The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1895, Page 13

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pousuisnep py Tae Evanorrica Luraeran SynopicaL Conrerence or Norra AMERIcA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. XVII.

St. Louis, Mo., April, 1895.

No. 4.

It Is Finished.

“Tt is finished!’’ sinners, hear it,
*Tis the dying victor’s cry;
“Tt is finished!” angels, bear it,
Bear the joyful truth on high:
“Tt is finished!”
Tell it through the earth and sky!

Hear the Lord Himself declaring
All performed He came to do;
Sinners, in yourselves despairing,
This is joyful news to you;
Jesus speaks it,
His are faithful words and true.

“Tt is finished!’ all is over,
Yes, the cup of wrath is drained,
Such the truth these words discover,
Thus the victory was obtained—
*Tis a victory
None but Jesus could haye gained.
Selected.
——- -o-<e

The Glad Easter Tidings.

The Easter tidings are tidings of joy.
Which are these tidings? To the women that
came to the grave on Easter morning to anoint
the body of their dear Lord the angel said,
“Be not affrighted: ye seek Jesus of Naza-
reth which was crucified; He is risen; He is
not here; behold the place where they laid
Him,’? Mark 16,6. Well may these tidings
gladden our hearts in the blessed Easter time.
The angel says that He who was crucified is
risen from the dead, He who was laid into
the grave has come to life and left the tomb.
Why was He crucified and why was He laid
into the grave? The Bible answers this ques-
tion. It says that He ‘‘was delivered for our
offences.’’? He took our place, bearing our
sins and suffering the punishment of our trans-

risen; He is not here; behold the place where
they laid Him.’’ He that was crucified in our
stead is risen! He that entered death for us
has come forth from the grave! Death and
the grave could not hold Him! Do you know
what that means? If He were not risen, that
would mean that the burden of our sin and
woe was laid upon Him and crushed Him;
that He mercifully undertook the mighty work
of our redemption, but failed; that He went
into the realm of death in our stead, but was
kept captive there and did therefore not re-
deem us. But, blessed be God, it was not
thus. No, no! ‘The grave is empty, He is
risen, He is risen indeed! Now, what does
that mean? Why, that means that He who
fought the battle for us has gained the vic-
tory. And whose victory is it? Why, the
victory of those for whom He fought. His
victory is our victory. Christ is risen! That
means the work of our redemption is finished ;
our debts are fully paid; all our enemies are
conquered; the justice of God is fully satis-
fied; heaven is opened. Therefore the Bible
tells us not only that Christ ‘‘was delivered for
our offences,’’ but also that He was ‘‘raised
again for our justification.”” In Him we were
crucified, in Him we are justified.

‘Are not the Easter tidings glad and joyful
tidings for all sinners? They tell us that all
that was to be done for our redemption és
done. We have nothing to do in order to re-
deem ourselves and to gain heaven. No! All
that was to be done is done. The work of our
redemption ts finished. And we have nothing
to add to that finished work of Christ. No!
All that we could add would be but dirty rags,
which God would cast away.in His wrath. He
wants no dirty rags added to that glorious
work of His Son. We are simply to trust in

gressions, In Him there was no sin, but ‘‘the| that finished work of Christ as it is offered to

Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.””
So He was crucified and entered death in our
_ Stead, to redeem us from sin and everlasting
woe. Now the question is, Did He accomplish
the work He undertook to do? On the cross
He cried out, ‘‘It is finished!’” Is the work
of our redemption really finished? The answer
comes to us on Easter morning: ‘‘Ye seek
Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified; He is

usin the Gospel. ‘The moment the sinner be-
lieves in his heart the glad Gospel tidings, he
shares the great benefits of Christ’s glorious
victory. He accepts the pardon of sins which
God has proclaimed in the resurrection of
His Son. By faith he is in Christ Jesus, and
‘tthere is therefore now 10 condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus,”? says the

Bible.

Accept the risen Saviour, who was delivered
for your offences and was raised again for
your justification! Believe in Him, and re-
joice in the glad Easter tidings!

> oe

A Happy Easter.

It was Easter morning. In a village in
Germany a poor laborer was obliged to keep
his bed the first time in many years. He was
getting old, and the work of digging a grave
the day before for one of his friends had been
too much for him. His faithful wife sat be-
side him, trying to nurse and cheer him by
telling him of their-common hope of resur-
rection, for Christ rose on this day. But
thoughts of an only and lost son came also,
and instead of the joy that ought to be in
their hearts, sorrow pressed tears from their
eyes. They did not know what had become
of their son, and they had reason to fear that
he was lost in sin, and would never be with
them and happy again. :

When he was a young man, he had learned
his trade, and gone away to a large city,
whence he had never returned; nor could
they ever hear what had become of him. The
parents had given him a Christian education,
and they were sure that he loved Christ when
he went out into the world. He had also
promised never to depart from faith in Christ
and His Word, and this gave them some hope;
but they could not imagine why he had never
written to them if he were alive and had pre-
served his good name and Christian faith.

The bells were calling the people to church,
but the sick man could not go. His wife read
to him the Easter story of Christ’s resur-
rection. After that she kneeled down and
prayed, that if their son is dead, the Lord
may give them the hope of a happy return
of their lost son, when the dead rise at the
Jast day. Both the old people had scarcely
said: Amen! when a rap at the door and a
hasty entrance ofa fine, hearty man, and a boy
led by his hand, caused them to be mute in
astonishment for a few seconds. For here
stood before them their lest son, and the boy
was sO much like him when he was young,