first man tells the fact as he saw it: 'A Jewish rebel was crucified
this morning.' The second man tells the fact: 'A blaspheming apostate
suffered what he deserved to-day.' The woman tells the fact: 'A poor,
gentle, fair soul was martyred to-day.' And the fourth one tells the
fact: 'Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins.' The three
tell the same fact; the fourth preaches the Gospel--that is to say,
Christian teaching is the facts plus their explanation; and it is
that which differentiates it from the mere record which is of no
avail to anybody. So Paul himself in one of his other letters puts
it. This is his gospel: Jesus of Nazareth 'died for _our_ sins
according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and rose again the
third day, according to the Scriptures.' That is what turns the bald
story of the facts into teaching, which is the mould for life.

So on the one hand, dear brethren, do not let us fall into the
superficial error of fancying that our religion is a religion of
emotion and morality only. It is a religion with a basis of divine
truth, which, being struck away, all the rest goes. There is a revolt
against dogma to-day, a revolt which in large measure is justified as
an essential of progress, and in large measure as an instance of
progress; but human nature is ever prone to extremes, and in the
revolt from man's dogma there is danger of casting away God's truth.
Christianity is not preserved when we hold by the bare facts of the
outward history, unless we take with these facts the interpretation
of them, which declares the divinity and the sacrifice of the Son of
God.

And on the other hand, let us keep very clear in our minds the broad
and impassable gulf of separation between the Christian teaching as
embodied in the Scripture and the systems which Christianity has