Reference: Christianity
Fausets
(See JESUS CHRIST.) The law and Mosaic system, though distinct from the gospel, yet clearly contemplates the new dispensation as that for which itself was the preparation. The original promise to Abraham, "in thee ... and thy seed ... shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Ge 12:3; 22:16), still awaited its fulfillment, and the law came in as the parenthesis between the promise of grace and its fulfillment in Christ the promised "seed." Ro 5:20; "the law entered (as a parenthesis, incidentally, Greek) that the offense might abound." Ga 3:8-25; "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith; but after that, faith is come we are no longer under a schoolmaster."
Jacob's prophecy contemplated the theocratic scepter passing from Judah, when Shiloh should come as the gatherer of the peoples to Himself (Ge 49:10). Many psalms (as Psalm 2; Psalm 72; Psalm 22; Psalm 67) and all the prophets (compare Isaiah 2; Isaiah 53) look forward to the Messiah as about to introduce a new and worldwide dispensation. Nay, even Moses himself (De 18:15, etc.) announces the coming of another Lawgiver like him, about to promulgate God's new law; for to be like Moses He must be a lawgiver, and to be so He must have a new law, a fuller development of God's will, than Moses' law, its germ. Psalm 110 declared that His priesthood should be one "forever, after the order of Melchizeded" (the king of righteousness and king of peace), to which the Levitical priesthood did homage in the person of Abraham their ancestor, paying tithes to Melchizedek (compare Hebrew 6-7).
The law was the type; the gospel was the antitype (Heb 10:1-10). Christ came not to destroy it (i.e. its essence) but to fulfill (complete) it (Mt 5:17). The letter gives place to the spirit which realizes the end of the letter (2Co 3:3-18). As also Jeremiah foretells (Jer 31:31-34; compare Heb 8:4-13; 10:15-18). If Christianity had not been of God, it could never have prevailed, without human might or learning, to supersede the system of the mightiest and most civilized nations (1 Corinthians 1-2). Its miracles, its fulfillment of all prophecy, and its complete adaptation to meet man's deep spiritual needs, pardon, peace, holiness, life, immortality for soul and body, are the only reasonable account to be given of its success.
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I'll bless those who bless you, but I'll curse the one who curses you, and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed."
I'll bless those who bless you, but I'll curse the one who curses you, and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed."
and said, "I have taken an oath to swear by myself," declares the LORD, "that since you have carried this out and have not withheld your only unique son,
and said, "I have taken an oath to swear by myself," declares the LORD, "that since you have carried this out and have not withheld your only unique son,
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor a ruler's staff from between his feet, until the one comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor a ruler's staff from between his feet, until the one comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.
"The LORD your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him,
"The LORD your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him,
"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It won't be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.
It won't be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "Rather, this is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD. "I'll put my Law within them and will write it on their hearts. I'll be their God and they will be my people.
"Rather, this is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD. "I'll put my Law within them and will write it on their hearts. I'll be their God and they will be my people. No longer will a person teach his neighbor or his relative: "Know the LORD.' Instead, they'll all know me, from the least to the greatest of them," declares the LORD. "Indeed, I'll forgive their iniquity, and I'll remember their sin no more."
No longer will a person teach his neighbor or his relative: "Know the LORD.' Instead, they'll all know me, from the least to the greatest of them," declares the LORD. "Indeed, I'll forgive their iniquity, and I'll remember their sin no more."
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn't come to destroy them, but to fulfill them,
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn't come to destroy them, but to fulfill them,
Now the Law crept in so that the offense would increase. But where sin increased, grace increased even more,
Now the Law crept in so that the offense would increase. But where sin increased, grace increased even more,
You are demonstrating that you are the Messiah's letter, produced by our service, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
You are demonstrating that you are the Messiah's letter, produced by our service, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have in God through the Messiah.
Such is the confidence that we have in God through the Messiah. By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God,
By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God, who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, because the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, because the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death that was inscribed in letters of stone came with such glory that the people of Israel could not gaze on Moses' face (because the glory was fading away from it),
Now if the ministry of death that was inscribed in letters of stone came with such glory that the people of Israel could not gaze on Moses' face (because the glory was fading away from it), will not the Spirit's ministry have even more glory?
will not the Spirit's ministry have even more glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, then the ministry of justification has an overwhelming glory.
For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, then the ministry of justification has an overwhelming glory. In fact, that which once had glory lost its glory, because the other glory surpassed it.
In fact, that which once had glory lost its glory, because the other glory surpassed it. For if that which fades away came through glory, how much more does that which is permanent have glory?
For if that which fades away came through glory, how much more does that which is permanent have glory? Therefore, since we have such a hope, we speak very boldly,
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we speak very boldly, not like Moses, who kept covering his face with a veil to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of what was fading away.
not like Moses, who kept covering his face with a veil to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of what was fading away. However, their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil is still there when they read the old covenant. Only in union with the Messiah is that veil removed.
However, their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil is still there when they read the old covenant. Only in union with the Messiah is that veil removed. Yet even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
Yet even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom. As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord's Spirit.
As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord's Spirit.
Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be blessed."
Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be blessed." Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed.
Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed. Certainly all who depend on the actions of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the Book of the Law!"
Certainly all who depend on the actions of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the Book of the Law!" Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the Law, because "The righteous will live by faith."
Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the Law, because "The righteous will live by faith." But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, "The person who keeps the commandments will have life in them."
But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, "The person who keeps the commandments will have life in them." The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!"
The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!" This happened in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the gentiles through the Messiah Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
This happened in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the gentiles through the Messiah Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Brothers, let me use an example from everyday life. Once an agreement has been ratified, no one can cancel it or add conditions to it.
Brothers, let me use an example from everyday life. Once an agreement has been ratified, no one can cancel it or add conditions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn't say "descendants," referring to many, but "your descendant," referring to one person, who is the Messiah.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn't say "descendants," referring to many, but "your descendant," referring to one person, who is the Messiah. This is what I mean: The Law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified.
This is what I mean: The Law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified. For if the inheritance comes about through the Law, it no longer comes about through the promise. But it was through a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham.
For if the inheritance comes about through the Law, it no longer comes about through the promise. But it was through a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham. Why, then, was the Law added? Because of transgressions, until the descendant came about whom the promise pertained. It was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.
Why, then, was the Law added? Because of transgressions, until the descendant came about whom the promise pertained. It was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. Now a mediator involves more than one party, but God is one.
Now a mediator involves more than one party, but God is one. So is the Law in conflict with the promises of God? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could give us life, then certainly righteousness would come through the Law.
So is the Law in conflict with the promises of God? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could give us life, then certainly righteousness would come through the Law. But the Scripture has captured everything by means of sin's net, so that what was promised by the faithfulness of the Messiah might be granted to those who believe.
But the Scripture has captured everything by means of sin's net, so that what was promised by the faithfulness of the Messiah might be granted to those who believe. Now before faith came about, we were held in custody and confined under the Law in preparation for the faith that was to be revealed.
Now before faith came about, we were held in custody and confined under the Law in preparation for the faith that was to be revealed. And so the Law was our guardian until the Messiah came, so that we might be justified by faith.
And so the Law was our guardian until the Messiah came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come about, we are no longer under a guardian.
Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because other men offer the gifts prescribed by the Law.
Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because other men offer the gifts prescribed by the Law. They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain."
They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." However, Jesus has now obtained a more superior ministry, since the covenant he mediates is founded on better promises.
However, Jesus has now obtained a more superior ministry, since the covenant he mediates is founded on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one,
If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one, but God found something wrong with his people when he said, "Look! The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
but God found something wrong with his people when he said, "Look! The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant, I ignored them, declares the Lord.
It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant, I ignored them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Never again will everyone teach his neighbor or his brother by saying, "Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me, from the least important to the most important.
Never again will everyone teach his neighbor or his brother by saying, "Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me, from the least important to the most important. For I will be merciful regarding their wrong deeds, and I will never again remember their sins."
For I will be merciful regarding their wrong deeds, and I will never again remember their sins." In speaking of a "new" covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
In speaking of a "new" covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
For the Law, being only a reflection of the blessings to come and not their substance, can never make perfect those who come near by the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year.
For the Law, being only a reflection of the blessings to come and not their substance, can never make perfect those who come near by the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year. Otherwise, would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins?
Otherwise, would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins? Instead, through those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year,
Instead, through those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. For this reason, the Scriptures say, when the Messiah was about to come into the world: "You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me.
For this reason, the Scriptures say, when the Messiah was about to come into the world: "You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings you never took delight.
In burnt offerings and sin offerings you never took delight. Then I said, "See, I have come to do your will, O God' In the volume of the scroll this is written about me."
Then I said, "See, I have come to do your will, O God' In the volume of the scroll this is written about me." In this passage he says, "You never wanted or took delight in sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings," which are offered according to the Law.
In this passage he says, "You never wanted or took delight in sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings," which are offered according to the Law. Then he says, "See, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
Then he says, "See, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By God's will we have been sanctified once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah.
By God's will we have been sanctified once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah.
The Holy Spirit also assures us of this, for he said: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts and will write them on their minds,
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts and will write them on their minds, and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless deeds."
and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless deeds." Now where there is forgiveness of these sins, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Now where there is forgiveness of these sins, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Hastings
When the name 'Christian' (see preceding art.) had come to be the specific designation of a follower of Jesus Christ, it was inevitable that the word 'Christianity' should sooner or later be used to denote the faith which Christians profess. The word does not occur in the NT, however, and first makes its appearance in the letters of Ignatius early in the 2nd century. But for 1800 years it has been the regular term for the religion which claims Jesus Christ as its founder, and recognizes in His Person and work the sum and substance of its beliefs.
Christianity presents itself to us under two aspects
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"How terrible it will be for me!" I cried, "because I am ruined! I'm a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies!"
She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he is the one who will save his people from their sins."
Then he went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness among the people.
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn't come to destroy them, but to fulfill them,
"You have heard that it was told those who lived long ago, "You are not to commit murder,' and, "Whoever murders will be subject to punishment.'
"You have heard that it was told those who lived long ago, "You are not to commit murder,' and, "Whoever murders will be subject to punishment.'
"You have heard that it was said, "You are not to commit adultery.'
"You have heard that it was said, "You are not to commit adultery.'
"Again, you have heard that it was told those who lived long ago, "You must not swear an oath falsely,' but, "You must fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'
"You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
"You have heard that it was said, "You must love your neighbor' and hate your enemy.
"You have heard that it was said, "You must love your neighbor' and hate your enemy.
"You have heard that it was said, "You must love your neighbor' and hate your enemy.
So be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
So by their fruit you will know them." "Not everyone who keeps saying to me, "Lord, Lord,' will get into the kingdom from heaven, but only the person who keeps doing the will of my Father in heaven.
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, the crowds were utterly amazed at his teaching,
Then Jesus began traveling throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness.
The queen of the south will stand up and condemn the people living today, because she came from so far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look! Something greater than Solomon is here!"
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes others to sin and those who practice lawlessness
I tell you that you are Peter, and it is on this rock that I will build my congregation, and the powers of hell will not conquer it.
If, however, he ignores them, tell it to the congregation. If he also ignores the congregation, regard him as an unbeliever and a tax collector.
They asked him, "Why, then, did Moses order us "to give a certificate of divorce and divorce her'?"
"Teacher, Moses said, "If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for his brother.'
While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them,
Now after John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and proclaimed the gospel about the kingdom of God.
and the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost."
This was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world.
You don't know what you're worshiping. We Jews know what we're worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews.
Jesus told them, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
Later on, Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
You aren't greater than our father Abraham, who died, are you? The prophets also died. Who are you making yourself out to be?"
I'm giving you a new commandment"to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
I'm giving you a new commandment"to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
"Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?" Jesus asked him. "The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, "Show us the Father'?
"Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
"This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you.
"This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you.
I am giving you these commandments so that you may love one another."
"Therefore, let all the people of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!"
Peter answered them, "Every one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.
and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that.
Nevertheless, believers were being added to the Lord in increasing numbers both men and women.
Then the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the gentiles, too,
But among them were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began proclaiming the Lord Jesus even to the Hellenistic Jews.
When he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
"Therefore, brothers, you must understand that through him the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
yet he has not abandoned his witness: he continues to do good, to give you rain from heaven, to give you fruitful seasons, and to fill you with food and your hearts with joy."
Paul also went to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish wife whose husband was a Greek.
he took them outside and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved."
So Paul stood up in front of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way.
so that they might look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. Of course, he is never far from any one of us. For we live, move, and exist because of him, as some of your own poets have said: ""Since we are his children, too.'
For since the creation of the world God's invisible attributes his eternal power and divine nature have been understood and observed by what he made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
They show that what the Law requires is written in their hearts, a fact to which their own consciences testify, and their thoughts will either accuse or excuse them
But God demonstrates his love for us by the fact that the Messiah died for us while we were still sinners.
For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life!
In the same way, even though we are many people, we are one body in the Messiah and individual parts connected to each other.
Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another. For the one who loves another has fulfilled the Law.
Love never does anything that is harmful to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the Law.
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus the Messiah.
for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them. He has committed his message of reconciliation to us.
for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them. He has committed his message of reconciliation to us.
And so the Law was our guardian until the Messiah came, so that we might be justified by faith.
But when the appropriate time had come, God sent his Son, born by a woman, born under the Law, in order to redeem those who were under the Law, and thus to adopt them as his children.
For the whole Law is summarized in a single statement: "You must love your neighbor as yourself."
In union with him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of God's grace
God has put everything under the Messiah's feet and has made him the head of everything for the good of the church,
and that the Messiah would make his home in your hearts through faith. Then, having been rooted and grounded in love,
Instead, by speaking the truth in love, we will grow up completely and become one with the head, that is, one with the Messiah,
For the husband is the head of his wife as the Messiah is the head of the church. It is he who is the Savior of the body.
and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault.
Have the same attitude among yourselves that was also in the Messiah Jesus:
In grace our Savior God appeared, to make his love for mankind clear.
fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He carried me away in the Spirit to a large, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.
Watsons
CHRISTIANITY, the religion of Christians. By Christianity is here meant, not that religious system as it may be understood and set forth in any particular society calling itself Christian; but as it is contained in the sacred books acknowledged by all these societies, or churches, and which contained the only authorized rule of faith and practice.
2. The lofty profession which Christianity makes as a religion, and the promises it holds forth to mankind, entitle it to the most serious consideration of all. For it may in truth be said, that no other religion presents itself under aspects so sublime, or such as are calculated to awaken desires and hopes so enlarged and magnificent. It not only professes to be from God, but to have been taught to men by the Son of God incarnate in our nature, the Second Person in the adorable trinity of divine Persons, "the same in substance, equal in power and glory." It declares that this divine personage is the appointed Redeemer of mankind from sin, death, and misery; that he was announced as such to our first parents upon their lapse from the innocence and blessedness of their primeval state; that he was exhibited to the faith and hope of the patriarchs in express promises; and, by the institution of sacrifices, as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, so that man might be reconciled to God through Him, and restored to his forfeited inheritance of eternal life. It represents all former dispensations of true religion, all revelations of God's will, and all promises of grace from God to man, as emanating from the anticipated sacrifice and sacerdotal intercession of its Author, and as all preparatory to the introduction of his perfect religion; and that as to the great political movements among the nations of antiquity, the rise and fall of empires were all either remotely or proximately connected with the designs of his advent among men. It professes to have completed the former revelations of God's will and purposes; to have accomplished ancient prophecies; fulfilled ancient types; and taken up the glory of the Mosaic religion into its own "glory that excelleth;" and to contain within itself a perfect system of faith, morals, and acceptable worship. It not only exhibits so effectual a sacrifice for sin, that remission of all offences against God flows from its merits to all who heartily confide in it; but it proclaims itself to be a remedy for all the moral disorders of our fallen nature; it casts out every vice, implants every virtue, and restores man to "the image of God in which he was created," even to "righteousness and true holiness."
3. Its promises both to individuals and to society are of the largest kind. It represents its Founder as now exercising the office of the High Priest of the human race before God, and as having sat down at his right hand, a mediatorial and reconciling government being committed to him, until he shall come to judge all nations, and distribute the rewards of eternity to his followers, and inflict its never-terminating punishments upon those who reject him. By virtue of this constitution of things, it promises pardon to the guilty, of every age and country, who seek it in penitence and prayer, comfort to the afflicted and troubled, victory over the fear of death, a happy intermediate state to the disembodied spirit, and finally the resurrection of the body from the dead, and honour and immortality to be conferred upon the whole man glorified in the immediate presence of God. It holds out the loftiest hopes also to the world at large. It promises to introduce harmony among families and nations, to terminate all wars and all oppressions, and ultimately to fill the world with truth, order, and purity. It represents the present and past state of society, as in contest with its own principles of justice, mercy, and truth; but teaches the final triumph of the latter over every thing contrary to itself. It exhibits the ambition, the policy, and the restlessness of statesmen and warriors, as but the overruled instruments by which it is working out its own purposes of wisdom and benevolence; and it not only defies the proudest array of human power, but professes to subordinate it by a secret and irresistible working to its own designs. Finally, it exhibits itself as enlarging its plans, and completing its designs, by moral suasion, the evidence of its truth, and the secret divine influence which accompanies it. Such are the professions and promises of Christianity, a religion which enters into no compromise with other systems; which represents itself as the only religion now in the world having God for its author; and in his name, and by the hope of his mercy, and the terrors of his frown, it commands the obedience of faith to all people to whom it is published upon the solemn sanction, "He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned."
4. Corresponding with these professions, which throw every other religion that pretends to offer hope to man into utter insignificance, it is allowed that the evidence of its truth ought to be adequate to sustain the weight of so vast a fabric, and that men have a right to know that they are not deluded with a grand and impressive theory, but are receiving from this professed system of truth and salvation "the true sayings of God." Such evidence it has afforded in its splendid train of MIRACLES; in its numerous appeals to the fulfilment of ancient PROPHECIES; in its own powerful INTERNAL evidence; in the INFLUENCE which it has always exercised, and continues to exert, upon the happiness of mankind; and in various collateral circumstances. Under the heads of Miracles and Prophecy, those important branches of evidence will be discussed, and to them the reader is referred. It is only necessary here to say, that the miracles to which Christianity appeals as proofs of its divine authority, are not only those which were wrought by Christ and his Apostles, but also those which took place among the patriarchs, under the law of Moses, and by the ministry of the Prophets; for the religion of those ancient times was but Christianity in its antecedent revelations. All these miracles, therefore, must be taken collectively, and present attestations of the loftiest kind, as being manifestly the work of the "finger of God," wrought under circumstances which precluded mistake, and exhibiting an immense variety, from the staying of the very wheels of the planetary system,
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So those who welcomed his message were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added to their number.
But many of those who heard their message believed, and the men grew to number about 5,000.
So the word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Now Saul heartily approved of putting Stephen to death. That day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except for the apostles was scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.
Meanwhile, still spewing death threats against the Lord's disciples, Saul went to the high priest.
He immediately started to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "This is the Son of God."
About that time, Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church and mistreated them.
When they heard about it, they praised God and told him, "You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are zealous for the Law.