VOL. XVII November 1, 1934 No. 11 Faith
in Relation to justification and Sanctification VOL. XVII November 1, 1934 No. 11 The Progress of EventsNO ONE who has noted recent developments in Germany can doubt that, whether we understand them fully or not, seed is being sown there that will, show fruitage in the harvest of the vine of the earth. As long as the many denominations persist, it is difficult to determine what is orthodox and what is unorthodox. With all the churches combined in one, that will become easy, and judging from the history of the past, the next step would probably be persecution for the unorthodox. The following article from the New York Times indicates that the unifying of Church and State may be very near, or that failure to secure, it might, on the other hand, mean the breaking down of the present regime: "Germany's Church Struggle has Entered a Decisive Stage" "Germany's Church struggle has passed the stage of compromise. The head of the official Protestant Church, Reichsbishop Ludwig Mueller, who will be formally consecrated today in Berlin, publicly announced in Hanover last week that', the opponents of his regime may expect no quarter from the Third Reich. He gave warning that he will crush 'all efforts on the part of the opposing clergy to impede what he referred to as 'the construction of this church! This warning was followed by an announcement that the government is working on a law to prohibit resignations from Church membership for the next three years. "The government placed a leader of the opposition clergy, Dr. Theofil Wurm, suspended Bishop of Wuerttemberg, under 'protective custody'-the first time in this struggle that a Bishop had been deprived of his liberty. At the same time the German press carried an official declaration by Adolph Hitler, Leader and Chancellor, definitely associating himself with the Reichsbishop's acts. 'For every German,' Hitler declared, 'the legality of the Reichsbishop's measures is herewith established.' Thus, any future attacks on the Reich church official will be tantamount to an attack on the Fuehrer. One Church the Goal "But matters are apparently not to stop with the taking of such drastic steps to place all German Protestants under dictatorial authority. , In his Hanover address the Reichsbishop indicated that, in the united Nazi State of the. future, Protestants and Catholics will belong to one church. And his right-hand man, Dr. August Jaeger, civil administrator of the Ecclesiastical Ministry, declared unequivocally to, foreign press representatives that the broader aim of the Nazi church was to absorb both the Protestant and Catholic churches. Yet he indicated at the same time that this was not to be done in the near future. "While the Nazi church government has thus been showing its hand, the opposition has tightened its lines. About 96 per cent of 1,000 clergymen gave a positive reply to a question of the Bishop of Hanover; asking whether they would support him in breaking entirely with the church government. A secession from the unified Evangelical Church is still seriously considered by the protesting clergy. "The revolt of embattled clergymen is the only protest openly voiced in the German Reich, all other opposition, including that of the Socialist party and the trade-union movement, having been crushed or driven underground. The Nazi government seems to realize its inability to call itself 'totalitarian' so long as the church is free. It seems to be fully alive to the danger of having such avenue of protest for discontent, even though this is as yet a strictly church dispute and the protesting clergymen profess to be loyal to the leader of the Reich. To the opponents of the Nazi regime in Germany this struggle seems to be of immense significance, and they pin their hopes on the fighting clergymen. "Laymen in the Fight" "A significant development is the spread of the revolt from the clergy to the laymen. Last Sunday the streets of Munich witnessed a spectacle they had not seen for probably hundreds of years. On this occasion, some 1,500 communicants of St. Matthew's Church. sang their defiance in the open air, using words of Martin Luther. The immediate cause of the protest was the removal of Dr. Wurm as Bishop of the neighboring State of Wuerttemiberg. The opposition clergy have drawn up a list of personal grievances in which they charge that about a thousand of their number have so far felt the heavy hand of church government which has kept them away from their churches, put them in jails or concentration camps. . . . "The Unification Effort" "A large part of the church unification program was accomplished by what the Reichsbishop's opponents call a 'putsch.' He yielded his rights as Bishop of Prussia to himself as Bishop of the Reich, thus placing the largest and most important State church under a central authority. In the State of Baden, where unification had been voted down by an elected church synod, the Reichsbishop dissolved the synod and appointed a new one, which promptly decided to submerge the Baden State Church in the Evangelical Church of the Reich. Several other State churches have accepted Reichsbishop Mueller's authority, either of their own free will or under pressure. The churches of the two largest South German States, Bavaria and Wuerttemberg, held out against unification, but the Reichsbishop appointed a commissioner to take over the Wuerttemberg church. The demonstration of the laymen in Munich was against this move. And now a similar move is expected in Bavaria. "The execution of the second part of the program-the Nazification of the church-has also made rapid progress, and some of the most recent measuress aim at the final coordination of political and religious beliefs. Prospective pastors will now have to spend at least six months in labor camps, where they will receive political as well as physical instruction, and also training in the use of firearms. After graduation they are to have a year's grounding in Nazi 'Weltanschauung,' philosophy of life. In order to bring out more fully the community of ideals of State and the church the Reichsbishop has given orders for the suppression of the flag of the Protestant church and for the hoisting of the swastika and the national colors on church steeples." Below, a more recent dispatch bearing on this subject is quoted in part. It indicates that the opposition of the Wuerttemlberg church has been overcome and the only State church now withstanding the effort to place all State churches under one head, the Reichsbishop, is that of Bavaria. It will be very interesting to watch the development of the avowed plans of the Government representative for the ultimate union of Protestants and Catholics in one national church. "Munich, Oct. 14.-Defying the spiritual and civil authorities of the Third Reich, an overwhelming majority of the pastors of the Bavarian Protestant Church read from their pulpits several times today a manifesto arraigning before God and man Reich Bishop Ludwig Mueller and his civil administrator, Dr. August Jaeger, for waging an unholy war against the church of Bavaria. "The manifesto called on faithful Protestants to refuse obedience to the Reich church government as contrary to the faith and the Constitution. "The document was signed by State Bishop Hans Meisser, whom Dr. Jaeger deposed and put under house arrest, and by his similarly deposed church council, who proclaimed themselves still 'the rightful authority of the entire State church, appointed to their offices by God.' "Therewith the issue has been joined. The Bavarian Protestant State Church has picked up the gauntlet hurled at its feet by Bishop Mueller and Dr. Jaeger in their efforts to remove the last obstacle to their program of unification of the German Protestant church, which many Nazis consider a necessary preliminary to establishment of a national church embracing all confessions. And, as high spokesmen of the Meisser wing assured this correspondent, the struggle will not end until it is ended right." "Fuad's Move Seen as Favoring Jews" -- Great Development Due Numerous suggestions have been made as to the part the airplane might play in the Kingdom as well as in the time of the preparation for that Kingdom. A special correspondent of the New York Times, writing from London, professes 'to see a way in which the airplane is already providing a leading place for Palestine among the nations. Perhaps in this way God may be preparing to fulfil by natural means the prophecies regarding Israel's future greatness: "The wheel of politics in the basin of the Mediterranean is turning in a fashion, which gives the Jews in Palestine the chance of a century to make good their position in the British Empire. The news is that King Fuad of Egypt has gone over to the anti-British' nationalist, the party of the Wafd. This places Palestine more than before in the position of a post controlling Imperial communications and of a distributing centre for British trade over an immense area. It is for the Jews to see that by the weight of their national unity, and by their enterprise and industry they remain in an increasing degree the dominating factor in the physical and economic consolidation of the British Mandate in Palestine. "The British came to Egypt, and they stay there, because of the Suez Canal. For several generations Imperial communications have used the line from the Mediterranean across the isthmus to the Red Sea and then past Aden to India and beyond. Today cargoes still follow this route, but the airlines have started already to draw passenger traffic away from the slower moving shipping connections. Great air-liners have begun to wing their way across the Arabian desert to the Persian Gulf, leaving the old-fashioned canal somewhere far away on their right. This is only the beginning of a tremendous transformation. . . . "The Empire needs Palestine, and it cannot hold Palestine securely without the whole-hearted concurrence of the Jewish part of the population. . . . "It is by building up the importance of Palestine as an entrepot for British trade that the Jews can best establish their influence in London. The railway across the desert to the Persian Gulf must be pushed ahead by every possible means. Its completion means for Palestine a time of amazing economic development. The merchants established at the Mediterranean terminus at Haifa are destined to play the part of middlemen for a territory embracing the shores of the Mediterranean from Asia Minor to Egypt and reaching inland to the utmost ends of Persia and Arabia proper. The Suez-Aden line must cease to possess a monopoly. It has to be doubled by the parallel Palestine-Iraq line. "But railways and ports are useless if the spirit of human enterprise is lacking to use and develop them. A powerful Jewish community in Palestine, even if it did not wish it, is destined to play the all-important- part of the human ferment which makes the wheels of trade and industry go round. "Again it is for the Jewish leaders to foresee this inevitable development and make use of -it to the best advantage of their community. The future is theirs, if they are far-sighted enough to distinguish it beyond the troubles of the current day."
More than Conquerors"In all these things we are more than conquerors through MORE THAN conquerors! The Apostle Paul was surely a man of superlative terms. To most men it would have seemed sufficient to speak of a victor as a conqueror, but not so with Paul when it comes to describing the victorious Christian life. His conception of a Christian's standing in Christ, and the effectiveness of the weapons of warfare placed in the believer's hands, was such as to require extraordinary phrases to describe them. And here in our text he is once more employing a great term to express what is to him a great fact. To him Jesus is so complete a Savior, and so complete a provision for every need of the believer, that only superlative language can adequately convey the fact he wants to emphasize. "Hallelujah! what a Savior!" was surely Paul's vision of Christ. In the verses preceding our text he has asked, "Who will bring an accusation against God's chosen ones? Will that God who justifies? Who is he who condemns? Will that Anointed One who died; and, still more, who has been raised; who also is at the right hand of God, and who intercedes on our behalf? Who shall separate us from that love of God, which is in the Anointed Jesus?" (Ver. 33-35, Diaglott.) Then after running through a list of afflictions such as tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword, he takes the courageous position suggested by his term, "more than conquerors." And does it not seem that the very affirmation itself immediately begets a still greater confidence in the impregnable fortification God has thrown around His people. Who can read the last two verses of this wonderful Eighth of Romans without feeling a. sense of security, and realizing a fixed purpose gripping the mind. The heart instinctively reacts to such an assurance, and we can confidently affirm, "If God be for us, who can be against us." But it should be carefully noted that Paul is not referring to some future day in describing certain ones as "more than conquerors." Another interesting item is the fact that this is the only text in the Bible which contains such a statement. Those who eventually gain the prize set before the overcomers, are often spoken of as "more than overcomers," but they are never so designated in the Scriptures. The Bible statement simply is that "to him that overcometh" the promised reward will be given. On first thought it may not seem to be a matter of very great importance to observe that "more than conquerors" is used only in connection with our present favored standing in faith, and not with the rating we hope to receive at the end of our probation period. But after all, is it not better to always carefully note these distinctions in dealing with important facts of Christian experience? The habit of applying this superlative of the Apostle to the final hour when the victor is given his crown, when the race is finished, is very likely to rob the one so using it of the very greatly needed inspiration it contains. It is here and now that the believer is contending with the battalions marshalled before us by the Apostle, and in the presence of which he declares himself and us, "more than conquerors." Surely this fact correctly apprehended will add greatly to our encouragement, and do much to create in our minds the unquenchable optimism of Paul, who, because of having this correct viewpoint regarding his position in grace, is ever before us as one always triumphing through Christ. Reigning in Life Through Christ Let us note just a few of the Apostle's great statements bearing on this point. In Phil. 4:12, 13, we read, "I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Here is a testimony of victory over the daily round of fluctuating circumstances. The Apostle would have us understand that his was no secluded life so overshadowed by a providential care and provision that physical comforts were his in abundance at all times. He is careful to assure us that all the up-and-down, sunshine-and-shadow, storm-andcalm, features of Christian experience possible to any one in the daily round, are his also. And surely, better than taking a city, is that daily victory the Lord desires us to have over "whatever lot we see." . Paul, therefore, stands before us as God's. verification of every promise He has made regarding the peace and rest to be found through Christ. Again we read, "Much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ." (Rom. 5:17.) "Much more"! What can be the meaning of this? Consider then what has just been set forth by the Apostle. "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one;" then "much more they which receive abundance of grace . . . shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ. How complete has been the reign of death over man because of the offense of one, Father Adam? Ah! there can be no question about the reality of that manifest fact, and every son of Adam is a witness of it. Then, accordingly, the lives of the sons of God should be verifications of the fact that believers do assuredly reign; "much more" in life through Christ. Surely this is approaching very closely our rightful position, "more than conquerors through Him that loved us." But there is yet another text we should consider here. Turning to 2 Cor. 2:14, (Diaglott) we read: "Now, thanks be to that God, who always leads us forth, to triumph with the Anointed One, and who diffuses by us the fragrance of the knowledge of Him, in every place." The allusion in this text is to a custom well known in Paul's day. A victorious general on returning from successful warfare would enter his own city at the head of a great triumphal procession, and in his chariot or immediately following him would be his closest friends and associates. The streets would be strewn with flowers and the air with their fragrance, while the populace would line the streets acclaiming his victory. This is the picture Paul is throwing on his canvas as he again with magnificent phrase, lifts the ideal Christian life up before us as a victorious experience. As in the other two texts we have just considered, so in this one, the "more than conqueror" actualities are convincingly set forth. Thus in these three texts chosen from many, we have the Christian represented as victorious', through; a full surrender to the whole will of ,,God, prepared to accept God's leadings through all circumstances, and therewith "to be content." Second, we are victorious through the exercise of appropriating faith, claiming and receiving "mush more", of power and provision through Divine. grace, than there is in all the combined forces of the world, the flesh and the Devil. This is indeed the ground where Christ becomes our victory, our completeness. "For He bath made Him to be sin for us [so positively true that God must turn from Him because of it] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Yes, and this also is so blessedly true, that for weak faith to take lower ground is nothing short of an affront to grace abounding. Then, third, we are victorious when in that triumphal procession wherein the "more than conqueror" is consistently presented as always led forth "to triumph with the Anointed One." Not sometimes, but always triumphant. Victory was gained and our hearts gladdened in the battle won yesterday; and victory was wrested from defeat today, because our penitent hearts have found fresh grace and glory in One who is ready to forgive, and ton turn defeat into victory. "Hallelujah what a Savior!" Stumbling stones become stepping stones. Two Kinds of Christians among Believers Bible students are all well aware of the fact that the Bible clearly shows two kinds of believers side by side' in the Church. Many of Paul's sorrows were traceable to this all too manifest fact. And if true in Apostolic days it must certainly have been true ever since. It is because of this admitted fact that it becomes a matter of first importance to determine of whom Paul speaks in our' opening text. Just who are "more than conquerors"? It is the heritage of every believer, but few comparatively attain this standing experimentally. Israel was out of Egypt, and free from Pharaoh and, their former taskmasters, but for forty long years they grieved God through their failure to at once go up and possess their Canaan inheritance. They entered not in through unbelief. They saw far too many impossibilities, giants, walled cities, and themselves as grasshoppers; hence their sin of unbelief. We should be careful to note that it was not a question of doubting the, report of the spies about the desirability of the goodly land, but wholly, a matter of supposed inability on their part to take possession of it. Such was the attitude of the vast majority of Israel. But there were two men among that vast multitude who stood as representatives of those who in all ages have been the pioneers in the forward progress of truth. All this record, of Israel's failure has been written, the Apostle tells us, for our, instruction. Yes, it is God's way of showing us that today as ever "the sin of unbelief" shuts many out from a rich inheritance of blessing provided for those who have the burning desire to possess, and the undimmed faith to pursue until possessed. The Land of Our Inheritance In a multitude of ways we, like Israel of old, admit the land of our inheritance "floweth with milk and honey. We sing, "There is joy in the valley of blessing so sweet," and so there is, but do we actually possess it as a permanent reality? We can have that joy if we really crave it, yes, the fulness of joy that Jesus promised to all His own. We sing, "There is peace in the valley of blessing so sweet," and truly there is, but do we really possess that abiding peace? Have we a peace that passeth all understanding, and that will abide through all misunderstanding as well? Do we know the promise really fulfilled to us, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee"? We sing, "There is love," yes, and "a song in the valley of blessing so sweet," and assuredly there is, but are we strong enough in faith to believe, and earnest enough in our determination to have that love and song so truly possessed, that we shall not rest- content with present attainments, but go on until the thirteenth of 1 Corinthians is a perfect word picture of the love we have attained, and until, instead of our all too evident dirge of complaint against our circumstances, and the doings of others, our perpetual "song shall be of Jesus," and thus "life flow on in endless song," to the glory of God, the enriching of- other lives, and the perfecting of our own testimony to God's abounding grace. Such are the "more than conquerors." "And all the congregation bade stone them with stones." Six hundred thousand voices raised against two men whose report was not disputed, but whose faith and vision was not shared. Thus it has been, thus it admittedly must be, until the age of walking by faith has closed. Then, how important it is to be enabled, like Joshua and Caleb, to bear a full, clear, and uncompromising testimony to the truth of God! How important to maintain the truth as to the proper portion and inheritance of the saints! There is such a tendency to corrupt the truth-to fritter it away-to surrender it-to lower the standard! Hence the urgent need of having the truth in divine power in the soul, of being able, in our little measure, to say, "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen." Caleb and Joshua had not only been in the land, but they had been with God about the land. They had looked at it all from faith's point of view. They knew the land was theirs, in the purpose of God; that it was worth having as the gift of God; and that they should yet possess it by the power of God. They were men full of faith, full of courage, full of power. "Blessed men! They were living in the light of the divine presence, while the whole congregation were wrapped in the dark shades of their own unbelief. What a contrast! This it is which ever marks the difference between even the people of God. You may constantly find persons of whom you can have no doubt as to their being children of God; but they never seem to rise to the height of divine revelation, as to their standing and portion as saints of God. They are always full of doubts and fears; always overcast with clouds; always at the dark side of things. They are looking at themselves, or at their circumstances, or at their difficulties. They are never bright and happy, never able to exhibit that joyful confidence and courage which become a Christian, and which bring glory to God." "Lord, Lead Me to a Faith like This" If any would attain to great things, there must first be a settled faith in the fact that greater things are possible. Those who in any calling accomplish the highest possibilities in that calling, are those who: from the first have visualized such attainments as their own possible goal. If, therefore, any one desires to emulate such characters as Joshua and Caleb, it will be quite important to possess their. undaunted convictions of God's willingness to make good whatsoever He has promised. Far too many seem to be governed by the same impulses as those exhibited by Martha and Thomas. Jesus had given Martha plenty of assurances respecting the resurrection of Lazarus, and yet she was doubtful. She could. not see, therefore she could not exercise the required faith. But Jesus reversed the matter for her consideration, just as it is so often essential to do for us. "Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see." The same was true of Thomas, when sight was fully satisfied then he would be lieve. And again Jesus in His significant state, ment to this doubting disciple, puts faith far in advance of sight. "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." On the same principle then, when we read the Word of, God, and therein find reiterated statements regarding our being "filled with all the fulness of God," our "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," of being "filled with the Spirit," and a host of other such statements, our first reaction must not be, Why, I cannot see how any one can ever attain to such things; surely we are not to take such texts literally. No, our spontaneous, reaction should rather be, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," and I believe God is abundantly able to not only work in me to will; but also to do all His good will and pleasure. Yes indeed, only believe and "thou shalt see greater, things than these." Only let us have, eyes to see God and His power, and then among the "sweet and glad surprises" we shall find a new line of Scriptures illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and their verification in our lives will be among the most absorbing and consuming of all our reactions to God and His marvelous grace. Going on to Perfection not Optional Attaining to the very highest summit in faith; rest, love, joy, and peace, is thought by many to be quite an optional matter in Christian life. It is for this reason that one may. so, often hear confessions made of failure to attain higher ground, and made without the slightest evidence of concern over such unfaithfulness. We, hear ,some confessing that they well know they have not overcome some entrenched weakness, as they admit they should have done. Or one readily admits that they well know they have not entered into the rest of faith which they realize should now' characterize them. Or is it that besetting sin of hiding behind some excellent "heart intentions," so conveniently spread over failures of which 'our own heart condemns us? For well we know that we were not watching, and it is equally; clear to our own inner consciousness that we cannot say that at the time we were wholly committed to the keeping power of God. Thank God for the -mercy, that accepts our heart's deepest devotion, as against perfect works, which we cannot, bring to His feet; but, "My soul be on thy guard" lest it be but the deceptive mitigations of a "heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," when "good intentions" seem sufficient covering, for, manifest unfaithfulness. Such an attitude of mind becomes first-class evidence that it is solemn inconsistency to say, "O! may the least omission pain my well-instructed soul," or to ask for a "sensibility of sin, a pain to feel it near." God will demand "truth in the hidden parts." It is therefore a serious mistake to take the position that the highest attainments set before us in the Word of God are optional matters. Does some one say, "Why raise the standard so high?" In reply let it be said that no one can raise the standard of real Christian life higher than did the Apostle whose superlative Spirit-inspired phrases we are considering, and whose soul-consuming determination to attain that summit in experience, ought to infect us with a zeal similar to his. We have considered in a hurried way three of his magnificent expressions, three texts which, if we will take them on 'our knees before our God, entreating Him to work out in us and for us their verification in our every-day life, then, and only then, can we take our place among those who are really "more than conquerors." Let it be once settled in our mind that if we will to have it, we can have a faith strong enough to affirm, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," whether our circumstances be ever so fluctuating between the extremes of abounding or abasement -yes, "content whatever lot I see." And let there be a confident belief that grace can "much more" abound to secure our standing and keeping in "no condemnation, no not a whit," and by the same faith be kept in step in that triumphal procession, "always led forth to triumph with the Anointed One." These facts once settled and steadfastly affirmed, will soon change our doubts into convictions, and our determination to believe will assuredly verify to us the Master's Word, "Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see." Christ Liveth in Me What then is the secret of it all? If it is a hidden life, and it is, for Paul himself has so informed us, and he is but corroborating the word of Jesus, how then can we enter this hidden enclosure of mature Christian experience? How better, indeed, than by carefully using the key furnished us by Jesus and His Apostle? Has not Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. (John 15:4.) It is just this abiding in Christ in all its comprehensive meaning that Paul has in mind when he says, "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." (Gal. 2:20.) In practical, simple language, what is it to abide in Jesus and have Him abiding in us? Is it of reducible to the simple and easily understood fact that we can be so hidden with Christ in God, and so indwelt by Christ, that living in a state of "no condemnation," He fully possesses and controls our lives. Thus, it would seem clear that Paul's meaning when he says, "the life I now live in the flesh" is, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." The requirements for such a life are at least fourfold; namely an alert listening ear-an ear free from prejudice and its dulling effects; a tender conscience-a conscience sensitive to secret faults and only content when these are overcome through Christ; a yielded heart or life, so yielded that we are ready to say, "Have Thine own way Lord," "mold me and fashion me after Thy will"; and, then always, a hunger and thirst for more knowledge of God-a hunger so operative in the life that there will never be a contentment of mind with attainments, either in grace or knowledge. To these we may add the word of inspired admonition, "Have faith in God." Have faith to believe that we are working toward an assured end, toward a real experimental, personal enjoyment. of the "more than conqueror" kind of life. The Vine and the Branches But, "No one is a Christian simply by contemplating Christ from the outside, and attempting to imitate Him. No study of the Christian fact, and acceptance of it intellectually, will ever be sufficient for the realization of the ideals suggested in the New Testament use of the word. Not by imitation, nor by intellectual assent to all the truths of Christianity does any one become a Christian. If these ideals are fulfilled, it is because Christ Himself, the living, present, eternal Christ has taken possession of the inner life, and from that center directs, controls, suggests, and thus reveals Himself. A Christian then, is a revelation of Christ, because the Christ within shines through the whole external life." As illustrating the sublime union of Christ Jesus and His people, there are few illustrations more beautiful than that of the vine and its branches. The Christian experience and the inner and outer life of the believer under the care of the Husbandman are all eloquently set forth in this picture. Its important lesson is that we are in Christ for sonship, for discipline, for fruit-!bearing-for more and more fruit-bearing, and to be such receptive, appropriating spirits as will absorb nutriment from the Vine so continuously as to reproduce His life in us. Thus, "Christian experience is the making real in ourselves, of what is already true of us in Christ." "I am the Vine, ye are the branches," says Christ. But the vine furnishes the branches not only with the principle of life, but with the type of life. No pressure or molding from without is needed to shape them to the pattern of the parent stock. Every minutest peculiarity of-form; and color, and taste, and fragrance, is determined by the root, and evolved from it. A true believer, therefore, will ask no better thing of the Lord, than, "that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in his body."- For such a manifestation will, by a necessary law, be the unfolding within him of every needed element of joy and sorrow, of suffering and triumph. "It is not in any conventional standard of frames or feelings, that the disciple is to find the measure of attainment required of him. It is not by any painful reproducing of another's spiritual history that he is to acquire the true comfort of spirit which he longs for. Outward imitation, though it be of the Perfect Example Himself, has little place in the order of spiritual growth; little place because little possibility. 'Without me,' i.e., apart from Me, in separation from Me, 'ye can do nothing.' To abide in Christ is the only secret of Christlikeness; for only thus is attained the likeness of unity, which is perfect and enduring, instead of the likeness of conformity, which is only partial and transient. "How we misplace our experiences when we attempt, as mere copyists, to reproduce our Master's life within us. We put joy where the Divine order would dictate sorrow, and nurse our sorrow, when the Lord would have us rejoice in Him. We reach after the unseasonable fruits of victory, when it is more needful that we should for a time endure the discipline of defeat, that thus divine strength may be made perfect in our weakness. Our leaf withers in sear and blight, when He would have it green and flourishing. What we would, that we continually do not, because we lack a true and steadfast hold on His strength. Blessed is he, who, instead of seeking to attain the likeness of Christ as something only without him, realizes that he has been planted in that likeness. (Rom. 6:5.) 'He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.' - Psalm 1:3. "Never shall we attain a truly joyful Christian experience, therefore, till we learn that holy living is neither the realization of some ideal self, nor the imitation of some real saint. 'For me to live is Christ.' Christian progress is a growing towards Christ, by growing from Him. And the Scripture exhortations to high attainments in the Divine life seem to be based on this order. The believer is to have 'the mind of Christ' within him, the 'spirit of Christ' animating him. His development is a 'growing up into Him in all things who is the Head, even Christ.' The limit land boundary of his attainment is 'the perfect man,' 'the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.' Well may the disciple set the Lord always before him as the ideal of perfect attainment, if he can have Him thus always within him, as the source and principle of daily growth." And then such 'a disciple will assuredly be, "hourly victorious, daily victorious, finally victorious," "more than conqueror" through Christ, and diffuse "the fragrance of the knowledge of Him, in every place." Faith in Relation to justification and Sanctification"We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." - Romans 5:2. IT WAS lack of faith that severed the bond of union between God and man. It is therefore restoration of faith that is necessary in order to restore harmony between God and His creatures. If- God is first, in all the universe, in time, and supreme- in power, if all life-giving power resides in His infinite nature, and if He is Father of all, then all other beings are creatures by and for Him -- created for His pleasure. (Rev. 4:11.) Since intelligent creatures are endowed with moral responsibility, the decision as to how they shall use the blessings of God's provision is left to them. The most important of these blessings to man are his powers of thought and love, which powers reach their highest expression when mind and heart combine in the exercise of faith in the Creator. Faith is thus the foundation upon which all other graces are built, and by its exercise holiness itself may be attained. It is essential to every step of the Christian way. Its first work is a restoration of the believer to harmony with God by a restoration to holiness without which no man shall see God. Union with the Life-giver, it is evident, must result in the possession of life by the individual as surely as separation from the Life-giver has resulted in death. Though the believer live among sin stricken creatures and though each may say "in my flesh dwelleth no good thing," and the same evidence of death reigns in his mortal body as in those of men of this world, yet because his "life is hid with Christ in God," he can truly say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Before this state of heart and life is reached, however, there must first of all have been experienced, as a basis, that which is known as justification. Distinctions Between justification and Sanctification As is generally conceded there are some important points of distinction between justification and sanctification. Justification, while it does not exclude the present and future, has special reference to the past. Sanctification is based on that justification and is progressive. Christ is our justification by receiving our stripes and standing in our stead. He is our sanctification by operating and living in us through the power and influence of His Holy Spirit. In both, Christ is the basis for the work accomplished: In justification the work is peculiarly for us, and in sanctification it is within us. As sanctification is an outgrowth of justification, it is also an evidence of justification. He therefore who is careless with respect to his sanctification, has little satisfactory evidence that he is truly justified; for he who has experienced the grace of justification will seek for the sanctifying grace that cleanses, purifies, and sets apart unto holiness. "By Merit of His Blood" At the beginning of this new life the believer must learn to say "I can do nothing of myself," for God can deal only with those who realize their own insufficiency and their dependence upon Him. This is not less true in this first stage, justification, than in the advanced stages of the Christian life. There as well as elsewhere God's "strength is made perfect in weakness." As St. Paul so logically and forcefully shows (Romans, chapters 3 and 4) justification is not attained by works, but is of grace-"by the law of faith." There must be sincerity and that faith must be a "'belief unto righteousness," but man is not required to produce justification, or a particle of it, for himself; but when God bestows it upon him, he becomes responsible for its use. In those who have a proper appreciation of their justification, a higher life begins to operate, God's wisdom, power, and love taking possession of their being. Thus God's grace is manifested in our mortal flesh as it was in the flesh of Jesus, with this important difference that His flesh was without blemish. Jesus' perfection revealed the graces that are in the Father's character, while the sin-stricken one who resigns his case into the Savior's care reveals those graces in action as the Father works in him to will and to do of His good pleasure. Ultimate Purpose of Justification The total resignation of all faculties to God is an advanced stage, the attaining of which is the ultimate purpose in the bestowing of justification. This stage is possible only to those who, like the Apostle Paul, bear about in their bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in their mortal bodies. As an initial step, in connection with our acknowledgment of our undone condition, there must be also the realization and acknowledgment that we can do nothing toward our own restoration, for all depends on the grace of God and the blood of Jesus. This however does not imply inactivity on the part of the believer but rather, a tireless energy in the use of every power in conformity with the Lord's 'purpose for him. He can consequently have no confidence in any endeavor except as it shall be an expression of God's mind. On the other hand, as long as he -is not resting from his own works, he is proclaiming that some at least of his sufficiency is of self. There can be no reason for any self-confidence while in the flesh. In fact the justification of faith will not be less needed on the last day of our earthly pilgrimage than at the beginning of our Christian experience. A desire for this standing of righteousness called justification, implies a love for righteousness, an association in this particular with Jesus who "loved righteousness" and was anointed with the "oil of gladness above His fellows. A love for righteousness implies a love for those altogether lovely, the Father and the Son. It would seem then that justification would not be for any who on counting the cost found that he loved self more than the Creator. The object of justification is to lead to full harmony, union with God in fulfillment of the Master's prayer: "Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in, Thee; that they also [who love and keep Thy Word] may be one in us." Faith Unites Us to Our Maker It is faith in God that is the basis for all this work. Faith in God unites us to our Maker; faith in self separates us from Him. All that the Christian possesses, from the first step of his course to the last is the gift of God; hence he cannot think or boast of any stage of his holiness as being his own. "Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." We who are the recipients 'of gifts from the Giver of every good and perfect gift should be led to greater depths of humility and not to a boasting of the possessions for which we are indebted to another. Since ours is in fact an utterly undone condition, our temporary as well as our final restoration to the 'perfection of holiness will be that much more to the "praise of His grace." According to the Scriptures, without this faith, restoration would be impossible, "for without faith, it is impossible to please God." Even the Divine quality of love is powerless without faith, in fact it cannot exist without it for it would be impossible to love one in whom we had no faith. Power of Appropriating Faith There are three kinds of faith, the first two of which are "dead." The first of these accepts Jesus Christ as a historical personage, believing that He did actually live in Palestine at the beginning of this Christian era. The holding of such a faith does not necessarily imply any moral or religious change in the individual. The second kind of faith is a belief that Jesus' death was as a ransom for the human race and that it was efficacious. The fallen angels probably believed this much, for they are said to have trembled as a result of their belief, and there would be nothing in the first kind of faith to cause any trepidation. Many examples may be pointed to of human beings who have believed this much without effect upon their lives. It is not a saving faith. It is dead if it goes no further. The highest type of faith is that which appropriates to oneself the atoning work of Christ. This is necessary for even the first step of the Christian life, justification. Up to this point of appropriation,, faith is dead. The one who will benefit by the sacrifice 'of, Jesus must make his acceptance of it just as personal as' his acknowledgment of guilt and of his need of a Savior. It is not enough to feel that Christ died for me or for others. There must be the assurance of faith that His blood has been appropriated for us individually and that it "cleanses us from all sin," yes, even from a "consciousness of sin." In other words, the redemption that is for the whole world of -mankind must be individually appropriated. If we would cease to "stand in the way of sinners" and would take the standing of -the righteous in the merit of Jesus, it must be by saying, Jesus is my Savior; we must say of the One who gave His only begotten Son, He is my God; we must say with the Psalmist, "I will love Thee, 0 Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." Our prayer is "Our Father which art in heaven." It is not, however, until one has made a devout and personal consecration of himself, unreservedly, that he is in a position to realize the operation of the Holy Spirit of God without obstruction. He has previously exercised faith in Christ as the source of pardon, but he has not yet realized the efficacy of faith as it has to do with sustaining and sanctifying. The Christian not only begins his life by' faith, but he is to continue in the same way -he is to "live by faith." It is the means of progress and victory; and without this faith no one can experience true union with the Divine mind. Holiness of Heart a Prerequisite The question is sometimes asked, How may we develop this strong faith and experience the change from a weak faith to "full assurance" and correspondingly, the change from a partial to a state of entire sanctification. There are of course important prerequisites. First of all, we. are assured that the Scriptures do encourage progress from the condition -of mere forgiveness and acceptance, important as that is, to a higher state of thorough renovation and complete sanctification. The Apostle admonishes, "Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of- the Anointed we should progress towards perfection, not laying down again a foundation for reformation from dead works, and of faith in God." (Heb. 6:1-Diaglott, literal translation.) The Apostle proceeds to show that the doctrines which act to us as a washing of the water of the Word are the foundation upon which all the after structure is to be laid. Through the learning of these foundation doctrines a faith is established which results in this first step, justification. But one inquires: "What direction then, shall we take? What course shall we pursue that we may rise above the merely initiatory- principles and feelings of the Christian life, and enjoy the delightful privilege of walking in close and uninterrupted communion with God?" It will be recognized by all that one prerequisite is holiness of heart. Those who would walk acceptably with God and enjoy his favor must first of all be pure in heart; in other words they must be holy. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord," and this applies to the present as well as to the future. "If we regard iniquity in our heart, or if we are not thoroughly purified from the stain of any voluntary transgression, we can have no true vision of God. Gracious provision has been; made for the involuntary sins and imperfections, through the "shed blood" and confession, but holiness of heart and life is required of all who would. have communion with God. "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." Reliance on God Essential Element While this holiness is reckoned to us at the time of our justification', yet as has been implied there must be progress in this life of holiness. There must be a realization not only of freedom from condemnation but of freedom from the power of sin, and a realization that the work done for us is being done in us. Faith, implicit confidence in God, manifested by perfect abandonment into His hands, has much to do with our progress in this life of holiness; in fact, it is essential to it. A consecration made without reserve "implies that we are not only to give up our persons and powers to be employed as God wills, but also to endure or suffer as God wills; and it implies also that we are to give them up to be employed and to suffer just in the time and place, and in all the precise circumstances which are agreeable to God; without presuming to dictate to Him in the smallest respects, and without any will or choice of our. own. In the full conviction that no efforts of our, own will be available without Divine assistance, we should make the consecration in reliance upon Divine strength; recognizing on the -one hand our own entire weakness, and at the same time fully believing, on the other, in the willingness and readiness of God to aid and deliver us in every time of temptation -and trial. A consecration made without a distinct recognition of our own insufficiency, and without the expression and the reality of reliance on God alone as our only hope, would be wanting in the most essential element. Divinity Pledged in Our Behalf "A consecration thus deliberately made, including all our acts, powers, and 'possessions of body, mind, and estate, made without any reserve either in objects, time, or place; embracing trial and suffering as well as action; never to be modified, and never to be withdrawn; and which contemplates its fulfillment in Divine and not in human strength -- necessarily brings one into a new relationship with God, of the 'most intimate, interesting, and effective nature. It is not easy to see how a soul that is thus consecrated can ever be deserted. Divinity is pledged in its behalf; and in all times of temptation and trial, when clouds and storms hang darkly and heavily around, there will always be a redeeming power, a light in the midst of shadows, the shining of the bow of promise." Surely one in. this attitude of heart can say with the Apostle, "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. 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, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Rom. 8:35-39. Continuing in our next issue, we hope to see further regarding the sanctifying power of faith. May the prayer of our hearts ever be, as expressed by one of God's faithful saints:
Sheltered Under His Wings"See! a King shall rule justly, and princes do right, and a Man be a shelter from wind, and a refuge from storm, like pools in a dry, like a shadowing rock in a. wearisome land." - Isaiah 32:1, Fenton's translation. THE STRIKING language of the Prophet in this text contains a wealth of meaning to all who are weary of the dark night of sin and sorrow, and who cling with undiminished faith to the promise of a joyful morning without clouds, when sighing and crying shall flee away for ever. Indeed the prophecy is so striking that we may well inquire, Of whom does the Prophet speak when he tells of one who shall be so complete a hiding place? If we are to understand him to refer to one among the sons of men, where can such an one be found? For six thousand years mankind has sought in vain for such a deliverer, only to discover that no arm of flesh has been competent to ward off the succeeding waves of storm and tempest. The pages of history carry the records of man's shattered hopes, as through the ages he has repeatedly chosen some trusted leader to guide him into a happier state, only to find that it is not in the power of any human agency to break the fetters under which the whole creation groans and travails. Surely the experience of threescore centuries has demonstrated the verity of the inspired declaration, "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." (Psa. 146:3, 4.) Who then is the man foreseen by the Prophet Isaiah? Even if it be admitted that in some manner such a prophecy might be a forecast of a man's future glory and service to his fellows, yet it seems that the only possible application which would give full weight to the prophecy of so great a wealth of blessing, would be that it refers to the "Man" whom God has appointed to abolish sin and death, and to fill the earth with perpetual rest and peace. "The Man Christ Jesus" is the only One who can be the deliverer and the refuge from all the adverse conditions of wind and storm, and bring forth streams in the desert, or be the shadow of a great Rock in a weary land. In Him alone may the Church now and a sin-sick world by and by find the fruition of all true desire for emancipation and peace, for only in and through Him is it possible to find a complete satisfaction of the unutterable longings of the heart for perfect harmony with in finite love. A Thousand Years Earth's Coming Glory Taken as a prophecy of earth's future glory under the reign of its rightful King, in association with His Bride, the Church, our text leaves nothing more to be desired. Ever since man was driven out from the happy home provided for him, "eastward in Eden," where he had enjoyed intimate communion with God, and then because of disobedience sent out into the earth, cursed for his sake, to dwell where "the wrath of God is revealed against all unrighteousness," and toil with sweat of brow against the thorns and thistles, the disappointments, suffering, and exposure to the unrelenting malice 'of a malignant Adversary, 0 how greatly he has needed a hiding place. Surely unnumbered souls have felt as Job must have done when he prayed in the midst of his affliction, "O that Thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that Thou wouldest keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!" (Job 14:13.) Many indeed have similarly longed to escape the afflictions traceable to the entrance of sin into the world, and to go "where' the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." How blessed then to know that for a thousand wonderful years mankind will be in the hands of Christ and His Church, and through the Kingdom protections and advantages be hidden from the demands 'of a perfect law, until qualified to fall into the hands of the living God without fear. In that glad day they shall find the promise fulfilled, far beyond all the dreams which have kept hope springing eternal in the human breast. Then "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." -- Rev. 7:16, 17. Truly, it is not in the power of human tongue or pen to portray the glorious perfection of the coining earthly Paradise condition when mankind have found shelter in the Rock of Ages and complete deliverance from sin and death through Emmanuel's reign. It is beyond our present powers of imagination to visualize the happiness of man's estate, when the great work of reconciliation between God and man is complete, and "the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." (Rev. 21:3.) But this we know that in that glad day every God implanted longing of which a perfect heart is capable, will find its full realization and expression. Man will be at rest in God, world without end. Every Man shall Love His Fellow Harmony with God will mean perfect harmony with each brother man in that eternal Kingdom of joy and peace; for then no more will "man's inhumanity to man make countless thousands mourn," but instead, earth's society will be fashioned after the order of that which fills the courts of heaven itself. 0 what a wealth of possibilities Divine love has planted within the mind of man! Created in the image and likeness of God, there are springs of infinite and eternal possibilities hidden in that image and likeness far beyond our present ability to even catch a dim outline. Man, as God intends he shall yet be, is a noble, lovable, marvelous creation. When we read, "God so loved the world, that He gave, His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," we must not confine the meaning of this love of God for man to the limits of a great sympathy for him; in his fallen condition. The love of God for man is centered in His eternal purpose, when in the exercise of His creative love and power He added a perfect human being to "the whole family of God." Is there not more of heaven-born love, rather than mere human reaction, when a new-born babe adds to the number of the family circle. The two or three children who have preceded it are not loved less, 'but the new arrival becomes the center of every one's affection, and all combine to welcome the added treasure given them to love and cherish. So it must have been among the heavenly hosts when man appeared among the children of God. Are we not told that "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" over the works of creation? And who but the First-'born of all creation is represented in these illuminating words, "The Lord [Jehovah] possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. Then was I by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, and my delights were with the sons of men." (Job 38:7; Prov. 8:22, 25, 30, 31.) Do these Scriptures not tell us something of the thrills of joy experienced by all former members of "the family of God" when man, "crowned with glory and honor" came from the hand of Him whose name means Love? And it was this noble creature that "God so loved." It was this marvelous being that Jesus gave His life to reclaim, and it is this conception of man as God beholds him by and by, that fills our own hearts with that unexplainable present love for mankind, even though for the present moment he is so marred and defiled 'by sin. Underneath the marred and sadly disfigured image borne by the man as we see him today, we realize there are those latent qualities which six thousand years of the exceeding sinfulness of sin has not entirely eradicated.' And so with "the love of God shed abroad in our hearts," and faith in His power to reclaim and perfect even to the uttermost all who come unto Him, do we not find a sheltering love creeping into our own souls and feel the surging floods of living water welling up in our hearts for every struggling human being, filling us with a longing to refresh them with its thirst-quenching sweetness? Surely, to have had contact with the "Man," that "shadowing Rock in a wearisome land," has filled our lives with love for the world, for whom He gave His life to reclaim from sin, that He might again crown them with the glory and honor of perfect manhood. If these be the reactions we experience today as we come under the benevolent influences of the redemptive love of God, shall it not be so with the world of mankind when Jesus reigns from "the river unto the ends of the earth"? In that day "every man" shall indeed "love his fellow, justice give to each and all, dwell in love, and dwell in Jesus, Who redeemed them from the fall." Living as each one will he, under the sheltering wings of Christ's Kingdom reign, and receiving through its beneficent provisions all needed sympathy and encouragement, "the brotherhood of man" will then become a beautiful reality. Living in constant contact with Christ and His Bride will bring them into an understanding touch with everything in human life. They shall learn to look for the man God intends, and forget the warped and twisted characters undergoing the regenerative operations of that glorious restitution day. The love of Christ will constrain them to practise a sympathy with "all sorts and conditions of men" in all sorts of deformity, and thus together they shall attain the goal of perfect God-likeness-perfect life, perfect love, perfect rest, completeness. Verily the prophetic picture given in our text is no overdrawn forecast of earth's coming glory, or of the completeness of the deliverance man shall enjoy from wind and storm, arid conditions, or from the inhumanity of man to man. Great Need of Compassion for the Groaning Creation Such a picture as we have before us of God's present sympathy for mankind in his fallen condition, and of His ultimate purpose in his full recovery, cannot but fill our hearts with comfort and joy. No one who has himself really experienced the love of God in pardoning grace can be a stranger to the impulses that love creates. True, there will be those who, like the man in our Lord's pointed illustration, though forgiven an enormous debt themselves, will, nevertheless, keep a strangle hold on a debtor owing but a few pence. Such, however, have not really experienced the thrill of conscious forgiveness, for none are forgiven beyond their own willingness and delight in forgiving. But we are thinking now of those who really know by 'experience that mysterious inflow of sympathetic love which must have filled the heart of Stephen, when with a glory-lightened countenance he entreated that his murderers be not charged with their crime. May it not be that the answer to that prayer is a matter over which we need not dispute. Who knows but that it was that forgiving love radiating from his angel-like face that burned so deeply into the innermost soul of Saul, and prepared his troubled heart for the voice of Jesus on the Damascus road. Sweeter to the heart of the noble Stephen than vindictive retribution could ever be, would be the adding of a character like Paul to the number of the elect of God. And what would it have meant to us if his murderers had been served with the punishment their crime deserved? Would we have ever known Saul as anything but a heartless zealot, blind to every human claim of love and pity? Surely we would never have felt the power that every true Christian has realized as flowing through this "chosen vessel," had God not certainly answered Stephen's prayer. But let it be remembered, Stephen, could not have foreseen the immediate results of, his forgiving spirit. He did not pray thus because he knew that ere long Paul would shake the Jewish world with his championship of the cause of Christ. No, he prayed thus solely because he had caught the spirit of his Master, who came not to destroy men's lives but to save them. And in all this we may find a lesson never more needed than at the present time. Strong to Bear Injustice Manifestly many of the saints today are being placed in circumstances where there is plenty of opportunity to allow bitterness against others to gain no little possession of the mind. The world is full of injustice. In so many ways every man's hand seems to be against his neighbor, and the survival of the individual seems more and more to depend on a willingness to use any method to attain a reasonable share of life's necessities. In the midst of such conditions it is easy enough to develop a vindictive attitude, to be unmindful of the example of Jesus, who opened not His mouth in complaint against His murderers, and to forget the spectacle of angelic rapture never to be forgotten by Saul of Tarsus. When it comes to the matter of our daily life with its round of "all things working together for good," how little 'we can really know of the meaning of a thousand and one things that come and go from day to day. Could we always realize the possibilities hidden in our contacts with all sorts and 'conditions of men, is it not safe to say that many times our reactions toward their selfish ways and their unjust methods, would be different from what it often is. May there not be times when, if we have developed the spirit of Stephen, and are ready to really believe that "they know not what they do," we will find it so much easier to curb any bitterness that might be creeping in. Surely, if keeping company with the Son of Man cannot make one strong to bear injustice, and fortify one against the toil and pain of daily contact with any - circumstance Divine love sees best for us, then how can Jesus say to us, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"? - Matt. 11:28. Only let us remember that it was after He had suffered all the terrible agonies of Gethsemane that He said to His disciples, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24:25, 26.) The whole tenor of Scripture teaching from first to last shows that the Christ must be first a suffering Christ before the right to reign can be enjoyed. How -we need to constantly remind ourselves of our need of sharing the experiences of our Lord and Head if we would be qualified to reign with Him by and by. Did He not learn obedience by the things which He suffered, and at the same time was He not being made a merciful High Priest through 'being touched with a feeling of our infirmities? He gained thereby a greater sympathy with tried and sin wounded men, and became thus a Savior more perfectly equipped for His saving work. And thus it is that chastening becomes so vital a part of the peculiar heritage of the sons and daughters of God. The great Husbandman does not prune wild brambles growing outside of His garden wall, but every branch within the wall that beareth fruit, He purgeth it that it may bring forth more and more fruit. Then better far to be His wounded tree, 'bleeding from prunings perhaps, but from which richer fruit will yet appear. Let us keep God's vision of perfect man consistently before our mind, not the warped and deformed creature who now afflicts us because sin has made him so. Let us visualize the everlasting benefits yet to come to men through the permission of evil, and train our vision on that everbrightening horizon where the prophetic beams of light are already promising the speedy coming of "the times of restitution of all things, spoken by the mouth of God's holy prophets since the world began." Thus, even now, we shall find ourselves enjoying more and more of the spirit of Stephen, and thereby become sympathetic intercessors for those who, because blinded by the god of this world, cause us suffering and disappointment. Taking this view of present experiences, and learning to interpret all of our trials in the light of preparatory lessons in patience and love, qualifying us for our future work in the Kingdom, shall we not even now, because of our abiding faith in God, by our manifest peace and joy though troubled on every side, and by our freedom from any taint of vindictiveness, be to weary, chafing hearts all about us, a guide to "a shadowing Rock in a wearisome land." How better can we honor our God and reveal the quietness of spirit a knowledge of the truth can bring, than by our daily testimony witnessing to the fact that we have found the Man Christ Jesus a blessed shelter from the biting winds and stormy blast, a sheltering Rock under whose shadow there is peace, perfect peace. 0 what if we do sow in tears for a little while? What if we do find the struggle at times seemingly more than we can bear? The promise is sure, "We shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing our sheaves with us." When at last the long hoped for Kingdom reign does come, and the work of lifting mankind out of sin and death is our Age-long blessed occupation, shall we not then rejoice that we have had so much opportunity in the school of Christ to learn how to exercise the love of Christ for sinful man? "Then cometh the end." And what an end! As the result of the work of Christ and His Church, the earth will be filled with a happy human family all in perfect harmony with their Creator. There will be no more one absent "prodigal son" among the children of God, but the "whole family of God in heaven and earth" one in eternal unity, eternal peace, and in a never-ending enjoyment together of the ceaseless unfoldings of the love and power and goodness of our gracious God. Surely God's "elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Then dear tried and warfare encompassed saints, "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing" for so great an undertaking as shall be given to us, when in a little while it shall be our privilege to lead the race back over the long way, until it rests again in the Paradise of God. OPEN AVENUES OF SERVICELetters from the friends telling us of their various efforts to serve the Lord in outward works and of their measurable success and immeasurable blessing lead us to think that some others might be enjoying still larger privileges in this connection. One of the brethren has found it profitable to visit the hospitals to carry a word of comfort to the patients, leaving a tract with each one who shows some interest in the Bible. There are now five tracts in our stock. This -makes possible five visits to leave a different tract each time. A sixth visit could be made to leave the special issue of the "Herald" known as "Food for Thinking Christians," where there is special interest, and these same ones might later be provided with the "Divine Plan of the Ages." There is usually no difficulty in getting permission to make such visits. Many tracts are being distributed by calling from house to house; not leaving the tracts however as in former days regardless of the interest of the residents, but in each case the door bell is rung and a canvass is made to learn the interest. Where the interest is sufficient a tract is left and a note made of the address for a later call, following up as was suggested in connection with the hospital visits. Fairly successful colporteur work is being done with the "Divine Plan in Brief," and of course also with the "Divine Plan of the Ages." If possible still more important than the above methods of service is the Pastoral work in connection with the consecrated of one's own Class and the isolated that can be reached. It is surely a serious mistake indeed to be so interested in doing "good unto all men" that we should forget that our thought and service should be "especially unto the household of faith." In this connection we do well to remember Him who grew not "weary in well doing." Many visits may be made to some brethren who seem to be losing a degree of interest in the meetings before we can see results, but it would be impossible to estimate the value of the fruitage if by our efforts in cooperation with the Lord one fainting one should be revived. If these visits are made the occasion of prayer and spiritual conversation, they cannot fail to be a blessing to the one making the effort, even though there should be no other apparent result. Report of ConventionsSaginaw, Mich. "About sixty friends gathered here from various parts of this State, Ohio, Illinois, Ontario, and even Texas, for three days of happy fellowship in the Lord, praising His name, and learning more of Him and His blessed Word. Luncheons and suppers were served in the hall, by the friends; thus the blessed fellowship of the dear ones was uninterrupted. The testimony meetings were very encouraging, as they always are, and the seasons, for, praise and prayer were also very helpful. "The admonitions to cleanse ourselves by a daily scrutiny of our ways, and the exhortations to prayer and to a more abiding trust in God, that with faithful Abraham we might realize that what God has promised He is able to perform and thus to make His promises a reality, were most helpful and encouraging. "As we listened to the various brethren who addressed the convention and the reminders of our calling to fellowship with Christ-fellowship in His sufferings now, and in His glory hereafter; of how the guidance and protection of the Lord, the shadow of His wings, is assured to those who put their trust in Him; of how it is our privilege to come to the great Creator, Lord of Heaven and earth, as our Father and realize all the love and tenderness of that sweet relationship; of the rich promise to the overcomer-even to sit with Christ on His throne -surely our hearts burned within us and we were filled with 'joy and peace in believing.' With one mind we rendered thanks to God for the privilege of being 'seated together in heavenly places.' " Washington, D. C. "Bible students from several Atlantic Coast States assembled in convention at Washington, D. C., on October 6 and 7, approximately 45 being present on Saturday and 75 on Sunday. The words of the Apostle Peter, "It is good for us to be here," seemed to express the thought of all present; probably none will ever forget the spiritual joys and uplift there participated in, and a number were heard to say that they enjoyed it more than any convention they had previously attended.' "The address of welcome sounded the keynote of kindness and love, which keynote was evidently manifested throughout the convention by both speakers and hearers.. All were immersed in its spirit. From the opening thoughts, so vividly brought out, of our privilege of partnership with Christ Jesus, the discourses and blessings flowed on to the end of two perfect days. The joys of the inner life, shone brightly in all faces and were testified by many lips, including that brother in whose home a Washington ecclesia was first assembled many years ago for the study of present truth. The brother spoke with such deep feeling and humility of Brother Russell's first visit to Washington, and the tests that have since come upon the Church, that there were tears in many eyes. As we parted, all gave evidence of, being filled with the spirit of love, joy, and peace. "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound." It was a joyful meeting of those happy in the Lord, who increased their joys by their fellowship with the Lord and with one another." |
