Luke 9:51-56 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,… Christ came into the world both as Destroyer and Saviour. He came to "destroy the works of the devil." He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. He came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. The preservation of human life was characteristic of our Lord's public ministry. And Christianity in its very nature is a life-saving religion. Consider three or four of the great destructive agencies at work in the world, and the way in which Christianity opposes itself to them in principle, and practically proves itself victorious over them. I. WAR. The late Dr. Dick calculated, in 1847, that from the earliest period down to that year 14,000,000,000 of human beings had fallen in battle. Christianity condemns war and inculcates peace. II. SLAVERY. Here we have another great scourge of human life. Christianity sets its face against this monstrous iniquity. True that Christ and His apostles did not in a direct manner attempt to abolish it. Nevertheless, I affirm that Christianity is opposed to slavery, and will prove its death. Jesus Christ came to liberate the captive. III. HEATHEN IDOLATRY and its human sacrifices. IV. INTEMPERANCE. Sixty thousand deaths annually result from the use of intoxicating liquors. Christianity condemns intemperance. Sobriety is enjoined as a Christian virtue. (W. Walters.) Parallel Verses KJV: And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, |
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