Christianity is not a set of right beliefs and correct doctrines about Christ and His
work. It is a living, daily experience that affects every activity of our lives, molds our
minds and our values and determines our behavior. We may hold correct Biblical
doctrines, be quite knowledgeable of Scripture, be found in the "right place" on Sunday
mornings, and yet our most outstanding characteristic may be our deadness.
Christianity is the way we treat our nosy neighbors, what we do when our children are
falsely accused, how we react to our irritable spouses, what we do with our company’s
little items which it will never miss, what time we return from lunch when the boss
isn’t there. As we grow in our knowledge of and acquaintance with Jesus Christ, our
lives should be constantly changing if we are really a-live Christians and not just dead
doctrine-believers.

We need to ask ourselves the question:Do I really believe what God says? Do I
verbally and intellectually assent to what God says and go on living as those without
Christ, or do I allow my life to be changed and shaped because I know God’s words
and promises cannot fail? At the beginning of our experience with Jesus Christ we trust
our most important possession_our very soul_and our eternal fate to Him. If we can
believe Him as to such an important matter, why cannot we trust Him for the decisions
we must make, our material needs to be met, our personal health and safety, the
solution to our school and business problems, our personal difficulties and trials?

Do we really believe God? The Word of God says that believing, we shall receive all
things that we ask in prayer (Matt. 21:22; 1 John 5:14,15). Do we really believe that
we shall receive, that God will powerfully act and do, or do we pray in such general
terms that we really have no way of knowing if God has answered our prayer? Or do
we use that phrase, "If it be Thy will," as an easy "out," since we never believed God
would do anything anyway? Do we pray, "God, please save Mr. Smith at the gospel
meeting this Sunday," or something so general as "God, save people wherever Thy
Word goes out"? A child does not ask his father, "Please help me with something
sometime." Rather, he says, "Dad, help me with my three math problems after supper
tonight," and thus he isn’t left wondering whether his father ever helped him or not.
God can and will help us in every aspect of our daily lives_nothing is too small or too
large_and how our faith and trust in Him, our love for Him, and our gratitude to Him
grow as we pray specifically and as we receive specific clear-cut answers that reveal
God’s power and concern for us.

Again, God exhorts us to entertain strangers (Heb. 13:1,2). How do we behave toward
the drunkard who approaches us for food, or the strange looking individual who needs
directions? Are our minds so filled with the gore of the newspapers, which we so
avidly soak up, that we cannot trust God to care for us as we try to do as He asked? Or
perhaps we really believe what the intellectual world loves to tell us:"That does not
apply today. It was written for another time, another age. Perhaps when nomads
wandered in the desert and the world was not so wicked." Brethren, if only one

principle of Scripture no longer applies to us, then the entire Word of God is not living,
and Jesus Christ is not the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God’s Word tells us to cast all our cares or anxieties upon Him for He cares for us (1
Peter 5:7). Oh yes, we believe that God is powerful and that He cares for us, but we
keep our loaded gun hidden in our house, and we carry a sharp penknife in our purse
when we go to the city and we are practicing judo just in case_and those things are
what really make us feel safe, not our confidence in God’s care for us. We read that
when Peter tried to defend Jesus Christ Himself with the sword, his violent act was
reversed. Paul was assailed and endangered often (1 Cor. 4:9-13), but we never read of
his violently assaulting anyone in self-defense. His only weapon was prayer. We read
the Scriptures, but we have been so indoctrinated by the world’s ideas that we know
that any man who does not defend himself and his family is nothing but a coward. So
we have a perfect plan for assaulting the possible robber who arrives in the night, and
our confidence really lies in ourselves, our own strength, our cleverness.

Yes, Christianity is the way we live our daily lives, an ongoing relationship with a
living Being, the Lord Jesus Christ. Can we say, "I can do all things through Christ
which strengthened! me" (Phil. 4:13), or are we relying on our paid-up insurance, our
union leaders, our college educations, our psychology handbooks? If Jesus Christ can
give us a new, eternal life, He can certainly guide us through this present one and
conform us to Himself_if we let Him.

FRAGMENT. You say you are in Christ. If you are in Christ, Christ is in you:then let
me see Christ and nothing else.

"But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering,
charity, patience" (2 Timothy 3:10).

If you were asked what is Paul’s doctrine, what answer would you give? He speaks of
something special, something peculiar_"my doctrine." What was it? Let me tell you in
as few words as I can. Paul’s doctrine started with this_ the total and complete setting
aside and non-recognition of man as man; the utter denial of the first man before God;
and the putting of everything in connection with the second Man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who in His death closed the history of the first man, and in His resurrection became the
last Adam, the second Man, the beginning of God’s creation.

That is what Paul’s doctrine especially rests on; that is the basis of it. Of course I do
not mean to say that he does not include here the Church, the Body of Christ_ what he
calls elsewhere, "the mystery." But, mark this, even the truth of the Church, the
mystery (that is, taking Jews and Gentiles out of their respective nationalities and
uniting them in one new man to the Lord Jesus Christ, as we have it in Eph. 2), has for
its basis the redemptive work of Christ. And that redemptive work was itself the
complete setting aside of man in the flesh and placing everything in connection with the
second Man. The whole truth of the Church flows from that. And therefore Paul’s
doctrine may be described as especially that which brought out the complete setting
aside of man as a child of Adam before God, and the union of Jew and Gentile into one
body, united by the Holy Spirit to the Head in heaven, and equally to one another on
earth. Paul says to Timothy, "Thou hast fully known my doctrine." And at this
moment, not a single one of our readers is safe from the hostile wiles and imitations of
Satan unless he knows Paul’s doctrine. You are not, be assured, safe without this.

Now looking at the latter part of the tenth verse, we notice that Paul connects his
"manner of Me" with his doctrine. Here is the terrible lack with us all, that is, as to the
"manner of life" which is suited to "my doctrine." What is the "manner of life," as he
expresses it, which he connects with his doctrine? I have no hesitation in saying that it
was a practical maintenance of heavenly citizenship in an earthly scene. I believe his
"manner of life" was that complete, total, thorough strangership_heavenly
strangership_in the midst of a scene that is preeminently earthly, and in the midst of a
world characterized by those who profess Christ, and yet mind earthly things.

It is this which makes it solemn to every one of us. A man may say, "I know what
Paul’s doctrine is." But let us challenge our hearts whether there is the "manner of
life." Are there the circumstances, habits, ways, appearance, suited to that doctrine?
And mark how he lays as much stress upon one as the other. It is not simply, "You
have fully known my doctrine," but "doctrine, manner of life." And then he tells the
features of this life:"purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity, patience." All these are to
be combined with the maintenance of a distinct, isolated heavenly citizenship, and
narrow path in a hostile world.

The subject of my fellow Christian young people has been frequently on my mind of
late. I feel strongly that the young people today are falling increasingly into the subtlest
of the three characteristics of the world mentioned in 1 John 2:16_the "pride of life."
The increasing number of Christian youths who are able to attend college has increased
the opportunity for this pride to be manifested, I believe.

The colleges, stressing as they do sophistication, and constantly bombarding students
with statements of their (the youths’) importance, seem to be too great an influence for
many Christian youths who are not spiritually prepared for such self-glorifying
enticement of the devil.

Once the saints (and I think here especially of the young saints) have been drawn away
from full obedience to the Lord by pride and carelessness in feeding on His Word, they
are easy prey to the two other characteristics, of the world_the lust of the eyes and the
lust of the flesh.

Personally, I have nothing against a college education (I am a college student myself).
But it seems that the special temptations encountered while obtaining a higher education
are a major contributing factor to the apparent present low spiritual state among the
young in the Assembly.

I pray often that the attraction of this world will diminish in the eyes of all of us, His
precious redeemed ones, to be replaced by a fuller knowledge of Him and a greater
appreciation of His work and His Person.

"A time to love, and a time to hate" (Eccles. 3:8).

"He that loveth his life e shall lose it; and he that hateth his lie in this world shall keep
it unto life eternal" (John 12:25).

COMPROMISE here has ruined the testimony of many. They once made a fair start,
but the fear of man or the love of ease or of social standing or of the approval of
relatives or acquaintances has come between them and the Lord. It is a poor exchange
but many a one has made it and adhered to it to the end. It should break our hearts as
we think of it, and make us hate the thought of compromise.

Let us trace the way of departure. Family influence is in opposition. Simplicity and
faithfulness to Christ are derided; a name of reproach is given to true Christians; and
the soul, because not abiding in Christ, is caught in the snare. Fearful of reproach or
discomfort, the soul gives way and steers a middle course henceforth. Men call it
moderation and wisdom, but the soul has been damaged and is adrift. God is merciful,
but the Word and communion with God and with His people are less and less enjoyed,
and trials and chastenings are too much for the heart. The peaceable fruits of
righteousness do not follow. A sad witness for Christ! Such bear witness in their family
and in the world that godliness is but a name, not a reality.

The fear of man is, however, closely connected with our love of the world in some
form. We are clinging to the world in some way when the fear of God is displaced by
the fear of man, and Satan has power with us. The pride of life_how weak our hearts
that it should ever ensnare us! Ought not a glance at the life of the Lord make us
ashamed? What pure joy is lost by love of social standing; how withering to the soul is
such a preference and such an atmosphere! Self-love and idolatry are thrusting Christ
from the heart. The soul has made an evil choice, and has turned from the narrow way.
Jesus is still knocking at the door, standing there, but He has been left outside.
Friendship with the world is enmity with God.

Commonly in the Church today members of a family who are Christians are so in
accord with the world that their witness gives little or no trouble to those of the same
house who make no profession of faith. Indeed, these Christians would themselves
oppose a plain witness for God as the men of Judah opposed Samson for fear of the
Philistines:"Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?" (Judges 15:11).
A shameful admission, but a fact.

But this peace with the world is not Christianity. "Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth:I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34). The trouble
Samson made was of the same kind the Lord Himself made in this world, and that
every faithful Christian makes. "For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother

in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or
mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more
than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me,
is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for
My sake shall find it" (Matt. 10:35-39).

Christian, let no one come between your soul and Christ, and let nothing turn you aside
from the cross. Christ has redeemed you by His blood, and has given you the Holy
Spirit. By this great redemption you are separated to God from all worldly friendships
and alliances and purposes. Christ has joined you to His people; for we are members of
His body and members one of another. His sheep can never perish (John 10:27,28). Let
that encourage the heart to rise up and follow Him. He loves His own and loves them
to the end (John 13:1). Hence He washes their feet, cleanses away defilements; for if
He washes us not we have no part with Him. So He restores our souls, never forsaking
us.

Let us flee then from half-heartedness and world-bordering and compromise, in the
family, in business, in the inward exercises of the soul. As Christ has died for us, let us
live for Him (2 Cor. 5:15), and we shall realize the word, "If God be for us, who can
be against us? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans
8:31,35, 37). In all these things, in the midst of our fiery trials, Christian, we may be
"more than conquerors" through Him who loves us. With such a word, may we let go
all carnal seeking and carnal shrinking, and go forth upon the water unto Him, go forth
to Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. "For I reckon that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us" (Romans 8:18).

Matthew 11:28 is usually a verse from which the gospel is preached, but should we, as
God’s people, apply it only to the unsaved? No, there is much in verses 28, 29, and 30
for us to meditate upon and by faith lay hold on and apply to our own hearts that we
might receive a blessing.

This is a day when God’s dear people are laboring, troubled, and heavy laden over
many things. In these verses a blessed invitation goes forth from the lips of our blessed
Lord:"Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden." We must confess we are
included in the "ALL YE." This being true, what are we to do? Are we to say, "Lord,
we are not troubled"? "We do not need help"? "We can get by on our own strength"?
No, I am sure not one of us can answer Him thus. Then let us just heed His invitation
and come with our cares, our trials, our burdens, and then see His promise fulfilled to
us:"I WILL GIVE YOU REST." Have we faith to believe this? Certainly you will
agree He is able. He has given us rest from our burden of sin. Now we can trust Him
to soothe our troubled, cumbered minds; then we can better worship at His feet, and
adore Him, the One who has done all to bring us into happiness.

"Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:AND
YE SHALL FIND REST unto your souls." Oh, what a promise! Oh, what healing to
the burdened, troubled mind. What balm to the soul of those who by faith lay hold and
act upon this precious verse. No doctor can dispense such medicine. Only the Great
Physician can give relief in these days. May we not be stubborn. May we come and
find rest unto our souls. Truly we can say He is a very present help in time of need.
We need to just cast all our cares upon Him, for He careth for us.

We can only learn of Him by reading and studying His Word. A child at school, in
order to make progress, not only reads but must study and enter into the subject in its
fullest sense. We grow in grace and in the further knowledge of Him by studying the
subject, and what a subject_ "the love of God for us."

In Job 14:1 we read, "Man that is born of a woman is of a few days, and full of
trouble." Christ knowing all this, and knowing that we are unable to better that
condition, comes on the scene with help and invites troubled ones to come to Him for
rest. Will we pass it by? Help He can give. Help He will give. It is all for the taking of
it by faith.

When we act on our own desires, without even looking to Him to seek His guidance,
we labor in vain. Peter, in John 21, says, "I go a fishing," and he goes. He toils all
night but his labor brings no results except a worn-out condition after a very toilsome
night. But the Lord is watching and at an opportune time comes in (what a Deliverer!)
and Peter receives a blessing. Truly, when He comes in, all is well. It is now morning,
the Light has dispelled the darkness, the net is cast, and a hundred fifty-three fish are
brought in. Truly, He "daily loadeth us with benefits" (Psalm 68:19). We do not read

of Peter being burdened now. It seems as if Peter is just enjoying that perfect rest from
labor as he sits and dines with our Lord. Oh, what peace and rest He gives us as He
feeds us with His words. MAY WE LEARN OF HIM.

Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10:41, "Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many
things." Notice verse 42:"Mary hath chosen that good part." And in verse 39 we read,
"And she [Martha] had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and HEARD
HIS WORD." Here is the secret. Mary had chosen that good part, and for how long?
ETERNITY. "Which shall not be taken away from her." She heard His words. She was
a learner. "Take My yoke upon you, and LEARN OF ME, . . . and ye shall find REST
unto your souls." May God give us, as never before, to heed the invitation and find
sweetness as did the Psalmist in Psalm 23.

"BEHOLD HOW HE LOVED HIM" (John 11:36)

WHO
He loved me, the Father’s only Son;
He gave Himself, the precious spotless One;
He shed His blood, and thus the work was done.

LOVED
He loved_not merely pitied, here I REST;
Sorrow may come, I to His heart am pressed;
What shall I fear while sheltered on His breast.

ME
Wonder of wonders, Jesus loves me;
A wretch, lost, ruined, sunk in misery;
He sought me, found me, raised me, set me free.

All of us are familiar with the account of David’s victory over Goliath. It is a favorite
Sunday School lesson and appeals to people of all ages. It is a very satisfying story
because the big boastful bully (Goliath),with all of his weapons and military know-how,
is done in by a simple, unassuming shepherd boy with a stone and a sling. All of us
identify with David and wish we could as easily overcome those who threaten or annoy
us.

But David’s victory was not a matter of chance or a result only of Goliath’s over-
confidence. God helped David, and He helped David because of his faith. David’s faith
had been tested while he was keeping the sheep and it had passed the test. David had
looked to God for help in overcoming the wild animals and He gave David the wisdom
and strength to kill them. David gave God the glory for these victories and trusted Him
to help him in meeting any new enemies. Saul offered David weapons to fight with, but
David refused them. They would only be a hindrance to one who was armed by God.

How much God values faith in His human creatures. "Without faith it is impossible to
please Him:for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). Do we desire wonderful
blessing in our lives and the lives of our loved ones? Most of the miracles of the New
Testament and many in the Old were performed as rewards of faith. God is still
performing miracles today. For example, new birth is a miracle; God’s care for our
physical welfare (often in ways unknown to us) is a miracle; one secular writer has
claimed that a marriage which lasts for many years and which remains truly happy all
that time is a miracle. We need faith to obtain these blessings and to appreciate them.

Do we desire victory over our spiritual enemies? We are given a list of God’s
provisions for Christian warfare in Ephesians 6. One verse has always stood out for
me. "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the
fiery darts of the wicked" (Eph. 6:16). The Lord said to Peter, "Satan hath desired to
have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail
not" (Luke 22:31). Faith, then, is our most important weapon in dealing with Satan and
all of his devices. Like David, let us reject human solutions and fleshly weapons; and,
armed with faith and the other weapons God has provided, go forth to meet the
adversary. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you" (James 4:7).

The incident in Ishmael’s life which we are going to study occurred when he was in his
teens (Genesis 21). Ishmael was about fourteen when Isaac was born. Children were
weaned at a later age in those days than in modern times, so Ishmael was probably
about sixteen at the time of the feast given in celebration of Isaac’s weaning (Gen.
21:8).

In Gen. 21:9 we read that Sarah saw Ishmael mocking. He was evidently making fun of
or teasing Isaac. As a result, the next day Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, were sent out
into the desert with meager supplies of food and water. Both Ishmael and Hagar would
have perished in the desert; but God had promised Abraham that Ishmael would be the
father of a great nation, so He provided them with water.

What is the lesson for us in this account of Ishmael? Isaac is often thought of as a type
of Christ and Abraham as a type of the Father. Ishmael reminds us of those who mock,
make fun of, or reject the claims of Christ upon them. When Ishmael mocked Isaac,
Isaac was a helpless child, but he was to inherit Abraham’s wealth and prestige. Christ
is not now exercising His power and authority over the earth, but He will judge men in
a coming day and only those who have trusted in Him will be His co-heirs (Rom.
8:17). Any who go into eternity mocking will have no place in the Father’s house, but
will be cast into hell, a "desert" worse than any here on earth, with no relief from
suffering, no sudden rescue as God provided Ishmael.

Young people, are any of you mocking? Have you rejected or made light of the earnest
pleas of godly parents or other Christians to turn to Christ and accept Him as your
Saviour? Consider Ishmael’s fate and remember that if you do not accept Christ in this
life, you will spend eternity cast out from God’s presence with no hope of ever being
received into a place of blessing.

When we speak of the eternal security of the believer, what do we mean? We mean that
once a poor sinner has been regenerated by the Word and the Spirit of God, once he
has received a new life and a new nature, has been made partaker of the divine nature,
once he has been justified from every charge before the throne of God, it is absolutely
impossible that that man should ever again be a lost soul. The Lord Jesus speaks of His
own in John 10:27-30:"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow
Me:and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all;
and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one."

In connection with this, the following question is often asked:"Suppose a man who
professed to be saved, who for a number of years was an active Christian worker, turns
his back on it all, returns to the world, and utterly repudiates Christianity and now
denies totally the gospel he once professed. How does that square with your doctrine of
the eternal security of the believer?" That does not touch the matter at all. The apostle
John tells us how we are to understand a case like that:"They went out from us, but
they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued
with us:but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of
us" (1 John 2:19). That is, it is possible to make a Christian profession, to observe
Christian ordinances, to teach and to preach, and yet never be born again.

When we say that the believer in the Lord Jesus is eternally secure, we base it upon a
number of lines of scriptural testimony. In the first place, we rest it upon the perfection
of Christ’s one offering upon the cross. Those who deny the doctrine of the eternal
security of the believer do not realize that in so doing they are putting a slight upon the
finished work of Christ. They are reducing the sacrifice of Christ practically to the
level of the offerings of bulls and goats in the Old Testament dispensation, which
sacrifices could never take away sin but simply covered sin for the time being.

When one puts his trust in the Lord Jesus, not only are all his sins up to the day of his
conversion forgiven, but all his sins are put away for eternity.

A lady came to me one day and said, "I can quite understand that Christ died for the
sins I committed up to the night of my conversion, but do you mean to tell me that
Christ died for my future sins?"

I replied, "How many of your sins were in the past when Christ died on the cross?"

She looked puzzled for a moment, and then the light broke in, and she said, "How
foolish I have been! Of course they were ^all future when Jesus died for me."

In the second place, we base the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer upon the
perseverance and omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit of God. The apostle Paul writes

to the Philippian saints, "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). Do you see
that? Who began the good work in you if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus? The
Holy Spirit of God. It was He who convicted you of sin, it was He who led you to put
your trust in Christ, it was He who through the Word gave you the witness that you
were saved, it is He who has been conforming you to Christ since you first trusted the
Lord Jesus. Having thus taken you up in grace, the Holy Spirit has a definite purpose in
view. He is going eventually to conform you fully to the image of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and He never begins a work that He does not intend to finish.

In the third place, we base the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer upon the
fact of the new creation. "So if any one be in Christ, there is a new creation; the old
things have passed away; behold all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17 JND). Each
one of us was born into the world a member of the old creation of which Adam was the
head, and every child of Adam’s race comes into the world lost and under sentence of
death. But now see what has happened. Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world and
He was the sinless One. He saw men lost and under the sentence of death, and at the
cross He went down into death, down to where man was, and came up in grace from
death. But He did not come up alone, for God has quickened us together with Christ,
so that all who believe in Him are brought up from that place of death. So just as
formerly we were made partakers of Adam’s race, so now we are made partakers of a
new creation. We formerly were lost because the head of the old creation failed and we
went down with him. But now, as believers, we can never be lost unless the Head of
the new creation falls. But thank God He remains on the throne where God Himself has
put Him, in token of His perfect satisfaction in the work He accomplished.

In the last place, we rest the truth of the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer
upon the fact that the believer is the present possessor of eternal Me. Adam’s life was
forfeitable life:he lost his life because of sin. Eternal life is non-forfeitable life;
otherwise, it would not be eternal. Everlasting Me is Me that lasts forever, and we
have it now. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth
on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but
is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24; read also John 3:14-16, 36).

People say, "If you preach this doctrine of the eternal security of the believer, men will
say, ‘Well, then it doesn’t make any difference what I do, I will get to heaven anyway.’
"It makes a tremendous difference what you do. If you do not behave yourself, if you
have no desire to do what is right according to God’s Word, it shows that you may not
be a real Christian. I know that a real Christian may fail, but the difference can be seen
in Peter and Judas. Peter failed, and failed terribly, but he was genuine, and one look
from Jesus sent him out weeping bitterly; his heart was broken to think that he had so
dishonored his Lord. But Judas companied with the Lord over three years, and was a
devil all the time (John 6:70); he was a thief, and was seeking his own interest. At last
remorse overtook him, not genuine repentance, and what was the result? He went and
hanged himself. He was never a child of God. There is a great difference between a

true, born again Christian and a false professor.

One often hears the complaint, "Oh, we seldom have a conversion." If the reason is
asked, the answer is often, "Well, we have a preacher every Lord’s day, and the
testimony seems faithful enough; but, as far as we know, souls are not led to confess
and own the Lord Jesus as their Saviour through the preaching." The blame is thus
thrown on the preacher, as if he were the only one responsible in the matter.

But is this so? Are we not all responsible in measure? Will this shirking of individual
responsibility do for God? I believe not. Surely He will call to account each one who is
indifferent to the well-being of precious souls. There is a manifest neglect of gospel
services and a condition of lethargy concerning the prosperity of the Word creeping
into the assemblies of the saints in many places. Some Christians are but rarely seen at
the gospel services. The weekly prayer meetings are not attended as regularly as they
might be. Business matters which might often be postponed are scheduled for prayer
meeting night, giving the individual a "good excuse" for absenting himself.

Oh! that our hearts could rise up more fully to the contemplation of God’s own love
toward the ungodly in giving His own Son to die for them (Rom. 5:8). I think we
would thus be stirred up to increased diligence in seeking to help in the work of soul-
winning.

But some one might ask, "What can I do? I cannot preach. I do not feel qualified for
the work." Perhaps not. Still there is much work to be done besides preaching the
gospel. We can seek to bring our friends and neighbors to the gospel services so that
they may hear the words of life. Again, a tract may be given by the way, or a word
spoken to some weary heart, which may result in eternal blessing for the soul and bring
glory to the name of the Lord Jesus. Thus every Christian may be used in some way, if
not in the same way, in proclaiming the message of salvation to all, through Christ.

Then, further, if Christians are desirous of witnessing blessing at the gospel preaching
(and who are not?), there should be an understanding and perfect agreement among
them as to what they need. It is absolutely necessary that there should be unity of
purpose and desire as well as united effort. Thus having a definite object before them
they can come together for presenting their requests to God (Matt. 18:19).

In Acts 1:14 we have an example of this unanimity as to a definite want seen in
practice. We read, "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,
with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren." Again, "They
were all with one accord in one place" (Acts 2:1). Thus were they, brethren and sisters
as well, united in prayer for blessing, and together in waiting for the fulfilment of the
Father’s promise_the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). See also Acts 4:31, 32.

Let us seek then to imitate this example, showing by our repeated supplications our felt
need and dependence upon God. And by our continued waiting, may we show our trust

in our Father, and faith in His infallible Word of promise.

The apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ were specially charged to preach
"repentance and remission of sins" (Luke 24:47). Some of us are apt to overlook the
first part of this commission in our eagerness to get to the second. This is a most
serious mistake. It is our truest wisdom to keep close to the actual terms in which our
blessed Lord delivered His charge to His earliest heralds. Do we give sufficient
prominence to the first part of the commission? Do we preach repentance?

Our Lord preached repentance (Mark 1:14-15) and He commanded His apostles to
preach it; and they did so constantly (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30,31; 20:21; 26:20). With
the example of our Lord and His apostles before us, may we not ask whether there is
not a serious defect in much of our modern preaching? Do we preach repentance as we
ought? No doubt it is very important to preach the gospel of the grace of God in all its
fulness, clearness, and power. But if we do not preach repentance, we will seriously
damage our testimony and the souls of our hearers. What would we say if we saw a
farmer scattering seed on a hard road? We would pronounce him out of his mind. The
plow must do its work. The ground must be broken up before the seed is sown; and we
may rest assured that, as in the kingdom of nature, so in the kingdom of grace_the
plowing must precede the sowing. The ground must be duly prepared for the seed, or
the operation will prove altogether defective. Let the gospel be preached as God has
given it to us in His Word.

What is this repentance which occupies such a prominent place in the preaching of our
Lord and His apostles? We are not aware of any formal definition of the subject
furnished by the Holy Spirit. However, the more we study the Word in reference to
this great question, the more deeply we feel convinced that true repentance involves the
solemn judgment of ourselves, our condition, and our ways in the presence of God;
and, further, that this judgment is not a transient feeling, but an abiding condition, not
an exercise to be gone through as a sort of title to the remission of sins, but the deep
and settled habit of the soul, giving seriousness, tenderness, and profound humility
which shall characterize our entire lives.

We greatly deplore the light, superficial style of much of our modern preaching. It
sometimes seems as if the sinner were led to suppose that he is conferring a great honor
upon God in accepting salvation at His hands. This type of preaching produces levity,
self-indulgence, worldliness, and foolishness. Sin is not felt to be the dreadful thing it is
in the sight of God. Self is not judged. The world is not given up. The gospel that is
preached is what may be called "salvation made easy" to the flesh. People are offered a
salvation which leaves self and the world unjudged and those who profess to be saved
by this gospel often exhibit a great lack of seriousness in their Christian lives.*

(* Perhaps this reminds us of some modern evangelism which says, in effect, "Accept
Christ and enjoy good fellowship"; "accept Christ and play better football"; or "accept
Christ and solve all your problems."_Ed.)

Man must take his true place before God, and that is the place of self-judgment,
contrition of heart, real sorrow for sin, and true confession. It is here the gospel meets
him. The fulness of God ever waits on an empty vessel, and a truly repentant soul is
the empty vessel into which all the fulness and grace of God can flow in saving power.
The Holy Spirit will make the sinner feel and own his real condition. It is He alone who
can do so; but He uses preaching to this end. By preaching, He brings the Word of God
to bear upon the conscience. The Word is His hammer wherewith He breaks the rock
in pieces; it is His plowshare wherewith He breaks up the fallow ground. He makes the
furrow and then casts in the incorruptible seed to germinate and bear fruit to the glory
of God.

Let us be careful that we do not draw from these remarks that there is anything
meritorious in the sinner’s repentance. This would be to miss the point completely.
Repentance is not a good work whereby the sinner merits the favor of God. True
repentance is the discovery and hearty confession of our utter ruin and guilt. It is the
finding out that my whole life has been a lie, and I myself am a liar. This is serious
work. There is no flippancy or levity when a soul is brought to this. A repentant soul in
the presence of God is a solemn reality.

May we more solemnly, earnestly, and constantly call upon men "to repent and turn to
God." Let us preach "repentance" as well as "remission of sins."

(From “The Great Commission” in Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 4.)

"But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come . . ." (Heb. 9:11). The
good things to come are the good things of Christianity of which Christ is the Minister,
the things which we are now enjoying by faith.

But that does not exhaust the meaning of this expression. These things are also future.
We speak of being in the sanctuary as to our nearness and access to God; but actually,
as to the body, we are in the wilderness, subject to the changes and trials of the weary
way. The good things in their full manifestation are yet to come. They have been
brought to us by Christ, and the Holy Spirit has made them real to faith; but our
portion, our good things, are still to come. We have known the blessedness of sins
forgiven and peace with God, but there are still good things to come. We have known
the grace of Christ, have experienced it in many a trying circumstance. He has been
with us in the hour of bereavement, in trial, in disappointments. In everything that
would try the soul, Christ has been sufficient, and His High Priestly sympathy and
succor all that we required. But there are more good things to come.

How much the future has before us! This year which we have just entered_what is
hidden in its womb for us? We know not what a day may bring forth. But we do know
this, that there are good things to come in the future. The good things of Christ will be
sufficient for us for the rest of our lives.

Now contrast, for a moment, those "good things to come" with that awful word of
judgment, "the wrath to come."

Years of God’s patience, years of mercy despised, years of warning unheeded are
treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. Ah, dear friends, that place of wrath, in
outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, is no temporary
banishment, no purifying fire. It is not a place from which a person will one day
emerge a wiser man, ready now to accept the finished work of Christ. Time has closed,
the day of grace is eternally past, and throughout eternity it will be still WRATH TO
COME. As you think of it, should it not fill the heart with yearning, with longing for
the salvation of souls? Should it not make us instant in season, out of season? Daily we
meet men who are going on to the wrath to come, and we are going on to the good
things to come. Shall we not, knowing the terror of the Lord, persuade men? Shall we
not entreat them, yea, shall we not go out and compel them to come in?

We trust it may not be deemed out of place if we venture to offer a word of counsel
and encouragement to all who have been and are engaged in the blessed work of
preaching the gospel of the grace of God. We are, in some measure, aware of the
difficulties and discouragements which attend upon the path of every evangelist,
whatever may be his sphere of labor or measure of gift; and it is our heart’s desire to
hold up the hands and cheer the hearts of all who may be in danger of falling under the
depressing power of these things. We increasingly feel the immense importance of an
earnest, fervent gospel testimony everywhere; and we dread exceedingly any falling off
therein. We are imperatively called to "do the work of an evangelist," and not to be
moved from that work by any arguments or considerations whatsoever.

Let none imagine that in writing thus we mean to detract in the smallest degree from
the value of teaching, lecturing, or exhortation. Nothing is further from our thoughts.
"These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matt. 23:23). We
mean not to compare the work of the evangelist with that of the teacher, or to exalt the
former at the expense of the latter. Each has its own proper place, its own distinctive
interest and importance.

But is there not a danger, on the other hand, of the evangelist abandoning his own
precious work in order to give himself to the work of teaching and lecturing? Is there
not a danger of the evangelist becoming merged in the teacher? We fear there is; and it
is under the influence of this very fear that we pen these few lines. We observe, with
deep concern, some who were once known among us as earnest and eminently
successful evangelists, now almost wholly abandoning their work and becoming
teachers and lecturers.

This is most deplorable. We really want evangelists. A true evangelist is almost as great
a rarity as a true pastor. Alas! how rare are both! The two are closely connected. The
evangelist gathers the sheep; the pastor feeds and cares for them. The work of each lies
very near the heart of Christ_ the Divine Evangelist and Pastor; but it is with the
former we have now more immediately to do_to encourage him in his work, and to
warn him against the temptation to turn aside from it. We cannot afford to lose a single
ambassador just now, or to have a single preacher silent. We are perfectly aware of the
fact that there is in some quarters a strong tendency to throw cold water upon the work
of evangelization. There is a sad lack of sympathy with the preacher of the gospel, and
of active cooperation with him in his work.

Our blessed Lord was an untiring preacher of the gospel, and all who are filled with
His mind and spirit will take a lively interest in the work of all those who are seeking in
their feeble measure to do the same. This interest will be evinced, not only by earnest
prayer for the divine blessing upon the work, but also by diligent and persevering
efforts to get souls under the sound of the gospel.

This is the way to help the evangelist, and this way lies open to every member of the
Church of God_man, woman, or child. All can thus help forward the glorious work of
evangelization. If each member of the assembly were to work diligently and prayerfully
in this way, how different would it be with the Lord’s servants who are seeking to
make known the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Do we really believe in hell? No doubt we hold proper Biblical doctrines concerning
hell. But do we really believe hell is terrible, hell is eternal, and thousands of people
around us are doomed to spend eternity there? Have we ever had an insight into what it
will be like to spend eternity in the blackness of darkness, completely separated from
God and from all light and all love?

It is rather ironic that the sects which claim that there is no hell (for example, the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, and the Seventh-Day Adventists) are extremely
active in evangelism, while many people who hold all the right doctrines seem content
to let men go on to hell, since they make little or no effort to change the course of the
unconverted.

We must have compassion on the lost. Where are the "weeping prophets" or "weeping
preachers" for whom the thought of men and women in hell is so terrible that they will
cry to God for the souls of the lost? We must rid ourselves of complacency. We must
overcome inertia, fear, self-indulgence, or whatever is holding us back from telling to
all we can their frightful danger.

We must pray. We must wrestle in prayer, for we are in conflict with a determined and
desperate enemy. Satan knows his time is running out as well as time for lost men. He
is using every possible weapon to ensnare men’s minds. Whereas in so-called Christian
societies he may previously have worked mainly as an "angel of light," he is revealing
his true nature in the present day_the power of darkness. Men and women are yielding
to his blandishments as never before. We must lay hold of the promise given in Gen.
3:15 that the seed of the woman [Christ] shall bruise Satan’s head. We must ask the
Lord to prevent Satan’s influence over those to whom we bring the gospel, for He it
was who triumphed over the powers of darkness at the cross (Col. 2:15).

If we really believe in hell, let us act as if we believed. Proper doctrine without love,
compassion, and action is a cold, useless thing, as offensive to God as to the world.

There is in all persons a certain knowledge of good and evil; such and such things they
say are good, and such and such things are evil. But perhaps no two persons have
exactly the same standard either of good or evil. What people do is set up such a
standard of good as they themselves can meet, and such a standard of evil as shall just
exclude themselves, and include others. For instance, the drunkard thinks there is no
great harm in drinking, but would consider it a great sin to steal. The covetous man,
who is every day perhaps practicing some cheating or deception in his business,
satisfies himself by thinking, "It is necessary and customary to do so in business, and at
all events I do not get drunk or curse and swear as others do." The upright, moral man
looks around and pities the open sinners that he sees, but he never considers how many
an evil thought, how many a sinful desire he may have had in his heart, unknown to
others. Thus each congratulates himself upon his not having done some certain evil,
and compares himself with someone else who has committed the sin which he thinks he
has managed to avoid.

All this proves that men do not judge themselves by one fixed standard of right and
wrong, but just take that which suits themselves and condemns others. But there is a
standard with which all will be compared and according to which all will be judged.
This is God’s righteousness, and all who fall short of it will be eternally condemned.
When a person begins to find that it is not by comparing himself with others that he is
to judge, but by comparing himself with God, then his conscience begins to be
awakened to think of sin as before God, and then he finds himself guilty and ruined. He
will no longer attempt to justify himself by trying to find out some one that is worse
than himself, but he will be anxious to know whether it is possible that God, before
whom he knows himself condemned, can pardon or forgive him.

Now the scribes and Pharisees, mentioned in the eighth chapter of John, were very
moral and religious people, and were greatly shocked and indignant when they found
out a wretched woman taken in open sin. Justice and the law of Moses, thought they,
demanded that such a sinner as she should die. It comforts and quiets the depraved
heart of man if he can only find a person worse than himself; he thinks the greater sin
of another excuses himself. While accusing and blaming another he forgets his own evil
and thus rejoices in iniquity.

But this is not all. For not only do men thus glory and exult in the fall and ruin of
another, but they cannot bear to see or think of God exhibiting grace. Grace_which
means the full and free forgiveness of every sin without God demanding or expecting
anything from the one forgiven_is a principle so opposed to all man’s thoughts and
ways that he dislikes it. Man does not himself deal in this way, and does not like to
think of God doing so. It is very humbling to be obliged to own that we are dependent
upon grace entirely for salvation, and that nothing we have done and nothing we can do
in the future can make us fit for God’s presence.

It is true that the sentence against the woman was just, the proof of her guilt was
undoubted, and the law was clear; but who was to execute the law? How wise was the
answer given by Jesus:"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at
her." If not one of them could say, "I am without sin," there was not one of them who
was not under the same sentence as the woman, that is, death, for "the wages of sin is
death" (Romans 6:23).

Here, then, was a strange situation_the accused and her accusers alike involved in the
same ruin_criminals all. Think of it_you and all the world are guilty before God. It is
not what is your amount of sin, in man’s account, but can you say you are "without
sin" before God? If not, then death is your sentence. "The soul that sinneth, it shall
die" (Ezek. 18:4). And in this sad condition what have you done? Perhaps the same as
the scribes and Pharisees did when they were convicted by their own conscience_they
left the presence of the only One who can pronounce the forgiveness.

"And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst." She was alone with
One who had the power of life and death. Everything rested on His word. What would
He say? Man had not dared to cast the stone; now what would God do? "Neither do I
condemn thee; go, and sin no more."

Such is still the gracious message to the ruined sinner pronounced by the very Judge
Himself. But it is only to the ruined sinner, standing consciously convicted before the
Judge, that it is spoken. The righteous Pharisees heard it not. They were indeed
convicted, but they would not confess their sin nor put themselves in the same
condemnation with the wretched woman. And so it is still. If you desire to have God’s
full and free pardon, you must first take your place as a guilty sinner. It will not do to
try to get better first before you come to Him. You must be brought to Him by your
very sins, to stand in the very place of condemnation, and before the very Person who
has the power to condemn.

Note that the Lord gave the woman no conditional pardon. He did not say, "Neither
will I condemn you if you will not sin any more." No, He gives her full and complete
forgiveness first, and that, He knew, would enable her to avoid the sin in the future.
The more I see and know my own sin, the more I shall value that precious blood by
which it is put away; and the more anxious shall I be not to grieve the heart of Him
who, in His own love, has provided such a wonderful sacrifice on account of my sins.
Hence, the deeper I know my own guilt, the more secure will be my peace, for the
greater will be my value of the blood through which peace has been made.

May you know the peace and joy of having all your sins forgiven through faith in the
blood of Jesus, and the consequent victory over the power of those very sins by which
you have been led captive.

"Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him:for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His
wife hath made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7). This great event is the consummation of joy to Christ
as Man. It is not called the marriage of the bride, but the marriage of the Lord. It is His joy that
is especially in view, not ours. The marriage, of which no details are given, takes place in heaven
and on the eve of the Lord’s return in power, several years subsequent to the rapture (1 Thess.
4; John 14:3). The marriage is the disclosed secret of Ephesians 5:32. Not Israel, nor a remnant
thereof, but the Church of the New Testament is the bride.

We read in Ephesians 5:25-27 that Christ has loved the Church with a deathless and unchangeable
love, a love ever active and knowing no cessation till He presents her in glory to Himself. The
Church has weathered many a storm, has longed for her heavenly Bridegroom through cloud and
sunshine, has in conjunction with the Spirit on earth often cried to Him, the Bright and Morning
Star, saying, "Come" (Rev. 22:16,17). We who have had our place in the Father’s house,
according to John 14:3, are about to be displayed in the kingdom as the bride and wife of the
Lamb. What a moment of joy! His glory and joy exceedeth. More of the oil of gladness is poured
upon His head than upon ours (Heb. 1:9). Our place, our blessing, our gladness are wrapped up
in His. "The marriage of the Lamb is come." Then shall He who died "see of the travail of His
soul and … be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11).

"His wife hath made herself ready." There are two sorts of fitness, and the Church is the subject
of both. First, God in the exercise of His sovereign grace makes one fit for heavenly glory, as we
read, "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12). Second, believers have to make them-selves ready before they
enter on their eternal glory:that is, the story of our lives on earth has to be gone over again in the
presence of Him who is Light. Our lives have to be reviewed at the judgment seat of Christ (2
Cor. 5:10). The light of the throne will be cast over and upon every moment of our lives,
discovering the hidden, and bringing out the true character of every act, word, and service. From
the judgment seat with its searching light we shall then pass into the loved presence of the Lamb
as His bride and wife for ever.

(From Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.)

"But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful
hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed" (James 1:25).

This law is the law of liberty, because the same Word which reveals what God is and what He
wills has made us partakers by grace of the divine nature; so that not to walk according to that
Word would be not to walk according to our own new nature. Now to walk according to our new
nature_the nature of God_and to be guided by His Word, is true liberty.

The law given on Sinai was the expression in man, written not on the heart but outside man, of
what man’s conduct and heart ought to be according to the will of God. It represses and condemns
all the motions of the natural man, and cannot allow him to have a will, for he ought to do the will
of God. But the natural man does have a will, and therefore the law is bondage to him, a law of
condemnation and death.

Now, God has begotten us by the Word of truth_has given us a new nature. This new nature, as
thus born of God, possesses tastes and desires according to that Word. The Word in its perfection
develops this nature, forms it, enlightens it, and the nature itself has its liberty in following the
Word. Thus it was with Christ; if His liberty could have been taken away (which spiritually was
impossible), it would have been by preventing Him from doing the will of God the Father.

It is the same with the new man in us (which is Christ as life in us) which is created in us
according to God in righteousness and true holiness. The liberty of the new man is liberty to do
the will of God, to imitate God in character, as being His dear child, according as that character
was presented in Christ. The law of liberty is this character as it is revealed in the Word, in which
the new nature finds its joy and satisfaction; even as it drew its existence from the Word which
reveals Him, and from the God who is therein revealed.

(From Synopsis of the Books of the Bible.)

"And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come
out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif,
which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord" (1 Kings 6:1).

There can be no mistake in the understanding of this statement. It is very clear. However, when
we look at other Scriptures in the Books of Acts and 1 Kings, we discover that from Egypt to
Solomon there are not 480 but 573 years. Let us read these verses and examine this apparent
contradiction, for 1 believe we shall find blessing in looking into the matter.

In Acts 13:17-22 we read:"The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the
people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought He them
out of it. And about the time of forty years suffered He their manners in the wilderness. . . . And
after that He gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel
the prophet. And afterward they desired a king:and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a
man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when He had removed him, He
raised up unto them David to be their king." This passage shows that a total of 530 (40 + 450 +
40) years elapsed between the exodus from Egypt and the completion of King Saul’s reign. Adding
to this the forty-year reign of King David (1 Kings 2:11) and the three years completed in
Solomon’s reign at the time of 1 Kings 6:1, we have a total of 573 years.

According to the inspired Word of God, there are 573 years between the departure of Israel from
Egypt to the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. Yet we have seen in that same inspired record that
there are 480 years. Where are we going to get light about the 93 years difference?

Let us read several passages in the Book of Judges:"And the children of Israel did evil in the sight
of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves. Therefore the
anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim
king of Mesopotamia:and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years" (Judges
3:7,8).

"And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord:and the Lord strengthened
Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. And
he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and
possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen
years" (Judges 3:12-14).

"And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. And the
Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; . . . and twenty years
he mightily oppressed the children of Israel" (Judges 4:1-3).

"And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord:and the Lord delivered them into the
hand of Midian seven years" (Judges 6:1).

"And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them
into the hand of the Philistines forty years" (Judges 13:1).

Summing up these five captivities, we find a total of exactly 93 years!

Job says, "Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?" (Job 31:4). God goes over the
whole history_573 years_and finds 93 years altogether in which his people were away from
Him. He would not count the time when His people were out of their right place, and therefore
in 1 Kings 6:1 the total of 480 years is given. What a solemn lesson for us all!

The lesson reminds us that at the judgment seat of Christ our whole life history will be reviewed.
All of the time in which we have walked at a distance from the Lord will be deducted from our
account at the judgment seat.

A brother said to me once, "1 see now, as 1 have never seen it before that the judgment seat of
Christ is going to be pay day for believers. 1 had been absent from my work two weeks and on
the monthly pay day 1 went down to get my wages. They handed me the slip and there were just
two weeks of time. There was not a word said about the two weeks 1 was away from my right
place. 1 see now that at the judgment seat of Christ it is pay day for the believer."

Every day, every hour, every moment that is spent out of communion with the Lord, He is going
to deduct from your time and you will get no reward for it. How much of our time, dear brethren,
is being spent in the presence of the Lord and to His honor and glory?

(Ed. Note. As we become exercised about the apathy, the worldliness, and the failure in our
midst, such as has been set forth in the previous article, we must guard against trying to correct
this condition in our own strength. There may be a tendency with some to try to correct things by
making resolutions and setting up rules and forcing themselves and others to abide by such codes.
But this will eventually lead to further failure or at least to a falling short of God’s standard of
holiness (Eph. 4:16), to say nothing of the spirit of pride engendered by such a spirit of legality.

The following article shows us that the power for a holy, godly life comes not from subjection to
a law or set of rules but from allowing Christ practically to live in us and having Him as the object
of our affections.)

"How wonderful is the grace that can take up men and women, mold and shape them, put Christ
into them and bring Christ out in them, and then make them the exhibitors of that blessed Man
whom the world would not have. It makes Christianity a very serious thing."

This full, rich paragraph at once brings to mind Galatians 2:20:"1 am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless 1 live; yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me:and the life which 1 now live in the flesh
1 live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."

This is true Christianity:Christ displayed in this world through those who were once His enemies
but are now the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

But by what means does Christ live in us? And why do we not see more of Him among the Lord’s
people? Let us now seek the answers to these questions, for Christianity is a very serious thing
indeed.

The above verse tells us, "1 am crucified with Christ." And the previous verse (19) says, "1
through the law am dead to the law." The "1" here is the old "1":what each of us was in our
unsaved condition. We were rebel sinners condemned by God’s holy law. But Christ was crucified
and was condemned for sin. And now by His death we have died and are made free from the
power of sin. So law no more condemns us because we have died in Christ. The old "1" is
condemned and gone. Now our lives are unto God, because Christ lives in us. This is the
righteousness that comes through grace. But if law produces it, then Christ’s death is empty and
meaningless and grace is frustrated (verse 21). But, thank God, it is not so. Christ lives in us by
faith through grace. Thus is "the righteous requirement of the law" produced in us (Rom. 8:4
JND). It is grace that produces what law requires. Law could not produce its own requirement.
Why? Because it addressed man in the flesh, man in his unsaved condition. And the flesh produces
only sins, nothing else.

Romans 7:4-6 confirms this. There it says we "are dead to the law by the body of Christ." We are
dead men as far as law is concerned; completely outside and above it. This means not only the law
of Moses, but ANY PRINCIPLE OF LAW WHATSOEVER. For we are "married to Him." We
cannot be under law and be married to Christ at the same time. It would be like having two

husbands at one time, which is clearly an impossible situation (Rom. 7:1-3). That would mean two
dominions or loyalties. But we are His and our loyalty should be unto Him and not unto law. It
is what He desires so much from us. Thus we "bring forth fruit unto God." Verse 4 then shows
us the work of the law. "When we were in the flesh, the motions [passions] of sins, which were
by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." In our former unsaved
condition, the law provoked the flesh by its prohibitions, and sins_fruit unto death_was the
result. Even now as Christians, the flesh in us is provoked to sin when the principle of law is
applied. The flesh ALWAYS remains the same. It produces nothing but sins, even in a believer.
And by the same token, the application of law always results in the rebellion of the flesh. So how
thankful we should be that "we are delivered from the law." Again, it is deliverance from the
principle of law, and it is "that we might serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the
letter" (Rom. 7:6). Christ is that Spirit and the principle of law is the letter. "Who also hath made
us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit:for the letter killeth, but
the Spirit giveth life. . . . Now the Lord is that Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:6,17).

It is grace that leads us to possess the ministry of Christ. This is the ministry of His glory which
by far surpasses anything ever given to men. And it is glory in which we now share. "But we all,
looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18 JND). This means that we really
possess Him in our hearts and our minds. The result is a progressive transformation in us which
produces conformity to Christ in our thoughts and ways. This is how we are delivered from the
world, the flesh, and the devil. This is how we find rich, meaningful lives, and it is the secret of
present joy and satisfaction. It is how Christ lives in us. It is the ministry of grace.

Suppose we fail to sufficiently possess this ministry? Or what if we put other things first in our
lives? It is then that we become occupied with ourselves in many ways. We may become occupied
with "our work" for the Lord, which really centers things in ourselves. We would, perhaps, think
of our "duties" to Him, thus becoming "mechanical" in our ways. This could result in our
becoming hard and demanding toward others, and so we would fail in love, tenderness, and
meekness. If these things become true of us, we descend to the level of law, and grace is turned
aside. We have failed to show righteousness, for Christ is not seen in us. The flesh has taken
control.

What is the effect of this upon others? Flesh begets flesh. We judge and get back judgment. We
lose the confidence of those with whom we desire to work. And we prevent the very thing we
want most, which is fruit for God. How? By introducing the principle of law, which stirs the
passions of the flesh into sinful activity. And this is not to be wondered at, for we have not served
in the spirit, but we have served in the letter. There is no righteousness produced, for we have
shown none. And so there is no fruit for God and grace is frustrated. We have brought ourselves
into the bondage of law. "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not
consumed one of another" (Gal. 5:15). What a terrible price must be paid under this bondage!

But "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17). And "brethren, ye have been
called unto liberty" (Gal. 5:13). Oh, what a blessed contrast to bondage! How precious it is to be
free_free from sin, from law, and the world! It is Christ who has set us so completely free. "If

the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). If only every Christian
knew of this liberty and freedom! Oh, let us cherish this; let us jealously guard our precious
heritage. How dearly it has been bought for us. No, there is no law, written or unwritten, for the
Christian today.

But God gives us a perfect balance to all of this. And precious and wonderful it is, too. "Use not
liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). Liberty is not a
license for us to do as we please. This would be lawlessness and not liberty. And God condemns
it, for this would provide for the flesh and not for that selfless service toward others which is the
direction in which God’s love leads. This is true liberty, for it seeks the good of others. It leads
us to teach, to exhort, to encourage, to "bear one another’s burdens," to warn, to admonish, and
to help in whatever other way that is needed for the building up in Christ of God’s people.

Finally, and most important, this liberty leads us to the happy acknowledgment of the Lord’s
gracious claims upon us. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments. … He that has My
commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me. … If any one love Me, he will keep My
word" (John 14:15, 21,23 JND). Is the Lord imposing law here? By no means. He knows, by His
own experience, how to live for the glory of the Father. He knows the fulness of life in fellowship
with the Father. In His commands to us, He tells us how to realize the same in our lives. It is by
the principle of grace that He directs us. See how He appeals to our love for Him. It is an appeal
of grace. "Do you love Me? Then follow Me," is what he asks. This is not law. But we must
remember, "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Are we occupied with Him
in His love to us? Do we often think of where His love for us led Him, even unto the death of the
cross? Do we think of how He suffered for us then? And do we ponder all the eternal blessings
He has secured for us because He came out of that death in a glorious resurrection? Oh, how we
should love Him! How ready we should be to obey Him! And how sensitive we should be to His
will so that we would love to please Him even without command! It is clear from these verses that
our love of the Lord is measured by our loyalty to Him. Do we refuse Him our loyalty? How can
we withhold anything from Him who loves us without measure?

FRAGMENT
We need to watch against a "grudging service." The enemy is always trying to get in the word
"duty," instead of the word "delight"; he says a stern "you must," instead of a loving "you may."
There is no slavery like the slavery of love, but its chains are sweet. It knows nothing of
"sacrifice," no matter what may be given up. It delights to do the will of the beloved one (Psalm
40:8).

Let us consider briefly the style in which the Lord’s coming for His saints will be effected. We
read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that "the Lord Himself shall descend." Why that? Could He not
commit it to others? Could He not speak the word from the throne above and never leave it?
Surely, in one sense, He could have. But how it should stir our poor, slow hearts to see, when the
time of His patience is over, how His heart comes out in the action here. He must come Himself
out of the gate of heaven; and so we rush out, forgetting all slow formality, to greet the approach
of a dear and intimate and long-absent Friend. His voice must greet us first of all; His must be the
shout that breaks the slumber of the grave, and brings out its tenants. All is accomplished in a
moment; delay is at an end. And this is the fitting introduction to the end which alone satisfies
Him whose time has come to see the fruit "of the travail of His soul" (Isa. 53:11). "So shall we
ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17).

(From "The First Resurrection and the Body That Shall Be" in Leaves from the Book.)

What is to be done if a Christian sins? The apostle John gives the answer:"If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John
1:9). Confession is the means by which the conscience is to be kept clear.

God has been perfectly satisfied as to all the believer’s sins in the cross of Christ. Our sins can
never come into God’s presence inasmuch as Christ, who bore them all and put them away, is
there instead. But if we sin, the conscience will feel it, for the Holy Spirit will make us feel it. He
cannot allow so much as a single foolish thought to pass unjudged. Our sin cannot affect God’s
thoughts about us, but it can, and does, affect our thoughts about Him. It cannot hide the Advocate
from God’s view, but it can hide Him from ours. It cannot affect our relationship with God, but
it can very seriously affect our enjoyment thereof. God has already judged our sins in the Person
of Christ, and in the act of confession, we judge ourselves. This is essential to divine forgiveness
and restoration. The very smallest unconfessed, unjudged sin on the conscience will entirely mar
our communion with God. By confession the conscience is cleared, our communion is restored,
and our thoughts concerning God and our relationship to Him are set straight.

There is a great difference between confession and praying for forgiveness. It is much easier to
ask in a general way for the forgiveness of our sins, than to confess those sins. Confession
involves self-judgment; asking for forgiveness may not, and in itself does not. By merely asking
for forgiveness, we tend to lessen the sense of the evil; we may be thinking we are not completely
to blame. Or we may be motivated by a desire to escape the consequences of the sin, rather than
by an abhorrence of the sin itself. God wants us not only to dread the consequences of sin, but to
hate the thing itself, because of its hatefulness in His sight. If it were possible for us, when we
commit sin, to be forgiven merely for the asking, our sense of sin, and our shrinking from it,
would not be nearly so intense; and as a consequence, our estimate of the fellowship with which
we are blessed would not be nearly so high. The effect of all this upon our spiritual condition, and
also upon our whole character and practical career, must be obvious to every experienced
Christian.

(From "Sin in the Flesh and Sin on the Conscience" in Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 2)

"I come quickly" is announced by the Lord three times in Revelation 22. But different words of
warning and encouragement accompany this voice.

1."Behold I come quickly:blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this
book"(verse 7). This warns us that, while we are waiting for Him, we must do so with watchful,
obedient, observant minds, heedful of His words.

2. "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work
shall be" (verse 12). This encourages to diligence, telling us that by the occupation of our talents
now during His absence, on the promised and expected return He will have honors to impart to
us.

3. "Surely I come quickly" (verse 20). This is a simple promise. It is neither a warning nor an
encouragement. Nothing accompanies the announcement, as in the other cases. It is, simply a
promise that He Himself is coming again. But it is the highest and the dearest thing. The heart may
be silent before a warning and before an encouragement; such words may get their audience in
secret from the conscience. But this promise of the simple personal return of Christ gets its answer
from the saints:"Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus" (verse 20).

Thus the Lord’s own voice, in these different and striking announcements, encourages the saints
to maintain the attitude of waiting for Him.

(From The Bible Treasury, Vol. 15, page 142.)

It was a windy and rough day on the water. My dad and I went out in my boat fishing, quite far
from land. Having taken one "drop" at some shoals we were about to return home. Upon starting
the engine we found we had lost the propeller.

There we were, night coming on, in rough weather, and no propeller. I looked to the Lord that
we might find it. We then sculled into the wind to where we thought we stopped last. Dad looked
in the waterglass. There, about twenty feet down on the bottom, was the propeller! We hooked
it up with the grapnel and using a piece of lead and a nail to hold it on we were able to get back
to land.

I have found that we can look to the Lord both in great difficulties as this was and in small things
such as getting a tight nut loose. He is our resource in all things.

George Muller, the "father" and friend of several thousand orphans in his lifetime, once took an
ocean voyage from Liverpool to Quebec. As they neared Newfoundland on a Wednesday, the fog
was so thick that very slow progress was being made. Mr. Muller went to the captain.

"Captain," said he, "I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon."

"It is impossible," replied the captain.

"Very well, then," spoke Muller calmly, "if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other
means of locomotion to take me. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years."

"I would willingly help you, but how can 1? I am helpless."

"Let us go down to the chart room and pray," suggested Muller.

The captain eyed Muller as though wondering what lunatic asylum this man could have come
from. He then asked Mr. Muller, "Do you know how dense this fog is?"

"No," he replied, "my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls
every circumstance of my life."

Muller knelt down and prayed one of the simplest of prayers. When he finished, the captain was
about to pray, but Muller put his hand on his shoulder and told him not to pray. "First," he told
the captain, "you do not believe God will do it; and second, I believe He has done it, so there is
no need whatever for you to pray about it."

The captain looked at his passenger mystified. Mr. Muller went on, "I have known my Lord for
fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day that I have failed to gain an audience with
Him. If you will get up now and open the door, you will find the fog is gone."

The captain got up and opened the door. The fog was gone! George Muller was in Quebec for his
engagement on Saturday afternoon.

A recent University of Maryland newsletter described a section of Baltimore known as Little
Lithuania. Lithuanians are known for their love of their native land (part of the Soviet Union since
World War II) and their desire for its independence. One couple was mentioned in the newsletter
"who buy food on a day-to-day basis, awaiting word that Lithuania has been freed."

This couple reminds us in several ways of the attitude which should characterize Christians who
are awaiting their Lord’s return. First, they are ready to leave at a moment’s notice. They have
arranged their lives so that there will be nothing to detain them when the good news arrives. We
are not advocating buying food on a day-to-day basis, but we do think Christians should examine
their way of life in view of the hope of the Lord’s imminent return. Are we accumulating earthly
treasure at the expense of the heavenly? Would our sudden departure cause others to suffer loss,
financially or otherwise? Are we "redeeming the time" so that we can leave quickly without
regret? Would we be leaving behind any unfinished work due to procrastination, such as giving
a gospel tract to an unsaved acquaintance, or confessing and making restitution for an offense
toward a neighbor?

Second, the Lithuanian couple evidently have made no emotional commitment to this country.
Their heart is still in Lithuania. No doubt they obey the laws and pay their taxes, but they are not
worried about the future of the United States nor are their interests involved in the activities going
on here. Surely we should live in this world as "strangers and pilgrims" (Heb. 11:13), honoring
the authorities, but not actively getting involved in directing the worldly course of events. Our
hearts should be in heaven where we long to be as soon as the Lord wills.

Finally, their hope has never wavered although it has been deferred many years. No doubt, many
have said to this couple, "You know it will be many years before Lithuania is free, if ever. Why
don’t you relax and enjoy yourselves?" Perhaps even some of their fellow expatriates consider
them eccentric. Many in the world today are saying that the Lord’s coming is wishful thinking.
Even some professed Christians have given up this hope or say that He will not come until certain
events have occurred. Many of those who say they believe in the Lord’s coming live as if they do
not. We should guard diligently against being influenced by these attitudes. Let us not waver in
our hope nor in the practical expression of this hope in our lives.

The Song of Solomon has been called the book of communion. We have that beautifully set forth
in the first seven verses of the second chapter. The bride and the bridegroom are conversing
together. We delight to speak with those whom we love. One of the wonderful things about love
is that when someone has really filled the vision of your soul, you do not feel that any time that
is taken up communing with him is wasted. Here then you have the lovers out in the country
together and she exclaims, for it is evidently she who speaks in verse one, "I am the rose of
Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." Generally we apply those words to the blessed Lord; we speak
of Him as the Rose of Sharon. We sing sometimes, "He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and
Morning Star." It is perfectly right and proper to apply all these delightful figures to Him, for we
cannot find any figure that speaks of that which is beautiful and of good report that cannot
properly be applied to the Lord. But the wonderful thing is that He has put His own beauty upon
His people. And so here the bride is looking up into the face of the bridegroom saying, "I am the
rose [really the narcissus, a blood-red flower] of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys" _ the lily that
thrives in the hidden place, not in the town, not in the heat and bustle of the city, but out on the
cool countryside, in the quiet field. Does it not speak of the soul’s separation to Christ Himself?

It is when we draw apart from the things of the world, apart to Himself, that we really thrive and
grow in grace and become beautiful in His sight. I am afraid that many of us do not develop
spiritually as we should, because of the fact that we know so little of this heart-separation to
Himself. One of the great griefs that comes to the heart of many a one who is seeking to lead
others oh in the ways of Christ, is to know the influence that the world has upon them after they
are converted to God. How often the question comes from young Christians, "Must I give up this
and must I give up that if I am going to live a consistent Christian life?" And the things that they
speak of with such apparent yearning are mere trifles after all as compared with communion with
Him. Must I give up eating sawdust in order to enjoy a good dinner? Who would talk like that?
Must I give up the pleasures of the world in order that I may have communion with Christ? It is
easy to let them all go if the soul is enraptured with Him; and when you get to know Him better,
when you learn to enjoy communion with Him, you will find yourself turning the question around.
So when the world says, "Won’t you participate with us in this doubtful pleasure or in this unholy
thing?" your answer will be, "Must I give up so much to come down to that level? Must I give
up communion with Him? Must I give up the enjoyment of His Word? Must I give up fellowship
with His people in order to go in the ways of the world?"

Dear young Christian, do not think of it as giving up anything to go apart with Him and enjoy His
blessed fellowship. It is then the separated soul looks into His face and says, "I am like the
narcissus of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys," and He at once responds, "As the lily among
thorns, so is my love among the daughters."

I have been very much interested of late in looking at the excellent way in which John the Baptist
met the various questions which came before him, for unfortunately there were questions in his
day just as there are in ours.

It is beautiful to notice, first of all, the self-hiding, retiring spirit displayed by this servant of
Christ as he answered questions concerning himself and his work:"I am the voice of one crying
in the wilderness. … I baptize with water:but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to
unloose" (John 1:23,26,27).

Thus, as to himself, he was merely a voice. And as to his work, he baptized with water, and was
only too glad to retire behind that blessed One whose shoe’s latchet he felt himself utterly
unworthy to unloose. May each one of us long to know more and more of this self-hiding_this
losing sight of self and its doings_this retiring spirit. Truly it is much needed in this day of
egotistical boast and pretension.

In John 3 we have another kind of question:"Then there arose a question between some of John’s
disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto Him, Rabbi, He
that was with thee beyond Jordan, to Whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and
all men come to Him." (John 3:25,26). Now this was a mistake, for "Jesus himself baptized not,
but his disciples" (John 4:2). But this is not the point here. What strikes me is John’s mode of
settling all questions, right or wrong. He finds a perfect solution for all in the presence of his
Lord. "John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven"
(John 3:27).

How true! How simple! How perfectly obvious! What a complete settlement of every question!
If a man has anything at all, where did it, where could it come from? Surely only from heaven.
What a perfect cure for strife, envy, jealousy, and emulation! "Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). What a tale this tells
of earth and of man! What a record it bears to heaven and to God! Not one atom of good on earth
but what comes from heaven. Not an atom of good in man but what comes from God. Why, then,
should any one boast, or be jealous, or envious? If all goodness is from above, let there be an end
of all strife, and let all hearts go up in praise to "the Father of lights."

Thus it was the Baptist met the questions of his day. He let all the questioners know that their
questions had but little interest for him. And more than that, he let them know where all his
interests lay. This blessed servant found all his springs in the Lamb of God, in His precious work,
and in His glorious Person. In His presence he found a divine answer to every question_a divine
solution of every difficulty. John lived far beyond the region of questions in the blessed presence
of his Lord, and there he found all his heart could ever need.

Now, it seems to me that we would do well to take a leaf out of John’s book as regards all this.
I need not remind you that in this present day there are questions agitating men’s minds. Yes, and

some of us are called to account for not expressing ourselves more decidedly on some at least of
these questions. But for my part, I believe the devil is doing his utmost to alienate our hearts from
Christ and from one another by questions. We ought not to be ignorant of his devices. He does
not come openly and say, "I am the devil and I want to divide and scatter you by questions." Yet
this is precisely what he is seeking to do.

It matters not whether the question be right or wrong in itself; the devil can make use of a right
question just as effectively as of a wrong one, provided he can succeed in raising that question into
undue prominence, and causing it to come between our souls and Christ, and between us and our
brethren. I can understand a difference in judgment on various minor questions. Christians have
differed about such for many long centuries, and they will continue to differ until the end of time.
It is human weakness. But when any question is allowed to assume undue prominence, it ceases
to be mere human weakness, and becomes a wile of Satan. I may have a very decided judgment
on any given point, and so may you. But what I long for now is a thorough sinking of all
questions, and a rejoicing together in hearing the voice of the Lord, and going on together in the
light of His blessed countenance. This will confound the enemy. It will effectually deliver us from
prejudice and partiality, from cliques and factions. We shall then measure one another, not by our
views of any particular question, but by our appreciation of the Person of Christ and our devotion
to His cause.

In a word, what I long for is that we all may be characterized by a deep-toned, thorough devotion
to the Name, and truth, and cause of Christ. I long to cultivate broad sympathies that can take in
every true lover of Christ, even though we see not eye to eye on all minor questions. At best we
know but in part, and we can never expect people to agree with us about questions. But if Christ
be our one absorbing object, all other things will assume their right place, their relative value,
their proper proportions. "Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect [as many as have Christ for
their one object], be thus minded:and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal
even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule
[Christ], let us mind the same thing [Christ]" (Phil. 3:15,16). The moment anything else but Christ
is introduced as a rule to walk by, it is simply the work of the devil. Of this I am as sure as that
I hold this pen in my hand.

May the Lord keep us all close to Himself, walking together, not in sectarianism, but in true
brotherly love, seeking the blessing and prosperity of all who belong to Christ, and promoting in
every possible way His blessed cause, until He come!

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God
of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them
which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" (2 Cor.
1:3, 4).

What strikes one here is that the apostle begins the opposite way from that in which most would
begin. If we had anything to relate as he had, we should have started with our troubles and
pressures, and gone on perhaps to tell of the comfort and consolation ministered by God to us. But
the apostle begins with the source of all comfort:"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies." Thus he begins at the fountain head, and not at the stream;
he comes down to the stream, "that we may be able to comfort." He did not go up to God from
that, but from God Himself he came down, to the comfort he ministered. It makes an immense
difference at what end we begin. We find broken hearts in this world. Who can bind them up but
God Himself? But we must take care not to make our need the measure of His comfort; if you
make your troubles, or sorrows, or difficulties the measure of God’s grace and mercy, you
severely limit the store of goodness that is in Him.

There was only One_the blessed Lord_who had unmeasured trouble and sorrow here. To us,
all sorrow is measured out, either God-given, or God-permitted. He puts on us only what He sees
needful for us. There is no temptation, but that which is common to man. God will not suffer us
to be tempted above what we are able. He knows exactly what the vessel is able to bear. He puts
the right amount on it, and then places His own blessed strength under it, and so helps us to carry
it. All goes under His hand. No amount of God-given consolation in the midst of the troubles we
pass through could ever be the measure of what is in God’s heart. So the apostle breaks out with
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" who is the source of it all.

Paul is allowed to pass through all he speaks of here in order that he might be able to minister it
to others. The servant is passed through many an exercise and difficulty, many a pressure and
trial, often not so much for himself as for those he would serve under Christ. God produces in the
servant that character which it is His object to develop by means of his service. He puts the
servant in the stocks, as it were, that he may be able to come forth and say, "I have tasted the
mercy and comfort of God."

We never can get sympathy from others while they themselves are in the same circumstances.
When they have passed through them, they fitted to help and comfort us. How often in trouble
people claim to be shut up to themselves. They think none can understand. But after any one has
passed through it, he can draw near to those in sorrow and tell them of the comfort wherewith he
has been comforted.

There must be school time in God’s family, and everything must be fully tested and proved. If we
are walking with God, are we not conscious of how little we are able to help one another? Painful
it is to see how well able we appear to be to find the weak points in one another. To tell a man
he is at the bottom of a deep ditch is one thing, but it is quite another to be able through grace to

take him out of it. We must know the hand and heart of God and His sustaining power for
ourselves, and then we can meet others in their varied circumstances; and like a skillful physician,
we shall know the relative value of each medicine and be able to apply it. The physician must go
to school in order to learn; and so must we walk this great hospital of suffering, that is, this
present world, and taste the balm of consolation ourselves before we can commend it to others.

God was thinking of the Corinthians, and therefore He says as it were, I will take my servant and
pass him through the heights and depths, through every variety of circumstance (2 Cor. ii)- For
what purpose? In order that I may display in him the power of Christ, and in order that the same
power may go out through him and reach the Corinthians. Paul is afflicted for the sake of the
Corinthians. This makes the position of the servant of Christ very solemn_the servant ought to
be ready for everything. Some act as if they thought they could carry the world before them; they
are applauded, made much of. This is the world’s notion. However, the thought in Scripture of
a servant is one who suffers, not one who reigns; one who goes through pressure and difficulty,
evil report and good report (2 Cor. 6). He ought to be one who has such a hold upon God and
who has God so before him that he can say, "Here am 1, send me," content to be placed in the
furnace, that out of a broken heart he may be able to minister the consolations of God.

Was it said to Paul, "I will show him how great things he must do?" No, but what he must suffer
for My name’s sake (Acts 9:16). It is not only a man’s gift or his words which God takes up, but
He takes up a man’s person and puts him into every sort of up and down so that he may be able
to stand by the afflicted ones and say, "This was my comfort in my sorrow." It is a lonely, quiet,
unnoticed, and unknown path, but one of most precious blessing-. When a person has lost his
reputation, his good name (not only in the world, but even among the saints), when a person is
in the shade, in the deeps with Christ, it is an opportunity to see how near Christ can come to him.
"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me:I pray God that it may not
be laid to their charge" (2 Tim. 4:16). Paul was absolutely alone but he had not a bitter thought
about one of them who forsook him.

Rather, Paul fully proved what God was:"Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me, and
strengthened me" (verse 17).

May the Lord graciously incline our hearts by His Spirit to accept His own blessed perfect ways
with each one of us, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake!

(From Christ:His People’s Portion and Object.)

"And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).

What a challenge to our hearts, coming from One who had just spoken of His sufferings, His
death, and resurrection! How unselfishly He lived! And in death He thought only of the glory of
God and the blessing of souls. Beloved, what do we know of this? I know the world makes great
demands upon saints of God today. It makes demands upon our time, our energies, and our
affections. We forget that Christ has the first claim upon us. We push the claims of God aside, and
seek to gratify self and follow after our selfish desires rather than deny that sinful self within us.
Oh, if we will heed His voice, "Come after Me," we may lose ourselves in the happy occupation
with Himself. We will desire those things that please Him and thus be able to edify others (Rom.
14:19). Then, if we properly appreciate His death for us, we shall not henceforth live unto
ourselves, but unto Him who died and rose again for us (2 Cor. 5:15).

Self must be denied. Paul said, "I die daily" (1 Cor. 15:31).The sooner you die the better you will
live. It reminds me of a writer who said, "I went to my own funeral and came back alive. I was
buried with Christ, and am risen with Him. The resurrection life is the one I now live."

Now, I would make a final appeal to all who are Christ’s. Whenever you have spare moments or
times of ease, just ask Him, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" He will fill your heart and
hands with that which will bring honor to Him and blessing to others. Then there will be no idle
time to gratify self, nor any excuse for self-indulgence.

Fellow Christian, accept the challenge of these words. Sinners are perishing, saints are suffering,
and Christ is coming!

We must never lose sight of the grand fact that we are converted to the service of God. The
outcome of the life which we possess must ever take the form of service to the living and true
God. In our unconverted days we worshiped idols and served various lusts and pleasures. Now,
on the contrary, we worship God in the Spirit, and we are called to serve Him with all our
ransomed powers. We have turned to God and have found in Him our perfect rest and satisfaction.
There is not a single thing we need, for time and eternity, that we cannot find in our most gracious
God and Father. He has treasured up in Christ, the Son of His love, all that can satisfy the desires
of the new life in us. It is our privilege to have Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith, and to be
so rooted and grounded in love as to be able to comprehend with all the saints "what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge," that we may be filled with all the fulness of God (Eph. 3:17-19).

Thus filled, satisfied, and strengthened, we are called to dedicate ourselves, spirit, soul, and body,
to the service of Christ_to be always abounding in the work of the Lord. We should have nothing
else to do in this world. Whatever cannot be done as service to Christ ought not to be done at all.
It is our sweet privilege to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and to the glory of God.
We sometimes hear people speak of "a secular calling" as contrasted to a "sacred" one. We
question the correctness of such a distinction. Paul served the Lord both in making tents and
planting churches. All that a Christian does ought to be sacred because it is done as service to
God. If this were borne in mind, it would enable us to connect the very simplest duties of daily
life with the Lord Himself, and to bring Him into them in such a way as to impart a holy dignity
and interest to all that we have to do from morning till night. In this way, instead of finding the
duties of our calling a hindrance to our communion with God, we should actually make them an
occasion of waiting on Him for wisdom and grace to discharge them aright, so that His holy name
might be glorified in the most minute details of practical life.

It is most blessed for us to know that our God graciously condescends to connect His name and
His glory with the most commonplace duties that can devolve upon us in our ordinary domestic
life. It is this which imparts dignity, interest, and freshness to every little act, from morning till
night. "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col. 3:23). Here lies
the precious secret of the whole matter. It is not working for wages, but serving the Lord and
looking to Him to receive the reward of the inheritance.

Oh, that all this were more fully realized among us! What moral elevation it would give to the
entire Christian life! What a triumphant answer it would furnish to the unbeliever! The most
learned arguments are not so convincing as an earnest, devoted, holy, happy, self-sacrificing
Christian life.

(From "Conversion:What Is It?" in Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 4,.)

Nature often provides a mirror of man’s soul and his relationship to God. Moses, for example,
chose an eagle for the illustration given in Deut. 32:11,12 to clarify God’s dealings with men:"As
an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them,
beareth them on her wings:so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with
him."

Those to whom Moses was writing would have little difficulty in picturing an eagle and her care
of her brood, and the parallel of God’s concern for His people. Likewise we also should have little
difficulty in understanding the analogy. It certainly is not beyond our imagination. Yet with all the
obvious comparisons which come quickly to our minds, it would be well for us to pause and
examine carefully some specific examples.

Notice the first action of the eagle. "An eagle stirreth up her nest." When her young have matured
to the point where they are able to learn to fly, the eagle stirs the nest, making it just as
uncomfortable as possible and shaking the eaglets loose to accept the challenges of flight more
readily.

As the eagle must stir up the nest to dislodge the young who will not of their own accord fling
themselves out into space, so the Lord must stir up our nest to free us from the easily acceptable
comforts and securities which we enjoy, so that we may see and accept the challenges of a closer
fellowship with Him.

However, the eagle does not simply shake the eaglets loose and then leave them to their own
resources and experiments to learn the art of flying. Rather she flies over the nest, giving her
brood practical examples to follow. "An eagle . . . fluttereth over her young." Is there a better
parallel to the Lord’s training of us? He never stirs us loose merely to cause grief or ruin, nor
does He leave us without example. If the Lord has stirred your nest, dislodged you from your
comfortable rut, keep your eyes open wide for His training example.

In the third comparison there is a glorious confidence. "An eagle . . . spreadeth abroad her
wings." This speaks of the eagle’s self-sacrificing protection of her brood. Many writers have
indicated that if danger seems imminent the mother bird will place herself in a position to receive
the enemy’s onslaught before her young are attacked. There are few pictures which reveal more
of the Lord’s care and protection for us. Certainly we are aware of this care in the physical realm.
Almost everyone can point to at least one particular event in his life when the Lord demonstrated
His protection unmistakably.

But beyond this, in the spiritual realm, the Lord has placed Himself again and again between us
and our soul’s enemy to keep him from destroying our spiritual life. When he attacked at our
weakest point, when failure seemed inevitable, the Lord Himself hedged us in under His
protection.

The final parallel re-emphasizes and expands the third. "An eagle . . . taketh them, beareth them

on her wings." It has long been noted that when a young eagle is learning to fly and for some
reason, be it lack of strength or confidence, it suddenly flounders in the air, the parent will dive
under the young one and spread her wings, offering support to the infant bird. What a peace-
giving promise this is! As we can expect the Lord’s stirrings, as we can look to Him for a guiding
example, so we can trust for His speedy and sufficient support in time of weakness and failure.
We may not always understand all the Lord is doing. He will provide an example, a call, which
we can not follow in ourselves. Yet He will not desert us. Rather, He has promised to be our ever-
present help. Why then do we hesitate to follow Him?

When we become too attached to the nest of this world He stirs us. When we wonder how or
where to follow He provides an example. When we are overcome by the enemy He protects us.
When our own strength is insufficient He supplies His. And all of this is for one purpose, that
Christ alone would be our God. Can you see yourself in the picture of the lazy, ignorant,
defenseless, frail eaglet? Can you see the Lord’s stirrings, lessons, protection, and provision in
your experience? Are you accepting each of them as best for you? Is Christ alone your God?

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also
hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His" (Heb. 4:9,10).

We should especially observe that it is the rest of God which is spoken of here. This enables us
to understand the happiness and perfection of the rest. God must rest in that which satisfies His
heart. This was the case in creation_all was very good. But God, in His perfect love, is also
satisfied with us_His redeemed people_and we will possess a heavenly portion in the blessing
which we shall have in His own presence, in perfect holiness and perfect light. Accordingly, all
the toilsome work of faith, the exercise of faith in the wilderness, the warfare, the good works
practiced there, labor of every kind will cease. Not only shall we be delivered from the power of
indwelling sin, but all the efforts and all the troubles of the new man will cease as well. We are
already set free from the law of sin; in the coming day our spiritual exercise for God will cease.
We shall rest from our works performed in service for Him. We have already rested from our
works with regard to justification, and therefore in that sense we now have rest in our consciences.
But that is not the subject here_it is the Christian’s rest from all his works. God rested from His
works_assuredly good ones_ and so shall we also then with Him.

We are now in the wilderness; we also wrestle with wicked spirits in heavenly places. But a
blessed rest remains for us, in which our hearts will repose in the presence of God, where nothing
will trouble the perfection of our rest, where God will rest in the perfection of the blessing He has
bestowed on His people.

(From Synopsis of the Books of the Bible.)