Are _you_ dead? Are _you_ in either of these classes? Are you
relying on God's mercy; waiting for some strange visitation from on high;
depending with a faith which is merely of the mind upon some past work of
Christ; but without the vital power of His mighty life in you? Filled with
desires that are not realised; offering prayers that are not answered;
striving at times to work out a law of goodness which you feel all the
time is an impossibility for you? Living, so to speak, out of your
element--like a fish out of water? That is DEATH.
Or are you, on the other hand, depending for Salvation on your own labour
to build up a good character, and to live a decent, honourable, and honest
life? Conscious of advance, but not of victory? The servant of a high
ideal, but without _liberty_? The devotee of your own self? All the
powers and qualities of your nature growing towards maturity, _except
the powers of your soul_? The casket--as life goes on--growing more and
more adorned, while the eternal spirit, the priceless jewel made to
receive the likeness of God and enjoy Him for ever, seems ever of less and
less worth to you? That also is DEATH.
The man who is in either class is dead while he lives. He is a walking
mortuary.