in the Divine portraiture given of it in the Gospels. We see how He went about His Father's business in the spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice, of love and fidelity, of humility and manliness; and if we are to fulfil the work given us to do, and to do it in His name, His spirit must possess us. It is impossible for us to do anything aright in His name in a spirit antagonistic to His. Many things are done avowedly in His name, which yet have no connexion with Him, and which He will eventually disavow, because not done in His spirit; and He will reject the doers of them as workers of iniquity. (Luke xiii. 27.) "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His;" only as we tread in His footsteps, and breathe His spirit, can we do in His name the works assigned to us, or accomplish the mission on which we are sent into the world. In His name means also, with His approval. Nothing can be really done in His name which has not His approbation, and on which He cannot look with complacency, as in harmony with His own great work. To

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please Him will be no secondary or subordinate thought, but the paramount motive of the man who would walk worthy of the Lord. His will is the law of the Christian life, and all that is done in His name must have His approval. Much evil has, alas, been perpetrated by men in the name of the Lord Jesus. Persecution in that name has made cities to flow with the blood of His saints; but the use of His name cannot cover sin; and to do professedly in it that which is directly or indirectly opposed to His will, is only a mockery, which will meet with His righteous indignation. In the pathway of obedience alone, walking so as to please Christ, can we prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Further, in the name of the Lord Jesus means to His glory. He receives honour from whatever truly exhibits or illustrates the excellence of His name among men. All that we do should be done to the glory of our Lord. Others are to see in our lives that we are the epistles of Christ, living and legible epistles, known and read of all men, written with the Spirit of the living God. To seek that He may be exalted, honoured, and more widely known upon earth; to seek that growing numbers of men may love and serve Him, is the highest object of human action. Christ Jesus could say of His earthly life as it was about to close, “I have glorified Thee on the earth;" so should we, each one in his sphere, daily strive to bear the same testimony; thus will He be honoured in us as our Exemplar, and our history and character shall reflect something of His glory.

II. But it is necessary to look more particularly at the comprehensive obligation of the Christian life, as here indicated: "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." This is, indeed, a wide expression, and encompasses with its claim every aspect of the character and every outgoing of the man. Some things,

perhaps many things, are formally done by all of us in the name of the Lord Jesus. Such, for instance, are all acts of worship, public and private. We keep the first day of the week, the Lord's day, as the Christian Sabbath; we assemble in the sanctuary for worship; we celebrate the ordinance of His appointment, all avowedly in the name of the Lord Jesus. And this is all that many seem to do, in their fulfilment of this apostolic precept. But much more than this is necessary, and the words have a much wider application than simply to acts of prayer and praise. All things, in word or deed-there is to be no exception. Life as it actually appears among men, in the home and the market place, is made up of words and deeds. These comprise the general course of conduct, and the name of Christ is to be inscribed on all. Is this possible? Is it practicable? Clearly it is so, if we know that we are "risen with Christ," and that His power in us is a life. As His disciples, therefore, He is with us always, and His influence goes with us wherever we go, consecrating and hallowing all that we do and say. It is to encompass our entire conversation and course as with a celestial girdle, and to inspire our whole character with its quickening and purifying power.

There is a breadth of obligation here against which we are sometimes disposed to rebel. We would occasionally make selections, do some things in the name of the Lord Jesus, and reserve some to be done in our own name. But this must not be. Religion is a life; and if our hearts are right towards Christ, it will be manifest in all that we do; things secular as well as sacred will be done in His name. Buying and selling, active duty or pleasurable recreation, reading and writing, attending to the claims of business and providing for the wants of a family, surveying the beauties of nature or enjoying the fellowship of friends-all are to be done in the name of Christ. They cannot be otherwise