"As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:14-16).
Apart from simple faith in God and the consciousness that the Spirit of God is still guardian in the Church, one would not know how or what to speak in these days. If you speak of grace, and dwell upon the fulness and freeness of it, there are so many hearts that will delight in it after a carnal manner, and use it for a cloak of evil. Such persons turn "the grace of our God into lasciviousness" (Jude 4); they cover over a deep spirit of worldliness and excuse themselves much obedience on the ground of grace. Indeed, this is a prevailing evil of these days. It is the root of that latitudinarian spirit which is tolerant of many evils and much disobedience. On the other hand, if you speak of holiness of walk, many souls will put themselves under legal bondage, which robs them of their joy and peace, or at best makes them slaves of their own feelings, or promotes that self-righteous spirit which fills the heart with intolerable pride.
Still the truth must be told; and it will have its fruit in some hearts. In the passage above we see the most touching appeal to the heart of a saint; and these two principles, grace and holiness, are exactly in unison. The appeal is not to bondmen or servants, but to children; and it is from Him "which hath called you." Grace has brightly shone in these two facts:(1) He has called us; and (2) "Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). Thus, He has called us and has made us His children. The appeal is this:seeing He who has thus acted in such grace, and brought us into such relationship, is Himself holy, so should we be holy. And there is grace in this appeal, for He desires that we should be before Him in joy and love, which could not be without holiness. This our God has secured to us in Jesus, having "chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love" (Eph. 1:4). But God has now separated us unto Himself from an evil world, and from our own evil too; hence the present appeal to be "as obedient children." The principle is this:the children should be as the parent. God is holy; hence His children are to be holy. As holiness is a characteristic of the Father, it should also be a characteristic of the children.
If this principle had more weight in our minds, our chastenings would be found much more fruitful; for surely the soul that longs after holiness will profit more than a careless soul by the various chastenings of the Father’s hand. "For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness" (Heb. 12:10).
Many are apt to contrast grace and holiness, but there can be no contrast among any of the attributes of God. All His attributes express Himself, and He is One. Grace, indeed, shines most in this, that we sinners of the Gentiles should be reconciled unto God, and built up with the Jews a holy temple in the Lord (Eph. 2:11-22). "Grace [reigns] through righteousness" (Rom. 5:21).
I am sure of this:if we would serve the Lord, we must be holy. Not in self-righteousness, but as "obedient children," as those who wish to be as He is. Every exhortation to His children and every recognition of them is full of this principle_holiness.
One could dwell very much on this important subject, and I trust the Lord may lead our souls more into it. It is evident, from the Word and from past experience, that God’s work is accomplished by means of holy and godly people. A true position and clear knowledge of the truth will not suffice; holiness is what God looks for. The reason is evident, since to do God’s work He must have the soul walking with Himself, in communion with His mind. Witness the contrast between Abraham and Lot.
Let brethren in Christ everywhere look well to this, for while there is much truth abroad it seems to have little power in separating souls from evil. For when we see light spreading, if that "light [in them] be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matt. 6:23). There seems to be a lack of power for obedience to the truth when it is seen. Why is this?
Let us remember this, "The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Tim. 2:19). I doubt not that the Lord is doing a work among souls; and if we would share the reward of such work, we must see to it that we are found "as workers together with Him . . . giving no offence in anything, … in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God" (2 Cor. 6:1-4).
(From The Present Testimony, Vol. 6.)
Our true wisdom is being subject to the will of our Lord. To human eyes no plan of taking Jericho could have been more foolish than that which Joshua adopted; but it was God’s plan, and hence it was completely successful.