Chapter Twenty
Seven
Modern Revivals
Wherever the word of God has been faithfully
preached, results have followed that attested its divine
origin. The Spirit of God accompanied the message of His
servants, and the word was with power. Sinners felt their
consciences quickened. The “light which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world” illumined the secret chambers
of their souls, and the hidden things of darkness were made
manifest. Deep conviction took hold upon their minds and
hearts. They were convinced of sin and of righteousness and
of judgment to come. They had a sense of the righteousness
of Jehovah and felt the terror of appearing, in their guilt and
uncleanness, before the Searcher of hearts. In anguish they
cried out: “Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?” As the cross of Calvary, with its infinite sacrifice for
the sins of men, was revealed, they saw that nothing but the
merits of Christ could suffice to atone for their transgressions;
this alone could reconcile man to God. With faith and
humility they accepted the Lamb of God, that taketh away the
sin of the world. Through the blood of Jesus they had
"remission of sins that are past.”
These souls brought forth fruit meet for repentance. They
believed and were baptized, and rose to walk in newness of
life—new creatures in Christ Jesus; not to fashion themselves
according to the former lusts, but by the faith of the Son of
God to follow in His steps, to reflect His character, and to
purify themselves even as He is pure. The things they once
hated they now loved, and the things they once loved they
hated. The proud and self-assertive became meek and lowly
of heart. The vain and supercilious became serious and
unobtrusive. The profane became reverent, the drunken sober,
and the profligate pure. The vain fashions of the world were
laid aside. Christians sought not the “outward adorning of
plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of
apparel; but . . . the hidden man of the heart, in that which
is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet
spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”
1 Peter 3:3, 4.
Revivals brought deep heart-searching and humility. They
were characterized by solemn, earnest appeals to the sinner,
by yearning compassion for the purchase of the blood of
Christ. Men and women prayed and wrestled with God for
the salvation of souls. The fruits of such revivals were seen
in souls who shrank not at self-denial and sacrifice, but
rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer reproach and
trial for the sake of Christ. Men beheld a transformation in
the lives of those who had professed the name of Jesus. The
community was benefited by their influence. They gathered
with Christ, and sowed to the Spirit, to reap life everlasting.
It could be said of them: “Ye sorrowed to repentance.”
"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be
repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For
behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly
sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing
of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what
vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all
things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
2 Corinthians 7:9-11.
This is the result of the work of the Spirit of God. There
is no evidence of genuine repentance unless it works reformation.
If he restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed,
confess his sins, and love God and his fellow men, the sinner
may be sure that he has found peace with God. Such were
the effects that in former years followed seasons of religious
awakening. Judged by their fruits, they were known to be
blessed of God in the salvation of men and the uplifting of
humanity.
But many of the revivals of modern times have presented
a marked contrast to those manifestations of divine grace
which in earlier days followed the labors of God’s servants.
It is true that a widespread interest is kindled, many profess
conversion, and there are large accessions to the churches;
nevertheless the results are not such as to warrant the belief
that there has been a corresponding increase of real spiritual
life. The light which flames up for a time soon dies out,
leaving the darkness more dense than before.
Popular revivals are too often carried by appeals to the
imagination, by exciting the emotions, by gratifying the love
for what is new and startling. Converts thus gained have
little desire to listen to Bible truth, little interest in the
testimony of prophets and apostles. Unless a religious service has
something of a sensational character, it has no attractions for
them. A message which appeals to unimpassioned reason
awakens no response. The plain warnings of God’s word,
relating directly to their eternal interests, are unheeded.
With every truly converted soul the relation to God and to
eternal things will be the great topic of life. But where, in the
popular churches of today, is the spirit of consecration to
God? The converts do not renounce their pride and love of
the world. They are no more willing to deny self, to take up
the cross, and follow the meek and lowly Jesus, than before
their conversion. Religion has become the sport of infidels
and skeptics because so many who bear its name are ignorant
of its principles. The power of godliness has well-nigh
departed from many of the churches. Picnics, church theatricals,
church fairs, fine houses, personal display, have banished
thoughts of God. Lands and goods and worldly occupations
engross the mind, and things of eternal interest receive
hardly a passing notice.
Notwithstanding the widespread declension of faith and
piety, there are true followers of Christ in these churches.
Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth
there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of
primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic
times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon
His children. At that time many will separate themselves
from those churches in which the love of this world has
supplanted love for God and His word. Many, both of
ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths
which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to
prepare a people for the Lord’s second coming. The enemy of
souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for
such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it
by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can
bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that
God’s special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest
what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will
exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the
work is that of another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan
will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world.
In many of the revivals which have occurred during the
last half century, the same influences have been at work, to
a greater or less degree, that will be manifest in the more
extensive movements of the future. There is an emotional
excitement, a mingling of the true with the false, that is well
adapted to mislead. Yet none need be deceived. In the light
of God’s word it is not difficult to determine the nature of
these movements. Wherever men neglect the testimony of
the Bible, turning away from those plain, soul-testing truths
which require self-denial and renunciation of the world,
there we may be sure that God’s blessing is not bestowed.
And by the rule which Christ Himself has given, “Ye shall
know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), it is evident that
these movements are not the work of the Spirit of God.
In the truths of His word, God has given to men a revelation
of Himself; and to all who accept them they are a shield
against the deceptions of Satan. It is a neglect of these truths
that has opened the door to the evils which are now becoming
so widespread in the religious world. The nature and
the importance of the law of God have been, to a great
extent, lost sight of. A wrong conception of the character,
the perpetuity, and the obligation of the divine law has led
to errors in relation to conversion and sanctification, and has
resulted in lowering the standard of piety in the church.
Here is to be found the secret of the lack of the Spirit and
power of God in the revivals of our time.
There are, in the various denominations, men eminent for
their piety, by whom this fact is acknowledged and deplored.
Professor Edwards A. Park, in setting forth the current
religious perils, ably says: “One source of danger is the neglect
of the pulpit to enforce the divine law. In former days the
pulpit was an echo of the voice of conscience. . . . Our most
illustrious preachers gave a wonderful majesty to their
discourses by following the example of the Master, and giving
prominence to the law, its precepts, and its threatenings.
They repeated the two great maxims, that the law is a
transcript of the divine perfections, and that a man who does
not love the law does not love the gospel; for the law, as well
as the gospel, is a mirror reflecting the true character of God.
This peril leads to another, that of underrating the evil of
sin, the extent of it, the demerit of it. In proportion to the
rightfulness of the commandment is the wrongfulness of
disobeying it. . . .
“Affiliated to the dangers already named is the danger of
underestimating the justice of God. The tendency of the
modern pulpit is to strain out the divine justice from the
divine benevolence, to sink benevolence into a sentiment rather
than exalt it into a principle. The new theological prism puts
asunder what God has joined together. Is the divine law a
good or an evil? It is a good. Then justice is good; for it is a
disposition to execute the law. From the habit of underrating
the divine law and justice, the extent and demerit of human
disobedience, men easily slide into the habit of underestimating
the grace which has provided an atonement for sin.”
Thus the gospel loses its value and importance in the minds
of men, and soon they are ready practically to cast aside the
Bible itself.
Many religious teachers assert that Christ by His death
abolished the law, and men are henceforth free from its
requirements. There are some who represent it as a grievous
yoke, and in contrast to the bondage of the law they present
the liberty to be enjoyed under the gospel.
But not so did prophets and apostles regard the holy law
of God. Said David: “I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy
precepts.”
Psalm 119:45. The apostle James, who wrote after
the death of Christ, refers to the Decalogue as “the royal
law” and “the perfect law of liberty.”
James 2:8;
1:25. And
the revelator, half a century after the crucifixion, pronounces
a blessing upon them “that do His commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through
the gates into the city.”
Revelation 22:14.
The claim that Christ by His death abolished His Father’s
law is without foundation. Had it been possible for the law
to be changed or set aside, then Christ need not have died to
save man from the penalty of sin. The death of Christ, so far
from abolishing the law, proves that it is immutable. The Son
of God came to “magnify the law, and make it honorable.”
Isaiah 42:21. He said: “Think not that I am come to destroy
the law;” “till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law.”
Matthew 5:17, 18. And
concerning Himself He declares: “I delight to do Thy will, O
my God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.”
Psalm 40:8.
The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It
is a revelation of the will and the character of its Author.
God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are
love to God and love to man. “Love is the fulfilling of the
law.”
Romans 13:10. The character of God is righteousness
and truth; such is the nature of His law. Says the psalmist:
"Thy law is the truth:” “all Thy commandments are righteousness.”
Psalm 119:142,
172. And the apostle Paul declares:
"The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good.”
Romans 7:12. Such a law, being an expression of the
mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author.
It is the work of conversion and sanctification to reconcile
men to God by bringing them into accord with the principles
of His law. In the beginning, man was created in the image
of God. He was in perfect harmony with the nature and the
law of God; the principles of righteousness were written
upon his heart. But sin alienated him from his Maker. He
no longer reflected the divine image. His heart was at war
with the principles of God’s law. “The carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be.”
Romans 8:7. But “God so loved the
world, that He gave His only-begotten Son,” that man might
be reconciled to God. Through the merits of Christ he can
be restored to harmony with his Maker. His heart must be
renewed by divine grace; he must have a new life from
above. This change is the new birth, without which, says
Jesus, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The first step in reconciliation to God is the conviction of
sin. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” By the law is the
knowledge of sin.”
1 John 3:4;
Romans 3:20. In order to see
his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great
standard of righteousness. It is a mirror which shows the
perfection of a righteous character and enables him to discern
the defects in his own.
The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy.
While it promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is
the portion of the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone
can free him from the condemnation or the defilement of sin.
He must exercise repentance toward God, whose law has
been transgressed; and faith in Christ, his atoning sacrifice.
Thus he obtains “remission of sins that are past” and becomes
a partaker of the divine nature. He is a child of God, having
received the spirit of adoption, whereby he cries: “Abba,
Father!”
Is he now free to transgress God’s law? Says Paul: “Do
we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea,
we establish the law.” “How shall we, that are dead to sin,
live any longer therein?” And John declares: “This is the
love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His
commandments are not grievous.”
Romans 3:31;
6:2;
1 John 5:3.
In the new birth the heart is brought into harmony with
God, as it is brought into accord with His law. When this
mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed
from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression
and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The old life of
alienation from God has ended; the new life of reconciliation,
of faith and love, has begun. Then “the righteousness
of the law” will “be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:4. And the language
of the soul will be: “O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation
all the day.”
Psalm 119:97.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”
Psalm 19:7. Without the law, men have no just conception
of the purity and holiness of God or of their own guilt and
uncleanness. They have no true conviction of sin and feel
no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition as
violators of God’s law, they do not realize their need of the
atoning blood of Christ. The hope of salvation is accepted
without a radical change of heart or reformation of life.
Thus superficial conversions abound, and multitudes are
joined to the church who have never been united to Christ.
Erroneous theories of sanctification, also, springing from
neglect or rejection of the divine law, have a prominent place
in the religious movements of the day. These theories are
both false in doctrine and dangerous in practical results; and
the fact that they are so generally finding favor, renders it
doubly essential that all have a clear understanding of what
the Scriptures teach upon this point.
True sanctification is a Bible doctrine. The apostle Paul,
in his letter to the Thessalonian church, declares: “This is the
will of God, even your sanctification.” And he prays: “The
very God of peace sanctify you wholly.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3;
5:23. The Bible clearly teaches what sanctification is and how
it is to be attained. The Saviour prayed for His disciples:
"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”
John
17:17. And Paul teaches that believers are to be “sanctified
by the Holy Ghost.”
Romans 15:16. What is the work of the
Holy Spirit? Jesus told His disciples: “When He, the Spirit
of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.”
John
16:13. And the psalmist says: “Thy law is the truth.” By
the word and the Spirit of God are opened to men the great
principles of righteousness embodied in His law. And since
the law of God is “holy, and just, and good,” a transcript of
the divine perfection, it follows that a character formed by
obedience to that law will be holy. Christ is a perfect example
of such a character. He says: “I have kept My Father’s
commandments.” “I do always those things that please Him.”
John 15:10;
8:29. The followers of Christ are to become like
Him—by the grace of God to form characters in harmony
with the principles of His holy law. This is Bible sanctification.
This work can be accomplished only through faith in
Christ, by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. Paul
admonishes believers: “Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12, 13.
The Christian will feel the promptings of sin, but he will
maintain a constant warfare against it. Here is where Christ’s
help is needed. Human weakness becomes united to divine
strength, and faith exclaims: “Thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57.
The Scriptures plainly show that the work of sanctification
is progressive. When in conversion the sinner finds peace
with God through the blood of the atonement, the Christian
life has but just begun. Now he is to “go on unto perfection;”
to grow up “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ.” Says the apostle Paul: “This one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians
3:13, 14. And Peter sets before us the steps by which
Bible sanctification is to be attained: “Giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to
knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and
to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness charity. . . . If ye do these things,
ye shall never fall.”
2 Peter 1:5-10.
Those who experience the sanctification of the Bible will
manifest a spirit of humility. Like Moses, they have had a
view of the awful majesty of holiness, and they see their own
unworthiness in contrast with the purity and exalted
perfection of the Infinite One.
The prophet Daniel was an example of true sanctification.
His long life was filled up with noble service for his Master.
He was a man “greatly beloved” (Daniel 10:11) of
Heaven. Yet instead of claiming to be pure and holy, this
honored prophet identified himself with the really sinful of
Israel as he pleaded before God in behalf of his people: “We
do not present our supplications before Thee for our
righteousness, but for Thy great mercies.” “We have sinned, we
have done wickedly.” He declares: “I was speaking, and
praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people.”
And when at a later time the Son of God appeared, to give
him instruction, Daniel says: “My comeliness was turned in
me into corruption, and I retained no strength.”
Daniel 9:18, 15, 20;
10:8.
When Job heard the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind,
he exclaimed: “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and
ashes.”
Job 42:6. It was when Isaiah saw the glory of the
Lord, and heard the cherubim crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is
the Lord of hosts,” that he cried out, “Woe is me! for I am
undone.”
Isaiah 6:3, 5. Paul, after he was caught up into the
third heaven and heard things which it was not possible for
a man to utter, speaks of himself as “less than the least of all
saints.”
2 Corinthians 12:2-4, margin;
Ephesians 3:8. It was
the beloved John, who leaned on Jesus’ breast and beheld
His glory, that fell as one dead before the feet of the angel.
Revelation 1:17.
There can be no self-exaltation, no boastful claim to freedom
from sin, on the part of those who walk in the shadow
of Calvary’s cross. They feel that it was their sin which caused
the agony that broke the heart of the Son of God, and this
thought will lead them to self-abasement. Those who live
nearest to Jesus discern most clearly the frailty and sinfulness
of humanity, and their only hope is in the merit of a crucified
and risen Saviour.
The sanctification now gaining prominence in the
religious world carries with it a spirit of self-exaltation and a
disregard for the law of God that mark it as foreign to the
religion of the Bible. Its advocates teach that sanctification is
an instantaneous work, by which, through faith alone, they
attain to perfect holiness. “Only believe,” say they, “and the
blessing is yours.” No further effort on the part of the
receiver is supposed to be required. At the same time they deny
the authority of the law of God, urging that they are released
from obligation to keep the commandments. But is it possible
for men to be holy, in accord with the will and character
of God, without coming into harmony with the principles
which are an expression of His nature and will, and which
show what is well pleasing to Him?
The desire for an easy religion that requires no striving, no
self-denial, no divorce from the follies of the world, has made
the doctrine of faith, and faith only, a popular doctrine; but
what saith the word of God? Says the apostle James: “What
doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith,
and have not works? can faith save him? . . . Wilt thou
know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was
not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had
offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith
wrought with his works, and by works was faith made
perfect? . . . Ye see then how that by works a man is justified,
and not by faith only.”
James 2:14-24.
The testimony of the word of God is against this
ensnaring doctrine of faith without works. It is not faith that
claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the
conditions upon which mercy is to be granted, it is presumption;
for genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and
provisions of the Scriptures.
Let none deceive themselves with the belief that they can
become holy while willfully violating one of God’s requirements.
The commission of a known sin silences the witnessing
voice of the Spirit and separates the soul from God. “Sin
is the transgression of the law.” And “whosoever sinneth
[transgresseth the law] hath not seen Him, neither known
Him.”
1 John 3:6. Though John in his epistles dwells so
fully upon love, yet he does not hesitate to reveal the true
character of that class who claim to be sanctified while living
in transgression of the law of God. “He that saith, I know
Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him
verily is the love of God perfected.”
1 John 2:4, 5. Here is
the test of every man’s profession. We cannot accord holiness
to any man without bringing him to the measurement of
God’s only standard of holiness in heaven and in earth. If
men feel no weight of the moral law, if they belittle and
make light of God’s precepts, if they break one of the least of
these commandments, and teach men so, they shall be of no
esteem in the sight of Heaven, and we may know that their
claims are without foundation.
And the claim to be without sin is, in itself, evidence that
he who makes this claim is far from holy. It is because he has
no true conception of the infinite purity and holiness of God
or of what they must become who shall be in harmony with
His character; because he has no true conception of the purity
and exalted loveliness of Jesus, and the malignity and evil
of sin, that man can regard himself as holy. The greater
the distance between himself and Christ, and the more
inadequate his conceptions of the divine character and requirements,
the more righteous he appears in his own eyes.
The sanctification set forth in the Scriptures embraces the
entire being—spirit, soul, and body. Paul prayed for the
Thessalonians that their “whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23. Again he writes to believers:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God.”
Romans 12:1. In the time of ancient Israel every
offering brought as a sacrifice to God was carefully examined.
If any defect was discovered in the animal presented, it
was refused; for God had commanded that the offering be
"without blemish.” So Christians are bidden to present their
bodies, “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” In
order to do this, all their powers must be preserved in the best
possible condition. Every practice that weakens physical or
mental strength unfits man for the service of his Creator.
And will God be pleased with anything less than the best we
can offer? Said Christ: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart.” Those who do love God with all the
heart will desire to give Him the best service of their life, and
they will be constantly seeking to bring every power of their
being into harmony with the laws that will promote their
ability to do His will. They will not, by the indulgence of
appetite or passion, enfeeble or defile the offering which they
present to their heavenly Father.
Peter says: “Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against
the soul.”
1 Peter 2:11. Every sinful gratification tends to
benumb the faculties and deaden the mental and spiritual
perceptions, and the word or the Spirit of God can make
but a feeble impression upon the heart. Paul writes to the
Corinthians: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1. And with the fruits of the Spirit—"love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness” —he classes “temperance.”
Galatians 5:22, 23.
Notwithstanding these inspired declarations, how many
professed Christians are enfeebling their powers in the
pursuit of gain or the worship of fashion; how many are debasing
their godlike manhood by gluttony, by wine drinking, by
forbidden pleasure. And the church, instead of rebuking, too
often encourages the evil by appealing to appetite, to desire
for gain or love of pleasure, to replenish her treasury, which
love for Christ is too feeble to supply. Were Jesus to enter
the churches of today and behold the feasting and unholy
traffic there conducted in the name of religion, would He
not drive out those desecrators, as He banished the
money-changers from the temple?
The apostle James declares that the wisdom from above is
"first pure.” Had he encountered those who take the precious
name of Jesus upon lips defiled by tobacco, those whose
breath and person are contaminated by its foul odor, and
who pollute the air of heaven and force all about them to
inhale the poison—had the apostle come in contact with a
practice so opposed to the purity of the gospel, would he not
have denounced it as “earthly, sensual, devilish"? Slaves of
tobacco, claiming the blessing of entire sanctification, talk of
their hope of heaven; but God’s word plainly declares that
"there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth.”
Revelation 21:27.
“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own? for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. He whose body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit will not be enslaved by a pernicious habit. His powers
belong to Christ, who has bought him with the price of
blood. His property is the Lord’s. How could he be guiltless
in squandering this entrusted capital? Professed Christians
yearly expend an immense sum upon useless and pernicious
indulgences, while souls are perishing for the word of life.
God is robbed in tithes and offerings, while they consume
upon the altar of destroying lust more than they give to
relieve the poor or for the support of the gospel. If all who
profess to be followers of Christ were truly sanctified, their
means, instead of being spent for needless and even hurtful
indulgences, would be turned into the Lord’s treasury,
and Christians would set an example of temperance,
self-denial, and self-sacrifice. Then they would be the light of
the world.
The world is given up to self-indulgence. “The lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” control
the masses of the people. But Christ’s followers have a holier
calling. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean.” In the light of
God’s word we are justified in declaring that sanctification
cannot be genuine which does not work this utter
renunciation of the sinful pursuits and gratifications of the world.
To those who comply with the conditions, “Come out
from among them, and be ye separate, . . . and touch not
the unclean,” God’s promise is, “I will receive you, and will
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:17, 18. It is the
privilege and the duty of every Christian to have a rich and
abundant experience in the things of God. “I am the light of
the world,” said Jesus. “He that followeth Me shall not walk
in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
John 8:12. “The
path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and
more unto the perfect day.”
Proverbs 4:18. Every step of
faith and obedience brings the soul into closer connection
with the Light of the world, in whom there “is no darkness
at all.” The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine
upon the servants of God, and they are to reflect His rays.
As the stars tell us that there is a great light in heaven with
whose glory they are made bright, so Christians are to make
it manifest that there is a God on the throne of the universe
whose character is worthy of praise and imitation. The graces
of His Spirit, the purity and holiness of His character, will be
manifest in His witnesses.
Paul in his letter to the Colossians sets forth the rich blessings
granted to the children of God. He says: We “do not
cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled
with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing
in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might,
according to His glorious power, unto all patience and
long-suffering with joyfulness.”
Colossians 1:9-11.
Again he writes of his desire that the brethren at Ephesus
might come to understand the height of the Christian’s privilege.
He opens before them, in the most comprehensive
language, the marvelous power and knowledge that they might
possess as sons and daughters of the Most High. It was theirs
"to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner
man,” to be “rooted and grounded in love,” to “comprehend
with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth,
and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge.” But the prayer of the apostle reaches the climax
of privilege when he prays that “ye might be filled with all
the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:16-19.
Here are revealed the heights of attainment that we may
reach through faith in the promises of our heavenly Father,
when we fulfill His requirements. Through the merits of
Christ we have access to the throne of Infinite Power. “He
that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
Romans 8:32. The Father gave His Spirit without measure
to His Son, and we also may partake of its fullness. Jesus says,
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”
Luke 11:13. “If ye
shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” “Ask, and ye
shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
John 14:14,
16:24.
While the Christian’s life will be characterized by
humility, it should not be marked with sadness and self-depreciation.
It is the privilege of everyone so to live that God will
approve and bless him. It is not the will of our heavenly
Father that we should be ever under condemnation and
darkness. There is no evidence of true humility in going with
the head bowed down and the heart filled with thoughts of
self. We may go to Jesus and be cleansed, and stand before
the law without shame and remorse. “There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1.
Through Jesus the fallen sons of Adam become “sons of
God.” “Both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified
are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them
brethren.”
Hebrews 2:11. The Christian’s life should be one
of faith, of victory, and joy in God. “Whatsoever is born of
God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith.”
1 John 5:4. Truly spoke
God’s servant Nehemiah: “The joy of the Lord is your
strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10. And Paul says: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” “Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Philippians 4:4;
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Such are the fruits of Bible conversion and sanctification;
and it is because the great principles of righteousness set
forth in the law of God are so indifferently regarded by the
Christian world that these fruits are so rarely witnessed. This
is why there is manifest so little of that deep, abiding work
of the Spirit of God which marked revivals in former years.
It is by beholding that we become changed. And as those
sacred precepts in which God has opened to men the perfection
and holiness of His character are neglected, and the
minds of the people are attracted to human teachings and
theories, what marvel that there has followed a decline of living
piety in the church. Saith the Lord: “They have forsaken
Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out
cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
Jeremiah 2:13.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly. . . . But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and
in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and
whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Psalm 1:1-3. It is only
as the law of God is restored to its rightful position that there
can be a revival of primitive faith and godliness among His
professed people. “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways,
and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah 6:16.
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