37
The Purposes of the Incarnation.
II. \To Take Away Sins.
“Ye know that he was manifested to take away sins; and nn him is no sin” (I. John 3^5). In this text we get nearer to an Understanding of the pur pose of the Incarnation as it touches our human need. The simple and all-inclusive theme which it suggests is, first, that the purpose of the Incarnation was the taking away of sins; and secondly, that the process of accomplishment is that of the Incarnation.' THE PURPOSE. First, then, we will take the purpose as declared, He was manifested to take away sins”. In order to understand this, we must take the terms in all their simplicity, and be very care ful to find what they really mean. What is intended by this word “sins” ? The sum total of all lawless acts. The thought is incomprehensible as to numbers when we think of the race, but let us remember that in the midst of that which over whelms us in our thinking are our own actual sins. “Sins”_missings of the mark, whether wilful missings, or missings through ignorance, does not at present matter. The word includes all those thoughts and words and deeds in which we have missed the mark of the Divine purpose and the Divine ideal; those things which stand between man and God, so that man becomes afraid of God; those things which stand between man and his fellowmen, so that man becomes afraid of his fel- lowman, knowing that he has wronged him in some direction; those things which stand between man and his own success. Call them failures if you will; call them by any name you please; so that you understand the intention of the word. The phrase “to take away” is a statement of result, not a declaration of process. The Hebrew equivalent of the word “take away” is found in that familiar story of the scapegoat. It was provided that this animal should be driven away to the wilderness “unto a solitary land”. This suggested that sins
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog