s ■ I . v I I ^a*.;*"- 1 " LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. \helH.m>Mt UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. //>, /. Old corM; OR, SERMONS AND ADDRESSES Spiritual %iie, DAVID B. UPDEGRAFF. Introduction by Rev. Joseph H. Smith, " And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old com of the land. — Joshua J : 12. BOSTON: the Mcdonald & gill company 1892 UfcowommJ washihgtoit COPTKIGHT, 18912 By David B. Updegraff LC c °ntrol Number ■■ tmp96 029022 AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO JttS mow* iDife, My Sons and rray Daughters, TO Brethren and Sisters of every Name, called to the Work of the Ministry, and to all ®hj> i3dot)*fo of (Boh " That in every place call upon Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." PREFACE. IN putting forth the present volume, the author is deeply conscious, that it has no claim to perfection. If he did not believe that it was of the Lord, this book would never appear. At various times and places many of these discourses have already been given to the pub- lic. When published in the secular press, however, they have been very inadequately, not to say, incorrectly reported. Either at home or abroad they have been preached extemporaneously, and have subsequently been written from notes, reports, or memory, and the themes enlarged upon as seemed best in order to prepare them for the public in the present durable form. The Lord has graciously owned them when first presented orally to the people, and the prayer goes with them that He may again vouchsafe an abundant blessing upon this effort to serve my fellowmen and glorify Him. Thou- sands of God's dear children are struggling on in the great tide of religiousness, knowing but little of real spiritual life, yet yearning to know the way of God more perfectly. It is with deep longings of soul that such dear ones may realize the fullness of their birth- right in Christ Jesus, that these pages have been written. Not a few have kindly acknowledged the blessings already received through these messages, and vi PREFACE. greatly desire that they might be put into the accessi- ble and durable form of a book, encouraging the hope that others might receive similar benefit. The supreme desire of the writer is that it may be so, and that Jesus may be so lifted up as to draw the reader to Himself, rather than to the writer. That the truth may have been brought out in such clearness and fairness that the Holy Spirit can own and seal it upon the heart. As to literary claims, none whatever are made. The writer neither seeks for literary effect nor despises it. With him it is simply and entirely a secondary matter. Ine most attractive dinner dishes are those which are filled with fragrant and delicious food. Notwithstanding, therefore, many defects, and regrets that some other themes have been crowded out, it is hoped that it will not be regarded presumption for me to expect a warm welcome for what has been written, from a multitude ol loving friends, and even kindly treatment by critics. The days of opportunity for the preparation of these pages have been full of other cares, and providentially afforded by the invalid condition of the beloved wife who has been the faithful companion of my ministry. And now to Him whose glory alone is sought, this vol- ume and all who may read it are lovingly committed. DAVID B. UPDEGRAFF. Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, July 1, 1892. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Old Corn 1 CHAPTER II. The Blood of Christ 12 CHAPTER III. Cleansing Through the Blood .... 22 CHAPTER IV. Consecration 35 CHAPTER Y. The Baptism with the Holt Ghost . . 45 CHAPTER VI. Is Pentecost Kepeated? 57 CHAPTER VII. Power for Service 65 CHAPTER VIII. Mistakes of Simon Magus ..... 81 CHAPTER IX. "Our Old Man"' 87 CHAPTER X. Crucified with Christ 101 CHAPTER XL The World Crucified ...... 112 CHAPTER XII. Steps in the Experience of the Apostles . 122 vii Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. Self-Purification 133 CHAPTER XIV. Unto Perfection 142 CHAPTER XV. A Good Conscience 156 CHAPTER XVI. Shall He Find Faith? 164 CHAPTER XVII. Self-Preservation 172 CHAPTER XVIII. Antagonisms to Holiness 182 CHAPTER XIX. Spirituality vs. Eitualism .... 196 CHAPTER XX. Last Promise of Jesus 215 CHAPTER XXI. Divine Guidance 227 CHAPTER XXII. John the Baptist 241 CHAPTER XXIII. An Unexpected Decree . . . . . 255 CHAPTER XXIV. Christ's Coming Premillennial . . . 269 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTEK XXV. The Parousia 278 CHAPTER XXVI. Free from the Law 284 CHAPTER XXVII. Serving in " Newness " or " Oldness " — Which? 298 CHAPTER XXVIII. Suffering and Glorification .... 310 CHAPTER XXIX. Salvation through Sanctification . . . 320 CHAPTER XXX. The Parables 335 CHAPTER XXXI. Sin not a Necessity 343 CHAPTER XXXII. Distinctions 349 CHAPTER XXXIII. Philosophy of Doubt 354 CHAPTER XXXIV. Negative Ritualism 360 CHAPTER XXXV. Trinity, the New Birth, etc 365 CHAPTER XXXVI. Personal Testimony ...... 372 INTRODUCTION. THE devout can but feel grateful that there is a grow- ing demand for books of this kind. We live in a day wherein the literary appetites of many professing Christians are strangely perverted. Indeed, it does seem to be fulfilled as it is written : " The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine ; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables " (2 Tim. 4 : 3, 4). Not only the press, but the pulpit also, in many in- stances, pander to this craving and clamor for some- thing other than the pure, simple gospel. The sensa- tional on the one hand, and the scientific on the other, are substituted for the spiritual and the Scriptural. No wonder we have efforts after " New Theologies " of various sorts. For the Old Cojrn of truth is not only not agreeable to the palate, but it is right in the way of a superficial piety, and a time-serving churchianity. True as all this is, yet it is to be rejoiced in that there is in all the churches a growing demand for more spirit- uality and less " criticism " from those who minister. Nineteenth century Christians are awakening to the fact that an intense piety can be maintained even in conjunction with the intense activities of our busy age. But to sustain such some helps are needed for the better apprehension of spiritual truth. And men and women everywhere are gratefully embracing the various gifts of this kind which a loving Father provides. xii INTRODUCTION. And it is to be remarked that another hopeful sign of the times is seen in this, that God has raised up in our day men and women specially endowed and speci- ally qualified for this greatly needed ministry of the Spirit. Colleges and theological seminaries are indeed doing much to advance the standard of learning in the ministry. And if the learned men and the learners could only subordinate this learning to spirituality, it would furnish abundant occasion of thanksgiving. But God, in many instances, institutes and employs other agencies to produce " able ministers of the New Testa- ment.'''' In all ages a spiritual ministry has been a supernatural gift. This age is no exception to that rule. Whatever of natural or acquired talent may be used by the Head of the Church, or whatever of natu- ral insignificance may be employed, the ministry must in every instance be spiritual ; spiritual not only in the sense of piety in the minister, but also in the sense of a spiritual gift divinely conferred by the Holy Spirit for the ends of the ministry. To many who will open this book its author will need no introduction. They already know him as a man of God, a man for these times, " a man filled with faith and with the Holy Ghost," and a man singularly endowed with spiritual gifts "for the work of the min- istry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." David B. Updegraff did, doubtless, inherit a strong personality from a godly ancestry. An ancestry whose children, for generations, have proved the fulfillment of God's manifold promises to the households of such as fear Him and keep His commandments. Physical strength, longevity, intellectual vigor and INTRODUCTION. Xlll genius, strong individuality, and, above all, moral rec- titude, have been the family characteristics for genera- tions, back to, and possibly beyond, the times when some of the grandparents of our author did heroic service as primitive Quaker ministers in Virginia and elsewhere. This genealogy, together with more than average educational advantages in his youth, has doubt- less combined to furnish grace a good natural base upon which to raise this tower of strength and stronghold of defense for God's weaker ones, to whom He delights so to minister. But for the power of the Spirit, however, these talents would have been buried; this personality have been dwarfed ; this rich legacy lost to the church ; and this man have failed of a reward which will surely await him for years of loving, self-sacrificing toil, and of successful ministry in warning sinners from Hell, and leading Christians in the way of Holiness. His experience, which will be found in the book, will more fully show this, but will hardly bring out refer- ence to those peculiar spiritual gifts with which God has invested him for the profit of many. Listening to bis preaching, or watching his conduct of meetings, or his dealing with individuals, all are quickly impressed with the naturalness of the man and the super naturalness of the minister. Both of these, be it remarked, are due to grace. For, previous to his emancipation, no small amount of self-propriety and educational conventionality had bound up and restrained those natural traits of wit and humor, and pathos and simplicity, which mark the man, and which have so much to do with his efficiency. The conventional XIV INTRODUCTION. artificiality of the modern ministry has much to do with its ineffectiveness. But after all proper credit has been given to nature, and all tribute paid to acquired skill, it still forces itself upon his hearers that unusual insight into Scrip- ture, unusual discriminativeness in dissecting subtle error from precious truth, unusual discernment of hearts and spiritual conditions, and unusual strength in lifting soids and controlling assemblies combine to mark his ministry with a spiritual power, which only can be explained by believing that Pentecostal gifts were not restricted to primitive days. But though Brother Updegraff is still young at sixty, yet it has not been forgotten by the friends of truth that he " has this treasure in an earthern vessel." And many have desired that while he suggests Paul in so many things, he might in this imitate Peter when he said: "Moreover I ivill endeavor that ye may he able after my decease to have these things always in remem- brance''' (2 Peter 1: 15). So that, to his thousands of friends, in this country and abroad, this volume will come as a living monument — memoralizing a beloved brother who must some time " put off this tabernacle," and yet communicating truth which can never, never die. But, meanwhile, this book is to serve another end. The number of ministers of this kind is, in the nature of the case, few. A man who, while intensely loyal to his own church is, nevertheless, by a kind of common consent, felt to belong to us all, is in much greater demand for his ministrations than time and strength could cope with. Illustrative of this, it might be IN TROD UCTION. XV mentioned that all over the country the writer finds ministers and workers who have for years been hoping and planning to reach the annual Feast of Tabernacles at Mountain Lake Park, simply to sit as scholars under Brother Updegraff's ministry. This, too, in addition to the hundreds and thousands who do get there and to other great meetings, like Pitman Grove, where for years God has made him special blessing. Now, this book will be a kind of an extension of the personal, living ministry of the author. It is destined to prove an untold blessing to the thousands who have never been favored with these advantages. And who are, nevertheless, hungering for the " Old Corn " of the land. Of course only a scrap (comparatively) out of the active ministrations of nearly a quarter of a century can be compiled in such space. But there is such mar- row and fatness here, and so much strong meat too, that whoever digests this will surely have found strength to forage for himself hereafter. A theological treatise is not attempted. Nor are the- logical terms and technicalities affected. Ecclesiastical disputes are avoided. But the Nature of Sin is ex- posed. The Extent oe Salvation simply and steadily upheld. The Mission of the Spirit variously and earnestly presented. The counterparts in Christian ex- perience of the Three Dispensations are unfolded. Holiness is presented in its true light and relations. Legalism is hunted down, and evangelical Liberty exalted. And all the way throughout a Personal Christ is lifted up, above all views and all experiences. So that, no matter where, or when, or how much one XVI INTRODUCTION. reads this book, he must come from it feeling, I know Jesus better. In blessed contrast with much that comes within the range of so-called Christian literature these times, the Atonement is constantly honored in connection with every part and phase of spirituality. While Brother Updegraff never makes an effort for mere literary effect, his unanswerable logic leaves no room for disappointment. Some may miss many of the characteristic illustrations, anecdotes and sallies of wit with which his spoken sermons generally abound. But condensation is, of course, a necessity, and cold type can never convey the point of many things that may be spoken to the eye of an interested congregation. Natu- ralness is always a desideratum, and this will account for the ease of style and freedom from any strict observance of literary canons. Every page of the book is perfumed with the fra- grance of prayerful devotion to Him upon whose altar it is laid. No mercenaiy, no selfish, no ambitious mo- tives have inspired a chapter here. May it be read in the same spirit ! May criticism be disarmed ! May humble, honest hearts come to this granary to find food to satisfy spiritual hunger ! May this prove to be seed com to the sower as well as to furnish bread to the eater ! May God anoint it ! May He providentially direct its circulation ! May a singular illumination fall upon those who read it! May it continue to excite souls into the goodly land of Canaan after Brother Updegraff has gone to his reward ! Amen. JOSEPH H. SMITH. Nobth Indianapolis, Ind., July 1, 1892. CHAPTER I. OLD CORN. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land." — Josh. 5: 12. WHEN it pleased God to visit and redeem His people of old, He saved Israel out of the hand of the Egyptians, and they " came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai." The slender supply of a month's provisions brought with them from Egypt was now exhausted, and the first real pressure of hunger was felt. It is certainly not to be marveled at, that they should look to Moses and Aaron for further supplies, and when they were not forthcoming that they murmured against them, saying, " Ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assem- bly with hunger." Food was an absolute essential to life, and of what avail was freedom without food ? Better die slaves, sitting by the flesh-pots of Egypt, than die of starvation in the wilderness ! But the God of all grace was but feebly comprehended as yet by His chosen people. 2 OLD CORN. Surely He had not brought them out of bondage to permit them to die of hunger ! Only a little while before, when they " were sore afraid," they had but to "stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, " but to "hold their peace" while the Lord fought for them! And yet " they soon forgat his works, they waited not for his counsel." Nevertheless, a God of love and pity took knowledge of their deep necessity, and graciously promised a speedy deliverance. " Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you." This was a marvelous provision indeed, and in blessed contrast with the leeks and garlic of Egyptian tables, their hungry bodies were supplied with angels' food. Not only so, God designed to teach His people several things by the miraculous character of this provision. (1.) By this ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from Egypt. They saw Moses as the instrumen- tality, but could not see God, the great first cause. But now it was plain that Moses could not rain manna, but God only, hence it must be He that brought them out. (2.) Ye shall know that I am the Lord your God. They should not only know the power of the Lord, but His peculiar favor to them as their God. The Egyp- tians were made to know that He was the Lord by the plagues they suffered; the Israelites should know that He was their God by the gracious provisions of His hand. (3.) TJiat I may prove them, whether they will walk in ray law or no. To be satisfied with the bread of to-day and be thankful, and absolutely dependent upon God for to- morrow, is a wonderful test of spiritual condition. The OLD CORN. 6 natural heart demands a store in sight. Far removed from this is the heart that securely trusts, and lives on God's daily providence. " Give us this day our daily bread," is the spiritual lesson enforced by the manna. " He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack," and it must be gathered fresh every morning. Such, then, was God's provision for His people while in their wilderness life. It was never seen in Egypt, and the manna ceased when Israel entered the land of Canaan. "And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day . . . neither had the children of Israel manna any more ; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." For when the Qanaanites heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we passed over, their heart melted ; neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the chil- dren of Israel. So it was that they fled and left their houses and barns and fields, and all that was in them, for the subsistence and enjoyment of their legitimate owners — the Lord's people. Surely the Lord prepared a table before them in the presence of their enemies. And all of this "land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates, and bread without scarceness," was received in exchange for the "light food," which was distinctively adapted to the wilder- ness experience. That the successive stages in the history of the chil- dren of Israel do perfectly prefigure, or set forth in type, the spiritual experiences of God's children in the 4 OLD CORN. present dispensation, will, no doubt, generally be admit- ted without further examination here. And our present inquiry shall be confined to the three following points : — I. That Jesus Christ is the antitype of both " manna " and "old corn." II. That it is as " manna" only, that He is appre- hended by such as have not yet entered the Canaan of "perfect love." III. That He becomes as "old corn," to every believer that has thus entered, and is united to Him in resurrection life. I. It is our first object to settle it, that Christ is the alone source of spiritual sustenance for His people, in every stage of their experience. That just as "manna" and "old corn," were God's gifts for the perishing bodies of the Israelites, so Christ is given as food for the imperishable spirits of His followers. And the type was as much the provision of infinite grace, as the anti- type, since neither "manna" nor " old corn," were in any wise earned or deserved, but divinely bestowed. The Lord Jesus distinctly announced himself, as " the true bread from heaven" that was prefigured, by the " manna which your fathers did eat in the wilderness," and which was given, not by Moses, as they thought, but by God himself. " My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven," and " I am the living bread which came down from heaven ; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever." But "except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." That is to say, if we have no spiritual appe- tence, no hunger and thirst for Christ, as food and OLD CORN. 5 nourishment for the soul, it is the surest possible evidence that there is no life in us, that we are yet dead in our sins. And this is only an application of one of the univer- sal laws of our being. That is, that the perpetuation of life is dependent upon an adequate supply of food ; and this is quite as true of the spiritual as of the natural life. And the promise of Jesus is this, "He that eateth me, even he shall live by me." Just as the body lives by its food for a season, so the spirit lives eternally by Him who is its food, and "the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven." Precisely how our bodies are nourished by our food, we cannot describe, but we know that they are, and every true believer knows also that his spiritual life is nourished and quickened, in proportion as he feeds upon Christ, meditates upon Christ, and appropriates Christ and His finished work. It is Christ alone who imparts life. It is Christ alone who sustains life, and this must ever be true, whether the type be the " manna," that came down from God out of heaven, or the "old corn "that had been brought forth out of the heart of the earth. II. But this brings us to examine the difference between the two, and to see that it is our own spiritual attitude and stage of experience, that determines the specific character of our spiritual food. God's provision for the soul, like that for the body, is precisely adapted to the requirements of His child, and suited to the measure of his capacity. Nothing could be more dis- tinctly stated than the announcement of this prin- ciple by Paul. He tells the Corinthians that they are 6 OLD CORN. babes ; that is their position in God's family. That their food had been milk, and that it must as yet con- tinue to be milk. But this is the precise counterpart of " manna," according to New Testament phraseology, while the "old corn " finds its counterpart in " meat," or "strong meat," in apostolic language. Now, it is just as positively affirmed that babes cannot have meat, as that they can have milk, and the same principles are applied to certain Hebrews, who still had need of milk and not of strong meat, for they were still babes, though for a long time Christians ! In the use of this metaphor the apostle reduces natural food to two kinds, milk and meat, and those who are fed to two sorts, babes and men. He then transfers the similitude with divine accuracy to the spiritual realm. Babes, or little children, certainly do know their " sins forgiven for his name's sake." They have found " redemption through his blood." This, then, is not a question of " eating and drinking," but of believing. " He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." This divine life is first received on the sole condition of faith in the Son of God, who gave His flesh for the life of the world, — gave it to be crucified and slain as a substitute for lives which were already forfeited by sin. So that it is quite as true that Christ gave His flesh as a sacrifice to redeem the lives of His enemies, as that He gave it to sustain the new lives of His friends. Now a babe is as truly his father's son as is the young man, yet that which is entirely appropriate to the one, is not at all fitting for the other. God's call to every child of His is to put away childish things, to cease being a " babe," and to become a spiritual man. This OLD CORN. is not a question of time or of growth, or else remain- ing in that condition would not have called forth the reproofs of the apostle, as in the cases already cited. The Corinthians had only been a few years out of darkest heathenism, yet they are complained of because they are not wholly spiritual men, or men in whom the Holy Spirit has obtained a complete supremacy. They were different from the " natural man," who re- ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, because their spirits had been renewed by the Holy Ghost, and they were " sanctified in Christ Jesus," but they were, nevertheless, in a measure " carnal." This was proven by a " walk after the manner of men," i.e., that were not in any sense spiritual. There was jealousy and strife and selfishness among them, and more evidence of the life of the flesh than of the Spirit. Hence they are appropriatel} 7 " called " carnal." And the same is true of all babes in Christ who remain carnal, simply because they choose to do so, since the Spirit of God seeks to make of these " babes " spiritual men, and will do it at once, whenever the whole being is yielded up to Him. But excuses in doctrine, in tradition and in practical unbelief, are as abundant as in the day of the provocation in the wilderness, when by a judicial sen- tence, Israel of old were turned back to spend their days in the desert, though God in grace, fed them with " manna," while it was quite impossible for them to have " old corn " without a change of residence. And there still exists the same positive inability to bear any- thing but " milk " in the case of "babes." Theirs is a double nature or mind, and the prevalent relish for fiction, newspapers, magazines, fashions, g OLD CORN. operas, theaters, games, and amusements of all sorts, leaves no room for doubt that the old nature has a great abundance and variety of aliment. But what is to be said of the new? Let the preacher dwell on pardon, peace and a hope of heaven at death, through Christ who lived and suffered and died on the cross, and other « first principles "of the gospel, and the average church member will partake quite freely of such " sincere milk of the word " once, or possibly twice a week the whole year round ! Not only in these rudiments, but in ceremo- nies and observances, no doubt the Holy Ghost often ministers Christ as "manna," to the soul of the babe in Christ, yet He is known "after the flesh" only, and is lost sight of at the tomb, "for as yet they know not the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead." What myriads of Christians stand " without at the sepulchre weeping," as did Mary, seeking their living Lord among the dead ! Intellectually they know He is risen, but if we do not know it experimentally it avails nothing as a spiritual reality, and Easter is nothing more than a vain show, yet God be praised for even such a participa- tion in Christ and His atonement, as apprehends Him as that bread that came down from heaven. III. But "the manna ceased . . . and they did eat of the old corn," and they had "manna" no more, after the children of Israel had passed through the Jordan and entered the land of Canaan. Now here is a remark- able change of food that is coincident with a complete change oi residence, and the two go together in the spiritual life of the Christian, just as certainly as m these historical facts. OLD CORN. 9 And now let us see what is represented by the " old corn." It is certain that it is a type of Christ, only presenting Him in a different aspect from the " manna." The latter represents Him, as we have seen, as bread coming down from heaven, while the "old corn" typifies Him as ascending up into heaven, and glorified there. It is Christ risen from the tomb — not going into it. It is the golden altar for incense, not the brazen altar for sacrifice. The life of Christ before His death was brief and powerless, when compared with His glori- fied life since that death. " I am he that liveth and was dead : and behold I am alive forevermore." He suffered being tempted, and died that "he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Now our spiritual life begins in Christ's death, but it should not end there. We are grafted into Him as our justification at the cross, while He becomes our indwell- ing Sanctifier only when we come into " the likeness of his resurrection." There comes, then, to every well instructed believer a crisis in his life, in which he is taught by the Holy Ghost in the word, to "reckon him- self dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, and that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." And this is that abundant life, that victorious life, that hidden life, that a "likeness to his resurrection " gives us, in the place of one attended by defeat and weakness and poverty. But in order to this resurrection likeness there must first be "the likeness of his death," not any longer in a judicial sense merely, but a veritable and experi- mental crucifixion of self. It is an actual giving of 10 OLD CORN. " our old man," with his will, his ambitions, pride, dig- nity and selfishness, over to the cross to be utterly put to death. To do this voluntarily, satisfied that there is no other way of getting rid of him but by his death. Do this in faith, expecting the Divine Savior to make good " the likeness of his death, " by dismissing the life that is thus given over to destruction. Beloved, we have thus conducted you to the mystic Jordan of the Christian. What will you do? Falter because of giants and walls and unbelief, and turn back to a wilderness life and its daily "manna," or will you go over this Jordan, and feed upon " old corn" and delicious fruits in great variety, as you enter upon the victorious life of identification and communion with your risen and glorified Savior? May the Holy Ghost graciously aid you to decide aright at this moment. If not already settled, it is the most momentous question of your life. Alas, how many draw back and provoke God! They do as they will, but leanness comes into their souls. Then there is no relish for deep truth ; no huno-er nor apprehension of the sublime doctrines of holiness unto the Lord, the indwelling Holy Spirit, suffering with Christ, saving the lost, resurrection and glorification at the coming of the Lord ! This is the "strong meat" which strengthens man's heart for work, for warfare and for worship. In them are em- bodied varied aspects of the Lord Jesus as the unfailing supply of His people's need. But accessible to us as the "old corn" of the land, only on the condition that the Jordan of self-judgment and death lay behind us, and our memorial stones are " pitched in Gilgal." Oh that OLD CORN. 11 the Holy Ghost may beget the unquenchable desire to " know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death ! " Amen. CHAPTER II. THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. "Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood." — Rev. 1: 5. THESE words are ever on the lips of the redeemed in heaven, and they are also sung by the true saints of God on earth. They are rich in comfort, commemorating as they do that love of Christ which is the burden of prophecy, the theme of apostles, and the song of the blood-washed in every age and every clime. " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."' " God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.'' " Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." Thus love is the great moving cause of all that the triune God has done for us in the work of our redemp- tion. Let us consider, briefly, what has been done for us, as set forth in the text. First, He has washed us from our sins. The original rectitude of man as he came from the hand of his Creator was forfeited by sin. " By one THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 13 man sin entered into the world," and that man was the human head of the whole race. So that in his offspring the first Adam is forever repeating himself, and the poison of sin is in our very blood. "We are by nature the children of wrath," and " dead in trespasses and sins," for "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." To such authoritative declarations of the Word of God, we may add the universal consciousness and confession of sin, as proclaimed by the universal sacrifices of the heathen, as well as in the ethics of their philosophers. Thus men know that they have sinned, and they know, too, that they are powerless to repair a damage that is so radical. From this dilemma, an escape is found only in the religion of Jesus Christ. " He tasted death for every man." " He is a propiti- ation for the sins of the whole world." And the pro- clamation of infinite love has indeed become a message of good tidings. " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." The incarnate God in Christ Jesus is abundantly able and willing to make this good to every one of us, and to " wash us from our sins." "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." " Come unto me." Come, come, is the ever repeated call of our loving Lord. This wonderful offer of cleansing from the guilt, pollution and power of sin, accompanied with regenerating and sanctifying grace, is made simply and solely on the conditions of repentance and faith. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." To " believe with the heart unto righteousness " is to really trust in a 14 OLD CORN. personal Savior, and is much more than an intellectual or an " historic " faith, though including both. II But let us particularly notice the emphasis that is laid upon the "blood " as the procuring cause, or at the fountain head of all redemptive possibilities. Not only are we "washed from our sins in his own blood, but all of the blessings of salvation are in an important sense attributed to the precious blood of Jesus Christ, by the inspired writers. (1.) "We have redemption through his blood." « Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." " Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, etc., but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." " * eed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." The apostle seems determined that no man should be ignorant of the amazing price paid tor his redemption. The blood of Jesus Christ was in very truth the blood of God manifest in the flesh He who made the world, came to lay down His life, in order to buy our freedom from the bondage of sin, into which we have sold ourselves. But redemption is not to be confounded with salvation. All have been re- deemed, and that without consulting our choice in the matter, but if we are saved there must be an individ- ual choice, and acceptance of "eternal life as "the gift of God," and on His own conditions. (2 ) " We were reconciled to God by the death of his "son." In every human soul there is by nature much of enmity towards God, and holiness, and all THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 15 sacred things. " The carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither in- deed can be." A striking proof of this truth is found in the person of him that denies it. To insist that we are all the " children of God," and always were, when God's Word expressly declares that we are by nature the " children of wrath," and of " the wicked one," is to prove our non-subjection to the law of God and His unchanging truth. To prate about the universal "Fatherhood of God," while "filled with all unright- eousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, envy, murder, debate, deceit, despiteful, proud," etc., etc., is a climax of silly contradictions, even if it were nothing more. But it is more. It is to teach men to believe a lie, and to lead them blindly on to perdition. We may become the "children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," and in no other way. True, He is the " Father of all flesh" as the Creator, but this is too wide a sense for spiritual life, as indeed it is for humanity only, as it takes in all animate creation. Therefore to "be in Christ " is to be " a new creature," or a new creation. Hence the words of Jesus, " ye must be born again." Hence the entreaty of the apostle, " we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Put away your enmity, give up your proud, selfish, unholy dispositions, cease your warfare with God, and He will at once grant you pardon, peace, a new nature, and " a new spirit will I put within you ! " And all this through the grace of God and " the death of his son." Before even the great God could properly extend such wonderful clemency to condemned criminals, to hostile foes and ruined debtors, He must have a divine ground 16 OLD CORN. upon which to act. The moral glory of His govern- ment, the justice, holiness and majesty of divine law must be maintained. It is only in the atonement of Jesus Christ that these claims are all met, and God can be vindicated as just, while exercising infinite grace, and the justifier of the most ungodly man that truly " believeth in Jesus." (3.) "In whom we have through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." " Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins" " Without shedding of blood is no remission," and without "remission" the law must take its course, and its penalty must fall upon the evil doer. In God's way, " escape " is possible. In any other way, escape is impossible, and men ought to be brought face to face with the only alternative — eternal misery. The reasonableness and the necessity of expiation ought to be proclaimed with tongues of fire everywhere. God has plainly taught it from the beginning, and there is a something in human nature that teaches the same thing. Man craves an atone- ment. This is proclaimed by every tongue of flame leaping from myriads of altars drenched with the blood of consecrated victims. True, there is no real expia- tion in these sacrifices, but every gleaming knife unwittingly points to a throne, both of mercy and of judgment. It is an acknowledgment of the justice of the "unknown God," and an attempt to avert punishment. Under the law the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ was prefigured by the blood- shedding of the prescribed victims. All this was by divine appointment. And without shedding of blood, was no remission. Every sinner had THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 17 forfeited his life by his transgression. But God was pleased to accept the life of his substitute, instead of his own, if he would repent of his sin and publicly confess it. Certainly his sacrifice had no intrinsic merit, but it did typify the real sacrifice, and whether or not the faith of the offerer embraced a coming Savior, as ours does a risen one, he received forgiveness on the ground of another's death. " The Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world," was indeed already slain, " slain from before the foundation of the world, " in the divine purpose, but when the historic consummation was reached then these typical sacrifices of bulls and of goats came to an end. The real victim was slain, and in a supremely solemn moment Jesus said, " This is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the ' remission of sins.' " Faith now need no longer grope among the shadows, but boldly lay hold upon the substance, and we know that " the blood of Jesus Christ, cleanseth us from all sin." The life is in the blood, and it was the life that was laid down, and not by His life of obedience, that we are saved. " By His stripes we are healed." " He bare our sins in his own body on the tree." There is a class of amateur Christians who talk flip- pantly about " Christ crucified within us," and seek an inward Christ, while denying Him without, and tramp- ling under foot the precious blood of Jesus that was shed without the gates of Jerusalem. The result is, they find neither the true work of the Spirit nor cleansing by the blood. Under the guise of a hyper-spirituality they imagine that since the death of Christ, (as a martyr only) the Holy Spirit has come down to be the Savior of sin- 18 OLD CORN. ners in His stead, without reference to the work of Jesus on the cross. And this is unblushingly put forth as a discovery of "the great central truth" of the Bible. But it is, in fact, to deny the clearest statements of Scripture, which plainly declare that the Holy Spirit came not to assume the place of Jesus as our Savior, but to glorify Christ. " He shall not speak of himself." " He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." His first work for unsaved humanity is to " convince of sin " and point men to Jesus Christ as the only Savior. It is to make effective for the cleansing of man's spirit- ual nature the merits of "the precious blood of Christ." The whole purport of Scripture testimony, indited by the Holy Ghost centuries before His incarnation, was concerning the Son of God and His sacrifice. And the gospel ministry, inspired by the Spirit, from the days of John the Baptist to the present hour, has always pointed men to " the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Every one of the apostles, whether they preached or wrote, proclaimed salvation through the "blood of Jesus Christ," and that it is the sole ground of the sinner's peace with God. The Holy Ghost indited and set His seal to such preaching then and ever since, but has never owned any other kind. It is safe to assert that preachers of the pernicious error under considera- tion, neither have any satisfactory assurance of the pardon of their own sins, nor succeed in bringing others to that assurance. While on the other hand, a wretched jailer may "rejoice with all his house in the same hour " that he believes on " the Lord Jesus." How blind indeed must be the man that cannot see this great central sun THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 19 of divine revelation concerning the "blood of Jesus Christ." It is the substratum of Christianity. Some say His death is "the central truth " in regard to Jesus Himself, "just as the martyrdom of Stephen was the center of his service ! " By no means ! The death of Christ was not a mere incident in His journey. It is the great central fact of all time. It was for this that He came into the world. All types set it forth. All prophecies looked forward to it. All Christians look back to it. Heaven and earth bore witness to the awful grandeur of that hour, by the solemn portents of open- ing graves, and quaking earth, and rended rock. True that Jesus did suffer as a faithful witness to the holi- ness of God and the sinfulness of man, but more than that, " it pleased the Lord to bruise him," and to " make his soul an offering for sin." There is a moral theory of the death of Christ that impeaches the divine truth about it. It is that His death is merely a manifestation of His love and sympathy proven by suffering, and designed to attract and instruct us by example, and thus " win our souls " to love God and man ! Nothing can be more delusive than such a pseudo-Christianity, as this theory about the doctrine of atonement, which in fact subverts that doctrine. Such sublime self-denial may be lauded to the skies as transcending all other "sacrifices" ever made, and yet it makes nothing more of it than a sacrifice made to man, in order to draw out reciprocal love and joy ! But Christ "hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God," rather than to man. A real satisfaction to divine justice, of infinite merit, and vin- dicating as well as satisfying every demand of law by 20 OLD CORN. bearing its penalty. With such a view, it is a sacrifice that never grows old. The fountain that was then opened for sin and uncleanliness flows just as freshly and efficaciously as when first prepared. The sacrifice of Christ is perpetuated by His intercession. No longer a visible cross, with its agony and blood, but He ever lives to present the marks of His passion, and to carry forward in heaven the work begun on Calvary. The results are all the same as though all the scenes of the cross had been reenacted thousands of times. " By His own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (4.) Once more, and briefly, let us see that the blood of Jesus Christ is the only grounds of our peace with God. In addition to our proneness to search within our own hearts for some ground of peace, there is a class of errorists that constantly proclaim the work of the Spirit in us as this ground, instead of the work of Jesus Christ for us. It was indeed Jesus who " made peace through the blood of his cross." " We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." We " are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace." Christ came " and preached peace," and " God sent, preaching peace by Jesus Christ," and not by the Holy Spirit. Now certainly no right minded person will think for a moment that we are saying aught that could detract from the legitimate work of the Holy Spirit. God for- bid. But we are persuaded of this, that to invert the divine order of God's truth is an effectual way of denying that truth. That both the work of Christ for us and that of the Spirit within us, are not THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 21 only to be maintained in their integrity, but in their Scriptural order. And when we see influential teachers directing men to an imaginary saving light or Spirit within them for " peace," instead of to Jesus Christ who " made peace through the blood of his cross," we must cry out against the delusion. " Peace " will never be found on that line. Men may resort to this or that in their efforts to find " peace with God," apart from the despised cross of Christ, but such efforts are of no more avail than was water to cleanse the red right hand of Lady Macbeth. She could wash and wash, and yet cry, " out," " out," and the spot was still there. Her deep consciousness was, that " All the perfumes of Arabia won't clean this little hand." But the blood of Him who gathered all the penalties of violated law into His inno- cent and holy bosom can " cleanse from all sin." The blessed Holy Ghost having reached the conscience with His awakening call, and revealed the guilt and doom of a lost soul, directs His attention to Jesus, the sinner's friend and substitute, and the object of his faith and hope. The Holy Spirit is here to administer God's great provision for the salvation of every con- victed, contrite and believing soul. He is the author of all conviction, right desire, repentance, faith and spiritual life. Without His blessed light and power we should continue blind and deaf and dead, both to the promises of God's Word, and the rich provisions of His grace in Christ Jesus our Lord, who said to His disci- ples, " Peace I leave with you ; my peace I give unto you." Even unto us whom He has loved, " and washed from our sins in His own blood." Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost ! CHAPTER III. CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD. " If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow- ship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." — 1 John 1: 1. LET us read a few verses of the first chapter of the First Epistle of John : " God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellow- ship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth : But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our- selves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." I invite your special attention to the seventh verse as our present text : " But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." The inspired apostle is charged with a " message " from God. That settles its source. And it is for us ! What condescension in Him " who only hath 22 CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD. 23 immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto " ! Not only so : " God is light " just as certainly as " God is love." Another apostle calls Him the " Father of lights," or the fountain of all light. Not only is He surrounded by a marvelous sphere of light, but His very being is declared to be Light, with- out any intermixture of darkness at all. His character and nature must determine the conditions of our fellow- ship with Him. To be in communion with Him we must be in the light; but this means deliverance from sin. " What fellowship hath righteousness with un- righteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness ? and what concord hath Christ with Belial ? " He in whom there is no sin and no darkness cannot fellowship sin in His children, but they " are all children of light, and children of day : we are not of the night, nor of darkness." By our justification and regeneration we have been introduced into this walk in the light, and into a sphere of fellowship with God and with the brethren. And this is a wonderful thing, to be " born again." It is most blessed to be God's child, but to remain children when we ought to be men is to become dwarfs, and that is not a pleasant thought at all. I have known a few instances of children where there was little mental or physical development, and it is always sad. Alas ! how frequent are such instances of spiritual dwarfage. And this is a far more serious and disastrous thing in God's family than it would be in ours ; especially so, as we comprehend the rich pro- visions of His grace for the " perfecting of his saints," for our being made " free from sin " and bringing forth "fruit unto holiness." 24 OLD CORN. Our text contains this gospel of cleansing from " all sin." 1. Let us notice the extent and meaning of the term "sin." The natural man can never agree with God concerning the true character of sin, nor redemp- tion from it. Our apostle, in the lesson just read, con- fronts three classes of errorists with the truth of God about sin. The first class talk of communion with God, and boast great things of having an inner light and direct illumination by the Spirit, and yet walk in darkness ; that is, they walk not " as he walked." Their external life is not according to the directions of Scripture, nor the example of Christ. They may even glory in " upholding a much higher standard than these " ! John says plainly, they " lie, and do not the truth." Then, again, there are those who deny that they are sinners — who say " they have not sinned." Man commonly says this in some sense ; that is, he calls his sins shortcomings, infirmities, and such like, but re- fuses to believe that his wound is mortal, and thanks God he is better than some other man that he can think of. Thus he feels no need of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Now, these not only lie themselves, but "make God a liar," because He declares on every page of His word that " there is no difference : for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Thus sin exists, and is upon us in the form of transgression. It is the very beginning of wisdom to know this, to admit our guilt, and then the convicting Spirit will speedily cause us to feel our misery and peril. This is a practical and personal question, and the first one to CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD. 25 get settled. Comparatively few men know anything about conscious pardon, because they will not admit their guilt and confess their sins in any true sense. They are forever extenuating ; they are " not so bad as you might think," or have tried to do the best they could. The natural advantages of birth, or training, or education, or position in society, or culture, they want placed to their credit in some way. The greatest diffi- culty of our day is to get men really convinced of sin. To feel that they are sinners and that there is an awful penalty attached to sin. There are not a few learned simpletons, in the church as well as out, who are explaining away the truth of God and wresting the Scriptures in a way to please the devil and destroy souls ! But if we simply believe the word of God, we know that we are " condemned already," lost already, and that our only hope is in Jesus Christ, who loved us and died for us, and comes now by His word and Spirit to seek and save us. Whenever we face about we shall see Him, for He is still following the sinning prodigal. The Lord Jesus is an advocate who under- takes our case, not to get us out of the clutches of the law as innocent, not to secure our acquittal because of a flaw in the indictment, or to prove that we are not guilty, but He comes before the High Court of Heaven in behalf of clients who "confess their sins" and are willing to be estimated at their worst. Our confession of sin is not the procuring cause of our forgiveness and cleansing — not at all; but it is the needful test and sign of genuine repentance. Oar blessed Christ has paid all of our debt, even to the last farthing, and God will keep His promise to forgive. " He is faithful ; " 26 OLD CORN. not only so, He is " just," and what has been paid b}^ our surety will never be demanded of us as principals. Thus the atoning work of the Son of God avails as our trespass offering, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleans- eth us from all committed sins. II. But our text is far more comprehensive than this. We are to be cleansed from "all sin," or "sin" in its root, or origin, as a unit of evil principle, and as the source of sinful manifestations or unrighteous actions. This, without a doubt, is the special meaning of the term as used in the text. Saint John is here setting forth the sanctification of believers, rather than the justification of the ungodly. That sin in the form of depravity, or inbred pollution, still exists in the justified, is the clear doctrine of Scripture. It is not an act to be pardoned, nor can it be cancelled by a judi- cial decree. Yet there is provision in the vicarious work of Jesus Christ for cleansing from all pollution. But there is a third class of errorists spoken of by John, who "say they have no sin " or pollution re- maining after their justification ; that they were " thor- oughly converted," and all that. They " say " that justification and sanctification are coetaneous. They deny the existence of " the body of sin " as a unit, or " the old man " with his many members in believers. " These deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them ;" and that is what God says about it. It some- times occurs that where there is great faithfulness in the early Christian walk, the flesh is not felt to " lust against the Spirit " for a time. But the old man is bound, is not to be mistaken for the old man cast out; CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD. 27 the one is repression, the other is expulsion. Far oftener, however, the conflict begins very soon after conversion, and I will read a good description of it from a tract which I picked up to-day. The author says : — " During this time I have passed through the usual experience of Christians : sometimes full of love to the Savior; it was then a joy to pray to Him and work for Him. At other times I have been cold, prayer has been a task, and work a slave's bondage. Almost from the beginning of my Christian life, I have not doubted that I was the child of God, saved simply by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Suffering under the deepest affliction that can come upon a man, He upheld me ; and subjected to fearful temptation, sometimes I have yielded, but whenever I called directly upon Him, He delivered me. "At times I have had such a sense of God's love to me as lifted me above temptations, and often made me long to go at once to the Savior and so get rid of sin; but such blessed times, of long or shorter duration, soon passed, lasting, in fact, no longer than the mere exalta- tion of feeling. At such times I worked intensely to accomplish as much as possible while the glow lasted. Thus, at times in bright sunshine, then in the dark; now running joyously, then staggering, falling, getting up again, and again stumbling, I struggled on. For some time I looked for nothing better in the world, for, with individual and rare exceptions, I found my experience to be that of Christians about me, in every branch of Christ's Church. For the higher Christian life which I saw in a very few, I supposed that special faith, not attainable by me, was given." 28 OLD CORN. In this we get glimpses of the fellowship of a child with its Father, but we also see a longing for the work of a physician who can deliver from this body of death. I often think of the Siamese twins, who sought deliver- ance from one another, but were so united that the doc- tors said there was no help for them only in death. I think there are many soul doctors that have no more wisdom in spiritual things than that. How sad it is if we do not receive Jesus as a doctor able and willing to heal all our diseases ! Alas, how well we know that sin is the mortal disease of the soul! Every system of morals and philosophy under the sun recognizes it and offers to treat it, but Jesus Christ offers to kill it. III. And this brings us to consider more particularly God's method of effecting this cleansing. It is "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son that cleanseth us from all sin." The blood of atonement is the only source of all redemptive possibilities. And this Scripture includes both the procuring cause and the efficient agent em- ployed, or the Holy Spirit. For the "blood " and the Spirit are cooperative and complemental in all the work of our redemption, from the beginning to the end. Atonement procures probation, and the Spirit convinces of sin. The blood atones for sins, and the Spirit re- generates. Christ was a " sin offering," or sacrifice for sin in its root or origin, in order that "sin in the flesh" might be destroyed, and that man might be cleansed from " all sin." Even the inbeing or totality of sin is to receive its death blow by the crucifying work of the Holy Spirit. And this is not, as man}- suppose, a pro- cess, but an act, as natural death is always an act. It CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD. 29 matters not how long one may hang upon the cross in torture, death itself is a quick deliverance. And every argument in favor of gradualism is but the plea made by the old man himself for an extension of his lease. " Growth in grace " will no more kill sin than growing corn will kill weeds. They need eradication. Neither can we destroy this "body of sin" one member at a time. For a season we may conquer pride, or temper, or jealousy, or selfishness, and try to hand them over to the Lord, but He won't kill our members one at a time, and the next thing is that the whole ground is to be gone over again. If you will excuse me, I would illus- trate this by a very homely little story. And I think you will. A friend of mine purchased of his neighbor a lot of little pigs and their mother, and they were to be put into the pen of the buyer. Shortly after, my friend went to his pen to look over his purchase. It occurred to him to put the pigs away from their mother. So he began to catch and put them over into the small pen ad- joining, counting them as he did so. After putting over quite a number, his attention was arrested by the fact that several still remained. But he continued to catch and count, and count and catch, surprised and de- lighted at the size of his bargain. When he came to himself, however, he discovered the hole through which the half-dozen little exiles had, from time to time, found their way back to their mother. He had to tell it, for he thought it too good to keep to himself. But how many children of God are solemnly going over the same round of turning over some one hateful member or another to the Lord, when He bids us to " put off the 30 OLD CORN. old man" ! To hand him over, despite his cries, to the Holy Ghost, to be burned up as chaff or as dross. IV. And while this is God's method of cleansing from inbred sin, His conditions are simply those of con- secration and faith. And it is in vain that we attempt to exercise faith, until we are on believing ground ; and that is, ground that's not in sight. It is to push out to sea in your small boat and then, at the command of Jesus, get out of that and walk upon "ground " that's nothing but water, and it may be a thousand fathoms deep ! It is to really give up the world, its gifts and its honors, and even the approbation " one of another." If you'll do this, don't you see that self-life would soon die of starvation, even if there were no other mode. He feeds on applause and breathes flattery. The reason people cannot " believe " is because they will not quit trying to see. To clutch at a visible straw is enough to shut out faith. Faith's attitude is one of self-abase- ment and humility. I once came to a spring for a drink, but found no vessel but an old strainer hanging on a stake. I thought rather than soil my clothes I would try the strainer, and so I did. But the water was too smart for me, and I gave it up. When I went down on the ground, I got my drink. How men will twist and turn about rather than surrender to God and become nothing ! Let me read again from this tract: " Tried by various tests which seemed to be put to me, I could not say that if God would make me holy I was ready to submit to anything He might do to accomplish it. The issue was plainly before me, and I could not say, " I am ready." Thus I shrank from being made CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD. 31 wholly God's, and chose a life of less consecration, and therefore of less usefulness. But I heartily thank God that this was not permitted. I bless Him that He did not leave me at peace. Temptations of every kind began to assail me. Vanity, pride, ambition, love of ease, and other sins obtained power over me, until fear of exposure, and consequent disgrace to the cause of Christ, made me desperate ; and could I have believed in the doctrine of annihilation, I would gladly have chosen death. For more than a year sin held me fast, and full consecration seemed to me the only means of deliverance from its power, " Then," said I, " I'll try for it." From that moment I began to ask God to make me willing, not in any single and concentrated effort, but in the attitude of desire. I knew what it was I wanted ; I knew it was attainable ; Scripture sanctioned it and experience had proved it. I knew I could not obtain it for myself, but that what was impossible with me was possible with God, and in simple faith I asked Him to do the work. " Nearly two years have passed since then, and the blessed sense of God's presence has never left me. With every liability to sin that I ever had, subject con- tinually to temptation as before, He keeps me perfectly. Through the indwelling Spirit (ye are the temples of the Holy Ghost), I feel that what I was trying to do before by the help of God, as I thought, He now does for me. Christ is my sanctiflcation. He has under- taken to 'sanctify my spirit, soul and body.' ' Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.' The Bible is now a new book, deeply interesting at all times. I 'pray without ceasing, giving thanks always for all 32 OLD CORN. things.' ' To me, to live is Christ,' and though to die would be certain bliss, I want Him, if it may be His will, to let me serve Him as long as possible. Each day's service is now a delight. Each morning I give myself into His keeping and ask His guidance for the day. No longer trusting at all to my own exertions, I ask Him to use all my faculties and powers to their utmost for His glory. The result is, that every duty, small and great, is more plainly seen, easier and better done ; fewer mistakes are made ; my heart does not condemn me. I have confidence towards God, and He keeps me in perfect peace. The secret is, perfect dis- trust (fear and trembling) of myself, perfect trust in Him to ' will and to do of his good pleasure.' His service is perfect freedom. " There is no presumption in this. It is a child's confidence in his Father. Nothing to make one feel that he is better than another. Self must die before the Spirit can take possession of us. No doctrine of the perfection of the flesh. We must be driven to extre- mity before we can cast ourselves upon Christ to be kept by His power. Our strength is mere weakness. It is only as we abide in Jesus that we have power, for 'severed from me ye can do nothing.' " This experience of a dear brother, so clearly and frankly told, is not peculiar to him, but has its counter- part in thousands of God's children. But says one, " He who is thus saved is too modest to tell it ! " Is he ? Dear soul ! How such a remark as that reveals the total misapprehension of the speaker. If salvation were indeed an attainment, or acquired by our efforts, his thought would be legitimate. But I take you to a CLEANSING THROUGH THE BLOOD. 33 store, or a factory, or a farm, and say, " This is all a gift from my father ! I was a poor, wandering, rebel- lious, prodigal boy, but my father called me home, for- gave me all, and gave me this inheritance ! " If a son would be "too modest" to honor such a father as that, I would say he was too modest to be honest, not to speak of base ingratitude ; and that if " his pound " were taken from him and given to another, it would be only just. I am sure that you will agree with me too. The fact is, the church discriminates against Christ's witnesses to-day as much as of old. Let a man come in here and tell you that the devil has him wholly in his power — that he is filled with hate and murder, and ready to kill us all at any moment his master, the devil, says so. We would all believe him, and every one would be filled with terror in a moment. But let an intelligent, reliable, good man say, " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth me from all sin," and we fear he is "mistaken," or " fanatical," or a "hypocrite," or, at least, " immodest " ! You remember the blind man in the ninth of John, whose eyes Jesus opened. But the Jews were deter- mined not to believe it, and so they resorted to every means to get him to tone down his testimony. They did frighten his parents into a lie about it, but the poor fellow stuck to the facts, and then " they reviled him " and "cast him out." But Jesus was out there too, and soon found him, so that he had the best of company after all. No doubt he could have stayed in, and the Pharisees would have thought him a fine fellow, if only he had said: " Well, I may be somewhat better, but not much ! " Ah ! that's humble and modest like. I believe 34 OLD CORN. him. That's about as much as anybody can say that goes to that doctor ! " For my part, beloved, I love to hear a witness say wonderful things about Jesus, and I'll hope it's all true. Miss Havergal said : " It was that word cleanseth which opened the door of a very glory of hope and joy to me. I had never seen the force of the tense before. A continual present, always present, tense." Fellowship with God is to walk with Him, and to walk with God is to walk in the light, and to walk in the light is to be cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ His Son. Now let us pray, and yield, and believe for God's gracious work, and all for Jesus' sake. Amen. CHAPTER IV. CONSECRATION. " I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." — Rom. 12 : 1. THERE is an unlimited quantity of literature and talk about " Consecration," but comparatively little of the thing itself. As a theme, it may seem rather hackneyed; but as an experience, it never loses its freshness. The Apostle Paul proceeds from the doc- trinal portion of this epistle to press upon his "breth- ren" that "be in Rome" the most important practical lessons. Not his "brethren" because the children of Adam, or as the beggar who once approached Welling- ton understood it, and asked this great lord to pity and help his " poor brother," but as his brethren in Christ, "beloved of God." They are not sinners, but saints. He does not use authority to command, but in love and tenderness He entreats, "beseeches." He appeals to their experience of God's mercy as the grounds of His admonition. Through His grace in Christ Jesus they now belonged to a race of priests, but to become prac- tically and actively such, they must voluntarily present 36 OLD CORN. themselves as a whole "burnt offering" unto God — an acceptable sacrifice — an odor of sweet smell. " He shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord." This was the law regarding the consecration of the priests, or the sons of Aaron to the priestly office in the Lord's house. The language of their "burnt offering" was this : A voluntary and an entire devotedness to God, to do His will whatever that might be. It was as the anti-type of this offering that Jesus said, " Lo, I come to do thy will, O God," from first to last, without the slightest departure in anything. In the unshaken purpose and divine ability to accomplish this, He went forward to the cross and said, "I lay down my life that I may take it again." He was unmoved by the mistaken sympathy of friends who said, " Pity thyself, Lord." He was equally deaf to the most diabolical opposition of earth and hell. In his life of righteousness and holiness, He was misunderstood as being mad, and accused of having a devil. He was abused, mocked, deserted, cast out, betrayed, buffeted, spit upon, condemned and crowned with thorns. All of this at the hands of men, church- men, because He was the one faithful witness for God before men ! Now to us "it is given not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake." And " who- soever forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple." And yet, having " fellowship with his suf- ferings " for righteousness sake must ever be a purely " voluntary " matter. Not a martyr but could have saved himself by recanting. But God has a right to us. He has bought us with CONSECRATION. 37 His blood. We are not our own. He "jealously desireth us," and the true Christian's longing is toward the " lover " of his soul. I. Our text acquaints us with the nature of the " sacrifice " demanded. But let us first glance at some errors concerning this consecration, or what it is not. (1.) It is not to be confounded with the submission of a sinner, which is a totally different thing, (a.) The sinner is impelled by fear to seek a refuge. The child of God is drawn by love and gratitude into closer communion and loyal service. (5.) The former is a rebel, and is only met with a challenge to surrender unconditionally, or submit to God and accept His terms of salvation. He is never invited to " consecrate." Not once in the Book. (c.) He is dead, and it is a "living sacrifice" that God asks for. He can accept nothing as an offering that is dead. Even the blind, the lame, or the "sick" were an abomination before the Lord. " Dead in tres- passes and sins," he cannot make a will, for he is a bankrupt, and has nothing to bestow if he could. As such, he must first of all be a receiver and not a giver. And God's call to the sinner is to " receive " sight, to " receive " forgiveness of sins and life from the dead. (2.) Consecration is constantly called " separation." And so it is, but it is much more than a separation from evil, for fear of exposure or of coming judgment. To " depart from the tents of these wicked men lest ye be consumed in their sins," is separation indeed, but not consecration ! (3.) Neither is it ecclesiastical exclusiveness, as the 38 OLD CORN. separation of the Pharisee that says, " I am holier than thou." It is not uncommon for persons' to imagine that religious sanctimoniousness is sanctification. Nothing could be wider of the mark. Never, until the heart is purified by faith, do we feel our utter helplessness, and really lose all our self-confidence. There is indeed a " sufficiency," but " our sufficiency is of God." Many suppose that an assurance of sin put away, ministers to a spirit of self-confidence and self-complacency. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and the mistake is founded on the delusion that holiness is an "attain- ment," or the result of our own efforts, instead of the work of the Holy Spirit and a bestowment. Instead of making little of sin, it is simply making much of the blood and the Spirit, that have cleansed us from it. This ministers to a spirit of true humility, of praise, gratitude and worship, and is the end of all Pharisaism and legalism in the human heart. And it may be truly said, that it is the only possible way to end it. II. Let us now look at a "separation" that has a positive side as well as a negative. A separation unto Christ, as well as a renunciation of all evil. No more beautiful illustration of this can be found than that of Rebekah, who is indeed a marvelous type of the spiritual lessons of our text. When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son, he made him swear that he would not take a daughter of the Canaanites, but one of his own " kindred." And such was Rebekah, his nephew Bethuel's daughter. She was told about Isaac, of the dignity of his person, and also of his exceeding riches, because unto him his father " hath given all that CONSECRATION. 39 he hath." She already enjoyed an earnest of his wealth in the " raiment," and the " jewels " now in her posses- sion. It did not take her long to see that Isaac's bride would be the joint heir with him of all this glory and wealth of possessions. If the story were only true, and she should present herself to Isaac and be "acceptable," then he and all that he had would be hers. She believed the report, "and she said I will go." Her path was unknown to her, and so it was a way of faith, but she was under the conduct of one who knew the way to her intended bridegroom, and she would risk it all. To tend Laban's sheep any longer would be to despise the exalted privilege of becoming " the mother of thousands of millions." Her faith was tested by the importunities of nature for delay, "a few days, at the least ten," but she said, " hinder me not, send me away unto my master." She was detached in her affections from things that were "seen," just in proportion as she became attached to her unseen husband. She was sepa- rated from the former that she might be separated unto the latter. It is this separating power of faith that " puri- fies the heart." Rebekah's separation from home and kindred found its joyful recompense when she " saw Isaac," and " she became his wife and he loved her." There is a marvelous beauty in this narrative, as it illustrates the spirit and real meaning of true consecra- tion. The word " present " denotes the voluntariness of consecration when we are drawn by love and gratitude, in contrast with the enforced submission of the sinner when moved by fear. It also denotes a finished and comprehensive act that is done once for all, and as com- 40 OLD CORN. plete and irrevocable as a marriage vow, which could only be brought into contempt by a repetition, unless indeed it had been broken. Bishop Taylor says : "Never since I was thus 'cruci- fied' and 'purged from dead works' have I made any vows pertaining to the inner life and looking to a future fulfillment. I have thus been enabled through extraor- dinary trials and vicissitudes to walk by faith for over twenty years." III. The expression "present your bodies a living sacrifice," is one having obvious reference to the "burnt offering " of the Old Testament, as we have previously suggested. In this offering there is no question of sin bearing whatever, but of devotedness unto God, even unto death. It symbolized the whole life, with all its powers and energies consumed in the service of God and for His glory. And the striking beauty and fitness in the Apostle's allusion to this special offering, is seen when we remember that Aaron's sons could not enter upon their priestly ministrations until they brought » the ram for the burnt offering " and " the ram of con. secration," and they were solemnly offered before the Lord, "and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people." Just so the believer that would enter upon his priestly service in the house of God is entreated to present his body "a living sacrifice," a whole burnt offering to God, as his reasonable service. It is a com- mon error to suppose that every believer is qualified to enter upon the functions of the priestly ofifice at once, and in virtue of the fact that he is of the priestly house. If he would serve as a priest, he must be more than the son CONSECRATION. 41 of Aaron — lie must be a consecrated son. His sacrifice is not the oblation of a beast, but of himself, and this word " sacrifice " stands for whatever is dedicated to God by His own appointment. The only " sacrifice " of atonement is Christ, but through Him our persons and performances are sacrifices of devotement and of praise to the honor of God. IV. The phrase " your bodies," may be used as equivalent to yourselves, but it is more in exact keep- ing with the figure employed, or with the type, to under- stand the Apostle as speaking more literally of the body with special design. It is wholly contrary to Scripture that the body is so frequently depreciated by men. It is to be sanctified wholly as the temple of the Holy Ghost and the organ of this present life in all relations. As it has been the servant of the soul when yielded to sin, so it is to be the servant of the soul in the service of God. It is the channel through which the purity of the Spirit is most in danger. The physical appetites, affections and desires are all lawful in themselves, but have been inoculated and perverted by sin. Our text does not indicate their annihilation, but their purifica- tion. Sanctification is to extend to that part of our being that is most exposed to the bondage of sin. In order to do this, the body is to be yielded to God in every member and for His service, just as fully as the moral nature or personal life, which is the principal offering, has been yielded to Him. (1.) This sacrifice is to be a " living " one. This epithet may be considered in opposition to the sacrifices that were to be slain and speedily consumed upon the 42 OLD CORN. altar. They lived no more ; but you may offer an ac- ceptable sacrifice that lives right on. "Living" may also refer to the perpetual, continuous character of the sacrifice, as opposed to the transient nature of those under the law. A sacrifice that never loses its value or its power, as " living waters," " living bread," and a "living way." Or, again, and most fittingly, it means a "sacrifice " inspired and governed by the spiritual life of the soul. Christ " dwelling in the heart by faith," makes it possible for His life to be manifest in our mor- tal bodies. And we may thus live one continuous life, with its capabilities, labors, aims, hopes and destinies, all unconditionally in God's hands. (2.) It is to be a " holy " sacrifice. Holy, because indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Holy, because offered ac- cording to the will of God, and because He has said that " every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord." And lastly holy, because made so by Jesus Christ, the Christian's altar, who sanctifies the gift, and by whom we " offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto God." (3.) Yes ; it is " acceptable " or well pleasing unto God. Why should it not be ? Honestly, entirely and voluntarily made, the divine requirements are fully met, and it is a " burnt sacrifice," an " odor of a sweet smell, acceptable and well-pleasing to God." He has so declared it, and we must believe it. But we may also have another witness besides the word of God. " And there came a fire out from the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat." Thus the priests as they went forward, believing in the word of God, doing " the thing which the Lord commanded," did find His promise fulfilled, that " the glory of the CONSECRATION. 43 Lord shall appear unto you." And " when all the peo- ple saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." Then was faith turned to sight. Now if God thus testified His acceptance of a ram, offered under the law, by a mir- acle of fire, much more may His priests under the gos- pel know by the baptism with fire, that their offering is accepted at their hands, and in like measure see " the glory of the Lord." Now, all of this is a most "reason- able service." If "the Lord is for the body," the body surely ought to be " for the Lord." The " body " is made a partaker of gospel benefits, both here and here- after in resurrection and glorification, and it is most reasonable that it should be perfectly joined with the Spirit in the service of God. But the phrase " reason- able service," is no less forcible when understood to •mean spiritual service, or that which pertains to the mind, as antithetical to the thought of the external and ceremonial services of the sanctuary. But its reason- ableness from any standpoint will be fully seen only, when our compliance with God's demand is complete. Oh ! that every one may do this to-day, if not already done. Have you not delayed too long already ? Why not yield that last point ? The early conversion of a sinner pleases God. So, also, does the early consecra- tion of a believer ! V. Only a few words as to the practical outcome of this wonderful work of God in the soul. Perfect sub- mission to His will quickly develops the principle of obedience, and He meets our surrendered will with His own transforming power, which develops life from within. We soon begin to " prove," that is, have prac- 44 OLD CORN. tical proof and experimental knowledge of the " will of God" concerning us. The light of the Holy Spirit that illumines our hearts shines upon the written word, and what the mind apprehends, the conscience approves. We find that God's will is indeed " good." Good in itself; good for us; good for our fellowmen. That it is " acceptable," even to such as once rebelled against it, and complained about it, now it is most welcome. Nay, it is "perfect." It is prescribed by our Father, and contains all things needful for the man of God that he "maybe perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work." The more we see of it, the more we hold and rejoice in these perfections of God's will or law. The more thankful we are that God has a will that specifi- cally concerns us, and that our wills are lost in His. The more we understand the loving heart of our Lord Jesus, the more legibly does He write His law in our hearts and minds. " I have no cares, O blessed will! For all rny cares are Thine, I live in triumph, Lord! for Thou Hast made Thy triumphs mine. " I love to see Thee bring to naught The plans of wily men; When simple hearts outwit the wise, Oh! Thou art loveliest then. " 111 that He blesses is our good, And U7iblest good is ill ; And all is right that seems most wrong If it be His sweet will ! " CHAPTER V. THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. " He shall baptize you with, the Holy Ghost and with fire." — Matt. 3: 11. SUCH was the promise of John the Baptist to his disciples as they heard him proclaim the gospel of the " Lamb of God." This same promise was renewed by the Lord Jesus himself when He spoke of the " abid- ing Comforter." " Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you " (John 14 : 17). And again, just before His ascension, He did not forget to bring " the promise " nigh, and to tell His disciples that its fulfill- ment was at hand. "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts 1:5). Not only so, he declared that this promise " which ye have heard of me " is indeed " the promise of the Father," and Peter distinctly identifies this "promise of the Father " with the prophecy of Joel, eight hundred years before. " And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh," etc. (Acts 2 : 17). 46 OLD CORN. So that we think it placed beyond dispute that this prophecy of Joel, "the promise of the Father," the " baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire," spoken of by John and authoritatively promised by our Lord, are all descriptive of, and point to, one and the same event. And that in Acts 2 : 4, we have recorded the specific and accurate fulfillment of these predictions and promises, for the first time in all history. We are also assured that this same " promise is unto us, and to our children," while it is painfully evident that its " exceed- ing greatness " is far from being either rightly under- stood or appreciated by multitudes of the Lord's people. It is our purpose, therefore, to seek to turn the atten- tion of our readers with renewed interest to a promise of God, which has never been revoked, and is as avail- able for every one of His children to-day as it was for those upon whom it was first bestowed. And we can- not doubt that if this conviction entered into the thoughts and prayers and ministry of the church of Jesus Christ as it should, the inefficiency and feeble- ness of modern piety would be succeeded by that "power from on high " which is only received " after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." It is, therefore, a mat- ter of the first importance to have true and scriptural views concerning this subject, and that our minds should be disabused of the many errors which constantly be- cloud it. I. Our first point, therefore, is to call attention to the fact that the "promise" of the baptism with the Holy Ghost is made to believers, and believers only. That it is never made to "sinners," that it does not THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 47 stand connected with the new birth, and if received at all, is always received at some time subsequent to re- generation. It may indeed be very soon after conver- sion, but that we must stand in the relation of an adopted child of God, before it is possible to become a fit candidate for this " baptism," is, we think, demon- strably true. (1.) Joel describes those upon whom the Spirit of God will be poured out in the last days as true Israelites, and Peter more fully declares them to be God's " ser- vants and handmaidens." (See Acts 2 : 18.) Malachi also says that it is the "sons of Levi" that "he shall purify." (2.) The words of our text, as uttered by John, are addressed, and the "promise" is made to, his disciples, to men who had repented and confessed their sins, and who left John to follow Jesus the moment He called them to become fishers of men. These are the men whom Jesus sent forth with " authority over all devils and to cure diseases," " to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:1). Who were sent forth " as lambs among wolves," and to whom " even the devils were subject " through the name of Jesus. The men whom He bade to " rejoice because your names are written in heaven," and of whom He testified in His last prayer, "they are thine " — "they are not of this world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17). Such testimony concerning the religious state and standing of the disciples might be multiplied indefi- nitely, but we think the evidence already adduced must be abundantly satisfactory to every intelligent and can- did reader. 48 OLD CORN. (3.) In every allusion to the " promise of the Father," made during the ministry of our Lord, He makes it clear beyond a question that " He spake of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive " (John 7 : 39). " I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you." " If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." " And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever ; even the Spirit of truth ; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you " (John 14). Here is the most specific statement by our Lord himself concerning the utter impossibility of the reception of the baptism with the Spirit by unregenerate worldlings. And the line between these and His disciples is again and again drawn sharp and clear, and He explains " how" He "will manifest Himself unto us, and not unto the world." And, finally, having preoccupied the minds of His disciples with the value, joy and power of the coming Comforter, Jesus bade them " tarry at Jerusalem " for the fulfillment of the " promise " which was repeated from His own lips as He stood in the midst of His " little flock " on Olivet, and only a moment or two before " he blessed them and was parted from them." (4.) In the Acts of the Apostles we find the most complete and constant verification of the doctrine above set forth. It was the " hundred and twenty " disciples that "were of one accord" — that knew how to continue "in prayer and supplication," asking in the name of Jesus, their ascended Lord — that waited day after day THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 49 for the promised baptism, with an eager intensity that ought to shame the torpid listlessness of cynical doc- trinaires who rather think these men " were not yet con- verted." It was upon these that the baptism with the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. Not another in- habitant of Jerusalem was a recipient of this wondrous gift, but Peter proclaimed to the inquiring multitude the conditions upon which they, too, might claim the promise, viz. : "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost " (Acts 2: 38). In Acts 5 : 32, we read that " God hath given [the Holy Ghost] to them that obey him." In Acts 8, we have an account of the conversion of many of the Samar- itans, though the Holy Ghost " had fallen upon none of them " until after Peter and John had come down from Jerusalem and " prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost." In Acts 10, the Roman Centurion, Cornelius, receives the same gracious " baptism," and " on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." But the precedent conditions of knowing "peace by Jesus Christ," and of a realized " acceptance " with God were all discovered by Peter, and are clearly testified to by him as already existing in the household of Cornelius when he first " opened his mouth." In Acts 19, the case with the Ephesian " disciples" is precisely analogous. And Paul's question, " Did ye re- ceive the Holy Ghost when ye believed?" brings out the emphatic negative. And in Eph. 1 : 13, the Apostle states more fully and minutely the state of grace 50 OLD CORN. enjoyed by these Ephesian elders, when they " were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." We dwell thus at length upon our first point, with the hope of removing from candid minds the confusion and obscurity often thrown about this subject by a class of persons who constantly speak and write of " the baptism with the Holy Ghost," as synonymous with "the new birth," or that this baptism "marks our initia- tion into the kingdom of God." The serious import of this error can hardly be insisted upon too much, and the evils that flow out of it can scarcely be exaggerated. If it be true that those who have been " born again," and are indeed the children of God, have, therefore, been " baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire," we are driven into a sad dilemma. It is this: Either that the great mass of church members have never been con- verted, and so must be utterly un-Christianized; or else that "the baptism with the Holy Ghost" is no longer attended with "power from on high," nor with a "tongue of fire " that burns its way through every barrier of sin and opposition into the hearts of men. That its effect is no longer to cause men to " magnify God " as the house of Cornelius did, but to magnify brains, culture, eloquence, money, creeds, churches, performances, lita- nies, lectures, society, socials, seances, steeples, robes, rituals, finery and foolery of all sorts. It is simply undeniable that in one form or another, such are the things that bewitch the church of our day. And so the moment it is established that men are "baptized with the Holy Ghost," when " born of the Spirit," (a very different work) we must abandon every hope of fruitful- ness in the church, and regard the " rivers of water" THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 51 that were to flow out of those filled with the Spirit, as only figures of speech and fanciful illusions. For the Sadducean lukewarmness of Christians there is no hope of deliverance. For the strivings, groanings and wrest- lings of the child of God with inbred sin, there is no remedy. The almost audible sobbing and sighing of Christians after the Pentecostal blessings are to be hushed by those whose theology will not permit the ex- periences of Pentecost to be repeated in our day. Such is the deadening influence of errors, having the mis- taken sanction of good men whose notions of truth are allowed to overleap the revelations of John, the inspira- tions of Paul, and even the mind of Christ. Oh ! that men would free themselves from the Popish bondage of un-apostolic tradition, so that untrammeled truth could have as free play and as much room for action as in that upper room at Pentecost. II. The second point, to be briefly noticed, is that this "baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire" implies the purification of the heart, or to be " sanctified wholly," according to Paul's prayer in 1 Thess. 5 : 23. Most certainly the two clauses, — "with the Holy Ghost," "and with fire," refer to one and the same thing, and the notion of Neander and some others that Christ will baptize some men with the " Holy Ghost," and some others with "fire," strikes us as altogether inadmissible. The one blessing is literally promised, and also figuratively explained. Just as Jesus had figuratively explained being born of the Spirit to Nico- demus, when He said, "Except a nYan be born of water and of the Spirit." So John unfolds to us a definite 52 OLD CORN* conception of the work to be wrought in the "baptism with the Spirit," by using its appropriate symbol ot fare. And whatever other ideas we may have concerning this baptism, and whatever may be its results otherwise, the first and most important is the subjective experience ot purification. This is clearly set forth by the emblem used, in several important aspects. ,.,.*,* (1 ) In the Old Testament types, the fire that burned in the bush, that Moses saw, but did not con- sume it, not only sets forth the presence and the holi- ness of God, but the holiness of the « ground that was in immediate contact with him. When " there came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat," it was then that ''the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people." The fire which shone in the Shekinah, m the Holy of Holies, symbolized the presence of the Lord. _ When the -live coal " in the hands of the seraphim was laid upon the mouth of Isaiah, the prophet of the Lord, it was a purifying touch. "Thine imqnity is taken away, and thy sin is purged." Not transgres- sions or sins, in the plural, but sin as an entity, or a unit of evil. Then, quick as thought his ear is opened to hear the voice of the Lord, and his hear to respond with glad willingness to the divine call - "Here am I, send me (9) The searching and consuming character ot that work of the Holy Spirit now under consideration, is most fittingly symbolized by fire. It go es where nothing else can go. Nothing that is combustible can escape, whether we see it or not. It is no respecter of THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST 53 hidden treasures of hay, wood or stubble. So the Holy Spirit burns up "the chaff," the lust, the pride, the carnality, the self-life, the inbred sin, that remains in the believer after his justification. All of this " chaff " will He burn " with unquenchable fire." Nothing that is " for the fire " can escape the ordeal of this searching flame. And it is not merely to be scorched — it is to be "burned up," praise the Lord! "Yes," says one, "in so far as the soul is surrendered and sin is re- vealed, just so far is sin burned out." Not quite correct, we should say. When a house is on fire, we need not go from room to room pointing out what is combustible. The fire itself will infallibly make the discovery in the light of its own flame. So the Holy Spirit will search out and destroy all that is impure. And the Lord Jesus does not undertake to disinfect and purify this house of " man-soul " one room at a time, but will send the " baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire," only when the entire establishment is surrendered and all the keys handed over. Then, He does purify the heart. And this is the unequivocal testimony of the Apostle Peter. Not only with refer- ence to themselves on the day of Pentecost, but also as to the house of Cornelius. He declares that God gave them " the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15: 8). (3.) The "unquenchable " character of this "fire" beautifully sets forth the continuous and perpetual work of the "abiding Comforter." Like the fire from God that fell upon the altar, it is never to go out. And the entire sanctification wrought by the Holy 54 OLD CORN. Ghost is to be graciously maintained, or made perma- nent, by His own personal and constant indwelling. It is also clear that our symbol marks the communi- cation of zeal, energy and earnestness to the soul, as no other element could do. Fire, too, is the very synonym of power, and, as often seen, resistless power, as it con- sumes and devours all before it. And when " cloven tongues like as of fire " sat upon the heads of the disciples, they told then, as they tell to-day, of the purity, permanence and power of the characters fash- ioned by an almighty and indwelling Christ. That the work of entire sanctification is wrought when we are baptized with the Holy Ghost, and that the Spirit is the Sanctifier, is, without doubt, the teach- ing of Scripture. A very clear text is Thess. 2: 13: "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." These Thessalonians were the children of God, and already sanctified, in the sense of "separation" and " devotement," but not in the sense of being " made holy. " They knew the Spirit, but not in His special office as their Sanctifier. And to this full "salvation" the children of God are all "chosen" and called, but the work can only be accomplished by this Divine Agent. And He is to be received through faith in the word of God, or a " belief of the truth." Some say they fully believe in " sanctification," but that it is " obtained at conversion." Yes, brother, but not entire sanctification. We have questioned a multitude, and not one in a thousand would ever claim that they received it then. And some who did so claim have afterwards retracted their error, and received the THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 55 real thing, the true blessing. While others have be- trayed themselves as mistaken in other ways. For instance, we know of one preacher, and an editor, too, whose opposition to " sanctification " as a second experience is so intense, and so blind, that he has finally taken the ground that " it should always go before pardon," and proves (to his own satisfaction) by Peter and by Hezekiah, that " the cleansing and puri- fication of the Spirit, or Holy Ghost baptism, is before the sprinkling of the blood ! Such absurdities are the inevitable result of this error, and the whole theory is utterly unsupported by Scripture, and contradicted by the uniform facts of Christian experience. So that it is impossible that this heresy can ever become wide- spread. Far more subtile and dangerous is the error that sanctification is a gradual work, wrought by disci- pline, growth or suffering, and only " attained " at death. Or one possibly still more mischievous, that the " baptism with the Spirit " is merely an induement for service, and does not purify, and that we may receive "a thousand baptisms "and yet not be "sancti- fied wholly at all." But this is to sadly confound things that are distinctly different. For the effusions of the Spirit, to which this language evidently alludes, are readily distinguishable from " the baptism with the Holy Spirit." Special " anointings " for service, by the Holy Spirit, were common to the disciples before Pente- cost, as well as re-anointings and fillings with the Spirit for special service subsequent to Pentecost. And such special and sensible " strengthenings of the Spirit with might in the inner man," in order to qualify for a particular service, are common to all Christiana OLD CORN. both before and after the purifying u baptism with the Holy Ghost." But these are never designated in Scripture as "baptisms"; they are temporary in their purpose and character, and any number of such " visi- tations " may be enjoyed without ever effecting the work of sanctification, or the " purification of ^ the heart." Whereas "the baptism with the Spirit" is preeminent in this respect, as is most forcibly set forth by Barclay when he defines it to be: "Where the Spirit of God hath purified the soul, and the fire of His judgments hath burned up the unrighteous nature." Not that symbolic tongues of flame are still to be seen on the head as of old, but the lips are truly touched with living fire, and with "another tongue" words of truth and love and power are spoken, that reach and move the hearts of men. Praise the Lord ! CHAPTER VI. IS PENTECOST REPEATED? "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all rilled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." — Acts 4: 81. CONSIDERING the superficial attention generally given to the work of the Holy Spirit, and the many misconceptions and errors which prevail in these days concerning Him and His operations, we need scarcely be surprised to find that this record in the fourth of Acts, is frequently spoken of as a repetition Pentecost, or a renewal to the apostles of the baptism with, the Holy Ghost. But from this thought we must dissent. We could not agree that Acts 4: 31, was just a repetition of Acts 2, and that "these men prayed and got the power again," for this implies that they had in some way lost it in the interim, which is utterly inad- missible, since their healing of the lame man, their powerful ministry in Acts 3 : 12-26, their conflict with the rulers, and triumph over them (Acts 4 : 13-21), had all come to pass as the direct result of the abiding full" ness of the Holy Ghost. (See Acts 4: 8.) So that instead of losing any of their power, this history proves 58 OLD CORN. a constant increase of it, and the fourth of Acts must have some other explanation. They had indeed launched out into the deep, and the first storm of persecution had burst upon them. They were now realizing that it was "against the Lord and against his Christ," that "Herod and Pilate and the Gentiles and the rulers of the people of Israel were gathered together." It was to hinder the "counsel" of God, and the work of the Lord Jesus, that the powers of earth and hell were combined. The apostles seem to have no concern for their own safety or success ; but their solicitude is for the honor and glory of God. Hence they pray that the special grace of "boldness," or courage in " speaking the word," may be graciously afforded in proportion to "their threatenings," and that "signs and wonders may be done," or that miracles be wrought in confirmation of the word. Immediately in the earthquake did God declare His presence, and that His arm of power was already stretched forth in answer to prayer. They also "spake the word with boldness," as they were con- sciously "filled with the Holy Ghost," or possessed by Him to the exclusion of all doubt as to results, or question as to personal safety. Thus we see that all of the incidents peculiar to the fourth of Acts, proclaim that "these men " were not at all seeking to " get the power again," which had in some way been lost, but that they were as they were, from the very fact that they had fully followed the Lord in the power of the indwelling Spirit, with which they were first filled on the day of Pentecost. Now, in order to see most clearly that this was not "Pentecost repeated over again in the experience of IS PENTECOST REPEATED? 59 the apostles," let us glance at the work wrought at Pentecost. Hitherto the disciples had not been " sanc- tified wholly," had not been purified in " their hearts," although their names were " written in heaven," and they had left all to follow Jesus and preach His gospel. His last prayer for them was that they might be "sanc- tified through the truth." Now since these disciples had been "sanctified" for years, in the sense of being "set apart" and consecrated to a sacred service, it is inevitable that Jesus prayed for their sanctification in that only other sense of the term, viz., to be made holy or pure. Besides, it is only in this sense that the results could follow of "being one in us," and of be- holding Christ's glory. This subjective work of purification was promised and predicated of the "baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire " (Matt. 3 : 11, 12), and it was in obedi- ence to the latest injunction of Jesus that the disciples tarried in that upper room until He did thus baptize them. So that when "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost " at Pentecost, as in Acts 2, there was first of all the " purifying of their hearts by faith," or the destruction of the body of sin, or the crucifixion of the old man; and this work was wrought by the Holy Ghost for the cleansing of His temple, and in order that He might take up His residence therein and "abide with you forever." This He did, and signalized His advent by the internal manifestation of filling them with His conscious indwelling, and the external and miracu- lous incidents of the occasion. Then came the objec- tive work, and they all spake or prophesied as the Spirit gave utterance, or spoke through them. (30 C >LT> CORN. Now this work of the Spirit at Pentecost is to be clearly distinguished from all previous effusions known to the disciples. (1.) By its negative and purifying work. (2.) By its fullness. "All were filled." (3.) By its permanence. (See John 14: 16. Also 1 John 2: 27.) It is the " anointing which abideth in you." (1.) By its "power" to be, to do and to suffer. In like manner it is to be distinguished from any and every subsequent effusion, or so-called rebaptism, known to the apostles. (1.) By the subjective, personal puri- fication of heart, which was realized at Pentecost, and in the nature of the case could not be repeated unless there was a new infusion of sinful pollution and unbe- lief, of which there is not the slightest evidence. (2.) By the epochal nature of the Pentecostal experience. It marked an era in their lives that in the nature of the case could never be repeated unless preceded by a disastrous backsliding. Having crossed the Jordan, the Israelites could press forward into the heart of the land, but they could never again see the waters of the Jordan "rise up upon a heap very far from the city Adam," unless perchance God's mercy should seek them out as deserters in the wilderness, and bring them back once more to the army of faith in Canaan. Nothing of this appears in apostolic history. Doubtless what the apostles did receive upon this occasion was similar to what many good people mean when they pray for "a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost," and when they speak of having received "many baptisms." But this language is as misleading and confusing as it is inaccurate. It not only evidences, but it also propagates inadequate and erroneous con- IS PENTECOST REPEATED? 61 ceptions of that crowning operation of the Holy Ghost, "the baptism" which purifieth the heart and fills the soul with righteousness. Not but what there is a place and a necessity, and a provision, too, for these other "blessings," (perhaps more exactly termed "refreshings" or "girdings," or the like). They have a place in all Christian lives, and in all states of grace. Their necessity is created by the growing demands of work and opportunity upon us, and by the expansion of our own finite capacities which will ever result from faithfulness to the abiding fullness of the Holy Ghost. And their provision is assured in the promises which guarantee us all things pertaining to life and godliness, and by the recollection of many such uplifts which we all have received along this wa}- of holiness. But we insist upon this: (1.) The reception of these blessings is not conclusive proof of any par- ticular state of grace ; for they are in some measure incident to any and every such state. (2.) The felt need of such blessings is no disproof of sanctification, or evidence of lapse, but is a normal demand of spirit- ual life itself. We will mention some reasons why these distinctions between the true Pentecostal baptism, and all other effusions of the Holy Spirit, are not clearly recognized. (1.) Many do not believe that the apostles really did have their hearts purified at Pentecost. They do not believe that the "old man" ever gets anything but "black-eyes" till death. It is of course impossible that such persons can fully understand or appreciate the true Pentecostal baptism. And to minimize this, while unduly exalting the more ordinary and temporary 62 OLD CORN. anointings and empowerings of the Spirit of God for His service, must inevitably produce much confusion of thought and obscure the truth. (2.) There are those who constantly think and speak of the Spirit as an influence, or divine power communi- cated to us for our use in God's work, instead of as a real person who will come to stay, and will work through us, and use us if we will not grieve Him. To all such persons, the thought of the necessity of "fre- quent supplies," and " large measures of power," seem entirely to eclipse the true idea of the indwelling of Him who "fills with all the fullness of God." That He sometimes hides His power, and allows us to feel how utterly weak and helpless we are to do any- thing without Him, and that the degrees and forms of power which He is pleased to put forth through us are of an infinite variety, ought not to disturb us, but greatly to encourage our faith. It ought not to be neces- sary, though it may be best to insist upon it, that what we have said is in no wise to be so construed as to undervalue the solemn obligation and privilege of " watching unto prayer," and crying unto " Him with groanings which cannot be uttered," as well as "lifting up the voice unto God," for "boldness," for "utter- ance," for "anointing with fresh oil," for the girding, enlightening, strengthening and sanctifying grace of the blessed and abiding Holy Spirit. Without this, we need not attempt to "walk in the light," or to engage in the work of Him who has said, "Without me, ye can do nothing." But do let us believe Jesus when He declares that when that other Comforter is given, it is " that he may abide with you forever." IS PENTECOST REPEATED? 63 And " he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." These two are inseparable. Christ redeems us from all iniquity and purines us, in order that we be zealous of good works. Two definite and distinct parts of this great salvation : Christ gave Himself for us, that we might give ourselves to Him ; He died for us, that we might live for Him; that our lives may be perfectly given up into His hands. Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Not for my joy, or comfort, or delight, but for Thy glory. The day of Pentecost had fully prepared the disciples for this kind of praying. In this first recorded prayer of the church (Acts 4 : 24-30) their appeal to God is based upon what they then knew of the power and full- ness of the Holy Ghost in their own souls. They were unmoved by threats, that first and last argument of persecutors, but they recognized the combined efforts of "kings "and "rulers," and heathen and Jews, to silence the voice of truth and the attested facts of Christ's death and resurrection. Their faith rests securely upon God's sovereignty and the certain accomplishment of His purposes, and His " counsel determined before to be done." But they do not pray for their own deliverance from sin, or danger, or persecution, or for comfort and quiet. Neither do they ask for vengeance or destruction to come upon their persecutors, but for healing, and signs, and wonders. Only behold thou, and interpose when and as Thou wilt, but grant endurance to suffer and boldness to face the peril and declare the word of God. To this fervent and united prayer of the whole church there speedily came the most palpable answer. The 64 OLD CORN. place was shaken, the disciples were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and "spake the word of God with bold- ness." Praise His name! CHAPTER VII. POWER FOR SERVICE. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." — Zech. 4: 6. WHILE God hath chosen men, and not angels, for the royal service of soul-winning, we are but the agents which He employs, and through whom the Lord Jesus seeks to work in the power of His personal suc- cessor, the omnipotent Holy Ghost. And inasmuch as the measure of His " power that worketh in us" is the measure of our success in the ser- vice of God, it is of transcendent importance that we clearly understand both our need and our privilege in the gospel of the Son of God. The present examination of our subject will compre- hend : — I. The personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more common than to regard the Holy Spirit merely as an influence or an attribute of God, or an emanation from divinity — powerful, to be sure, and yet only an influence. How often do we hear even ministers and theologians pray that " the influence of 66 OLD CORN. the Hoi}- Spirit ma} r be felt in our hearts," or in our meetings, instead of praying that the Holy Spirit Him- self may be thus felt and known ! Nor is this mode of speech a mere slip of the tongue, since it is to be freely admitted that such language is quite the natural expres- sion of every heart that has not come to know the Holy Ghost as a person. And this is altogether common to the earlier stages of Christian experience. "I was a Christian a long time before I found out that the Holy Ghost was a person," says Mr. Moody ; and this testi- mony could be duplicated and confirmed by Christians generally. True, it may be known as a theological fact by those who never realize such a revelation to their own personal consciousness. In regeneration, the Holy Spirit is indeed present, bringing a new life into the soul, and witnessing to the personality of our divine Lord and Savior, rather than to His own. His witness is with our spirits that we are the children of God, a personal and divine Father. But there are not a few professing Christians who even resolutely deny the per- sonality of the Spirit, while stoutly declaring, "I believe in the Holy Ghost." And these are joined by others in the common practice of applying the impersonal and neuter pronoun "it" to the Holy Spirit, instead of the masculine personal pronouns u He" and "Him" as always used by the Lord Jesus. For example, John 16 : 13, 14 : " When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine." Again, He loves (Rom. 15 : 30). He speaks POWER FOR SERVICE. 67 (Matt. 10: 20). He reproves (John 16: 8). He helps and intercedes (Rom. 8: 26). He may be resisted (Acts 7: 51). He may be grieved (Eph. 4: 30); vexed (Isa. 58 : 10) ; and blasphemed (Matt. 12: 31). Not only so, all of the actions and attributes of divin- ity are ascribed to the Holy Spirit, and He is repeatedly called God, as in Acts 5 : 3, 4 : " Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? . . . Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." Works of creation are ascribed to Him (Gen. 1 : 2 ; Job 33 : 4). He quickens (John 6 : 63 ; Rom. 8 : 11). He regenerates (John 3: 5). He sanctifies (1 Cor. 6: 11; 2 Thess. 2: 13). He inspires and speaks through men (Acts 28 : 25; 2 Peter 1: 21). He makes and appoints overseers to feed the church of God (Acts 20 : 28). And blas- phemy against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness (Mark 3: 29). Enough has been said, we think, to make clear the scriptural truth, that the Holy Spirit is one with the Father and the Son in authority, power and glory, and also His distinct personality and essential Godhead. Yet it is no part of our purpose to invade the sacred mystery of the Trinity. So much is certain, that while Father, Son and Holy Ghost are equal in power and glory, they are one in substance and essentially one God. Also that there are official positions that are dis- tinct and subordinate one to another, and that the sub- ordination of the Son to the Father and of the Spirit to the Son is confined to the fulfillment of these respective and specific offices. II. It is our next duty to examine our warrant in 68 OLD CORN. the promises of God for expecting " the baptism with the Spirit" for ourselves. Let us read Joel 2: 28, 29: " And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the hand maids in those days, will I pour out my Spirit." This promise has been greatly misunderstood as having reference to a widespread and general effusion of the Spirit of God upon men everywhere for their conviction and conver- sion. That it has, however, immediate and exclusive reference to the " baptism with the Spirit," to be bestowed upon and promised to believers only, is proven by the Apostle Peter, who declared upon the day of Pentecost, "This is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel" (Acts 2: 16). And let it be noticed that this witness was borne at a juncture upon that occasion, which precludes the possibility of any refer- ence to the work of conviction or conversion upon the three thousand. Even the sermon had not yet been preached ! Only a little attention is requisite in order to relieve this passage of any ambiguity, and we pass to Malachi 3 : 2, 3 : " For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner of silver ; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Again, Jesus says (Luke 24 : 49), " And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you." In John 14: 7, "If I depart, I will send him unto you." And lastly, in Acts 1 : 5-8, "Ye shall be baptized with the Hoty Ghost not many days POWER FOR SERVICE. 69 hence. . . . But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me." Upon such clear and explicit promises the disciples relied, while waiting with one accord in one place for their fulfillment. They were not deceived. There was no disappointment. Though faith, was tested in the long delay, yet when Pentecost was fully come — a day that celebrated the giving forth of a fiery law from Sinai long centuries before — " suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind . . . and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Jesus, the baptizer, had found one hundred and twenty fit candidates, and redeemed His promise to baptize them with the Holy Ghost, and each head was crowned with a symbolic coronal of holy fire. The explicit terms in which Peter states the univer- sality of the above promises, ought to remove forever all doubts of our personal interest in them. (See Acts 2: 39.) "The promise is to you (Jews), — to your children (of every generation) — to all that are afar off (Gentiles), even to as many as the Lord your God shall call" (broad as Christendom), and we are included in this number. But in order clearly to distinguish between " the baptism with the Spirit," and every other work or effusion of the Spirit, we must give atten- tion to a few important facts in this connection. (1.) The Holy Ghost had been in the world from the beginning, and was never a stranger to the needs of human hearts. He had moved upon them for convic- tion, repentance or inspiration in all ages. The Spirit came upon kings and upon prophets, anointing them for 70 OLD CORN. a special occasion, or a temporary work, as in Ezekiel 39 : 29, we read, " I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." And Peter tells us that holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2.) In the particular case of the disciples, they were the first fruits of the new dispensation of the gospel, and the preliminary work of regeneration, or the birth of the Spirit, had been wrought in them. " They were not of the world." Their "names were written in heaven." For three years Christ had called them His " brethren," His " friends," and they had gone forth as preachers of the gospel with a commission to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out devils. And Jesus expressly testifies their acquaintance and fellow- ship with the Spirit, saying, "Ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14 : 17). Not only so, after His resurrection "he breathed on them and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost." A special quickening and inspiration of their "understanding that they might understand the Scrip- tures," was thus communicated by the Holy Ghost. The emblem chosen as most fitting for such a work of the Spirit is breath. "He breathed on them." This emblem is also used to set forth His life-imparting work in the new birth. " The wind bloweth where it listeth, ... So is every one that is born of the Spirit." Thus the " breath of the Almightv " both gives and sustains life. (3.) To many, however, there seems to be a contra- diction to the facts here stated, by the declaration of the Apostle John, that " the Holy Ghost was not yet given ; POWER FOR SERVICE. 71 because that Jesus was not yet glorified," and also as implied in the Lord's command to tarry at Jerusalem for the coming of the Comforter and the promised bap- tism. But these difficulties readily disappear as we carefully distinguish between the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, " at sundry times and in divers manners," and His personal advent, as the Ascension gift of the Son of God to His disciples, " to them that obey him." No longer as an occasional visitant and limited to the exercise of only certain of His many offices, He now came to stay, to abide for- ever, to engraft, enlarge and maintain spiritual life, to carry forward to completion His work in the individ- ual believer, and to take His place in the church as the personal successor of the Lord Jesus, or the " Executive of the Godhead." It will greatly assist us in making clear the distinction we are insisting upon, if we remember that the same was also true of the Lord Jesus. He, too, was in the world long before His advent. He appeared unto and talked with Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, and indeed the theophanies of our Lord, prior to His formal advent and incarnation, are innumerable. III. Let us now give attention to one of the distinc- tive objects of this baptism, viz. : Qualification for " ser- vice." I have said one of the objects advisedly ; for " service " is but one of a trinity of cardinal purposes comprehended in the divine design of this bestowment. To overlook this truth is to blind our eyes to our real need, to magnify service beyond its relative rank, and, in fact, utterly to fail of receiving the genuine "baptism 72 OLD CORN. with the Spirit " at all — content, it may be, to accept as its equivalent, some more transient and superficial enduement. Now it is readily seen that all continuous and fruitful service is conditioned upon divine union. " He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit" (John 15 : 5). But such divine indwelling and possession is dependent upon heart purity, and the true children of God recognize this quite generally and long for it. It was for this that Jesus asked in His last and intercessory prayer, " Sanc- tify them through thy truth : thy word is truth." So that we have purity, union and power in divine order. And in treating of " power " we must treat of that which is clearly comprised in the Scriptural character and significance of the "baptism with the Spirit." There is a widespread cry for " power." We preach about "power," and seek for "power," and plead for " power," but there is much "asking and receiving not, because we ask amiss." We have reached a point in spiritual research where God holds us to a strict accountability for the exercise of our spiritual intelli- gence. And a persistent misconception of the truth about " power " is fatal to a reception of the true " bap- tism with the Spirit." Power is not a sort of might with which we are invested and by which a remarkable abil- ity of accomplishment is conferred. " Power" is not a reservoir filled to the brim with a subtle spiritual efflu- ence which is liable to escape by evaporation or through a leaky vessel. We are not baptized with "power." We are not baptized with love. We are not baptized with faith, or joy, or peace, or meekness, or any mere fruit or attribute of the Spirit, as people often pray. We are POWER FOR SERVICE. 73 not baptized by the Holy Spirit, but by the Lord Jesus with the Holy Spirit, who is Himself the embodiment of " power," and of every other divine attribute. And if we are to receive Him with the Pentecostal special- ties of fullness, permanence and power, He must have right of way. "We must be emptied of self," is a com- mon form of stating it. And we sing, " None of self and all of thee." " I believe firmly," says Mr. Moody, that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride, and selfishness, and ambition, and self-seeking, and every- thing contrary to God's law, the Holy Ghost will come and fill every corner of our hearts ; but if we are full of pride, and conceit, and ambition, and self-seeking, and pleasure, and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God ; and I believe many a man is praying to God to fill him, when he is full already with something else. Before we pray that God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray Him to empty us." Now surely all must admit this, and it is the key. to the situation. This accomplished, there is no trouble about the service. If God could get our full consent to purify us as human channels of His grace, then indeed that grace would "flow as rivers of living water" to the thirsty souls of the dying. But let us face the problem, that this negative aspect of the baptism is the crucial point. Let no man imag- ine that he can succeed in emptying his own heart of "pride, selfishness, and everything contrary to God's law." True, the believer who " walks in the Spirit " may trample this nest of unclean tempers under his feet, and have victory over them, so that they shall not dominate in his life ; and this is the privilege of the 74 OLD CORN. regenerate. But he will generally find this to be pretty full occupation, not to speak of "service" for others. This is so forcibly put by a noted public speaker of our day, that I quote a sentence, thus : " And, brother, you will never be worth anything until you can get your- self down, and get your feet squarely down on your- self, and say, ' You lie there ; if you dare get up I will mash you right in the mouth.' " Now that is good, and I wish him joy in his victory, but give due notice that that old self, composed as he is of many members, — pride, ambition, anger, envjr, deceit, covetousness, and lusts of all sorts, — will never take it into his head to die in that position. Nor will he ever vacate and give peaceable possession. Not only so, he will stand an infinite amount of " mouth smashing," and yet enjoy vigorous health, and those feet must never be removed for an instant, or other scenes of wrestling must ensue. One great advantage arises from a faithful following of the police duty thus described, and that is, it soon brings us to cry out, " Who shall deliver me from this body of death ? " and then to see that " Jesus Christ our Lord " can do it, and has made provision for it in this wondrous "baptism with the Spirit." And when, as Mr. Moody says, we " pray Him to empty us," and " want this above everything else, God will surely give it to us." And if our hearts are really to be " emp- tied of pride, selfishness, and everything that is con- trary to God's law," He is the one that is to do it ; and they will be purified, or "cleansed from all sin," and our "old man" will receive his death-blow, so that it shall be no more I, " but Christ that liveth in me." No sooner is " the heart purified by faith," the " in- POWER FOR SERVICE. 75 iquity taken away, and the sin purged," than there is a glad response to the divine query, " Who will go for us?" " Here am I, send me," is an answer not born of self-sufficiency, nor of self-seeking, but of self-abnega- tion and divine union. He who is " filled with the Spirit," the divine and personal Holy Ghost, " the same bringeth forth much fruit." The meaning of " communion " with the Holy Ghost is now understood as never before. And as Hudson Taylor well says, " Work without communion is merely ciphers in a row, but communion puts on the integer and gives value to the whole." This is not merely a spiritual effusion that grows old with time, but the fulfillment of the pledge of His perpetual pres- ence, " even to the end of the world." It is of the results of this " baptism " that our Savior speaks in the seventh of John, when He promises that out of us " shall flow rivers of living water." How different is this from a " well," however good it might be, for wells are quite uncertain. I remember once to have seen men hauling water from a river and pouring it into a well belonging to a large church where a meet- ing was to be held. The incongruity was amusing, until I thought of the fitness of the symbol, and that the majority of Christians are very dry, and have to be themselves charged at great expense, just when they ought to be watering others. But on the other hand, experience has demonstrated, as Dr. Cuyler says, that " many men who have had no collegiate education, and who have taken the short cut into the ministry, have proved to be most effective laborers for Christ." 76 OLD CORN. IV. Once more, and lastly, we must at least glance at some of the special gifts and graces that are included in the one supreme gift of the Holy Spirit. We shall not speak of those that were extraordinary and miracu- lous in their character, but of such as are now within the reach of every child of God everywhere. (1.) And first of all, there is such an infusion of God's pure and holy love as supplies the patient endur- ance and energy that are necessary for continuous service. When " our love is made perfect," we are furnished with the most Christlike incentive and inspir- ation to serve both God and humanity. When " the love of Christ constraineth us," then can we indeed "by love serve one another," and "love one another with a pure heart fervently." " Now the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart." Paul gives us a wonderful analysis of this compound thing called love, and in its component elements we find the graces that are constantly needed, parceled out for immediate use, like so much fixed ammunition. As patience, kindness, humility, sincerity, unselfishness, guilelessness, generosity, and such like. " Love is not easily provoked," and " thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. " (2.) In considering power, as an enduement re- ceived through the baptism with the Spirit, we are struck with the negative aspects of power no less than the positive. Deliverance from self-seeking, from secret longings to be esteemed among men, and from conformity to the world, is only wrought by divine power. To constantly count " that which is gain to us, POWER FOR SERVICE. 77 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ," to not even seek that which is our own, to decline a contest for what are called our rights, is to have the human instincts of having and getting superseded by divine philosophy of losing and giving. To "become of no reputation," to "count it all joy when ye fall into divers trials," and to "leap for joy when men shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the Son of man's sake "-— this is to have the mind of Christ and the power of the Spirit. There is as much need of John the Baptists now as ever there was — of a class of forerunners, who are some- what beyond their generation, and often too far ad- vanced for their best friends. Such will have their Gethsemanes alone, in distant likeness to Christ it is true, but yet a likeness ; conscious of unappreciated service and unrequited toil, yet not chafed nor dis- heartened, but cherishing a sense of privilege in all these things. These are conditions for developing heroic life, and calling forth the best there is in us. And such is the power of the life we find when we lose our own. Such is the power of a self-sacrificing life, of a cross-bearing life, of a meek and holy life. But it is also to be a witness-bearing life, " Ye shall be witnesses unto me." " As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." The glad tidings of a now salva- tion, full and free, are to be carried to all nations in the power of the Holy Ghost, and we are to be " work- ers together with God," and to " testify the gospel of the grace of God." When filled with the Holy Ghost, " they all spake with other tongues as the Spirit 78 OLD CORN. gave them utterance." And thus it must ever be. Even Elizabeth " spake out with a loud voice," and " Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." We can be witnesses to the truth, if not always ex- pounders of it. Testimony of what God has done for us is indispensable for our growth, as well as the spread of the truth. To neglect our privilege is to hinder vital and spiritual religion. " And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death." (3.) Finally, suffer me in a few words to emphasize the supreme value of the Comforter as our guide and the illuminator of the word of God. When the eyes are anointed the second time, we no longer see men as trees walking. There is a divine touch that removes the film of carnality, and the eyes of the understanding are enlightened to see as they never saw before, and to behold wondrous things in God's law. The servant cry of " Alas, my Master ! how shall we do?" is supplanted by the open vision of "the mountain full of horses, and chariots of fire." Not only so, but " when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." Not scientific truth, or speculative truth, about which the world is wrangling, but spiritual truth as revealed in God's word. Having received the Spirit that is of God, we may know the things that are freely given us of God. He will take the things of Jesus and show them unto us. He explains the words and works of Jesus. He will show us things to come, things that will surely come to pass. He teaches us as man never POWER FOR SERVICE. 79 taught. " As many as are led by the Spirit of Gcd, they are the sons of God" — none others. And even these, if not in complete submission to divine control, so as to be obedient to God's guiding eye, will indeed be held in with bit and bridle. There will be the coer- cions and restraints of law and duty, in place of the ap- pealing glance of love. But we shall not fail to catch this glance and wisely interpret it, if our attitude is constantly that of "looking unto Jesus." The word of God is the most important instrumen- tality which the Spirit employs for our guidance. Di- rect impressions are to be tried by this standard of truth, and the Holy Spirit will never lead a man to a neglect of the Scriptures, or to believe or do anything contrary to their teachings. They are " profitable for righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Imple- ments for work and weapons for war, seed for the sower and food for the hungry, are all found here. But oh ! how we do need the Comforter, to make us know the truth, and to bring all things to our remem- brance ! The one great question remaining is, Do we want Him? Will we have Him? Who then is willing in this day of God's power ? — willing to " crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts"? willing to die to self that he may live only to God ? willing to yield himself unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and his members as instruments of righteousness unto God? I exhort you, beloved, to receive the Holy Spirit! 'Tis the legacy left you in the promise of the Father. The pledge of God is in it. If you have counted the cost — • cut, I pray you, the last shore-line ! Who among us will 80 OLD CORN. declare, " I will, I must have this Holy Comforter " ? Oh! that He might descend in numerous personal Pentecosts upon us now ! ' Oh ! Spirit of the mighty God, uplift my faith, Till Heaven's precious light shall flood my soul, And the shining of my face declare That I have seen the face of God." CHAPTER VIII. MISTAKES OP SIMON MAGUS. " Give me also this power." — Acts 8: 19. THAT this man had a very sincere desire to have the power, witnessed in the apostles, there can be no reasonable doubt. In the examination of his case, we should not be "wise above what is written." The best authorities agree that the many traditions and notions about him, outside of the Bible, are utterly unworthy of credence. He was a subject of the revival meeting in Samaria, led by Philip. Luke makes special mention of him as having "believed," and speaks of his "continuance with Philip," and this is some evi- dence. Philip had baptized him as a fit person for church fellowship, as well as all the rest that "be- lieved," both men and women. Now Philip was of honest report, and full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, according to the record, and not so very likely to be deceived. His carefulness to administer baptism to none, except they believed with all their hearts, is proven in the case of the Eunuch, in verse 37. But when Peter and John held their prayer 82 OLD CORN. meeting for the baptism with the Holy Ghost (verse 15), Simon failed to get that blessing. Why did he fail? (1.) Because he did not clearly see that it was the "gift of God." Somehow he had it in his head that it was received from, or through, or by the apostles. He saw them lay their hands on such as were set apart for holy service in the church, and it seemed clear to him that the apostles had the power to bestow the power. His eyes were sharp, and they had not often deceived him. Alas ! they were not so anointed that he could "judge not according to appearances." His first mistake, then, was the very common one of hoping to obtain from men, that which God only can bestow. It is a natural one, too, or just according to the old nature, for no one had ever given Simon any instruction like that. The theory that the dull appre- hension of this man is a right interpretation of God's method, is a later invention. (2.) But again, he failed to see that this power was the free gift of God's grace. Consequently he sought to attain it, to some extent at least, by his own means. This misapprehension is just as natural, and quite as common as the former, and, in fact, intimately connected with it. That it should prompt Simon to offer men money, is all of a piece with that which prompts other men to offer God works, as a purchase price for His blessings. We see and hear so much of the latter that we are not surprised at Simon. (3.) Once more, his object was not the right one. He desired to have a succession of the power to bestow the Holy Ghost on others. He fairly avows this to be his motive, and there is no warrant for attributing a MISTAKES OF SIMON MAGUS. 83 base one, as has been done through evil imaginings. This might enable him to silence calumny, or demon- strate to the world his piety, or give peculiar distinction to the new church. But, however desirable all of this might be, the unmistakable design of the gift of the Holy Ghost is to purify the heart, and give power to be witnesses " unto me," unto the uttermost part of the earth. It was, then, because of these mistakes, that Simon failed to come, as the others did, directly to God, to be cleansed from the root of bitterness, or iniquity, which bears both gall and bondage as its fruit. His heart thus wrong and unclean, could have been sanctified and made right, by the sin-killing work of the Holy Ghost, if he had have come with the right motive, in the sight of God, and looking to Him instead of to man, had trusted Him to destroy this work of the devil. This he did not do, and Peter perceived the whole truth, when he knew the sinful thoughts of Simon's heart. He explained his failure, to have any "part or lot in this matter" of the blessed baptism, which others were enjoying, to be because his preparation and appli- cation were not right in the sight of God. He could do nothing further in the case but instruct Simon, and entreat him to repent of all these heart and thought sins, and Simon's humble acknowledgment of the rebuke, without a tinge of self-justification, with his plea for prayers, assures us of Simon's present conviction that these were of far more importance than the laying on of hands, and that in this matter a dependence upon any intermediate agency, was a fatal mistake. The apostle Peter had, in the most explicit manner, 84 OLD CORN. taken away from him all hope of ever obtaining, by any possibilit}-, the power of transferring the Holy Ghost to others. "With indignation, he had vehemently dis- claimed any such power for himself, delegated or other- wise, and devotes both the money and the thought of him who offered it, to destruction with a fearful imprecation. His holy abhorrence knows no bounds, at the very suggestion that this direct and personal gift of the Lord Jesus Himself could be obtained through His disciples in any way or by any means. Its beautiful parallel is seen in Paul and Barnabas, when at Lj-stra ; " they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God." That was, and still remains to be, the legitimate commission of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, — " to turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." Such conversion is the initial work of salvation, and our Lord has seen fit to entrust it to men, and also to ascribe it to them as their work, howbeit that we know that even this is, strictly speaking, the work of Christ through us. He has, however, chosen to so identify us with Himself in this work, as to call it ours, and to commission men in every age since John the Baptist, as His messengers, to go before His face to prepare His ways, to turn men to the Lord their God, to disciple them, to give them a knowledge of salvation by the remission of their sins, to open their eyes and turn them unto God that they may receive (of Him) forgiveness of sins. MISTAKES OF SIMON MAGUS. 85 Now all of this must be done, and men must be born of the Spirit, or regenerated, before Christ can possibly baptize them with the Holy Ghost. We are not baptized into life, but after having become the children of God by the new birth, or the work of the Spirit in life imparting, or birth form. The imme- diate object, therefore, of an evangelist in his ministry, is that men may be "begotten through the gospel," and not as yet baptized with the Spirit at all. That is not yet in order, but it is the reserved work of the Lord Jesus Himself, which is to come after the mission of His forerunners is accomplished. That we should proclaim the need of this after-bap- tism, and direct converts to the Lord Jesus for its speedy bestowal, is, indeed, most Scriptural, and John the Baptist sets the example. Now, because Christ commissioned His disciples to perform this initial work of discipling men, and empow- ered them to do it, it has been argued by some that it is an absurdity to say that the apostles did not admin- ister the baptism with the Spirit. We have already shown that this was the precise error and wickedness of Simon, and so fearfully repu- diated by the apostles. We deny the Scripturalness of the expression or the thought. If our Lord had seen meet to speak of this baptism as the act of the apostles, He could easily have done so. He certainly never did. Neither did they. On the contrary, it is always pre- dicated of the Lord Jesus, and of Him alone. What an assumption, then, must it be for men to talk of administering the Holy Ghost ! It is something far worse than an absurdity. But it is that also, since, in OLD CORN. the nature of the case, it cannot be done by a represen- tative. Eliezer can faithfully execute his commission in find- ing a bride for Isaac, but he cannot marry her for Isaac. When he brought her to Isaac his work was done. Isaac must give himself to Rebekah, and with only an allusion to this beautiful and fitting type of our conse- cration and sanctification, we close this examination, invoking the Lord's blessing thereon. CHAPTER IX. "OUR OLD MAN." " Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the hody of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." — Rom. 6 : 6. IN the previous chapters of this epistle, the Apostle has given us the most complete and exhaustive treatise on the great doctrine of justification by faith. Both Jew aud Gentile have been indicted at the bar of justice, " that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." Then a full pardon is freely offered to " him which believeth in Jesus," and the new " law of faith " is clearly shown to be the only way of "establishing the law " of righteous- ness, and in every new-born child of God, it is to su- persede the law of works. And after establishing the believer in the great foundation work of justification, and its concomitant blessings, the fifth chapter closes with the wonderful promise, that " As sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through right- eousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Which is to say, that just in the same way " as sin hath reigned," without the restrictions or power of grace, 88 OLD CORN. "even so," grace should reign throughout our whole being, without the restrictions or power of sin ! But if this be true, there must logically be the same utter absence of sin, in the latter case, as there was the absence of grace in the former case ; and this brings us to the doctrine of the destruction of sin, or entire sanctification, as taught in this sixth chapter of Romans. There is a sanctification that is inseparable from justifi- cation, but to be " sanctified wholly " is quite distinct from it, and always subsequent to it, since one must be justified freely in order that he may be sanctified wholly. Let us now consider the doctrine of our text in the following particulars: I. As to the person and character of the " old man." II. As to the sentence passed upon him. III. The divine method of executing it. IV. The results which are to follow. I. First, then, as to his personality. The phrase " Our old man," is a personification of the fallen, sinful nature, which all have inherited from Adam, the fed- eral head of the human race. He is spoken of, both here and in Eph. 4 : 22, and in Col. 3:9, as expressing the totality of the sinful infection of our nature, in consequence of the fall, and in opposition to the " new man " of the same passages, or the " new creation " of 2 Cor. 5: 17. The terms " body of sin," " the flesh," " the carnal mind," and "sin that dwelleth in me," are all synonyms, and are properly used interchangeably with the " old man." In him we have sin personified, as a living organism with many members, or particular vices. He is spoken of as a controlling power, prior to re- "OUR OLD MAN." 89 generation, and engaged in the murderous lusts and works of his "father the devil." He " is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts," having "the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God." His spirit is " according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." In fact, he is "enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." He is therefore incorrigible, and utterly incapable of any real change in his nature. Jesus said, " that which is born of the flesh, is flesh," and truly the carnal mind is after the flesh," and does "mind the things of the flesh " (Rom. 8 : 5-8). It is, however, well to bear in mind that " all flesh is not the same flesh." And while all is " of the earth, earthy" — tainted and polluted by sin, and under the curse, — yet there are the fairer forms of the flesh, as well as the grosser. Here is a corpse that is beautiful and lovely, and there is another that is hideous ; but both are alike dead. " Our old man," then, has abundant capacity for education, for refinement, and for a culture that can evolve the highest possibilities of human control over the passions, ambitions, self-love and uncleanness, which constitute the real essence of his actual existence, and so he may be gracious, kind and benevolent. But this is not two natures; it is only the upper and the lower sides of the one old nature, as seen in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But more wonderful than this, is the capability of 90 OLD CORN. "our old man" to be religious. He can be "circum- cised," and " become a debtor to do the whole law," even though he cannot be regenerated. True, his righteousness is self-righteousness, but his morality is very taking and attractive to beholders, while it never offends the carnal mind. True, his works are " dead works," from which the conscience must be purged by the blood of Christ, and yet as he hopes to be saved by them, he zealously perseveres in them. And he is quite as likely to be found in the cultured church legalist, as among the " pillar saints," who were charmed into following after the holiness (?) of Simeon Stylites, as he stood day and night for thirty years on his little platform sixty feet in height. That's the kind of holiness " our old man " believes in. Sad to say, it's the kind that men generally believe in. It can "make a fair show in the flesh," without divine aid, and the " offense of the cross " is not in it. It " makes clean the outside of the cup and of the platter," but leaves the " within full of hypocrisy and all un- cleanness." Now, if time, or grace, or works, or God Himself could ever really change or improve this " old man," there would be no necessity for the creation of a new one. But " that which is born of the flesh, is flesh," and will never be anything else ; so that it is no " marvel " that Jesus said, even to such a man as Nicodemus, " Ye must be born again." And this new birth is not the old man " changed," but chained; not to have the old nature renovated, but to become a "partaker of the divine nature." The "new man" is " created in righteousness and true holiness." " He "OUR OLD MAN." 91 is a new creation." He is begotten of the Spirit and "born of God," Laving "the image of him that created him." He hates darkness and loves light, and desires to walk in the light and have fellowship with God. It is in his very nature to hate sin and unholiness, as much as the " carnal mind" hates him, and so "the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other." The one " delights in the law of God," while the other is hopelessly and forever lawless. It is thus easy to account for those conflicts, with which all true Chris- tians are more or less familiar, causing the oft-repeated cry, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? " or, What is to become of this " old man " ? II. Let us now consider the answer to this question. Our text plainly says that " the body of sin " is to be "destroyed," which means "killed," "extirpated," "brought to naught." That such an end was ever de- creed, or such a sentence upon "sin in the flesh" divinely imposed, has been cause for devout thanks- giving to God on behalf of millions besides Paul. And to every simple-hearted believer it will ever continue to be glad tidings of great joy. But the efforts of theologians to substitute the tradi- tions of men, for the plain, simple truth of God, seem to be endless. That this has been done largely to the hurt of true spirituality, and the wounding of Christ's little ones, is painfully evident wherever we go. In order to escape these errors, let us glance at some of their fallacies. (1.) It is claimed that the Greek word katargeo, which occurs here in Rom. 6 : 6, does not 92 OLD CORN. mean "destroyed," or "extirpated," as we have seen. They say it means " to make of none effect," or, as in the new version, "be done away." Now we submit that if the " body of sin " is to be " made of none effect " or " done away," lie is quite as thoroughly " brought to naught " as could be expressed by any other words. To be sure we may concede that a mere senseless thing, such as a gun, might be " of none effect " if merely let alone and unused, but not so with an entity, such as our " old man," who can never be " made of none effect," nor be " done away " until life is extinct. Nothing short of death can be said to " do away " with a person. But let us look at the common-sense use of this same Greek word in other passages. See 1 Cor. 6 : 13 : " Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats ; but God shall destroy both it and them." It will not be disputed that " destroy " here means " destroy." Again, 1 Cor. 15 : 26 : " The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." How destroyed? " Made of none effect " because no more people die? No ; but because all men that have died are raised from the dead. Again, 2 Thess. 2:8: "Whom the Lord shall con- sume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." The words " con- sume " and " destroy " fitly express the divine method of " making of none effect," " that wicked that shall be revealed," or the man of sin. Surely the efforts to weaken the force of katargeo are only pedantic and vain. (2.) Again, "the body of sin" is continually con- founded, with the physical organism called " the body," and this leads to the dangerous error, stoutly main- tained by many, that "sin in the flesh " can "only be "OUR OLD MAN." 93 eliminated by physical death." But to locate sin in man's natural body, is as unscriptural and erroneous as to locate holiness in mere animal life. Our text has not the slightest reference to the destruction of the physical bodj', but to " the body of sin," or " sin that dwelleth in me." Neither does axiy other text in the New Testa- ment point to physical death, as connected with our deliverance either from sins or sin. The whole theory is unwarranted by Scripture, and an utter confusion of figurative and literal construction. Instead of being "destroyed," the "body" is to be sanctified wholly," and "preserved blameless" (1 Thess. 5 : 28.) It is to be "presented a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Rom. 12: 1). Its members are to be "yielded as instruments of righteousness unto God," that " the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body," which "is the temple of the Holy Ghost." Even in its lawful and sanctified appetites and desires, it is to be "kept under," and controlled by a sanctified will, so that we may "glorify God in our bodies." And finally " the Lord Jesus Christ shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation like unto his glorious body." In like manner the term " flesh " is used in Scripture in two ways — in both the figurative and the literal. It denotes the physical body in such passages as Acts 2 : 31 : "Neither his flesh did see corruption." Heb. 5: 7 : " Who in the days of his flesh." Heb. 10 : 20 : " That is to say, his flesh," 1 Tim. 3 : 16 : " God was manifest in the flesh." But it is figurative also, and personifies sin in its root, or principle of evil, just as the phrase " old man " does. Look at Rom. 8:8, as an example of this : " They that are in the flesh cannot 94 OLD CORN. please God." Gal. 5: 17, 24: "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." " They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh." (3.) Once more : it is constantly taught that " destroyed," dead," cleanse," and all such terms as plainly mean to the common mind, an actual purifica- tion, have, after all, only a judicial meaning and signifi- cance. That the " body of sin may be destroyed " in God's sight, and we may know that it is so by faith (?), but by experience, and by the facts of consciousness, we are always to know that it is not so ! In our " standing," we are as holy as Christ, while our actual " state " is one of vileness and conscious unholiness, because " the flesh is yet in us." And we are told that the Christian is " chained to the ' old man,' as a living man is to a dead body." We quite agree that this is the figure used by Paul as he cries for deliverance, in Rom. 7. And suppose we fill up this outline picture with the facts of history from which the figure is drawn. A Roman prison is made hideous by the peculiar groans of captives who have been bound to a dead body, and compelled to carry it about until death comes to their deliverance. Of such diabolical cruelty one writes thus : — '"Twas not enough the good, the guiltless bled, Still worse, he bound the living to the dead : These, limb to limb, and face to face he joined ; Oh ! monstx-ous crime of unexampled kind ! Till choked with stench the lingering wretches lay And in the loathed embraces died away ! " It is no wonder that the Apostle speedily relieves the agonized feelings of his readers, by immediately pro- claiming that Jesus Christ is a conqueror, girded with "OUR OLD MAN." 95 power to snap the chains that bind His spiritual child to this hated corpse of " the flesh," and make him free at once from " the body of this death " ! Keeping in mind the wretchedness of the spiritual condition that is portrayed by this revolting picture, is it not strange that good men can be found who insist on proclaiming "no deliverance till the death of the body " ? To represent Jesus Christ as unable to deliver such an appealing soul, is to represent Him as no more than a man. To represent Him as able, though un- willing, is to imply such an absence of pity, love and compassion, as to make Him less than humanity. Away with a theory that compels such a dilemma of dishonor to our blessed Lord, who not only bore our sins, but " as an offering for sin condemned sin in the flesh " ! Away with the countless absurdities, contra- dictions and injurious errors that are always involved in every attempt to "limit the Holy One of Israel"! Not long since we heard an eminent Christian publicly testify that the erroneous teachings of Mr. were responsible for the past ten years of distressing conflict with the " old man," in his own experience. He had been constantly told there was no deliverance, and thought it was true, but now he knew for himself, and he knew better. Certainly, beloved, if the " new man " is to be " put on," the " old man " is to be put off. (Col. 3; Eph. 4.) If the one is judicial so is the other. If the one is a real, actualized experience, so may the other be, praise God ! III. A brief glance at the divine method of "de- troying the body of sin," cannot fail to emphasize the 96 OLD CORN. reality of its destruction. We are to know (or realize) "that our old man is crucified with him." He is to suffer a violent death. Crucifixion is not a long drawn out process, but an act that is violent, effective and ignominious; and to be "crucified with Him," must not be construed to mean that judicial trausaction that is connected with justification. And yet, intelligent expositors and teachers and preachers are to be found, who see nothing more in our being " crucified with Christ" as believers, in the sixth of Romans, than they see in the fifth chapter, where "Christ died for us," as sinners. We are told, "Christ, our substitute, died, and what is true of our substitute is true of us, and God counts it just the same as though we had died." Now that will do, in case of penalties incurred, or on account of sins past, and strictly applied to "justifica- tion of life," and the soldier illustration is good enough. "A man is drafted, accepts a substitute who is killed in the war, and then he walks about claiming his exemp- tion from war forever, in that he is dead, in the person of his substitute." It was thus that Christ died for the ungodly, and is " the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." This is truly the substitutional, or vicarious aspect of the cross, in which Christ is, and must ever be alone. In this sense, no man ever was or will be " cru- cified with him." Never! He is alone as "the Lamb of God," and "it pleased the Lord to bruise him." But there is another aspect of our Lord's death in which His followers may have a part if they will. " To you it is given not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake." We are thus invited to know " the fellow- ship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his "OUR OLD MAN." 97 death." He suffered as a martyr at the hands of man, because He "bore witness to the truth." We are offered the same privilege. " He suffered for us in the flesh," and we are to "arm ourselves with the same mind." In this double view of the cross, we see the one is judicial, while the other is actual and experimental. Let us now recur to the illustration and carry it forward a little. The " substitute " was furnished by the king of the country, and at a great cost. The citizen is very grateful, of course, and swears undying allegiance and love to his sovereign, who is, however, engaged in relentless warfare with a powerful enemy. The king is himself in the field, at the head of his forces, and in the thick of the fight. He is urgently calling for volunteers to take their place at his side, and prom- ises an immortal reward and a share in the kingdom to all who come. Many do come at this call, glad to lose their lives for the king's sake, knowing that if they suffer and die with him, they shall also reign with him. But there are many others who will not enlist. They say they will do what they can, but they do not pro- pose to die. They say that the king once kindly fur- nished a "substitute," who is killed, and that ever since that they have been considered dead, and can never be taken as soldiers. And, besides that, the king has given them a command to " reckon themselves dead," and they must hold on to their lives in order to keep up this reckoning. Appeals are made like this : If your sovereign has graciously interposed through a substitute, and saved you from a felon's death, ought you not to be thankful to have a life to lay down at the 98 OLD CORN. request of the king, and at the very side of him to whom you are indebted for everything? To be sure you will not be "taken," — this is not a draft, — it is only for " volunteers." But all such reasoning fails to move the man, who persists in revolving around the one chimera of imputed holiness, and of judicial "standing," to the exclusion of actual death to sin. Most certainly Paul never forgets Him, who loved him and gave Himself for him, in the outward work of the cross, while he testifies to that inward crucifixion with Christ. (Gal. 2: 20.) And "they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Here again "the flesh " is to be "crucified." It is the same corporate and vital body of evil principle as the "old man," and manifesting in Gal. 5 its grossest form of evil. It is indeed the "corrupt tree," whose fruit is evil, and whose branches are "adultery, fornication, uncleanness," etc., etc. Let us not fail to notice, that while these branches are "manifest," or visible, "the flesh," which is the root of this evil tree, is deeply hidden down in the depths of the moral nature. Jesus said it was to be " hewn down and cast into the fire," and " now is the axe laid at the root of the tree." We once heard an eminent preacher take this for his text, but he immediately "laid the axe at the root of the tree " in rather a literal fashion, and left it there, while he climbed to at least the sixteenth branch, and engaged in the work of amputating that limb. This is the usual way. It is a more enticing and elevated (?) work to begin at the top, and somehow it is popular theology, too ; but trees die very slowly when we try to kill them from the wrong end, and "our old man " rests securely "OUR OLD MAN." 99 in his fastness, so long as gradualism and suppression take the place of " crucifixion " and eradication. IV. But little can now be said of the results of this crucifixion of self. The first thoughts are negative, "Shall not serve sin." The bondage of sin in the outward life is broken when we are born again. But there is still a "law of sin in my members," which cannot be broken until the "body of sin is destroyed." Then are we released from that inward proneness to serve ourselves, in the ambitions, selfishness and un- cleanness of the carnal mind. This is to be "free indeed," as distinguished from all spurious or partial freedom, "for he that is dead is freed from sin." Some say from its guilt, some from its power; but we must go deeper still, and find that what is potentially accom- plished for us in the death of Christ, may be subjec- tively realized in our individual experience. " Freed from sin," is far more than the subjugation of an enfeebled tyrant. It is his expulsion from the house, and freedom from his hated presence. Leprosy is everywhere a type of sin, and Naaman was a leper, a fine man, and a great general ; but he was a leper. He must have kept it under pretty well, and had victory over it, we should judge. But could he be "free" from it? Could he get entirely rid of the awful disease? That was the question. And God's prophet gave the prescription. "Go, wash in Jordan seven times." Now he had washed many a time in Abana and Pharpar in order to be externally clean, and he thought this pre- scription only meant the same old thing, so he was mad about it. But the Jordan meant death, and "seven 100 OLD CORN. times" symbolized the completeness of it. So that in the type, when Naaman went into the Jordan, he went to die to his leprosy, and not to cleanse it. And when he was dead (according to the type), he was " free " from leprosy. The thing was gone, entirely gone. His blood was " free " from it, and his system was "free" from it, and his "flesh" was as fresh and roseate "as the flesh of a little child." One other point, — Naaman's going into death was not performed by a substitute. It was not a judicial affair. He went himself, and this part of it was just as experimental as the new life that came to his body. Now this story is simple enough for any one to understand, but it is no more simple and practical than the death to self and freedom from sin, of which it is a type, and which is proclaimed in our text. Then after death, comes the life " abundantly," of which Jesus speaks. Hidden life, resurrection life, life with Him, "life hid with Christ in God." A life to which the " crucifixion " and de- struction spoken of in the text is indeed the blessed prelude. And in parting, let us covenant to "yield ourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead," having our " fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life." CHAPTER X. CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." — Gat.. 2: 20. THE Apostle Paul here clinches doctrine with his own experience. His ministry was largely to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Neither in his theology nor experience, was there any place for the palace car religion of the present day, with room for the world, the flesh and the devil. He speaks as a representative Christian. That is as every true believer ought to be able to speak. Condemnation gone, and indwelling sin destroyed, the grace of God is not " frustrated." The doctrine of the cross unites the external with the internal work. Some despise the vicarious aspect of Christ's death, while others unduly trust in it, and overlook their need of an internal death to sin. But the one is the true complement of the other. By many the cross has been reduced to a mere acci- dent in Christ's mission here on earth, while in fact it is the great event which gives significance to His life. Christianity crystalizes around the death of Christ, and not His previous life. 102 OLD CORN. Paul, and every other consecrated saint of God, glories in the cross as the Alpha and Omega of human hope and destiny. In the sacrificial offering of Jesus, there can be no other participant. He trod the wine press alone ! The curse of the law was fulfilled upon Him. And the man that confesses his guilt, with faith in Jesus Christ as his substitute, has the " curse " of the law fulfilled on himself, in the person of that substitute. Judicially, as well as spiritually dead, faith brings judicial life or justification, and to all such, there comes the regenerating and life-creating power of the Holy Spirit. Thus the birth of the Spirit is an actual life imparted to the believer, which is far different from a judicial one. A man may be acquitted of murder, and yet be dying of cancer. He needs life in both ways, and so the believer in Jesns receives it, not only judicially, but experimentally. Now this is all implied in justifi- cation of life, but we should miss the point of this text entirely if we do not see that it means much more than this, when Paul says, " I am crucified with Christ ! " (I.) First, then, what does it mean to be crucified with Christ? It must mean more than we have yet considered. Crucified with Christ is wholly different from His being crucified for us. This latter did take place about eighteen hundred and sixty years ago, and was entirely representative, whereas the former is a per- sonal and present experience, inwrought by the Holy Ghost, solely upon our compliance with divine condi- tions. The common-sense meaning of being crucified, is to die. There is a life to be lost, the life of the flesh, or the carnal mind, the "old man," or a body oi CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 103 sin that is to be destroyed. This indwelling foe to God must die, and we are to crucify these vile affections and lusts, and deliver them over to death — an actual death — until they perish from within us. There will be a sharp conflict, and a shrinking from the pain and suf- fering of the crucifixion, for such a death is a deep reality. There is an involuntary resistance that often overcomes the most resolute intention of the mind. You may recall that sore and aching tooth that robbed you of rest, and gave you days and nights of wretched- ness and pain. At length your mind was fully made up that it should come out. This was your deliberate determination. You grew stronger in your purpose, and finally seated yourself in the chair of the dentist; but when the crisis came, there arose such an unexpected shrinking, such a dread of suffering, such an uncon- querable aversion to the instrument of torture, that you utterly failed in your purpose, and in spite of your will and your judgment, and your full intention, you carried back to your home the offending member. You were miserable because of the miscarriage of all your plans, and the conviction that the thing attempted must yet be done. Now this is the portrait of some hearer, no doubt, in a spiritual sense ; and if so, you are a fit subject for the "judicial scientist." Let us see how he would treat your case. "Did you not dedicate this tooth to ex- traction ? " " Did you not fully give it over to con- demnation ? " " Certainly I did." " Well, now, all you have to do, is to treat it just the same as though it were out." "If it aches, don't regard it at all." " Keep reckoning that it is out and gone." " You see 104 OLD CORN. that if it really was out, you could no longer ' reckon ' anything about it."' " Maintain your position, that all your suffering from this tooth is wholly a thing of the past." " Keep it constantly condemned to extraction, never once consenting that it shall remain in your mouth or it will be sure to assert itself and make you feel miserable enough." "Mark well that we do not saj r that it does not ache, and inflame the flesh, for it does; but if you will only maintain your position of utter indifference to it, it cannot have dominion over you." " For your further encouragement, we may say that the time will come when it will indeed ache no more forever." " With your last breath its power to plague you will forever cease, but not till then." "But you should die to it, deny its right to ache, and ignore all of its efforts to give you pain, and you will not be responsible for the trouble it causes you." Does this caricature seem too highly drawn ? I think it is fair. We are told by some of our brethren who deny any real practical death of self-life and sin, that " we are simply to believe that we are dead unto sin, and that God reckons our substitute's death as our death in this respect, just the same as in reference to our sins ! " " That though sin, that dwelleth in us, is as present as ever it was, and as bad as ever, and hopelessly incurable, and our deadliest enemy," yet our only course is always to distrust it, and never indulge it, knowing that God has utterly condemned it, at the cross. Take sides with God against it, but know that " we shall never be delivered from its actual presence, and that the sooner we give up the struggle against it the better for us ! What a palpable absurdity to suppose CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 105 that indwelling sin will not overcome and lead us into captivity, unless it is resisted in the name of the Lord, and a "struggle" against it is simply inevitable so long as it continues to exist in the true child of God. Lusts of the flesh, and sensual appetites may thus be weakened and increasingly controlled by being " dis- trusted," " not suffered to have dominion," but the " old man " will not be ignored any more than our bad tooth, and " struggle " is inevitable, since while he lives he will contest every inch of ground. It is sadly interesting to note that while these dear brethren are attempting to present the higher truths of sanctifica- tion, and explain the deeper texts in Scripture, that they only succeed in describing the true and indispen- sible results of justification ! They say that "crucifixion means death," and it means " being made conformable unto Christ's death," and "is indispensable to our sanctification." Yet in the same breath they declare that " sin is not dead ; sin lives and works still in the flesh, but we our- selves are dead to sin, and so sin cannot for a single moment, without our consent, have dominion over us. If we sin it is because we allow it to reign, and submit ourselves to obey it." Why, of course, and these are the simplest truisms to the justified believer. But when they are put forth as explanatory of entire sanctification, they almost seem like " much ado about nothing," and expose the very vaguest thoughts as to what " crucifixion " really is. They say, " We are planted together in the likeness of his death." But Christ really died ; it was not a make believe death. There was no lingering life to respond to the thrust of 106 OLD CORN. the soldier's spear. But when " our old man" is cruci- fied, he is not to die. Is he only to he " kept nailed to the cross "? " Kept in the place of crucifixion," " and not suffered to come down from the cross"? Now surely this is a remarkable unlikeness to the death of Christ. The traitor that has been really executed, needs no longer to be kept by a guard. Such are some of the ingenious invasions of the truth, by many of our grandest preachers and writers on spiritual themes. They seem afraid of the real truth, and shrink from the pain and offense of the true cross. The responsibility of attempting to guide others is very great, while that of misleading them is much greater. And my present endeavor is to discover the sense in which the Holy Spirit uses this word " cruci- fied " in our text. We shall further dwell on the fallacies that abound only at sufficient length to point out the one other that seems to make all others plausi- ble. This is it. That as Christ's death is reckoned as our death for sins, under the curse of the law, just so Sis death is reckoned as our death unto sin indwelling. This is wholly unscriptural, as well as unreasonable. Christ died for sins, and " bore our sins in his own body on the tree," and the punishment or penalty due the guilty was transferred to the innocent, and " by his stripes we are healed." The curse of the law was ful- filled on Him, " through the law." Believers are thus truly delivered from guilt and sins, vicariously. But we cannot be delivered from inbred sin, vicariously, or by a substitute, for several reasons. Sin, or " our old man," describes a personality, or a character which is not transferable to Jesus Christ. CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 107 Our sins, or acts of rebellion may be imputed to Him, but not so with our fallen nature. It is clear that " sin in the flesh," "or inbred sin," was so dealt with in the atonement that all penalty (except physical death), on account of the mere fact of its con- tinued existence, was absolutely and unconditionally removed from the whole human race. So that, though every child of Adam has been born under the disabili- ties of a fallen nature, not one has ever been lost on that account alone. The line of responsibility, as God sees that line, must be crossed, and then guilt is in- curred by any willful act of transgression. Now repent- ance and faith in the blood of the cross, is God's immediate provision for the remission of sins. But the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit has been procured for every believer, as the immediate agent to accomplish the destruction of sin, as pollution. The first, is the object of faith for the justification of the sinner. The second, is the prime object of faith for the sanctification of the believer. Thus " inbred sin " is not a thing that can be repented of or forgiven, as is the case with sins committed; and Christ's death cannot be reckoned as our death, except in the case of His suffering for our guilt, " the just for the unjust." What, then, does Paul mean by saying, " I am cruci- fied with Christ?" He did not stop with being sat- isfied that Christ was crucified for him ; but has come into such complete fellowship with Christ's death on the cross, that just what happened to Christ has actually happened to him. Christ died " through the law," when its curse fell upon Him, and He also died " to the — 108 OLD CORN. and in His resurrection, entered upon another kind of a life, well called " living unto God." So Paul was " dead to the law," when the life of the old ego was lost, and in his resurrection life, another personality, Christ, was unhindered from living in .him, enabling him to "live unto God." There was a perfect conjunc- tion of his spirit with the Holy Spirit ; so that the life he now lived " in the flesh," or his physical corpore- ality, is entirely reconciled with the life of Christ in him; and he now lives "in the faith of the Son of God." In the " likeness of his resurrection " he could actually walk in " newness of life." II. " How is this crucifixion effected?" may be briefly answered. This is the work of the Holy Ghost. There is the human side of consecration, the solemn surrender of the old life of the flesh to the death of the cross ; but to kill, to make truly "dead to sin" is God's part, and wrought upon an internal cross. This is the true sac- rifice of self, in which there is both pain and bliss. The agonies of dying are infinitely surpassed by the joys of being dead and living unto God. The crucifixion is but the prelude to the " life hid with Christ in God." And just as the barren fig tree was blasted and with- ered away at the word of Jesus, so does the old man of sin die, when the consuming fire of God reaches him in " the baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire." III. What of results ? First of all, " he that is dead is freed from sin." But death to sin is not the annihi- lation or extermination of any God-given powers, affec- CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. 109 tions, desires or propensities ; it only eliminates the poison of sin that permeates them. Jesus Christ came to meet humanity in order to save and sanctify, not to destroy it. To be dead to sin is a state of holiness, and the precise opposite of being dead in sin, which is a state of sinfulness. Dead to sin is to be as indifferent to all really sinful attractions and propositions, as we consciously are to some of them. Every Christian can mention some sinful suggestions that are abhorrent to him. If dead to sin all other such suggestions will be just as powerless to move him towards compliance. Cruci- fixion, then, is God's plan of reconstructing true man- hood, and not destroying it. (1.) It means a proper subjection and control of all bodily organs and powers. No indulgence in meat or drink to injure the body ; no overwork for the sake of gain ; no tongue for impurity ; no eye for unclean- ness ; no ear for slander or vain conversation ; no hand for idleness. All organs of the body are for God, and its adornment is for His eye. Then there is the proper restraint of the higher part of the physical man. Lawful desires, propensities and appetites are to be restrained, while every " vile " or "inordinate affection" has been crucified with the " flesh." " I keep my body under." (2.) In the ethical realm of our being there will be the regulation and adjustment of the affections, so that love will be perfect and holy. The thoughts brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Righteous indignation or "anger" must be without resentment, and without "sin." Temptations to pride, envy, jeal- ousy, and whatever jeopardizes communion with the 110 OLD CORN. Holy Ghost, are resolutely trampled under our feet. The will is harmonized with the will of God, under the holy influence of divine love, and operated upon by motives born of God. As in the notes of music there is a marvelous blending of sounds, so there is unison in the moral nature when different states of feeling and conflicting emotions are reconciled and governed by the blessed Holy Comforter. The wretched life of self- seeking and self-indulgence is superseded by one of holy activities and self-renunciation, and the joyful consciousness of full redemption through Him who has loved us and washed us in His own blood, makes the love of men's " praise " a tiling of the past. Do these seem to be difficult lessons? They are, indeed, unless our alliance with that inward foe called " sin " is broken, and he goes down under the power of the omnipotent Spirit of God. Then, such trans- formations of soul and life are little more marvelous than the miraculous beauty of our Lord's work all about us in the material realm. Oh, beloved, have you passed this way? Are you crucified with Christ? Would you know the blessedness of this living death ? It is so different from a dying life that will not die. When death is real and complete, so is the life. While the death is perpetuated, the life also of Jesus is made manifest in our mortal flesh. It is not by might nor by the power of man, but the Holy Ghost is the power, and the person to be waited for. Not idly, nor on general principles, but earnestly, specifically and in faith. Away with your doubts, your halting and re- luctance to act at once in the most solemn surrender of your life ; and in simple, earnest, present faith, take CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. Ill God at His word, and receive the Holy Ghost. May He graciously make this His own message to thee, dear brother, to thee, my dear sister, and quicken thy faith in the simplicity and certainty of His precious prom- ises and His eternal truth. And this for His name's sake. Amen. CHAPTER XI. THE WORLD CRUCIFIED. " But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." — Gal. 6: 14. THIS is the closing passage of the largest epistle ever written with Paul's "own hand." Paul had re- ceived notice of doctrinal errors introduced by false teachers, and the spiritual condition of the Galatian churches aroused the greatest anxiety in his mind. He is bold to claim his own apostolic authority, and to combat and expose the " leaven " of false doctrine. This epistle has been called the Magna Charta of the freedom of a Christian. It is tender in its spirit, severe in its logic, and overwhelming in its argument. It was an armory, from whence Luther and the Reformers drew their keenest weapons in their battle for liberty, and justification by faith. It is a standing refutation of the foolish and wicked claim that early Christianity was little more than a modified Judaism. The Galatians had begun their Christian life, and received the Spirit's witness to their adoption through faith. They were now so foolish as to think of being " made perfect," or sanctified wholly by works, or by THE WORLD CRUCIFIED. 113 the "flesh." But this was so great an error and so wide of the truth that, instead of reaching " perfection," they must inevitably lose their present standing, since the spirit who is received by faith can only be retained by faith, and is necessarily lost when there is a return to any legal ground whatever. So it is plain that the greatest enemies of religion were those who " desired to make a fair show in the flesh," that they " might glory in the flesh." Now Paul embodies the most complete antithesis of this awful delusion, when he solemnly calls upon God to "forbid that he should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." I. This is the most solemn protestation against glo- rying in anything else. It is natural and almost universal for men to "glory" in something. That something, upon which they de- pend for their happiness, or honor, or indulgence, or protection. Men are prone to glory in wisdom, either of their own or that of other men, forgetting that " God hath made foolish the wisdom of this world." The wisest of men have been befooled and blindly led to their own destruction. " Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might." Regardless of this, look at the homage paid to the prodigies of strength, of sheer brute force that are on exhibition all over the world to-day ! But the strength of Goliah is more than matched by the sling of the stripling David. Others glory in riches, only to see them " make themselves wings and fly away." There are others " whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things," and whose end is destruction. 114 OLD VORN. But the apostle Paul might have "gloried" in man}' tilings of a character infinitely higher than anything in this forbidden list. There were his own unexampled labors and sufferings, his journeyings and persecutions, his self-denials and successes, all for Christ. Or, better still, Christ's own immaculate life and ministry, His benevolence and miracles, His humiliation, and love, and wisdom, and power, and riches in grace ! Sublime and holy themes for contemplation or ministry as these may be, Paul sees in the ineffable glory of the cross that which is the fountain of all blessings, and supremely worthy to be gloried in. He will not only refuse to glory in any other thing, but he will glory in it. II. Let us now see what is implied by " the cross," as here used by Paul. Literally, the "cross" simply means the instrument used for the capital punishment of criminals, that in itself was designed to add degrada- tion to their sufferings. It was a gibbet of the most ignominious character. But it signifies truth of the most glorious character. It means the doctrine of atone- ment for sin made by oar Lord Jesus Christ by His death upon it. It is little wonder that much confusion has arisen from the constant use of the same word with such widely different meanings ! On the one hand, infidels, Jews and scoffers have sought to degrade the doctrine of vicarious atonement to a level with this disgraceful instrument of torture. On the other hand, a pseudo-Christianity has sought to dignify and elevate the material gibbet into an identity with the spiritual truth. The "cross" is used as an adornment both in dress and architecture. It is wrought THE WORLD CRUCIFIED. 115 into the most elegant and expensive jewelry that hangs upon the neck of fashion. Gold and pearls and dia- monds are deftly used in its construction until it blazes with attractions for the most thoughtless and profane. The " cross " thus robbed of its " offense " is nothing but a thing of beauty, which " Jews may kiss and infi- dels adore." It loses its character, and represents neither literal nor metaphorical truth. True Christian- ity must clearly distinguish between the two. The literal cross is indeed the "accursed tree," and must ever remain the vile and cruel gibbet that it was ; a true expression of the malignant hate and scorn of men and devils for the Son of God. The more clearly the shame and ignominy of the " cross " is seen, the more will the grand and glorious character of the doctrine of the cross appear, until, like Paul, we are brought to glory in it, and to " glory " in nothing else. Paul's doctrine of " the cross " is Christ dying for us, or as our substitute. " Bearing our sins in His own body on the tree." " Christ died for sins." He bore the penalty due us. " It pleased the Lord to bruise him," and "the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." And it is equally true that Christ " offered him- self without spot to God," and " hath given himself for us an offering to God." In thus dying for sins, Christ satisfies every judicial claim of the divine government, and makes it possible for God to continue to be just, and yet justify and acquit the vilest rebel that will truly repent and believe on Jesus Christ. Redemp- tion through the blood of the cross and the necessity of the new birth is the grand canon of Christianity. The true doctrine of the " cross," blends the external 116 OLD CORN. work of Christ with the internal work of the Holy Ghost. Made partakers of Adam's fallen nature and death through our natural birth, we can only become partak- ers of the divine nature through a supernatural birth. And this means justification, regeneration, adoption, and "peace through the blood of His cross." This is the doctrine, at which many are sneering in this age of culture, and inventing various ways in which they think it reasonable (?) for God to accept a sinner, though he turns his back on the blessed truth of divine revelation. Nevertheless, u the cross will ever remain the hinge between the two eternities ! " III. But in the passage now before us, the apostle is speaking specifically of the crucified Christian, rather than of the crucified Christ. Christ died for sins, and He died unto sin, and this expresses the double aspect of "the cross." It is by virtue of this one only complete and all- sufficient sacrifice that all blessings pertaining to our salvation are received. But there is a second sense in which the word crucifixion is used. It is a judicial sense, and every one that is justified by faith in His blood can truly say (in that sense), " I have been cru- cified with Christ, i.e., in His death the penalty of my sins was fully paid, and there is now no condemna- tion." Then there is yet another sense in which crucifixion is used, as a personal and experimental reality, signify- ing a death indeed unto sin, unto the old man, or the carnal mind, which is much more than his subjugation THK WORLD CRUCIFIED. 117 or condemnation. It is of this the Apostle has testified in chapter 2: 20, and in our text he emphasizes the glorious results. Paul had found the secret of fellow- ship in the crucifixion of Christ when he took up his cross to follow Him. To him, "taking up his cross," did not merely mean the trials and perplexities of life, but it meant, going forth to the place of execution. It meant to "make dead therefore your members which are upon the earth." To die unto sin, since Christ had died unto sin. It meant such an intelligent and volun- tary renunciation of the life of the flesh, as resulted in being freed from its hated presence. But it is only through the Spirit "that the deeds of the body," the " vile affections " are crucified or mortified, i.e., made dead. Ours is the reckoning of ourselves dead indeed unto sin, while it is the work of the blessed Holy Ghost to make it a deep reality. And "if we are planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." But it is this internal death to sin and self-life, that snaps the ties that bind us to the world. The crucifixion of self, then, includes being crucified unto the world, and the world unto us. IV. But we may in the last place consider briefly the particular sense in which these words are used. " The world," is a term that designates the various earthly objects that are present and sensible to us, whether they are the persons or things, objects or events, by which the individual is surrounded. One man's " world " may be very different from another man's "world," but in the New Testament "the world" is always regarded as a malignant foe to the Church of 118 OLD CORN. Christ, and powerful to exert an influence directly- opposed to all spirituality. It hates Christ, but loves its own, and so the friendship of the world is enmity with God. These things are personified by the apostle, and such are some of the characteristics of the person- age that is " crucified " to Paul. Once a fascinating and terrible tempter to ambition, pride, selfishness and idolatry, " the world " has come to be seen in its true light, as under the curse of God and executed as a felon on the cross. It is the real Barrabas ; robber, murderer, liar, who deserved all that Jesus suffered, when He loved it, and gave himself for it. This " world," with its honors, emplo} T ments, enjoyments and entangle- ments, has utterly lost its attractive power for Paul. Once his friend, but on exposure of its real character, justly condemned and executed on the felon's tree, it has henceforth lost all significance, and every bond of fellowship has been dissolved.* It is henceforth to him a "crucified," a dead and powerless thing that has neither charms nor voice to awaken any response in his soul. Not that Paul taught that the Christian is to go out of the world, — far from it. "In the world, but not of it," is the simple truth. To be " not conformed to the world," does not mean a vow of voluntary poverty or idleness or improvidence, or an affectation of external dissimilarity. As men, we may have many things in common with other men, who may be as industrious, temperate and honest as need be, and whenever they coincide with Christ, for us not to coincide with them, is only a sickly affectation of singularity. Even a dog does not cease to follow his master because some stranger has joined him in his walk. For a distance THE WORLD CRUCIFIED. 119 the dog may follow both of them, but when the stranger takes another road he still follows his master. There is indeed a spiritual sense in which the most truly separated Christian must become all things to all men that he may save some. This is the very work for which this life that is hid with Christ in God pre- pares us. V. "And I unto the world." We have seen how that Paul's own crucifixion or self-death (Gal. 2: 20), and the crucifixion of the world unto him, had come about as the result of the fellowship of his faith, with "the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," whereby grace was given for such triumphant renunciation. But Paul's deep experience naturally led to a mode of acting, thinking and speaking that made him an object of dislike and contempt to " the world." If Paul de- nounces the "world's" righteousness, maxims and work, seeking boldly to overthrow its power in the hearts and lives of men, "the world" in return will anathematize Paul, his doctrine, and his work, and crucify him. If he accounts that the " world " is ac- cursed, the " world " accounts that he is accursed. They mutually condemn one another. If he will have no fellowship with the " world," it will have no fellow- ship with him. If the "world" has no more attractions for Paul, it will have nothing more to do with him, but dedicate him to death, and regard him as a " cruci- fied " felon, until it is literally accomplished at Rome. There is an open declaration of war, and the " world " hates and persecutes, but Paul "glories in the cross," in spite of all these consequences. Weak men and 120 OLD CORN. compromising teachers will turn away, "lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ," but Paul "glories in tribulations," and rejoices in his fellowship of suffering with Jesus, knowing that " the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Many see the cross as historic truth, and try to accept for themselves its saving efficacy, but think to supple- ment it by works or penance, and so fail. Others trust in the cross for justification from sins that are past and salvation from hell, but they cannot "glory" in it, while they deprecate the thought of knowing an experi- mental crucifixion with Christ, an internal death that is truly " in the likeness of his death." And until our fellowship with Christ is at least such as to enable us to believe that this is both possible and practicable, we can never truly comprehend the double crucifixion experienced in our text. But to "glory in the cross," keeps us concentrated in loving devotion to Jesus, and those for whom He has died. It is a living death to the spirit of the world, and to be " seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," while at the same time we " light the good fight and keep the faith, looking for his appearing." It is the " cross " that is the basis of our relation to Christ, of our peace with God, of our purity, and of our power to glorify Him in any way. It is also the basis of our relation to the world, its friendships, its spirit and its scorn. We are dead to all of these, cru- cified to the world through the power of " the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." THE WORLD CRUCIFIED. 121 Well might the apostle " glory in the cross " as a matchless exhibition of the divine attributes of justice and mercy, truth and grace, meeting together. It lias confounded devils, astonished angels, and been foolish- ness to worldly wise men. We should "glory in the cross " because of its power to lift the fallen, save the lost, purify the polluted, and transform the lives and homes and nations of the earth. Because of its marvel- ous manifestation of God's love for man, of Christ's divinity, and of the Spirit's fellowship in man's redemp- tion. Oh, beloved! that more of us who have accepted pardon through His blood, might be enabled through grace, to " glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Amen. CHAPTER XII. STEPS IN THE EXPERIENCE OP THE APOSTLES. " For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith."— Rom. 1: 17. THE apostles, with invariable unanimity throughout their writings and testimonies, present the subject of spiritual life, not only as progressive in its character, but as progressing by separate and distinct stages. These stages marked upon the human side by distinct acts of faith, and upon the divine side by the bestowal of distinctive benefits of the atonement; these result- ing in distinctly marked Christian experiences as indi- cated by Paul's references to "babes" and "perfect men," and by John's classification of " children," "young- men" and "fathers." None need an argument to establish this point, nor further citation of Scriptural texts to show that the apostles urged progress, nor that they taught progres- sion in distinctive steps. But many seem unable to mark these steps in the experiences of the apostles themselves. At least, particularly witli respect to the two great epochs in spiritual life so clearly and con- STEPS IN THE EXPERIENCE OE THE APOSTLES. 123 stantly held before our attention, as the birth of the Spirit and the baptism with the Spirit. Why this obscurity, we cannot tell, unless it be due either to the dullness of spiritual perception in those whose eyes have not yet received the second touch, or to the errors and misconceptions which prevail in our times in the general teaching upon spiritual topics. Certain it must be that the apostles had taken some steps in spiritual experience before the day of Pente- cost. Certain again it must be that they took some other step on that memorable day which was different from any ever taken before, and which advanced them into a realm quite distinctive in itself. Let us, then, examine " whereunto they had attained" before the day of Pentecost, and whereunto they were advanced at the day of Pentecost. Or, to adopt the familiar language of the inquiry : (1) " When were the apostles converted?" and (2) "Did the apostles ever receive the second blessing? " (1.) It is necessary, first of all, to settle, if we can, upon the time when the apostles were " converted." A claim that they were " sanctified wholly " before Pente- cost could not possibly be sustained, and is, perhaps, made by no one. But to deny that they were " con- verted" previous to that time involves the most palpa- ble and serious contradictions, and is totally inadmissi- ble. We think, then, that to draw the line between their partial and their entire sanctification, between the birth of the Spirit and their "baptism with the Spirit, at Pentecost, is to be true to the facts in their case as made plain in the Scriptures, and also to sound doctrine and the experience of God's people in all ages. 124 OLD cony. "But if the disciples were 'converted' before Pentecost, and really justified by faith, they must have heard the gospel and received it." This they certainly had the opportunity of doing through John the Baptist. It is distinctly declared in Mark 1 that "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ" was when " John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins." That was exactly John's commission — "to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins." And this is accompanied by the new birth, the birth of the Spirit, or regeneration, which "prepares the way of the Lord." Or it is that state which is necessarily precedent to the " baptism with the Holy Ghost," by the Lord Jesus. Jesus cometh " after me," said John, and His work is after John's work. His baptism with the Spirit "after" John's with water; the one having reference to repent- ance and remission of sins, the other to "purge " away sin or to sanctify. Justification by faith could not be more explicitly taught than it was by John to his disci- ples in such passages as John 3 : 36, for example : " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him." Some of John's disci- ples left him and "followed Jesus" the moment they first " heard Him speak," and "abode with him that day." They then went to find their brethren, and brought them to Jesus, who welcomed them as His followers, and commissioned them to " go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils : freely ye have received, STEPS IN THE EXPERIENCE OB' THE APOSTLES. 125 freely give." "Received" what? Manifestly the gos- pel of their salvation ! " And whosoever shall not re- ceive you, nor hear your words," etc., "it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom," etc., " than for that city." "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves." Could they be Christ's " sheep " and yet " unconverted " ? " And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake." " The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord." " The very hairs of your head are all numbered." " He that receiveth you receiveth me." Is it conceivable that such a complete identification with the Lord Jesus could be affirmed of the unconverted Jew? That Jesus was thus sending forth men to preach tiie kingdom of God who were yet "sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death " ? Can any reasonable man continue to believe it possi- ble that Jesus could be thus giving men " power and authority over devils," who were not themselves deliv- ered? Were "lost sheep" sent to hunt lost sheep, the sick to heal the sick, the blind to lead the blind? Such a thought is preposterous, and contradicted by the most explicit testimony of our Lord Himself. "Rejoice," said He, "because your names are written in heaven." " Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God." " Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kiugdom." "Thou gavest them me," "they have kept thy word," " they have received," "have known," "have believed," "for they are thine," "and I am glori- fied in them." "I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me." "And the world hath 126 OLD CORN. hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Now if language could possibly make a distinction between the " world [that] hath not known thee," and "these [that] have known thee," and that "thou hast loved as thou hast loved me," then surely these repeated utterances of the Lord Jesus have made that distinction unmistakably clear. Then on the human side, the con- secration of these disciples to the work of the Lord Jesus is remarkably evinced, as they " left their nets " and "their father," and their "ship," — in fact their all, — "immediately" at the call of Jesus, to "follow" Him, and become "fishers of men." They "rejected the tra- ditions of the elders," and went through the towns preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere." They went in faith, " taking nothing for their journey, neither staves nor scrip, neither bread, neither money," and " even the devils were subject unto them." Surely the testimony of such fruits of loyalty to Jesus, ought to silence and rebuke every one that ques- tions the regeneration of these men. But it is objected, " The disciples could not have been converted before Pentecost, because the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified ! " This is to confound tilings that differ. Certainly "the Holy Ghost was not yet given."' in His fullness as " the Comforter," as the "Spirit of truth," as the ascension "gift" of the Lord Jesus to such as already "obey him" (Acts 5: 32). True "the Holy Ghost was not yet given," as the "executive of the Godhead " and the successor of the Lord Jesus in becoming the head of the dispensation of the Spirit. It is only in such a sense that we can STEPS IN THE EXPERIENCE OF THE APOSTLES. 127 understand these words, and that the peculiar effusion of the Spirit that was " the promise of the Father," is here expressly set forth as yet a matter oi promise! But it is equally clear and demonstrable that in a wider sense the Spirit was given, and had been in the world, and in the Old Testament church from the beginning. " He moved upon the face of the waters." He inspired the Old Testament prophets, and writers and. saints. Many of them are said to have been filled with the Holy Ghost. John the Baptist was thus "filled," the Lord Jesus was thus "anointed," the dis- ciples knew Him, and Jesus testified " He clwelleth with you," and " it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Thus it was that through the word preached by John, and Jesus, and the disciples, the Spirit wrought conviction and repent- ance in the heart of many of their hearers, and such of them as "confessed their sins, and "received" Jesus, were forgiven, and received a new nature and "power to become the sons of God." "A new heart will I give you, and a new [or regen- erate] spirit will I put within you," attests the presence and regenerating measure of the Spirit's working, long prior to Pentecost. All that is needed, then, is for us clearly to distinguish between the regenerating work of the Spirit, known before Pentecost, and His infilling and indwelling presence, in a sense unknown until then. These two are complemental parts in the work of salvation, but not identical. Neither are they simul- taneous, but successive ; the former invariably preced- ing the latter. The beginning of life must always be distinguished from the perfection and fullness of life. 128 OLD CORN. In the former case, the Spirit works first upon men, then in them. In the latter case, He takes personal possession of their " inward parts," and works through them for the salvation of others. In view of the sim- plicity, beauty, aud naturalness of this divine method, it is not a little surprising that there should be any dispute whatever about it among believers. And yet we must remember that the doctrines of the Holy Spirit, and even His work in regeneration and witnessing to the same, have been almost hidden, unknown, and dor- mant for ages, not only before but since the Reforma- tion. (2.) If we have now succeeded in establishing the fact of the "Apostle's conversion" before Pentecost, there is but little required to " find a second work or blessing coming on them " at that time. Nearly three years before, they had been called, " or- dained," and commissioned to preach the gospel by the Lord Jesus, and great success had attended their minis- try ; but they had not yet received their full equipment for the intensifying heat of the oncoming battle. They had "received the Holy Ghost," but not in His personal fullness. They had been justified freely, but not "sanc- tified wholly." They had been "born of the Spirit," but not " baptized " or " filled with the Spirit." For this they had the "promise of the Father," revived by their ascended Lord, and for their "sanctification " Jesus had devoutly prayed. In their probationary ex- perience they had learned some lessons of great impor- tance. There had been occasional developments of a spirit of selfishness, ambition, contention, jealousy and mistaken zeal. Some of them really thought they were STEPS IN THE EXPERIENCE OB' THE APOSTLES. 129 quite as ready to "go with Jesus both to prison and to death," as they ever would be. But in this and some other things they needed to be "converted," or have a complete change of mind, for when the test came "they all forsook him and fled." To be sure they had no directions, and could not pos- sibly tell what was the best thing to do, especially as Jesus had given the rabble orders to " let these go their way." But the outcropping of remaining self-life, or the "carnal mind," reached a climax in the denial of Peter. Intimidated, perplexed and angered by a mali- cious and insolent crew, he lied and swore, just as many another child of God has since done when under strong provocation. But not always do they repent so quickly as did Peter, and weep in heart-broken contri- tion as he met the pitying gaze of his grieved, yet loving and forgiving Lord. Such an experience was well cal- culated to emphasize the necessity of deliverance from every inward foe, and of tarrying at Jerusalem for the promised enduement of power on high. He was a most suitable man to "strengthen the brethren " in this purpose. No doubt he did it. They waited and they received. "Suddenly there came a sound from heaven." "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." "God purified their hearts." "With one mind and one mouth they glorified God." Hence- forth the transformation in their lives was as marked and marvelous, as it had previously been at the time of their regeneration. Faith, courage and love were made "perfect," and now no man calls anything he possesses his own. " Pentecost " commemorated the giving of the law at Sinai, and it was the fitting time for the 130 OLD CORN. Holy Ghost to write it in the hearts and minds of the disciples. It was fifty days after "Passover," which commemorated deliverance from death and judgment by the blood of the Lamb. And just as "Passover" and "Pentecost" are thus separated, so our personal "Passover" and "Pentecost" can never be one and the same thing, or come at the same time, but the one must succeed the other in the very nature of the case. The temple was first built, then the glory of the Lord filled it. So He first builds His spiritual temple in us, and then, if wholly consecrated to Him, His Holy Spirit comes in to purify and dwell there, to keep and to guide us, and to glorify Jesus. (3.) Once more, we may briefly show that the same distinctions in Christian experience that have been cited in the case of the disciples are plainly recognized and dealt with in each of the Epistles and churches of the New Testament. That, as a practical fact, Chris- tians are spoken to and of, who are distinctly recognized and described as such, and yet just as distinctly urged to become "sanctified wholly," or to be "filled with the Spirit." The "beloved of God at Rome" had a "faith that was spoken of throughout the world," and yet they are besought to "present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God." " The Church of God which is at Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints," recipients of "the grace of God," and "babes in Christ," are nevertheless admonished about their "con- tentions," their " carnality," their "walk according to man," and several accompanying evils. They are taught that the way of consecration and "perfect holiness" is to "cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh STEPS IN THE EXPERIENCE OF THE APOSTLES. 131 and spirit." The Galatians had been " called unto the grace of Christ," and "begun in the Spirit," but were foolishly endeavoring to be "made perfect by the flesh' 1 instead of being "crucified with Christ" and "glorying only in the cross." "The saints which are at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus " were to " put off the old man and put on the new man," to "put away all bitterness and evil speaking with all malice," and to " be filled with the Spirit." "The saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi" are assured that " He which begun a good work in you will perfect it," " that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without blemish." " The saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse" are to "mortify [make dead], therefore, your members which are upon the earth; fornication," etc., " that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." " The church of the Thessalonians," who had received the gospel " in power and in the Holy Ghost," needed to have their hearts "stablished unblamable in holiness," and to be " sanctified wholly," and for this Paul ear- nestly prayed. The Hebrews, who were "partakers of the heavenly calling," were to "take heed, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief," and to " follow holiness, with- out which no man shall see the Lord." And to the churches in Asia the Holy Ghost has spoken to precisely the same effect, holding forth to believers their "acceptance with God," through the gift and "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ " on the one hand, 132 OLD CORN. and their still remaining inbred sin and failure on the other. He thus holds in wondrous wisdom the even balance of truth, with its encouragements and warnings, teaching us that all our need shall be supplied "accord- ing to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus," "and that we may indeed glorify God in our bodies and our spirits which are his." Holiness, then, — holiness needed, offered, enjoined and promised, — is to be obtained through the blood of Jesus Christ and the " baptism with the Holy Ghost." " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." CHAPTER XIII. SELF-PUBIFICATION. " And every one that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure." — 1 John 3: 3. IN our meditation upon this passage, we shall properly inquire : — I. What is the " hope " spoken of, and to whom does it belong ? II. What is the legitimate effect of this hope ? III. What is the standard and pattern of our purity ? The Apostle challenges the church to "behold ! " to contemplate, and to wonder at the love that God the Father " hath bestowed upon us," and the momentous results to the "sons of God." Let us then examine : — First. What is the "hope" of the text? It is evidently not that vague and empty thing that many unsaved persons mean, when they say they " hope " to get to heaven when they die, or that they " have no ' hope ' but in Christ," or, that having " done the best they could," they are now " indulging a ' hope ' of one day becoming true Christians, and reaching heaven at 134 OLD CORN. last ! " No, it is nothing of this kind. This may indeed be the real desire of multitudes of sinners, but it is des- titute of other elements essential to that " blessed hope " of the Christian. Hope is the twin grace of faith, and just as the latter receives what God gives, so does the former expect what He promises. Faith strikes its roots downward into the very tomb of Him " who was delivered for our offenses," while hope, soaring aloft on wings of expectancy, grasps the promise of a risen and ascended Lord, to " come again and receive you unto nryself." To " appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation," and that when He shall appear, we shall see Him as He is. This "hope" is on the resur- rection side of the cross, and in order to be to us the " glorious hope " that it is designed to be, we must have come to a full appropriation and right valuation of "the sufferings of Christ." If there is any shortness here, it is out of the question for us to contemplate with joyfulness the glory that is to follow. And this no doubt explains the fact that multitudes of professors care nothing for " this hope." Indeed, the whole prophecy is but a sealed book to them. There can be no possible affinity for glory, with those who in the least undervalue grace. This is the doctrine of our text, and it is clear that " this hope " belongs peculiarly and solely to the " sons of God." And this divine appellation is bestowed by God Himself, not as an empty title, but because really constituted "sons of God" by the work of the Holy Ghost, and having become "partakers of the divine nature." Not " children of God " because of provi- dence or creation, but " children of the wicked one," 8ELF-PURIFICATI0N. 135 brought into our inheritance and title by a divine adoption. And it is only when the regenerating Spirit has wrought this work in the heart, that He bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God, and we are brought beyond the region of doubt and uncertainty about it. But "this hope" is to be more than a theory, or a doctrine, or an intellectual conception. It is to be " in him." It is a portion of that inward spiritual furnishing without which the sons of God would be seriously deficient. It naturally and inevitably springs out of a consciousness of this hallowed relationship. But if this be true, is it any wonder that so few have this hope in them, while even a large proportion of the so-called church are still asking the question, " May I really know that I am a child of God?" Is it any wonder that so few care to hear about it, and even doubt the reality of it? But then, according to Drum- mond, doubters, and " men who raise skeptical diffi- culties about religion " are, " upon the whole, the best men in the country " ! " Christ was very fond of these men ! " Away with such petty trifling and pandering to infidelity. The best treatment for doubters is to teach them to confess their sins, and get converted to God, just as other sinners have done. That is the best and only remedy for doubts. No man gets into the kingdom head first, but by believing God's word and trusting in Jesus Christ. There is thus a new deliver- ance from the power of intellectual doubt, and from the power and love and guilt of sin in the soul. We know that we are now sons of God. But we do not know the excellence of the glory to which we shall be 136 old co hn. raised. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. There is a glory of our sonship that is yet hidden, and very imperfect, and the Apostle especially notices the fact of this concealment, while he declares the certainty of the manifestation of Jesus in His glorified human nature, when He comes the second time without sin (without a sin offering), unto salvation. Then, we shall see Him as He is ! And this is the " hope," " that blessed hope," of "the glorious appear- ing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ," that thrills with joyful expectation the true " sons of God." To see Him as He is, is to see the beauty and excel- lence of His personal perfections, both - human and divine. It is to behold His glory. And this is a view of such value and importance to us, that Jesus espe- cially prayed that we might have it, in John 17. Not only so : He called Peter, James and John upon the holy mount to be eye witnesses of His majesty, when He received from God the Father honor and glory. But this rich pre-libation could only have been an ob- scured and partial unveiling of the splendors of His infinite majesty and glory. These disciples could not yet endure it, to see Him as He is, in all of its fullness. But these facts surely emphasize the blessedness and importance of "this hope." Other hopes may vanish and fade away, but "this hope " is the permanent and fixed possession of the believer, and as infallible as the word of God. It is our possession, as we have seen, on account of our present moral likeness to Jesus, and just as this has resulted because of our view of His moral excellence and atonement, so shall our vision of His manifested and personal glory be a transforming SELF-PURIFICATION. 137 sight, and cause us to be like Him in a fuller and more glorious sense. It is indeed true that all shall see Him, but in very different ways. When He shall appear, or be manifested to the sons of God, there will be the entire absence of those avenging and punitive aspects that abound in the Apocalypse, and are the portion of the fearful and the unbelieving. To the flock of God, it will be a day of joy and glory, for " when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away" Before passing from our first head, we may a little further allude to the intimate connection be- tween this hope and an assurance that Jesus shall most certainly "appear" again in His own personal glory. Many do not believe this at all, some scorn the very idea, while comparatively few have any deep and realizing sense of its value and blessedness. Suffice it to say that Scripture abounds in the clearest and most specific declarations, concerning our Lord's return " to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all them that believe." "I will come again," said Jesus, and it is impossible to construe the descent of the Holy Ghost, the destruction of Jerusa- lem, or any other past event into a fulfillment of this, or any other Scripture of like import, and such pas- sages are numberless. Not only so, such a construc- tion is forever fatal to the truth, concerning the consummation of our own salvation in body, soul and spirit, by our resurrection and entrance into glory. For when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. To explain away His manifestation in glory, is also to explain 138 OLD CORN. away our own. and so it is impossible that we can have this hope in us. Second. We are now to consider what is the moral effect of this hope. He purifieth Himself. Taken in the sense of an exhortation, we get the very same thoughts from 2 Peter 3 : 13, 14 : " Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless." And also from Paul, 2 Cor. 7:1: " Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all nlthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Now u these promises" of God are the strongest pos- sible plea for sanctification, and an expectation of the glorious manifestation of Jesus is urged as a powerful inducement to holiness. Any mother of a little flock knows that when the absent father is expected to return from his journey, the children are always waiting to be " cleaned up " to meet him. But our text implies something more than an exhor- tation. It implies that self-purification and "this hope " are so conjoined as to be necessarily inseparable. That is, it formally states it as a fact, that he who has "this hope within him" does indeed purify himself. That not to purify himself is tantamount to a declared absence of this hope, and indifference to God's promises for cleansing. That he who fails thus to sanctify him- self, ungratefully surrenders this blessed hope of the Christian. That if this genuine hope is in a man's heart, it will infallibly induce him to desire and to fol- low after holiness ; to seek it until he finds it, and SELF-PURIFICATION. 139 never to rest until God has fully performed His prom- ise to sanctify wholly, and cleanse him from all sinful affections and passions. Matthew Henry says, "It is the hope of the hypocrites, and not of the sons of God, that makes an allowance for the gratification of impure desires and lusts." And Dr. Scott declares that no Christian, with this genuine hope in his heart, can ever rest satisfied " till all his affections and powers are fully sanctified, all sinful passions destroyed, and all holy dispositions perfected." Such, then, is the moral effect of this hope ; and from this point of view it will be seen that this hope precedes entire sanctification, and is the very mother of it, instead of the reverse as is sometimes supposed. And it is most reasonable that it should be so. Every soul that is truly justified by faith has looked unto Jesus as the crucified One, and in His humiliation as the very servant of men. What, then, could such an one more ardently desire than to behold His glory? And when this lively hope is be- gotten in him by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and the promises of God, it becomes causative in its nature, and a powerful incentive to holiness Hence he purifieth himself. Not that he can actually purify his own heart, for this is a work wrought only by the sanctifying Spirit of God. But he can fully consecrate and hallow himself to God, and earnestly implore the baptism with the Holy Ghost, who will indeed "cleanse the thoughts of his heart by His inspi- ration, that he may perfectly love Him and worthily magnify His name." Third, The Standard. "Even as he is pure." Christ is the standard and pattern of our purity. True, His 140 OLD CORN. purity is absolute, original and immutable, while ours is relative, derived and contingent upon the choices and volitions of our free agency. Nevertheless, as He had no sin, even so " His blood cleanseth us from all sin." And He "was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil." He not only forgives sins, but destroys the very being of sin in the soul. He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, and He is thus our pattern for purity of life in outward acts. In Him is no sin, and He is thus our standard for inward purity, vital power and holy dispositions. In a closing moment we beg to urge an additional thought on two points. I. " When he shall appear we shall be like him " in body as well as mind. In our physical as certainly as in our moral being. This will be the time of our com- plete salvation in body, soul and spirit. " For our conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." And so, instead of this body of our humiliation we shall have a glorious body. Freed from the last remnant of sin we shall be conformed to the image of His Son, and clothed with imperishable beauty, and the only condition of this marvelous change is to see Him as He is ! II. And this vision shall be one of His own ex- ceeding glory and exaltation. As seen in the days of His humiliation, His visage was so marred more than any man, and His SELF-PURIFICATION. 141 form more than the sons of men. He had no form nor comeliness, nor beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected of men. But when He is "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire," all of this will be re- versed. Our blessed Lord will then be seen in His true character as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe, while they which have pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. To this wonderful day, then, near at hand it may be, belong the ultimate victories, not only of His people, but also of our Lord Himself, who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Blessed be His name. CHAPTER XIV. UNTO PERFECTION. "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of bands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit."— Heb. 6: 1-3. THERE are stages in the development of the natu- ral life. The first one is that known as infancy, or babe life. Then there is youth, and the "young man," full of strength and vigor, as well as the hoary head and the tottering steps of old age. In like manner the spiritual life has its stages of experience, and these are clearly recognized, not only in the Scripture just read, but all through the word of God. St. John writes to "little children because their sins are forgiven for his name's sake." He writes "unto young men because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." He writes "unto the fathers because ye have known him that is from the beginning," or have a more complete knowledge of the eternit}^, divinity, personal- ity and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, UNTO PERFECTION. 143 I. There are " first principles" or foundation truths, of the gospel. These are set forth and summarized in the six particulars named in the text: "Repentance," " Faith," " Baptism," Dedication by the " imposition of hands," "Resurrection of the dead," and "Eternal judgment." They are the elementary doctrines of Christ ; and, though complete in their proper sphere, are distinguished from those more profound in charac- ter which follow them. Such distinction is not, how- ever, one of essentials and non-essentials, but it is one of order and comprehensiveness. First the foundation, then the building. First the rudiments, then the science. First the blade, then the ear. The primary question with every man is one of repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ, in order that there may be a personal entrance on the way of salvation. Such new relation to God is realized in living power, and is consequent upon those rudiments of Christian doctrine already known. In view of the eternal judgment, how great is the glad tidings that the Son of God has satis- fied the just claims of a violated law, and borne its penalty as the substitute of him who confesses his guilt and believes upon Jesus Christ ! Oh, that the voice of the Son of God might reach some dead souls to-day, and really convince of sin ! Alas ! there are so many that think they could get along with some help from Christ ; they need Him, to be sure, but it is just to supplement what they lack. A man in New York was smothered by gas, and when found, the doctors said nothing could restore life, unless it was an infusion of fresh blood. A strong man promptly offered his arm for the surgeon's lance. Eight 144 OLD CORN. ounces of blood were taken and injected into the veins of the man who was practically dead. He lived again, and his estimate of the favor done him was expressed by the gift of a five dollar bill! You see, he did not realize that he had received life from the dead ; to him it only meant resuscitation, assistance. But " Christ died for the ungodly." It was not a- question of so many ounces of blood, but He "poured out his soul unto death" to redeem us, and nothing short of that could accomplish the work. And " if he died for all, then were all dead." How blessed if all of us knew in our own experience that " his blood cleanseth us from all sin " because of our having obeyed the gospel, and gone " on unto perfec- tion," as commanded by our text! But how generally are these elementary or " first principles " regarded as ultimate or final! And those who thus restrict the doctrines of the gospel to the rudiments, not only rob their own souls, but antagonize God's demand for pro- gression in Christian life. The result is inevitable and universal, viz., "laying again a foundation for repent- ance." To disobey God is to lose "the blessedness we knew when first we saw the Lord." The attempt is then made to regain lost liberty by " works," or zeal in right things, instead of by faith. We can never succeed. Both justification and sanctification are received by faith, and, if lost, must be regained by faith and not by works. On the zoological grounds in Philadelphia you will find a gate without a keeper. You can let your- self out without difficulty, but if you desire to reenter the gardens, you will have to come again to the regular entrance gate, and he admitted by the keeper. The UNTO PERFECTION. 145 other gate never opens inward. Just so do works that are " wicked," or displeasing to God take us out of com- munion, but even good works can never get us in again. For these "works " are " dead," not because they are wrong in themselves; they may indeed be excellent and right ; but since they are the efforts of one who is not in right relations with the living God, they cannot express life, or bring true peace. Sooner or later this will be seen and repentance must follow. Hence it is clear that to perform them from such a standpoint, is but to prepare the way, or "lay again the foundation for repentance," and the sooner we repent and forever cease this weary round of a wilderness life, the better. God makes this a practicable thing, and I trust we now understand the meaning of the negative command, not to do this way, and not always be laying foundations anew. We now come to the positive command. II. First principles are to be left. This is no op- tional matter, but an imperative demand of God upon His children. In patient grace He reasons with us about it, then beseeches, rebukes and warns. If our confidence in His goodness and mercy and patience, degenerates into negligent presumption, we are warned in the context of the danger of apostasy and divine judgment. It is not that, as God's child, one is in danger of being lost, but that ignoring and neglecting His most palpable commands may result in dissevering relations with Him. It is a glorious thing to be a "new born babe" in Christ. He takes a fatherly de- light in such, and provides the "sincere milk of the word that they may grow thereby." Their character- 146 OLD CORN. istics are love, trust and obedience. In harmony with God's provision for them they long to be "men in understanding," and to "stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." By faith they see the "mighty men of Moab trembling," and the " inhabitants of Canaan melting away." Just as in natural life young children are impatient to get big. My little boy was five years old on a 17th day of July. On the 18th some one said, "How old are j T ou, Ben?" He promptly answered, "I'll be six years old the 17th day of next July ! " He was looking right ahead. Alas ! how many children of our Heavenly Father have not the characteristics of " new born babes," but those of old " babes," and exhibit the same dwarfish type of Chris- tianity which is so faithfully delineated by the Apostle. To continue a babe is to become a dwarf. That which is merely ignorance, and only amusing in the young child, becomes imbecility in the older one, and painful to witness. Such a state is always dishonoring to God, unsatisfactory to men, and unfruitful in endeavor. It is utterly inadequate for the work of the Lord. He can never honor those as " teachers " of others, who are themselves in constant need of being "taught again the first principles of the oracles of God," though in point of time (or "for the time") they are old enough, and "ought to be teachers." " The word of righteous- ness" is the "sword of the Spirit," and in the hands of the "unskillful" babe is more likely to do harm than good. He cannot use "strong meat" for this " belong- eth to them that are full-grown men." He has " need of milk for he is a babe, and every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word." UNTO PERFECTION. 147 But again all such "are dull of hearing." Their ap- prehension of spiritual things is dull, and their percep- tions are obtuse. This is not a natural deficiency. They are as sharp and smart as possible every day but Sabbath, and in worldly affairs can see as far into a millstone as anybody else. Neither does the difficulty lie in the "things to be uttered," but a failure in the experience is the source of this slowness of the under- standing. Still another characteristic of such imma- turity is instability, or " children tossed to and fro." Susceptible to external influences and associations which are of the spirit of the world, in such a degree as to be "carried about with every wind of doctrine," how many are unconsciously serving this spirit against God and His truth ! Once more, and lastly, Paul distinguishes this class of Christians where he writes to the " babes in Christ " at Corinth. He fully recognizes them as "brethren, sanctified in Christ Jesus," and partakers of rudimen- tary instruction and nourishment, or "milk." But there is the usual incapacity for "meat," and in their conduct they "walked" much after the fashion of " men" rather than after the Spirit. Though not com- mitting known and willful sin, self-life developed party "strife and divisions," and a zeal to defend a sect and its opinions, because it was expected of them. Here we are brought to the root of the matter, and find that a measure of carnality or moral impurity, coexisting with the new nature, is the prolific source of all our difficulties. And they were "yet carnal," because they had neglected or refused to "cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in 148 OLD CORN. the fear of God." They are now rebuked by the Apos- tle for this culpable procrastination. A failure to obey God at this point begets a loss in communion and spir- itual experience, and this in turn produces dullness of hearing, and unskillfulness in the work of righteousness. Instability, with sectarian strife, and an ascendency of the carnal aptitudes, complete the sad picture of a dwarfed religious life. Is it any wonder that we are summoned by the word of the Lord to-day to " leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ " ? Leave them without abandoning them. Leave them, as the child leaves the alphabet, only to use the letters in wonderful combinations. Leave them as the builder leaves the foundation, piling stone upon stone, and storj" upon story, so that the more he has left it, the more complete is his dependence upon it. III. We are to " go on unto perfection." This is the specific goal of Christian development set before us in the text, — a definite, attainable, and distinct experience, called in this place " perfection." I am sorry if you are prejudiced against the term. It is one of God's choosing, not ours. He has constantly employed it in the Scriptures as descriptive of Christian character and experience. It is used interchangeably and almost synonymously with such other terms as "perfect holiness," "perfect love," "heart purity," and "baptism with the Holy Ghost." Let us not be ashamed of any of the words of Jesus, but try to understand their meaning and scope as applied to us. Certainly there is a kind of " perfection " that is not obtainable by us, cither here or hereafter, a " perfection " UNTO PERFECTION. 149 which cannot be predicated of humanity at all, a sense in which it is disclaimed by Job and David, and denied by Paul. But then, again, there is another sense in which God Himself affirms it of some " holy men of old," and some of them affirm it of themselves. Not only so, there can be no dispute but that some kind is constantly enjoined. It cannot be an absolute perfection at all, since that belongs to God only. It cannot be an original or natural perfection, and complete in all departments of being, as found in Adam, or the angels. The Bible is not a book of instructions to angels, but God's message to a fallen race, — a race so dwarfed and distorted by sin, in mind and morals and body, that the marvel is that in any sense we can be "perfect." To be sure, men have no difficulty in believing that their work is perfect in endless variety. There are " perfect watches," " perfect machines," " perfect fits," and "perfect beauties." There is a "perfect picture," a " perfect success," and even a " perfect failure." The relative completeness of such things, simply in their own narrow sphere, all can understand. Why, then, shall it be denied concerning the work of God in the souls of His children ? If God wants us to love Him perfectly, and we really want to love Him " with all our heart" and all our being, He will speedily "shed abroad his love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." We cannot love God by an effort of will power, or by resolving and trying to love Him. Thousands make a mistake here all their lives. They desire to obey God, and are determined to love Him as He requires, but never succeed, because they constantly fail in that 150 OLD CORN. entire consecration and perfect submission to the will of God, which is an absolute prerequisite in this matter. It is not the unreserved submission of the sinner who is escaping for his life, but the intelligent and voluntary consecration of a son, who has proven God's will to be wise and good, and who " would be perfect." It then becomes easy for faith to lay hold upon the promises of God, as applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit, and make such personal appropriation of them as our needs demand. Entire confidence in the word of the Lord brings His children into such a near acquaintance as to secure perfect union with Him. It is at this point that " faith purifies the heart, 5 ' that the marvelous work of the sanctifying Spirit is wrought, and we "know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge, being filled with all the fullness of God." And this is "perfect love," and this is Christian " perfection." When Jesus left the command with His disciples to "be perfect," inas- much as their Father was perfect, in Matt. 5 : 48, He gave this lesson of love to enemies, and cheerful sacri- fice of personal rights, as the key to the true meaning of that word " perfect." " Love is the fulfilling of the law." " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." " On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Love is " the bond of perfectness." How light are its labors! How different, then, become the restraints of law and the constraints of duty life ! How I wish that I could help all to see that the " perfection " of our text and of the Bible is a simple, reasonable, practicable UNTO PERFECTION. 151 life, and the privilege of all God's children, and one which in infinite love is just adapted to our capacities, obligations and surroundings ! Don't we see how different it is in the light of reason and the Spirit, from the incomprehensible and ridicu- lous caricatures of those whose chief concern seems to be to "limit God," and "turn men from the truth " ? It is indeed a thing of the heart, a " life hid with Christ in God," and He says, " Walk before me, and be thou perfect." It is with Him we have to do, and to Him we must answer. Nevertheless, there are outward manifestations which must not be overlooked. We are left here as Christ's witnesses ; we must let our light shine, or lose it. There must be no evasion about this, or substituting a less offensive light upon occasion. And every consideration of good to man and glory to God requires that we should " declare what He hath done for our souls." The need is to tell the truth, and the whole truth, with simplicity, directness, and love, and the less flippancy and ado about it, the better. But "love will stammer rather than be dumb; " yet it is not of our emotions, or of some "frame of mind," that we are to testify, but of the essential facts of our inner life as wrought by the Holy Ghost. To confess Christ as a present and a perfect Savior is often a severe test of obedience ; but He claims this service of our lips, and it is prompted by the heart as well as sus- tained by an unanswerable philosophy. One great difficulty, if not the chief one, about con- fessing perfect love, is the deep sense of imperfection in other respects which is always felt by those enjoying this blessing. 152 OLD CORN. How so much imperfection can coexist with a just claim to perfect love, is a mystery to the worldly wise. We would love to explain it fully to them, but it can- not be done. They can see the thousand infirmities and errors in judgment which are entirely consistent with Christian perfection, but they cannot see the deep soul-rest, the perfect peace, perfect faith, and perfect love which God maintains in the heart of one who walks in communion with Him. All of these pertain to a hidden life, and can only be known on the testi- mony of witnesses. This must be given, to the glory of God and the spread of the truth, in spite of the fact that the carnal mind construes all ignorance and errors in word or action, into a contradiction and an incon- sistency. Not only so : all of these involuntary mis- takes and "secret faults" are regarded as sins, and included in the same list with voluntary transgressions of known law. This must be done in order to make a clear case against the doctrine and experience of holi- ness. But the blessed Spirit is making clear to many precious souls these Christian paradoxes. We must be reconciled to the fact that our lives are limited and cir- cumscribed in their outward manifestation by an impair- ment of our faculties and of all our powers. Perfection is, therefore, an impossible thing in reference to mind, or body, or action, in this life, and can only be predi- cated of the moral nature. And even here it can never become innate, but is always from Christ, and main- tained by the Holy Spirit, only conditioned on a perse- vering, habitual and obedient faith. IV. Our last point must be to urge you to obey UNTO PERFECTION. 153 God to-day. Multitudes are always going, yet never go, " unto perfection." Their highest thought is to approximate it, but never expect to get there while they live ; and, indeed, if it has to be confessed, they would secretly hope there might remain enough doubt in the mind to save the conscience in silence. We have already spoken of this experience as a distinct and definite one, — a goal to be actually reached, and not a will-o'-the-wisp to elude our grasp, to be forever just beyond us. Once again, we emphasize the requirement of the text, and urge you to remember that it is not mere pro- gress or improvement, but a divine gift bestowed, a work of the Holy Spirit wrought. If the lepers that came to Jesus had requested gradual healing, or the blind and lame a gradual restoration, who could under- stand such folly, or expect the Lord to pay any atten- tion to such applicants ? Do abandon the idea of growing into purity, and such a development of per- fection as is found in the plant and animal life in nature. But see it as an act of God's free grace, and never as a process. " Suddenly " the Lord appeared to cleanse the temple ; instantaneously He purified the hearts of the disciples on Pentecost; and death is every- where and always a momentary thing, whether the approach to it be brief or prolonged. There may be, in a general sense, devotion to God and habitual trust in His word, but there must be a voluntary, once-for-all-self-surrender, which carries with it the " will to do God's will," and " seek the honor that cometh from God only." When this is once intelli- gently settled, the difficulties about " believing " are 154 OLD CORN. gone. And simple faith for a promised gift is a now receiver, and never permits an intervening element of time or works. Without a doubt, the crucial point in our consecration, is this one of yielding up this old self-life, so as to " lose it." Our sins we hate with " perfect hatred," and are glad to see them no more ; but " our old man " is a different thing. " He has always been useful in his way, in some respects. He has had charge of our good name, our reputation and standing in the church and in society. He has looked after our worldly affairs with great vigilance, and how- ever he may have treated others, he certainly never has taken any mean advantage of us." He has won for us some honors and esteem that " came not from God," it is true, but these widened the sphere of our usefulness, we thought. But all of this estimate is changed, when we get a sight of "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up," and our cry is one with Isaiah, " Woe is me, for I am undone ! " or with Paul, " Who shall deliver me from this bod}* of death?" How men who get such a sight of God and of themselves start back with horror and loathing at the revelation of pride, selfish- ness, envy, self-love, deceitfulness, and lusts of all sorts which have had their secret source in this fountain of uncleanness ! We decree his death and long for it^ and yet, strange to say, we dread it, and, alas ! how often draw back at the critical moment. I once knew a lady who came hundreds of miles for the express pur- pose of having a tumor removed from her head. She applied to an eminent surgeon, and was willing to pay the generous fee demanded. She was resolutely seated, UNTO PERFECTION. 155 and the adroit operator succeeded admirably in the quiet and speedy preliminaries, and all went well until the lance touched the tumor, when, with a bound and a scream, the lady seized his hands, and declared she could not endure it. " Doctor, I can't let you do it!" and she would not. And this illustrates the involuntary resistance which we make to "reckoning ourselves dead indeed unto sin." We crucify and crucify, or nail to the cross, bat are soon prevailed upon to repent, and tenderly take down and give a new lease of life to him that was devoted to destruction. Dearly beloved, will you not yield yourselves, once for all to-day? God is graciously near to redeem His promise to bring His people in, "and plant them in the mountain of his inheritance." You shall quickly "go on unto perfection," by going down into death and burial with Christ. Then risen with Him, we shall gladly " seek those things which are above." Oh ! that He might, this very hour, pour upon this listening, waiting throng the holy " anointing which abideth " ! Amen. CHAPTER XV. A GOOD CONSCIENCE. "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men." — Acts 24: 16. I. What is conscience ? An answer is not so easily given. For ages it has been discussed by scholars, philosophers and divines, without any agreement as to the full meaning of the term ; but we cannot venture very far into the discussion. We shall only attempt some simple statements. In its etymology the word con-science conveys the idea of self-knowledge. It be- longs to the whole of the human family. What the eye is to the body, this faculty is to the moral nature. The eye is often blind and oftener diseased, but it is there. Again, it often perceives but little because its possessor walks in the darkness, and but a feeble im- pression of what is perceived is conveyed to the under- standing because of ignorance. Yet it remains true that men " have eyes though they see not," and "ears though they hear not." And none of these things can be any disparagement to the original and natural gift of the eye. And so of the conscience. It is an original capacity 15G A GOOD CONSCIENCE. 157 of the soul to know the difference between meaning to do what we think is right, and what we believe to be wrong. More than this: it feels that we ought to do the one and ought not to do the other. It discriminates between right and wrong intentions. These definitions are not invalidated by the fact that the standards of right and wrong are different in different consciences. It is not the office of conscience to legislate and deter- mine what is, in the abstract, really right or wrong. The only true and revealed standard of this is the written word of God. Confusion of thought on this point has been fruitful of serious error. Conscience has been sometimes regarded as in itself authoritative, even beyond the region of relative right and wrong, or within the sphere of choices or intentions. It has been supposed to be to some extent inspired, and controlled by the direct voice of God in the breast of every human being, and given such royal titles as the " Inward Judge," the " Vicegerent of God," etc. An abuse of truth is to dishonor and damage the truth itself. And it is palpably clear to everybody that whatever has been marked as virtuous or as vicious by education, reason or religion, has been in like manner registered by the conscience as right or wrong. Its office, then, is judiciary, and it approves Avhen we practice the right, and disapproves when we do the wrong, according to its standard. It thus acts concurrently with the understanding, though it often condemns both practice and inclination with unrelenting fidelity. And the understanding reaches its convic- tions, as already suggested, through education, or reason, or religion — generally through all of them 158 OLD CORN. combined. And this explains how it is that what men have believed to be right, they have done with an approving- conscience, though as certainly wrong as the law of God could make it. So, too, what men have believed to be wrong their conscience has disapproved, though as right as morality itself. Instance the Brah- min, who feels good if his lie succeeds in winning some rupees, but will have to repent if he shakes the pollut- ing hand of an Englishman. Witness the children given to crocodiles, the wives to the flames, the parents to a cruel death, and the millions to penances, mutila- tions and pilgrimages! Have these no moral sense? Is it because conscience is destroyed? By no means. Such things would simply be impossible if it were not for conscience, and that, too, in active exercise. But the "understanding is darkened," the mind is blinded; false lights have been set up, and the poor pilot believes he is right, but steers straight for the breakers. Re- call, if you can, the awful superstitions, the most shock- ing cruelties, and the foulest crimes that have stained the earth with blood, and know that they have been perpetrated in the name of conscience. We have heard of one who murdered his own mother while kneeling at the sacrament, alleging that it was idolatry, and that his conscience made it his duty to destroy idolaters. In the Place de la Concorde in Paris, there stands a marble fountain on the very spot where stood the guil- lotine of the bloody Robespierre. In full view stood a statue of liberty. When the beautiful and gifted Madam Roland was about to be beheaded, she looked at this colossal statue, then bowing, she exclaimed, A GOOD CONSCIENCE. 159 " O Liberty ! Liberty ! how many crimes are committed in thy name!" And thus we may say of conscience! Deeds from which humanity hides its head, and against which true religion most loudly protests — deeds which il- lustrate the meaning of those solemn words, " If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness." And in this, as in all other ages of the world, it is true that when men fail of instruction from the true " oracles of God," they become " vain in their imagina- tions, and their foolish heart is darkened." And should we concede the infallible dictation of conscience in the path of duty, we should be compelled to sanction the gravest errors of fanaticism, or even the horrors of Pocasset, or the murderous delusions of a Guiteau. Its unsanctified vagaries are alike traceable — whether under the cowl of the shaven monk, the trappings of the haughty churchman, or the sanctimonious robes of the self-righteous Pharisee. But while conscience is not infallible, it is invaluable. And our present concern is to press the momentous truth that we are not alone responsible before God for good intentions and right choices according to our conscience, but for the right use of our means and opportunities for enlightening ourselves and others according to the word of God, in order that we may have a conscience void of offense toward Him. For it is a perilous doctrine that men are excused for the wrong they do, if only they sincerely mean well. We are responsible for our acts and the use we make of means to know the right, otherwise the sickly senti- mentalist could empty our jails on the plea of some sort of good intention in almost every case. 160 OLD CORN. II. It is thus clear that there is a great variety in the characters of conscience, and the Scriptures recog- nize this. We are told of "consciences seared with a hot iron," or those whose " hypocrisy," " lies," and devilish doctrines were no longer checked by conscience. Also of the conscience that is " defiled," " and unto every good work reprobate." And again of an "evil con- science," from whose guilt we must be saved by the sprinkled blood of Jesus. And there is the "weak conscience " that is easily wounded, injured or des- troyed. We once heard of a man who kept one of his eyes closed and covered for a long time as a disguise, when at length he found the sight was gone. But notwithstanding the encrusting power of sin and superstitution and error, deep down in the human soul there still remain susceptibilities that may be con- fidently relied upon to respond to the quickening, awakening and penetrating power of God's truth and Spirit. And in faith and confidence we may commend the truth "to every man's conscience," knowing that even the most unpromising ground sometimes yields the best returns. III. To have " a conscience void of offense toward God," involves briefly (1.) Its full participation in the work of regeneration and sanctification. Since we have seen how entirely the conscience has participated in the results of the fall of man, it must therefore be purged from sin and from dead works to serve the living God. (2.) It must have God's rule of conduct for its guide. Every other standard is fallible and sure to betray us. A GOOD CONSCIENCE. 161 Even a good watch is not a sun dial. " All Scripture is given by inspiration of God . . . that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work." (3.) There must be an impartial and fre- quent comparison of our lives with that rule, and a divine persuasion of conformity to its requirements. Jesus says, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." Then if our heart condemn us. not, God is greater, and He does not. Now, just as the greater includes the less, so does this conscience toward God include one void of offense toward man. Just as " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart " is the first command, so the second is like unto it, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." This is more than the negative virtue of injuring no man in person, property or reputation. It means to do him all the good you can, in every way you can, and every time you can, watching for his soul as they that must give an account unto God. When God's law gets really written in the heart, it is sure to penetrate the conscience. IV. Lastly, we must insist upon the holy endeavor necessary in order " to have always " this attitude of soul and conscience already described. We think this the more important because of the age in which we live. Surely no candid and intelligent observer will question that there is less of conscience to be seen manifested in the lives of men than formerly. This degeneracy is noticeable in the world — in business, in politics, in social life, and all about us. True, moral evil was once more open and unblushing in some ways 162 OLD CORN. than now, but its concealment beneath the devil's drap- eiy of morality does not deceive the wise. It is an age of ease and luxury; and inventions and contrivances are so much within reach of the people as to make life easy, and the flesh grows wanton and insolent, and exacting and self-indulgent. In such a state of things it can hardly be otherwise than that the moral texture of men should be feeble and effeminate, and lie open to the embrace of temptation. The villainies of rings, and " trusts," and individuals all proclaim it. But this is not all. The church has rebounded from the Puritanic zeal and righteousness of former days to such an extent that the term Christian has lost much of its significance. It seems to be the devil's masterpiece, to cover a dead formalism, that is destitute of conscience, with a cloak of profession. A decent round of duties in the "form of godliness," but really " hating the power " of God and His truth. An ill-disguised contempt for the word of God has followed the widespread denial of verbal inspiration. The doctrines of a conditional immortal- ity and "eternal hope" combine to destroy all concern about the loss of the soul. The great doctrines of the Bible are ridiculed as old-fashioned Puritanism, and the claims of God's law are not pressed home upon the conscience as formerly. Indeed, some of our so-called ablest divines have been known to declare that they could not preach to the " conscience " as they did not believe that they had one of their own. It is opportune for us at this time to admit our share of responsibility for this degeneracy, and do our part to remedy the evil. And that is, first of all, to " exercise our- selves to have always" our own conscience void of offense. A GOOD CONSCIENCE. 163 Let us be watchful, prayerful, trustful, joyful. Let us "set the Lord always before us," and walk before Him and our fellowmen in the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen. CHAPTER XVI. SHALL HE FIND FAITH? " Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" — Luke 18: 8. IN" the previous chapter the Pharisees mockingly ask Jesus about the "Kingdom of God," which was still invisible to eyes that looked for some exhibition of the ruling power of God in the world. Both John and Jesus had before testified, as to the actual presence of the " kingdom " in grace and in their midst, and they are again told that it is not " here " nor " there," nor localized at all, but "within you," or in your very midst. That the King of the kingdom was among them, working in the midst of them, but that His king- dom was not to be recognized by outward tokens, nor " observed " by the watchful sagacity of men. (It has, however, been a most vicious interpretation to explain, as some have done, that Jesus meant to affirm that the kingdom of God was already set up " within " the hearts of these wicked Pharisees. There is not the slightest ground for such a mischievous error.) Hav- ing thus sufficiently answered the Pharisees, Jesus pur- sues the subject further with His disciples alone. He SHALL HE FIND FAITH? 165 seeks to prepare them for trials of faith and manifold tribulations, in which they might wish in vain for even one day of the victorious interposition and glory of the " Son of man." Such a time would be a most favorable opportunity for false Messiahs to deceive with induce- ments to "see here or see there." But the "kingdom of God " is not alone spiritual, and is not forever to remain invisible. There is a long interval between the shame and suffering of the cross, and the majesty and glory that will be seen in the clouds, but as is "the lightning in the heavens" in its suddenness, its omni- presence and its fearful visibility, "so shall also the Son of man be in his day." There is a great difference between the cavilling questions of the Pharisees and the longing inquiries of the disciples, and the latter are met by our Lord with the most conclusive answers and the deepest instruc- tion. He portrays the signs of the last days in unmis- takable language, and in the parable of the "widow" and the unjust judge, He presents in a most striking way, the relation of His dearly purchased church to the hostile Prince of this world. To all human appearance her spouse is dead or gone forever, and she seems a widow indeed instead of a bride. She is grievously oppressed by an "adversary," and seeks justice and protection from the representative of law. " For a while " he took no notice of her, only to connive at her wrongs, for he was destitute of both honor and godli- ness. But he was finally compelled to do as much as he did, from nothing higher than selfishness and caprice, and her case was gained by importunity. Now the Savior transports the disciples to the days immediately 166 OLD CORN. preceding the Parousia, and plainly indicates a time of tribulation to His church, in which the conflicts of faith will be severe, and only endured by the faithful. Faith in God as a righteous judge who will certainly "avenge his own elect," persevering prayer and patient waiting for the coming of the Son of man, are the lessons taught to the disciples and to us as well. But notwithstanding His emphatic assurance that God will in no case fail those who continue to "cry day and night unto him," Jesus propounds this solemn ques- tion, " Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth f " The question itself im- plies the strongest negation. It more than suggests the increasing danger of losing " faith," so that it may hardly be found "on the earth " when Jesus comes. It is still a question of supreme importance and easily answered aright, if we can only submit our " views " to the plain instructions of Scripture. It is evident there is a world-wide distinction between the expectations that are cherished on the one hand by many earnest, noble men and women, and on the other hand those which are aroused by this question of our Lord, and His teaching that accompanies it. (1.) It is commonly thought that "the world" is becoming increasingly better, wiser and happier; that as education, culture and humanitarianism are more widely diffused, the world will be gradually reduced to the sway of Christ; and thus its speedy and triumphant subjugation is confidently looked for by multitudes who congratulate themselves on " looking at the bright side of things." They are not "pessimistic." They think that those who differ from them, do so because they SHALL HE FIND FAITH? 167 wear blue spectacles, and see everything through a dark-colored lens. Many believe that "the race will reach a glorious future through a better knowledge of science, and an increasing civilization." Others fully believe that the church, through its various agencies at home and abroad, and the rapid diffusion of knowledge, will, at no remote day, be the supreme power in human affairs, and that the population of the earth will soon become eminently Christian. This happy trend of things would of course lead us rapidly up to a condition of millennial blessedness. But it is a fallacy of a most mis- chievous character, to connect the progressive achieve- ments of the age with the advance of true Christianity, and confound the two. (2.) Our Savior has opened to us a view of the times, immediately before the end, of infallible correct ness, and we can never find the true picture anywhere else. Of how little value are our theories and notions com- pared with His verities. According to His words then, we are to expect a time of carnal security and godless- ness, just like that which preceded the destruction of the old world and the overthrow of Sodom. There can be no mistake here, since the Savior has carefully described those days, and then instituted a perfect parellelism between them and the last generation. It is to this generation that the " Son of man cometh." Is it any wonder, then, that He asks if He " shall find faith on the earth " ? He does not inquire concerning culture, secular enlightenment, science, social refine- ment, or even the " form of godliness." All of these may be found in abundance. But it is for "faith," 168 OLD CORN. faith in the Son of God, and a real reliance on the blood of Jesus for a present salvation. This is what is inquired after, and it is this that is in peril of being lost. 1 he generations of Noe and of Lot had reached a climax of carelessness and selfish indulgence, and these are especially chosen by our Savior as fitting types of the last generation. Not only so; the judgments of Orod that fell upon them are the chosen types of the one that 1S yet to come. As sudden, as unexpected, and as sweeping as were these, so will be that flood of fire for which the "world that now is" is reserved. "The world will grow no better; no, not when it is drawing toward its period. Bad it is, and bad it will be, and worst of all just before Christ's coming; the last times will be the most perilous." We find these words in Matthew Henry's commentary rather unexpectedly. He thinks the world will be found in a surfeit of sensual delights as in the days of Noe and Lot. And our Lord teaches the sameness of the race in all a<*es, and an exact correspondence between men and things in earlier and later times. Solomon's declaration tlmt there is nothing new under the sun" is as true of human nature as of other things. It is the same in all ages and m all countries. (3.) This question of our Lord is well fitted to make us look about ourselves and inquire, "Watchman, what of the night ? " Certainly there is no lack of the semblance of faith, and a great deal of demand for temperance, morality, upright conduct and the polish of amiability. A premium is paid on what men call holiness of life, while holiness of heart is at a discount. Certain demonstrations of goodness are admired and SHALL HE FIND FAITH? 169 well received, while others equally beautiful and of more value in God's sight are hated. There is a good demand for human righteousness, while modern skepti- cism cuts up "faith" by the roots, and proclaims the supreme importance of moral conduct as the whole sum of religion. It cares not what men think or believe, but rather applauds the man that has no opinions about Christ and eternal things. Agnosticism knows nothing that is not proven by science, and as science cannot discover the God of redemption, it denies His existence. Thus the regenerating work of the Spirit that flows irom faith in the Lord Jesus is forever prevented, and the divine condemnation remains on him that "be- lieveth not," because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." And so if "faith" goes, what signifies all that re- mains ? Civilization, complete in its refinements, and morality with its benevolence, and philanthropy, are but as stolen figs tied on to a thorn bush, when they do not spring forth as fruits, having "faith" for their root and source. Without the supernatural element there is no real life in them, and they will always wither away as they always have done. The fact is, that every age that has become unsettled in " faith " has tried to lay the more stress upon morality. There is more than a misgiving that when "faith" declines morality must decline, but there is an unwillingness to acknowledge it. Hence convulsive efforts to prove that it is not so, and to keep the fruit, though cutting up the tree by the roots. It is just this kind of thing that Paul means when he speaks of the prevalence of " a form of godli- ness " in the grievous times yet impending. Divine love 170 OLD CORN. does not conceal danger, but warns against it, and would dispel a shallow optimism that affirms that all is well just because we wish it was. (4.) In conclusion, we would encourage every true disciple of Christ to " be strong, fear not ; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a rec- ompense ; He will come and save you.'''' " Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you," but be sure that the time is coming when our " faith " shall be tested. There is an intellectual faith in a personal God, who made all things, and who is holy, just, omnipotent, etc. But this comes short of the " faith " that Jesus asks about. Then there is a faith beyond this, that acknowl- edges God as a governor and a ruler in His providential dealings with men ; that accepts the historical authority of His word, and acknowledges Jesus Christ as His Son, and yet the " faith " that " purifies the heart," "works by love," and "overcomes the world," is far above and beyond either of these, though it must in- clude them both. Saving "faith" is not only to believe the truth about Jesus, but it is to trust Him as a personal Savior, and to rely implicitly on His aton- ing blood and the Holy Spirit for a present salvation. Then "let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering." That is one of the most important things to do. In this way our light shines foV the help of others, and they become sharers of our joy and helpers our faith. Not only so, we are to " overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testi- mony." Then, too, let us be " diligent," for laziness is even worse than uselessness, which always paves the SHALL HE FIND FAITH? Ill way for a halting, uncertain and flabby religious life. Christ has indeed gone away, and does not seem to interfere at all with this world's affairs, nor punish His enemies, nor reward His friends. But He is coming back. "Occupy till I come" is His word to us. No surprise that many an "evil servant shall say in his heart, "My Lord delayeth his coming," and that "scof- fers " are now saying, " Where is the promise of his coming?" But "let your loins be girded about and your lights burning ; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding." " Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." CHAPTER XVII. SELF-PRESERVATION. " Keep yourselves in the love of God." — Jude 21. THIS is an apostolic injunction for Christians in all time. It emphasizes the human side of the condi- tions on which we maybe preserved "blameless" and "presented faultless." We find many who decline from the "love of God," and thus dishonor Him, and bring barrenness upon themselves. No doubt this generally proceeds from a failure to rely upon the keeping power of God. But this in turn is directly traceable to a disregard of the requirement of the text. We have failed to "keep ourselves." Here, as else- where, divine sovereignty must not be divorced from human responsibility and free agency. True, the prom- ises of God, not only to save, but to "keep" and to " preserve," are abundant and full of comfort and encouragement. In this same Epistle, Jude tells us of " Him that is able to keep }^ou from falling," and of those that are "preserved in Jesus Christ." And Peter tells us of those " who are kept by the power of God through faith." And Paul declares that "the Lord is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from evil." SELF-PRESERVATION. 173 And Jesus prays that " thou shouldst keep them from the evil one." But while it is evident that it is only by divine power that we can be kept in the "love of God," it is equally true that if our part is not performed, if we do not exercise due diligence, and "do these things," we shall become "barren and unfruitful," and "fall from the grace of God." Jesus is indeed our wonderful keeper, but He will not invade our free agency, and cannot perform that which we are reason- ably required to do ourselves. Our responsibilities are not lessened by grace, but the divine requirement to "work out our own salvation " is imperative. I. Let us, then, notice the vast importance of "keep- ing ourselves in the love of God." " The love of God " is a phrase that expresses, not only the love which God has for us, but that sphere of His love into which we have been brought by faith in Jesus Christ. It also comprehends the "love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." It is thus, far more than an earthly or natural love " kindled " in our hearts, and merely transferred from earthly objects to God. It is an exotic, a supernatural infusion of divine love wrought by the Holy Ghost. " In the love of God," stands, therefore, for the Christian experience of " them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ." We cannot wonder, then, that the repeated injunctions of our Lord to " Abide in me," " Continue ye in my love," " Abide in my love," etc., are accompanied with such promises as fullness of "joy," bringing forth "much fruit," and "asking what ye will and it shall be done unto you." While to " abide not in me " is to be 174 OLD CORN. "cast forth as a branch," and be withered. "Beware," says Peter, " lest ye fall from your own steadfastness." Some of the ways in which men have been tempted to their fall in days past are alluded to in this connection, as if typical of the dangers that beset us in all ages. (1.) There is "the way of Cain." His "way" was to disregard the word of God. He was the first skeptic. He believed in natural religion. He started the " Higher criticism." The warnings of God were treated with contempt and defiance. Then, because his broth- er's sacrifice was pleasing to God, his jealousy and envy quickly ripened into murder. (2.) Again, there is " the error of Balaam," who was beguiled by covetousness. He forsook the right way of getting money, and thought possibly the Lord might be persuaded to sanction the plan. He had opened his soul to evil propositions, for the purpose of obtaining temporal benefits, and desired the wages of unrighteous- ness offered by the Moabite ambassadors, although he declared he was determined not to " go beyond the word of the Lord." (3.) Then there was the " gain-saying " of Korah, who opposed the authority of Moses a'id lifted the standard of revolt against the Lord's servant, in the name of liberty and human rights. The meekest man in the world had been called of God, and put into a certain position, and qualified for His special service. There was no usurpation of any kind. Whatever was upon Moses had been placed there bj T God Himself, and not "taken upon him." But the restless, envious schis- matic spirit of Korah saw it otherwise. He and his associates thought that all were on a dead level and SELF-PRESERVATION. 175 had " equal rights" and they found it plausible to raise the cry that Moses and Aaron were lording it over their brethren, who were all as holy as they were, and whose liberties were being trampled down with an iron heel by self-constituted "bosses." Surely, multitudes have been ensnared by the " gain-saying of Core," and having lost the " love of God," have been swallowed up by the earth. Their real quarrel is with God and His plans, and not with His servants. We are pointed to these notable examples of envy, covetousness and jealousy as illustrating the frightful progress of sin in such as depart from "the love of God." Under cover of religious zeal we may occasionally find some, even in this day, who are so jealous lest holiness and spirituality should be embar- rassed by some "side issue " that the}? - are too narrow to walk charitably, or even to be strictly honest toward those who do not precisely " follow after " them. II. How to " keep yourselves in the love of God " is clearly brought out in the context. First, " Building up yourselves on your most holy faith." " Holy faith," objectively, refers to that cycle of truths "once deliv- ered to the saints," by our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles. These truths are the foundation of the Chris- tian's faith and hope, and are for the government of conduct as the only infallible rule of life. Thus de- fined it is antithetical to the rationalism of the unholy scoffers and infidels, who "separate themselves and have not the Spirit." And it is only by resting securely on this foundation of apostolic testimony as revealed in the Scriptures, that the church can stand against the flood of unbelief and ungodliness of the last days. " Holy 170 OLD CORN. faith," however, has its subjective and individual aspect in this connection. It may be called the 'foundation grace of all Christian life. Through " faith " the life of God is received into the soul, and we are born again. It is through the grace of faith that we are introduced into a participation of gospel blessings. It is " by grace, through faith " in Jesus Christ our Lord, that we are saved. He is the alone foundation laid by God Himself, both for the church and its individual members. To " build up" ourselves, then, on this "most holy faith" is pre- cisely the antithesis of such as puff up themselves on the quicksand of unbelief and rebellion, " foaming out their own shame/' Upon an experimental knowledge of God and of Christ as a foundation, every child of God is thus called upon to rear the superstructure of a developed Christian life. How, then, can we build? Not by self-invoked or self-directed efforts of our own. Nor yet by distrusting God's love for us, and His power to keep us. To search ourselves for evidences of worth- iness is to sink in the slough of despond. To look at ourselves at all is to take our eyes away from Jesus. Nevertheless, He will not do all the doing for us. He cannot perform for us that which we are bound to do ourselves, in His strength, to be sure, yet as responsi- ble beings and free agents ! " Work out your own salvation" does not mean to "work" for it, but to "work it out" and develop that which God has wrought within us. It is real "work" to be in earnest about the salvation of others. To realize that we are " pull- ing them out of the fire." We are to "have compassion, making a difference." SELF-PRESERVATION. Ill Some are deceived and weak, while some are incorrigi- ble. A clergyman was once denouncing a weak and inconsistent man as a pretender, with whom he would have nothing more to do, to the Rev. Leigh Richmond, who replied, " Nay, brother, let us be humble and mod- erate. With opportunity on the one hand and Satan on the other, and God's grace at neither, where should you and I be ? " It is easier for unsanctified professors to grumble and find fault, and stumble over others, than to "pull them out of the fire" and bind up their wounds. But this is health to the bones of those who would "keep themselves in the love of God," while a criticising, unkind or censorious spirit is death to all spiritual life. A prime necessity of " building," there- fore, is to "go work in my vineyard." When " sin is purged," we are sure to hear a " voice saying," " Whom shall I send? " But too many people are busy planning for others, and so get mixed in their reply, as the old negro did when he answered, " Here am I ; send him.'" III. " Praying in the Holy Ghost " is coordinate with " building on holy faith," as a second condition of "keeping ourselves in the love of God." "Prayer is the nurse of faith," says one ; and we may add, of all other graces. To "continue instant in prayer," or to "pray without ceasing," is a prime necessity of Christian life, as much so as the atmosphere is to physical life. And just as breathing is a spontaneous, natural thing to the physical organism when in health, so prayer becomes to the soul when restored to perfect soundness. Cer- tainly " we know not what to pray for as we ought," but one of the results of mercy and grace is the gift of 178 OLD CORN. tne Spirit that " helpeth our infirmities," and all true praj^er is " in the Holy Ghost," " which He hath given us." It is the Holy Ghost who is present with such as are "in the love of God," that He may excite in their minds and hearts all holy affections, whether toward God or man. And all holy desires will readily find expression in "prayer and supplication with thanks- giving." A godly negro slave was asked by a luke- warm Christian, " Jack, how is it that you always keep steadily on in this blessed way?" "Why, massa, I jes' fall flat on de promise an' pray right up." " Praying in the Holy Ghost " is not making fine speeches on your knees. It is not addressing the audience instead of the Lord. It is not a cold-blooded, intellectual series of platitudes that are utterly valueless, unless the Lord knows less than we do. It is not lecturing folks with the eyes closed, or exhorting or expounding. " Praying in the Holy Ghost" is fervent, persevering, importunate. " Thomas, I hope 3^ou prayed." " Oh, yes, sir! " "Did you repeat the collect?" " I prayed, sir." " Well, but how did you pray ? " " Why, sir, I begged"'' When Luther heard that Melancthon was about to die, he hastened to his bedside, one hundred and fifty miles away, and found his e} T es glazed, and the cold, clammy sweat of death upon him. He then fell upon his knees and began to wrestle with God in prayer, and with great fervency plead for more than an hour that God should not deny him this one request, and restore his beloved Melancthon. He then arose and ordered a dish of soup prepared, but when it was brought to the dying man, he said, " O Luther, why will you not let me go home and be at rest?" As he was disinclined SELF-PRESERVATION. 179 to taste it, Luther said, " Philip, eat, or I will excom- municate you." He then partook of the food, was speedily restored, and lived and labored for years. "God gave me my brother Melancthon back in direct answer to prayer," said Luther. " Praying in the Holy Ghost" means communion, preservation and answered prayer. IV. Once more. We are to " look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." That is, expect fully, and belie vingly anticipate the continued saving "mercy" of God in Christ Jesus unto the end of this life, and unto " eternal life " in glorification. Sal- vation now and glory in the world to come are all of grace. "Christianity is an unfathomable sea of the mercies of Jesus Christ." From first to last everything results from mercy and grace. It is nevertheless true that He "will render to every man according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eter- nal life." Here, then, is the sense in which "eternal life " is used in our context. Our present possession of salvation is the "gift of God" and "eternal life" in kind, but only an earnest of its fullness and complete- ness in glory. This is called "glory, honor, immortal- ity." The "glory" of God as opposed to the vain glory of man. His eternal glory and our glorification with Him in contrast with all earthly glories. It is the " honor " that cometh from God only, and is everlasting in con- trast with the "praise of men." It is "immortality" in its incorruptibility or deliverance from all possible 180 OLD CORN. corruption. It is joint heirship with Jesus Christ who "will give glory, honor, and immortality to" whom? To those who "seek" for them. Who "continue in well doing," who "keep themselves in the love of God and look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." "Patient continuance" has more reference, doubtless, to the "persecutions," oppositions and fiery trials of the way than to its length. Jesus told His disciples what they should receive " now in this time with persecutions," but He did not say how long, only "in the world to come eternal life." And Paul says, "for ye have need of patience, that after j^e have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." We have, then, a trinity of coordinate obligations which guard the " keeping of ourselves in the love of God." " Building." " Praying." " Looking. " In this blessed occupation we have the express cooperation of the Holy Trinity. The "love " of God the Father, the intercessory " prayer " of the Holy Ghost, and the " mercy " of our Lord Jesus Christ " who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us." What a well-spring of happiness and source of courage to our hope and our waiting, to be assured that " he delighteth in mercy!" When Victoria was but a girl queen, the death-warrant of a deserting soldier who had been court-marshaled was brought to her to sign. She asked Wellington, "Have you nothing to say in behalf of this man?" "Nothing; he has deserted three times." " Think again, my lord." " Well, he may be a good man for aught that I know, but he certainly is a bad SELF-PRESERVATION. 181 soldier.''' " Oh, thank you a thousand times ! " exclaimed the queen, and she quickly wrote "pardoned" across the warrant, trembling with delight that she could find an excuse for the exercise of " mercy." In the cross of Christ, a just God has a divine ground on which to vindicate all the claims of justice and holi- ness, and at the same time deal in mercy toward the sinner. Much more, then, should those filled with His " love " wait with delight and look with strong confi- dence "for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory through Him. CHAPTER XVIII. ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. " These tilings speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. — Titus 2: 15. IT would be small business to devote ourselves to the refutation of most of the attitudes and sayings of men, which are commonly catalogued as oppositions to holiness and persecutions. For, in the first place, many of these do no particular harm, and those of us who are fighting the battles of the Lord have no time to simply play soldier. And then, again, many of these things are not intended to accomplish the harm they are capable of ; but are the outspeaking of ignorance and thoughtlessness, or of that flippancy with which men too often treat sober, serious and spiritual matters. Besides this, the best antidote for many forms of oppo- sition is an unfeigned indifference and a quiet inatten- tiveness ; and holiness itself, if not an exterminator, is a pretty sure regulator of the combative part of our dispositions, and to be sanctified is, at least, to be saved from being porcupinish. But it sometimes happens that men who can be charged neither with ignorance nor flippancy, and who ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. 183 cannot be dismissed as lacking influence and capacity for much harm, do set themselves in antagonism to this the very central idea of Christianity. And, as the in- jury to the kingdom of our Lord is irreparable in many instances, it does sometimes become incumbent upon us to arise, if not to resist them, at least to warn the unwary, and to rescue the truth from damage. And this becomes particularly necessary where the assault is made not upon details, or non-essentials, but when cardinal principles of faith or practice are assailed or sought to be undermined. In this instance we may confine our address to but two of the points thus assailed, and this because of their relative impor- tance on the one hand, and because of the energy and persistency with which the assault is urged, upon the other. I. The antagonism directed against the teaching of a real deliverance from inbred sin. II. The embargo placed upon personal confession of the experience and state of holiness. I. Let us examine some of the arguments against the -doctrine of true holiness. Holiness is not often objected to by sinners or world- lings, but by a class of theologians who are apparently far more zealous in denouncing the work of their brethren in the ministry than the works of the devil. Of course they are sincere in all of this, and we have no disposition to bring a railing accusation against any, but the boldness of error must not deter us from vindi- cating the truth, and once more we repeat the challenge 184 OLD CORN. of Elijah — "The God that answereth by fire, let him be God." In such a conflict of opinion there is no place for personalities or unkind aspersion, but in a solemn appeal to Scripture and the Holy Spirit, we may, if we will, weigh argument and discover the mind of God. In a late publication is a notable letter written by a preacher and writer of much ability, and very active in Christian work. He arraigns the teach- ing of a real deliverance from "inbred sin." He is stirred up to this " on hearing . . . that many earnest people were beginning to believe " in it, etc. Sure enough ! That is the very kind of people that do believe it. It is charged that this teaching is "misleading" and " un scriptural," and " they fail to take into considera- tion the fact that we have inherited a body (' the flesh') which has come to us, through hundreds of generations of people more or less depraved, and the appetites of which cannot but be therefore predisposed to sin," etc. Granting this, why should it seem too bard for God to eliminate from these "appetites," this abnormal "predisposition to sin," and yet leave the "appetites" to fulfill their normal and God-created functions, as in the case of " Adam's body as it came fresh from his Maker's hand "? It is allowed that the Lord Jesus can and will keep these appetites from all sinful and overt action, can keep lip and life, speech and act," "can keep from all known sin, all those who wholly trust him "! Now we submit that if this is true, — and it is, — much more, then, can God do a less difficult thing and eradicate or "destroy" this predisposition to sin," ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. 185 existing in the " appetites," and yet save the appetite itself, enabling men to glorify God whether they eat or drink. Augustine said : " If we deny the possibility (for a man to be without sin) we detract from the free will of man who voluntarily desires this, or from the power of God, which effects it by His aid." God " can lead us to loathe" the presence of sin, and He only is able to abolish it and purify our " appetites," but He won't do it. It is insisted that " till we die, and get the resurrection body, we must bear about the body of this flesh with appetites and desires which have come to us with a considerable bias towards evil." We are glad to get this antagonism located in the last ditch. It seems to be implied that God can " create a clean heart," that He can " sanctify " and " preserve blameless " the whole spirit and soul, and cast the devils of sin out of the citadel of " Man-Soul," but without even the decency of asking leave as formerly, they entrench themselves in the walls of that city, from which no power in earth or heaven can dislodge them, until these walls crumble and fall. Whether it is death or transmigration that occurs in this fall, we are not told. Now let us test this unreasonable doctrine by ex- perience. Mr. Moody tells of a lawyer whom he met in England with an " appetite " for liquor that had entirely enslaved him for years. God delivered him so completely that his desire for strong drink was taken away and had not yet once appeared at the end of seven years ! To these facts Mr. Moody and the lawyer both testified all through England with blessed results. Is there any objection to this ? None at all, we are sure. This was a " victory " but it was more 186 OLD CORX. than a victory — it was the extinction of the "sinful bias towards evil " that was in the " appetite," though not destroying the appetite itself, for the natural and God-given appetite for wholesome food and drink remained with the man. Now let us consider another principle admitted by all, and that is this: that acquired "appetites" and propensities to evil, such as rum, opium, tobacco, etc., are even more indelible and invincible than those born in us ! And for man, the one is just as impossible of removal as the other. With God, both are possible, and also practicable, as many examples and testimonies abundantly prove. We will take a witness from the "Note Book of Rev. W. Haslam, M.A.," on another line. He says that one day an elderly clergyman came foward and said : — " I inherited a dreadful temper. As a child I was often punished for it, and at college I was ashamed again and again for my passionate outbreaks. "After my ordination, I grieve to say, I was De- fined into many improprieties of violent temper, for which I had to apologize and sometimes make amends. " Oh ! how earnestly I prayed God to help me to overcome this infirmity, and how often I made resolu- tions ; but all was in vain. " Sometimes I had power to control myself. " I felt that my temper was still there, boiling with- in. It was not dead, or gone, but only kept under for the time. I continued in prayer, and with many watchful efforts I tried to keep down my enemy. " One day after a great fall I returned to my study in despair. Kneeling down, I said : ' O Lord, is there ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. 187 no deliverance for me? Forgive my sin, I beseech Thee, and do deliver me from this temper. I cannot do anything to conquer it. Lord, do Thou save me.' " When I once let myself go into God's hands, such a calm thankfulness stole over me. The Lord was present in the power of His love, and it seemed as though He pitied me in my distress. Hot tears flowed from my eyes, and I could do nothing but sob. I felt that my prayer was answered, and my deliverance had come. With grateful love I thanked God, and rose up from my knees. "All that afternoon, I felt as if I had been actually in the divine presence, and that the Lord had spoken to me. From that day to this, nearly three years, I have had many and often very great provocations; but thank God, I have not been overcome by them. I can- not tell you what has become of my temper — the Lord has taken it away. "Oh, the years of misery and trial I have passed through, all because I did not know that the Lord was able and willing to give me a complete deliverance ! " Now, here is a deliverance that goes deeper than an " appetite with a considerable bias towards evil." It is more than a "bias towards," it is sin in essence, in its root, and touches one of the most difficult of psycho- logical problems. But it is solved by the power of God. Mr. Haslam confirms this witness as follows : — "The more I observed this gentleman afterwards, the more confirmed I was of the reality of his story. If he had been an irritable and passionate man before, beyond all doubt he was now most loving and patient — full of compassion for others ; his forbearance and gentleness 188 OLD CORN. were so striking that it seemed impossible he could ever have been otherwise." Yet, in the face of Scripture, reason, and such testi- mony, men are found given over to such an insanity of skepticism as to deny them all, and blindly adhere to dogmas that dishonor God and dishearten men. Of course all of its school of thought, teach "holi- ness" and "sanctification." In Heb. 12: 14, "holiness is rendered ' the sanctification,' and this in turn is only a Latin equivalent for ' setting apart,' as Sinai among mountains, the Sabbath among days," etc. Thus " the sanctification," about which so much is said in the New Testament, is made no more to a Christian than it is to a mountain or a day, — merely a judicial separation that does not in the least effect any change in his real char- acter at all ! And even this is only to be " followed after." And " this habit (of following after) is not to be acquired in a bound or in a leap. It can be formed in its perfection only after years of self-discipline and watchful self-culture ! " How can this definition of "sanctification" be accepted as the only one, by in- telligent people who have dictionaries that give them also another and a primary meaning, viz. : "The act of making holy." " The act of God's grace by which the affections of men are purified" (Webster). But this theology does not recognize "acts of God's grace," nor " purified affections." Even in the human matter of consecration, or "setting apart," it is a long drawn out habit of "following after," only to be completed " after years of self-discipline," etc. The hateful thing (" self ") is to have " no quarter," but to have plenty of " discipline " and " culture." The solemn admonition ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. 189 is, " Do not expect to be rid of it" " Even if you say you have conquered it, then it lurks beneath the smile of your complacency." But if it conquers us, we fall into sin, and then it laughs outright in fiendish glee ! We confess that we no longer wonder that such teachers are " impressed with the solemn and awful character of the Christian life." With such a faulty and unscriptural ideal, there is nothing but failure and disobedience before them, and those who accept their teaching. We cannot see one ray of sunshine to pierce the hopeless gloom of such a regimen of self-effort, " self-discipline " and " self-culture." Not one exalting thought of Jesus Christ's power to really and truly "save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him " ; of His ability " to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think " ; or of serving God "without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives." Paul's testimony after a quarter of a century of such service confirms its prac- ticability. "I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." And true " holiness " always gives a note of triumph to its possessor, who shouts, " Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ! " II. Let us now look briefly at some objections to a personal testimony to holiness : — It is objected that "Christians, however sincere, have no senses, either natural or spiritual, capable of giving them reliable information as to their having been de- livered from in-dwelling sin." We would inquire of such objectors whether they 190 OLD CORN. think Christians can have such "reliable information" as to the forgiveness of their sins ? What is the mean- ing of 1 Cor. 2 : 12? "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God : that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." And again: "If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." Is it not clear that if " deliverance from in-dwelling sin " is indeed one of "the things freely given us of God," He will certainly give us " reliable information " as to it ? But one goes further and expresses his opinion that neither Wesley, Whitefield, nor George Fox " ever claimed to have experienced the cleansing away of inbred sin ; and if they had, we doubt whether their wives, children and neighbors believed it of them, blessed saints of God as we believe they were." In other words, these "wives, children and neighbors," saved or unsaved, would know more of the deep things of God, and of the inner life of His saints, by the sight of their eyes, than these "blessed saints" could themselves know by the deepest experience ! The argument so far seems to stand thus : — 1. There is no such thing as " deliverance from in- dwelling sin." 2. Even if Christians were thus delivered, they could have no reliable information about it. 3. None of the saints of God ever claimed such an experience. 4. If they should, nobody would believe them, since the very effort to tell the truth would prove them liars. ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. 191 Well, the followers of Jesus should not object, " For neither did his brethren believe in him" (John 7: 5). But another objector says : — " I have never yet met with any one person who was really entirely sanctified ! And I do not believe that any one else ever met such a person." But this is to deny that such persons ever existed, in either past or present days, which is a flat denial of God's testi- mony about it. Besides, it is hard to tell how we could be sure that we have never yet seen a strange man of whom we have never seen even a likeness. At the bottom of this difficulty lies this fact: He does not believe there really is any such thing as " en- tire sanctification " or holiness taught in the Bible ; that is, for living men. Well, this is not surprising. There are numbers of honest men intently reading their Bibles, and in like manner failing to find this truth. John Newton tells us that Dr. Taylor once said to him : " Sir, I have collated every word in the Hebrew Scrip- ture seventeen times, and it is very strange if the doctrine of the atonement you hold should not have been found by me!" "I am not surprised at this," said Mr. Newton ; " I once went to light my candle with the extinguisher on it." Now, theologically, a man may do this "seventeen times" or seventy times; the extinguishers of education, of prejudice, of unbelief and of blindness must come off, or we can never " make men see what is the fellowship of the mystery" of the gospel. Then there are other men who stoutly deny that true "sanctification" is in the Bible, who ought to be as honest as was Hume, the great infidel, and who acknowledged to a clergyman of Durham that he had 192 OLD CORN. " never read the New Testament with attention." But it seems to us that a preacher without even the doctrine of holiness, is like an ambassador without his message. But another objection is equally mischievous. It discredits all witnesses to such an experience as self- deceivers. It thinks " no one ever met such a person " as really enjoyed this experience. That is to say, that Paul and Fox and Wesley and Whitefield, and thou- sands of sainted dead, all of whom were "seen" by multitudes, either never professed any such thing, or if they did they were only "deceived." But it must be the latter, because it is beyond the reach of cavil that they professed it most unequivocally. And if we pub- lish such saints as these as deceived in what they professed and taught, how can we expect but that in turn we shall be regarded as deceived and deceivers in reference to all that we profess and teach. "With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged," is of inevi- table application in a case like this, we may be quite sure. And it is equally fatal to our own testimony, if we discredit the intelligence of the living witnesses that are all about us, by saying they are only "greatly deceiving themselves." And their honesty by saying, "Probably it would not be unwise, in ordinary business and social life, to keep an extra sharp eye upon persons thus claiming to be entirely sanctified!" Indeed ? And what is this but to say that while we may safely trust a man who lays no claim to honesty whatever, we must " keep an extra sharp eye " on the man who insists upon an upright life, especially if he makes any profession of religion. Does not every one know that this is just the opinion that infidels have of ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. 193 all Christians everywhere? And the opinion that every libertine has of every man and women that dares say a word in defense of social purity ? And what would be the condition of morals in a community where matri- monial infidelity was so common that the very fact that a couple stood in the presence of God and men and vowed to be true to one another till death, should expose them to the suspicion and ridicule of the public, but especially of the rest of the husbands and wives in that community ? And for professing Christians to scoff at the idea of heart purity must be in like manner the most unmistakable advertisement of their own impurity and untrustworthiness ! The logic is irresistible. The fact is, the Apostle states the case very clearly in Titus 1: 15: "Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are denied and unbelieving is nothing pure." The condition of the "mind and conscience" of the on- looker inevitably affects the vision. And this great spir- itual truth has passed into a multitude of human proverbs. Is David a hypocrite when he says, " I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I join with dissem- blers. I have hated the congregation of evil-doers, and will not sit with the wicked"? He says the Lord "heard my cry" and "brought me up out of the horrible pit," and "set my feet upon a rock" and "put a new song into my mouth." He blesses the man "whose transgression is forgiven" and "in whose spirit there is no guile." Do our friends really believe that men can be justified by faith, and "have peace with God" at all? Or, are they to be always occupied with their guilt, and imagine that this is humility instead of deadly unbelief in the value of their sacrifice, which it 194 OLD CORN. really is. Even a Jew could know that his conscience was temporarily purged by the blood of a goat. But it is a very common thing for men to think that it is honoring God, and a mark of great humility for them to confess inward vileness all their lives, and that if others confess to a deliverance from such corruption it is the surest exhibition of spiritual pride. Now why is this ? It is the inevitable product of a total misapprehension as to the nature of holiness and the true grounds of it. If the premises were true their conclusions would be true. But both are false. Holi- ness is not attained by self-effort, or subduing sin more and more, or gradualism of any sort. And it is never obtained until every one of these human plans, and all confidence in the flesh, are utterly given up and abandoned. If it is ever received at all, it will be in such a way that we will be conscious that it is a gift bestowed by God and by none other. If it is ever wrought in us it will be by the Holy Ghost, and be- cause of our entire reliance upon Him. Now, if all men believed this, and also that in such cases the work was really wrought by Him, it is evident that a testi- mony to the facts in the case would be regarded as glorifying Jesus and not ourselves, and the most com- plete mortification of pride conceivable instead of "Pharisaic assumption." And the truth is this : that humility is a grace that can only be found in perfection in that heart that is perfectly pure. True humility will never be found to coexist with a low state of spiritual life. There is a human thing that goes by that name, and not at all a real fruit of the Spirit. A full assurance of pardon and ANTAGONISMS TO HOLINESS. 195 purity does not minister to the spirit of self-confidence and pride, but is death to these. It does not produce self-gratulation, but gratitude, praise and humility. When a man consents to live in an almshouse, he cer- tainly surrenders all pretense to self-support and inde- pendence, consenting to live on the bounty of others. And he could surely boast of his home and his food and his clothing without the foolish imputation of "pride." The obvious absence of everthing like that would cause us to marvel at him if anything would. No doubt but all of us have realized the hatefulness of inbred sin and self-life, and would rejoice to be rid of it. Well, beloved, there is a way to lose it and to know that it is gone. Then there is a way to retain it, and groan over it all our days. May we be enabled to see the " more excellent way" through grace. It is the short cut out of perplexities and doubts and short-sighted misappre- hensions. CHAPTER XIX. SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. " Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. . . . God is a Spirit : and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." — John 4: 21, 24. RITUALISM attaches cardinal importance to place and form in worship. " Jerusalem " in this con- nection justly represents a system and a place of wor- ship, which once had divine sanction and authority; while "this mountain" is a fit symbol of a ritualism which is at best mongrel in its character, but which would, nevertheless, claim divine and exclusive author- ity on the ground of ancestral precedent. " Our fathers worshiped in this mountain." Our Lord's reply arrays the spirituality of the Father against material and sen- sible concepts, and the spiritual worship which He seeks against the authorized but transient ritual of Judaism, as well as against the invented and traditional ritualism of the Samaritans. Practically viewed, the words of the text array the spirituality of the religion of Jesus as a refutation of the claims of a human and ancestral ritualism, and as a graduation from the authorized rit- SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 197 ualism of the Jews. And perhaps very timely use of it might be made in the former application merely ; for there seems to he no little Samaritanism of this sort nowadays seeking to impose the yoke of its "ought'' upon the worshipers of the Father, but which has not a tithe of the claim to divine authority which even the ceremonial worship of Judaism had. But our time and attention will be devoted the rather to an examination of this subject as it refers to a ritual- ism which was doubtless inspired, but which has just as truly been superseded by the " coming of the hour " in which "ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father." And perhaps the most natural method of examining the subject will be somewhat of an historical review of God's progressive revelation of truth and regulation of the true worship, which will involve a hasty glance at each of the THREE GREAT DISPENSATIONS OF THE TRINITY. In the Antediluvian world man seems to have been left with little law, either civil or religious, and the speedy result was that " all flesh had corrupted his way on the earth," and " it was filled with violence." " And God said unto Noah, behold I will destroy them from the earth." . . . I. "And after these things," "the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham," "and into the land of Canaan they came," " unto the place of Sichem." " There builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him." Again, " God talked with him, saying, I 198 OLD CORN. will establish my covenant between me and thee." " And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had." And his "covenant of promise" imposed no other conditions, made no other demands, but was one of unconditional grace. " I will show thee." "/will make of thee a great nation," " And I will bless thee," " And I will give unto thee the land wherein thou art a stranger," " And I will bless her and give thee a son also of her." Again we note that God gave this inheritance to Abra- ham by promise, not by law, agreement, or compact. About four hundred years later, " the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters ; for I know their sorrows, and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyp- tians." And wondrously indeed, in this work of re- demption from the galling yoke of Egyptian thralldom, did the God of Abraham display Himself in behalf of His afflicted seed, "judging that nation to whom they were in bondage," and making good His promise that His people should "come forth out of Egypt and serve God upon Mount Sinai." Accordingly "the Lord came from Sinai and rose up from Seir unto them, and from His right hand went forth a fiery law for them." This was a new covenant, not of grace, but of works, " the one from Mount Sinai which gendereth to bond- age." One to which "all the people" became respon- sible, responding to God's demand to " obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant," "all that the Lord hath spoken will we do." Inasmuch as the moral distance between God and Israel was so great, it was beautifully SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 199 fitting that He should retire into the darkness of a "thick cloud," and that when "the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they removed and stood afar off." The very expressive term "fiery," as applied to the law, not only declares the holiness of its divine character, but God's intolerance of sin, within or without, and His purpose to destroy it, for " our God is a consuming fire." Such is the "law that was given by Moses," and "was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." Thus far we have considered it as a whole, but we now need to understand clearly the distinction between the moral and the ceremonial, or that which was constitu- tional and permanent, and that which was legislative and temporary. The first was the moral law, " written with the finger of God on two tables of testimony," and these Moses "put into the ark," and "put the mercy seat above upon the ark." Now this moral law or commandment is holy, just and good, not only forbid- ding all sinful conduct in life, but it " is spiritual," and demands all holy affections from the heart. The sum of its first grand division is : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," while that of the second is : " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself " (Matt. 20:29). These are inflexible demands of the law, and not one tittle less will satisfy it. It thus declares God's unal- tered standard of what man ought to be and ought to do. But it comes to men who have as yet neither life nor righteousness, but are " carnal, sold under sin," since " by one offense judgment came upon all men to 200 OLD CORN. condemnation," and sin hath reigned unto death. Now for this state of " enmity against God," the law contains no remedy. It offers neither improvement of man's nature, nor the imparting of a new one. It promises no strength, its speaks not of mercy. In uncompromising majesty it stands to insist on its righteous demands of those who are not only helpless and "without strength," but in absolute ignorance of the depth of their depravity and true distance from God. But just here it renders a wondrous service to them " that are ignorant and out of the way," b}*- giving a knowledge of sin that it might appear sin, and " that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful," that " the offense might (be seen to) abound, and the law work wrath," until, overwhelmed by the utter hopelessness and extent of moral derangement, and the impending curse of a broken law, the sinner might be glad to " flee for refuge to the hope set before him." And how was this under the first covenant? How precious are the unfoldings of the designs of the " God of all grace." How fitted are the announcements of the purposes of the divine mind to form and exalt the mind of man! Dismayed at the discoveiy of the ex- alted and unanswered claims of heaven, what a joy to find that God has not forgotten to make provision for man's deepest necessities ! A mercy seat " of pure gold" has been provided, and "there," said He, " I will meet with thee and commune with thee," no longer from the cloudy summit of Sinai, retiring " within the vail" into the "holiest of all," and from this blood- sprinkled mercy seat henceforth "the Lord called unto SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 201 Moses and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation," vindicating His name as "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty." But what is the provision for forgiving transgression and sin, and " jus- tifying the ungodly and guilty," inasmuch as he cannot be "cleared," and "all the world" have become guilty before God? Paul gives the answer when he declares "the law was added because of transgressions," and surely if transgressors are ever " to come nigh " unto God and be constituted worshipers, He alone who is able, and who has undertaken to make provision for man's need, can give directions as to just how it shall be accom- plished. " So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses." And thus there came to be a divinely appointed ceremonial law, and this was ritualism. All the minutia of life and every form of religious worship and service was carefully prescribed, and nothing was left to the inven- tion, imagination or whims of men. First of all a sac- rifice was appointed as the only ground of approach to God, on the universal principle declared from the beginning, that "without the shedding of blood is no remission." Next, priests "ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices," and lastly, "a worldly sanctuary," — a place of worship, a tabernacle which man pitched by God's order. Once again Jehovah condescends to allow man to prove his loyalty. "Ye shall, therefore, keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do he shall 202 OLD CORN. live in them." Here life is not conditioned on what a man is, or on what he believes, but entirely on what he does. And on the other hand, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them." Thus, " every transgression and disobedience re- ceived a just recompense of reward," and the guilty who brought his offerings unto the Lord, " confessing that he had sinned in that thing," "the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him," whilst he who neglected or rejected its provisions, or "despised Moses' law, died without mercy." It was a " ministration of condemna- tion," but "glorious," nevertheless. This " law served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things," and " the holy places made with hands were the figures of the true," and "the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, did sanctify to the purifying of the flesh," or to the reformation, improvement and subjugation of the natural man. Doubtless there were many, who, like Nathaniel, were " Israelites indeed in whom was no guile," who, like Saul of Tarsus, were "blameless touching the righteousness of the law," and as Zacharias and Elizabeth "were both righteous before God, walk- ing in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless," who, nevertheless, "had not attained to the law of righteousness," which is written in the heart, and is only and always through faith ; and a very different thing from the " righteousness of the law " ; which is by the observance of outward precepts, and can never produce inward spirituality, or free the soul SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 203 from inbred sin. But the Jew was not without expec- tation, and though not a spiritual man and "all his life- time subject to bondage through fear of death," "yet by- patient continuance in well-doing he sought for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life." This was his hope, as well as the resurrection from the dead, " unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come." Redemption through a coming Messiah was very imperfectly comprehended by the worshiper himself, but it was distinctly declared all through his law. So much for the institution and working of the ritual law. "What about its ending ? " Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth," and to none others. "The law was added till the seed should come," and " was our school-master to bring us unto Christ." Israel was "kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed," until " the fullness of time was come, and God sent forth His Son to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Being bought off from the bur- densome rites of a "yoke which neither we nor our fathers could bear," by the body of Christ, and " deliv- ered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held." Thus argues and pleads the Apostle with great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart, with "his kinsmen according to the flesh." The vail of the tem- ple was rent, and the Shechinah was no longer present to fill with glorious light the Holy of Holies. Yet Israel stumbles at that stumbling-stone and will not believe, and so, finding no end of the law, still wan- ders amid the wreck and ruin of a finished ritual, 204 OLD CORN. seeking to rekindle his altar fires with its fragments, rather than open the door of his heart to Him who cries, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them." We have now reached the close of the first great era in the worship of God, — The " dispensation of the Father," during which, for fifteen hundred years, He accepted such outer court worship from loyal Israel, though rendered in " the oldness of the letter," because of the divine revelation to them. But the "law made nothing perfect," giving only an imperfect sacrifice, and an imperfect conscience, a priest full of infirmity, and unsettled peace, and " remembrance again made of sins every year." "But the bringing in of a better hope did, whereby we draw nigh unto God." " For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified;" through an infinitely perfect sacrifice, and an eternal priesthood, Jesus has procured for and bestows upon all who receive redemption through His blood, not only remission of sins, but a knowledge of it. "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more," and "the worshipers once purged should have no more conscience of sins." Not only so, but the believer is invited to enter upon the priestly worship and service of the inner temple. " Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh ; and having an high priest over the house of God ; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." " This is the covenant SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 205 that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." " He taketh away the first that he may establish the second." II. These thoughts have conducted us at once into the midst of the blessings and privileges of this the last and most glorious dispensation of the Holy Ghost, " wherein the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus maketh free from the law of sin and death," " that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.' Since Jesus was glorified and all the conditions of man's redemption completed, the Holy Spirit has come to effect in human consciousness all the promised results of this salvation, and so to fuse the thoughts of God with the mind of man that His will may be done from the heart, and that testimony for Christ may possess an intensity of power, adequate to the increasing difficul- ties and exigencies of " the last days." Between these, the first and most elemental dispensa- tion of the Father, and this, the last and perfect one of the Holy Ghost, there is a transition period, occupying a brief interval from the preaching of John to the day of Pentecost — a period in which men obtained " knowl- edge of salvation, by the remission of their sins," and came to know " after the flesh " the Lord Jesus, who was manifesting Himself and "giving power to as many as received him to become the sons of God." This is accurately and properly called the dispensation of the Son. We have thus before us three distinct stages in the development of the divine mind and purposes as to man's 206 OLD CORN. redemption, succeeding each other according to prophecy and promise with chronological as well as spiritual accuracy. It is important to remember that all were of divine origin and adapted with infinite wisdom and care to the varied needs and conditions of man. There was a marked difference in the internal life and experience of the worshipers in each, as well as in the external manifestations. The day of Pentecost reveals the "church of the first-born," or the first-fruits of the new era of the Spirit, coexistent with the " church in the wilderness," and " speaking freely " to devout men and brethren of every nation of the remission of sins and of the gift of the Holy Ghost. This variety in dispensa- tional experience, i.e., the dispensation of the law, the dispensation of John the Baptist, and the full dispensa- tion of the Holy Spirit, immediately became practically coexistent in the organized church, and remains so to this day ; and the mission of the Spirit through the church is to "present every man perfect in Christ Jesus," and " to make all men to see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God." It is "for the perfecting of the saints," and that "babes in Christ " shall not continue carnal and "children tossed to and fro," but come "into a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." But this is a work that in the nature of the case never can be ended, since the more that the "saints are perfected" and really "filled with all the fullness of God," the more will " Zion travail and children be brought forth " and be multiplied as the stars of heaven, — "babes in Christ," "lambs "of the flock, SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 207 who in their turn are to be fed with the " sincere milk of the word that they may grow thereby " and be taught how to "leave the first principles of the oracles of God and go on unto perfection." Such is the self-perpetuating power of the Church of Christ. We believe that it is because of a failure just here to recognize and act upon this truth, that it may be rightly said of some portion of God's heritage, " The daughter of my people is be- come cruel " and " she that had many children is waxed feeble." The problem of church government seems, then, to be this, How to provide "tutors and governors," or law sufficient for the household as such, and at the same time secure absolute deliverance from any "yoke of bondage " to every individual believer who will accept this freedom in Christ. To be sure, there still exists stupendous examples of ecclesiasticism, whose suprem- acy is not yet broken, but we do not sympathize with those who believe the real tendency of the age is toward ritualism. We think the rather that the unmistakable drift is toward lawlessness, both in Church and State. There is a widespread theory of spirituality, and only a theory, which is very taking with all sorts of people, who inveigh, with flippant virulence, against "creeds, observances, and professions," claiming that God makes a direct revelation of His will to every human soul, and that nothing more is needful for salvation. This wondrously suits the growing disrelish of all free-thinkers, rationalists and infidels for anything like "a technical piety or a theological faith." Such are the men who triumphantly exult at the total absence of the " form " (!) of prayer during the inauguration 208 OLD CORN. of a great university. We are, therefore, not of the number who denounce in unstinted terms all rightly prescribed forms of religious service as a defunct and exploded ritualism. Undoubtedly there may be much form, without any true religion, but there can be no truly religious association without some distinctive forms and regulations. If proof of this were asked, we need not go far to discover that those who most resolutely sought to avoid the establishment of any religious forms, were succeeded by those who are amongst the most rigid formalists in the world. And this too an unwritten and traditional ritual, at once the most difficult to improve or amend, and in many respects superlatively unscriptural, unreasonable and useless. Dr. Johnson once said of a ritualist, "He never passes a church without pulling off his hat, and this shows that he has good principles." It might with equal propriety be said of another sample, that he never ^ enters a house of worship, without a resolute retention of his hat, and this shows him a consistent member of Society. Another well says, " There is one thing more im- portant than to show to others our piety, and that is to have it." There is the most convincing evidence of the justice of these remarks, to every hearer and to every reader of the discussions, — in which many are actually spending their days, concerning the way things are done, church machinery and methods, — deter- mined that the ark that served so good a purpose shall never be forgotten. Unlike Noah, they build a taber- nacle for it, as well as an altar to the Lord ; and so the watchword has been too much, "Testimonies and SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 209 Christ," instead of Christ and testimony. The explan- ation of the case is exceedingly simple, if we do but understand the underlying principle, of uniform appli- cation, that if God's people do not reach to the " sub- stance," they must have the " shadow." III. If we have entered into covenant with God at all, and still have not fully received self-crucifixion, (and there is a wide range between the two), we are in some stage of spiritual nonage, and if so, must have " shadows of good things," and " ordinances imposed on us," for the subjugation and control of the " old man " which still lives. Christ by His Spirit never assumes the direct control of him, but a yoke of bondage of some sort is for him, and this governor, or pedagogue, hath "dominion over him as long as he liveth," whoever or wherever he may be. The " right- eousness of the (moral) law " (which is simply reduced to one word, love,) can never be fully f alfilled by such as walk in part after the flesh, and for that part, the " spirit of bondage and of fear" is given and remains. But ever since " God sent his own Son in the like- ness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh," the destruction of inbred sin, and freedom from the law, has been an offered privilege to every believer, simply contingent on his consecration and faith. But it is far more congenial to nature to see its schoolmaster, the law, put to death, and to be permitted to live itself. Yet such emancipation from ceremonial law, can never insure the full " walk in the Spirit," or the fulfilling of the (moral) law, and hence it is but to continue in sin and is unmistakable antinomianism. It is conclusive then. 210 OLD CORN. look which way we will, according to the unanswerable and inspired arguments of the Apostle, "that the law hath dominion over a man, as long as he liveth." There is no escape, while "the old man" continues to exist. It is equally conclusive from the same arguments that the individual believers (one by one, and not the whole corporate church,) may be made " free from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus " ; " that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed " ; " that if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection " ; that we are thus buried into death by the baptism with the Spirit; that we are "now delivered from the law," provided that which was held by it (the old man) is dead, and that we may now " serve in the newness of the Spirit." Thus with the (moral) law " written in the heart," it becomes natural for the heart to keep it, since " love is the fulfilling of the law." Such is God's remedy, and the only remedy, for every system which addresses itself to unregenerate man as he is, and fascinates, while it puts upon trial, the lurking confidence in the flesh, which hopes for improvement and final self-adjustment. The aid of God's grace, is, to be sure, sought and ex- pected, but there is not submission to His unhindered working, until, after a night of resolute endeavor to stand, we sink helpless to earth, when smitten on the thigh, and cry out to the seemingly departing angel who tested us, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me." We need not now detain long with an argument to SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 211 establish not only the consistency, but the necessary connection between the two positions, the unfettered liberty of the Spirit for the individual, and the exist- ence of rightly "prescribed forms of religious service " for the associated church. We allude again to the variety of life and experience which is inevitably and rightly found in every living, working organization, of which Christ is the head. St. John describes them all: the "little children" of nonage, who "knew the Father," but were of the "bond-woman"; "little chil- dren whose sins were forgiven for his name's sake"; " young men in whom the word of God abideth, and who overcome the wicked one," and " fathers," who are the counselors and heads of this complete household. Family law is not made for the parents, but for the children who need it most, yet it would not be a hardship for the parents to honor their own law. Now if the ideal church, which seems to float in some visions, in which every member was " wholly sancti- fied," could continue, certainly no external law would be needed, since all could discern the voice of the in- dwelling Spirit, and would obey Him. But in the very nature of the case such would be as much of a contra- diction as a fruitful fig-tree which is barren. Such a church was once actualized in visible form, but immedi- ately thousands of children were added, for whom provision was made. Undoubtedly there is, in the example and teachings of our Lord, and the early church, little in the form of a ritual so positively settled as not to be susceptible of a difference of appre- hension and construction. We believe that little was intended to be done, and that much of the seeming 212 OLD CORN. . obscurity in this matter, resulting in variety, was providential and designed. In short, that Christ com- mitted to His church, under the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, this matter of instituting, changing or abolishing the ceremonies and forms of religious worship. These partaking less of sanctity and permanence than the types and shadows in which God was wor- shiped, such as have reached to the " worship of God in the Spirit," can lead the children through " these rudiments," that they may " walk in the light." "For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law." "Do therefore this that we say." " It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us." If the few " necessary things " that should be done, or not done, in reference to forms of worship and methods of work, were clearly understood and settled upon, in the light of experience and the need of the present, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, would it not be well ; far better indeed in all respects, than continued " doubtful disputa- tions" concerning the methods and forms of illus- trious and ancient worthies, generations ago, or insist- ing upon surmises founded on our own preference, as to the undoubted verdict they would give, " were they alive to-day " ? An intentness about the circumstantials of religion, is ritualism ; but this looks very like idolatry. Surely there could not be a more fitting prayer than that of the good old minister, " O Lord, start us right ; for if we get started wrong, we are very hard to turn." It were the part of true wisdom to attach neither too much nor too little importance to such necessary and SPIRITUALITY VS. RITUALISM. 213 adjustable rules as the church may determine upon, which may render important service as a "school- master," while oppressive to none who are upon Paul's ground of liberty, since " all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." The rules of the school are only oppressive and gall- ing to those who need them most, the " evil-doers," who are upon the wrong side of the law ; whilst to all who have become obedient and studious, and delight in their work, and love their teachers, the same law has a bright side and is "for their praise," and they de- light to fulfill it, without even being conscious of its literal presence on the walls. For the school to spend the day in disputations as to what would be the best laws, modes and matter of teaching, or the past practice of others, would be profitless, and but little better than the anarchy they were seeking to avoid. The deepest aversion to a simple setting forth in unequivocal human terms of the few fundamental points needful as to the faith of the church, and wise and helpful in its work, is developed by the willful independence, which is so entrenched in mystical theories and traditional practices as to inveigh stoutly against creeds and forms, little dreaming of their own present bondage, and its obviousness to others. Our calling is not an inefficient tinkering and discus- sion of our own machinery and system, or an unwar- ranted fault-finding with that of others. It is not to stop with a conscientious knowledge of what we ought to be and to do. It is not to substitute a keen moral sense of our obligation to be "led by the Spirit" for the real facts of the experience. But it is in the name 214 OLD CORN. of the Lord and in the power of God to save sinners, to "turn men from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and " inheritance among them which, are sancti- fied by faith " in Jesus. It is to realize in our own souls the spirituality of the religion of Christ in such measure and sweetness, as shall send us forth in search of those who are " far off from the gates of gold," with the glad tidings of a great salvation. CHAPTER XX. LAST PROMISE OF JESUS. "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." — Acts 1: 5. SUCH is the ascension promise of our Lord ; the same Jesus who came into the world — God manifest in the flesh; the same Jesus who, while on His pathway to the cross, endured the scorn and buffetings of men, and passed through dark Gethsemane ; the same Jesus who had been put to death and laid away, as they supposed, forever from the sight of men, — this same Jesus appeared again to His disciples, teaching them many things, and leaving with them this promise. The last words of departed loved ones are always sacred. How we treasure them in our memory — the last words of mother, father, husband, wife or friend. Here we have the last words of our risen Lord to His disciples, just before He left them to resume His right- ful place in the heavens. True, He is speaking to us still through His word, His servants, His providences, and by the Holy Spirit. But this is an especial legacy. Here He promises the Comforter, if the disciples would but " tarry " to await His coming. We all have an 216 OLD CORN. interest in this, our Savior's last will and testament. There is a rich inheritance here for every one of us. May God make us all intensely hungry for our portion this morning. I. We have said this is the promise of Jesus. So it is. But away back in the prophetic ages, God the Father gave the same promise when, by the mouth of His holy prophet, He said : " And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit" (Joel 2: 28, 29). So, while this may truly be called the promise of Jesus, it is also " the promise of the Father," long lost sight of and considered by many of but little practical value. You will all remember that there was a time, in the history of our own nation, when governmental prom- ises were greatly undervalued. And this state of things continued until, by the blood of many of Amer- ica's noble sons, these promises to pay were brought to the premium of to-day. So there came a time when this wondrous promise of the Father, so long forgotten and hidden away beneath the cloud-mists of passing centuries, was made good by the shedding of the pre- cious blood of His only begotten Son. John the Baptist had already revived this promise. He never taught that pardon and regeneration were the ultimatum of Christian experience. He pointedly de- clared that, though " I indeed baptize you with water LAST PROMISE OF JESUS. 217 unto repentance ... he that cometh after me is mightier than I. . . . He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." Now Jesus, just before He takes His de- parture, brings the promise nigh and says, " Not many days hence ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." II. Let us now inquire : To whom was this promise especially made, and what was their relation to God? And we will bless the Lord in advance that it is still available for all of God's children in this day. None are excluded. The same "promise is unto us and to our children even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Come now and seek this baptism! Sinners! repent, and get in a position to receive it. It is made alike to men and to women. Praise God for a salvation in which there is "neither male nor female." Christ had other disciples scattered throughout the land, but only one hundred and twenty got into this holiness meeting, and received this first Pentecostal baptism. Now, who were they and what was their religious expe- rience? I read from a published article these words: "The question has often been asked, Were not the apostles converted before the day of Pentecost, and sanctified when, upon that day, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost? The only direct answer that can be given is, We do not know; and, for the simple reason that the narrative does not say. We may guess and speculate and dogmatize, but the narrative itself is silent upon this point." Now, I declare unto you, beloved, that this is certainly a misstatement. The Word of God is not silent upon this point. Indeed, it is very far from it. Let us look into this matter a little 218 OLD CORN. and we shall see. Who were these original disciples? Were they not those who had heard John's message and had become his disciples ? This is specifically affirmed of " two " of them in John 1 : 35, and the evidence is overwhelming that the same was true of all the others. How ready they were to leave John and follow Jesus as soon as they saw Him, and heard His first call ! Unregenerate indeed ! Sinners do not fall in love with Jesus in this way. They do not thus prefer His com- pany to all others. Why, we can hardly get average church members into a common holiness meeting for a single hour! Yet at once these men left John and followed Jesus. In like manner others left their nets and their business. But what did it mean to be a dis- ciple of John? To these men who were Jews it meant very much. It meant the sundering of every tie that bound them to their old religion and their Jewish life. The baptism of John was a moral Rubicon which sep- arated the new from the old life. Who, then, was John? Some say, "A prophet of the law." But that will not do. Read the predictions concerning him. Read what the angel of the Lord told Zacharias about him, and the work he was to do. Read the first chapter of Luke. He was to "prepare a people" by giving them "the knowledge of salvation." Such a knowledge of salva- tion, Mark distinctly notes it, as can only be obtained by "the remission of their sins," that the preaching of John was " the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (Mark 1: 1-5). John was, then, a preacher of the gospel. Just as truly as we preach it to-day, so did John the Baptist. We use the same texts. He said, "Behold the Lamb LAST PROMISE OF JESUS. 219 of God." So do we. He said, (John 3: 36) " He that belie veth on the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." There is no clearer gospel than that to be found in the book. But few seem to know that John ever said such things. Faith reaching forward in that day produced the same results as faith looking backward to the cross does in our day. Faith was and is the means of salvation. Everlasting life by believing on Jesus ! You have the power here to-day thus to believe. You stand "condemned already" if you do not. John did not seek to draw people to him- self, but to Jesus. He was glad to "decrease" that Jesus might " increase." So we are only the watchmen to tell you where Jesus is, and how to come to Him. You must look away beyond the watchmen, and "behold the Lamb of God." Let Jesus fill your vision. He will do it if you will let Him to-day. Praise His holy name ! Those who received and followed Jesus in that day were often from among the very lowest classes ; as it were, the leavings of humanity. Ah ! Christ is indeed "the friend of sinners." The popular idea of religion is, that in some way you must get people fixed up before you can get them saved. But Jesus wants you just as you are. He will do the saving. He calls the drunkard, the debased, the vile. Oh ! when will the church accept the truth, that these wretches are no more lost sinners than men in broadcloth who reject Jesus. The divine fiat, without respect of persons, is, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Then, my friends, stop trying to fix yourselves up, but come to Christ to-day for salvation. 220 OLD CORN. If a suit of second-hand clothing spoiled a poor beggar so that he was not fit to pose for the artist who had engaged him for a model, just so your decent refor- mation may keep you from Christ. Come as you are. But once more, let us establish the fact that the persons to whom the promise in the text is made are truly re- generated by the direct testimony of Jesus. He says, "Your names are written in heaven." "Ye have fol- lowed me in the regeneration." He gives the most solemn testimony that "they have kept thy word," "have known," "have believed," "are thine," and "are not of the world." That He "ordained them and sent them forth to preach," and that they were " as sheep in the midst of wolves." In the face of such an array of explicit testimony, what shall we say of the man that persists in declaring " the narrative is silent upon this point"? Surely it is useless to reason any longer with such an one! The promise in Joel is made only to the Lord's children, "my servants and my handmaidens," and Jesus renews it to them that " obey him," to them that " love him and keep his commandments." Certainly nothing more can be needed to establish the fact that the promise of our text was made to the children of God, and to such only, and that the first disciples of Jesus fully met this requirement. For three years they had been preaching, and commissioned of Him to become "fishers of men." But now they " tarried." They went no farther. In obedience they waited for " the promise of the Father," and the prom- ise of their risen Lord — the baptism with the Holy Ghost." On Pentecost it was fulfilled, and " the Holy Ghost came upon them." Every truly converted man LAST PROMISE OF JESUS. 221 ought to be blest in the work of the Lord, if he does not go against light. He may go forward bearing wit- ness to pardon, preaching the doctrines of repentance and justification and regeneration, and the Lord will bless him. But there comes a time when God calls him to a halt. His call to the unregenerate sinner is, " Ye must be born again." But to the converted man or woman He says, " Tarry for the baptism of fire." Fire is a destructive agent, and under this symbol the Holy Spirit purifies the heart and endows with power. III. We may here notice some of the conditions on which this baptism is to be received. The first is hunger. There is a difference between conviction of sin and conviction for holiness. In the first, there is condemnation or a sense of guilt. In the second, there is no consciousness of sins unforgiven, but there is hunger and thirst after righteousness. When your little child comes to you, saying, " I'm so hungry," the natural love of the parental heart will compel you at once to give it bread to satisfy its hunger. How much more does the law of love in the great, tender heart of our Heavenly Father impel Him to satisfy the hunger of soul that He has Himself begotten, and which causes you, His accepted and beloved child, to cry out for holiness. Oh! come and make your wants known to Him to-day, and trust His grace to satisfy all the de- sires of your soul. These desires, after inward holiness, are themselves the most encouraging evidence of spiritual life, of re- generation. The dead have no appetite, and the un- converted sinner can never be truly said to be either 222 OLD CORN. hungry or thirsty. True, this state is often confounded with conviction for sin, but it really means a very dif- ferent thing. It implies a healthful condition of the soul, as physical hunger does of the body, and the absence of appetite is good evidence of disease in both cases. The Savior's blessing, then, is for Christians who long to receive the fullness of His life, or to be "filled with all the fullness of God," and this was realized when the disciples "were all filled with the Holy Ghost." It was " Christ in them, the hope of glory." " Filled with righteousness," is only to be filled with "the Lord our righteousness." But an accompanying condition is this : there is a life that you must lose. This must be self-renounced; Jesus will not compel its yielding. "Cleanse your- selves," is the command, and this refers to the voli- tional state of the heart. Still, you cannot complete the work. No amount of good works will fill you with the Holy Spirit. Penance will never bring sanctifica- tion ; God must sanctify. The self-renunciation must first be made, and must be made thorough^, then God does the rest. Make up your minds to go straight through, cost what it may ; not alone for the sake of obtaining power ; there are needs this side of that. Your first need is a subjective cleansing. You must be willing to submit, to let the Lord prepare you in His own way. I once visited a tube factory, and the iron sheets were brought to a white heat and rolled and welded, and cut and hammered and tested until the great tubes of iron rang like a silver bell, and were strong and fit to conduct the pure water, without any taste of the LAST PROMISE OF JESUS. 223 vessel through which it flowed. So He may burn and hammer and test you, and when He gets through, you too may ring like a bell, and the everlasting gospel that shall flow through you will be sweet and living water to the thirsty soul. Oh ! beloved, you are tired to-day of this self-love. You are crying out now in your soul, "How can I be rid of it?" Go down! down ! The strata of believing atmosphere lies at the very bottom. You cannot " grow " the self-life out, nor can you get rid of it by bearing crosses. I would have you remem- ber that it was not when Jesus bore the cross that He died, but when the cross bore Him He yielded up His life. You must be crucified — must die. There is a life you must really lose. Oh! give it up now, and yield yourself for this crucifixion and you may now receive Holy Ghost baptism. Many would be glad to die to self if they could die in an orderly way and look nice afterwards. I once saw a preacher asking the Lord, in very precise terms, with head erect and on only one knee, that he might " die to self "; but nothing happened, and I told him afterwards that real dying out was never so pretty as that. I once read of a lady who was so bent on being lovely after death that she had an elegant coffin brought into her home, and would frequently have herself beautifully arrayed and placed in the coffin for her own inspection by means of a suspended glass. So it might seem that some people imagine that death to self is for ornamentation and beauty rather than for usefulness and God's glory. IV. But what are to be the special results of this 224 old corn: baptism ? Do you answer " a preparation for heaven? " Well, that is true, but blessed be God, that is not all. I would have you see that Holy Ghost baptism is a life bestowment, and while it insures God's blessing upon, and presence in, all kinds of lawful work, let us see that this is incidental rather than otherwise. The baptism with the Holy Ghost is given to the specific end that we may witness for Jesus. (Acts 1: 8.) Wit- ness to His power to save to the uttermost and to cleanse from all sin. How could we be thus qualified without a clean heart in our own breasts ? Purity and power are forever allied. But purity is not maturity nor infallibility, nor impeccability. It is still possible to make mistakes, to be tempted, and even to commit a sin. Pollution in the heart is not a necessity in order to a sinful act, or our first parents could not have com- mitted a sin. But they did, and the poison of sin became infused throughout their whole being. But on the other hand, it is possible for us to look unto Jesus, to watch and pray, and as we do, He will certainly "keep the house." Praise His name. In none other but a clean heart can God " write his law " as He has promised to do in these last days. A friend one day bade me look at a tiny speck through his microscope. I plainly saw Moses with one table of the " Command- ments " in one arm and the other table in the other arm ; and I said if a man can put all that in so small a space, God can surely put His law of love into a human heart, even if it is small. Yes, He will do it if we will allow Him to. And this is the way to " please God." I once thought that such a life was impossible, I knew that LAST PROMISE OF JESUS. 225 my friends and loved ones were not so unreasonable that they could not be pleased, and that they could please me, but surely not God ! Oh, the blindness of the carnal mind ! Was ever a mother so tender as our Father? Was ever conjugal love so forbearing, so long- suffering as the love of God? Oh, it is far easier to please Jesus than to please men! Just quit struggling, and allow yourself to be pliable in His hands, and then He works in you to do His own pleasure. It may be that the world will not recognize the fact that your life is pleasing to God, and you may want a sanctification that every one can recognize. May the Lord give us a sublime indepen- dence of the world's opinion ! " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake ! Rejoice and be exceeding glad ! " God never set this world to judging His church. When the Jews found that these men "had been with Jesus," they were as ready to kill them as they had been to crucify their Lord. So the world would do to-day. No ! No ! This thing is not to be proven to carnal men by ocular demonstra- tion. The world will never be made to believe it that way. Oh, it is a blessed thing to be " dead to the world " ! Just as long as there is a spot of live flesh about you, the world will "blister" you. But it can't " blister " a dead man. Once more, as a special result of this baptism, there is an enduement of " power," It is not " the baptism of power," as it is often miscalled ; nor a " baptism of love," nor a "baptism of common sense," but "the baptism with the Holy Ghost." But as one of the 226 OLD CORN. consequents, we do receive " power from on high." Power to be, to do, and to suffer God's will. Power to be still, and let the Holy Spirit work in us and through us of His own good pleasure. Power for worship, work, warfare, and witnessing. God offers it. To reject, or even to neglect it, is guilt. The venerable French Marshal Bazaine, was court-martialed and sentenced to be shot, because he capitulated at Metz, before using every means in his power to repulse the enemy. O beloved! I want you to receive this gift of your risen Lord. He's here to-day to bestow it upon every hungry soul, that will consent to die to sin and self-life. Let Him come and make a finish of you now ! Michael Angelo beautifully said, " The more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows." You know it is said that most people only breathe with about half of their lungs. Just so many of God's children know the Holy Ghost, but are not filled with Him. He invites you to come and be filled. And since the light has flashed athwart your soul, not to be filled, involves a responsibility that may make you accessory to the loss of other souls. Beloved, shall Jesus be enthroned as King over all in your souls to-day ? "Will you comply with the conditions and receive this gracious gift? Lord, hear us now as we call upon Thee for the baptism with the Holy Ghost ! CHAPTER XXI. DIVINE GUIDANCE. "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." — Psalm 32: 8. THIS is only one among a multitude of promises for divine guidance. To the children of God they are all invaluable and precious. And all the more so in proportion as we realize that we are real pilgrims and strangers in this world, "journeying to the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you." The needs of our pilgrimage are many, but none are more pressing than a constant, capable, personal guide. The present is full of perplexities, and the future is all untrodden and unseen. But with David we may exult in the thought that "this God is our God forever and ever : he will be our guide even unto death." He will not leave us to ourselves. In times of special need He will be especially near; therefore rejoice and be glad and tell it to the generations following. Our need of guidance is not only a matter of revela- tion, but it is enforced by the consciousness of every Christian. Life is so complex and many sided, and our upward path is crossed by so many crooked ways of 228 OLD CORN. sin, as well as deflecting paths of error, that questions are constantly arising as to what is the will of God in this matter. " There is a way which seemeth right unto man," and yet is exactly wrong and ends in "death." Ways that are esteemed good and excellent by men that are worldly wise are often fascinating to the child of God. And then it is the business of Satan to appear as an " angel of light," and if possible to deceive and mislead the very elect. He digs pitfalls and lays snares for the feet of every traveler Z ion ward. I. Let us inquire, To whom are God's promises for guidance given? Certainly not to us simply as men, but as saved men. The whole significance of this Psalm points out this fact in harmony with every other scrip- ture. David rejoices in the blessedness of forgiveness and cleansing, and is " compassed about with songs of deliverance," and then comes this promise for guidance from the Lord. It is only such persons that have organs of spiritual perception. And while God keeps His eye upon us we must keep ours upon Him in order to be taught the way in which we should go. But it is the "pure in heart" alone that can "see God." The penetrating and far-seeing eye of reason may compass "all mysteries and all knowledge," except the open secret of divine love. It is important, then, to see the necessity of a true spiritual life in order to have a capability for spiritual guidance. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." It is only "he that is spiritual " that can be led by the Spirit, or can have a* spiritual understanding of the will of God and be filled with a knowledge of it. It is cer- DIVINE GUIDANCE. 229 tainly clear that he who is to be " taught in the way " and guided therein must have a very teachable and obedient spirit. But this implies a complete surrender of the will and the entire being to the subjective work of Jesus Christ, until we are fully " renewed in the spirit of our mind," and have proven, in some respects at least, what the perfect will of God concerning us is. Let us be assured then, beloved, if we would enjoy and profit by the guidance of God's eye, we must have His indwelling Spirit to sanctify and rule in our very in- most heart and life. It is " the light of life " that is promised, and not the life of light, which is Satan's counterfeit of the truth. "A new heart will I give you . . . and I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- ments and do them." The true connection between "life" and "light" is often obscured and perverted by inverting the divine order of the two. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." Not the outward life in the flesh that Jesus lived, but that eternal life which God hath given unto us, " this life is in his Son." So that it is through life, the life of God in the soul, that we re- ceive a true knowledge and likeness of Him in our inmost being. There is indeed an outward and neces- sary understanding of revealed truth about God, and our need of His great salvation through Jesus Christ, but this can never become a spiritual reality until the work of regeneration is truly wrought and attested by the Holy Spirit. Nothing, then, can be more reasonable or true than this, that if men will not yield obedience to God in the matter of repentance and faith in His 230 OLD CORN. Son for the forgiveness of their sins, they can have no possible claim upon Him for guidance or instruction in any other matter. To be guided by the Lord implies a following and obedient spirit, and he who refuses to take a first step cannot possibly take a second. Hence the truth, " As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." II. Let us now glance at some of the various meth- ods of divine guidance. (1.) First, in the words of the text: "I will guide thee with mine eye." In the constant language of the New Testament this must be defined to mean the per- sonal leadership of the Holy Spirit. To the fully con- secrated and obedient child of God, the Holy Spirit is promised as an indwelling personality, to sanctify, en- lighten, fill and govern the entire being. " He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." "When he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth." "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost," and the promise is unto you and all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. " For it is God which worketh in you, to will and to do of his own good pleasure." We have only quoted a single text in proof of each of these special offices of the Spirit, while they could be multiplied indefinitely. But we need to emphasize the inseparable connection between these crowning characteristics of the full sal- vation of Jesus Christ. If the Spirit governs or guides a man, that man must be filled with the Spirit ; and if filled, sanctified ; and if sanctified, " Christ must dwell in the heart by faith." DIVINE GUIDANCE. 231 In connection with our subject, the Spirit is pre- eminently the Spirit of holiness and the Spirit of obedi- ence, and only as such will He lead any man. Indeed, He is only given in fullness to the obedient, " to them that obey him " (Acts 5 : 32). Now, where all un- holiness and disobedience are given over to the fire of God to be destroyed, our wills become the will of God, and His commands are not grievous, as a yoke imposed upon us, but seem to spring up within us naturally, just as though they originated in our own will. And so the inquiry of perfect love is, "May I, not must I, do thus and so ? " Here is the secret of that easy yoke of which Jesus speaks, but of which so many know so little. But when God gets into our wills, and writes His laws in our hearts and in our minds, it is an easy thing for Him not only " to will," but also "to do of his own good pleasure " within us and through us. And it is chiefly through desires and dispositions that are divinely begotten that we can recognize the direct guidance of the Spirit. We speak these words with emphasis because we are anxious to correct some common mistakes. With many persons, to be led by the Spirit means no more than an intellectual apprehension of the written word, while others earnestly seek for the suggestion of ideas and views independent of that word. Certainly both are wrong. There are divine intuitions constantly known to the enlightened understanding of God's consecrated children. But these will all harmonize with God's written word and should be tested by it. For the " still small voice " that says, " This is the way, walk ye in it," may be counterfeited by other spirits than the 232 OLD CORN. Holy Spirit. There are "evil spirits" and "wicked spirits " that can make themselves heard in our inner being, and lie in wait to deceive us. They take advan- tage of a tender conscience, and seek to lead us to rely exclusively upon remarkable impressions, visions and dreams for guidance, even in the smallest matters, where the word of God is perfectly plain. This is the direct road to the most disastrous fanaticism. We have known of honest souls who would not go to church, or pray, or read the Bible, or shake hands with a friend be- cause they had no remarkable impression to do so. Now we may escape from these snares of the devil by giving heed to three or four things which I will mention. (a.) " Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God : because many false prophets are gone out into the world " (1 John 4 : 1). Try them by the word of the Lord. The various directions there given are ample to expose and condemn every seducing spirit. Indeed, the very fact of a constant reference to the Scriptures is, of itself, an important safeguard against delusion, for it will be found that fanaticism usually has little use for the written word. It is too " outward and literal." (b.) Be more concerned about glorifying Jesus, and " knowing him and the power of his resurrection " than about the matter of sensible and peculiar impres- sions upon the mind as to guidance. Some people make a Christ out of their feelings. How specific is this promise : " He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (iave been the parousia, when it is invariably presented in Scripture as a still future thing ? " Christ the first fruits ; after- ward they that are Christ's at his parousia " (1 Cor. 15: 23). "Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his parousia ? (1 Thess. 2 : 19). THE PAROUSIA. 281 " The parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints" (1 Thess. 3: 13). " We which are alive and remain unto the parousia of the Lord" (1 Thess. 4: 13). " Your whole spirit and soul and body be pre- served blameless unto the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5: 23). "Whom the Lord shall [future] destroy with the epiphaneia [manifestation] of his parousia " (2 Thess. 2:8). " There shall come in the last days scoffers, saying, Where is the promise of his parousia? " (2 Pet. 3 : 4). " Abide in him ; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his parousia " (1 John 2 : 28). In the light of such Scriptures, how can any one, who really regards its plain letter, believe that our Lord's coming has already occurred, or that parousia signifies only a spiritual presence? But some seek to avoid the force of John's remarkable passages in Revela- tion which declare the parousia to be a " future event," by assigning a date for the Apocalypse prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, or about A.D. 70. Granting this for a moment, we are still confronted with John's testimony in his " first Epistle, A.D. 108." Chap. 2 : 28 : " Abide in him ; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his parousia." But we are not to be deprived of John's testimony in the Apocalypse to the same fact : " Be- hold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him : and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Rev. 1: 7). " And, behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." " Surely I come quickty. Amen. Even so, come, Lord 282 OLD CORN. Jesus" (Rev. 22: 12,20). These words certainly were never penned with any reference to the " destruc- tion of Jerusalem," nor even before that event, but long after it. Some writers seem to have been persuaded by " modern criticism," and the necessities of their cause, to depart from the traditional hypothesis that the true date of the Apocalypse is A.D. 96. In doing so they have transferred it to "about A.D. 70." Against this hypothesis, as it is sought to be made a matter of prime importance, we shall cite some undisputed authorities. Irenseus says, "The Apocalypse was beheld not long ago, but in the time of our own generation (our own day) toward the end of Domitian's reign. [A.D. 96.] (Vol. v, chap, xxx.) " Eusebiu nd Jerome give similar testimony." And Dean Alford shows that the so-called Fathers " declare with perfect unanimity that John was banished by Domitian to Patmos and there wrote the Apocalypse." He further says, " I have no hesitation in believing with the ancient Fathers and most compe- tent witnesses, that the Apocalypse was written toward the close of Domitian's reign, i.e., about the years 95 or 96 A.D." And such testimony can be confirmed by reasoning, which we think ought to be conclusive. For example, Hengstenberg shows in detail that the con- tents of the Apocalypse correspond to the time of Domitian, and the history of that time ; and amply support his positions. Banishment was certainly a form of imperial violence never exercised by Nero. Secular history hardly exaggerates when it declares that " at the last he killed everybody that attracted his attention." With Domitian, however, it was different, THE PAROUSIA. 283 since he banished a number of philosophers and promi- nent men, including Epictetus. Banishment was thus employed by him, along with other common measures. And though he executed Christians, there are instances of their banishment, of which John certainly was one. And from his prison home in Patmos he wrote "in a book " the things which he saw, " and the things whicli are," " and the things which shall be after these," and sent it unto the churches. " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Long years ago J. J. Gurney exposed this same " con- ventional misinterpretation of Scriptures," that we have been considering. But there never was a day when his solemn warning was more needful than the present. He exhorts that nothing be allowed to " divert us from a firm, believing expectation of that momentous day, when Christ shall come again in visible glory, with all His holy angels, to raise the dead, to make manifest the secret of all hearts, to judge righteous judgment, to consign the wicked to their appointed punishment, and forever to consummate the glory and happiness of His own followers." And to treat the Scriptures as an ordinary volume of good advice, and explain away all the force of Biblical authority, is to lull souls into a slumber, only to be broken by the startling summons of the appalling blast of the archangel's trumpet, and the voice of God. Even now, there peals forth the solemn cry, that waxes louder and louder, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him ! " CHAPTER XXVI. FREE FROM THE LAW. " For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in tliat it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh."— Romans 8: 2, 3. OUR theme is concerning spiritual freedom. But before entering upon its discussion, I may be ex- cused for exercising just a little liberty in speaking of my own experience. Usage would more properly assign testimony to a place after sermon, rather than before it; but as I have been introduced as "a minister of the Friends' Church," it seems only right that this vast audience should not be confused as to my eccle- siastical standing. It is true that I was raised after the strictest sect of the Friends, have been a member all m} r life, and a minister of the gospel in that church for more than a score of years. I have accepted the providence of God in this matter with gratitude. But I am quite aware that in this latitude, the common idea of a Quaker associates him with the plain language, drab clothes, and silence in meeting. But these may only be the grave clothes of a dead formalism, and are li FREE FROM THE LAW. 285 generally but a travesty on genuine Quakerism. I bring you no credentials of that description. History establishes the fact that two hundred years ago they were the hottest gospellers, and the most efficient preachers from the days of the early church up to that time. George Fox often preached for three hours, and with a voice that could be heard above the tiddlers that were sent to silence him. And it was only when our church grew respectable, and rich, and formal that it grew silent, and God raised up John Wesley to go forward with his soul-saving work. And this is the largest part of my creed, so that while I am denomina- tionally a Quaker, and probably always shall be, my affinities are very strong for all of the Lord's people, and they ought to be. I was converted in a Methodist revival; I was baptized by a Baptist, and I married a Presbyterian, so that I am at least a brother-in-law to the most of you. Now may God bless us together in our meditations on this wonderful passage of Scripture. I. God is a God of law. By what we call natural or physical law, He rules matter. In unswerving obedi- ence the stars and planets and all worlds wheel in their orbits ; with inflexible impartiality the sea swal- lows up millions of lives, while it is the prolific source of other millions of lives that are congenial to its elements. The brute creation can always be relied upon to obey without fail the laws of their instinct. God has no trouble in any of these respects. But man is a rebel, and " only man is vile." He has sold out to the lawless one, and so is " after the flesh." He is " car- 286 OLD CORN. nally minded," " sold under sin," and "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." But this is " death," not only the death of a judicial sentence, but practical, spiritual death, or alienation from God. Truly a sad picture, and yet if fully drawn, many more dark shadings are furnished by the word of God. Nevertheless, God loves us, and Jesus Christ loves us, and the Holy Spirit loves us, and seeks our recovery from our lost estate. In this wonderful work of redemption, the two laws of our text have a most impor- tant place. The " law of sin and death " and the " law of the Spirit of life," seemingly opposed to one another, they are yet entirely cooperative in our salvation. " The law of sin and death is divisible." (1.) Let us look first at the moral law as reflecting God's holiness and expressing our obligations to Him and to our fellow-men. This law " is holy, just and good," and reveals the distance between God's holiness and man's unholiness. This is not seen in its external requirements or literal fulfillment, for it may be obeyed as to outward actions by the unrenewed man. He may never make " a graven image," nor literally "bow down to them nor serve them." He may not swear, nor break the Sabbath, nor kill, nor steal, nor lie, nor commit adultery, and yet violate every one of its provisions in their spiritual significance. And God insists upon those inward tempers and affections that make its ful- fillment not only possible, but delightful. David says, " Thy law is my delight," " I delight to do thy will, O my God." But the carnal mind of man is not subject to this law, neither indeed can be, since it is enmity against God. Hence, howsoever much men may strive, FREE FROM THE LAW. 287 they are transgressors still, until they submit to God's way of freedom from the law of sin and death. (2.) The ceremonial law " was added because of transgression." Its object was twofold. First, to reveal in detail violations of the moral law and punish specific transgressions. But it also proclaimed the vicarious work of Jesus Christ in every line ; and every sacrifice and service was typical of the person and work of our Lord, "as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." For it was not the " blood of bulls and of goats " that could really take away sins, but the blood of the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. It was thus that a day of probation was maintained, and even this " ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious." This was "the ministration of condemnation " that is here called " the law of sin and death." Sin always carries with it the death penalty. But this law did much more than proclaim penalties for sin. While there were many things which the law could not do, we must call particular attention to some other things of great importance that the law does do. (1.) " By the law is the knowledge of sin." Paul says, " I had not known sin but by the law." Mark that he does not say, " I had not had sin." The law was not the creator of sin, but the revealer of it. The plummet did not make the wall crooked, it only reveals that it is so. Thus the first kind office of the law is to acquaint us with our true condition, our sinful state in the sight of God. It is God's looking-glass that reveals pollution and moral deformity with unflattering faith- fulness. That is the trouble with it. We do not care 288 OLD CORN. to know such unwelcome truth. An American humor- ist says, " Some people are so homely that they never use a looking-glass without wanting to smash it." And you know that a photographer in order to get business must not be exactly true to life. He must take all of the wrinkles out and fix up your picture until it is a great deal nicer than you are, or you won't have it. Just so men with a carnal mind have little use for the law of God, and in our day it is not preached much. (2.) The law entered that the offense might abound." Man is a sinner from center to circumference. "From the sole of the foot, even unto the head there is no soundness." " Sin hath reigned unto death." Men are slow to believe this ; but God's word declares it and the law reveals it. When God says, " Thou shalt," the carnal mind says, "I will not"; and when God says, "Thou shalt not," man replies, "I will." One day a little girl was sitting on the parlor floor playing with a box of shells and a few were getting outside of the box. Her mother said, " Baby mustn't throw shells on the floor." In a moment the little dimpled hands went to the bottom of the box, and the shells flew in all direc- tions. " The law came and sin abounded." All admit that something is wrong with them, and that a little patching up is necessary, and that Jesus will "help those that help themselves." But we are slow to admit the utter ruin, bankruptcy and death wrought by sin. Like a man in New York that was asphyxiated from gas, and found as good as dead in his bed. But a friend allowed the doctors to take the life's blood out of his arm and transfuse it into the veins of the practically dead man. He recovered, and appreciated the help received FREE FROM THE LAW, 289 to the extent of five dollars, which was rejected with contempt. But he failed to realize that he had been saved from death. (3.) " The law worketh wrath." This is another most important office of the law. It irritates and pro- vokes the carnal mind, as a blister does the flesh. Not only so, it reveals the wrath of God against sin. It shows no mercy. The guilty need not look to the law for pardon — he can find only condemnation. His only hope is to look elsewhere. Indicted under God's law in the high court of heaven, every rebel may plead guilty and accept as his advocate the Son of God, " who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Through faith in Jesus we are "made free" from the penalties of the law of sin and death, and become the servants of righteousness." This is a glorious emancipation from the guilt and power of sin, and an espousal to Christ. It can only be accomplished by " the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." And this is the "gospel of the grace of God." " In him was life." " I am the resurrection and the life," said Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is the " Spirit of life," to him that receives Jesus. And this is an un- changeable " law " of the Spirit's acting in every such case. He will give dominion to the "life — that is in — Christ Jesus," and freedom from the dominion of death in sin, and the life shall be as real as was the death. It is the Spirit that through the " law" convinces " of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." It is the Spirit that regenerates and sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts. How blessed and how wonderful are these beginnings of the new life in the soul. 290 OLD CORN. II. But our text reveals the secret of freedom in a deeper, fuller sense than we have yet considered. It is from "shi in the flesh.'''' No sins remain upon the conscience of God's child, but there is a conflict with inbred or inborn sin that is speedily developed and lamented by him. This struggle is clearly set forth by Paul, in the seventh chapter, and he follows his lament over " the body of this death," with the victorious shout of faith, that through Jesus Christ, he shall have deliverance. True Christians of every name and circumstance, know something from their own experience of what the Apostle is talking about. All agree that something must be done, but Paul cuts up by the roots the common errors that prevail so generally. Many think that this inward conflict with the "old man," or "sin in the flesh," is descriptive of the inevi- tably changing experience of all Christian life, and in dreary hopelessness submit to the inevitable. Oh that some such might hear the glad gospel of a better deliver- ance ! Like the wilderness of old, though a country to be passed through, it may be left behind and never again returned to. Then there are those who resolutely set about "knocking down" the old man, "smashing his mouth," giving him " black eyes," etc., with the hope of enfeebling him, and his gradual extirpation. But this is much like "Jack in the box." When the lid is tightly held down, Jack is out of sight, and very humble, but the moment the pressure is off, Jack is as large as life and as independent as ever. His springs don't decay by repression. Then there is the " growth " theory, and, in fact, theology. It is based on the very simple fallacy that FREE FROM THE LAW. 291 " growing in grace " necessarily implies a gradual deliverance from sin. That that is really what it means. But it will be seen, by a little reflection, that it means nothing of the kind. " Growth " is expansion, enlargement, addition, and cannot be otherwise than hindered by the presence of sin, which antagonizes it. " Growth in grace," then, implies the expansion of the spiritual graces and presupposes our complete renunci- ation of sin, and deliverance from it as a personality, "through faith." There is a true gradualism that pertains to growth as well as maturity, that is most injuriously applied to both regeneration and sanctification. Now let us accept the disclosure of the Apostle that "the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth." Not to condemn, or inflict its curse, but as a pedagogue to enforce its claims, as the rule of action, thought and volition. There is the " inward man " that " delights in the. law of God," but there is a " law of sin in my members," at "war with the law of my mind." Now is not this true of Christian life everywhere, when under the law? "Ye are fallen from grace" not into willful sin at all, but into the error of endeavoring to maintain a walk of justification by keeping "the law." III. But why cannot victory always come through obedience to the law? Because it is weak through the flesh. Even God's law, strong as it is, is not so strong as "the flesh." We have previously seen what it could do in revealing sin and punishing the offender. But 292 OLD CORN. we are here distinctly notified of what it cannot do. It cannot make us free from sin in the flesh, neither can it impart a power that secures a victorious walk. Paul knew the law, and declares its impotence in these respects. He even confesses to at least an occasional " captivity " unto the " law of sin which is in my mem- bers." In order, however, to witness a fair battle be- tween these two giants, "the law" and " the flesh," let us repair to the palace of King Solomon. Solomon has been installed king under the most imposing and favorable auspices. He not only had the heritage of his father David, but the blessing of God. He was the repository of law, and enjoined to keep " all that I have commanded thee," by the most wonderful promises, as well as the most solemn warnings of Jehovah Himself. (1.) Now the "law" strictly forbids alliance with an idolater. But Solomon loved the daughter of Pharaoh, and he married her. The "flesh" was victor over law in this battle. (2.) The law said, "Neither shall he multiply wives." But Solomon loved many strange [idolatrous] women, and had a thousand of them. " The law was weak through the flesh." (3.) The "law" said, " He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt " to that end. But Solomon "had horses brought out of Egypt," for he wanted the very best, and he multiplied them until he had thousands of horses. And again "the flesh'" Avais stronger than the "law." (4.) The "law" said, "Neither shall he multiply to himself silver and gold." But Solomon " made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones." And the "law" was again defeated by its powerful antagonist, " the flesh." FREE FROM THE LAW. 293 No doubt but Solomon struggled to do right and obey the law, at least to some extent, and was ashamed of his failure and sin ; but the flesh was strong and the "law was weak" in comparison. It was, however, in full force to condemn, and its penalties were executed upon the offender. "And the Lord was angry with Solomon." "Forasmuch as this is done of thee, . . . I will surely rend the kingdom from thee." Now, although this experience of Solomon may differ in measure, it differs little in character from that of every other man attempting to serve God without knowing the value of a full salvation through a living Christ. We must, however, look at another aspect of the service of a servant, and admit that through great faith- fulness and watchfulness, an outward obedience may indeed possibly be secured, notwithstanding the warfare within. The "two milch kine" of the Philistines did take "the straight way to the way of Beth-she-mesh," with the ark of the Lord upon the new cart, when it was being sent home by the Philistines. They had sent it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod ; and from Ashdod to Gath; and f rom Gath to Ekron, but "the hand of God was heavy " upon them, and they wanted to send it back to Israel. And so they devised the scheme of "kine on which there hath come no yoke," and "shut up their calves at home," and "let them go." And they " went along the highway and turned not aside to the right hand nor to the left," notwithstanding the inward complaint of nature expressed itself in " loioing as they went''' How true this is to the life of the mul- titude of murmuring and complaining Christians to be 294 OLD CORN. found everywhere. Paul's "law of liberty," or the "law of the spirit of life " is the remedy for all of this. It takes out the complaining and the bellowing, and makes the yoke easy. It writes the law in the mind and in the heart. Then " love is the fulfilling of the law." "His delight is in the law of the Lord." How much more grateful to the heart of God is the love- constrained service of a son that says, "May I?" than the coerced service of the servant that says, " Must I ? " brother, sister, this work can be done for you! It can be done very soon. Only hand yourself over as clay to the great artist, the Holy Ghost ! 1 once got much help from looking through a micro- scope. My friend placed in position a bit of glass with a little speck on it the size of a pin's head. I was sur- prised to see Moses, with a stone table of command- ments in either arm, that were entirely legible ! Instantly I thought, if the skill of a man is equal to this, it must be easy for God to put His law into our hearts, small as they are, if He is only allowed to work. He can do it, for He has " condemned sin in the flesh." Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh, and became a sacrifice for sin, as well as for sins. He made pro- vision not only for the pardon of "sins," but for the destruction of the " sin " principle in " the flesh." Not the physical man, but the " old man," or the " carnal mind," here called " the flesh." " That being dead wherein we were held," we may then serve God " in the newness of the spirit instead of the oldness of the law." For the " end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart." Perfect love keeps all the commandments, and they are not grievous, either. To love God with all free From the law. 295 the heart and your neighbor as you ought to, is natural and easy for a clean heart. An inward state of purity brings quietness and assurance, and rejoicing in the Lord always, is easy as breathing. It is wholly dif- ferent from an ecstacy or a " frame of mind," as many say. The mind that was in Christ, is more than a frame, and is not so easily broken in pieces. Oh that I could set before you this freedom wherewith Christ can make us free, with such attractions as shall make you to long for it ! I speak to many at this very moment that have lived in a kind of bondage all your lives. Not in the full liberty of a true son of God. O brother ! what a mistake you are making ! O sister, dear ! what a mistake you are making! Did you say, "I hope to get to heaven when I die " ? Well, I hope so too ; but suppose you do, your mistake is none the less real. Is it any excuse for a boy to fool away his opportunities at college because his father will some day leave him an estate ? He may some day be rich, but a dunce instead of a wise man. Is it any excuse for a woman to refuse a good offer of marriage from the man she loves, because she is her father's heir? Multitudes of people will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb as " virgins," or merely bridesmaids, when they might have been of the bride, the Lamb's wife, if they had not foolishly refused to be " sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word." Ah ! many of you do long for spiritual rest, — perfect rest in Jesus. I see it in your up-turned faces, and countless tearful eyes. I feel it in your heart-throbs of yearning sympathy with the truth that has been uttered. You do believe that Jesus Christ can reproduce in you 29G OLD CORN. His own spiritual life of purity, love and power. Your cry is, " None of self, but all of thee." Well, beloved, make yourself over to Jesus, body, soul and spirit. Do it just now. Acknowledge His ownership in you and His claims upon you. Give Him the keys, not only to the citadel, but to every apartment of your entire being. If Jesus loved you, while an enemy, well enough to die for you, much more, being His friend, will He save you by His life ! Open your heart to receive the Holy Spirit as your liberator, your sanctifier, and abiding Comforter. He is the Spirit of life. And the law of the Spirit of life will become as real and as spontaneous in }^our being as has been the old "law of sin and death," from which He makes us free. Glory to His name ! How strange that any one should regard with jealous}-, or suspicion and doubt, the doctrine and experience of heart purity ! Yet there are men, and preachers, too, who are working to "purify politics," and government, and society, and who would make the welkin ring with their shouts if a single city could be purified from saloons, and gambliug-dens, and dives, who are, nevertheless, utterly unconcerned about "pure hearts," and have no faith that ever God can do such a thing. But the " cily-of-man-soul," really purified by the Spirit of God, is a greater work than to reform the city govern- ment of New York, or London either. Man can do the one, but it takes an omnipotent Christ to do the other. The one is doubtful, while the other is sure as the word of God can make it. Do you ask how to obtain it? I answer, by faith. Believe that God has promised it. That He is both willing and able. That now is the accepted time. Quit trying to see all about it, but let FREE FROM THE LAW. 297 go, and trust where you can't see. If you will "let go," Christ will catch you. Learn something from a baby getting out of bed. He crawls to the edge and looks at the floor. It seems a great distance off. But he clutches the bed-clothes and crawls backwards, push- ing his feet over the edge a little distance. But faith fails and he quickly struggles back into his nest. Again he gets to the edge and reexamines the situation. Now he seems to think he understands it, and turns himself about with more resolution than before, but his clutch upon the sheet is as firm as ever. Does he let go and drop and let the floor catch him, or does he repeat this process of " investigating " indefinitely ? That depends upon the character of the baby. You know it is safe for him to drop, and if he does you say, "Bravo, little man." But strange to say, the crucial point with him is to let go. And that's the hardest thing you have to do. Instead of " holding on," as most people think they must do, open your hand and let go. You must drop feet first if you go by faith. To try to go head first, or by sight and understanding, is not to go at all. No, brother, trust it all to the Holy Spirit as the inworking power, and the revealer of Jesus as your mighty eman- cipator from the guilt, the love, the power, and the hated presence of sin. May God open our eyes, strengthen our faith and accomplish His work to the glory and praise of His holy name. Amen. CHAPTER XXVII. SERVING IN " NEWNESS " OR, " OLDNESS " — WHICH ? "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." — Romans 7 : 6. IT is an axiom lying at the foundation of all Christian life that every child of God is under obligation to "serve" Him. In our redemption and salvation Jesus Christ has obtained, in a special sense, a proprietary right to us. " Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price." Paul's escutcheon was, " Whose I am, and ivhom I serve" and it properly belongs to every member of the family of the redeemed. It is not, as many seem to think, that Christ saves men merely to make them righteous and get them off to heaven as quietly as possible. This is not the sum total of religion, by any means, and such a view utterly fails of any true conception of the sphere towards which salvation points — Service. Some indeed imagine that salvation may be secured by a service of dead works, while others have no thought of glorifying God in service until they reach heaven. Both are wrong. "We are not only redeemed SERVING IN " NE WNESS " OR " OLDNESS " — WHICH? 290 in order to serve God here and now, but there can be no true service until redemption is realized through the precious blood of Christ. The conscience must be purged " from dead works to serve the living God." His demand of Pharaoh, more than three thousand years ago, was plain enough. " Let my people go, that they may serve me." God could not permit His service to be mixed up with the slavery and idolatry of Egypt. "iVo man can serve two masters" Redemption from the galling yoke of Egyptian bondage was at the very foundation of true service to God. To this, however, Pharaoh inter- posed all manner of hindrances. Again and again the demand of Moses was met with a proposal for com- promise. (1.) Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. Serve any God you please, only stay in Egypt. " We worship our gods, do you worship yours, only don't be so ex- treme about it." But Moses said : " No ; we can only sacrifice unto the Lord our God as he shall command us." (2.) Pharaoh then agreed that they might go and serve God in the wilderness; "only ye shall not go very far away." How the devil does resist any real, radical step in the service of God. World bordering has been the snare and the ruin of thousands that started out to serve the Lord. " Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom," and then sat in its "gate," and vexed his righteous soul in vain efforts to reform it, until the fire of God's judgments fell upon it, when he barely escaped with his life. While " Jehoshaphat walked in the first ways of his father David," the Lord was with 300 OLD CORN. him and prospered him greatly. But he joined affinity with Ahab, and barely escaped the arrows that were intended for that rebel. The world promises much from its " flesh-pots," pleasures and allurements, only to dis- appoint and deceive. (3.) After the plagues of the "murrain," and the " boils," and the " pestilence," and the " hail," Pharaoh said, " Go now, }-e that are men, and serve the Lord." Go out of the land, and go as far into the wilderness as you please, if you only leave your women and chil- dren behind you. How well the devil knows that a service to God amounts to little if the heart is still in the world. This is the first distinct proposition to exclude women and children from the service of God. There is no doubt about its paternity. (4.) Once more Pharaoh begged that at least "Your flocks and your herds be stayed." No place so good for these treasures of earth as Egypt. "Business is business, you know. Religion is all well enough, but he that provideth not for his household is worse tiian an infidel." How memorable is the answer of Moses: " There shall not an hoof be left behind." All that we have must we take to serve the Lord our God. " For as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." It was a good illustration of this principle of bringing all to God, when that man, of whom we have all heard, wanted his pocket-book baptized, and refused to give it to his friend to keep while he went into the water. Christ died that we might be delivered "from this present evil world, according to the will of God and SER VINO IN " NEWNESS " OR " OLDNESS "— WHICH? 301 our Father." From its spirit, covetousness and idola- try. Not to take us out of the world, but to take the worldliness out of us. To be "transformed by the re- newing of our mind " is our only security against being " conformed to the world." God promised long ago that the time should come when His children should be delivered from all their enemies, within and without, that they " might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of their life." That means that just as truly as the Israelites were separated from Egypt by the Red Sea, and knew their enemies were dead upon the shore, so we may be separated in spirit from the world, and be delivered from our spiritual enemies and task-masters. To be saved, then, does not mean a total discharge from all service, but a transfer from the iron yoke of sin and slavery to the easy yoke of Jesus, with its great recompense of reward. We are set "free from the law of sin and death." Not that we may become lawless and range up and down according to fancy, but that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, and that God may be glorified in our bodies and our spirits which are His. Our text distinctly sets before us the fact that there are two grand divisions of service. The oldness of the law and the newness of the Spirit. Both of them are symbolized by the conjugal relation. Marriage is used all through the Scriptures as a type of these spiritual relations. I. Let us first consider service under the law, or in "the oldness of the letter." 302 OLD CORN. The law, or laws of Moses in toto, are personified as "an husband" to which all legal worshipers are united in a bond that can only be broken by death. Not nec- essarily the death of the body, however, but if " that dies wherein she was held, she shall be loosed from the law of her husband, and may be married to another man." But this husband, or " law, hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth." How long that may be is a matter which may be determined by the volition of the wife, who may end her days of bondage by dying unto sin, unto the carnal mind, unto the old man. This is the "he that liveth," and over whom "the law hath dominion as long as he lives," and no longer. This is the "that," or that thing wherein we were held as long as the " husband liveth." But it is clear that the death of the wife is a dissolution of the mar- riage bond, equally with the death of the husband, and so the Apostle argues that, though the husband or the law still lives to rule others, those who will, may end the days of their servitude in the oldness of the letter by dying themselves. That is the only way of deliver- ance. Not divorce, not two husbands, but death. Now there is a great difference in the character of these hus- bands, as also in that of the service. (1.) The law husband is as a lord or master, exer- cising " dominion " and ruling with severity. Old Testament marriage furnishes a good illustration. It was largely a business affair. See the purchase of Rachel and Leah by Jacob from their father Laban. The girls had little to say about it. And the law gives the right to select " from among captives a beautiful woman, that thou wouldst have her SERVING IN " NEWNESS " OB " OLDNESS "— WHICH? 303 to thy wife, and bring her home to thine house . . . and thou shalt be her husband, and she shall be thy wife." Wives in those days were more like servants or slaves than like wives. It is so yet in all Oriental countries where the light of the gospel has not penetrated. For the gospel has graciously affected the outward relation in all enlightened nations. Much more in proportion than it has the spiritual one ; for what multitudes enjoy the love and liberty of New Testament marriage outwardly, who yet remain spiritually bound to the " law " as their husband instead of Christ. (2.) This service, in the oldness of the letter, has duty and fear as the impelling or motive power, rather than the constrainings of love. Falling into conversation one day with a lady, who was only a business acquaintance, I was deeply inter- ested and astonished to find such a perfect illustration in real life. She was a very intelligent and lady-like woman and a member of church, but declared she had never been either convicted or converted, and had no conception of emotion of any kind. Had never even loved any one. " What, not even your husband over there?" was my query, as I pointed to him. "No, not even him," was the answer. " Pray, tell me," said I, " how it came about. I never met with such a case." " Oh, it was just a business transaction ! I made up my mind that I ought to marry such and such a man, and finding him, I married him." " Well, how does it work, without any love in the house ? " " Oh, very well ! We simply do our duty, and keep our obliga- tions." I was amazed, as well as instructed, to find an 3()4 OLD COHX. actual case of the law wife, living the life and perform- ing the service of a servant, in the spirit of a servant. The law engenders fear, and "gendereth to bondage." Then, as long as we are in the flesh, there are the motions of sin in our members, seeking to bring forth fruit unto death, that are discovered, condemned and counteracted by the restraints and authority of this law husband. (3.) Now it may be thought that this type is only applicable to those that are entirely and only legal in their experience, and have never known the new birth, or anything beyond the dispensation of the Father. " The Jew still in effect," as Barclay would put it. But this point will bear examination and testing by the word of God. Were the Galatians converted? Had they not received the Spirit by the hearing of faith? Undoubtedly they were "babes in Christ." Read the abundant evidence of this in Paul's testimony of them. Nevertheless, as to the service of God, they were in " the oldness of the letter," and not "in the newness of the Spirit." And Paul plainly taught them, and laid down this rule as the law in the case, viz., "That the heir (or free- born) as long as lie is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all." In other words, it is simply impossible that while God's ''child" remains a "child," he can serve God otherwise than as a " servant," and that is in the old- ness of the letter. While "he is a child" he has another older brother, Ishmael, dwelling in the same house, and "tutors and governors" are an absolute necessity, until both "the bondwoman and her son are SERVING IN "NEWNESS" OB " OLDNESS"— WHICH? S05 cast out." Then he ceases to be a child, becomes a man and puts away childish things. Precisely similar to the Galatians was the state of the case with the Corinthians as to their standing in Christ, and yet their great lack of liberty and service in the power of the Spirit. Is it not clear, then, that the "law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth"? That as long as he liveth he is but a child. That "as long as he is a child, he dif- fereth nothing from a servant, though he be an heir and lord of all" (Gal. 4: 1). And does not this explain many perplexing problems that meet us daily ? We see people that we know have been converted, and certainly have some spiritual life, who yet are of a legal spirit, and whose service is as fully in the "oldness of the law" as are those that have never known anything at all of regeneration or justifi- cation by faith. It is hard to tell them apart. They have very much in common, yet God sees a great dif- ference, and the spiritual eye and ear can often detect it. Legalism in a Quaker does not differ from legalism in a Catholic, only in the variety of their external manifestations. When occasion serves, they are at one with the same spirit in all denominations, and every- where, in persecuting the children of liberty. Like the disciples before Pentecost, " they know not what spirit they are of." They suppose it is the Spirit of Christ, but it is the spirit of the law which is their husband. II. But now we are delivered from the law, is the emphatic and practical testimony of the Apostle. He not only speaks for himself, but for all who have been 306 OLD CORN. made "free by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." We have already discussed this theme upon another occasion, and sought to make the how of this freedom so simple that it needs not to be enlarged upon now. That old life wherein we were bound to our law husband, has been put to death by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, in order " that we should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God " (Rom. 7 : 4). Here is the new relation and its object. Christ becomes a totalhy different husband from the law. He loved the church and gave, not jewels, nor service merely, but Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it. And what the husband is to the wife, Christ is to His body, the church and the members of it. As husbands ought to love their wives and cherish them, so the Lord the church. " For he that is joined into the Lord is one spirit." " Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" "He brought me unto his banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." (1.) Of course, service cannot now be otherwise than in newness of Spirit. The coercions of obligation are exchanged for the constrainings of love. The restraints of law and the constraints of duty are supplanted by the fullness of the Spirit. The law is now written in the mind and in the heart, and all the law is fulfilled in one word, love. (2.) New rules of spiritual life become ours when the new man is the successor of the "new born babe." The " new commandment " is enforced by the example of Christ. To abide in Him we "ought to walk even SERVING IN "NEWNESS" OR " OLDNESS" — WHICH? 307 as lie walked." " If any man serve me, let him follow me." Follow His example as a matter of deliberate choice. "Ye also should do, even as I have done unto you." How little of this is to be seen. A thousand ex- cuses are offered why we need not do at all as Christ did. Why we cannot, and, indeed, why we ought not. O beloved, we can " follow " Him in losing our lives, and "being made conformable to his death." In finding "life abundantly" in the "likeness of his resurrection." In self-denial, in obedience, in suffering wrong, in serv- ing others. In love, in humility, in meekness, in pur- ity, in constant dependence upon God to supply all our needs, and to "work in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure." (3.) New work is committed to us. " Ye shall be witnesses unto me." Simply to tell what we know, and that " we do know that we know," and " have re- ceived of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God." The testimony of a witness is limited by what he knows. Impressions, or hearsay, or con- jectures are not evidence. But if we are "burning" as well as "shining lights," we will earnestly, fervently and lovingly bear witness to Jesus, and His power to save. The moon can shine, but sets nothing on fire. My little boy had succeeded so grandly in setting tin- der and paper on fire with his sun-glass, that he was sure it could also be done with moonlight. So nothing would do but I must go out into the yard with him to witness the conflagration. But it wouldn't work. It is just so with all moonshine religion. There's no fire in it, and none is kindled by it. But the real word of God is as a fire and a hammer. It is both implements 308 OLD CORN. and weapons. It is either food or medicine. It is as a glass to reveal, and as water to cleanse. " Search the Scriptures," and don't spend your time doubting them, or you will be forever worthless as a witness, and may lose your own soul. (4.) A new 'power is communicated that fits for service. " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith God." He it is that convicts, regenerates, sanctifies and fills. With the Spirit of Jesus we are anointed with holy oil as were the priests. It was "precious ointment upon the head." It quickens and enlightens the understanding. It opens the eyes, touches the ears, and loosens the tongue. Then it covered the priest down to his feet. It strengthens the shoulders, tenders the heart, girds the loins, supports the knees, and imparts fragrance to the whole walk of the bride of Christ. She must walk in devotedness, and that is more than righteousness. " If any man serve me, him will my Father honor." " Where I am, there shall my servant be." This is the moral proxim- ity of spiritual union. "With you to the end of the age." With you to direct and give power in service, deliverance in trial, and victory through the blood of the Lamb. Remember that God is glorified, not ac- cording to the amount of talents, or even of results, so much as in the devoted loyalty and obedience of faith. And this is cheer for us when tempted to be discour- aged. A young Christian once dreamed that he was in a deep, deep well, and almost hopeless, when a star let down its rays and took hold upon him. As he looked up he went up, but when he looked down he went down. So he kept his gaze steadfastly upward, SERVING IN " NEWNESS " OR" OLDNESS " — WHICH? 309 and was actually lifted out into open day. It was a good dream to teach an important truth. Look unto Jesus, and leave all accounts in His keeping. It is enough that He has said, " Him will my Father honor." " The reproach of Christ is greater riches than the treas- ures in Egypt." I once visited the cemetery in New- port where there are many great and beautiful monu- ments of marble and granite over the dust of the dead. But in one portion of the ground there are the graves of the old slaves of the colony. These were marked by a very simple stone almost overgrown with grass. With some effort several of the humble inscriptions were read : " Here lies Pompey, who belonged to . He was a faithful and honest servant." " Here lies Betty, servant of . She was an obedient and faithful servant." And though these bodies were " sown in dishonor," in one sense, yet here was a more noble record and monument to their memory than the most imposing and costly cenotaph over the dust of those who have lived only for themselves, and never knew the blessedness of serving others. It matters little how small and obscure shall be the headstone to our grave, if only the finger of Jesus may write upon it, "He hath done what he could." For " them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him " "when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.'''' CHAPTER XXVIII. SUFFERING AND GLORIFICATION. "Heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." — Romans 8: 17. IX is not the question of sonship that is discussed in this scripture, nor is it one of human misery that claims our thought at this time. True, the world is full of that. Lives of sorrow and wails of anguish are bursting from crushed and bleeding hearts in every village of every land. " 'Tis the common lot; I mourn for millions; In this shape or in that has fate entailed The mother's throes on all of woman born; Not more the children than sure heirs of pain; Me miserable? Which way I fly is hell — myself am hell." Looking into these depths of human suffering, the Lord Jesus was able, by His infinite power of sympathy, to comprehend the sorrows of fallen humanity as none other ever could. While free Himself from every taint of sin, He beheld the " whole creation groaning and trav- ailing in pain together" on account of it; and in His voluntary sympathy with human misery, "He took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses " and also became the SUFFERING AND GLORIFICATION. 311 sinner's substitute. It is important to keep in mind the fact that the sufferings of Christ were all, and always, entirely voluntary. It is important, too, that we are careful not to confound the two kinds of suf- fering endured by the Lord Jesus. They are wholly different from one another. (1.) He " once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." That is, that He might make an atonement for sin, and so give us access to God, and reconcile us to Himself. In this aspect of the " sufferings of Christ," He was the " Lamb of God," and it " pleased the Lord to bruise him." This was "the suffering of death," in which He was absolutely alone, and no man can ever be a sharer in this work, for it is the work of redemption. He trod the wine press alone. (2.) But there is another aspect of the sufferings of Jesus in which we may be identified with Him. That is, as He suffered at the hands of man during His life in the flesh, He was a witness to the holiness and righteousness of God and the vileness of man, and He suffered for it from men. He was reviled, maligned, misunderstood, mocked, hated, accused, and died as a martyr at the hand of man, as well as a victim provided by Jehovah. " He has left us an example that we should follow in his steps." And unto us " it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake." There is, then, a real " fellowship of his sufferings," which is here spoken of as. a gift or a privilege conferred. It was this that Paul longed for, instead of shrinking from it, as is usually the case. There is certainly little ir * the lives of ordinary Chris- 312 OLD CORN. tians that can be properly classified with Christ's suffer- ings; and the question is, Shall we decline that measure of identity with Jesus that will surely involve us in the same reproach and " suffering wrongfully " that He endured, or shall we welcome our part in this ministry, " having respect unto the recompense of the reward " ? " Joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be glorified together." Have we noticed, beloved, that while the only condition of salva- tion is faith, the condition of " joint-heirship " with Jesus in the glory of His kingdom is, that we suffer with Him ? It chafes people sometimes to be told that our assigned position in Christ's glorious kingdom must be determined by the measure of our identification with Him in suffering. But our text teaches just that. Look at it carefully and see if it does not. See it now. See it before it is too late to let your talents out at usury. See to it while the opportunity lasts to " go without the camp, bearing his reproach." Remember there is no iron rule about this. It is not a compelled service, but a gracious gift that is offered. " To you it is given." This question will be determined by each one of us for himself. We must insist upon it, that there is no penal element in our suffering. No idea of Popish pen- ances, or a hook in flesh for our purification. All the curse of the law was borne by the Lord Jesus. He bore all " our sins in his own "body on the tree." Salvation is thus His free gift. But He also descended into the depths of all human sorrow in sympathizing love and tenderness. It is in this that Ave may drink with Him a cup of suffering. We need not go beyond this thought to inquire into the uses of suffering at present. It has SUFFERING AND GLORIFICATION. 313 its uses, no doubt, and much might be said about them ; but just now we need to see that suffering is not to be regarded as a means to produce certain results, but as itself a result, — an inevitable and necessary result of all complete identification with Jesus Christ. " Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized." This means " to walk as he walked," to be treated as He was treated, and to suffer reproach for the name of Christ, just as the true wife participates in the reputa- tion of her husband. He became of " no reputation," and invites us to "let this mind " be in us, " which was also in him." Not only so, but " rejoice " in it, " that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." There is always an "if so be" or an "if," in connection with "suffering," that presents it as a matter of privilege to the saint, and not as a demand made of the sinner. The latter enters the family of God through faith alone, while the former finds that the road to the " kingdom " of the Son is through suf- fering, tribulation and affliction. And if we do not clearly distinguish between the family and the king- dom, we shall never be able to understand many of the precious things of Scripture. Joseph was a son, though no more of a son than Benjamin, but his path to the " kingdom " lay through the pit and the prison, with only gleams of sunlight between. His sufferings are remarkably typical of the sufferings of Christ, and largely so of His followers. Let us look at a few of these analogies, in order to see more fully the character of those sufferings of which we maybe real " partakers." (1.) Joseph's brethren were moved with envy when 314 OLD CORN. they sold him into Egypt. His long white tunic, embroidered with a narrow stripe of bright colored mate- rial round the edges, was a special token of his father's love, and " they hated him and could not speak peace- ably unto him." Now this same principle lives wher- ever the carnal mind lives to this day, whether it is in the church or in the world. Whoever wears the spot- less robe of purity, will arouse the " envy " and " hatred " of his " brethren." To walk in close companionship with Jesus is to be rejected by the world, instead of being called to fill its places of honor and trust. The "world" once put Christ on a cross as a malefactor, and if He were here to-day it would do just the same thing, — in principle at least. " He knew that for envy they had delivered him." This is always excited by genuine holiness, and it can be seen both in Christian communities and in heathen Africa. By order of the king of Uganda, three African boys were dismembered and then burned alive. The speech of their Arab exe- cutioner, Mujasi, discloses a volume of truth concerning the underlying passions of envy and hatred. " You are going to be better than all the rest of us, aye ? You know how to read ; you are book men, are you ? We will show you what shall be done with all such upstarts ! " How truly could these young Christian martyrs say with their dying Lord, " They hated me without a cause." And a great multitude of God's saints in all lands have the same consolation. " Wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous, but who is able to stand before envy? " (2.) Joseph was falsely accused and slandered, when it was utterly impossible to prove his innocence. In a SUFFERING AND GLORIFICATION. 315 day of prosperity and usefulness, Satan laid in wait with a most terrible temptation, but was defeated in the conflict. All the more enraged, he plausibly turned evidence of innocence into an evidence of guilt, and secured the imprisonment of his victim, " whose feet they hurt with fetters, and laid him in iron." Now this all seems very hard indeed, and human nature cannot believe that such things can happen to those that are really innocent of wrong and true to God. But they do happen, and this history has been repeated in the lives of loyal followers of Jesus in every age. Not always in a literal dungeon, and yet shut up, by false or slanderous accusations, and the noblest actions of life misinterpreted and misunderstood. And it was thus with " the master of the house," whom they call " Beel- zebub." The friends of Job seem to have exhausted their resources and themselves, too, in an effort to prove him a guilty wretch, who was being punished by the Lord for his sins. After their seven days' silent meeting, they began to expound and explain, and accuse Job of all manner of crimes and abominable things, in order to prove their theory of divine displeasure with this hypocrite. It was a new revelation to men so unacquainted with God, when they discovered that Job was suffering, not under the hand of God at all, but that of Satan, and without any other cause than his malice. He had done well and suffered for it, and took it patiently, and it was acceptable with God, and "the word of the Lord cleared him " as it had Joseph. It seems not a little curious that Christian men are still working at the same problem that puzzled Eliphaz and his committee as to the cause of Job's sufferings. 316 OLD CORN. (3.) But we may not only know the malice of enemies ; we may be made to feel the ingratitude and neglect of friends. The chief butler could quickly for- get Joseph and his kindness, " remembering his faults " only at " the end of two full years." Week after week went hy in the monotony of that prison cell, and yet no tidings came of the expected intercession. No sign of deliverance, or even help, from this friend. Not even a dream or a vision for the comfort of his own heart. "But the Lord was with him " notwithstanding. No doubt but "hope deferred made his heart sick," and yet he " stayed upon his God," and was thoroughly weaned from every dependence upon man. Such are some of the trials that came to him, and they are " written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come." II. Our deportment, when under trial, is of the utmost consequence. To endure suffering may indeed be quite common ; but to " rejoice " in it, is our priv- ilege and an apostolic injunction. Christ is our example. First of all, " He did no sin." His words and actions were always just and right and holy, and approved of God. But men did not thus esteem them. They were misconstrued, and wrested and perverted. All of tins was to be expected. Jesus came to " destroy the works of the devil," and therefore Satan sought to destro3 r Him. He " came not to bring peace, but a sword," and to "bruise the serpent's head." Be sure that if you follow Him full}-, you will be led into battle with "wicked spirits in high places." So be not surprised, or "think it strange," that you are SUFFERING AND GLORIFICATION. 317 "partakers of his sufferings," when "ye do well and suffer for it." Again : " When he suffered, he threatened not." When you are lied about, and misrepresented by bad men, and your standing and usefulness injured with good men, have you learned to hold still, without attempting a personal vindication? The temptation may be strong to act on the policy of worldly men and resort to law, or to offset one railing accusation with another. It looks plausible that we are responsible to take care of our reputation. But there is a higher court, and what is so wise as to commit it all to God ? If you tear the vail from hypocrisy, you may be thought to show "a bad spirit," while if you do not, it will often be construed into an admission of false charges. If we view only the human hand, as inflicting wrong upon us, our lives must be full of fret and worry. But we need to believe that we can only " suffer according to the will of God," and that neither the malice of men nor of devils can reach us without His permission to pass through the hedge, which He puts round about His own. To live as seeing Him who is invisible, is to shut out second causes, and to rejoice in His will. Such a faith gives quietness and confidence, and overcomes the world. Job had no complaints about the Sabeans or the Chal- deans. He does not notice them at all. He only saw the Lord who gave, and the Lord that had taken away. So Joseph said to his brethren, "It was not you that sent me here, but God." True, you sold me into Egypt, but " God did send me before you to preserve life." His faith had turned to sight, and God had given him double 318 DLL CORK. for all his suffering. Among the Bible heroes of faith, we read of those who "were tortured, wo£ accepting deliv- erance, that they might obtain a better resurrection"; and later, we read of such a man as John Audly, who was persuaded by the merciless Bonner to recant, when he replied, "If I had as many lives as there are hairs on my head, I would lose them all in the fire before I would lose Christ." Such a faith can never be disappointed. " Rejoice and be exceeding glad ; for great is your reward in heaven," is the promise of Him who cannot lie. To "bless them which persecute you," and "to avenge not yourselves," is to follow the example of Jesus, and leave our vindication in the hands of God, for "I will repay, saith the Lord." " The Lord preserv- eth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer." There will be a revelation of the righteous judgments of God. It will be a day of great surprises. Many, of whom " all men speak well," because of their inoffensive prophesying, and their unsullied "reputa- tion," will knock, "saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us," but must hear the sad words, " I never knew you." Such have " loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." Their "wonderful works" have not been in defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, but of their own selves ! Many people fail to distin- guish between the two ; but there is a wide difference. The one is as praiseworthy as the other is blameworthy. God will take care of us, but the gospel is a trust com- mitted to us, and we are to defend it from the attacks of perverse men. " Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee." He will " keep " us in the hour of darkness, in the time of difficulty, and SUFFERING AND GLORIFICATION. 319 in the day of battle. " He will bring forth our right- eousness as the light, and our judgment as the noon- day." "Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked : between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not." It is hard to tell who is who, just yet ; but those who are right with God can afford to wait. " Wait on the Lord." Trust in Him. Obey Him. Follow Him, and rejoice if ye are partakers of His sufferings, " that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." " If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." " Joint- heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him." O beloved ! there are only seven steps to the glorious throne of Jesus. Let me persuade you to take them to-day. Don't stumble at one of them. They are the seven "togethers " of Scripture. " Quickened together with Christ," " crucified together with Christ," " raised together with Christ," " seated together with Christ," " sufferers together with Christ," " heirs together with Christ," " glorified together with Christ." To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. CHAPTER XXIX. SALVATION THROUGH SAXCTIFICATION. " God hatli from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." — 2 Thess. 2, 13. THE Apostle has much consolation in these " breth- ren beloved of the Lord," and sought to fortify them against the terrible apostasy of which he was warning them. They were already Christians. They had heard the outward call of God through the gospel of His Son, and it had come to them "in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance," and they " became followers of us and of the Lord." They were, then, certainly saved already in some sense. And we are at once confronted with this paradox: How is it that those already converted, and saved from the guilt of past sins, can be " chosen to salvation " ? I. It is obviously a matter of the first importance that we should understand the full import of the term "salvation." In its wide, generic sense, it is a com- prehensive word that bridges the whole chasm between hell and heaven, sin and holiness, guilt and glorification. Life is a term that covers the whole period of animated SALVATION THROUGH SANCTIFICATION. 321 existence from birth to death. But it is divisible into particular stages of existence ; as infancy, manhood and old age. Just so, " salvation " is a unit, geiierically speaking, but when we would be specific, it is divisible into justification, sanctification and glorification. As to this latter, we know but little, only we are to "hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." The final act of grace will only be fully known by those who are " partakers of the glory that shall be revealed." But all of the particulars that interest us concerning justification and sanctification are fully published in God's word. " Sal- vation " means much less to many people, than it means in the Bible. There are some who even preach about " saving men," though they make no reference to their souls at all; but their thought is so human and superficial that this sacred term is only made to apply to preservation from temporal evils, or rescue from bodily danger. True it is that such incidents may serve as apt illustrations of the soul's redemption from sin and its consequences, and be very effective when so used. But this cannot be claimed of sermons that are destitute of the gospel, and in which human benevolence in the alleviation of sorrow eclipses entirely the suffer- ings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is a fact that just such preaching is not uncommon in our day. Thousands of people listen to pathetic stories about "saving men" from bankruptcy! from jail! from profligacy! from drowning! and they often wait in vain for a single sentence of the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and His death for the " salvation of men " from hell, and their preparation for heaven. 322 OLD CORN. Again, there are multitudes who have no higher con- ception of the meaning of this term than an escape from hell in the final moments of earthly existence. But we look in vain for any such use of the word in the New Testament anywhere. But as it is almost invariably used, it signifies a present and realized possession of the imputed righteousness of Christ in justification; and the imparted holiness of Christ in sanctification. Nothing less than this is comprised in the " salvation " spoken of in this text as the full salvation to which these Thessalonian brethren were " chosen." And they were chosen to this fullness of salvation, because they already enjoyed the beginning of spiritual life, or initial salvation, in their regeneration, as we have previously noted. They were saved, objectively, in the sense of being justified in Christ, but needed to be saved sub- jectively, as being sanctified wholly by Christ. Thus there are stages in the work of salvation as in human life. First the infant, with its invariable characteristics of weakness and ignorance, and yet generically " a man," though properly and specifically called "a babe." What multitudes of babes never do become men or women ! They live and have an existence, but die without ever reaching manhood. The counterpart is found in the spiritual life of those that were saved from the guilt of past sins, were born again, and were saved from per- dition in their death, but who, nevertheless, never did know in all of their lifetime the great salvation to which they were " chosen " by this and other Scripture. They died without the sight. But, beloved, God is no respecter of persons, and all who really find forgiveness and justification through faith in the blood of Jesus, SALVATION THROUGH SANCTIFICATION. 323 are "chosen," called and invited, to this same fullness of "salvation" as were the Thessalonians. And every true child of God will really take his choice of walking in the highway of holiness, or in a lower path. To choose the former is deliverance from enemies, a tri- umphant walk with the Redeemer, and songs and ever- lasting joy upon the head. To choose the latter, is to decline from love and liberty, and lapse into legalism. "God gave them the desire of their hearts, but sent leanness into their souls." He may do just the same with you. " And yet I show unto you a more excellent way." II. But this "salvation" in its fullness, sweet- ness and power, is reached through " sanctification." " Chosen to salvation through sanctification," is the explicit teaching of the text. This word is here used in the same sense as in a previous letter to this church, when the Apostle had prayed that the God of peace might "sanctify you wholly." A distinction, then, is necessarily made between entire sanctification, which they had not, and sanctification in other aspects and meanings which they already enjoyed. They were sanctified by the blood of Jesus, as every justified person is, in the sense of being washed from their sins and separated from sinners. They were sancti- fied in the sense that all acquired pollution, or that which comes from sins committed, was taken away. They were also sanctified in the sense of being separated, or devoted unto the service of the Lord. " Ye were en- samples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia, for from you sounded out the word of the Lord." 324 OLD CORN. Consecration is one of the meanings of sanctification, and refers to the human side o£it. Their spiritual condition at this time was one with that of the disciples before Pentecost, when Jesus prayed for them that they might be sanctified through the truth. That they might be delivered from all sin- ful tempers and passions, and be made holy in heart as well as life. This is to be " sanctified wholly." This is to be distinguished from partial or judicial sanctifica- tion in three particulars. First, in doctrine. To be sanctified in any sense re- quires holiness in the life. Holiness of walk and con- versation is God's absolute demand of all His children. He that is born of God cannot dare to commit sin, how- ever strong Satan's appeal may be to that inward traitor, "sin that dwelleth in me." And if thus re- pressed and subjugated, "there is no condemnation," though this root principle of sin continues to exist in the person of the " carnal mind," or the " old man " with his antagonisms to holiness. But the doctrine of entire sanctification is the doctrine of heart purity ; of inward holiness ; of sin eradicated as a personality ; of being made free from sin ; of being made holy ; of our old man being crucified; and of being "dead indeed unto sin." Second, in condition. The lowest state of grace known to a child of God requires submission to the will of God. The sinner must submit his will to God before he can be saved at all. And then he must be a receiver rather than a giver. We must receive Jesus in order to become sons of God. We must receive life from the dead — eternal life, as the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. SALVATION THROUGH SANCTIFICATION. 325 Now in the place of submission, God's requirement of His child is consecration. A consecration that em- braces our will, our affections, our possessions and our service. Our entire being is to be yielded unto God as those that* are alive from the dead. It is a living sacri- fice that must be presented unto God in order to our sanctification. This includes service, to be sure; but it is much more than service. Many consecrate them- selves to the " service of the Lord," to " do " and to "work," and mistake this for entire consecration, which must include to "be " and to "suffer." We recently met with a dear " worker " who had been much perplexed with her failure to realize the expected results of consecration. She quickly recog- nized the difficulty when it was pointed out. Her consecration was to the "work" rather than to the Lord, and when the " work " went well and prosperous, amid smiles of approval, she was happy, and peaceful, and trustful ; but when the work broke down, she broke down. All was very dark, and "people were most disagreeable." Ah ! beloved, devotion to a person is much more than consecration to that person's work, but nothing is easier than to get the two confounded. Once more, in justification, as we have seen, a new life is to be found; while in sanctification an old life is to be lost, and self-denial becomes the law of our future walk. Third, in experience. Victory over sin in the mem- bers, sinful tempers, ambitions, pride, selfishness, self- will and unbelief must be maintained by every child of God that does not walk in darkness. But experience tells us that this victory is not generally secured until 326 OLD CORN. after a " civil war." Temptation from without finds a confederate within that seeks to betray and deliver us over to sin. We once knew of a man whose own son opened the door of his house to the burglars who mur- dered him. We may, nevertheless, so walk in the Spirit and watch unto prayer as to find victory over sin. Much has been written about the "secret of victory " by those who insist upon it that we " can never lose our sinful nature." That the best that God can do for us is to afford grace to keep " the old self- life down." But the experience of " salvation through sanctifica- tion" verifies the promise of God to "keep in perfect peace," to " destroy the works of the devil " and to make us " free from sin." Free from its hated presence, from its very existence. "Free indeed." As free from sin as Naaman was free from leprosy. It was not covered up, nor kept under subjection, but expelled from the entire system, so that his flesh came again as the flesh of a little child. No doubt but it was possible that he could have contracted the same disease again, but that does not interfere in the slightest degree with his present actual and complete healing. III. The divine agent who accomplishes in us this work of sanctification is the Holy Spirit. Our text speaks expressly on this point : " Through sanctification of the Spirit." Sanctification is God's work and not man's, only in the sense of consecration, as already seen. " The God of peace " is to do it. Hence it is, and it must be, a distinct, specific and instantaneous work SALVATION THROUGH SANOTIFICATION. 327 of the Holy Spirit. " The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple." " And suddenly there came a sound, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." But this is not the human conception. Man is wedded to some plan of gradualism, or being made perfect by the flesh. Now, it is "growth in grace," which has nothing to do with this question. Then, it is dying more and more unto sin, or the " gradually diminishing power of the evil nature within us." Again, it is "a neglecting of the body," and being ordinance-ridden with such rules as touch not, taste not, handle not ; which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship and humility, but amount to nothing. I once found an eminent minister so hungry for holiness, or a clean heart, that he was living in the attic of his house, almost starving himself by fasting, and had nearly deserted his family and society as a recluse. The gospel that the Holy Spirit could sanctify him wholly and instantaneously, if He was only received by faith for this work, was like a revelation to his yearn- ing spirit, and he at once sought and obtained a glori- ous deliverance. Mrs. Inskip used to tell of a man that she found in India who had been sitting on a stone, exposed to the weather, for thirty-five years. There he sat day and night, except when he went down to the Ganges, at three o'clock in the morning, to bathe. His ears were stopped with wax, so that he might only hear the voice of God. He had vowed to sit on that stone all his life. But superstition is not confined to heathen lands. Intelligent men do not hesitate in practically 328 OLD CORN. endorsing some form of delusion, and pronouncing them- selves " squarely against the doctrine of entire sanctifi- cation, as an experience received through faith, and the baptism with the Holy Ghost instantaneously be- stowed." And yet they fail to cite a single instance of sanctification actually received in any other way. We do not believe that any such witness exists anywhere. In the nature of the case, a gradatim sanctification is as incongruous as a seriatim pardon. But upon this altar of burnt offering, the fire of God still falls to consume the sacrifice, as when David " called upon the Lord, and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering" (1 Chron. 21 : 26). " Oh that it now from heaven might fall, And all of sin consume! " IV. Once more, it is "belief of the truth" that is the divine instrument of our sanctification. " Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." There is a wide distinction between the personal agent, or the Holy Spirit, and the instrument that He uses in accom- plishing His work. Both are necessary. We are to hear the truth. We are to believe the truth. God's word teaches God's will concerning our sanctification and holiness, and His method of doing this work within us, and the conditions required. To disbelieve the truth is fatal to success in this matter. " According to your faith, so shall it be unto you," is the law of the kingdom. Do you believe there is such a blessing ? Do you desire it ? Does your soul hunger for it? Will you, do you now to the best of your knowledge, comply with God's terms? Do you SALVATION THROUGH SANCTIFICATION. 329 surrender all to the fire, that is for the fire, even your old self and self life ? Do you entirely conse- crate yourself and all your living powers unto God forever ? * Are you " seeking the Lord with all your heart " ? Now let us pause right here, and rest upon the word of God. He says that "every devoted thing is most holy." Jesus said, " The altar sanctifieth the gift." Is that true ? Believe the truth, and it shall make you free. The truth is one witness for God. It is not the wit- ness of the Spirit, but it is a true witness for all that. Many overlook this entirely. They are so anxious for "the witness of the Spirit" that they forget to attach proper value to the witness or testimony of the word. I mean the written word; not the personal Logos, or Word, beginning with a capital W. Just here is the secret of failure with so many who do not receive the blessing they seek. They ignore one of God's witnesses, and cry for the other, and so get neither, because they unconsciously subvert the divine order. Let us remember, then, that the work and witness of the Spirit in our sanctification is always subsequent to our "believing the truth," or receiving the witness of the truth. It seems very hard and rather foolish to men, just to believe what God says without any other evidence. A man is pretty readily believed who brings good news, but when God brings it, we say, " Where is the evidence ? " The " princes of this world" are too wise, too cautious, too self-important to believe any divine thing that they don't know. I was struck with a picture that hung upon the wall in a house 330 OLD CORN. where I was being entertained. It was called " The Lucky Dog." There was a cage full of fine looking dogs whose heads were the biggest part of them. They were struggling to get through the bars of their cage to a large and tempting pan of milk that was placed on the floor immediately in front of them. Their privation was aggravated by the fact that one of their number had escaped, and was feasting on the delicious bever- age. He had fortunately been small enough to slip through the bars, while his big-headed companions could only get their noses through. It may have been only "luck" in the case of the dog, but it is the highest wisdom in us to become little that we may receive the kingdom, to humble ourselves that we may be exalted, to " become a fool that we may be wise." The simple- hearted soldier that took Napoleon at his word, is a good illustration of the value and simplicity of faith. " Thank you, Captain," said the Emperor as his run- away horse was returned to him. Quick as thought the soldier inquired, " In what regiment, sire?" Just as promptly came the response from the lips of the man that made captains with his word, "In the Old Guard." And to the " Old Guard" he immediately went, saying to its colonel, "I am a captain, sir." "Who said so?" The promoted soldier pointed significantly to the great general and replied, "He said so." Now if appropri- ating faith can capture an office through the careless word of a man, how much more shall the faith of God's elect claim through His promises made good by the blood of His Son, and confirmed with an oath to His children. O beloved, listen once more to our text, and receive it into your hearts. " God hath from tiie SALVATION THROUGH SANOTIFICATION. 331 beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctifica- tion of the Spirit and belief of the truth." V. We cannot close without saying a few words as to the results of sanctification. (1.) Subjectively. The heart is purified by faith. Inward purity is holiness. This is more than integrity, virtue or benevolence. It is a state of the soul and spirit out of which all virtues spring, and in which all graces abide. It does not refer so much to the outward act as to the inward fact, and the congenial soil in which all the fruits of the Spirit may flourish. Again it is peace. But it is more than " peace with God," which arises from a sense of pardon, and to which we read our title in the wounds of Him " who made peace through the blood of the cross." " It is " the peace of God which passeth all under- standing" that becomes an efficient garrison to "keep both heart and mind " in heavenly repose, even in the midst of storms. It is a peace that has power to conduct the soul through the breakers of spiritual hell- gates in safety and calm. The salutation of the angels was, " Peace on earth," but it was only a salutation, or a proclamation of good will. It can become an experi- mental fact only where "the Son of peace" abides. Then with divine authority He commands the peace, either in the house when " he shewed unto his dis- ciples his hands and his side," and said, "Peace be unto you," or in a storm at sea, when He rebuked the winds and said, " Peace, be still." Once more, it is power. Not the power of a magazine filled with explosives, prepared for pyrotechnic display. 332 OLD CORN. Not an abstract force deposited for marvelous center shots on great occasions. But the unconscious effec- tiveness of the wire that finds its insulated way from the battery to the place of need. It is powerful because it carries the electric spark to its destination with unerr- ing certainty and without obstruction. It takes power to keep us in littleness and lowliness and helplessness. Power to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Power to walk alone with Jesus ; to be deserted by friends and despised by enemies ; to be little and " unknown, and yet well known ; as dying, and, behold, we live ; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." Yes ; we may be kept in the power and " by the jjower of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." Glory to His name ! (2.) Objectively. When Jesus prayed for the sancti- fication of the disciples, He distinctly announced the oneness of His followers as one of the inevitable results of that experience. " Sanctified through the truth . . . that they all may be one." Nothing short of this will ever unify the churches, or break down the barriers of sectarianism. But " perfect love " is a unit of experience. It is the same under all conditions, in all countries, and in all ages. It is the point of confluence where every stream of Christian life may meet and flow on in one great tide to the boundless ocean of eternity. Like the warm breath of spring that unlocks the ice-bound vessel and sets it free for action, so does the fire of God's Spirit melt the fetters of carnality and churchianity, and set the child of God free to clasp with a hand of loving SALVATION THROUGH SANCTIFIGATION. 333 welcome every other child, of God. Sanctification, then, means "perfect love," love to God and love to man; and this is "the bond of perfectness" and the "unity of the Spirit." Another thing for which Jesus prays is, "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." The power of love to convince and awaken the unsaved is infinitely greater than that of learning, or logic, or eloquence. Love has broken hardest hearts, and its mute appeals have won their cause where all else has failed. In the whole human race there is a groundwork of natural affection, and this is sufficiently akin to Chris- tian love to enable sinners to understand its genuine ministry better and quicker than anything else. Holy, loving and united witness-bearing for Jesus would prove a mightier agency to proclaim the mission of the Son of God than all others combined. But we must not mistake the false idea of a sancti- fied life for the true. Sanctimoniousness is not sanc- tification. And the world's ideal of holiness is very wide of the mark. An old writer describes it thus : "The virgin, when she goes abroad, should strike all with amazement, as if an angel had just come down from heaven. All who look upon her should be thrown into stupor at the sight of her sanctity. When she sits at church, it is in the profoundest silence. Her eye catches nothing of the objects around her. She sees neither women nor men, but her spouse only." Jesus Christ was Himself a great disappointment to the world's ideal of a holy man. He ate and drank as others did, and they saw " a gluttonous man and a wine bibber." He was freely approached by the sick, the 334 OLD CORN. polluted and the vile, and in scorn they called Him "the friend of sinners." The temptations must have been great to modify His walk somewhat in deference to the world's thoughts and ideal demands. Was it nec- essary that He should disappoint and vex and anger it? To offend and alienate men could only have been a grief and anguish to His loving heart, and yet it was the inevitable result of the contact of a secular and worldly religion with uncompromising holiness. We must, then, bear in mind that there are two distinct and quite opposite views of sanctification before the church of to-day. The one is that of the Scriptures, and the other the vague, misty and superficial one of the world. " He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked." To obtain an "inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith " is to hear the call, believe the truth, receive the Spirit, accept sanctification, and " obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." CHAPTER XXX. THE PARABLES. QUESTION. — " What is the meaning of the parables of the ' Mustard Seed ' and of the ' Leaven,' in Matt. 13: 31-33?" Answer. — These are two of the four parables that Jesus spoke to the " multitude." " He spake many things unto them in parables," "because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." " For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing," etc. The first parable of the sower He explained to His disciples; the sum of which was, that though the Son of man is Himself the sower, three parts out of four of " the word of the kingdom" is forever fruitless. He also explained to them after He " went into the house," the parable of the " wheat and the tares." The seed sown by the owner of the field was good seed, but while his servants, or the men appointed to guard it, " slept," " his enemy sowed tares," and the damage was so widespread and irreparable that there was no remedy until the separating fires of the "harvest [which] is the end of the world." Now the parables of the " Mustard Seed" 336 OLD CORN. and the " Leaven " are " mysteries " of the same general import and in perfect harmony with those so fully explained, yet we are sometimes asked to believe that these parables are precisely contradictory to the others. That they set forth and predict " the evangelization of the whole world by the gospel leaven which Jesus hid in it eighteen centuries ago." And Alford is quoted as claiming this to be done, " in the transforming power of the ' new leaven,' on the whole being of individuals." Now it must be clear that if we accept the teaching of the two parables first mentioned, we must reject this inter- pretation of these last. If the one is true the other must be false. Let us first try to expose the error. If this leaven is the gospel, and Jesus has hidden it in the world eighteen hundred years ago, and it is irresistibly penetrating and assimilating wicked hearts and the great mass of humanity, why should we bother about any open proclamation of the gospel ? Surely WE are not commis- sioned to hide anything, and if that which is hidden is of the Lord, had it not better be left alone until its transforming work is accomplished? We have been familiar all our life with a class of theorizers, who hold that " regeneration is a modification of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit," a sort of " transformation and renewal of the old man," and that the new birth is nothing more than a mere culmination of this gradual process of being leavened. That this modicum of leaven has been inherited, that it would do its work irresistibly — no need for outward instruction, preach- ing or prayer. Read this from H. W. Beecher in the Christian Union : " The great mistake in regard to regeneration is in supposing that it is instantaneous " ! THE PARABLES. 337 " Birth is a graduated thing. It takes a great while to get a full grown man." " If you look for immediate change you will be mistaken." Instead of such vagaries we hold to the Scriptures, which declare the new birth to be a creation — " created in Christ Jesus," " born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever " (1 Pet. 1 : 23). An instantaneous work, complete in itself, wrought by the Holy Ghost and the power of a proclaimed gospel. Now this truth has always found its most inveterate foes in those who could fortify themselves behind the gradualism and secrecy of leaven. But it must be acknowledged by all that neither individuals nor communities are ever brought into Christian light by such hidden and imperceptible oper- ations, but by an open and uncompromising warfare against sin with " the sword of the Spirit, the word of God." It is through the truth that men are made free, and through the truth that they are to be sanctified. The word of God is likened to a fire, and to a hammer, and to a sword, and to bread, and to water, but never to leaven. The Lord Jesus is engaged in the work of creating good and destroying evil, and not in that of merely changing one into the other. But who is it that says "that tlie kingdom of heaven is a corrupter of the world " ? Nay ! but that leaven is a corrupter of the kingdom of heaven ! A very different matter. The confusion seems to arise on account of misapprehending the force of our Lord's words. They are read as though He meant to say, " The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven," But this fallacy will readily appear if a sim- 338 OLD CORN. ilar course is applied to other of the parables. For example, " the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man," in verse twenty-four. Here it is evident that the like- ness is not merely unto " a man," but a man encom- passed with all of the circumstances that are attendant. To eliminate a single circumstance, is to vitiate the whole parable. In like manner, Jesus does not liken the kingdom of heaven to leaven, but unto '■'■leaven which a xooman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." To make it still more clear, inA yet preserve the truth entire, let us transpose it thus : " The kingdom of heaven is like unto three measures of meal, in which a woman hid leaven, until the whole was leavened." Thus in order to preserve the full equation of truth, we must have "the kingdom of heaven" on one side, and all that is connected together as parts of a whole, on the other. And in this respect, no other parable seems to have suffered at the hands of men as this one has. Invention has been tortured in order to suggest some possible likeness between leaven and the gospel, whereas they are just as antithetical as possible. The gospel heals, leaven corrupts ; the gospel builds up, leaven puffs up ; the gos- pel brings peace, leaven brings heat and fermentation ; the gospel sweetens, leaven sours ; the gospel must be planted like wheat, leaven, when once introduced, will propagate itself like tares, the thistle or the plague; the gospel is open and from the house-top, leaven is secret, hidden, insidious. Now Matthew Henry says this concerning the parable of the tares : " The drift of the parable is to represent to us the present and future state of the kingdom of heaven, the gospel church, THE PARABLES. 339 Christ's care of it, the devil's enmity against it, the mixture that there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them in the other world." To this agree commentators and Biblical stu- dents of all shades, so far as we know, and there can be no reasonable objection to this consistent and harmoni- ous drift for all of these parables, spoken before Jesus sent the multitude away, but declared to His disciples after they " went into the house." This parable of the tares, as explained by our Lord, gives a key to the others. If this gives us the condition of things in the " field," which is the world, so the mustard tree " in the field," clearly relers to the visible church. It certainly teaches a great expansion from small beginnings. Its genuine branches spread far and wide. It attracts the fowls of the air (representatives of the wicked one, v. 19), who, however, never become branches, but are allowed to "lodge" in their midst. The corruption and secular- ization of the church, by the patronage and nominal conversion of Constantine, and the world power ever since, only too faithfully illustrates the meaning of this parable. It is consistent with this that there is a constant effort to figure into the statistics of the church about 600,000,000 inhabitants of Catholic and Protes- tant countries, in order to demonstrate the spread of Christianity. Let us now give attention to some of the terms used in the parable of the leaven in order that we may reach its actual meaning, and find its harmony with the others. To disregard the force of these terms and claim that the sole object of the parable is to set forth the "contagious power" (?) of the gospel, is as absurd as to claim that Christ's object in the miracle of 340 OLD CORN. feeding the multitude was merely to teach economy about " fragments." (1.) " The kingdom of heaven" is an expression which is not just the same as "the kingdom of God," which term describes the ruling power of God under different circumstances. In grace, as in Romans 14; in judg- ment, or in manifested glorious power. But in the introduction of the principles of the heavenly kingdom into this world, they are met with opposition from the devil. This conflict goes forward without any visible, or outward manifestation of the power of Christ. God seems to have retired from the affairs of this world. Men certainly seem to do as they please, and yet Satanic power to damage and hinder the spread of the gospel is limited. Jesus explained some of the "mysteries." (2.) " Leaven is used in Scripture as a striking sym- bol of evil and corruption. " Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses ; for whosoever hath that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel." It is still typical of the worshiper's imperfection and corruption, even if allowed in his sacrifice of thanksgiving. When Jesus defines it, He says it "is hypocrisy." " Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees" (Luke 12: 1). Whenever He speaks of it, He bids His disciples "beware" of it. It is a synonym for unbelief, false doctrine and practical impurity. Paul bids the Corinthians to "purge out the old leaven," and the "leaven of malice and wicked- ness." The Galatians are admonished against it, inas- much as " a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Yet this is a matter of rejoicing in the parable, if it there has a good meaning. But the church is to be "unleav- TEE PARABLES. 341 ened," and there is no such a thing as "the leaven of Christ," or a " new leaven," as is often said. Confu- sion of thought could hardly go beyond that in which we are involved, if this unprecedented contradiction in the use of symbols be allowed. We are to "hide''' it in the meal, and at the same time to "purge it out." To "beware" of it, and also to rejoice in it. The "whole " is to be leavened, and at the same time to be "unleavened" ! (3.) But when we are told that " Jesus hid the gospel leaven in the whole world eighteen centuries ago," this, too, spoils the parable, for the " woman " did not hide it in the whole, but in " three measures of meal," or a definite and circumscribed portion of the whole, and it is only this portion that is represented as being affected by the leaven. This, then, is the church again. Small, pure and perfect in its parts at the beginning, and unto whom the "gospel came, not in word only but also in power," into this body did the " woman " secretly and adroitly hide the leaven of hypocrisy and other incipient evils. Ananias and Sapphira are very early witnesses of this. Who, then, does this woman that does the hid- ing personate? Surely not the Lord Jesus ! And just as surely she is not the bride, the Lamb's wife, but rather her inveterate foe, that other mystical woman of the Bible, and especially of Rev. 17, the mother of har- lots, who has Mystery inscribed on her forehead. Such, we think, are the only expositions that will harmonize with each other, and with the whole body of Scripture truth. Not only so : they are verified and corroborated by every page of the church's history, both past and present. May the result of our present investigations 342 OLD CORN. be to reinforce obedience to our Lord's command to "beware " of it, and to that of the Apostle, to "purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened." CHAPTER XXXI. SIN NOT A NECESSITY. QUESTION. — " Is it possible to live without sin?" Answer. ^ — Many good people think that it is not, and to them it seems to be in conflict with 1 John 1 : 8 : " If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." It is claimed that this is true of the holiest man on the earth. That though he may walk in " fellowship with God," and be preserved from consciously sinning, yet "sin," as a unit of depravity, or unholiness, is still within, and "cannot be taken away out of any man's inmost spiritual being," so long as he shall live. To most people this sounds like very bumble talk, and evidence of the deepest piety. Many also feel that, in some mysterious way, such testimony honors the Lord Jesus. But if He really came into this world and died in order to " destroy the works of the devil," it is clear that every failure to completely do this must discredit His mission just to that extent. And in so far as it is accomplished, Christ is glorified. It is no wonder, then, that the pious Anna, the Electress of Brandenburg, ordained in her will : " Our text shall be 1 John 1: 7, — The blood of Jesus Christ his Son 344 OLD CORN. cleanseth us from all sin." But this declaration immediately precedes the eighth verse, which is so gen- erally cited as proving the universal prevalence and continued existence of sin in the believer. That these two statements must be harmonized, is admitted by all, and some of the attempts to do so are extremely illogical and un scriptural. One says, for example, that their harmony consists in the fact that " though sin is still active, it is no longer dominant." This may indeed be the truth concerning the lives of some Christians, but of whom it could not be said that " the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." Since (1.) to repress the activities of inbred sin is widely differ- ent from being " cleansed " from it ; just as a victory over rheumatism, so as to be able to work in spite of it, is different from a soundness of body in which rheuma- tism does not exist. (2.) Even if the said repression could in any sense be properly called "cleansing," it certainly must be ascribed to the energy of the Holy Ghost, and not to the " blood of Christ," as in the language of the text. (3.) But this whole attempt to make sanctification identical with a mere triumph over inward sinful ten- dencies, and to call such a victory "salvation from sin," is to destroy all true distinction between Bible " holiness " and that human adornment called virtue. For we all know, that, in spite of carnality, men may be honest, chaste, temperate and upright according to moral precepts, win the esteem and admiration of their fellows, and maintain such a life without faith in Jesus Christ at all. But "true holiness " is an inward fact, and the root of all true outward graces and living vir- SlN NOT A NECESSITY. 345 tues. It is in the character first, then the conduct. It is what we are, rather than what we do, though it com- prises both. Now where is the hope, or the possibility, of repression ever bringing about the extinction of inbred sin? But it is admitted on all sides that a com- plete eradication must take place either before, or at, or after death. And if both of the latter positions involve a denial of Jesus as the Savior, as they certainly do, we are shut up to this present life as the only time of puri- fication that is sanctioned by Scripture; and 1 John 1: 8, cannot be rightly understood as contradicting any of the many declarations to that effect. (1.) In the seventh verse the Apostle declares of some, that " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." Again in the ninth verse, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," and "all unright- eousness is sin." Now if the eighth verse really contra- dicts the seventh, it also contradicts the ninth verse ; or, rather, if the seventh verse is contradicted by the eighth verse, this in its turn is contradicted by the ninth, which repeats the truth concerning a present cleansing "from all unrighteousness." (2.) But such absurdities are not to be tolerated for a moment; neither can we understand the Apostle as meaning to say that he who applies to Christ for " cleans- ing from all sin," shall either be " deceived " or disap- pointed. But he puts both pardon and purity on the same ground of human " confession" and divine "faith- fulness," as well as "justice." How can we encourage sinners to believe one half of this promise, and "con- fess " their sins, and trust that God " forgives " them, 346 OLD CORN. and to "say" so, and then turn to Christians with warnings and bodings of danger and deception, if they believe the other half of the text, and claim God's promise of " cleansing from all unrighteousness " ? How shameful it is to mock the honest seeker after a clean heart with the assurance that there is no deliverance for him now, in the blood of Christ, but there is a " sacred influence by which sin is to be subdued more and more, till it is quite abolished " ! As if the strength of a lion could be " abolished " by a cage ! or the murderous revenge in the heart of a felon be " abolished " by man- acles and a dungeon ! Possibly such things might be conceived of, but the old man of sin has a charmed life and can never, never be "abolished " by subjugation, however severe or long continued ; and though we have catechised many defenders of that doctrine, some of them near one hundred years of age, we have been unable to find a single witness to success on that line, or to find a man who ever found any other man who was such a witness. (3.) Now let us see what the plain meaning of the Apostle is, in the passage under consideration. John says that he brings a " message " from God to his "little children," (to the church, not to sinners,) that their "joy may be full." He declares that he writes of things which he had " heard" and " seen" and " looked upon" and " handled of the word of life." And as is conceded by Lange, and commentators generally, "the subject mat- ter is sanctification, not justification or regeneration." The Apostle speaks here of the removal of sin itself, of being " made free from sin." And Alford says, "This meaning, however much it may be supposed that justi- StN NOT A NECESSITY. 347 fication is implied or presupposed, must be held fast here." Now in the tenth verse, we are told that "if we say that we have not sinned," i.e., are not sinners, having never committed sin, and therefore in no need of the blood of Christ, " we make God a liar," because He has constantly declared to the contrary. So we have in the eighth verse the precisely parallel thought as to sin in its seat or origin, called also " unrighteousness." If any man be a Zinzindorfian and say that he has "no sin," i.e., deny the Bible doctrine of sin in believers, or remaining pollution which requires cleansing, " the truth is not in him," and he deceives himself. Now there are many men of both classes, and they are all convicted by the Apostle of willful disbelief of the revealed truth of God. But how are we less guilty than they, if we say that the blood of Christ either can- not, or does not, really " cleanse us from all unrighteous- ness," upon condition of confessing and trusting His faithfulness and justice ? For surely God's word is as unequivocal on this latter point as on either of the former ! To " aim " to live without sin, and to pray constantly, " Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin," can be no less than solemn mockery, if we fail to rely on the blood of Jesus Christ to " cleanse." Not that this is one single act, completed and lasting for all time to come, but a present act, and a present fact, carried forward continuously, and always in the present tense, as well as in a perfect sense. There is a theory abroad that if the blood of Christ should really cleanse from all sin, that it would then cease to "cleanse," because nothing more "to be cleansed away." But this fallacy overlooks the provision found 348 OLD CORN. in the atonement, not only for sin, properly so called, i.e., a voluntary transgression of known law, and the inbeiog of "unrighteousness, which is sin," but also "sins of ignorance," infirmities, or involuntary trans- gressions of God's law, whether known or unknown. "Secret [unconscious] faults," David calls them, and asks to be " cleansed " from them, while praying to be kept from presumptuous [known and voluntary] sins." Thus the precious blood of Christ, in its efficacious power to cleanse and to keep clean, is the perpetual need and rejoicing of every child of God up to the very gates of glory. CHAPTER XXXII. DISTINCTIONS. QUESTION. — "What is the distinction between justification and sanctification ? " Answer. — While there are a few persons who confound justification with sanctification, it is generally conceded that they are quite distinct from each other, and not at all one and the same thing. True, there are points of analogy, and some things common to both ; but for us to dwell upon these to the exclusion of the points of con- trast, is only to perpetuate a confusion of ideas. Both are received by faith, and both are among " the things that are freely given us of God." And in both cases there must be entire submission to His will. Yet the Scriptural distinctions between the two are so obvious, and so universally recognized by theologians and ex- perimental Christians, that it would be unnecessary to dwell upon them were it not for the attempt, repeatedly made, to confound justification with sanctification. And while these attempts disregard the most common and Scriptural modes of speech, they are often successful in perplexing the honest inquirer. Now let us inquire, What is justification ? It is a law 349 350 OLD CORN. term, and strictly refers to that divine act by which a sinner is absolved from the guilt and penalty of his sin. It is not the acquittal of one who is proven innocent, but the pardon or forgiveness of one who confesses guilt. But a just and holy God cannot exercise such clemency as this without a divine war- rant and righteous ground on which to act. And this is only found in the cross of Christ. The justice, holiness and moral glory of God's government are all maintained in the atonement of His Son Jesus Christ, and at the same time "the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared." It is in virtue of the cross that God can be "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." " Justi- fication by faith," then, means, God's forgiveness of the sinner that repents, confesses and accepts the atone- ment of Jesus Christ. But this includes regeneration, or the new birth, that special work of the Holy Spirit by which we become "partakers of the divine nature." This is not the old nature changed, but a new nature implanted — " a new creation ; " "born of the Spirit;" " born from above." It is a Christlike, law-loving and obedient nature that this new life possesses, antagon- istic in all respects to his elder brother, the " old man " of sin, over whom we are promised victory from the very start, "if we will walk in the Spirit." And the Spirit, "the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father," is certainly given to every new-born child of God, "that we might receive the adoption of sons." And these three things, pardon, regeneration and adop- tion, are rightly included in the New Testament idea of justification by faith. And though cornplemental to DISTINCTIONS. 351 each other, they are so entirely contemporaneous that we can never consciously separate them. (1.) It will thus be clearly seen that justification is a thing complete in itself, and incapable of either ex- pansion, increase or progress. (2.) It has special reference to "the remission of sins that are past," and the penalty of violated law is borne by another. (3.) Justification removes guilt and condemnation from the conscience, and brings in the favor of God and His love " shed abroad in the heart." (4.) Justification precedes sanctification as the ob- ject of desire and search on the part of the sinner, whose past sins or "transgressions," are his burden, and who cries for " mercy " and forgiveness. (5.) Justification is distinct from sanctification when regarded in reference to the order of the work of Christ. Christ is our justification on the cross. We are "rec- onciled to God by the death of his Son." To be sure, there is a vital union between justification and sanctifi- cation, and using the term with this wide meaning, every one that is justified is also sanctified in a sense. Sanctification is frequently used in Scripture in a judi- cial sense, and applied both to persons and things devoted, separated or consecrated to the Lord or His service. But the entire sanctification of which we speak — that for which Jesus prays in John 17, and Paul in Thessalonians, etc., has a different meaning, viz. : to make pure and holy. We have seen that while regenerating grace brings in a new life it is not accompanied with the destruction of the old. And the uniform experience of Christians has been that " these 352 OLD CORN. are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." And here is the key to those "sins of omission" about which we all know so much. But Christ has died to make men holy, and will "grant unto us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fe;ir, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life." (1.) But sanctification, even when entire, or love, when "perfect," is not of such a nature as to exclude progress, or expansion, as justification does. (2.) Sanctification has not reference to the forgive- ness of sins committed, but cleansing from the pollu- tion, or the expulsion, of inbred sin. It deals not with the past, but offers preservation in the present. (3.) It deals not with the guilt of sin, but expels the inward proneness to it, the love of it, and gives power over temptation through the indwelling Holy Ghost. (4.) Sanctification is to be sought and obtained only by those who are walking in the light of justification, and are neither cold nor backslidden in heart. Such only can "yield themselves to God as those that are alive from the dead." A special kind of yielding, and totally different from the blind submission required of i sinner, who may seek and find justification. (5.) Christ is our sanctification ; or this work is wrought and perpetuated within us by Him who " dwells in our hearts by faith." But this is resur- rection life, and maintained by the Holy Ghost stmt down from heaven as His ascension gift "to them that obey him." Now "sinners" and rebels have neither DISTINCTIONS. 353 part nor lot in this, only according to divine order. "Enemies" must be "reconciled to God by the death of his Son." But "being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." The one is the sequence of the other, and the only road to peace is "through the blood of his cross." It was there that our Lord Jesus did that work for us, that when individually appropriated justi- fies us, and puts us to into such divine relationship as to bring within the compass of our faith that other work of the blessed Holy Spirit within us, which is called entire sanctification. CHAPTER XXXIII. PHILOSOPHY OF DOUBT. QUESTION. — "Why is the profession of holiness so often discredited ? " Answer. — Let us first look at a few Biblical truths underlying this thing. The true followers of Christ "are not of the world; therefore, the world hateth" them. But "the world loves its own." "Ye know that it hated me before it hated you," said Christ, and the Christian that expects to escape the hatred of the world has not yet learned the alphabet of the life of true "holiness" and Christ-following. To be sure, one may have just enough religion to beautify his life and make him attractive to the world, and a worldly spirit, just as a babe, that is the child of an emperor, may be admired by those who are at war with its father. But when the child becomes a soldier in his father's army, he is no longer the admiration, but the foe of his father's enemies. This is why the "world," the " carnal mind," could see no beauty in Jesus, no holiness, no goodness, but " a gluttonous man and a wine bibber," a " blasphe- mer," and one who "had a devil." He testified against 354 PHILOSOPHY OF DOUBT. 355 the world, and all manner of sin, and was the unflinch- ing witness "for God and righteousness, and so the world hated Him and sought to kill Him. So it was with John the Baptist, all of the apostles, and the martyrs. It was war to the death. It is so yet. No treaty of peace has ever been signed by the contending powers, not- withstanding the efforts of namby-pamby go-betweens. God is the same. Jesus Christ is the same; and the world, the flesh and the devil have not changed one particle for the better. Now let us apply some common sense principles to the matter in hand. (1.) The "perfect man," of whom God speaks, is simply a " holy man," because " made free from sin " by the power of God. (2.) Every truly holy person is a moral force, and used of God as a rebuke to sin and sinners, especially " sinners in Zion," and an example of virtue. (3.) Some here and there will, no doubt, receive His testimony and be led into the light ; but what about the many who are bound up in sensual ease and selfishness? (4.) Manifestly they are left without defense or excuse, if they admit the truth of the doctrine, and the reality of the experience brought to their notice. Their only comfort is in trying to believe that others are no better than themselves, whatever they may profess. They must fortify themselves in this conviction, and this is easily done, if it can be established that he who disturbs their peace, is either a fanatic or a hypocrite. (5.) Now here is a powerful motive for " desiring an occasion" that shall extinguish a light that constantly condemns. Then to this must be added the awful 356 OLD CORN. appetite which unsaved human nature has for scandal in general, but wonderfully whetted in proportion to the high character borne by those aspersed. (6.) Here, then, are philosophical reasons, of univer- sal prevalence, why Jesus should say to His followers, " Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you ; " for that has ever been the mark of a "false prophet," while to " cast out your name as evil for the Son of man's sake " has ever been the mark of a true prophet. Surely we have here the highest authority for the fact that human judgment is always at fault, and can never agree with the judgment of God upon a single point. (7.) And as men sought to "entangle Jesus in his talk," that they might justify themselves, just so in this day, is the truth distorted, facts misrepresented, faults magnified, and innocent infirmities transformed into heinous sins. Nothing is more certain than that allegations to this effect shall be made concerning eA r ery one whose whole trend and power of life is for purity and holiness, and it is equally certain that such asper- sions always find eager believers, even though they come from the most contemptible and unreliable sources. Any report against the character of a really " perfect " man, will be believed by multitudes who would not believe the author of it in any worldly matter where he was interested to the extent of a single dollar, even though he were under oath. Such is the greedy cred- ulity exhibited by human nature touching anything calculated to soil the white robes of the just. And this readiness to think evil of others, unconsciously adver- tises that inbred "corruption," or proclivity to wrong within ourselves, which is comforted by finding our- PHILOSOPHY OF DOUBT. 357 selves in eminent company. And he who maintains the impossibility of its removal before death, scores a triumph for his theory whenever the testimony of an opposing witness can be invalidated. And thus it is a necessity of carnality to "rejoice in iniquity," and it presumes that every charge against a good man is true until he proves himself innocent ; and even then "claims liberty " to doubt his witnesses. (8.) On the other hand, holiness works within us a sort of incapacity to believe evil reports about the Lord's children, except upon indubitable evidence, and even then with the greatest reluctance. "Love thinketh no evil." And he who is slow to believe bad things about "good people unconsciously reveals his own purity of heart and life. From these premises we draw conclusions as follows : — (1.) "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually dis- cerned." (2.) The inhabitants of all " towns " and cities, too, are mostly of this description. (3.) They could not, therefore, identify a " perfect man," or a holy man, if they wanted to, for they are not competent judges. (4.) But inasmuch as to find such an one would be self-condemnation, the search is cut short by a theology that denies the possibility of such a thing, and readily pronounces every specimen offered as a fraud. " He that departeth from evil is accounted mad." (5.) But while the " kingdom of God cometh not with observation," it can be told about, explained and 358 OLD CORN. testified to by those whose "life is hid with Christ iu God," and it is the word of truth that God uses as a sword, rather than merely beautiful and harmless lives. (6.) And this witnessing gospel is not " puffery," but simply to " bear witness and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was mani- fested unto us" (1 John 1 : 2). "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." " Come and hear, all ye that fear the Lord, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul." Mr. Spurgeon says: "We can conceal the words of the Holy One by not confess- ing the truth at all. A Christian, but never said so !" Again he says : — " We are free [from sin] in a strange waj^. Accord- ing to the chapter in which we find our text, we are free because we have died. If a slave dies, his master's possession in him is ended. The tyrant can rule no longer ; death has relaxed his hold. ' He that is dead is free from sin.' Sin comes to me and asks me wby I do not obey its desires. I have a reply ready. 'Ah, Master Sin, I am dead ! I died some thirty years ago, and I do not belong to you any more, What have you to do with me?'" Job was one of those "perfect " men about whom God saw fit to " spread information." He " advertised " the devil, and the whole universe, that His servant Job was a "perfect man." Satan "believed only as much as he liked " of it, and accused Job of serving God because of what he made by it, and other sinister motives. Now the same God that declared Job was "perfect and upright," commands us to be "perfect" (Matt. 5: 48). To " be holy." To " be pure." Not to try to be, oi PHILOSOPHY OF DOUBT. 359 aim to be, or hope to be, but to " be holy." What is to be done about it ? Again we quote Mr. Spurgeon : — " Beware of picking and choosing in reference to the commands of Christ. Some professors object to much of the teaching of Him whom they call Master and Lord." " Some precepts are denounced as impracticable, and, it is asserted, that they cannot be carried out." " When persons speak of our Lord's precepts as good, but impracticable, they make Him out to be an amiable simpleton. Is this their reverence for incarnate wis- dom?" " There are many things in the word of God as pre- cepts which good men decline to see, which indeed they declare they cannot see. If you put a gold piece over the boldest verse in the Bible, you will not be able to see the passage." " I pray you do not do so, for willful ignorance is no excuse for disobedience." CHAPTER XXXIV. NEGATIVE RITUALISM. QUESTION. — " What is the meaning of the passage in Col. 2: 13-23?" Answer. — A little latitude on the scope of this dif- ficult passage of Scripture seems necessary. Paul's intense love for the "saints and faithful brethren at Colosse,"' had been manifested by himself and Timothy, in "striving" and "laboring" to "present every man perfect in Christ Jesus"; knowing as he did how cer- tainly error finds root in spiritual deficiency, his "great conflict for them " on this behalf was all the greater since the germ of serious errors was discoverable at Colosse. The church there was largely composed of converts from heathenism as well as from Judaism. And it is quite certain that the "deceiving philosophy," of which Paul bids them beware, was that of these Greeks and of the Gnostics, blended with the asceticism of the Essenes. These latter affected to live the life of angels, and disdained all outward things as carnal and sensual, while the former pretended to derive their knowledge of divine things from direct inspiration, to the neglect " NEGATIVE RITUALISM. 361 of Scripture only as interpreted by the aid of philos- ophy. It was thus that a reaction from Judaism conspired with a Gnostic theosophy to seduce the church from its liberty in Christ its head, and to " compel subjec- tion to ordinances." Not indeed of observance after the manner of Judaistic teachers and errorists, but of negation, or non-observance, a much more taking and deceptive form of error. Paul gives the purport of their demand (not his) in the brief summary, " Touch not, taste not, handle not," and ask why they are ordinance-ridden with such rules as these. "Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving," which have "indeed a show of wisdom in will- worship and humility and severity to the body, but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh." The show of humility in "him that eateth not," but judgeth his brother (that eateth) "in meat and in drink," is indeed fully admitted; but beneath this disguise there was the lurking pride of the "fleshy mind " that could not be satisfied to obey the simple gospel and "walk in the Spirit," but must "intrude into those things " which God had not revealed in His word, and make conscience where there should be none, and hush its voice where it should speak. Such was the effort of a fanatical asceticism to "spoil" or plunder the infant church at Colosse, by forcing an arbitrary abstinence, set forth with three- fold urgency in their law of " Touch not, taste not, handle not," and utterly incompatible with Christian liberty. These injunctions are often understood to 362 OLD CORN. be given by the Apostle, but lie is holding tliem up to rebuke. A "fast," enjoined by such a law of negations, and regarded as of moral merit, becomes as galling a yoke as the prohibited "-feasts" and much more self-deluding. Diogenes set his foot on Plato's velvet cushion and shouted, " Thus 1 trample on Plato's pride," when the Athenian sage truthfully rejoined, "But with still greater pride." These brethren had "received Christ Jesus the Lord," and had forsaken not merely some special sin, but had "put off the (whole) body of the sins of the flesh " by a " circumcision made without hands." Though "dead in their sins" they were "quickened" and " forgiven all trespasses " by Him who had borne the "curse" or penalty of that law which reveals the " wrath of God against all unrighteousness." Thus the "hand- writing of ordinances," or the laws of God, both moral and ceremonial, were " contrary " to men in their sins, and "against" them as their accuser and condemner. Christ fulfilled and forever abolished the one, and satisfied all the demands of the other, when "His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree." He thus " took out of the way, nailing it to his cross," all that was against "him which believeth in Jesus." Having then been saved through "faith in the work- ing of God," these "faithful brethren in Christ" had made personal profession of that faith, and of fellow- ship with Him by the Christian rite of baptism, which significantly set forth the death and burial of the old "body of sins," and the assumed obligation to "walk in newness of life" (v. 12). "Wherefore they were dead NEGATIVE RITUALISM. 363 with Christ " through faith alone, and equally dead to all dependence for salvation upon "the rudiments" of a law whose yoke of observance " never could have given life." True, they were not now beset with the Jewish snare of keeping annual feasts, or "new moons," or particular " Sabbaths," but this bondage exactly re- versed, yet equally " after the commandments of men." Such a law, for seeking after peculiar sanctity and higher wisdom, was "not after Christ," and the Apostle is demanding the maintenance of individual liberty to "eat to the Lord," or "not to eat," since to "his own master he standeth or falleth." He announces the Christian's law in its full individual scope, upon all indifferent questions where he affirms that "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (1 Cor. 6: 12; 8: 8. Rom. 14: 1-6. ITim. 4: 2-5). The "ordinances " alluded to in verse fourteen Lave often been understood as alluding to "baptism " and the "Lord's supper." But this is a grave error. There is not even the remotest reference to these rites. The following quotation from Thomas Kimber, clipped from Friend's Review, is to the point : — " This passage has been greatly misunderstood and often quoted erroneously as applicable to the so-called 'ordinances' of water baptism and the outward supper — to which it has no relation whatever. The Greek word, dogma, used here, signifies a 'decree,' and the 'handle not, taste not, touch not,' are some of these arbitrary injunctions against which the Apostle warned them, and not at all his words of warning to them as many have supposed. This misapprehension has really 364 OLD CORN. injured the cause honestly intended to be advanced, since the easy exposure of such an error has weakened the general force of any argument against ritualistic practices." Conybeare's translation is as follows : — " If ye died with Christ from mundane rudiments, why, as though living in the world, are ye ordinance- ridden with such rules as, ' Do not handle,' ' Do not taste,' 'Do not even touch,' referring to things all of which are perishable in the mere consumption, accord- ing to ' the commandments and teachings of men.' All these kinds of rules have a credit for wisdom in volun- teered supererogation and abasement, — hard usage of the body, — but have no sort of value as a remedy as regards the indulgence of the flesh" ("Life and Work of St. Paul," p. 619). CHAPTER XXXV. TKUSTITY, THE NEW BIETH, ETC. QUESTION. — " What are we to understand by the term Trinity ? " Answer.^ — " Trinity " is a theological term, probably first used by the Bishop of Antioch, and simply means "the union of three in one. The three persons com- prised in the Godhead and distinguished as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost." " All denominations that believe in the Trinity are comprised under the general name of Trinitarians " (Worcester). It is true that the word " Trinity " is not found in the Bible, but it most fitly expresses the full conception of God which is found in it. Other terms, almost innumerable and of daily necessity, are open to a like criticism, such as " Divinity," etc. The abstract Monotheism of the Mohammedans and Unitarians is a heresy developed from maintaining the principle of the divine unity at the expense of denying the distinct personality of the divine persons. It thus " confounds the persons," holding that the Godhead exists with no intrinsic distinctions. Another heresy, antagonistic to this, was that of " dividing the substance," or admitting 168 THE PHILOSOPHY OF TEMPTATION. knowledge of our weakness, we may go to Him for strength. We have self-reliance so deeply rooted in us, that it takes a great deal of rough experience to root it out. We think (in spite of a correct logic) that we have some moral strength ; and hence our acceptance of God, though perfectly honest and true so far as it goes, is but partial. We do not take Him for our All in all. Hence He wishes us to feel that our flesh and heart fail, that He may be the strength of our heart. The Psalmist's highest strains of devo- tion use the frequent note, " O Lord, my strength," and hence his joy and courage. " The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" To know our weakness and have no refuge, as is so often the case with the practical atheists of the world, is despair ; but to know our weakness and to have God as our strength is the very top of joy. It is then the Christian sings the paradox, "When I am weak, then am I strong." It is the response to that most gra- cious word of God, "My strength is made perfect in weakness." It is no little hint of security, but it is the perfection of strength which is given to the faith- ful heart. Luther, at Worms, is only a type of every Christian who is strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Is not such a consummation well worth the temptation of the devil, to which the Lord exposes us at times ? If the road be foul, is not the goal exceeding fair? Would we have it otherwise if we could ? The strong Christian is the weak one. The strongest Christian is he who in his heart of hearts knows and feels that he is of himself utterly SOPHY OF T rvil powers. |imself, his st case of our ur constitute is no alluren e behests of ions in life t< and positive od has direct! maud these ( They are t hey are givci highest powt Remand the ns of Satan. Abraham's t [They are call ■o do th ral tastes an< life come le, like to be rid be if we had a fearful size ad not been What are produce in u re they not g the surfac of the divi the likenesi- 368 OLD CORN. that "God has provided some better thing for us," the Christian Church, than "Moses and the Jews" ever knew. We must therefore earnestly protest against that view which seems to regard the preexistent and incarnate Logos, or God-Man, as merely an impersonal summary of Divine attributes, or one among " several revelations," and on a parity with the others. In these, men have become somewhat acquainted with God's works and ways, but " in the face of Jesus Christ " we behold His glory, and He reveals the Father (Matt. 11: 27). So also does He reveal Himself, through the Holy Ghost to them " that love him," as an absolute, perfect, personal Spirit. " I will manifest myself to him." (See John 14 : 21-23.) The personal character of these two manifestations of God to man, distinguish them from all others of whatever nature, and puts an infinite distance between them. Question. — " When Jesus said to Nicodemus, ' Ex- cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit,' etc., did He allude to water baptism, or to our 'natural birth,' as is sometimes said ? " Answer. — He certainly had no allusion to either. Water is often used in Scripture as a most fitting sym- bol of the " word of God " in its cleansing efficacy when used by the Holy Ghost. The young man is to " cleanse " his way " by taking heed thereto according to thy word." " Now ye are clean through the word," etc. (John 15 : 3). Christ gave Himself for the church " that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word" (Eph. 8 : 25-27). In the new birth, the agent is always the Holy Spirit, TRINITY, THE NEW BIRTH, ETC. 369 who, however, employs " the word of truth." " Of his own will begat he us with fche word of truth " (James 1 : 18). " Being born again ... by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." - " Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit" (1 Peter 1 : 22, 23). Again in Gal. 4 : 22-31, the Apostle Paul confirms by another allegory this truth concerning the motherhood of the gospel, and that every free-born (or new-born) child is a child of promise, or of the " exceeding great and precious prom- ises," whereby he has become a "partaker of the divine nature." That is, that of these promises of the gospel, when quickened by the Spirit of God, are born spiritual children, with both a mother and a father. And just as Nicodemus had been " born of the flesh " having a fleshly mother and father, so certainly must he be "born of water and of the Spirit," or of a spiritual mother and father. Of His own words Jesus said, " they are spirit and they are life," so that to understand "water" in this place to mean "the word," is in harmony with Scripture everywhere. To make it refer to the natural birth, would be to force a construction without any warrant, either in reason or Scripture. That Christ alluded to water baptism in these words is totally inad- missible. And we can do no better than to quote some emphatic words from the editor of The Truth : " If our Lord meant baptism, then baptism is a very essential part of the gospel. If He did, every unbaptized infant, and unbaptized godly Quaker, and unbaptized believer, and the unbaptized dying thief are forever lost. If He did, every baptized infidel and gambler and whore- monger and murderer is born again." 370 OLD CORN. " Nothing ought to be said against baptism in its proper place, but it has no part whatever in the new birth." Question. — "Da'sins of ignorance ' arise out of the 4 body of sin '?" Answer. — Not necessarily, or even probably, since to be a " sin of ignorance " excludes the idea of willful or conscious wrong. Mistaken action or wrong conduct may take place without either of these, and also without any wrong temper or motive whatever. Question. — " How, then, do they arise ? " Answer. — Through mistakes in judgment, which, however enlightened, will always remain fallible, and affected more or less by education, bodily infirmities, and surrounding circumstances. Provision is not made for a complete deliverance of either mind or body from all of the injurious effects of "the fall " in this life. Question. — "Do these, then, need the blood of atonement?" Answer. — Undoubtedly they do, and the priestly intercession of Christ covers this need, and in Him we have an offering for " sins of ignorance." Question. — " Is that work of the Spirit experienced in regeneration, the baptism with the Holy Ghost?" Answer. — No; there is no warrant either in Scrip- ture or experience for calling it thus. We are "born of the Spirit," and " that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." " Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." We are " a new creation," and receive quickening and life from the dead by the Spirit's energy and power. But to be "baptized" there must be an already existent life. No dead man can ever be "bap- TRINITY, THE NEW BIRTH, ETC. 371 tized" into life. Some think this of outward baptism. They are awfully mistaken. Some think so of spiritual baptism. They, too, are mistaken. This promised "gift of the Holy Ghost," is made only to God's child- ren; not only so — to "them that obey him." In the new birth, we receive life, but in the " baptism with the Spirit " we receive life more abundantly. CHAPTER XXXVI. PERSONAL TESTIMONY. " This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." — Psalms 34: 6. I HAVE yielded to the impression that I ought not to close this book without giving its readers as clear an insight as possible into my own heart's experience in the " Way of Holiness." I have felt that to hesitate to do so would be inconsistent with the teachings of these chapters. It is of this blessed experience that this book has been born. Whatever I may have said, or done, or written to the glory of God or for the good of men, has, in fact, been the outgrowth of an experimental knowl- edge of the truth set forth in these pages. I have seen so much debate and questioning arise on account of vagueness in personal testimony that I have felt that I ought to be definite. May it all be for the glory of God, and for the comfort and blessing of every beloved brother and sister who accepts this invitation into the sacred sanctuary of my secret audience with the King. What I say will be the utterance of a grateful heart, and I trust it shall be spoken in true humility. My parents and grandparents were all of the highest type of religious people. Two of my grandparents were 372 PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 373 ministers, and one of them died in a foreign land, while on a religious mission. My father was an elder in the church, a man of devout and sterling piety, while my saintly mother was a preacher of the glorious gospel that she loved so much, and understood so well. They read and believed in President Finney, and he was their personal friend ; but his Caleb-like spirit and full gos- pel was fully forty years in advance of our Israel ; and, inconsequence, "stoning with stones "(Num. 14:10) was a common occupation in those days, and not wholly a lost art in this. Their greatest desire for their children was that they might glorify God in this life and enjoy Him forever. I cannot doubt that I was solemnly given to God from my birth. My infant lips were taught to pray, and when I said, " Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep," I really expected Him to do it. Precious is the mem- ory of those days of childish innocence, and mother love, when home and heaven-seemed almost interchange- able terms. My young heart was not a stranger to the gracious visitations of the Spirit of God, and was often melted under the power of His love. But as I grew up, I grew in sinfulness and in rebellion against God. Though mercifully preserved from many sins of a gross and disgraceful character, I was often in great distress of soul because of those I did commit. At such times I would earnestly repent in secret, and cry unto God for mercy. I deeply realized the wickedness of my heart, and the weakness of my efforts to withstand temptation. Many covenants were made with God, and often, though 374 OLD CORN. not always, broken. The prayers, restraints, and in- structions of faithful parents were not lost upon me. God had respect unto their covenant for their children. I see it now as I could not then. I want to praise the Lord for His answer to prayers for guidance, even in my rebellious boyhood, and for His manifest direction in the most important undertakings of my life. After being settled in life I renewed my covenants with God, and sought to do right, because it was right. I was a member of the church, and grew jealous of the peculiarities of my denomination. I was " zealous toward God, according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers." For ten years or more I proved that this law " gender eth to bondage." I certainly did "fear the Lord," but it is a poor service that is rendered by one who is only a servant, when he ought to be a son. And I had not "received the adoption of a son." I know now that I was simply a legalist, " kept under the law, shut up unto the faith, which should afterwards be revealed." In this dispensation of the Father, with the " bondwoman " for their mother, multitudes of profes- sors that are in doubt as to their position, might prop- erly locate themselves. " There is a remembrance again made of sins every year," since " the law makes nothing perfect," not even the conscience. In a Meth- odist meeting, when more than thirty years of age, God met me in wondrous power. And I met the test of public confession of sins and need of the Savior. It was a hard struggle, for I was proud and stubborn, but my dear wife joined me at the penitents' form, and we mingled our tears and prayers together. I thank God to this day for the depth and pungency of old-fashioned PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 375 conviction. Rebellion against God was seen and felt to be the awful damning thing that it is. I was glad to submit to God, and agree to His terms — any terms in order to have peace with Him. But the witness of the Spirit did not come ; and after all others had retired, I had it out with my Lord in the silent watches of the night, upon my library floor. And, as people some- times say by way of emphasis, I was converted through and through. And I knew it ! I was free as a bird. " Justified by faith," I had peace with God. His Spirit witnessed with my spirit that I was born again. I was at once a glad and willing witness to the power of Jesus to save. For a time I was faithful and obe- dient, and then came waywardness, neglect and disobe- dience. This brought severe chastening and suffering from the hand of the Lord, followed by restoration of soul. My consecration to His service was renewed from time to time. I longed to see God glorified in the salvation of souls and the liberation of the church. Several years had passed since I had found the liberty of the sons of God; and yet I had seen few brought into the kingdom. To be sure, I was only a business man, and was utterly averse to the idea of being a min- ister. I greatly desired to serve both God and men in a quiet and unobtrusive way. The church began to lay some work upon me, but I shrank from it with a deep sense of unfitness. And then I felt within me a quenchless protest against the formalism and reg- ularity of death all about me. Irregularity is the most dreaded foe of a legal, lifeless church. My nature instinctively shrank from the conflict, I felt it far more than I could understand it. But I determined to have 376 OLD CORN. a meeting where the Lord should have right of way, and the practical work of soul saving be done. Accord- ingly, my house was opened to all who would come to evening meetings, during our yearly meeting week in 1869. Our parlors were filled with earnest people, and without were those who were watching and waiting to see whereunto this would grow. The Scriptures were read, prayers offered, hymns were sung, testimonies \vere given and souls were blessed. But it was all unusual, and quite irregular in those days. We had live meetings, and living things are always irregular, while dead things never are. I began to learn what real loj^alty to God was to cost, and that if really led by the Spirit of God, according to His word, reproaches and other like blessings that Jesus had promised, would become a reality. In conducting a few of these meetings, I learned a great deal of nryself. I was somewhat troubled by the people and the circumstances around me, but I dis- covered one "old man" who gave me more trouble than all the others, and he was within me. " His deeds " had been put off, and truly there was "no con- demnation," but whenever I "would do good" he was present with me. His omnipresence was something wonderful to my opening eyes. And he was there, to " war against the law of my mind " with a resolute pur- pose to "bring me into captivity to the law of sin." If he succeeded, even partially, I was humbled and grieved, and if he did not succeed, I was in distress with fear lest he might. Some special incidents were greatly blessed to me. I began to see quite clearly that the "law was weak through the flesh." I hated PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 377 pride, ambition, evil tempers and vain thoughts, but I had them, and they were a part of me. They were not acts to be repented of and forgiven at all, but disposi- tions lying behind the acts and prompting thereto, natural to the old man and inseparable from his pres- ence in my being. I began to cry to God to " cast him out." As I did this, there came a great " hunger and thirst after right- eousness," that I might be " filled with all the fullness of God." My new nature speedily developed wonder- ful aptitudes for "holiness." I longed for a "clean heart and a right spirit," and this yearning increased until one memorable evening, after the close of the series of meetings referred to, when a few of us met at my sister's for prayer and conference. Up to this time I had never heard a straight sermon on holiness, nor read a treatise upon it, nor seen any one who claimed the experience for themselves. It had never occurred to me that I had not received the Holy Ghost since I believed. Knowing as much of the work of the blessed Spirit upon my heart as I undoubtedly had, I supposed, as a matter of course, that I had been " bap- tised with the Holy Ghost and with fire." His crea- tive work in regeneration, and His destructive work in sanctification, are distinctions of great importance, but not clearly seen by me at that time. And I might have answered much as the Ephesians answered Paul in Acts 19 : 2, had I been asked the same question. I had not even heard of such an experience. But there was present with us a brother who had heard that grand and dauntless herald of the cross, John S. Inskip, and his noble band of compeers at Round Lake. And he 3/8 OLD CORN. earnestly told us of their wonderful meetings, and preaching of consecration and holiness. It was only a spark of God's fire that was needed to kindle into a flame the sacrifice that was placed upon His altar. As I went upon my knees, it was with the resolute purpose of "presenting my body a living sacrifice to God," and of proving His word that the "altar sanctifieth the gift." Bat I speedily found myself in the midst of a severe conflict. There passed quickly and clearly before me every obstacle to entire consecration, and "a life hid with Christ in God." How the "old man " plead for his life ! The misapprehensions, suspicions, sneers and revilings of carnal professors were all pic- tured before me, and they were not exaggerations, either. Selfishness, pride and prejudice all rose in rebellion and did their utmost. But I could not, would not, draw back. Every "vile affection" was resolutely nailed to the cross. Denominational standing, family, business, reputation, friends, time, talent and earthly store, were quickly and irrevocably committed to the sovereign control and disposal of my Almighty Savior. It came to be easy to trust Him, and I had no sooner reckoned myself " dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God," than the " Holy Ghost fell " upon me, just as I suppose He did "at the beginning." Instantly, I felt the melting and refining fire of God permeate my whole being. Conflict was a thing of the past. I had entered into " rest." I was nothing and nobody, and glad that it was settled that way. It was a luxury to get rid of ambitions. The glory of the Lord shone round about me, and, for a little season, I was " lost in wonder, love and praise." I was deeply PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 379 conscious of the presence of God within me, and of His sanctifying work. Nothing seemed so sweet as His will, His law written in the heart after the chaff had been burned out. It was no effort to realize that I loved the Lord with all my heart, and mind, and strength, and my neighbor as myself. My calmness and absolute repose in God was a wonder to me. But I cannot describe it all. It was a " weight of glory." "O matchless bliss of perfect love, It lifts me up to things above." When I rose from my knees I was constrained to speak of what God had wrought, the best I knew how The people looked so different! I had new eyes! I felt so different that I examined myself, to see if I was the same person. When the next day I rode out upon my farm, I felt that every acre belonged to God, and I was only a tenant at will. The hills and fields and flocks and trees were all more beautiful as they clapped their hands in praise. On the Sabbath following, I broke the silence of our meeting, by a testimony to the truth as I had found it in Jesus. I do not remember what I said, but I am sure that I preached about " per- fect love," for I was in the enjoyment of that blessing, though perfectly innocent of terminology, and I have been at it ever since. I record this narrative of the way in which I have been led by the good hand of my God, with the hope and earnest prayer that He may make it a comfort and a blessing to those who may read it. It is both a duty and a privilege to "show forth the praises " of the Lord Jesus. It is of Him and His work that I speak, and not of myself, or " frames of mind." It was Jesus that 380 OLD CORN. I found as a complete Savior. And it is Jesus that abides as my sanctification, wisdom and redemption. It is His blood that cleanses from all sin, and His Spirit alone that protects from the assaults of the devil. It is to the Holy Spirit that I look for the power that pre- serves from committing sin, and He is able to do it, and to "keep us from falling." The special experience just related is now twenty- three years in the past, and might be a dead and for- gotten thing, but that moment by moment the blood has cleansed, and the Spirit has indwelt in answer to a perpetuated faith and obedience to God. During all these years the mode of my life, which was inaugurated in that hour, when I received the "baptism with the Holy Ghost," has been totally different from that which preceded it. It began a new era in my Christian life. I have had abundant time and occasion to scrutinize the reality and nature of the work wrought then, and perpetuated ever since. I have often had such a sense of my own unworthiness and human imperfections as to be well nigh overwhelmed. But then I had settled it that Jesus was my worthiness, and as to human or legal perfection, David had seen the " end " of that long ago.- In and of myself I am neither holier nor stronger than before. "But this I do find We two are so joined, That He'll not be in glory And leave me behind." What I am, I am by the grace of God. What I do, I do " through Christ who strengthened me." And if God cannot " work in us to will and to do of his own PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 381 good pleasure," we cannot retain our experience. We must "work out our salvation." "The willing and obedient shall eat the fat of the land," and none others. But entire sanctification, and the filling of the- Spirit, means a quickened conscience, as tender as the apple of the eye. It means a keen sense of the revealed word of God. It means an obedience that does not stand to debate and reason, and wonder about results. It means the priestly service of a true Levite, who is bearing the ark of God some paces in advance of the rank and file of the slow marching church, that has much of its inheritance on the wilderness side of Jordan. It is only when men are really " crucified with Christ" and "filled with the Holy Ghost" that they are fitted to act as the forerunners of the Lord Jesus. For all such must pass through their Gethsemanes alone, in a distant likeness to Christ. Too advanced for the multitude, they are even strange to the best of friends. Then there is the consciousness of unrequited toil, unacknowledged sacrifice and unappreciated serv- ice, that would be fearfully galling were it not for that sweet sense of privilege, which comes of "putting on Christ," and seeking " the reward that comes from God only." And self-devotion is the secret of all heroic life. Calling forth the very best there is in us, and always strengthened by a tonic of "bitter herbs." Oh ! the blessedness of trusting God to keep all of our accounts, sure that He will see to it that we get our dues, without any jealous anxiety on our part. All of this, and much more, is involved, if we con- tinue to " walk in the light as He is in the light, and have fellowship with God." 382 OLD CORN. And it is in this matter of obeying Him, of keeping His commandments, of " walking as he walked," that multitudes draw back and lapse into their old ways of thinking and acting. When "iniquity abounds the love of many shall wax cold," many "hearts are over- charged with surfeiting and caves of this life." And then the spirit of persecution is still rife in the church. The same generation carries it on, that "were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming." Paul's custom was to "reason and persuade" and "warn," though "all men forsook" him, which indeed they did. But he lived in the thirteenth of Corinthi- ans, and "the Lord stood with him and strengthened him." The family of "Demas" (popular) is a very large one, and, true to the instincts of the old nature, "love this present world," and will always go back to it, rather than go forward with Christ, at the cost of being unpopular and suffering reproach. To "rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings," is almost a lost art in our day. Oh ! that we may believe that Jesus means what He says when He bids us "Re- joice and leap for joy, when men shall hate you and shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake." Now the secret of victory is in trusting God and hold- ing still in quietness and assurance ; allowing Satan to stretch the last link in his chain without quivering. And if thus kept in the love of God, and in sweetness and patience, while "fighting the fight of faith," we shall " always triumph through Christ." Glory be to PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 383 Jesus ! It takes a little time for Haman to build his gallows, and get things all fixed, but Mordecai has no concern about it, whether it takes a time longer or shorter, since the coming execution is not to be his, but Haman's. He simply did his duty without compromise. ' ' Oh for a faith that will not shrink, Though pressed by every foe, That will not tremble on the brink Of any earthly woe! " How the lives of the old saints who " quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, and waxed valiant in fight," inspire us with loyalty and courage ! How much more such lives of faith in the Son of God, and victory through Him, when lived all about us ! There are some such. May God increase the number ! I pray that these utterances may be used of Him to assist some into the land of victorious warfare, and encourage others already there to push the battle to the gate. I have written for such as these and not for the " wise," or "the disputer of this world"; not for such as are "ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth." For these I pray, and for myself, that I may more and more be enabled to publish this great sal- vation, and continually to "rejoice in hope of the gloiy of God." " Brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men." Glory to His name ! Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: May 2006 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111 LIBRARY OF CON( ,1 017 646 730 7