+I. Prove all things.+--1. _Our own sentiments._ 2. _The sentiments
of others._
+II. Hold fast that which is good.+--1. _Against the assaults of
proud reason._ 2. _Against the assaults of mad passions._ 3. _Against
the assaults of a menacing world.--Ibid._
>_Prove all things._
+I. The course of conduct commanded.+--"Prove." 1. _By an appeal to
the Word of God as supreme._ 2. _Sincerely._ 3. _Thoroughly._
4 _Prayerfully._
+II. The extent to which the course of conduct is to be
carried.+--"All things." 1. _Things taken for granted to be right._
2. _Things wrong._ 3. _Things doubtful._
+III. Some hindrances to the adoption of this course.+--1. _Dislike
to the trouble it may cause_ 2. _Fear of the demands which the result
may make._
+IV. Blessings likely to result from this course.+--1. _Activity of
mind in matters of religion._ 2. _A specific acquaintance with the
Word of God._ 3. _Legitimate independence of thought._ 4. _Increasing
strength of Christian character._ 5. _Increase of Christian
sagacity._ 6. _The adorning of the Christian doctrine in the eyes of
men.--J. Holmes._
_Hold Fast that which is Good._
+I. Be well assured of the value and goodness of the possession.+
+II. Cherish a deep sense of responsibility because you have been
led to prove and to be convinced of the good.+
+III. Be assured that powerful influences will be exerted that you
may lose your hold.+
+IV. Do not allow your convictions of its goodness to be unsettled.+
+V. Do not take hold of anything which you cannot hold at the same
time that you firmly grasp this.+
+VI. Do not let a little of it go.+
+VII. Hold it more firmly.+
+VIII. Regard how others have been affected by the way they have
held.+
+IX. Depend entirely on the grace of God to enable you to do
this.+--_Ibid._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 23, 24.
_A Prayer for Sanctification._
Sanctification is the supreme end of the Christian life, and
everything should be made to contribute to the grand result. It is
the crown and ornament of all other graces, the perfecting of every
moral virtue. The fact that man is capable of so lofty a degree of
personal holiness indicates that it is the supreme end for which he
ought to live. He misses the glory that is within his reach if he
does not attain to it. Sanctification in its radical meaning is
simply separation--a separation from what is evil to what is good. It
then implies to make holy that which is unholy. It begins in a moral
transformation, the regeneration of the heart, and advances to
perfection. Observe:--
+I. That sanctification is a complete work.+--"Sanctify you wholly;
and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved
blameless" (ver. 23).
1. _It affects the intellectual nature of man._--"Your spirit." It is
this that distinguishes truth from falsehood and apprehends the
mysteries of religion. If the intellect is sanctified, there is less
danger of falling into error and heresy. Enlightened by the Holy
Ghost, it enables man to prove all things and to test and judge every
aspect of truth.
2. _It affects the spiritual nature of man._--"Your soul"--the seat
of the affections and will, the passions and appetites. The having
the heart in a right or wrong condition makes the difference between
the moral and the immoral character. When the heart is sanctified the
passions and appetites are kept within due bounds, and the believer
is preserved pure from the sinful lusts of the flesh. The same
distinction between spirit and soul is made in Heb. iv. 12; and in
Tit. i. 15 a distinction is made between the intellectual and moral
in the terms _mind_ and _conscience._
3. _It affects the physical nature of man._--"Your body." The body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. iv. 19) and must be kept pure
and blameless--must be kept in temperance, soberness, and chastity;
to pollute it with fleshly lusts is to pollute and destroy it (1 Cor.
iii. 17). The body, immortalised and glorified, will be the companion
of the glorified soul throughout eternity; and the Thessalonians had
already been assured that the body was to rise from the grave (ch.
iv. 16). The whole complex nature of man is to be purified. Mere
outward decency of conduct is not enough; the inner man, the
intellectual, moral, and spiritual faculties must be kept in a state
of purity and holiness. He hath sanctity in no part who is not
sanctified in every part.
4. _It is a necessary fitness to meet Christ at His coming._--"Be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (ver.
23). It is the power of God only that can keep man holy, though the
utmost circumspection and vigilance are to be exercised on his part.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt.
v. 8)--see Him now as the inner eye of the soul is clarified, and see
Him at His coming in power and great glory.
+II. That sanctification is a Divine work.+--1. _The believer is
called to sanctification by the God of unswerving fidelity._
"Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (ver. 24). God
is faithful to all His promises of help. Every promise is backed by
the whole force of His omnipotence--"who also will do it." There is
nothing greater in the universe than the will of God; it actuates His
power and ensures His faithfulness. Entire sanctification is
therefore no impossible attainment. God calls, not to mock and
disappoint, but to bless.
2. _The believer is called to sanctification by the God of
peace._--"The very God of peace sanctify you" (ver. 23). Peace and
sanctification are inseparable; without holiness there can be no
peace. God is the author and giver of peace, and delights in peace.
Mr. Howels, of Long Acre chapel, used to say that if he saw two dogs
at peace with each other, he saw there "the very God of peace"; that
one atom of peace left in a world of war with God is a truce of the
lingering mercy and favouring goodness of God. Peace is a reflection
of the Divine presence on earth. The Thessalonians had been enjoined
to cultivate mutual peace and harmony (ver. 13), and personal
holiness had been earnestly recommended (ch. iv. 3). They are now
taught where peace and holiness are to be found. Both are gifts of
God. We have need of peace--peace of conscience, peace from the rage
and fury of the world, peace and love among those who are of the
household of God.
+III. That sanctification is obtained by prayer.+--The loftiest duty
is possible with grace; the least is all but impossible without it.
All grace must be sought of God in prayer. The virtue and power of
all exhortation and teaching depend on the Divine blessing. What God
encourages us to seek in prayer is possible of attainment in actual
experience. Prayer is the expression of wants we feel. It is the
power by which we reach he highest spiritual excellence.
+Lessons.+--1. _Cherish the highest ideal of the Christian
character._ 2. _Pray for Divine help in its attainment._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._