The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1883, Page 13

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE EvaNncELicaL Lutaeran SynopicaL Conrerence or Norra AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

Vol. Y.

St. Louis, Mo., April, 1883. _

No. 4

(For the ‘‘Lutheran Pioneer.’’)

Easter.

Lord Jesus Christ, strong Hero Thou,
Grim Death Thou hast o’erpowered now;
Thou dost destroy Hell’s gate and chain
And on the third day rise again.

To all Thy Friends, devoid of pain,

Thou dost present Thyself again,

And showest them the gifts so brave,
Which Thou hast brought out of the grave.

Grant that we and all Christians may
Partake of this great joy to-day,
Which by Thy resurrection Thou
Vouchsafest unto all men now.

Grant us that we may rise from sin
And holy lives to lead begin,

Till we, from sin and pain set free,
In endless Easter live with Thee.

(Barthold Helder, 1620. Tr. by A. Crull, 1883.)

————+ o <a o >

The Importance of Christ’s Resurrection.

The importance of Christ’s resurrection may

be seen from what the Bible says about it.

First, Christ’s resurrection is a proof of His
Divinity. St. Paul says of Jesus that He was

‘‘declared to -be the Son of God with power,
according to the Spirit of holiness, by the re-
surrection from the dead,” Rom. 1, 4. Christ
Himself had told the Jews that He was the
Son of God, (John 5, 18—22). He also told
them that He would rise again from the dead
on the thirdJ day. Speaking of the temple
of His body, He said, “Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up,’ John
2,19. Again He said, “I lay down my life,
that I might take it again. No man taketh

it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I.

have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again,” John 10, 17. 18. Now, had
the grave kept Christ, His enemies could say
that He had no divine power, that He was not
the Son of God. But the grave could not
keep ghe Lord of life. The Lord is risen! He
is risen indeed! All the wisdom of the wise
and all the power of the mighty of earth can-
not conquer death, but Christ, the eternal God,
conquered death and came forth triumphantly

from the grave. From His resurrection we see
that Christ, the Saviour in whom we believe,
is the eternal, almighty Son of God. Woe to
them who reject this Saviour! They reject
God Himself.

Second, Christ’s resurrection is the basis and
ground of our faith in the finished work of our
redemption from all sins. St. Paul says, “If
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain: ye are
yet in your sins,’ 1 Cor. 15,17. Christ was
our Substitute in His life under the law, in His
sufferings and death. The sins of the world
were laid upon Him, and the sin-hating God
poured out upon His sin-bearing Son all the

livered for our offenses”’ into sufferings, death,
and the grave. Now; had the grave kept Him,
we would yet be in our sins. If Christ had
not risen we would know that He, in His great
love, undertook to redeem us with His own
precious blood, but we would not know whether
the purchase money laid down was sufficient,
and was accepted. But the Lord is risen! He
is risen indeed! The purchase money has been
accepted. The justice of God is satisfied. The
work of our redemption is finished. ‘‘ Christ
was raised again for our justification,” Rom.
4,25. He is our Substitute, and therefore
His victory is our victory, His triumph is our
triumph. All sinners that accept this finished
work of redemption by true faith can now cry
out triumphantly: ‘‘Who shall lay anything to
the charge of God’s elect? It is God that jus-
tifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is
Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again,’’ Rom. 8, 33. 34.

Third, Christ’s resurrection is the ground of
our own hope of resurrection. Read 1 Cor. 15,
and you will see how the apostle there proves
the certainty of our resurrection from the fact of
Christ’s resurrection. ‘‘ If Christ be preached,”’
he says, ‘‘that He rose from the dead, how say
some among you that there is no resurrection
of the dead?”? Again he says, “If Christ be
not raised . .. then they also which are fallen
asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men
most miserable. But. now is Christ risen from
the dead and become the first fruits of them
that slept.’? Since Christ in His resurrection

wrath which sinners deserved. He ‘‘ was de-

became the first fruits of them that slept, we
know that the whole harvest will be gathered
in. He who by His divine power took His own
body from the tomb will by that same power
raise our bodies from the grave. ‘‘The Lord
is risen! He is risen indeed!’’ These Easter
greetings are the sweet greetings from our
eternal home. For the Saviour has said, ‘‘ Be-
cause I live, ye shall live also,” John 14, 19.
No wonder that the news of Christ’s resur-
rection sent a thrill of joy to the hearts of the
disciples, and that that joy has filled the hearts
of millions who have heard and helieved it in
all the ages since. May the important tidings
of Easter also fill our hearts with Easter joy.

———»s - oP o-oo

The Good Shepherd.

By Dr. Martin LUTHER.

What a beautiful, comforting Gospel that is
in which the Lord Christ depicts Himself as
the good shepherd; showing what a heart He
has toward us poor sinners, and how we can
do nothing to save ourselves.

The sheep cannot defend nor provide for
itself, nor keep itself from going astray, if the ©
shepherd did not continually guide it; and
when it has gone astray and is lost, it cannot
find its way back again, nor come to its shep-
herd; but the shepherd himself must go after
it, and seek it until he finds it, otherwise it
would wander away and be lost forever.

And when he has found it he must lay it on
his shoulder and carry it, lest it should again
be frightened away from himself, and stray, or
be devoured by the wolf.

So also is it with us. We can neither help
nor counsel ourselves, nor come to rest and
peace of conscience, nor escape the devil, death
and hell, if Christ Himself, by His word, did
not fetch us, and call us to Himself. And even
when we have come to Him, and are in the
faith, we cannot keep ourselves in it, unless He
lifts and carries us by His word and power,
since the devil is everywhere, and at all times
on the watch to dous harm. But Christ is a
thousand times more willing and earnest to do
all for His sheep than the best shepherd.