Steps to Lead a Holy Life

 

We are in a world of evil influence. In the beginning, it was not like that. God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden to rule and rain. Then Satan came and he told that "your eyes will be opened and know good and evil". It means that Satan already had his eyes opened. From that time onwards he started to affect Adam and Eve and their offsprings through negative thoughts.  

That is what is happening even today. But Jesus came to liberate us from his evil schemes. Jesus opened a way for forgiveness of Sin and live a victorious life.

When a man sees a woman, he may start to think of her body which brings some impulses and chemical reactions in his body which are orchestrated by Satan or his evil spirits.  We should not react to that thought or impulses. Drive out them immediately. If we entertain such thoughts and impulses, it may lead us to sin. That is why Jesus said do not look at a woman lustfully. You are sinning in your heart. Some words of songs that we sing may bring some evil thoughts into our minds.  

We must be careful about what we sing or speak. Do not sit with evildoers or enjoy their company. Separate yourself and keep your mind on the things above. In this way, we can be clean and focus on our Lord and lead a holy life.  

When we hear bad words of accusations, evil spirits bring thoughts to retaliate with such people. We must be careful on such occasions to avoid sinning. They try to make us angry and say something evil against others. Satan who tempted Adam and Eve is around us. Always tempting one or other way to commit us to sin.

Do not wear dresses that project our body parts. Prefer a loose dress over skin fit dress. We are not in the market for selling our bodies. So we must dress modestly.  Always put God in your daily life in front of everything else. Feel the presence of God in every moment of your life.  

THE MAN GOD USES by Samuel Logan Brengel

THE MAN GOD USES

A while ago I was talking with a Christian merchant who expressed a great and important truth. He said:

"People are crying to God to use them, but He cannot. They are not given up to Him; they are not humble and teachable and holy. There are plenty of people who come to me and want work in my store, but I cannot use them; they are not fit for my work. When I must have someone, I have to go and advertise, and sometimes spend days in trying to find a man who will fit into the place I want him for, and then I have to try him and prove him to know whether he will suit me or not." The fact is, God is using everybody that He can, and using them to the full extent of their fitness for His service. So, instead of praying so much to be used, people should search themselves to know whether they are usable.

God cannot use anybody and everybody who comes along any more than the merchant could. It is only those who are "sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared to every good work" (2 Tim. 2:21) that He can bless with great usefulness.

God wants men and women, and He is hunting for them everywhere; but, like the merchant, He has to pass by hundreds before He finds the right individuals. The Bible says: "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him" (2 Chron. 16:9). Oh, how God wants to use you! But before you ask Him again to do so, see to it that your heart is "perfect toward Him." Then you may depend on it that God will show Himself strong in your behalf. Glory to His dear, dear name!

When God searches for a man to work in His vineyard He does not ask, "Has he great natural abilities? Is he thoroughly educated? Is he a fine singer? Is he eloquent in prayer? Can he talk much?"

But, rather, He asks, "Is his heart perfect toward Me? Is he holy? Does he love much? Is he willing to walk by faith, and not by sight? Does he love Me so much and has he such childlike confidence in My love for him that he can trust Me to use him when he doesn't see any sign that I am using him? Will he be weary and faint when I correct him and try to fit him for greater usefulness? Or will he, like Job, cry out, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him'? (Job 13:15). Does he search My word, and 'meditate therein day and night,' in order to 'do according to all that is written therein'? (Joshua 1:8). Does he wait on Me for My counsel and seek in everything to be led by My Spirit? Or is he stubborn and self-willed, like the horse and the mule, which have to be held in with bit and bridle (Ps. 32:9), so that I cannot 'guide him with Mine eye'? (Ps. 32:8). Is he a man-pleaser and a time-server, or is he willing to wait for his reward, and does he seek solely for 'the honour that comes from God only'? Does he 'preach the word' and is he 'instant in season, out of season'? (2 Tim. 4:2). Is he meek and lowly in heart and humble?" When God finds such a man, He will use him. God and that man will have such a friendly understanding with each other, and such mutual sympathy and love and confidence that they will at once become "workers together "(2 Cor. 6:1).

Paul was such a man, and the more they whipped him and stoned him and tried to rid the earth of him, the more God used him. At last they shut him up in prison, but Paul declared with unshaken faith, "I suffer trouble as an evil doer, even to bonds; but the word of God is not bound" (2 Tim. 2:9); and so he spoke God's word, and neither devils nor men could put shackles on it, but it pierced right through the prison walls, and flew across oceans and continents and down through the long centuries, bearing the glorious tidings of the blessed Gospel; overthrowing thrones and kingdoms and powers of evil, and everywhere bringing light and comfort and salvation to dark, troubled, sinful hearts. Though more than eighteen hundred years have passed since they cut off Paul's head and thought they had done with him for ever, yet his usefulness increases and his mighty words and works are today bearing such fruit to the good of men and the glory of God as passes the comprehension of an archangel. Oh, how surprised Paul will be when he receives his final reward at the general judgement day, and enters into possession of all the treasures he has laid up in Heaven and the everlasting inheritance prepared for him!

Poor, troubled soul, cheer up! Be of good courage! You think you are useless, but you do not know. Trust God! Paul saw dark days. He wrote to Timothy one day and said, "This you know, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me" (2 Tim. 1:15). Study his life in the Acts and the Epistles, and see what conflicts and discouragements he had, and take courage!

Jesus said, "He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive ..." (John 7:38, 39). See to it that you are a believer. See to it that you are "filled with the Spirit," and Jesus will see to it that out of your life shall flow rivers of holy influence and power to bless the world; and you, too, will be surprised, at the reckoning day, to behold the vastness of your reward as compared with the littleness of your sacrifices and your work.

THE LEAKAGE OF SPIRITUAL POWER By Samuel L Brengle

THE LEAKAGE OF SPIRITUAL POWER

That man of God and lover of souls, James Caughey, tells in one of his books how he was invited out to tea one evening; and though there was nothing harmful in the talk of the hour, yet when he went into the meeting at night his soul was like a loosely strung bow. He couldn't shoot the King's arrows into the hearts of the King's enemies, for he had no power. It had been lost at the tea-table.

I knew an officer once who let all his spiritual power leak out, until he was as dry as an old bone when he got into the meeting. It was in this way. We had to ride three miles in a street car to get to the hall, and all the way there he was talking about things that had no bearing on the coming meeting. There was nothing wrong or trifling said, but it was not to the point; it turned his mind from God and the souls he was so soon to face and plead with to be reconciled to Him; and the result was that, instead of going before the people clothed with power, he went stripped of power. I remember the meeting well. His prayer was good, but there was no power in it. It was words, words, words! The Bible reading and talk were good. He said many true and excellent things, but there was no power in them. The soldiers looked indifferent, the sinners looked careless and sleepy, and altogether the meeting was a dull affair.

Now, the officer was not a backslider; he had a good experience. Nor was he a dull stupid officer; on the contrary, he was one of the brightest, keenest officers I know. The trouble was that, instead of keeping quiet and communing with God in his own heart on that car, until his soul was ablaze with faith and hope and love and holy expectation, he had wasted his power in useless talk. God says: "If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth" (“If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.) (Jer. 15: 19). Think of it! That officer might have gone into that meeting filled with power, and his mouth should have been to those people as the mouth of God, and his words should have been "quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow," and proving to be "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). But instead of that, he was like Samson after his locks were shorn by Delilah - he was powerless as other men.

There are many ways of letting power leak away. I knew a soldier who came to the hall very early every evening, and instead of getting his soul keyed up to a high pitch of faith and love, spent the time playing soft, dreamy music on his violin, and though faithfully, lovingly warned, continued that practice till he openly backslid.

I have known men whose power leaked out through a joke. They believed in having things go with a swing, and so they told funny stories and played the clown to make things lively. And things were lively, but it was not with Divine life. It was the liveliness of mere animal spirits, and not of the Holy Spirit. I do not mean by this that a man who is filled with the power of the Spirit will never make men laugh. He will. He may say tremendously funny things. But he will not be doing it just to have a good time. It will come naturally. It will not be dragged in "on all fours," and it will be done in the fear of God, and not in a spirit of lightness and jesting. He who wants a meeting of life and power should remember that there is no substitute for the Holy Ghost. He is life. He is power. And if He is sought in earnest, faithful prayer, He will come, and when He comes the little meeting will be mighty in its results.

The Holy Spirit should be earnestly sought, in earnest, secret prayer. Jesus said, "When thou pray, enter into your closet, and when thou hast shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly" (Matt. 6:6). He will do it; bless His holy name!

I know of a man who, if possible, gets alone with God for an hour before every meeting, and when he speaks it is with the power and demonstration of the Spirit. The man who wants power, just when it is most needed, must walk with God. He must be a friend of God. He must keep the way always open between his heart and God. God will be the friend of such a man, and will bless him and honour him. God will tell him His secrets; He will show him how to get at the hearts of men. God will make dark things light and crooked places straight and rough places smooth for that man. God will be on his side and help him. Such a man must keep a constant watch over his mouth and his heart. David prayed: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Ps. 141:3); and Solomon said: "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). He must walk in unbroken communion with God. He must cultivate a spirit of joyful recollection by which he will be always conscious that he is in the presence of God.

"Delight thyself also in the Lord" (Ps. 37:4), said the Psalmist. Oh, how happy is that man who finds God to be his delight; who is never lonely, because He knows God, talks with God, delights in God; who feels how lovable God is, and gives himself up to loving, serving, trusting God with all his heart!

Comrade, "Quench not the Spirit" (I Thess. 5.19), and He will lead you thus to know and love God, and God will make you the instrument of His own power

THE SECRET OF POWER by Samuel L Brengle

THE SECRET OF POWER

"Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). If I were dying, and had the privilege of delivering a last exhortation to all the Christians of the world, and that message had to be condensed into three words, I would say, "Wait on God!" Wherever I go I find backsliders - Methodist backsliders, Baptist backsliders, Salvationist backsliders - all kinds of backsliders by the thousand, until my heart aches as I think of the great army of discouraged souls, of the way in which the Holy Spirit has been grieved, and of the way in which Jesus has been treated.

If these backsliders were asked the cause of their present condition, ten thousand different reasons would be given; but, after all, there is but one, and that is this: they did not wait on God. If they had waited on Him when the fierce assault was made that overthrew their faith and robbed them of their courage and bankrupted their love, they would have renewed their strength and mounted over all obstacles as though on eagles' wings. They would have run through their enemies and not been weary. They would have walked in the midst of trouble and not fainted. Waiting on God means more than a prayer of thirty seconds on getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. It may

mean one prayer that gets hold of God and comes away with the blessing, or it may mean a dozen prayers that knock and persist and will not be put off, until God arises, and makes bare His arm on behalf of the pleading soul.

There is a drawing nigh to God, a knocking at Heaven's doors, a pleading of the promises, a reasoning with Jesus, a forgetting of self a turning from all earthly concerns, a holding on with determination to never let go, that puts all the wealth of Heaven's wisdom and power and love at the disposal of a little man, so that he shouts and triumphs when all others tremble and fail and fly, and becomes more than conqueror in the very face of death and Hell.

It is in the heat of just such seasons of waiting on God that every great soul gets the wisdom and strength that make it an astonishment to other men. They, too, might be "great in the sight of the Lord," if they would wait on God and be true, instead of getting excited and running to this man and that for help when the testing times come.

The Psalmist had been in great trouble, and this is what he says of his deliverance: "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, and established my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord" (Ps. 40:1-3).

The other day I went to a poor little corps where nearly everything had been going wrong. Many were cold and discouraged; but I found one sister with a wondrous glory in her face, and glad, sweet praises in her mouth. She told me how she had looked at others falling around her, had seen the carelessness of many, and noted the decline of vital piety in the corps, until her heart ached and she felt disheartened and her feet almost slipped. But she went to God, and got down low before Him, and prayed and waited, until He drew near her, and showed her the awful precipice on which she herself was standing - showed her that her one business was to follow Jesus, to walk before Him with a perfect heart, and to cleave to Him, though the whole corps backslid. Then she confessed all that God showed her; confessed how near she had come to joining the great army of backsliders herself through looking at others; humbled herself before Him, and renewed her covenant, until an unutterable joy came to her heart, and God put His fear in her soul, and filled her with the glory of His presence. She told me, further, that the next day she fairly trembled to think of the awful danger she had been in, and declared that that time of waiting on God in the silence of the night saved her, and now her heart was filled with the full assurance of hope for herself, and not only for herself, but also for the corps. Oh, for ten thousand such soldiers!

David said, "My soul, wait thou only on God; for my expectation is from Him (Ps. 62:5); and again he declares: "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His name do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning" (Ps. 130:5); and he sends out this ringing exhortation and note of encouragement to you and me: "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord" (Ps. 27:14).

The secret of all failures, and of all true success, is hidden in the attitude of the soul in its private walk with God. The man who courageously waits on God is bound to succeed. He cannot fail. To other men he may appear for the present to fail, but in the end they will see what he knew all the time: that God was with him, making him, in spite of all appearances, "a prosperous man." Jesus puts the secret into these words: "But thou, when thou pray, enter into your closet, and when thou hast shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly" (Matt. 6:6).

Know, then, that all failure has its beginning in the closet, in neglecting to wait on God until filled with wisdom, clothed with power, and all on fire with love.

THE HEART OF JESUS by Samuel L Brengle

THE HEART OF JESUS

Give me a heart like Thine;

By Your wonderful power,

By Your grace every hour,

Give me a heart like Thine.

We sang that verse with all our might, one morning, in one of those hours of heart-humbling and heart-searching, when I was a cadet in the training home, and at least one of the cadets looked through the words and caught the spirit of the song.

At the close of the meeting he came to me with a serious look and a tone of earnest inquiry, and asked: "Do we really mean it, that we can have a heart like His? I told him that I was certain that we could, and that the dear Lord wanted to give us hearts just like His own:--

A humble, lowly, contrite heart,

Believing, true and clean.

A heart in every thought renewed,

And full of love Divine;

Perfect and right and pure and good,

A copy, Lord, of Thine.

Indeed, Jesus was "the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). He is our "elder brother," and we are to be like Him. "As He is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17), and "He that says he abides in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked" (I John 2:6). Now, it is impossible for us to walk like Him, to live like Him, unless we have a heart like His. We cannot bear the same kind of fruit unless we are the same kind of tree. So He wants to make us like Himself. We judge trees by their fruit, and so we judge Jesus, and then we can find out what kind of a heart He had.

We find in Him love; therefore Jesus had a loving heart. He bore the luscious fruit of perfect love. There was no hatred with His love, no venom, no spite, no selfishness; He loved His enemies and prayed for His murderers. It was not a fickle love, turning about every new moon, but a changeless, eternal love. "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3), God says. Oh, glory to God! How marvellous that is! It is just this kind of love He wants us to have. Listen! He says: "A newcommandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you" (John 13:34). That is tremendous, to command me to love my brother even as Jesus loves me; but that is what He says, and to do that I must have a heart like the heart of Jesus.

I know if we examine love we find that it includes all the other graces; but we will look into the heart of Jesus for some of them. Jesus had a humble heart.

He said of Himself "I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29); and Paul tells us that He "made Himself of no reputation, and took on Him the form of a servant, and ... humbled Himself."

Bless His dear name! He did humble Himself, for, though He was the Lord of life and glory, yet He stooped to be born of a lowly virgin in a manger, and wrought as an unknown carpenter for thirty years, and then choose to live with the poor, the ignorant and the vile, instead of the rich, the noble and the learned. While Jesus never seemed ill at ease or constrained in the presence of those who were mighty with this world's greatness, or wise with its learning, yet His simple, humble heart found its mates among the lowly, hard-working, common people. He cleaved to them. He would not be lifted up. They wanted to do it for Him, but He slipped away for prayer among the

mountains, and then returned and preached such a straight sermon that nearly all His disciples left Him.

Just a short time before His death, He took the menial place of a slave, and washed His disciples' feet, and then said, "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (John 13:15). How that helped me in the training home! The second day I was there they sent me down into a dark little cellar to black half a cart-load of dirty boots for the cadets. The devil came at me, and reminded me that, a few years before, I had graduated from a university, that I had spent a couple of years in a leading theological school, had been pastor of a metropolitan church, had just left evangelistic work in which I saw hundreds seeking the Saviour, and that now I was only blacking boots for a lot of ignorant lads. My old enemy is the devil! But I reminded him of the example of my Lord, and he left me. Jesus said, "If you know these things, happy are you if you do them" (John 13:7). I was doing them - the devil knew it and let me alone, and I was happy. That little cellar was changed into one of Heaven's ante-rooms, and my Lord visited me there. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (Jas. 4:6). If you would have a heart like that of Jesus it will be one filled with humility, that "is not puffed up," that "seeks not her own" (I Cor. 13:4, 5). "Be clothed with humility" (I Pet. 5:5). Jesus had a meek and gentle heart.

Paul speaks of "the meekness and gentleness of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:1); and Peter tells us that "when He was reviled, (He) reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (I Pet. 2:23). He did not strike back when He was injured; He did not try to justify Himself but committed His cause to His heavenly Father, and waited. "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opens not His mouth" (Isa. 53:7).

That was the very perfection of meekness, that not only would He not strike back when He was lied about, but suffered the most cruel and shameful wrongs. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34), and because His blessed heart was full of meekness He did not thunder back at His enemies. It is just this kind of heart He wants us to have when He commands us to "Resist not evil; but whoever shall smite you on the right cheek,

turn to him the other also ... and whoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him twain" (Matt. 5:39, 41).

I know a coloured brother, over six feet tall, with a full chest and brawny arms, who was recently put off a street car, in the most indecent and brutal manner, but where he had as much right to be as the conductor himself. Some one who knew his past fighting record said, "Why don't you fight him, George?"

I couldn't fight him, for God has taken all the fight out of me," replied George. "When you put your knife in the fire and draw the temper out of it, it won't cut," he added and fairly shouted for Joy. "Blessed are the meek" (Matt. 5:5), for "He will beautify the meek with salvation" (Ps. 149:4).

"FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH" (I Tim. 6:12) By Samuel L Brengle

"FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH" (I Tim. 6:12)

A friend with whom I once billeted claimed the blessing of a clean heart, and testified to it at the breakfast table the next morning. He said he had doubted whether there was such an experience; but, since going to The Salvation Army, he had been led to study the Bible, and to observe the lives of those who professed it, and he had since come to the conclusion that he could not serve God acceptably without holiness of heart. But the difficulty was, to come to the point where he would take it by faith. He said he had expected to get it some time, he had hoped for it, he had looked forward to the time when he should be pure; but he saw that it must be claimed now, and right there began

his fight of faith. He took hold of one end of the promise, and the devil got hold of the other end, and they pulled and fought for the victory now.

The devil had often got the victory before. This time the man would not cast away his confidence, but came "boldly to the throne of grace," obtained mercy and found grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16); the devil was conquered by faith, the brother walked off with the blessing of a clean heart, and this morning he said: "God filled me with the Spirit last night," while the glad tones of his voice and the bright light of his face backed up his words.

The last thing a soul has to give up, when seeking salvation or sanctification, is "an evil heart of unbelief" (Heb. 3:12). This is Satan's stronghold. You may drive him from all his outposts and he does not care much, but when you assail this citadel he will resist with all the lies and cunning he can command. He does not care much if people do give up outward sin. A respectable sinner will suit his purpose quite as well as the most disreputable. In fact, I am not sure but that some people are worse than the devil wants them to be, for they are a bad advertisement for him. Nor does he care very much if people indulge a hope of salvation or of purity; indeed, I suspect he likes them to do so, if he can get them to stop there. But let a poor soul say to himself, "I want to know I am saved now. I must have the blessing now. I can't live any longer without the witness of the Spirit that Jesus saves me now, and cleanses me now," and the devil will begin to roar and lie and use all his wits to deceive the soul and switch it on to some side track or rock it to sleep with a promise of victory at some future time.

This is where the devil really begins. Many people say they are fighting the devil, who do not know what fighting the devil means. It is a fight of faith, in which the soul takes hold of the promise of God, and holds on to it, and believes it, and declares it to be true in spite of all the devil's lies, in spite of all circumstances and feelings to the contrary, and in which it obeys God, whether God seems to be fulfilling the promise or not. When a soul gets to the point where he will do this, and will hold fast the profession of his faith without wavering, he will soon get out of the fogs and mists and twilight of doubt and uncertainty into the broad day of perfect assurance. Glory to God! He

shall know that Jesus saves and sanctifies, and shall be filled with a humbling, yet unutterably joyful sense of His everlasting love and favour.

A comrade whom I love as my own soul sought the blessing of a clean heart, and gave up everything but his "evil heart of unbelief" But he did not understand that he was still holding on to that. He waited for God to give him the blessing. The devil whispered: "You say you are on the altar for God, but you don't feel any different." The "evil heart of unbelief" in the poor fellow's heart took the devil's part and said, "That is so." The brother felt all discouraged, and the devil got the victory.

Again he gave himself up, after a hard struggle - all but "the evil heart of unbelief." Again the devil whispered: "You say you are all the Lord's, but you do not feel as other folks say they felt when they yielded all to God." The "evil heart of unbelief" again said, "That's so," and again the man fell, through unbelief.

A third time, after much effort, he sought the blessing, and gave God all but the "evil heart of unbelief." The third time the devil whispered: "You say you are all the Lord's, but you know what a quick temper you have; now, how do you know but what next week an unlooked-for temptation may come that will overthrow you? "The third time the "evil heart of unbelief" said, "That's so," and for the third time our brother was beaten back from the prize.

But, at last, he got so desperate in his hunt for God and in his desire for holiness and the witness of the Spirit that there and then he was willing for God to show him all the depravity of his soul, and God showed him that his "evil heart of unbelief" had been listening to the devil's voice and taking the devil's part all the time. Good people, professing Christians, do not like to admit that they have any unbelief remaining in them; but until they acknowledge all the evil that is in them and take God's part against themselves, He cannot sanctify them. Again he came and put his all on the altar, and told God he would trust Him. Again the devil whispered, "You don't feel any different"; but this

time the man hushed the "evil spirit of unbelief" and answered himself and said: "I do not care if I do not feel any different. I am all the Lord's."

"But you do not feel as other folks say they feel," whispered the devil.

"I do not care if I do not. I am all the Lord's, and He can bless me or not, just as He pleases."

"But there is your quick temper."

"I do not care; I am the Lord's, and I will trust Him to manage my temper. I am the Lord's! I am the Lord's!"

And there he stood, resisting the devil, "steadfast in the faith" (I Pet. 5:9), and refusing to listen to the suggestions of "an evil heart of unbelief" all that day and night and the following day. There was a stillness in his soul, and a fixed determination to stand on the promises of God for ever, whether God blessed him or not. About ten o'clock the second night, as he was getting ready to go to bed, without any thought of anything unusual going to happen, God fulfilled His ancient promise: "The Lord whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple" (Mal. 3:1). Jesus, the Son of God - "He that lives, and was dead," but is now "alive for evermore" (Rev. 1. 18) - was revealed in him, and manifested to his spiritual consciousness, until he was "lost in wonder, love and praise." Oh, how he exulted and triumphed in God his Saviour, and rejoiced that he had held fast his faith, and resisted the devil!

Now, it is to this point that every soul which gets into the kingdom of God must come. The soul must die to sin; he must renounce all unbelief and give up all doubts. He must consent to be "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20) now; and when he does this, he will touch God, and feel the fire of His love, and be filled with His power, as surely as an electric tram receives electric fire and power when proper connection is made with the wire above.

God bless you, my brother, my sister, and help you to see that "now is the accepted time" (2 Cor. 6:2). Remember, if you are all given up to God, everything that makes you doubt is from Satan, and not from God; and God commands you to "resist the devil steadfast in the faith." "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward" (Heb. 10:35).

AFTER THE HOLINESS MEETING By Samuel L Brengle

AFTER THE HOLINESS MEETING

Were you at the holiness meeting? Did you come out to the Penitentform? Did Jesus make your heart clean? And did you receive the Holy Ghost?

If you gave yourself to God in the very best way you knew of; but did not receive the Holy Ghost, I beg of you not to be discouraged. Do not take a backward step. Stand where you are, and hold fast your faith. The Lord means to bless you. Keep looking to Jesus, and fully expect Him to satisfy your heart's desire. Tell Him you expect it, and plead His promises. He says: "I know the thoughts I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then you will call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will hearken to you. And you will seek Me, and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. And I will be found of you" (Jer. 29:11, 14). This is a wonderful promise, and it is for you.

Has the devil tempted you, more than ever, since then? Well, here is another promise for you: "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with fair colours, and lay your foundations with sapphires. And I will make your windows of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of pleasant stones ... in righteousness shalt thou be established" (Isa. liv. 11, 12, 14). God is going to do wonderful things for you, if you will not cast away your faith and your boldness.

No doubt some of you not only gave yourselves to God, but God gave Himself to you. You did receive the Holy Ghost. When He came in, self went out. You abhorred, you loathed yourself; and sank into nothingness, while Jesus became all and in all. That is the first thing the Holy Ghost does when He comes into the heart in all His fullness - He glorifies Jesus. We see Jesus as we never saw Him before; we love Him; we adore Him; we ascribe all honour and glory and power to Him, and we realize, as we never did before, that through His precious Blood we are saved and sanctified. The Holy Spirit will not call your attention to Himself; but will point to Jesus. "He shall not speak of Himself ... He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it to you," said Jesus; and again: "He shall testify of Me" (John 16:13, 14; 15:26). Nor does He come to reveal to us any new truth, but rather to make us understand the old truth that Jesus spoke, and which the Prophets and Apostles, whom He inspired, spoke. "He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you" (John 14:26). He will make your Bible a new book to you. He will make you remember it. He will teach you how to apply it to your everyday life, so that you will be safely guided by it.

The reason why people get mixed up over the Bible is because they have not the Holy Spirit to show them the meaning. A cadet or humble soldier who is full of the Holy Ghost can tell more about the real, deep, spiritual meaning of the Bible than all the doctors of divinity and theological professors in the world who are not baptised with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will make you love your Bible, and you will say with Job, "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food - (Job 23:12); and with the Psalmist you will declare His judgements to be "sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps. 19:10). No book or paper can take its place; but, like the "blessed" man, you will "meditate therein day and night" (Ps. 1. 2; Josh. 1:8). He will make you tremble at the warnings of God's word (Isa. 66:2), exult in His promises, and take delight in the commandments. You can be satisfied with nothing less than the whole Bible, and you will say with Jesus, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4); and you will understand what Jesus meant when He said, "The words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).

While you walk in humble obedience and childlike faith, trusting in the Blood of Jesus to cleanse you from all sin, the Comforter will abide with you, and the "low-water mark" of your experience will be "perfect peace." I will not dare to say what the high-water mark may be! Like Paul, you may get "caught up to the third heaven" at times, and hear "unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter "(2 Cor. 12:4). Oh, there are unspeakable breadths, and lengths, and depths, and heights of the love of God for you to revel in and discover by the telescope and microscope of faith! Glory to God! You need not fear that the experience will wear out or grow tame. God is infinite, and your little mind and heart cannot exhaust the wonders of His wisdom and goodness and grace and glory in one short lifetime. Bless the Lord! Hallelujah!

Do not think, however, when the tide flows out to "low-water mark" that the Comforter has left you. I remember well how, after I had received the Holy Ghost, I walked for weeks under a weight of divine joy and glory that was almost too much for my body to bear. Then the joy began to subside, and there would be alternate days of joy and peace; and on the days when there was no special experience, the devil would tempt me with the thought that I had in some way grieved the Holy Spirit and that He was leaving me. But God taught me it was the devil's lie, and that I must "hold fast the profession of" my "faith without wavering" (Heb. 10:23). So I may say to you, Do not think He

has left you because you are not overflowing with emotion. Hold fast your faith. He is with you, and will not leave you, after the hard time He has had to get fully into your heart, without first letting you know just why He goes. The Holy Spirit is not capricious and fickle. He has to strive long to get into your heart, and He will strive long before He will leave it, unless you wilfully harden your heart and drive Him from you. I am not writing this, however, for those who are careless and would as soon grieve Him as not, but for you whose hearts are tender, who love Him, and would rather die than lose Him out of your hearts. I say to you, trust Him! When I had almost yielded to the lie of Satan that the Lord had left me, God gave me this text: "The children of Israel ... tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?" (Ex. 17:7). I saw that to doubt God's presence with me, even though I felt no special sign of His presence, was to tempt Him; so I promised the Lord then that I would not doubt, but would be strong in faith. Glory to God for ever! He has not left me yet, and I am persuaded He never will. I can trust my wife when I cannot see her, and so I have learned to trust my Lord, even if I do not always feel the same mighty stirrings of His power in me. I tell Him that I trust Hint, and I do believe He is with me, and I will not please the devil by doubting.

Just at this stage, after having received the Holy Ghost, many people get into confusion. In time of temptation they think He has left them; and instead of trusting and acknowledging His presence and thanking Him for stooping so low as to dwell in their poor hearts, they begin to seek Him as though He had not already come, or had gone away. They should stop seeking at once, and go to fighting the devil by faith, and telling him to get behind them, and go on praising the Lord for His presence with them. If you will seek light when you have light, you will find darkness and confusion; and if you begin to seek the Holy Spirit when you already have Him, you will grieve Him. What He

wants is that you have faith. Therefore, having received Him into your hearts, continually acknowledge His presence, obey Him, glory in Him, and He will abide with you for ever, (John 14:16), and His presence will be power in you.

Do not keep seeking and crying for more power; but rather seek by prayer and watchfulness and study of your Bible and the honest improvement of every opportunity to be a perfectly free channel for the power of the Holy Ghost, who is now in you. Believe God, and do not obstruct the way of the Holy Ghost, that He may work through you. Ask Him to teach and guide you, that you may not hinder Him in His work. Seek to think His thoughts, to speak His words, to feel His love, and exercise His faith. Seek to be so guided by Him that you will pray when He wants you to pray, sing when He wants you to sing, and last, but not least, be silent when He wants you to be silent. "Live in

the Spirit," "Walk in the Spirit," (Gal. 5:25), "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). Finally, do not be surprised if you have very unusual temptations. You remember that it was after Jesus was baptised with the Holy Ghost that He was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil for forty days and forty nights (see Matt. 3:16, 17 and 4:1-3). "The disciple is not above his Master" (Matt. 10:24). But when you are tempted count it all joy (James 1:2). Your very trials and temptations will lead you into a deeper acquaintance with Jesus; for, as He was, so are you to be in this present world. Remember He has said: "My grace is sufficient for you "(2 Cor. 12:9), and it is written of Him: "For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to succour those who are tempted" (Heb. 2:18); and again: "We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our weakness; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). But, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31).

Be true, be full of faith, and you will be able to say with Paul: "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:37-39).

TEMPTATIONS OF A SANCTIFIED MAN By Samuel L Brengle

THE TEMPTATIONS OF A SANCTIFIED MAN

How can a man that is "dead to sin" be "tempted?" asked an earnest but unsanctified Christian of me some time ago. "If the very tendencies and inclinations to sin be destroyed, what is there in the man to respond to a solicitation to evil?

This is a question which every man will ask sooner or later, and when God showed me the answer, it threw great light on my pathway and helped me to defeat Satan in many a pitched battle. The fact is, that the truly sanctified man who is "dead to sin" does not have any inclinations in him that respond to the ordinary temptations of men. As Paul declares, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood" - against the sensual, fleshly and worldly temptations which used to have such power over him - but "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in heavenly - as in his closet, in secret prayer-places" (Eph. 6:12, marginal reading).

If he were once a drinking man, he is no longer tempted in the least to get drunk, for he is "dead" and his life" is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). If he were ever proud and vain, delighting in dress and jewels, he is no longer allured by the cheap glitter and the vain pomp and glory of this world, for he has set his affection on things above, not on things on the earth (Col. 3:2). Such things now have no more attraction for him than the brass trinkets, eagle feathers and war-paint of an Indian. If be once coveted the honour and praise of men, he now counts such as dung and dross, that he may win Christ and have the honour that comes from God only. If he once desired riches and ease, he now gladly gives up all earthly possessions and comforts, that he may have treasure in Heaven and not be "entangled with the affairs of this life"; "that he may please Him who has chosen him to be a soldier" (2 Tim. 2:4).

I do not mean to say that Satan will never hold up any of these worldly and fleshly pleasures and honours to induce the soul to leave Christ, for he will. But what I do mean to say is, that the soul being now "dead to sin," having the very roots of sin destroyed, does not respond to the suggestion of Satan, but instantly rejects it. Satan may send along a beautiful adulteress, as he did to Joseph in Egypt; but this sanctified man will flee away and cry out, as Joseph did, "How ... can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Gen. 39:9).

Or, Satan may offer him great power and honour and riches, as he did to Moses in Egypt; but comparing these with the infinite fullness of glory and power he has found in Christ, the sanctified man will instantly reject the Devil's offer: "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt" (Heb. 11:25, 26).

Or again, Satan may tempt his palate with the dainty wines and rich viands of a king's palace, as he did Daniel in Babylon; but, like Daniel, this sanctified man will have at once "purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank" (Dan. 1:8).

All these worldly baits were held out to Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11 and Luke 4:2-13), but we see in the account of the apostles how gloriously He triumphed over every suggestion of the Tempter. And just as He rejected Satan's temptations and gained the victory, so will the sanctified man, for he has Christ Himself come to dwell in his heart and to fight his battles, and can now say with the Master, "The prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me" (John 14:30). In fact, he has found such satisfaction, such peace and joy, such comfort, such purity and power in Christ, that the power of temptation along any of the old lines is completely broken, and he now enjoys the liberty of the sons of God; he is free as any archangel, for "if the Son ... shall make you free, you shall be free indeed "(John 7:36), even with "the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free" (Gal. 5:1).

But while Christ has set this sanctified man at liberty, and he no longer has to fight against his old worldly passions and fleshly appetites, yet he has a continual warfare with Satan to keep this liberty. This warfare is what Paul calls" the good fight of faith" (I Tim. 6:12). He must fight to hold fast his faith in the Father's love. He must fight to hold fast his faith in the Saviour's cleansing Blood.

He must fight to hold fast his faith in the Holy Spirit's sanctifying and keeping power. Although not seen by the world, this fight is as real as that of Waterloo or Gettysburg, and its far-reaching consequences for good or evil are infinitely greater.

By faith, the sanctified man is made an heir of God and joint heir with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17) of all things, and his faith makes his Heavenly Father and this heavenly inheritance so real to him, that the influence of these unseen things far surpasses the influence of the things he sees with his eyes, hears with his ears, and handles with his hands. The sanctified man says with Paul, and fully realizes it in his heart as he says it, that "the things which are seen are temporal," and will soon perish; "but the things which are not seen" with our natural eyes, but are seen by the eye of faith, "are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18) and will remain when" the elements shall melt with fervent heat" (2 Pet. 3:10), and "the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll" (Isa. 34:14). Now in the very nature of the case, these things can only be held by faith; but so long as the sanctified man thus holds them, Satan's power over him is utterly broken. This the devil knows quite well, so he begins systematic warfare against the faith of such a man.

He will accuse him of sin, when the man's conscience is as clear of wilfully breaking God's law as is the conscience of an angel. But Satan knows if he can get him to listen to this accusation and lose faith in the cleansing Blood of Jesus, he has him at his mercy. Satan will in this way accuse a sanctified man, and then turn right about and declare that it is the Holy Spirit, instead of himself, condemning the man! He is "the accuser of the brethren" (Rev. 12:10). Here is the difference we want to notice:

The devil accuses us of sin.

The Holy Spirit condemns us for sin.

If I tell a lie, get proud, or break any of God's commandments, the Holy Spirit will condemn me at once. Satan will accuse me of having sinned when I have not, and he cannot prove it.

For instance, a sanctified man talks to a sinner about his soul, urges him to flee from the wrath to come, and give his heart to God; but the sinner will not. Then Satan begins to accuse the Christian: "You did not say the right things to that sinner; if you had, he would have given in to God."

It is of no use arguing with the devil. The only thing the man can do is to look away from the accuser to the Saviour and say:

"Dear Lord, You know that I did the best I could at the time, and if I did anything wrong or left anything unsaid, I trust Your Blood this moment to cleanse me."

If Satan is met this way at the beginning of his accusation, the man's faith will gain a victory, and he will rejoice in the Saviour's cleansing Blood and the Spirit's keeping power; but if he listen to the devil until his conscience and faith are both wounded, it may take a long time for his faith to regain the strength which will enable him to shout and triumph over all the power of the enemy.

When Satan has injured the faith of the sanctified man, he will begin to blacken the character of God. He will suggest to the man that the Father no longer loves him with that mighty love He had for His Son Jesus; yet Jesus declares that He does. Then he will suggest that, maybe, the Blood does not cleanse him from all sin and that the Holy Spirit cannot - or, at least, does not - keep anybody spotless and blameless, and that, after all, there is no such thing as a holy life down here in this world.

As a further result of this wounded faith, the man's secret prayer loses much of its blessedness; his intense desire to deal with souls will grow dull; the joy of testifying for Christ will grow less, and dry talk will take the place of burning testimony, and the Bible will cease to be a constant source of blessing and strength. Then the devil will tempt him to actual sin, through the neglect of some of these duties. Now if the man listens to Satan and begins to doubt, woe be to his faith! If he does not cry mightily to God, if he does not search the Bible to know God's will and find His promises, and plead them day and night, as Jesus did, "who in the days of His flesh ... offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him that was able to save Him from death" (Heb. 5:7); if he does not hurl these promises at Satan and resolutely shut his ears to every suggestion to doubt God, it is only a question of time when he will be numbered among those who have a name to live and are dead (Rev. 3:1); "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (2 Tim. 3:5); whose prayer and testimonies are dead; whose Bible study and exhortations and works are dead, because there is no living faith in them; or he will become an out-and-out backslider.

What shall the sanctified man do to overcome the devil? Listen to what Peter says: "Be sober, be vigilant" (that means, keep your eyes open), "because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith" (I Pet. 5:8, 9).

Hear James: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (iv. 7). Listen to Paul: "Fight the good fight of faith" (I Tim. 5:12). "The just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17). "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (Eph. 6:16).

And John: "This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith" (I John 5:4).

"And they overcame him" (the devil, the accuser of the brethren) " by the Blood of the Lamb" (in which Blood they had childlike faith), "and by the word of their testimony" (for if a man will not testify his faith will soon die), "and they loved not their lives to the death "(Rev. 12:11); they obeyed God at all costs, and denied themselves to the uttermost.

Paul attaches the same importance to testimony when he says: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering" (Heb. 10:23). "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:12). " Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward (Heb. 10:35).

By Samuel L Brengle 

HINDRANCES TO OBTAINING THE BLESSING by Samuel L Brengle

HINDRANCES TO OBTAINING THE BLESSING

Holiness has not legs and does not go walking about visiting idle people, as a lazy Christian seemed to think who told me that he thought the experience would "come" to him "some day." A sister aptly remarked: "He might as well expect the hall to come to him." The fact is, there are hindrances in the way of holiness with most people; but you that are seeking the experience must put from you, for ever, the thought that any of these hindrances are in God, or in your circumstances, for they are not, but are altogether in yourselves. This being true, it is the extreme of folly to sit down with indifference and quietly wait, with folded hands, for the blessed experience to come to you. Be sure of this, it will not come, any more than a crop of potatoes will come to the lazy fellow who sits in the shade and never lifts his hoe, nor does a stroke of labour through all the spring and summer months. The rule in the spiritual world is this: "If any would not work, neither should he eat," and, "Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7).

Therefore, the part of wisdom is to begin at once, by a diligent study of God's word, much secret prayer, unflinching self-examination, rigid self-denial, hearty obedience to all present light and a faithful attendance at the meetings of God's people, to find out what these hindrances are, and, by the grace of God, to put them away, though it cost as much pain as to cut off a right hand or to pluck out a right eye. Now, the Bible tells us - and the testimony and experience of all holy people agree with the Bible - that the two great practical hindrances to holiness are: First, imperfect consecration; and, second, imperfect faith.

Before a watchmaker can clean and regulate my watch, I must give it unreservedly into his hands. Before a doctor can cure me, I must take his medicine in the manner and at the time he requires. Before a captain can navigate me across the trackless ocean, I must get on board his ship and stay there. Just so, if I would have God cleanse and regulate my heart with all its affections, if I would have Him cure my sin-sick soul, if I would have Him take me safely across the ocean of time into that greater ocean of eternity, I must put myself fully into His hands and stay there. In other words, I must do what He tells me to. I must be perfectly consecrated to Him.

A Captain knelt with her soldiers, and sang: "Anywhere with Jesus I will go," adding: "Anywhere but to H____, Lord." Her consecration was imperfect, and today she is out of Salvation Army work. There were some things she would not do for Jesus, and therefore Jesus would not cleanse or keep her. The other day, a poor backslider told me that he knew, at one time, that he ought to give up tobacco. God wanted him to do so, but he held on to it and used it secretly. His imperfect consecration kept him from holiness and led to his downfall, and today he walks the streets a common drunkard, on the open road to Hell. In his heart was secret disloyalty, and God could not cleanse or keep him. God wants perfect loyalty in the secret of your own heart, and He demands it, not only for His glory, but also for your good; for, if you can understand it, God's highest glory and your highest good are one and the same thing.

This consecration consists in a perfect putting off of your own will, your disposition, temper, desires, likes and dislikes, and a perfect putting on of Christ's will, Christ's disposition, temper, desires, likes and dislikes. In short, perfect consecration is a putting off self and a putting on Christ; a giving up your own will in all things and receiving the will of Jesus instead. This may seem well-nigh impossible and very disagreeable to your unsanctified heart; but if you mean business for eternity, and will intelligently and unflinchingly look at this strait gate through which so few enter, and tell the Lord that you want to go through that way, though it cost you your life, the Holy Spirit will soon show you that it is not only possible, but easy and delightful thus to yield yourself to God.

The second hindrance in the way of him who would be holy is imperfect faith. When Paul wrote to his corps of Salvationists in Thessalonica, he praised them for being "examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia," and added, "in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad" (I Thess. 1:7, 8). That was the best believing corps in all Europe, and so real and sturdy was their faith that they could endure much persecution, as we see from chaps. 1:6, 2:14, and 3:2-5; so that Paul says, "We were comforted over you, in all our affliction and distress by your faith" (3:7). Strong faith that, but it was not perfect, for Paul adds, "Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith" (3:10). And because of their imperfect faith they were not sanctified; so we find the Apostle praying, "And may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly" (v. 23).

All who are born of God and have the witness of His Spirit to their justification know full well that it was not through any good works of their own, nor by growing into it, that they were saved, but it was "by grace through faith" (Eph. 2:8). But very many of these dear people seem to think that we are to grow into sanctification, or are to get it by our own works. But the Lord settled that question, and made it as plain as words can make it, when He told Paul that He sent him to the Gentiles to "open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me" (Acts 26:18). Not by works, nor by growth, but by faith were they to be made holy.

If you will be holy you must come to God "with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10:22), and then, if you will wait patiently before Him, the wonder-work shall be done. Consecration and faith are matters of the heart, and the trouble with most people is there; but, no doubt, there are some people whose trouble is with the head. They fail to get the blessing because they are seeking something altogether too small.

Holiness is a great blessing. It is the renewal of the whole man in the image of Jesus. It is the utter destruction of all hatred, envy, malice, impatience, covetousness, pride, lust, fear of man, love of ease, love of human admiration and applause, love of splendour, shame of the Cross, self-will and the like. It makes its possessors "meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29), as Jesus was; patient, kind, full of forbearance. pitiful, full of tender compassion and love; full of faith, benevolent and zealous in every good word and work.

Now I have heard some people claim the blessing of holiness because they had given up tobacco, feathers or something of that sort; while they were still impatient, unkind or absorbed with the cares of this life. The result was, they soon got discouraged, concluded there was no such blessing, and became bitter opponents of the doctrine of holiness. Their trouble was in seeking too small a blessing. They gave up certain outward things, but the inward self-life was still uncrucified. The gold miner washes the dirt off his ore, but he cannot wash the dross out of it. The fire must do that, and then the gold will be pure. So the laying aside of outward things is necessary; but only the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire can purify the secret desires and affections of the heart and make it holy. And for this you must earnestly seek by perfect consecration and perfect faith.

There are other people who fail to obtain the blessing because they are seeking something altogether distinct from holiness. They want a vision of Heaven, of balls of fire, of some angel; or they want an experience that will save them from all trials and temptations and from all possible mistakes and infirmities; or they want a power that will make sinners fall like dead men when they speak. They overlook the verse which declares that "the end of the

commandment is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of sincere faith" (I Tim. 1:5); which teaches us that holiness is nothing more than a pure heart filled with perfect love, a clear conscience toward God and man, which comes from a faithful discharge of duty and simple faith without any hypocrisy. They overlook the fact that purity and perfect love are so Christ-like and so rare in this world, that they are in themselves a great, great blessing. They overlook the fact that while Jesus was a great Man, King of kings and Lord of lords, He was also a lowly Carpenter and "made Himself of no reputation, and took on Him the form of a servant ... and humbled Himself" (Phil. 2:7, 8). They overlook the fact that they are to be as Jesus was, "in this present world," and that "this present world" is the place of His humiliation, where He is "despised and rejected of men"; a "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief"; with "no (outward) beauty that we should desire Him" (Isa. 53:2, 3). "In this present world" His only beauty is that inward "beauty of holiness" (I Chron. 16:29), that humble spirit of gentleness and love, that "ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" (I Pet. 3:4).

Is your soul hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of perfect love? Do you want to be like Jesus? Are you prepared to suffer with Him and to be "hated of all men for His name's sake" (Matt. 10:22)? Then, "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset" you (Heb. 12:1); present your body "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1), and "run with patience the race which is set before you, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith" (Heb. 12:1, 2). Come to the Lord with the same simple faith that you did when you were saved; lay your case before Him, ask Him to take away all uncleanness and to perfect you in love, and then believe that He does it. If you will then resist all Satan's temptations to doubt, you will soon find all your hindrances gone, and yourself rejoicing "with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Pet. 1:8). "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calls you, who also will do it" (I Thess. 5:23, 24).

HOLINESS - WHAT IS IT? By Samuel L Berngle

"Not every one that says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom, of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).

Now, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification ... For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness" (I Thess. 4:3, 7). Without holiness, "no man can see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). Therefore, "Be you holy!" (I Pet. 1:16). Any one who reads his Bible in sincerity, "not handling the word of God deceitfully" (2 Cor. 4:2), will see that it plainly teaches that God expects His people to be holy, and that we must be holy to be happy and useful here and to enter the kingdom of Heaven hereafter.

When once a true man is convinced that the Bible teaches these facts and that this is God's will, he will next inquire, "What is this holiness? When can I get it, and how?" There is much difference of opinion on all these points, although the Bible is simple and plain on each one to every honest seeker after truth.

The Bible tells us that holiness is perfect deliverance from sin. "The Blood of Jesus Christ ... cleanses us from ALL sin" (I John 1:7). Not one bit of sin is left, for your old man is crucified with Him, "that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom. 6:6), for we are "made free from sin" (Rom. 6:18). And we are henceforth to reckon ourselves "dead indeed to sin, but alive to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:11). The Bible also tells us that it is "perfect love," which must, in the very nature of the case, expel from the heart all hatred and every evil temper contrary to love, just as you must first empty a cup of all oil that may be in it before you can fill it with water.

Thus, holiness is a state in which there is no anger, malice, blasphemy, hypocrisy, envy, love of ease, selfish desires for good opinion of men, shame of the Cross, worldliness, deceit, debate, contention, covetousness, nor any evil desire or tendency in the heart. It is a state in which there is no longer any doubt or fear. It is a state in which God is loved and trusted with a perfect heart. But though the heart may be perfect, the head may be very imperfect, and through the imperfections of his head - of his memory, his judgement, his reason - the holy man may make many mistakes. Yet God looks at the sincerity of his purpose, at the love and faith of his heart - not at the imperfections of the head - and calls him a holy man. Holiness is not absolute perfection, which belongs to God only; nor is it angelic perfection; nor is it Adamic perfection - for, no doubt, Adam had a perfect head as well as a perfect heart before he sinned against God. But it is Christian perfection - such perfection and obedience of the heart as a poor fallen creature, aided by almighty power and boundless grace, can give.

It is that state of heart and life which consists in being and doing all the time - not by fits and starts, but steadily - just what God wants us to be and do.

Jesus said, "Make the tree good, and his fruit good" (Matt. 12:33). Now, an apple-tree is an apple-tree all the time, and can bring forth nothing but apples. So holiness is that perfect renewal of our nature that makes us essentially good, so that we continually bring forth fruit to God - "the fruit of the Spirit," which "is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. 5:22, 23), with never a single work of the flesh grafted in among this heavenly fruit.

Glory to God! It is possible, right down here, where sin and Satan have once ruined us, for the Son of God thus to transform us, by enabling us to "put off the old man" with his deeds, and to "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:22, 24), being "renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him."

But some objector says, "Yes, all you say is true, only I don't believe we can be holy till the hour of death. The Christian life is a warfare, and we must fight the good fight of faith until we die, and then I believe God will give us dying grace."

A great many honest Christians hold exactly this view, and hence put forth no real effort to "stand perfect and complete in all the (present) will of God" (Col. 4:12) for them. And though they pray daily, "Thy kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10), yet they do not believe it is possible for them to do the will of God, and so they really make Jesus the author of a vain prayer, which it is only idle mockery to repeat.

But it is as easy for me to be and to do what God wants me to be and to do in this life, every day, as it is for Gabriel to be and do what God wants of him. If this is not so, then God is neither good nor just in His requirements of me.

God requires me to love and serve Him with all my heart, and Gabriel can do no more than that. And by God's grace it is as easy for me as for the archangel. Besides, God promises me that if I will return to the Lord and obey His voice ... with all my heart, and with all my soul, that He will circumcise my heart ... to love Him with all my heart, and all my soul (Deut. 30:2, 6). And again, He promises that He would "grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life" (Luke 1:74, 75).

This promise in itself ought to convince any honest soul that God means us to be holy in this life.

The good fight of faith is a fight to retain this blessing against the assaults of Satan, the fogs of doubt, and the attacks of an ignorant and unbelieving church and world. It is not a fight against ourselves after we are sanctified, for Paul expressly declares that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12).

Again, in the whole word of God, there is not one sentence to prove that this blessing is not received before death; and surely, it is only by accepting from God's hands His offered living grace that we can hope to be granted dying grace.

But the Bible declares (2 Cor. 11:8) that "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" - not at death but in this life, when grace is needed and where our good works are to be done.

By Samuel Logan Brengle