chapter 2 part 2 of the hope of the gospel this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by jordan the hope of the gospel by george mcdonald chapter 2 the remission of sins part 2

we shall now perhaps be able to understand the relation of the lord himself to the baptism of john he came to john to be baptized and most would say john's baptism was of repentance for the remission or pardon of sins but the lord could not be baptized for the remission of sins for he had never done a selfish and untrue or an unfair thing he had never wronged his father any more than ever his father had wronged him happy happy son and father who had never either done the other wrong in thought word or deed as little had he wronged brother or sister he needed no forgiveness there was nothing to forgive no more could he be baptized for repentance in him repentance would have been to turn to evil where then was the propriety of his coming to be baptized by john and insisting on being by him baptized it must lie elsewhere if we take the words of john to mean the baptism of repentance unto the sending away of sins and if we bear in mind that in his case repentance could not be in as much as what repentance is necessary to bring about in man was already existent in jesus then altering the words to fit the case and saying the baptism of willed devotion to the sending away of sin we shall see at once how the baptism of jesus was a thing right and fit that he had no sin to repent of was not because he was so constituted that he could not sin if he would it was because of his own will and judgment he sent sin away from him sent it from him with the full choice and energy of his nature god knows good and evil and blessed be his name chooses good never will his righteous anger make him unfair to us make him forget that we are dust like him his son also chose good and in that choice resisted all temptation to help his fellows otherwise than as their and his father would instead of crushing the power of evil by divine force instead of compelling justice and destroying the wicked instead of making peace on the earth by the rule of a perfect prince instead of gathering the children of jerusalem under his wings whether they would or not and saving them from the horrors that anguished his prophetic soul he let evil work its will while it lived he contented himself with the slow unencouraging ways of help essential making men good casting out not merely controlling satan carrying to their perfect issue on earth the old primeval principles because of which the father honored him thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity therefore god even thy god hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows

to love righteousness is to make it grow not to avenge it and to win for righteousness the true victory he as well as his brethren had to send away evil throughout his life on earth he resisted every impulse to work more rapidly for a lower good strong perhaps when he saw old age and innocence and righteousness trodden underfoot what but this gives any worth of reality to the temptation in the wilderness to the devils departing from him for a season to his coming again to experience a like failure ever and ever in the whole attitude of his being in his heart always lifted up in his unfailing readiness to pull with the father's yoke he was repelling driving away sin away from himself and as lord of men and their savior away from others also bringing them to abdurat like himself no man least of all any lord of men can be good without willing to be good without setting himself against evil without sending away sin other men have to send it away out of them the lord had to send it away from before him that it should not enter into him therefore is the stand against sin common to the captain of salvation and the soldiers under him what did jesus come into the world to do the will of god in saving his people from their sins not...