^^^Hi 
 
 ^^^H^H;=:n 
 
 onlttitt 
 
 
 
 i II 
 
 ITS RELATIO 
 
 TO THE 
 
 DEVOTIONAL LIFE 
 
tihvaxy of t:he trheolo^icd ^tmimvy 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Rufus H. LeFevre 
 
 BX'?S7S 
 .5.S73 
 
Contiuct; It0 3ReIatton 
 to tl)e Bebotional Site 
 
%\ft SDelJOtional ^txit& 
 
 The Christian's Power . . . F. P. Rosselot 
 
 Bible Study and Devotion . H. A. Thompson 
 
 Prayer, a Means of Spiritual Growth . . 
 
 N. E. Cornetet 
 
 Selections from Devotional Writings of 
 
 Madame Guyon . . . . D. D. Lotuery 
 
 Love As a Motive M. B. Spayd 
 
 Sorrow; Its Worth, Its Cure . J. A. Haivkins 
 
 Bible Doctrine of Devotion . E. S. Boivman 
 
 Christ Our Devotional Example . ff. J. Zuck 
 
 The Holy Spirit in the Devout Life . . 
 
 /. L. Kephart 
 
 Conduct; Its Relation to the Devotional 
 
 Life J. T. SpangUr 
 
 Each i6mo. Cloth Fifty Cents 
 
 Vf. R. Funk. Jittnt DAYTOM. OHIO 
 
"^^ JUN 11 1952 - 
 
 Cont>utt;3ts3K^mtton 
 to tfje Bebotional Etfe 
 
 BY 
 
 J. T. SPANGLER, A.M. 
 
 Professor of the Greek Language and Literature 
 in Lebanon Valley College 
 
 I 
 
 UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE 
 
 W. R. FUNK, jtfnt DAYTON, OHIO 
 
Copyright, 190U, hy 
 United Brethren 
 JPi*blithinff Hotue 
 Dayton Ohio 
 
ConttnW 
 
 Content0 
 
 I COXDTJCT AND THE DEVOTIONAL LiFB 
 
 II The Kingdom 
 
 III The Nature of the Kingdom 
 
 IV The ETHicAii Nature of the Kingdom 
 V The Type 
 
 VI The Conduct of the Type 
 
 VII The Christian Citizen 
 
 VIII The Conduct of the Christian Citizen 
 
 IX Conduct as Dttty to Self 
 
 X Conduct as Duty to Others, to Society, to 
 
 God 
 
 XI Christian Character 
 
 XII The Devotional Life 
 
 XIII The Relation of Conduct to thb Devotional 
 
 Life 
 
 XIV Final Word 
 
 3-1 
 
CONDUCT; ITS RELA- 
 TION TO THE DE- 
 VOTIONAL LIFE 
 
 I 
 
 ConDuct anD tbt Devotional life 
 
 "Conduct is the voluntary direction 
 of the powers and faculties to appro- 
 priate ends in morals and religion." It 
 is the life directed to the good as an 
 ultimate, in conformity with the eth- 
 ical ideal. "Its task is to fulfill the 
 moral law, to actualize the ethical 
 ideal, to turn obligation into life." 
 
 Man was created for activity. His 
 physical make-up attests this. The de- 
 pendence and action of the parts of the 
 body upon eacli other are indicative of 
 what the Creator intends man to do. 
 His power of locomotion and the 
 mechanism of his body, instinct with 
 enersry, mean that he is to walk, run, 
 
 7 
 
Conttuct 
 
 and labor. Withal, he might jet be a 
 mere animal; but his erect posture, 
 with his brain in the highest and best 
 location, furnished with avenues to the 
 objective world through the physical 
 senses, and with a telegraphic system, 
 in the nerves and nerve-centers, that 
 ramifies his entire physical being, 
 makes him the paragon of God's crea- 
 tures. 
 
 Man's spiritual being is his crown- 
 ing glory. It is this that places him 
 above the mere creature, and makes 
 him master of his environment. In 
 consciousness of this the psalmist says, 
 ^What is man, that thou art mindful 
 of him? . . . For thou hast made him 
 but little lower than God, and crownest 
 him with glory and honor. Thou mak- 
 est him to have dominion over the 
 works of thy hands; thou hast put all 
 things under his feet." 
 
 He is both actor and master of action 
 on the world's stage. He is master 
 by virtue of his free will, the dominant 
 and potential endowment of his per- 
 
Contiuct and t^t 9DebottonaI JLitt 
 
 sonality, and the indispensable condi- 
 tion of the integrity of reason and 
 rational sensibility, and all else that 
 enters into personality. 
 
 The will is man's power of self- 
 determination. "In this, more than in 
 anything else, the whole aggregation of 
 human endowment comes to its crown. 
 In it man becomes, in a real sense, a 
 supra-natural being, endowed with the 
 lofty distinction of self-direction, self- 
 dominion, and self-rulership in the 
 presence of the great realities of right 
 and obligation. He becomes capable of 
 character and answerable for his con- 
 duct, as he shapes that character and 
 determines that conduct." 
 
 He is a weak man whose spiritual 
 being has been perverted and vitiated 
 by an abuse of the will, by cowardice, 
 recreancy to trust, betrayal of friend- 
 ship and vacillation in moral purpose. 
 Such a man is also dangerous to the 
 good of his fellows. He is more to be 
 feared whose will is employed in an 
 effort to gratify an inordinate and un- 
 
€ont}nct 
 
 holy ambition, or a vicious purpose. 
 But mark the strong and virtuous man, 
 who makes an impress on his age, and 
 whose soul is open to every good that 
 makes for the growth, culture, purifica- 
 tion, and spiritualization of his entire 
 being. He lives among men, but his 
 aspirations are directed toward God. 
 It is he who passes through life exert- 
 ing ennobling and vitalizing influences 
 that fall upon his fellow-beings like 
 heavenly benedictions. 
 
 Let him but make choice, and a proph- 
 et's voice is heard in denunciation of 
 sin and vice, and in praise of righteous- 
 ness; a Plato comes from his master, 
 and gives the world a new moral and 
 intellectual uplift ; an apostle's voice is 
 heard in Macedonia; the morning star 
 of the Reformation shines in England ; 
 our country's father wins America's 
 freedom; a rail-splitter goes to the 
 White House, and the shackles fall 
 from the slaves; a Jesus goes to Cal- 
 vary and redeems the world. 
 
 Thus we have the second requisite of 
 
 10 
 
Conduct and tie SDebottonal JLitt 
 
 conduct in a directing, originative, and 
 creative will. "The whole fabric of 
 obligation and responsibility is built 
 upon it." The good will is submissive 
 to conscience, the moral vision of the 
 soul, and is imperative in obligation 
 to rectitude and duty. And so it is the 
 "reason energizing" in man's respon- 
 sible activities. 
 
 In such activity inheres moral vir- 
 tue, which is the "free and loving per- 
 formance of duty" ; also the essence of 
 virtue, which is in the good will, to- 
 gether with the implication of the good 
 as an end. The ethically good man is 
 he who not only is good, but who also 
 does good; and it must be borne in 
 mind that there is no reality in the 
 good, save as it manifests itself in love, 
 trust, and service of a person. 
 
 Conduct, therefore, is seen to be the 
 productive good will. It aims at "ful- 
 ness and richness of life," at character. 
 As productive good will, conduct is the 
 performance of duty. And there are 
 duties corresponding to all the per- 
 il 
 
Conliuct 
 
 sonal sentiments of the soul, the selfial, 
 the social, and the theistic. Man owes 
 it to himself to cherish, foster, and de- 
 velop the best personality in the best 
 life ; he needs also to help and bless the 
 other man, to fulfill "the royal law," 
 and every obligation he owes to soci- 
 ety ; he owes to God all that he is, and 
 is capable of, — his greatest love and 
 trust, his best service. "Not only relig- 
 ious duties, as faith and love and grat- 
 itude and prayer, but all human duties 
 are owed to him. Here all religious 
 duties become moral obligations; and 
 all moral obligations become religious 
 duties." 
 
 Conduct, corresponding to the per- 
 sonal sentiments, has a reflex influence 
 upon the doer. He grows into personal 
 power and character by every respon- 
 sible deed performed at the behest of 
 right, sympathy, and love, by the im- 
 perative of conscience in its discern- 
 ment of that which is ethically good. 
 He approaches God as he is moved by 
 high motives, as he appropriates and 
 
 12 
 
Conduct ann t^t 9DebottonaI JLite 
 
 imitates the divine plan of conduct as 
 seen in the divine ideal. 
 
 The devotional life is piety, as man- 
 ifested in religious sentiment, rever- 
 ence, devoutness, and affection; and it 
 is the performance of the duties that 
 we owe to God, and those performed 
 for the good of mankind out of lives 
 that are imbued with love. 
 
 The holiness of God forbids his fel- 
 lowship with the unregenerate soul. 
 This does not preclude his relationship 
 with man through the God-man, Jesus. 
 It simply limits the immediate and in- 
 timate approach to him to regenerate 
 man. Therefore, there can be no devo- 
 tional life apart from a heart that is 
 pure and "void of offense toward God." 
 The Christian man is in the world, but 
 not of it ; and, as such, he is "exalted to 
 the dignity and happiness of fellow- 
 ship" with God and his Son. Thus, 
 there can be no devotional life apart 
 from the kingdom of God, the invisible 
 church in the hearts of men, who have 
 been saved by the blood of Jesus, and 
 
 13 
 
ConDuct 
 
 are on the way to perfection in him. 
 Man enters the kingdom of God when 
 the Christian personality has had a 
 "birth in a humanity which has Christ 
 in if This "new principle of life will 
 seek to realize itself in all the activ- 
 ities, relations, and spheres of life." 
 
 "Christianity supplies the divine and 
 sufficient dynamic for the full realiza- 
 tion of the ethical life" in the person of 
 Jesus Christ, the efficient force in char- 
 acter and life, and "the universal 
 bond." And the Christian conscience, 
 illuminated and enlightened by the 
 Holy Spirit, effects a larger, truer, and 
 clearer vision of the ethical life, and 
 greater inspiration and enthusiasm in 
 obedience to the moral imperative. 
 
 This is Christian ethics, "the science 
 of living according to Christianity," 
 according to the ideal Son of God and 
 man, and in him, our "living head." 
 And this is the larger devotional life 
 in the kingdom, the household of God. 
 
 14 
 
^it Hmfftiom 
 
 II 
 
 Cfte CiingDom 
 
 The great burden of John's ministry 
 was, "Repent ye; for the kingdom of 
 heaven is at hand." By the kingdom is 
 meant redeemed humanity revealing 
 itself in a religious communion called 
 the church. This conception of the 
 kingdom is in dim vision in the Old 
 Testament. The early theocracy was a 
 prophecy of it. Here and there, es- 
 pecially in the prophets, are glimpses 
 of its fact and features, sometimes in 
 beautiful portrayal; but it remained 
 for the Christ to give to mankind a 
 complete portrayal of it. 
 
 The grandeur and glory of the king- 
 dom are shown in words that Christ 
 spoke concerning the Baptist, "Among 
 them that are born of women there 
 hath not arisen a greater than John 
 the Baptist : jet he that is but little in 
 
 15 
 
Contiuet 
 
 the kingdom of heaven is greater than 
 he/' "In its unique and unapproach- 
 able grandeur it dwarfs all the lesser 
 heights to which the prophetic hopes 
 had risen, and remains to this day the 
 transcendent and commanding ideal of 
 the possible exaltation of our human- 
 ity." 
 
 The kingdom of God was founded by 
 Jesus, who came as its very embodi- 
 ment, having in him its "vital germ." 
 It may be said that the kingdom exist- 
 ed in his person from the moment of his 
 birth. And it is through the individ- 
 ual appropriation of his person and 
 words that the kingdom is constituted 
 in the pure, loving, and obedient hearts 
 of men. To have the Christ enthroned 
 in us is to have the kingdom within, 
 and to be within the kingdom. 
 
 He came as the "Head of a new hu- 
 manity, bringing the divine into the 
 human." He is both Lord and King. He 
 is the Son upon whose shoulders the 
 government was placed, the "Wonder- 
 ful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlast- 
 
 16 
 
Tl^t Jkimnom 
 
 ing Father, Prince of Peace." "Of the 
 increase of his government and of 
 peace there shall be no end, upon the 
 throne of David, and upon his king- 
 dom, to establish it, and to uphold it 
 with judgment and with righteousness 
 from henceforth even forever." These 
 words refer ultimately to Jesus the 
 Messiah. The God of the universe, and 
 the Father of us all, reigns as King in 
 the Son and Child of the Jews. Jesus 
 taught that this is "an immediate 
 presence and reign of God among 
 men." The words of the prophet have 
 confirmation in the angePs message to 
 Mary, "He shall be great, and shall be 
 called the Son of the Most High: and 
 the Lord God shall give unto him the 
 throne of his father David: and he 
 shall reign over the house of Jacob for- 
 ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be 
 no end." 
 
 The reign of Jesus is in righteous- 
 ness. Man is a sinner, and his entire 
 being is enmeshed in sin, in the "an- 
 archy and misery of sin." Its penalty 
 
 3 IT 
 
Contiuct 
 
 is death. "For the wrath of God is re- 
 vealed from heaven against all ungod- 
 liness and unrighteousness of men, 
 who hold down the truth in unright- 
 eousness.'' It was meet, therefore, 
 that a righteous king be set over the 
 government of God for the purpose of 
 a righteous reign in men, and to make 
 righteous living the employment of 
 men. His righteousness manifested it- 
 self in a rule of justice, love, and obedi- 
 ence, primal thoughts in moral gov- 
 ernment. His love and obedience were 
 manifest from his childhood. Their 
 best and sublimest exemplification ap- 
 peared in his beautiful demeanor dur- 
 ing his passion, and in his death on the 
 cross. Could words be nobler? "Fath- 
 er, if thou be willing, remove this cup 
 from me : nevertheless not my will, but 
 thine, be done." And again, "Father, 
 forgive them ; for they know not what 
 they do.'' 
 
 Thus the King died for hig subjects 
 and fulfilled all righteousness. Thus 
 did he manifest in his person "the pow- 
 
 18 
 
%it Hfitfftiom 
 
 er of God and the wisdom of God" — 
 power to draw all men to him and to 
 righteous living, wisdom in providing 
 a plan of escape from sin to righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 19 
 
^I^e j^atttte ot tit Hingtiom 
 
 III 
 
 C{)e JOatute of tl)e I&ingOom 
 
 As THE founder of a new spiritual 
 order, Jesus did not come with worldly 
 pomp and show of arms. He rather 
 came a humble villager, meek and 
 lowly, with a heart big for afl the 
 needs of mankind. With the potency 
 of the Deity in his dual nature, and of 
 his vicarious death, he made the king- 
 dom of God the mightiest and sublim- 
 est individual and social force in the 
 world's civilization. It is such since 
 it bears in its constitution the perfec- 
 tion of the invisible God, who is imma- 
 nent in it, not only in the persons of 
 the Son and Holy Spirit, but also in its 
 very economy of grace and life. 
 
 From this it is seen that it is invis- 
 ible. To the Pharisees, Jesus said, 
 "The kingdom of God cometh not with 
 observation : neither shall they say, Lo, 
 
 21 
 
Contiuct 
 
 here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom 
 of God is within yon." It i^ the reign 
 of God, through the Son, in the indi- 
 vidual and social life. ^^The kingdom 
 of God is not eating and drinking, but 
 righteousness and peace and joy in the 
 Holy Spirit." Hence the kingdom is 
 also spiritual. In the individual "it is 
 a temper of mind, a spiritual disposi- 
 ftion, a state of heart." "Blessed are 
 the poor in spirit: for theirs is the 
 kingdom of heaven." "It is a principle 
 working from within outwards for the 
 renewal and transformation of every 
 department of our existence — the fam- 
 ily, the state, and social life." 
 
 It is spiritual in its constitution and 
 in its administration ; it has a spiritual 
 Head, and is in the keeping of the Holy 
 Spirit. Its worship is in spirit and in 
 truth; its prayer is, "Thy kingdom 
 come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, 
 so on earth." The gradual and in- 
 creasing spiritualization of the whole 
 life of mankind is its splendid and far- 
 reaching purpose. 
 
 22 
 
%it jRatttce of tje HinffHom 
 
 From this it is seen also to be vital. 
 Jesus says, "I am the life." The king- 
 dom is his person in the soul. "He that 
 hath the Son hath life." He came to 
 impart the life. ^*In him was life ; and 
 the life was the light of men." And his 
 own beautiful words are, "I came that 
 thev may have life, and that they may 
 have it abundantly." Again, he says, 
 "He that believeth on me, though he 
 die, yet shall he live: and whosoever 
 liveth and believeth on me shall never 
 die." When the prodigal returned, his 
 father said, "Let us eat, and make 
 merry ; for this my son was dead, and is 
 alive again." "The good Shepherd 
 giveth his life for the sheep." 
 
 In the wintertime the cold brings its 
 chill, so that the tree throws aside its 
 garb of the warm months. The tree 
 has life, but there is small evidence of 
 this fact. However, when April comes 
 with sunshine and showers, then the 
 abundant life manifests itself in leaf 
 and flower, in growing twig and ex- 
 panding trunk, and, last and best of 
 
 23 
 
ConOuet 
 
 all, in fruitage. And all about is the 
 larger life in grass and flower and herb 
 and tree and creature. And, 
 
 "Whether we look, or whether we listen. 
 We hear life murmur, or see it glisten." 
 
 The soul is dead in the chill of the life 
 of trespass and sins. There is life, but 
 it is mere existence. When, however, 
 Jesus enters the life and bears with 
 him the kingdom, there comes a new 
 birth from above, a transformation of 
 character. This is life anew. But 
 when this invisible, spiritual, vital 
 something takes complete possession of 
 the soul life, and energizes the souPs 
 best capabilities, bringing into view its 
 largest possibilities, and love sends 
 man to do the ministries of the king- 
 dom, then he ha>s the abundant life. 
 
 Again, the kingdom of God is uni- 
 versal. To Abraham the word came, 
 ^^In thy seed shall all the nations of the 
 earth be blessed." In the annunciation 
 to the shepherds, the angel said, "Be- 
 hold, I bring you good tidings of great 
 joy, which shall be to all the people." 
 
 24 
 
^^t Batntt of tilt Hing^om 
 
 The great commission is to evangelize 
 all nations, to preach the gospel to 
 every creature. "And this gospel of 
 the kingdom shall be preached in the 
 whole world for a testimony unto all 
 the nations.'' In response to the sound- 
 ing of the seventh angel, great voices 
 said, "The kingdom of the world is be- 
 come the kingdom of our Lord, and of 
 his Christ: and he shall reign for ever 
 and ever." 
 
 These latter words suggest that the 
 kingdom is eternal. "And of his king- 
 dom there shall be no end." The life 
 also, of the kingdom is eternal. The 
 souPs longings are for continued ex- 
 istence. The Scriptures answer to these 
 longings in every particular, and prom- 
 ise everlasting life. Even science be- 
 lieves in the continued existence and 
 development of the spiritual life after 
 death. Je«us confirms all in his own 
 words, "And this is life eternal, that 
 they should know^ thee, the only true 
 God, and him whom thou didst send, 
 even Jesus Christ." 
 
 25 
 
%it cortical Jl^atute ot tit Hinfftiom 
 
 IV 
 Ct)e (Btbical Jl^atute oC tbt 
 
 "The kingdom is not fully come un- 
 til everything in human life, and in the 
 relations of man in society, is brought 
 into complete harmony with the will 
 of God." It has a fully constituted 
 moral government; and though there 
 is no formal organization, yet it has a 
 full complement of personalities, serv- 
 ing in all of its spiritual offices from 
 the King to teachers and doers of 
 truth. It is possessed of a moral and 
 Christian citizenship which Jesus de- 
 clares to be the stability, and preserv- 
 ing power and light of the world. "Ye 
 are the salt of the earth," said he. 'And 
 again, "Ye are the light of the world. 
 'A city on a hill cannot be hid." 
 
 Its fundamental law is the Sermon 
 on the Mount. "I am the truth," is its 
 
 27 
 
Cont»uct 
 
 Magna Charta. "If ye abide in my 
 word, then are ye truly my disciples; 
 and ye shall know the truth, and the 
 truth shall make you free.'' "If there- 
 fore the Son shall make you free, ye 
 shall be free indeed." Its constitution 
 is comprehended in two words — holi- 
 ness, and love. 
 
 As respects the individual life, the 
 one condition is holiness, the law of ita 
 self-preservation. The commandment 
 is, "Follow after peace with all men, 
 and the sanctification without which 
 no man shall see the Lord.'' "Pure re- 
 ligion and undefiled before our God 
 and Father is this, ... to keep one- 
 self unspotted from the world." Isaiah 
 had a vision of this when he said, "And 
 an highway shall be there, and a way, 
 and it shall be called The way of holi- 
 ness; the unclean shall not pass over 
 it: . , . but the redeemed shall walk 
 there." 
 
 Jesus imparted all the beauty of his 
 character to the kingdom. And all 
 who enter it by repentance and faith, 
 
 28 
 
U^r dtiital Baiutt ot ftt HfngHom 
 
 and continue in it in the innocence and 
 loving, trustful spirit of the child, 
 grow up into him, their living Head. 
 *^So human life was reconstituted, be- 
 cause reorganized bv his having passed 
 through it divinely. And the old law 
 was again illustrated — a man leaves 
 himself in what he does or touches 
 truly.'' 
 
 The outward expression of holiness 
 is righteousness — rightness in conduct. 
 Formally and coldly, it is obedience to 
 the law of God. But in a life attuned 
 to the great heart of God, as affection- 
 ately manifested through the Son, it is 
 the sympathetic performance of every 
 Christian duty. It is doing the noble 
 deed in the spirit and manner of Jesus. 
 
 As respects the objective life, the law 
 is love. "Love is the primal form of 
 virtue in Christianity.'' "God is love." 
 The great and first commandment, 
 says Jesus, is, "Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
 and with all thy soul, and with 
 all thy mind." "And a second like 
 
 20 
 
ConHuct 
 
 unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself. On these two com- 
 mandments hangeth the whole law, and 
 the prophets." But Jesus made an ad- 
 vance over this when he said, "This is 
 my commandment. That ye love one 
 another, even as I have loved you. 
 Greater love hath no man than this, 
 that a man lay down his life for his 
 friends." To die for another is to love 
 him more than one's self. 
 
 Love is the great motive power of the 
 kingdom of God, the compelling power 
 in conduct. It is not merely an emo- 
 tion toward God and man, not a mere 
 feeling that refuses to harm a fellow; 
 rather it is a dynamic in one's being, 
 an energy that compels to action in 
 service and self-sacrifice, according to 
 the nature and the laws of the king- 
 dom. Love constrains one to go about 
 doing good. It takes cognizance of the 
 whole world's need, and of the world's 
 whole need. It seeks to supply all, and 
 to bring to all the blessings and treas- 
 ures of the kingdom. 
 
 30 
 
^^t (Ethical jRatute ot tSe I^mgtiom 
 
 The prospect before it is universal 
 peace in the universal kingdom. The 
 king is the Prince of peace ; and he has 
 come to give the world his peace. 
 Isaiah's picture of the ferocious beasts 
 and domestic animals living in beauti- 
 ful harmony, and led by a little child, 
 is a figure of the good will that is to ob- 
 tain in the kingdom. "When that 
 which is perfect is come, that which is 
 in part shall be done away." Then will 
 sporadic love pass; and the brother- 
 hood of man shall have full sway when 
 "man's inhumanity to man" gives way 
 to universal love in universal peace. 
 
 31 
 
%it Cppe 
 
 C6e Cppe 
 
 The Lord of the kingdom is its type, 
 its ideal. There is no morality possible 
 without an ethical ideal ; and the ethics 
 that does not present an ideal is un- 
 moral. Man is so constituted as to 
 need a supreme good toward which to 
 direct his energies; an object so pure 
 and noble as to fill him with mightiest 
 impulses, motives, and convictions to 
 serve as spiritual dynamics in the reali- 
 zation of the good. An ideal is de- 
 manded in whose character are found 
 the essential elements of the perfect 
 nature of the kingdom, and whose con- 
 duct is in perfect harmony with his 
 own character, and with the nature of 
 the household of God. Christian ethics 
 demands a perfect ideal. This ideal is 
 found in Jesus of Nazareth, the historic 
 Christ. "That was the true Light, 
 
 3 33 
 
Conduct 
 
 which lighteth every man that cometh 
 into the world.'' 
 
 The incarnation of the Son of God 
 has immense value for us apart from 
 his vicarious death. The new human- 
 ity manifested in him is a revelation of 
 God's ideal of mankind. And it was 
 with a cognizance of his own perfect 
 manhood that Jesus enjoined upon men 
 the perfection of the Father. 
 
 Jesus was a type, even in his child- 
 hood. As a child he "waxed strong in 
 spirit"; he was "filled with wisdom"; 
 "and the grace of God was upon him." 
 Here is character backed by the at- 
 tainments of wisdom and grace. He 
 was about the Father's business. Here 
 is conduct of the greatest wisdom and 
 highest intent. Thus it was that he 
 was in growing favor with God and 
 man. 
 
 He was born in poverty ; he lived in 
 mean surroundings, with the bare op- 
 portunities that came to the poor of his 
 day and place. He was a son in the 
 home of a poor carpenter; but he had 
 
 34 
 
%^t ^ppe 
 
 noble parents, who did the best they 
 could for their children ; so he was not 
 deterred from study, and he gained 
 such a store of knowledge as to astound 
 the people of his day, and charm the 
 ages since. 
 
 His youth, also, was ideal, and cer- 
 tainly continued the fine characteris- 
 tics and virtues of his childhood. The 
 events at his baptism attest this. John 
 had spoken of him as the mightier one 
 to come ; and it must be supposed that 
 he had thus spoken in the certain 
 knowledge of his splendid life and char- 
 acter in his youth and young manhood. 
 On his arrival John calls him, with fine 
 insight and appreciation, "The Lamb 
 of God'' ; but most significant of all are 
 the following words, indicative of 
 Heaven's appreciation of him, "And 
 Jesus, when he was baptized, went up 
 straightway from the water : and lo, the 
 heavens were opened unto him, and he 
 saw the Spirit of God descending as a 
 dove, and coming upon him ; and lo, a 
 voice out of the heavens, saying. This 
 
 35 
 
Conduct 
 
 is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased/' These words serve as a clue 
 to his grand personality, his fine char- 
 acter, his beautiful life; and back of 
 these events was a life of goodness and 
 holiness, a life of submission to his par- 
 ents and to the Father. "Jesus avoid- 
 ed no law of growth, no statute of the 
 world, or order of nature, no sacrament 
 of society or of God." In him every 
 power of personality — reason, rational 
 feeling, conscience, and will — had full 
 play in perfect harmony of action. 
 
 He was all this by his own choice and 
 by his own moral act, by "the right use 
 of his freedom in perfect active and 
 passive obedience to God." He could not 
 be wrong, because he would not, through 
 an "absolute self-determination for 
 goodness and holiness." "While all 
 other men represent but broken frag- 
 ments of the idea of goodness and ho- 
 liness, he exhausts the list of virtues 
 and graces. His soul is a moral para- 
 dise of flowers that shine in every va- 
 riety of color under the blue dome of 
 
 36 
 
^it ^ppe 
 
 the skies, drink in the refreshing dews 
 of heaven and the warming beams of 
 the sun, send their sweet fragrance 
 around, and fill the beholder with rap- 
 turous delight." 
 
 An absorbing study with Jesus was 
 humanity. The Bible revealed to him 
 man with his many powers and virtues, 
 yet full of frailties and failures. The 
 people of his native village exhibited 
 all of human weakness and shortcom- 
 ing, and thus his knowledge of man- 
 kind came from a twofold source. He 
 observed the burdens and woes and dis- 
 ease to which man is heir. He knew 
 something of the pinch of poverty. He 
 had personal experience of manual la- 
 bor and its accompanying fatigue. He 
 knew what it was to eat bread by the 
 sweat of the brow. He saw the blight- 
 ing effect of sin on man's whole being — 
 its shame and woe and death. In this 
 environment, in the secrecy of his pure 
 life, he began to bear our griefs and to 
 carry our sorrows, to feel the wound 
 for our transgressions and the bruise 
 
 37 
 
Conliuct 
 
 for our iniquities, tlie chastisement for 
 our peace and the stripes for our heal- 
 ing. And just as a mother's greater 
 sympathy and love go out to her sick 
 and suffering child until she feels every 
 pang of the fever that is consuming the 
 little life, so Jesus, the brother to our 
 humanity, was moved to sympathy and 
 love when he came to know the bitter, 
 weary way of man. How great the pas- 
 sion of his affection was, is seen in his 
 future conduct, in the service he ren- 
 dered to man. Wholly unselfish in life, 
 and self-sacrificing in death, he stands 
 alone in perfectly incarnating the love 
 of God. 
 
 Yet another element contributed to 
 his masterful personality and charac- 
 ter : he had the truth. "Never man so 
 spake.'' When he had ended speaking 
 the Sermon on the Mount, "the multi- 
 tudes were astonished at his teaching: 
 for he taught them as one having au- 
 thority, and not as their scribes." The 
 rest of his reported discourses and say- 
 ings are not lacking in homely wisdom, 
 
 38 
 
%^t ^vpt 
 
 beautiful truth, and "knowledge of 
 things as they are." 
 
 Can we imagine a solitude some- 
 where in the environs of Nazareth, 
 w^hither Jesus betook his way for deep 
 thought and illuminating meditation? 
 In the quiet place, of which he was ever 
 fond, he looked into the depths of 
 things divine and human until the vis- 
 ion of his soul expanded into compre- 
 hension of truth in all of its higher 
 meanings and relations. And wander- 
 ing over hill and field, and observing 
 everything in nature, acquainted him 
 with the wealth of truth that the open 
 book of nature has to teach. At home 
 and school he pondered the holy Word 
 until it yielded to him its great store- 
 house of truth and wisdom. 
 
 This is the Mightier One indeed. Jean 
 Paul Richter says, "He was the purest 
 among the mighty and the mightiest 
 among the pure.'' A character of "co- 
 lossal dimensions," he came to his mis- 
 sion in the world with an authority 
 never before possessed by man, to bap- 
 
 39 
 
Conbuct 
 
 tize in the Holy Spirit and in fire. It 
 was the supreme fitness of Jesus that 
 made possible the descent of the Spirit 
 on him on the occasion of his baptism, 
 and brought to him the plaudit of 
 heaven, "This is my beloved son." 
 
 Once again did he hear this word, in 
 the transfiguration on the mount, when 
 he was near the end of his career, and 
 after his character had been "tried as 
 by fire." The years of his ministry 
 had augmented the power and charm of 
 his character. They had served to in- 
 tensify his holiness and sympathetic 
 affection for man, and to perfect the 
 range and depth of his acquaintance 
 with truth. 
 
 40 
 
%^t Conliuct ot tit ^VP( 
 
 VI 
 
 Cl)e ConDuct of tfie Cppe 
 
 The person and work of Jesus can- 
 not be separated, inasmuch as his con- 
 duct is the perfect expression of his 
 character. Were there a single incon- 
 sistency in word or deed, he could not 
 be regarded as the ideal in Christian 
 ethics. "The Christian rule of conduct 
 is the perfect character." 
 
 Just as we find a clue to the character 
 of Jesus in words spoken on the occa- 
 sion of his baptism, so also we find a 
 clue to his ideal conduct in words 
 spoken at that time. They are his own 
 words, "Suffer it now: for thus it be- 
 cometh us to fulfill all righteousness." 
 These words seem to have been uttered 
 in the same spirit in which the earlier 
 words were uttered to his parents, 
 touching the Father's business. As he 
 was subject to his parents while under 
 
 41 
 
Contiuct 
 
 their roof, so now he will be subject to 
 the Heavenly Father. And, though 
 conscious of his supreme holiness, af- 
 fection, and wisdom, nevertheless he 
 maintained this submissive demeanor 
 to the end. 
 
 It was to be expected that the 
 tempter would make a supreme effort 
 to invalidate his personal power and in- 
 fluence before he had had opportunity 
 to test his character in real life in the 
 prosecution of his mission. It was a 
 bold stroke directed against his human 
 nature. The import of the issue was 
 seen on both sides. On the outcome de- 
 pended the workFs weal or woe. And 
 so Jesus withstood every assault of Sa- 
 tan, in his appeal to hunger, ambition, 
 and vanity. With the Word of God 
 Satan was completely vanquished. 
 "From that time Jesus began to preach 
 and to say, Repent ye ; for the kingdom 
 of heaven is at hand." Thus was his 
 victory celebrated in service; and it is 
 significant, that in his first effort, he 
 sought to bring in the kingdom, the 
 
 42 
 
%it Connuct of tit tC^pe 
 
 Christian commonwealth, with a holy 
 citizenship and greater safety for man- 
 kind morally. 
 
 Throughout his public ministry he 
 maintained the same even temper in 
 trial. "He came unto his own things, 
 and they that were his own received him 
 not" ; "He was despised and rejected of 
 men''; "He was oppressed"; "and he 
 opened not his mouth." When on trial 
 before men for his teaching and atti- 
 tude toward the ethics of his day, he 
 appealed to his character and work. 
 When his character was assailed, the 
 appeal was still to his work. "By their 
 fruits ye shall know them," said he. 
 Good fruit cannot be produced by a cor- 
 rupt tree. 
 
 Gethsemane and Calvary, with the 
 intervening events, were the supreme 
 tests of his character. Gethsemane ! I 
 leave to the reader to ponder its tragic 
 events on that fateful night. "And they 
 all forsook him and fled." To the kiss 
 of betrayal was added denial. In his 
 trial he endured the impudent abuse 
 
 43 
 
Contiuct 
 
 and mockery and wanton insult of the 
 mob; in his condemnation he suffered 
 the most flagrant injustice; it was all 
 a shameful farce. Calvary! This is 
 the sublimest scene in the history of the 
 world-age. Again, Jesus was victori- 
 ous, even as in Gethsemane. He "en- 
 dured the cross, despising the shame." 
 He was victor in that calm of soul out 
 of which he prayed for forgiveness for 
 his slayers, and said, "It is finished." 
 
 He was uncompromising in his atti- 
 tude toward sin and wrong. He re- 
 affirmed the Mosaic law and gave it 
 such an appreciation, and such a 
 searching and far-reaching interpreta- 
 tion, that it became "living, and active, 
 and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
 and piercing even to the dividing of 
 soul and spirit, of both joints and mar- 
 row, and quick to discern the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart." The money 
 sharks were driven from the temple; 
 and his condemnation rested on Phari- 
 saic egotism and conceit, the miserli- 
 ness of riches, unbelief, and infidelity. 
 
and the materialism that trusts in 
 abundance of earthly goods. He was 
 no less severe in his attitude toward 
 hypocrisy, injustice to one's fellow, un- 
 holy ambition, neglect of self, lack of 
 consideration for others, and forgetful- 
 ness toward God. 
 
 As to purity, he is utterly uncompro- 
 mising. The old commandment said, 
 "Thou shalt not commit adultery." 
 "But I say unto you," said he, "that 
 every one that looketh on a woman to 
 lust after her hath committed adultery 
 with her already in his heart." His po- 
 sition is so severe as to demand that the 
 thought and motive back of the choice 
 and deed be absolutely pure. It is bet- 
 ter even to go through life maimed than 
 to offend against purity in any manner. 
 But how different his attitude toward 
 the erring soul ! We need but to recall 
 the names of Mary Magdalene, Zac- 
 cheus, the rich young ruler, and the 
 repentant thief on the cross. It is re- 
 freshing to hear him say, "For the Son 
 of man came to seek and to save that 
 
 45 
 
Contiuct 
 
 which was lost." Of beautiful import 
 are the stories of the woman at the 
 well, and of the woman of Syro-Pheni- 
 cia, whose daughter was possessed of 
 an unclean spirit. Most beautiful are 
 the parables of the Lost Sheep, the 
 Lost Piece, and the Prodigal Son; but 
 the best expression of his love for sin- 
 ful man was the cross. 
 
 He was also the friend and helper of 
 the unfortunate and broken-hearted. 
 His call to humanity is, "Come unto 
 me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I 
 will give you rest." To the disciples of 
 John he said, "Go your way and tell 
 John the things which ye do hear and 
 see; the blind receive their sight, and 
 the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 
 and the deaf hear, and the dead are 
 raised up, and the poor have good tid- 
 ings preached to them." He was touch- 
 ed with a feeling of man's infirmities. 
 He wept with the weeping ; he rejoiced 
 with the joyful. 
 
 Jesus was a patriot. He came "to 
 the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 
 
 46 
 
U&e ConHuct ot tit ^m 
 
 His first effort was to better the condi- 
 tion of the Jew. His whole life was 
 Jewish in manner. This is also seen in 
 what he said concerning the law and 
 the prophets, "I came not to destroy, 
 but to fulfill." Thus his own work is 
 seen to be the complete realization of 
 all that God purposed in the great re- 
 ligious and moral institutions which 
 were entrusted to the Jews for keeping 
 and development. Most significant of 
 all was his grand effort to establish the 
 kingdom first, and supremely, in the 
 hearts of his own people. 
 
 His attitude toward government was 
 shown in his quiet submission to Rome. 
 "Render to Caesar the things that are 
 Caesar's," are the words that explain 
 his position in relation to the existing 
 rule. His people had lost all through 
 sin and forgetfulness of the Father, 
 though they had been chosen for moral 
 and spiritual supremacy. Their des- 
 tiny was conditioned upon their ac- 
 ceptance of the new order with Jesus, 
 the Messiah, as its rightful Lord. As 
 
 47 
 
Connuct 
 
 a spiritual sovereign, his kingship did 
 not conflict with the imperial power of 
 Rome. And so, while they lost their 
 peculiar spiritual position by their re- 
 jection of him, he gained all by his cor- 
 rect attitude toward Rome, and his ad- 
 herence to the divine plan. 
 
 The highest ideal of the family was 
 given to mankind by Jesus. As a son 
 and brother there was nothing lacking. 
 He helped to maintain the home at 
 manual labor. He demands "a white 
 life for two." Thus does he contend 
 for the sanctity of the marriage vow 
 and the purity of the home. He is no 
 less pronounced in his contention for 
 the integrity of the marriage bond ; and 
 there is no uncertain ring in his words 
 on divorce. God made man male and 
 female ; and when they enter into wed- 
 lock, they become one flesh. If they 
 separate, except for the one cause, and 
 marry again, they commit adultery. 
 And no one has the moral right to 
 marry the woman put aside for the one 
 cause. The inference is that the same 
 
 48 
 
Wbt €onmct ot tit ^ppe 
 
 prohibition holds against the man who 
 is guilty of marital infidelity, and, per- 
 chance, is put aside by the wife. 
 
 The whole life of Jesus was one of 
 devotion to God. With him conduct 
 and the devotional life were one and 
 the same. Yet he was a worshiper of 
 the Father. Many times he turned 
 aside and went to the quiet place to 
 pray. He even crossed the Sea of Gal- 
 ilee to be alone in communion with 
 God. Prayer never contained nobler 
 sentiment than that in Jesus' prayer 
 after his beautiful discourse at the last 
 supper. And as he was given to the 
 devotional life, so he enjoins upon men 
 to exercise their souls in all the forms 
 of spiritual fellowship with God. 
 
 Thus did he direct his powers to ap- 
 propriate ends; and his gracious per- 
 son went out in every deed and word. 
 His grand scheme comprehended a 
 Christian humanity in an advanced in- 
 dividual and social life, a freer and 
 more pervasive reign of righteousness 
 in holiness, love, aud truth. 
 
 * 49 
 
Wbt CStigftian €iti^tn 
 
 VII 
 
 Cfie C6ri0tian Citizen 
 
 In beginning the brief life-story of 
 Dr. Adoniram Judson Gordon, Dr. A. 
 T. Pierson says: "How simple and 
 brief are the outlines of a human life. 
 And yet only eternity can fill out those 
 outlines, and make visible the unseen 
 mysteries which we call character and 
 influence." To make this latter pos- 
 sible, much must be put into the earth- 
 life ; and it is not too soon to begin the 
 training of a child for this "a hundred 
 years before he is born," as said Dr. 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes. At any rate, 
 we have come to a time when the prob- 
 lem of the Christian citizen must have 
 a solution that involves a reckoning 
 with infancy, and from infancy. 
 
 At birth, the child is ushered into a 
 complex environment, physical, spir- 
 itual, social, hereditary. All of these 
 
 51 
 
Connuct 
 
 have much to do with shaping his fu- 
 ture conduct, character, and attitude 
 toward God. His life should be so di- 
 rected, in every particular, that his en- 
 vironment may surely minister to his 
 spiritual "growth, personal power, and 
 character." As early as may be, his 
 life should be directed toward complete 
 self-mastery, toward spiritual and eth- 
 ical dominion in life, toward "living 
 according to Christianity." 
 
 "The child is father to the man," 
 and if we want our children in the king- 
 dom after they have grown to manhood 
 and womanhood, we must put aside the 
 criminal indifference to their welfare 
 that is rife, even in many of our Chris- 
 tian homes. Does not Jesus mean to 
 say that the children are really in the 
 household of God, w^hen he says, "Of 
 such is the kingdom of heaven"? As 
 to their regeneration, that is the con- 
 cern of him who regenerates by the 
 blood of Calvary, and in his own good 
 time. It is the obligation of parents, 
 guardians, and all who have education- 
 
^8e €W^tian €iti}tn 
 
 al and spiritual oversight of the child, 
 to bring into the home, school, and 
 church, and everywhere, such a "heav- 
 enliness of life" as will surely minister 
 to the complete safety of our little ones. 
 
 In the complex life of to-day, the 
 child needs the best home that a parent 
 can furnish, not with luxury, but with 
 holy living. Some one has said, "The 
 world's greatest seminary is the fire- 
 side; for good or for evil the heart of 
 the child is impressed there." And 
 again, "Train the children! Their 
 hearts are soft and plastic now; the 
 springs of life are bubbling up in crys- 
 tal freshness and beauty ; the sapling is 
 straight and tender." The wise man 
 says, "Train up a child in the way he 
 should go, and even when he is old he 
 will not depart from it." 
 
 The state educates the child for in- 
 telligent citizenship, for patriotic and 
 virtuous civic service. The home and 
 church must educate him for conduct 
 in the kingdom, in Christian society, 
 and for loyal Christian service. In the 
 
Conduct 
 
 public school the powers of the mind 
 are developed and the souFs vision is 
 opened to truth. In the home and 
 church there must be the culture of the 
 heart and the opening of the souFs vis- 
 ion to truth and God. All make for 
 character, but the home and church 
 train the child after the Type of the 
 kingdom, and inspire him to appropri- 
 ate the person of the Type for the vital- 
 ization of the whole life spiritually. 
 
 "Heaven lies about us in our infan- 
 cy," says Wordsworth. Then may we 
 have homes in which the children 
 breathe the atmosphere of heaven and 
 grow into likeness with the children's 
 Friend. May we have a church in 
 which there shall be such sentiment as 
 will regard the negligence of a child's 
 spiritual good as criminal, as negli- 
 gence to its life. On all hands the chil- 
 dren need be taught that the "Father's 
 business" includes the whole of life's 
 conduct, and that all of life's activities 
 need be sanctified of God. Then may 
 we hope for childhood to pass into 
 
 54 
 
%it C8n'0tian Citften 
 
 youth, and youth into life's full bloom, 
 and on into old age in continuous spir- 
 itual growth, along with the growth 
 and development of the body. Then 
 conduct, in ideal forms, will have a 
 birth in childhood, and the years will 
 give it intensity and quality. And day 
 by day conduct will be transmuted into 
 character; and character, in turn, will 
 manifest itself in the conduct of the life 
 devoted to God. 
 
 The ideal here presented comports 
 with the life and teachings of Jesus, 
 and its realization is possible. And in 
 the face of present realities in the home 
 and school and church, there is need of 
 an awakening to the importance of the 
 fact that a neglected childhood almost 
 certainly issues in a sickly manhood 
 and womanhood, spiritually and eth- 
 ically. The permanency of the king- 
 dom is fully assured, if we see to it that 
 Christian citizenship begins with the 
 cradle. 
 
 Now, whenever an individual enters 
 the family of God, be it early or late, he 
 
 55 
 
Contittct 
 
 needs know that he has part in its serv- 
 ice as well as in its blessings. He is 
 bound by the covenant between him 
 and God to make all out of his life that 
 is possible for the extension and per- 
 petuity of the kingdom. All of his fac- 
 ulties and powers must be vitalized by 
 the Christ for the conscientious and 
 complete performance of all Christian 
 duties. The Lord of the kingdom ex- 
 pects every soul to grow into character 
 and personal power by conduct. 
 
 "The Christian ideal which has been 
 historically given in Christ, as it is to 
 be found in the spiritual consciousness 
 of Christians, is an absolute ideal. 
 There is nothing higher, nothing so 
 commanding. It is the absolute moral 
 imperative of Christian character." It 
 is the province of Christian ethics to re- 
 produce in the Christian citizen an in- 
 dividual like the Type of the kingdom. 
 The Christ becomes incarnate in us for 
 this express purpose. In his person- 
 ality and character the elements are 
 holiness, sympathetic affection, and 
 
 66 
 
^^t C8tf0tfatt €itUm 
 
 truth. These must be inwrought in us 
 by the indwelling Christ; and as the 
 Holy Spirit descended upon him for 
 enduement for service, so must he en- 
 due us for service, and bring to realiza- 
 tion in us all of the promises that Jesus 
 made to the disciples concerning the 
 work of the Spirit. 
 
 57 
 
Contiuct ot tSe Cfiti^tfan €iti}m 
 
 VIII 
 
 C{)e ConDuct of t&e Cl)rij8itian 
 Citizen 
 
 "The Christian ideal manifests itself 
 in an absolute idea of conduct, which it 
 introduces, as well as an absolute qual- 
 ity of character." The Christian idea 
 of conduct is "righteousness fulfilling 
 the ideal law of love, or having in daily 
 life the spirit of Christ." 
 
 The life of man has grown very com- 
 plex — so complex that he finds himself 
 bound up in almost endless relations. 
 He has achieved astoundingly great 
 and varied intellectual development; 
 and so his life has expanded and inten- 
 sified, and his activities have greatly 
 increased. He has been living the 
 "strenuous life." The witness to this 
 is modern industrial life and the vastly 
 expanded domain of scientific learning. 
 The useful arts have bounded into num- 
 
 59 
 
Conduct 
 
 bers and intensity under the impulse of 
 the newly-aroused and newly-applied 
 forces of man's spiritual being. 
 
 Withal, man is the same spiritual be- 
 ing. The revolution in thought that 
 has come by the application of the sci- 
 entific method has wrought no change 
 in the kingdom of God, nor in the fun- 
 damental facts of religion and ethics. 
 But man has a clearer and deeper in- 
 sight, a larger comprehension of all 
 these things. Hence his conduct will 
 not be embarrassed by the rush of the 
 times. Rather, it will be more intelli- 
 gently directed to its appropriate ends, 
 since the whole range of life is better 
 understood, and the moral conscious- 
 ness has greater insight into moral re- 
 lations, into Christian ethics. 
 
 Christian ethics is the moral law ap- 
 plied to the kingdom. Christian con- 
 duct is the conduct of the individual in 
 the kingdom, in Christian society. In 
 the best sense it is the Christ incarnate 
 in us, vitalizing us and energizing us 
 in all of our activities. Thus it is all 
 
 60 
 
Conduct ot t6e Cfitisaitian Citizen 
 
 inclusive of life and permits no such 
 distinction in the things of life as sa- 
 cred and secular. If a man goes to the 
 field to labor, to the shop to work, to 
 the polls to vote, to visit the sick, to 
 help the poor, to the church to worship, 
 he bears within himself the kingdom. 
 "The reign of love, or kingdom of God, 
 on earth, is to possess and to fill with 
 good all the spheres of human life." 
 Hence, the whole of life is sacred. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great develop- 
 ment in thought and life, humanity's 
 need has not decreased. The forms of 
 sin have increased until they are legion. 
 The great increase in population, and 
 the decided tendency on the part of 
 men to congregate in cities have made 
 possible the segregation of the vicious 
 and criminal classes; and crime is in- 
 creasing much faster than population. 
 The social distinctions, and lack of 
 civic conscience and of philanthropy, 
 have bred the slum. The lack of civic 
 patriotism is responsible for corrup- 
 tion in politics and for recreancy in 
 
 Gl 
 
COttllUCt 
 
 municipal administration. Too many 
 men in public positions forget that 
 "public office is a public trust.'' 
 
 The social life is corrupted by vices ; 
 it is endangered by culpable display on 
 the part of the conscienceless rich, by 
 marital impurity and infidelity, by a 
 growing disregard for the sacredness 
 of human life, by a disregard of mutual 
 responsibility on the part of labor and 
 capital. There is not a social institu- 
 tion, not a political institution, not a 
 spiritual institution that is not men- 
 aced by some lurking fiend. "For our 
 wrestling is not against flesh and blood, 
 but against the principalities, against 
 the powers, against the world-rulers of 
 this darkness, against the spiritual 
 hosts of wickedness in the heavenly 
 places." 
 
 The task before us is to perpetuate 
 the nation and exalt its name, to pre- 
 serve the honor of the people, to bring 
 the thousands who do not know the 
 King to redemption in him, to regen- 
 erate society, to speed the gospel in the 
 
 62 
 
Cimtiuct ot t^t €tti0tim €itmn 
 
 world's dark places, to bring in uni- 
 versal peace through the kingdom of 
 God, and to hasten the coming of the 
 King. The world's life needs to be com- 
 pletely ethicized by the universal appli- 
 cation of the principles of holiness and 
 righteousness to the hearts and affairs 
 of men. There is need of Godlike char- 
 acter and conduct. 
 
 The solution of the problems pre- 
 sented in individual and social needs 
 rests primarily with the conscience of 
 the individual and his social spirit. 
 The principles governing conduct are 
 to be sought in the Type. Two of them 
 are set forth in the following words 
 spoken by Jesus, "But whosoever 
 would become great among you shall 
 be your minister ; and whosoever would 
 be first among you shall be your bond- 
 servant : even as the Son of man came 
 not to be ministered unto, but to minis- 
 ter, and to give his life a ransom for 
 many." 
 
 The first is the law of service. 
 "Christianity requires of us such serv- 
 es 
 
ConHttct 
 
 ice, because it always holds us to that 
 which is best and noblest." "A disciple 
 is not above his master, nor a servant 
 above his lord. It is enough for the dis- 
 ciple that he be as his master, and the 
 servant as his lord." 
 
 The second is the law of self-sacrifice. 
 Jesus gave ^^his life a ransom for 
 many." Again, "Above man we find 
 that the law of sacrifice, like that of 
 service, includes God himself, for God 
 is love, and love is self-giving : . . . his 
 gift of himself in Christ being the su- 
 preme sacrifice, the unspeakable gift." 
 "If any man would come after me," 
 said Christ, "let him deny himself, and 
 take up his cross, and follow me." 
 
 The third law is implied in the first 
 two. This is the law of love. "With- 
 out love, the law of service makes one a 
 slave ; without love, the law of sacrifice 
 makes one a victim. But love makes 
 service free and sacrifice a privilege." 
 "Owe no man anything, save to love one 
 another: for he that loveth the other 
 hath fulfilled the law." 
 
 64 
 
Connuct a0 SDut? to &elf 
 
 IX 
 
 ConDuct a» Dutp to %el( 
 
 The personal power acquired in the 
 kingdom of God finds sacred employ- 
 ment in doing the duties of the king- 
 dom. This is but the conscientious ob- 
 servance of the three great laws of 
 conduct wisely applied to all of life's 
 activities. 
 
 "A man," said Goethe, "must first he 
 something, before he can hope to do 
 anything." Man needs, first of all, to 
 be true to himself. He owes to himself 
 the perfection of his whole being, — "a 
 sound mind in a sound body," and a 
 soul possessed of the loftiest spiritual 
 attainments. In this day of athletics 
 and healthful and abounding outdoor 
 pastimes, to say nothing of the daily 
 toil of the farm and shop, little need be 
 said respecting proper exercise. Too 
 much, however, cannot be said concern- 
 
 5 65 
 
Contiuct 
 
 ing injurious habits. Socrates taught 
 that self-control is the foundation of 
 all the virtues. Add to this self- 
 direction, and man's power over self 
 is complete. But how can he exercise 
 either, if he is a slave to an impersonal 
 thing, or is in the throes of an impure 
 life? 
 
 No man is master when habit en- 
 slaves him. To gratify the intemperate 
 appetites is mere animalism; and it is 
 destructive of personality and charac- 
 ter. But when one is a victim of lust, 
 w^hat small semblance there is in him 
 to a man! The man of God must es- 
 chew the habits and vices that destroy. 
 Let him stand four-square to the world 
 and show himself a man possessed of 
 the best physical health and form, with 
 a physical prowess sufificient for the 
 strenuousness of modern days. Above 
 all, let him be pure. 
 
 Again, we all owe ourselves the best 
 education possible. The insistence is 
 not on a course at college and the 
 university, but that, by any means, 
 
 66 
 
Conduct a0 SDut^ to &eU 
 
 the mind be so developed and cul- 
 tured as to furnish the possessor 
 with facility, precision, and power in 
 the service of himself and of others. 
 The present demand is for young men 
 and women who are capable of original 
 thought, intellectual initiative, and 
 abounding capacity for the most diffi- 
 cult mental tasks imposed upon us by 
 the prodigious life of these modern 
 days. 
 
 Along with the growth of mental 
 efficiency, there is need of a continuous 
 acquirement of knowledge. "The great 
 object of all knowledge," said Edward 
 Everett, "is to enlarge and purify the 
 soul, to fill the mind with noble contem- 
 plations and to furnish a refined pleas- 
 ure." Knowledge serves a purpose 
 scarcely less great in furnishing data 
 and fuel for the mind's accumulated 
 power. Hence the need of full and cor- 
 rect information respecting one's par- 
 ticular pursuit, and of as much of truth 
 beside as one may get by a wise employ- 
 ment of one's time and talents. This 
 
 67 
 
Contiuct 
 
 enrichment in truth should include a 
 respectable knowledge of one's self 
 physically and psychologically, and of 
 all the relations of life proceeding from 
 citizenship and patriotism, ethics and 
 religion. This would include a knowl- 
 edge of one's country sufficient to ap- 
 preciate its genius and its need; a 
 knowledge of society such as would 
 awaken a lively interest in it ethically 
 and sociologically ; a knowledge of the 
 world in which we live ; the phenomena 
 of nature, as treated in works of science 
 or demonstrated in the laboratory, to 
 open to us the thoughts of Deity ; and a 
 knowledge of God, our Creator, Pre- 
 server, and Savior. 
 
 For the refinement of life one must 
 give himself to the pursuit of those 
 things that bring to birth and develop 
 the sentiments of the soul. No one can 
 live the refined life, unless, in some 
 way, the soul's noble feelings are 
 roused and kept active. Therefore we 
 need some acquaintance with the hu- 
 manities and the fine arts. Here we 
 
 68 
 
Contiuct a0 2Dut^ to &rit 
 
 may include the Bible for its great 
 stores of literary excellence, profound 
 truth, true principles of right living, 
 and portrayal of the world^s greatest 
 character. We have also the open 
 book of nature in many and varied 
 forms of beauty and grandeur. "Na- 
 ture speaks the truth. She is also 
 beneficent and loving as well, provided 
 that you take her at her best, and work 
 with her in her own way. Give your- 
 self to her, and she gives herself to 
 you." 
 
 In the mountains of southern Penn- 
 sylvania a lone fisherman set forth at 
 eventide to spend the night by a moun- 
 tain stream. It was a beautiful night, 
 calm and clear, and nature was in a 
 hush. The night was not eventful ; but 
 when morning began its course, the 
 fisherman was roused from his reveries 
 by the glories of the dawn. First came 
 morning's gray streaks; then the stars 
 went to rest. Across the stream in the 
 forest an unrecognized bird, a herald of 
 day, gave forth a shrill note; a hawk 
 
Conduct 
 
 raised its harsh cry ; wood thrushes, in 
 "sweet wood notes wild," warbled, in 
 strophe and antistrophe, their sweetest 
 song; and the bluejays, in querulous 
 tones, came tripping from tree to tree; 
 and the oratorio of the woods was over. 
 Daylight had come, and with it the fish- 
 erman "hied him home." The sun was 
 shining full against the hillside, and 
 the dewdrop was transformed into dia- 
 mond and emerald and amber. Then 
 did the fisherman become the poet, and 
 his cup of sentiment was full. Out of 
 his soul rose incense that is in the keep- 
 ing of the angel of the records, and a 
 poem, that continually sweetens life, 
 lies hid in the fisherman's soul. 
 
 In the First Psalm are set forth the 
 laws of moral and spiritual perfection. 
 In the first place, one must eschew all 
 ungodliness. This is indeed a negative 
 law, yet it implies a supreme choice. 
 The evil needs be negatived for a two- 
 fold reason : that it may not harm ; and 
 that the good may have full opportu- 
 nity for growth and enrichment. In 
 
 70 
 
Contmct a^ SDutp to &elf 
 
 the next place we have a positive law 
 in the declaration of an essential in the 
 souFs growth, — delightful and medi- 
 tative study of the Lord's law written 
 in man's nature, in history and civil- 
 ization, on the pages of nature, and, 
 primarily, in the revealed Word and in 
 Jesus of Nazareth, the living Word of 
 God. These are the laws of growth, — 
 for "he shall be like a tree planted by 
 the streams of water." They are the 
 laws, as well, of continuous stability, — 
 for the "leaf also doth not wither.'' 
 Again, they are the laws of productive- 
 ness, — for fruit is brought forth in sea- 
 son. Lastly, they are the laws of pros- 
 perity, — "In whatsoever he doeth, he 
 shall prosper." He who observes them 
 is blessed ; and the Lord knows his way. 
 We have also the privilege of inti- 
 mate communion with the Father, in 
 fellowship with whom we grow more 
 and more into likeness to him. The 
 promise of the Holy Spirit for guidance 
 into truth, and to apply heaven's spark 
 to man's intellectual attainments, 
 
 71 
 
Contiuct 
 
 should be claimed every day. "And 
 grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in 
 whom ye were sealed unto the day of 
 redemption." 
 
 72 
 
SiiS 2Dut? to SDtbtt0 
 
 X 
 
 (ConDuct as Dutg— to ©tijets— to 
 ©ocietg— to ©oD 
 
 One^s neighbor is as much in need of 
 the perfection of his being as himself. 
 And since "no one lives unto himself/^ 
 it is incumbent upon each one to help 
 his neighbor secure the potent person- 
 ality which he craves for himself. This 
 is the opportunity to employ the three 
 great laws of conduct for a neighbor's 
 good. How to do this must be left to 
 the enlightened conscience of each indi- 
 vidual on the occasion of need. 
 
 But more is due our neighbor than 
 service in helping him to perfect his 
 nature. He has needs many and ills 
 many. The ideal attitude and conduct 
 in relation to him are set forth in the 
 parable of the Good Samaritan, and 
 other of the Lord's parables. It is to 
 help the unfortunate, feed the hungry, 
 
 73 
 
€onhntt 
 
 clothe the naked, visit the sick, and go 
 to those in prison. This is the spirit 
 and the type of conduct that possessed 
 David Livingstone, the apostle to Af- 
 rica, in laboring "to heal the open sore 
 of the world.'' How beautifully it has 
 been employed in the establishment of 
 the Oxford orphanages by the great- 
 souled George Miiller, and in the patri- 
 arch and apostle to the New Hebrides, 
 John G. Paton. It is seen in Jane Ad- 
 dams, the angel of Hull House, Chi- 
 cago. No more beautiful story is told 
 of the late Bishop Phillips Brooks than 
 that of his caring for a peevish babe 
 while the mother, at his word, went out 
 into the open to breathe the fresh air of 
 the seashore. Heaven looks on when a 
 drink of refreshing water is given in 
 the name of a disciple. 
 
 The leprosy of sin has eaten to man's 
 very life's core. His danger is immi- 
 nent. Even now the voice of Jesus 
 rings clear, "Go ye into all the world, 
 and preach the gospel to the whole cre- 
 ation," "that repentance and remission 
 
 74 
 
ja0 2Dutp to SDtitt& 
 
 of sins may be preached in his name 
 unto all the nations, beginning at Je- 
 rusalem.^' Are we his disciples? Then 
 the call is to us. Do we lack passion 
 for souls? See Jesus as he sits on Oli- 
 vet's side weeping over unrepentant 
 Jerusalem. Have jou seen a mother in 
 her anguish of soul at the bier of an 
 unrepentant son? If so, you can appre- 
 ciate in a way, the intense heart pangs 
 of Jesus at his rejection by Jerusalem. 
 
 We may learn something from the 
 conduct of Paul. "Woe is unto me," 
 said he, "if I preach not the gospel." 
 And again, "I say the truth in Christ, 
 I lie not, my conscience bearing witness 
 with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have 
 great sorrow and unceasing pain in my 
 heart. For I could wish that I myself 
 were anathema from Christ for my 
 brethren's sake, my kinsmen according 
 to the flesh." 
 
 Closely allied to the duties to one's 
 neighbor are those to society. Lord 
 Tennyson says in Locksley Hall : 
 
€onmtt 
 
 "Cursed be the social wants that sin against the 
 strength of youth ! 
 
 Cursed be the social lies that warp us from the 
 truth ! 
 
 Cursed be the sickly forms that err from honest 
 nature's rule ! 
 
 Cursed be the gold that gilds the straitened fore- 
 head of the fool !" 
 
 In the first verse the imprecation is 
 against the degrading and corrupting 
 practices, vices, and amusements that 
 rob youth of beauty, personal power, 
 and character, and destroy the body 
 and soul. In the second, the curse is 
 pronounced against the lie that no 
 sanctity attaches to the family, no vir- 
 tue to the church, no inherent rights to 
 the state. It is the lie against all social 
 order, whose foundation is the family. 
 The third imprecation is against the 
 vices of society, the social evil and the 
 enslavement of man's being by any 
 practice or habit. Woman was created 
 to fill the sacred duties of mother, 
 daughter, sister, and wife ; not to be a 
 mere thing, to be offered, virtue and all, 
 as a chattel in the market of passion. 
 Man was made for the place of father, 
 
ja0 S>ntv to SDtitt0 
 
 son, brother, and husband, to be pure 
 and noble like the Nazarene. The 
 fourth imprecation is against the 
 selfish, unsocial, criminal, and misan- 
 thropic use of money. The ethical 
 imperative is to destroy the social 
 wrong, to preserve the social institu- 
 tions, and to save the people. 
 
 There is yet another phase to the 
 problem of society. It is called the so- 
 cial problem. There is danger to social 
 solidarity. Modern industrial move- 
 ments have brought with them a disin- 
 tegration that threatens to bring about 
 the submergence of the individual. 
 Civilization seems to have moved away 
 from "an individual to a collective 
 type." Human interests center in 
 great organizations; and mergers 
 without souls are to the front. "Man 
 goes to the shop where he becomes a 
 mere number, and his voice is lost in 
 the hum of machinery." Now, ethics 
 demands the integrity of the individ- 
 ual, while it recognizes the social idea. 
 The imperative need is for all men to 
 
 77 
 
Conduct 
 
 recognize that humanity lives in vital 
 ethical relations, as deep as being it- 
 self, and that the whole complex life of 
 man must be thoroughly ethicized, 
 made submissive to moral law. The 
 remedy is in the three great laws. 
 When labor and capital come to realize 
 that neither can live unto itself, and 
 that each without the other cannot 
 thrive, and employ the principles of 
 service, sacrifice, and love, in an altru- 
 ism begotten of the spirit of the King, 
 selfishness will pass, and common in- 
 terest will have free course. 
 
 The great principle herein involved 
 is that of Christian comity in all dis- 
 putes. We have had enough of the 
 strike, boycott, and mob violence in our 
 fair land. In soberness of mind let 
 there be recourse to this principle of 
 mutual respect, which is of the very 
 highest ethical value, and it will allay 
 industrial hate and social discontent. 
 
 "The individual," says Prof. Borden 
 P. Bowne, "who has no interest in the 
 common good, deserves all condemna- 
 
 78 
 
Si0 SDut^ to SDt^tt^ 
 
 tion; but that view is equally selfish 
 and odious which would sacrifice the 
 individual to society. A common good 
 to which all minister and in which all 
 share is the only conception which sat- 
 isfies us." And again, "Devotion to the 
 common good is the great condition of 
 a moral life, and even of social exist- 
 ence. Hence, in one form or another, 
 it is the great demand which ethics 
 makes upon the individual." 
 
 To God we owe all. He has written 
 in us, and all about us, the evidence of 
 his power, wisdom, and perfection, 
 goodness, love, and providence. It is 
 our duty to know him and to worship 
 him, to believe in him and to trust him, 
 to be obedient to him in the continuous 
 performance of his will. We owe to 
 him ourselves, and to do all our service 
 in grateful recognition of him as the 
 giver of all personal powers, and oppor- 
 tunities to do good. 
 
 79 
 
C6ti0ttan CgaracUt 
 
 XI 
 
 €bti»tim Ctataetet 
 
 "The Christian character, in its per- 
 fect idea, is the nature of man 
 completely ethicized through the in- 
 dwelling of the Spirit." "The center of 
 character is found in the will to do 
 right." This being true, it follows that 
 Christian character is the nature of 
 man imbued with the new humanity in 
 Jesus, by the self-determining powor of 
 the will. This choice is made under 
 the inspiring presence, influence, and 
 power of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Character begins in a supreme 
 choice, in the good will choosing a 
 good. It is Christian when the choice 
 is directed to Jesus Christ as the high- 
 est good, or is made in the spirit of the 
 Christ with the good of the kingdom as 
 an end. Here, again, we must keep in 
 mind that "the good is nothing real ex- 
 
 6 81 
 
Conduct 
 
 cept as the good of a person," since the 
 kingdom of God is an institution in the 
 hearts of men, with a spiritual Head. 
 It may take the direction of the per- 
 sonal, the social, or the theistic senti- 
 ments. In either event the effect is 
 character. 
 
 In order that the good will may re- 
 main the center of character, it must 
 continually direct the life to appropri- 
 ate ends in the good, which is conduct. 
 Now, character, in its very nature, can- 
 not remain stationary. It will either 
 grow or degenerate. In the Christian 
 it must be a development; and, at the 
 same time, it is a spiritual dynamic 
 that must express itself in conduct, or 
 lose all. But not only is it a force that 
 expresses and expends itself in con- 
 duct; like all things mental and spir- 
 itual, it increases by that which it 
 expends. "There is that scattereth, and 
 increaseth yet more; and there is that 
 withholdeth more than is meet, but it 
 lendeth only to want." 
 
 The chief glory of character is that 
 
 82 
 
C8ti0tian CJatacUt 
 
 in expressing and expending itself it 
 gives itself. And since holiness, love, 
 and truth are its primal qualities, they 
 are its contribution to life. But it does 
 not stop with giving itself ; for it takes 
 the peculiar abilities of the individual, 
 in whom it is incarnated, and goes 
 abroad with them to love, sacrifice, and 
 serve for the blessing of humanity. 
 Thus it not only enriches and dignifies 
 the life of the possessor, but also it en- 
 riches and sweetens the life of others, 
 and sheds a fragrance upon the world. 
 And surely the field is white unto 
 harvest. The opportunity is here to 
 employ our best selves in unselfish 
 service. The opportunity is here to be- 
 get within us a superb selfhood in the 
 loving service of man and God. Dr. 
 J. G. Holland has beautifully express- 
 ed this in the following: 
 
 "I count this thing to be grandly true, 
 That a noble deed is a step toward God, 
 Lifting the soul from the common sod 
 To purer air and a broader view." 
 
 83 
 
ConHuct 
 
 Thus these verses depict the influence 
 of service upon character. Could we 
 but make them a daily motto, lifers toil 
 would soon cease to be a burden, and 
 the duties of the kingdom would be per- 
 formed with alacrity. Instill such a 
 motto into the life of a contracted, 
 peevish Christian for his daily service, 
 and he will cease finding fault with 
 every one and everything; and for all 
 his former "trials and tribulations" he 
 will have victories and joys. There 
 was one faultfinder in the company of 
 Jesus, and he proved to be a fiend ; but 
 there was one who looked into the heart 
 of Jesus and read its sweet sentiments 
 of love; and to the end of his days his 
 message was, "Little children, love.'' 
 
 'Again, put that sentiment into the 
 heart of sorrow or discouragement, and 
 let it be employed for a single day, and 
 it will brighten as the sun bursting 
 from behind a cloud, as the fresh joys 
 of heaven rush in and crowd out the 
 grief. Introduce it into the life and 
 work of the church, and there will be a 
 
 84 
 
€W^tian CJatacUt 
 
 transformation in all of its services and 
 ministries. "The moral atmosphere of 
 these Christian days is the vitalizing, 
 sunny power of the gospel." Another 
 has said, "Character was not made to 
 grow in a vacuum, but in a sunny air.'' 
 
 When one has his life centered in the 
 good deed, there is neither room nor 
 time, except to pursue that good until 
 it is effected in joy, and in greater 
 beauty of character. And it must be 
 so, since it is Godlike, and brings us 
 nearer to God. It crowds earth out of 
 life; and we are made to breathe the 
 pure air of heaven and to have such an 
 outlook on life as dispels its trivialities 
 and meanness, and fills it with good 
 and hope and aspiration. 
 
 But what is the influence of service 
 upon character in the life of the strong 
 man? Experience has taught him what 
 the joy and increased Christian stature 
 are. Each day brings added zest to 
 this high-souled man in moving the 
 masses. And wherein lies his high- 
 souledness? It is in the fact that while 
 
 85 
 
Contiuct 
 
 others waste their spiritual substance 
 in petty meanness, this one grows into 
 increased power, and more enduring 
 character by a service that makes his 
 fellows holier and happier. This man 
 goes to his service with an ardor that 
 betokens a keen passion for good. He 
 comes out of it with the joy of victory, 
 with a nobler manhood, stronger and 
 readier for the next good. He may be 
 a mere, humble toiler; he may be a 
 prophet of God. High or low, he is a 
 nobleman of the kingdom. And he 
 serves singing, "In thy service pain is 
 pleasure; with thy favor, sacrifice is 
 gain." 
 
 Character has a twofold ultimate. 
 The one is the devotional life. No 
 Christian can render such service, or 
 perform such conduct as the kingdom 
 of God demands and grants, and Chris- 
 tian character prompts, and not enter 
 into closer fellowship with God. The 
 other is an eternal force. It con- 
 tinues in the soul in which it has its 
 evolution throughout the world-age 
 
 86 
 
C6rt0tian CSatacter 
 
 and the eternal age. It has also a re- 
 incarnation in the lives that it reaches 
 and influences; and here it will con- 
 tinue in the years and generations yet 
 to be, in ever-widening power. 
 
 87 
 
%^t 2Det)ot(Dnal JLitt 
 
 XII 
 Cl)e Detootional Hife 
 
 The devotional life is the direction 
 of one's powers and faculties to God, 
 the all-appropriate end, and the abso- 
 lute end. It is the dedication to him, 
 in self-determination, of all that we are 
 and possess for the service of him. Its 
 greatest expression is supreme love to 
 God, the Father ; and this love proceeds 
 from one's whole spiritual being, — 
 heart, soul, and mind. The ordinary, 
 and yet all-important, manifestations 
 of the devotional life are piety and 
 prayer. 
 
 The implication in the preceding 
 words is that the devotional life is one 
 of self-surrender out of pure love to 
 God, so that we are happy in the reali- 
 zation that we are bond-servants of the 
 Father and the Son. And this does not 
 effect an arbitrary ownership in God, 
 
 89 
 
Conduct 
 
 neither does it involve us in spiritual 
 slavery or loss of personality. It is a 
 voluntary allegiance, out of a loving 
 heart, to God, whose sovereignty is ex- 
 ercised in love. It is the greatest free- 
 dom, since it is self-given ; and in this 
 relation the soul is freest from the 
 trammels of sin. 
 
 Therefore, the devotional life is an 
 attitude of heart, and it is based upon 
 character. It is that which makes our 
 self-surrendered lives worthy of God's 
 acceptance and keeping. It is this that 
 conditions our fellowship with God, 
 since we can devote to him only as 
 much as we are, and the kind that we 
 are. On this also our appreciation of 
 God is based, inasmuch as it can only 
 be as intense as our capacity to enjoy 
 him. Again, our oneness with God 
 rests on the same basis; and the cov- 
 enant existing between him and us is 
 not sealed until we make the Godward 
 investment of life. 
 
 The fruits of this life are as its na- 
 ture, and, in some aspects, one with its 
 
 90 
 
%^t SDebotional JLitt 
 
 nature. There is first a serenity and 
 restfulness of spirit, a repose of soul. 
 In the souFs environment there may be 
 every form of distraction, yet within, a 
 feeling of confidence and security, such 
 as inspires songs in the night. Its best 
 illustrations are the simple trust which 
 a child reposes in its parents, and the 
 heroism of the great soul that is un- 
 moved by the imminence of danger, be- 
 cause of a correct attitude toward the 
 Father. Moreover, there is the open 
 vision toward God, in which the soul 
 gazes on him and contemplates him in 
 his majestic love and beauty. Many 
 there are who prize, above all, the in- 
 ward look; they seem to think that in- 
 trospection is life's greatest satisfac- 
 tion. Again, many have their soul's 
 gaze simply on the things of earth ; but 
 in the life that is consecrated to God, 
 there is possible a vision of the tran- 
 scendent glory of God in his perfection. 
 And nothing in life's outward circum- 
 stances breaks off the view. 
 
 Another employment of the devo- 
 
 91 
 
Conduct 
 
 tional life is spiritual meditation, in 
 which the soul takes cognizance of 
 God's redemptive scheme and his great 
 thoughts of holiness, love, and truth for 
 the vitalization of one's whole life. 
 But, more than all, the soul delights in 
 thoughts of "the unspeakable riches of 
 Christ," of its relation to him, and, 
 through him, to God ; and there is not 
 an event of his life on earth, but it fur- 
 nishes food for man's quiet thinking. 
 
 Then there is the habit of experien- 
 cing God. A nature lover on a summer 
 afternoon went to the haunts of his 
 boyhood by the rocky side of a moun- 
 tain stream. After some time spent in 
 communing with the things about, he 
 set to the task of climbing the moun- 
 tain's bleak, rough side. At the sum- 
 mit he sat down ; and nothing disturbed 
 his solitude save the roar of the stream 
 below. In all the view not a bird was 
 in sight, nor any living thing, but only 
 rocks and trees, and many of the latter 
 in melancholy deadness. Yet the lover 
 of nature did not feel that he was alone. 
 
 92 
 
^6e SDebottonal JLitt 
 
 He was in a pensive mood, when sud- 
 denly the very air seemed to be filled 
 with a glorious presence. Deity seemed 
 to be enveloping him, and announcing 
 himself to him in some form of spir- 
 itual communication. It was the still 
 small voice speaking to the soul that 
 thus was conscious of God. 
 
 Again, the soul, in the devotional 
 life, feasts on God. The duties are 
 transformed into splendid privileges; 
 and when they are performed in the 
 spirit of the Nazarene, they become the 
 channels by which we receive spiritual 
 sustenance, and the means of growth 
 in the Christian graces and virtues. 
 This life is Godward, moving upward 
 in prayer and heavenly aspiration. In 
 this reflex action spiritual furnishing 
 is borne direct from God. Here the 
 soul grows by what it gives. Its ex- 
 penditure is its food, and this, in turn, 
 effects additional spiritual enrichment. 
 
 The devotional life is a life in Christ. 
 ^^Your life is hid with Christ in God" ; 
 "and in him ye are made full." To his 
 
Contiuct 
 
 disciples he said, "I am the vine, ye are 
 the branches: he that abideth in me, 
 and I in him, the same beareth much 
 fruit : for apart from me ye can do noth- 
 ing." "In an appalling metaphor he 
 declared, ^Verily, verily, I say unto you. 
 Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of 
 man and drink his blood, ye have not 
 life in yourselves. He that eateth my 
 flesh and drinketh my blood hath eter- 
 nal life ; and I will raise him up at the 
 last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, 
 and my blood is drink indeed. He that 
 eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood 
 abideth in me, and I in him.' " 
 
 Herein is set forth the mystical 
 union of Christ and the redeemed soul. 
 [And it is in him, in this union, that the 
 believer lives his life of devotion to the 
 Father. When Jesus took on our hu- 
 manity this union became a fact and a 
 potency. "And thus now, as at all time, 
 mankind are, so to speak, organically 
 united with him. His acts are in a true 
 sense our acts, so far as we realize the 
 union." 
 
 94 
 
U8e SDebotfonal mtt 
 
 As Jesus is the mediator in redemp- 
 tion, so he is the mediator in the life 
 after redemption. As in his own na- 
 ture he unites man with God, so in his 
 office he unites mankind with God ; and 
 he takes our lives just as they are and 
 binds them up with his own ; and in the 
 glory of his own righteousness makes 
 us one with the Father, as he is one 
 with him. Thus we are made "partak- 
 ers of the divine nature," of the Fath- 
 er's life and blessedness. 
 
 This fact of the life in Christ rests 
 upon a theological and an evangelical 
 basis. In the epistles of Paul written 
 from his Roman imprisonment, we are 
 taught that in Christ is the truth, the 
 fullness of the Godhead and all full- 
 ness, and all the treasures of wisdom 
 and knowledge. He is the one in whom, 
 by whom, and for whom all things con- 
 sist, even the creation. And in him 
 God purposes every good for man. He 
 is declared to be the head of the church, 
 its corner-stone and bridegroom. In 
 him we are justified and rooted and 
 
 95 
 
ConHttct 
 
 possessed of freedom. In him we hope 
 and believe and walk and have ability 
 to do all things. With him we are cru- 
 cified ; and with him we are raised from 
 the death of sin. In him all things are 
 to be summed up and man is to be per- 
 fected. Thus he is the all and in all, in 
 whom "we live and move and have our 
 being." 
 
 For this life we are enjoined to be 
 filled with the Holy Spirit. "His spe- 
 cial sphere is the human spirit. His 
 indwelling already works a new life, 
 answering to the life of the risen 
 Christ. This life of the spirit in man 
 is preeminently a life of sonship to- 
 wards God ; those who follow it possess 
 the privilege of sons in the divine fam- 
 ily.'' He identifies himself with the 
 human spirit in its struggle away from 
 earth toward God ; and he will continue 
 his work in the soul until he has per- 
 fected the nature which the son of God 
 redeemed. He is the vital energy in the 
 new birth. In the kingdom he per- 
 forms the offices of grace and love, in- 
 
 96 
 
^it SDthoiioml JLiU 
 
 asmuch as man is not competent in 
 himself for all of the conduct of the 
 kingdom. He is the spirit of truth; 
 and he is come to teach us all things in 
 our ignorance, to stir our memories 
 when they are dull and sluggish and 
 forget the things concerning the 
 Christ ; and at the parting of the ways, 
 when in doubt and short-sightedness, 
 and even conscience fails us, "howbeit 
 when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he 
 shall guide you into all the truth.'' 
 
 Even this is not enough. We need 
 one to interpret to us the Ideal, one who 
 is fully and intimately in the knowl- 
 edge of the Ideal, and profoundly 
 appreciates him. "But when the Para- 
 clete is come, whom I will send unto 
 you from the Father, even the Spirit of 
 truth, which proceedeth from the Fath- 
 er, he shall bear witness of me." "He 
 shall glorify me: for he shall take of 
 mine, and shall declare it unto you." 
 
 He also quickens us for service. For 
 the Christian worker Pentecost has the 
 'deepest significance, and furnishes an 
 
 7 97 
 
Conduct 
 
 unfailing method. The command is to 
 tarry until one is endued with the Holy 
 Spirit. Thus is made possible our imi- 
 tation of Christ, which is ^^the middle 
 point of Christian ethics." ^The king- 
 dom of God," said Doctor Martensen, 
 "as the highest good finds its central 
 realization in the imitation of Christ." 
 The growth and development of the 
 kingdom have been by the acts of the 
 Holy Spirit, in human lives imitating 
 Jesus, the Christ, in the successive 
 stages of the ethical and spiritual evo- 
 lution of the kingdom. 
 
 98 
 
delation to tit SDetJotional JLite 
 
 XIII 
 
 Cbe Eelation of ConDuct to tge 
 Devotional Life 
 
 In the kingdom of God conduct is the 
 devotional life, whether in the volun- 
 tary direction of the life to appropriate 
 ends in the good, or in the voluntary 
 direction of the life immediately to 
 God for the purpose of spiritual com- 
 munion. The life is one, and the whole 
 of it is sacred. The person w^ho labors 
 also prays and worships; and all the 
 conduct of the household of God is per- 
 formed unto the Lord. 
 
 Here the life is essentially spiritual ; 
 even the body is sanctified of God. "I 
 beseech you therefore, brethren, by the 
 mercies of God," says Paul, "to present 
 your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac- 
 ceptable to God, which is your rational 
 service.'^ The labor that is performed 
 with the high purpose of physical 
 
 99 
 
Contiuct 
 
 health and sustenance, the service ren- 
 dered for the good of another, and the 
 worship of God in all the means of 
 grace, are of the one spiritual life in 
 Christ. The same inference is to be 
 drawn from the surrendered life. In 
 our covenant with God we dedicate to 
 him all that we have, all that we are, 
 all that we do, — all of our abilities and 
 possibilities. This includes the body, 
 with all of its several parts ; the mind, 
 with all of its functions ; the soul, with 
 all of its aspirations. They are all of 
 God, and for him they are to be em- 
 ployed. Their rational employment in 
 such voluntary surrender to God is con- 
 duct ; and it is devotion. 
 
 Again, conduct stands to the devo- 
 tional life in the relation of cause and 
 effect. It is granted that conduct is an 
 effect of the devotional life. The life 
 devoted to God is a veritable storehouse 
 of vital energy. It is a spiritual 
 dynamic, an inherent and efficient 
 force that blesses the individual pos- 
 sessor, and others, by the sweet influ- 
 
 100 
 
leuiatton to tit aPebotlonar %iU 
 
 ences from its own holy being, and 
 through the ministries of love and 
 truth. But whence comes this power? 
 The quality and intensity of the devo- 
 tional life are as our Christian charac- 
 ter. And back of growth and character 
 is conduct. We grow by what we do 
 rationally and responsibly. The char- 
 acter develops by the good we will and 
 do. Now, this is conduct, doing the 
 good by direction of the good will. 
 
 In regeneration we take on the new 
 humanity in Christ. This is the life; 
 but whence the abundant life? The 
 "new creature" in Christ grows and de- 
 velops in the same way that a child 
 reaches maturity. Its entire being 
 finally arrives at mature life after 
 years given to healthful exercise of 
 body, mind, and spirit. The abundant 
 life begins when all of our powers are 
 rationally exercised to realize the best 
 life in Christ. In this way character 
 takes root, and by all spiritual and 
 rational conduct develops into com- 
 plete being. Character, in turn, 
 
 101 
 
Contiuct 
 
 becomes an ever-growing and ever- 
 renewing fountain of life, a new cause 
 of conduct, and of better conduct con- 
 tinuously. And thus they serve as 
 alternating cause and effect in the evo- 
 lution of life. 
 
 The devotional life is an effect of 
 both conduct and character. The pri- 
 mary effect of conduct is capacity; of 
 character, it is quality. God demands 
 both for the devotional life. He de- 
 mands as large service and as good 
 service as is possible to the life growing 
 into larger capacity for vital energy 
 and into greater beauty of holiness. 
 And so the process sweeps on. Con- 
 duct begets character, and character, 
 conduct; and both are the devotional 
 life, and issue again in the larger devo- 
 tional life, which, in turn, becomes a 
 new and potent cause in conduct. This 
 is the abundant life, and the best life. 
 
 102 
 
final dfllatd 
 
 XIV 
 JFinal saotD 
 
 Life is fraught with dangers and 
 crises. With all the ideality of Christian 
 ethics account must still be taken of 
 sin and its consequences in crime and 
 misery. "I find, then, the law, that, to 
 me who would do good, evil is present." 
 Again, Paul says, "O wretched man 
 that I am ! who shall deliver me out of 
 the body of this death?" Each one for 
 himself needs take stock of life to as- 
 certain his credits and debits. And 
 conduct needs so to be directed as more 
 and more to crowd out the sin that 
 makes the soul restive. 
 
 And yet for the personal life we need 
 do but little beside giving the life of 
 service to God complete sway. If one's 
 whole conduct is given to the life of de- 
 votion in the ways that God directs, 
 then surely there will be neither time 
 
 103 
 
Conduct 
 
 nor place for sin. But sin is in the 
 world ; and, in the absence of the Lord, 
 we are to rise and smite the wrong. 
 We are to do this because sin is de- 
 structive of life, and for the construc- 
 tion of the kingdom of God. Conduct 
 employed in the destruction and de- 
 thronement of vice and crime and mis- 
 ery is an abounding good ; and, as such, 
 makes for character and the devotional 
 life. 
 
 If sin is in the world, and in our 
 members even, we need not despair ; for 
 we are not under necessity to commit 
 sin. And Paul tells us, ^'There is there- 
 fore now no condemnation to them that 
 are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the 
 Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me 
 free from the law of sin and death." 
 But what shall we do in the crises of 
 life? In these crises lie the greatest 
 dangers to the growing life. When in 
 the solemnity of soul, stilled into si- 
 lence, we come face to face with life's 
 momentous questions, upon the de- 
 cision of which hang life's destiny and 
 
 104 
 
Jflnal dfllotd 
 
 hope, what shall be our attitude? Here 
 decision involves character. A wrong 
 decision means reversion in life and de- 
 generation of character. Even one 
 wrong choice may mean eternal ruin. 
 'A right choice means a nobler life and a 
 better hope of a blissful destiny. 
 
 Each day the crises present them- 
 selves, some of greater moment and 
 §ome of less, but ever and anon with the 
 same solemn consequences, according 
 as we decide. And if any ask, "What 
 is the need of the life of intimate and 
 constant intercourse with God in 
 Christ?" let them pause to ponder in 
 the presence of life's crises. 
 
 God ordained the whole life of the 
 kingdom with its ministries and devo- 
 tions to keep us so near to him as to be 
 safe. So he made the life one, every 
 feature in harmony and relationship 
 with every other part, and all working 
 in one another larger capacity and 
 greater beauty for the greater safety of 
 life. For the same reason he ordained 
 that the life should be in Christ, our 
 
 103 
 
Conduct 
 
 divine-human brother, in whom the life 
 was supremely and perfectly one, and 
 by the enduement of the indwelling 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, 
 be ye stedfast, unmovable, always 
 abounding in the work of the Lord, for- 
 asmuch as ye know that your labor is 
 not vain in the Lord." 
 
 106 
 
of (Em Snnks. 
 
 Each designed to set forth in a plain 
 and practical manner the cardinal doctrines 
 as taught in the Word of God. 
 
 THE LOVE OF GOD. By W. M. Bell, D.D. 
 THE ATONEMENT. By Bishop E. B. Kep- 
 
 hart, D.D., LL.D. 
 HOLINESS. By Bishop J. S. Mills, D.D., 
 
 Ph.D., LL.D. 
 BAPTISM. By A. W. Drury, D.D. 
 REGENERATION. By S. D. Faust, D.D. 
 JUSTIFICATION. By Bishop G. M. Math- 
 
 ews D.D 
 THE DIVINITYOF OUR LORD. By G. A. 
 
 Funkhouser, D.D. 
 REPENTANCE. By L. Bookwalter, D.D. 
 THE HOLY TRINITY. By J. P. Landis, 
 
 D.D., Ph.D. 
 THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. By Bishop 
 
 N. Castle, D.D. 
 
 Bound in substantial cloth, uniform 
 style, 6^x4^ inches. Single volume, net, 
 35 (HtntB, Ten volumes at one time, pre- 
 paid, ^3.50. 
 
 Uniform in size with the Devotional 
 Books. 
 
 W. R. FUNK, Agent. DAYTON, OHIO. 
 
A NEW EDITION. 
 
 OEHING AND GIVING 
 
 OR THE 
 
 Stewardship of Wealth. 
 By REV. W. M. WEEXLEY. D.D. 
 
 Second edition with an introduction by Rev. 
 J. F. Cowan, D.D., Associate Editor of the 
 Christian Endeavor World. 
 
 WORDS OF APPRECIATION. 
 
 It is reasonable and scriptural, and it puts the 
 question upon Christian ground and keeps it 
 there. — Washington Gladden. 
 
 It is written in a clear, forcible style, and a 
 wide circulation of it will give light and quicken- 
 ing to many a conscience, and hasten the coming 
 of the kingdom of Qod.—BUhop J. S. Mills. 
 
 Elegant red cloth, 136 pages, 12mo, 75 cents. 
 
 The same in paper, 15 cents, post-paid. 
 
 Per dozen, prepaid, $1.50. 
 
 This is the opportunity for the pastor and 
 presiding elder to distribute these books at small 
 cost. Send in your orders. 
 
 United Brethren Publishing House, 
 
 W. R. FUNK, Agent. DAYTON. OHIO. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 30^''"'^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 'mi>^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 v^^^l^t 
 
 mm^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CAYLORD 
 
 
 
 fHINTCDINUS.A. 
 
BX9878.5.S73 
 
 Conduct : its relation to the devotional 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00045 5412 
 
 I 
 
 imiii