helpful power of such words. Sometimes the wording may be a little
upside down, or some qualifying term be left out, or some exaggerating
word put in; but in spite of all, great is the power of testimony to
encourage other hearts.
I fear, however, that many people are silent who ought to speak, and I
touch some very closely when I say that owing to this silence the power
of your experience has declined and become like a faded flower or a
moth-eaten garment, and then when you would fain speak you find the
assurance about the blessing has waned. My word, therefore, to you is,
first of all get the blessing, then at every suitable opportunity,
profess it openly and boldly for God, and by your happy testimony you
will adorn the doctrine of Holiness.
2. Again, you can adorn the doctrine by your _consistent living_. To
profess one thing and practise another is a blot on the profession, and
a despicable thing. What I may call mere Meeting piety, platform or
parlour Holiness, will not stand the weather. It is too much like the
painted sparrows sold as canaries--the paint comes off and the real
nature of the bird is revealed. For instance, how can you ornament the
truth if, after testifying here, you go out to gossip and slander and
injure your neighbour? The word lived out is more powerful than its
mere repetition. The teaching may be good and powerful, the testimony
still more so; but the evidence of the life and spirit is the most
powerful of all.
I heard somebody tell a story about a man who was too pious to shave
himself on Sunday, and yet he was pretty keen during the other six days
trying, in his business, to 'shave' other people. I hope you are not
among that sort.
If you want to adorn this doctrine, there must be the beauties of a
happy, consistent character and life, otherwise it goes for nothing.
I do not ask the adornment of education, nor the polish of culture,
so-called; neither do I ask a sanctimonious attitude; I only claim from
you professors of the blessing the beauties of grace in your personal
character and conduct. The endorsement of the lip by the life is only
equalled by the discount to the teaching caused by some inconsistent
action or unfaithfulness in the teacher or professor. An angry word,
even a flash of the eye, has been known to take the point off some
well-given talk or testimony. A lack of kindly consideration, which
looks like selfish indulgence, is not easily atoned for, even by
illuminating speeches. As one has said, 'The words ever go to the level
of the life--up or down'.
Talking about Holiness has small effect unless it is to be seen in your
disposition, in your ordinary life, in your loving consideration for
other people, or in your patient endurance of injury, real or
imaginary. Without that your profession of Holiness is mere talk
without adorning.
3. You must also adorn the doctrine by your _zeal for God and souls_.
Holiness means the possession of the Christ-spirit, the passion for
saving others, with reasonable efforts to secure what you seek.
When God sanctifies your soul He makes a great inward light; the
purpose is not to be your own selfish enjoyment, but that you may be
better qualified as a minister of blessing and Salvation to the poor
dark souls around you. The love of souls is an essential feature of
inward Holiness, and if this is exhibited in practical effort you will
adorn your profession and compel people to believe in your doctrine.
There is just one other word of importance in that verse, 'that they
may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour'. I mean the word, 'Saviour'.
I am so glad that is there to meet those who say, 'Ah! you talk about
adornments, but I am distressed because I see so many things about me
that disfigure and discredit the doctrine'. You feel that you need a
power which can give deliverance from the worldly spirit, the light and
frivolous disposition, bad tempers, resentments, and other selfish and
sinful things which hold you more or less in bondage; but in that
beautiful word, 'Saviour', you have a pledge, a guarantee that it can
be made all right, for He is able to deliver you and save you fully.
VI
Sureness
'_The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of
righteousness quietness and assurance for ever._' (Isaiah xxxii. 17.)
One reason why I glory in teaching Full Salvation is that it includes a
religion of certainty. It brings a man to a place of sureness as to his
religious relationships. A soul just awakened to a sense of
responsibility is naturally full of wonderment and anxiety, and this
must be disposed of. So that when we speak of a man obtaining
Salvation, we say 'he found peace'.
Doubt is torment, and torment is the opposite of peace. The soul cannot
rest if it is perpetually on the string. To enjoy religion the mind
must be settled about the main facts of the case; there must be a
feeling of sureness as to one's acceptance with God and His approval of
our spiritual condition.
We have a wily old Devil to deal with, and I believe that nothing gives
him more malicious delight than to get sincere souls into the bondage
of fear as to their state and standing. I believe many sincere souls
hesitate to claim the blessing, and say they have it, because they are
afraid of deluding themselves or deceiving others by their testimonies.
Afraid to do right for fear of doing wrong, they go on, sometimes
happy, sometimes sad, falling into discouragement and doubt, and
allowing the Devil to get an advantage over them in this respect.
Now, we cannot dispute the fact that in the experiences of good people
there are many points of difference. Temptations, surroundings,
position, and work are the cause of these differences. But in the midst
of all, there is the possibility and blessed privilege of being sure
about one's own rightness before God.
I saw a reference the other day to Charles Spurgeon's method of
treating this matter. He showed how disturbing and distressing it would
be if, in our domestic life, we had elements of uncertainty such as
many people have in regard to their spiritual relationships.
After quoting the old verse:--
_'Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love the Lord or no,
Am I His or am I not?_
Mr. Spurgeon made a humorous parody of the verse by making it read:--
_'Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love my wife or no,
Am I hers or am I not?_
Uncertainty about our religious condition is quite as unsatisfactory as
any doubt about our most sacred domestic relationships. Sureness is
vital to peace, and the truly sanctified soul will live in the region
of certainty, Divine things and Divine revelations becoming definite
and real to him. Temptations to doubt and fear will arise; but, in
spite of them, those who are sanctified realize that the Blood cleanses
and the Holy Spirit dwells within.
I will not ask whether you have any religion or not, because most of
you are professors of religion, but I do ask, Has your religion got
this element of 'sureness' in it? We must settle that point. You may
say, 'If I am to be sure, I must have evidence'. Quite so. We will,
therefore, glance together at several things about which you can either
say, 'It is so', or 'It is not so', and thus arrive at a reasonable
conclusion as to where you are. I will classify the evidence in this
way:--
First, there is the testimony of one's own consciousness, or one's own
spirit, as Paul puts it.
Second, there is the testimony of the Spirit of God--the Holy Ghost.
Third, there will be the results manifest to ourselves and to others;
effects which testify just as reliably as the hanging fruit indicates
the character and condition of any particular tree.
1. By the first class of evidence I do not mean a set of fanciful
sensations, or frames of feeling, but such an exercise of our judgment,
when we examine the facts before us, as will enable us to come to a
sound and reasonable conclusion.
_The witness of one's own spirit_ is largely a matter of consciousness
and faith, and it works like this: 'I am not only conscious of God's
revealed claims upon me, and my own duty to Him; but, as far as I
understand, I have put myself in line with what He wants me to be and
do. For instance, I am told that whilst God will sanctify me I am able
to sanctify myself. I therefore ask, "Have I so far co-operated with
Him as to come out and separate myself from evil?" If I am right I can
say, "Yes, I have"; and as a further evidence of my sincerity I seek to
abstain from all appearance of evil.'
I am also commanded to present myself for practical and joyful service,
and I am told that I must believe such a sacrifice is acceptable
because whatever touches the Divine altar is holy. Now, I can be quite
sure as to my compliance with these demands, and my willingness to live
as a sanctified soul ought to live. I know whether or not in these
things I have done my part; and, if I know that I have, I can then
reasonably trust God or reckon on Him to do His part. That is what Paul
calls 'a good conscience toward God', and there is no presumption in
such a conclusion.
If we turn to John's Epistle we shall see how plainly he puts the truth
about assurance. 'If', says the Apostle, 'our heart condemn us, God is
greater than our heart, and knoweth all things'; but 'if our heart
condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God'. Without this
conscious sincerity it is useless to pray for the blessing, for God
cannot sanctify us whilst we are clinging to any known wrong or
compounding with some doubtful habit or folly. If, on the other hand,
we are conscious that we have no reserves, and accept by faith the
cleansing Blood as the cure for our heart's plague, we may with all
reasonableness say, 'I have the testimony of my own spirit'.
2. Let us look at the second class of evidence, namely, _the testimony
of the Spirit of God_--the assurance of the Holy Ghost.
If we are to be quite certain about the important things in relation to
the soul, we must have the expression of God's mind and approval.
Nothing is made clearer in the Apostolic writings than the fact that it
is our blessed privilege to have this Divine testimony. Paul not only
tells us that 'the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are
the children of God', but speaks of the marvellous manifestations of
God in saved souls in subsequent revelations: 'We have received the
Spirit, which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God.'
On first thought we might say, perhaps, that the gift would speak for
itself. But the Lord goes beyond that by giving us not only the
blessing itself, but also the Spirit to assure us that we have got the
blessing. John is on the same line when he says repeatedly about those
spiritual blessings, 'we know', 'we know that we know', and the secret
of sureness is made clear, 'we know by the Spirit which He hath given
unto us'.
When we speak of the witness of the Spirit, either to our conversion or
our sanctification, we do not mean some audible voice or some
miraculous demonstration, but an inwrought conviction as to the
correctness of our words when, in all sincerity, and to the glory of
God, we profess to have arrived at a certain point, or obtained a
certain blessing. It is a conviction which removes doubt, and satisfies
the soul on the question. The mode of this--the way in which the Holy
Ghost does it--may be quite beyond our comprehension; but the fact is
there, as far beyond dispute as with the assurance of the blind man,
who said, 'This one thing I know, that whereas once I was blind, now I
see'.
3. Then I also used the word _'results', as indicating a class of
evidence_ without which all other professed experiences are but passing
sentiments and sensations. In the character and life there must be
results in the shape of those holy fruits of which I have so frequently
spoken.
In a sense often described, and well understood, every child of God
becomes at conversion the temple of the Holy Ghost; we are born of the
Spirit; enlightened by the Spirit; our spiritual life is sustained by
the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit are therefore manifest in a
greater or lesser degree, but the advantage to the entirely sanctified
is that not only is the fruit-bearing power increased, but fruits of an
opposite character are absent. In other words, the fully sanctified man
is 'filled with the Spirit'. The fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ, are abundant in him.
To illustrate my meaning, take one passage relating to that spiritual
fruit described by the word _love_. 'We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the brethren.' Now, of course, that
comes into operation at conversion; but in the fully sanctified this is
love without admixture, pure love, without any feeling opposed to love.
We can soon test ourselves. Think of love in the forgiveness of injury;
the love which 'thinketh no evil', 'envieth not', the love which
'worketh no ill to his neighbour'. Where does grudge-bearing,
backbiting, or uncharitableness come in? Pride, passion,
self-assertion, and such things belong not to the results of
sanctification; the opposites are found in those who bring forth
'fruits unto Holiness'.
I heard a good woman quote a passage with an application of her own
which is true in point of fact, even if not the precise meaning of the
original writer. 'Great peace have they which love Thy law, and nothing
shall offend them.' She meant, literally, that, however she might be
pained by the words or actions of those about her, she would not be
'offended'. This is a pretty high class of result, for nothing is more
common than the readiness to take offence. But this refusal to take
offence is, with the other fruits, clear proof that the heart and life
are sanctified. So I might work out this law of results. These samples
will, however, indicate my line of teaching.
Now, coming back to my thought at the beginning--the necessity for
'Sureness' in regard to religion, and especially in the experience of
Holiness--let me ask, Where are we found? Have the testings confirmed
that certainty of heart, or have my words disturbed self-satisfaction?
Do not be afraid of facing the direct issue. If you have the evidences
referred to, then be sure to go about proclaiming what God has done.
But if not, then this unsatisfied and unsatisfactory condition cannot
be persisted in when the Fountain which cleanses is open for all, and
when the Holy Spirit is here to apply the Blood, and to take full
possession of every soul. Let this be the hour when you come to the
altar round which the cleansing stream so freely flows.
VII
The Pathway of the Holy
'_ An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way
of holiness._' (Isaiah xxxv. 8.)
One would think that Isaiah was speaking of two separate roads, for his
prophetic eye sees 'a highway and a way' along which the course of
God's people runs.
Perhaps we may interpret the prophet's distinction as referring to the
higher and lower paths along some of the roadways in the Holy City; but
he makes it quite plain that the course of the truly godly may be
correctly described as 'The way of Holiness'.
Nobody here would like to say there are two separate roads to Heaven,
but as we note the lives and experiences of many Christian professors
it really does appear that there are two levels on which they run their
various religious courses--one the lower, the other the higher path;
one lying oft in shadow, the other up in the open sunshine of Heaven;
one largely a profession of faith and repeated religious observances,
the other full of rich experiences and realizations of God's favour and
spiritual gifts.
Some people appear to step up and down according to seasons and
inclinations, when, for instance, Holiness Conventions and Higher Life
Conferences are on or off--like the man we heard testifying, who
thanked God that he had had no ins and outs, but admitted many ups and
downs. We want to help you to walk in what Isaiah calls 'The way of
Holiness', or in modern terms, the pathway of the holy.
There are _three things about a way_. There is a beginning; a finishing
place; and the course between the two points.
This pathway of the holy may be said to have its beginning at the
cleansing Fountain; it finishes, if it finishes at all, amid the
glories of the Heavenly World; but between these two points lies the
road which must be trodden, the journey which has to be made.
We often dwell upon that moment where the soul, by an act of submission
and trust, enters upon the highway, or 'gets the blessing', as we say;
but Holiness is, after all, a state, _a continuous experience_, a set
course or way in life where the will of the Lord is supreme, and the
full-hearted love of God is the great moving force. It is in that
course and along that path that you and I ought to travel continually.
We like testimonies from any who are in the way, but we appreciate
and are helped still more by the words of those who have walked on
in patient faith and obedience for long periods. Reading lately the
life of William Bramwell, I was encouraged by his testimony as to
obtaining the blessing of Holiness and its enjoyment for many long
years. But I was the more delighted to find his words supported by his
acquaintances, who bore testimony that Bramwell adorned the doctrine so
beautifully. Of himself this good man said, 'The Lord came suddenly to
His temple, and I had an immediate evidence that this was the blessing;
my soul was then all wonder, love, and praise. It is now twenty-six
years ago--I have walked in that liberty ever since.' You see, he _went
on_ in the way of Holiness because it had become his way of life.
One who was closely associated with this man said, 'I knew him
intimately for twenty years. I lived in the same house with him in his
seasons of relaxation as well as occupation, but never saw him in such
a temper that I could reprove. His soul was like a spring, continually
overflowing with the most amiable, benevolent emotion. In his last
years, in particular, he was like a shock of corn fully ripe and fit
for the heavenly garner, or like a beautiful tree whose vigorous and
luxuriant branches were weighted with a diversity of the richest
fruit.' Bramwell trod consistently the pathway of the holy, a worthy
successor of Enoch, who 'walked with God', and was translated after
receiving the testimony that his way pleased God.
I would like to refer to several features of this pathway of the holy
which appeal strongly to me.
1. The way of Holiness is a _pathway of the purified_. The prophet
intimates plainly that nothing unclean can pass that way. The hearts of
men and women who are to walk there must be washed from their moral
defilements. I heard of a good man who said, 'Many years ago the Lord
took me out of the mire; some years after, He took the mire out of me'.
I think you quite understand his meaning. Sin is a foul, slimy, miry
thing, defiling whoever it touches. This must be purged away if you are
to walk in the way of Holiness; and it can only be purged by the 'Blood
of Jesus Christ which cleanseth us from all sin'.
2. The way of Holiness is _a pathway of light and learning_. It is a
way of advancing knowledge. There is a point where the path commences,
when one knows for the first time that the Blood cleanses, and the Holy
Spirit sheds abroad the love of God in the heart; but each succeeding
step brings fuller light, and things unknown are revealed.
Familiar intercourse with God brings deeper realizations and knowledge
of Divine and spiritual things, so that yours does indeed become the
path of the just 'which shineth more and more unto the perfect day'. As
a result, your own heart is enlarged, your spiritual capacities
increased, and, growing in grace, you advance in knowledge and favour
with God. Those who walk this pathway are they to whom the Lord
whispers His secrets, and whose souls He fills with heavenly delights.
Oh, that we could induce you to step up from the lower to this higher
and better pathway!
Let me give you a note from the personal experience of another of God's
saints who walked the higher way, one who habitually lived on that
level, and who expressed himself thus: 'Let me say that my spiritual
life is no longer like a leaky suction pump, half the time dry, and
affording scanty water only by desperate tugging of the handle, but it
is like an artesian well of water springing up unto everlasting life.
The Scriptures are sweeter than honey. Prayer and praise are a delight,
and it is like Paradise regained; the glory of Christ has become the
all-absorbing passion of my soul.'
The sanctified life is not only a lengthening of the spiritual
experience, but a growth or advance in the knowledge of Divine
realities.
3. Then, further, the way of Holiness is _a path of duty_, not a
pathway of ease and indulgence. We can never leave this practical
thought out, whatever our topic may be, for Holiness and hard work are
inseparable. The eyes being open to see the need, the hand is ever
ready to take up its task; and the labour of love being the sweetest of
all occupations, work for God and souls becomes a delight.
He who is too holy to work for others will soon step to the lower path.
The willing soul will ever be crying, 'Lord, what wilt Thou have me to
do?' and the answer will come, 'Do this, do that, come here, go there'.
The way of Holiness is not free from temptation and suffering; but,
thank God, it can be _the way of victory and safety_.
Even the ordinary workaday life is full of circumstances which try and
tempt and test you. The more you struggle towards living in God's way
the more the Devil will attack you. The path which the holy Saviour
trod was the way of the cross, and they who follow Him must share the
cross-bearing. The ultimate crown is for the overcomer, and not for the
untempted one.
_Christ leads us through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He who into God's Kingdom comes
Must enter by this door._
There is no crown without a previous cross; but with trials and
temptations comes the way of escape and victory, 'these light
afflictions ... work out an exceeding weight of glory'. The Book says,
'All who will live godly ... shall suffer persecution'. And this will
be specially so with those who openly profess and live on the lines of
a Full Salvation.
Here is a page from the personal experience of one who was determined
to walk the King's highway:--
'Perfect love', he says, 'will not go long untested. For a time I was
not called to suffer distinctly for Christ from that hostile spirit
which nailed Him to the cross. The lion, however, was not dead, but
asleep, and presently he awoke and glared at me. My soul was calm as a
summer's evening. When it pleased the Blessed Master that I should
suffer reproach and vilification for my testimony, then it was that the
river of joy which flows from the Throne flowed through my heart as
never before. It was a new experience--a quintessence of joy. The
shouts of burning martyrs were no longer a mystery. I stagger no more
at the account of the saints who took joyfully the spoiling of their
goods. My soul is bathed in an ocean of balm and ineffable joy.'
4. But I spoke also of _the safety_ of the way of Holiness. I must
speak of that more fully another time, but what I mean is this: So long
as you have the remains of sin in your heart you are exposed to a
double danger--the enemy without and the responding traitor within. One
reason why religion is so unsatisfactory to some people is that they
persist in walking on the low level where doubts often spoil their
worship and the allurements of the world pull very hard, and its siren
song makes discord in their hallelujahs. It is, of course, possible to
backslide from any level; but, believe me, the prospect of stability is
infinitely greater if you get a clean heart, and determine to walk in
the pathway of the holy.
In closing, let me quote a short prayer. David cried: 'Search me, O
God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: see if there be
any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting'. If, in
sincerity and simplicity of intention to follow Christ fully, you offer
that prayer, God will not only lead you along the way, but to the Home
of the holy.