the same influences have been at work, to a greater or less degree, that
will be manifest in the more extensive movements of the future. There is
an emotional excitement, a mingling of the true with the false, that is
well adapted to mislead. Yet none need be deceived. In the light of God’s
word it is not difficult to determine the nature of these movements.
Wherever men neglect the testimony of the Bible, turning away from those
plain, soul-testing truths which require self-denial and renunciation of
the world, there we may be sure that God’s blessing is not bestowed. And
by the rule which Christ Himself has given, “Ye shall know them by their
fruits,”(778) it is evident that these movements are not the work of the
Spirit of God.
In the truths of His word, God has given to men a revelation of Himself;
and to all who accept them they are a shield against the deceptions of
Satan. It is a neglect of these truths that has opened the door to the
evils which are now becoming so wide-spread in the religious world. The
nature and the importance of the law of God have been, to a great extent,
lost sight of. A wrong conception of the character, the perpetuity, and
the obligation of the divine law, has led to errors in relation to
conversion and sanctification, and has resulted in lowering the standard
of piety in the church. Here is to be found the secret of the lack of the
Spirit and power of God in the revivals of our time.
There are, in the various denominations, men eminent for their piety, by
whom this fact is acknowledged and deplored. Prof. Edwards A. Park, in
setting forth the current religious perils, ably says: “One source of
danger is the neglect of the pulpit to enforce the divine law. In former
days the pulpit was an echo of the voice of conscience.... Our most
illustrious preachers gave a wonderful majesty to their discourses by
following the example of the Master, and giving prominence to the law, its
precepts, and its threatenings. They repeated the two great maxims, that
the law is a transcript of the divine perfections, and that a man who does
not love the law does not love the gospel; for the law, as well as the
gospel, is a mirror reflecting the true character of God. This peril leads
to another, that of underrating the evil of sin, the extent of it, the
demerit of it. In proportion to the rightfulness of the commandment is the
wrongfulness of disobeying it....
“Affiliated to the dangers already named is the danger of underestimating
the justice of God. The tendency of the modern pulpit is to strain out the
divine justice from the divine benevolence, to sink benevolence into a
sentiment rather than exalt it into a principle. The new theological prism
puts asunder what God has joined together. Is the divine law a good or an
evil? It is a good. Then justice is good; for it is a disposition to
execute the law. From the habit of underrating the divine law and justice,
the extent and demerit of human disobedience, men easily slide into the
habit of underestimating the grace which has provided an atonement for
sin.” Thus the gospel loses its value and importance in the minds of men,
and soon they are ready practically to cast aside the Bible itself.
Many religious teachers assert that Christ by His death abolished the law,
and men are henceforth free from its requirements. There are some who
represent it as a grievous yoke; and in contrast to the bondage of the
law, they present the liberty to be enjoyed under the gospel.
But not so did prophets and apostles regard the holy law of God. Said
David, “I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts.”(779) The apostle
James, who wrote after the death of Christ, refers to the decalogue as the
“royal law,” and the “perfect law of liberty.”(780) And the Revelator,
half a century after the crucifixion, pronounces a blessing upon them
“that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.”(781)
The claim that Christ by His death abolished His Father’s law, is without
foundation. Had it been possible for the law to be changed or set aside,
then Christ need not have died to save man from the penalty of sin. The
death of Christ, so far from abolishing the law, proves that it is
immutable. The Son of God came to “magnify the law, and make it
honorable.”(782) He said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law;”
“till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass
from the law.”(783) And concerning Himself He declares, “I delight to do
Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.”(784)
The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation
of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law is
love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man. “Love is
the fulfilling of the law.”(785) The character of God is righteousness and
truth; such is the nature of His law. Says the psalmist, “Thy law is the
truth;” “all Thy commandments are righteousness.”(786) And the apostle
Paul declares, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good.”(787) Such a law, being an expression of the mind and will of God,
must be as enduring as its Author.
It is the work of conversion and sanctification to reconcile men to God,
by bringing them into accord with the principles of His law. In the
beginning, man was created in the image of God. He was in perfect harmony
with the nature and the law of God; the principles of righteousness were
written upon his heart. But sin alienated him from his Maker. He no longer
reflected the divine image. His heart was at war with the principles of
God’s law. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”(788) But “God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son,” that man might be reconciled
to God. Through the merits of Christ he can be restored to harmony with
his Maker. His heart must be renewed by divine grace; he must have a new
life from above. This change is the new birth, without which, says Jesus,
“he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The first step in reconciliation to God, is the conviction of sin. “Sin is
the transgression of the law.” “By the law is the knowledge of sin.”(789)
In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s
great standard of righteousness. It is a mirror which shows the perfection
of a righteous character, and enables him to discern the defects in his
own.
The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy. While it
promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is the portion of
the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from the
condemnation or the defilement of sin. He must exercise repentance toward
God, whose law has been transgressed; and faith in Christ, his atoning
sacrifice. Thus he obtains “remission of sins that are past,” and becomes
a partaker of the divine nature. He is a child of God, having received the
spirit of adoption, whereby he cries, “Abba, Father!”
Is he now free to transgress God’s law? Says Paul: “Do we then make void
the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” “How shall
we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” And John declares,
“This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His
commandments are not grievous.”(790) In the new birth the heart is brought
into harmony with God, as it is brought into accord with His law. When
this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from death
unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to
obedience and loyalty. The old life of alienation from God has ended; the
new life of reconciliation, of faith and love, has begun. Then “the
righteousness of the law” will “be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.”(791) And the language of the soul will be,
“O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”(792)
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”(793) Without the
law, men have no just conception of the purity and holiness of God, or of
their own guilt and uncleanness. They have no true conviction of sin, and
feel no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition as violators
of God’s law, they do not realize their need of the atoning blood of
Christ. The hope of salvation is accepted without a radical change of
heart or reformation of life. Thus superficial conversions abound, and
multitudes are joined to the church who have never been united to Christ.
Erroneous theories of sanctification, also, springing from neglect or
rejection of the divine law, have a prominent place in the religious
movements of the day. These theories are both false in doctrine and
dangerous in practical results; and the fact that they are so generally
finding favor, renders it doubly essential that all have a clear
understanding of what the Scriptures teach upon this point.
True sanctification is a Bible doctrine. The apostle Paul, in his letter
to the Thessalonian church, declares, “This is the will of God, even your
sanctification.” And he prays, “The very God of peace sanctify you
wholly.”(794) The Bible clearly teaches what sanctification is, and how it
is to be attained. The Saviour prayed for His disciples, “Sanctify them
through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”(795) And Paul teaches that
believers are to be “sanctified by the Holy Ghost.”(796) What is the work
of the Holy Spirit? Jesus told His disciples, “When He, the Spirit of
truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.”(797) And the psalmist
says, “Thy law is the truth.” By the word and the Spirit of God are opened
to men the great principles of righteousness embodied in His law. And
since the law of God is “holy, and just, and good,” a transcript of the
divine perfection, it follows that a character formed by obedience to that
law will be holy. Christ is a perfect example of such a character. He
says, “I have kept My Father’s commandments.” “I do always those things
that please Him.”(798) The followers of Christ are to become like Him,—by
the grace of God to form characters in harmony with the principles of His
holy law. This is Bible sanctification.
This work can be accomplished only through faith in Christ, by the power
of the indwelling Spirit of God. Paul admonishes believers, “Work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”(799) The Christian will feel
the promptings of sin, but he will maintain a constant warfare against it.
Here is where Christ’s help is needed. Human weakness becomes united to
divine strength, and faith exclaims, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”(800)
The Scriptures plainly show that the work of sanctification is
progressive. When in conversion the sinner finds peace with God through
the blood of the atonement, the Christian life has but just begun. Now he
is to “go on unto perfection;” to grow up “unto the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ.” Says the apostle Paul, “This one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.”(801) And Peter sets before us the steps
by which Bible sanctification is to be attained: “Giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge
temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.... If ye
do these things, ye shall never fall.”(802)
Those who experience the sanctification of the Bible will manifest a
spirit of humility. Like Moses, they have had a view of the awful majesty
of holiness, and they see their own unworthiness in contrast with the
purity and exalted perfection of the Infinite One.
The prophet Daniel was an example of true sanctification. His long life
was filled up with noble service for his Master. He was a man “greatly
beloved”(803) of Heaven. Yet instead of claiming to be pure and holy, this
honored prophet identified himself with the really sinful of Israel, as he
pleaded before God in behalf of his people: “We do not present our
supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great
mercies.” “We have sinned, we have done wickedly.” He declares, “I was
speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people.”
And when at a later time the Son of God appeared, to give him instruction,
Daniel says, “My comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I
retained no strength.”(804)
When Job heard the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind, he exclaimed,
“I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”(805) It was when Isaiah
saw the glory of the Lord, and heard the cherubim crying, “Holy, holy,
holy, is the Lord of hosts,” that he cried out, “Woe is me! for I am
undone.”(806) Paul, after he was caught up into the third heaven, and
heard things which it was not possible for a man to utter, speaks of
himself as “less than the least of all saints.”(807) It was the beloved
John, who leaned on Jesus’ breast and beheld His glory, that fell as one
dead before the feet of the angel.(808)
There can be no self-exaltation, no boastful claim to freedom from sin, on
the part of those who walk in the shadow of Calvary’s cross. They feel
that it was their sin which caused the agony that broke the heart of the
Son of God, and this thought will lead them to self-abasement. Those who
live nearest to Jesus discern most clearly the frailty and sinfulness of
humanity, and their only hope is in the merit of a crucified and risen
Saviour.
The sanctification now gaining prominence in the religious world, carries
with it a spirit of self-exaltation, and a disregard for the law of God,
that mark it as foreign to the religion of the Bible. Its advocates teach
that sanctification is an instantaneous work, by which, through faith
alone, they attain to perfect holiness. “Only believe,” say they, “and the
blessing is yours.” No further effort on the part of the receiver is
supposed to be required. At the same time they deny the authority of the
law of God, urging that they are released from obligation to keep the
commandments. But is it possible for men to be holy, in accord with the
will and character of God, without coming into harmony with the principles
which are an expression of His nature and will, and which show what is
well pleasing to Him?
The desire for an easy religion, that requires no striving, no
self-denial, no divorce from the follies of the world, has made the
doctrine of faith, and faith only, a popular doctrine; but what saith the
word of God? Says the apostle James: “What doth it profit, my brethren,
though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?...
Wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not
Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son
upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works
was faith made perfect?... Ye see then how that by works a man is
justified, and not by faith only.”(809)
The testimony of the word of God is against this ensnaring doctrine of
faith without works. It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven
without complying with the conditions upon which mercy is to be granted,
it is presumption; for genuine faith has its foundation in the promises
and provisions of the Scriptures.
Let none deceive themselves with the belief that they can become holy
while wilfully violating one of God’s requirements. The commission of a
known sin silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit, and separates the
soul from God. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” And “whosoever
sinneth [transgresseth the law] hath not seen Him, neither known
Him.”(810) Though John in his epistles dwells so fully upon love, yet he
does not hesitate to reveal the true character of that class who claim to
be sanctified while living in transgression of the law of God. “He that
saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love
of God perfected.”(811) Here is the test of every man’s profession. We
cannot accord holiness to any man without bringing him to the measurement
of God’s only standard of holiness in heaven and in earth. If men feel no
weight of the moral law, if they belittle and make light of God’s
precepts, if they break one of the least of these commandments, and teach
men so, they shall be of no esteem in the sight of Heaven, and we may know
that their claims are without foundation.
And the claim to be without sin is, in itself, evidence that he who makes
this claim is far from holy. It is because he has no true conception of
the infinite purity and holiness of God, or of what they must become who
shall be in harmony with His character; because he has no true conception
of the purity and exalted loveliness of Jesus, and the malignity and evil
of sin, that man can regard himself as holy. The greater the distance
between himself and Christ, and the more inadequate his conceptions of the
divine character and requirements, the more righteous he appears in his
own eyes.
The sanctification set forth in the Scriptures embraces the entire
being,—spirit, soul, and body. Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, that
their “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(812) Again he writes to believers, “I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.”(813) In the
time of ancient Israel, every offering brought as a sacrifice to God was
carefully examined. If any defect was discovered in the animal presented,
it was refused; for God had commanded that the offering be “without
blemish.” So Christians are bidden to present their bodies, “a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” In order to do this, all their
powers must be preserved in the best possible condition. Every practice
that weakens physical or mental strength unfits man for the service of his
Creator. And will God be pleased with anything less than the best we can
offer? Said Christ, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.”
Those who do love God with all the heart will desire to give Him the best
service of their life, and they will be constantly seeking to bring every
power of their being into harmony with the laws that will promote their
ability to do His will. They will not, by the indulgence of appetite or
passion, enfeeble or defile the offering which they present to their
heavenly Father.
Peter says, “Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”(814)
Every sinful gratification tends to benumb the faculties and deaden the
mental and spiritual perceptions, and the word or the Spirit of God can
make but a feeble impression upon the heart. Paul writes to the
Corinthians, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”(815) And with the
fruits of the Spirit,—“love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness,”—he classes “temperance.”(816)
Notwithstanding these inspired declarations, how many professed Christians
are enfeebling their powers in the pursuit of gain or the worship of
fashion; how many are debasing their godlike manhood by gluttony, by
wine-drinking, by forbidden pleasure. And the church, instead of rebuking,
too often encourages the evil by appealing to appetite, to desire for gain
or love of pleasure, to replenish her treasury, which love for Christ is
too feeble to supply. Were Jesus to enter the churches of to-day, and
behold the feasting and unholy traffic there conducted in the name of
religion, would He not drive out those desecrators, as He banished the
money-changers from the temple?
The apostle James declares that the wisdom from above is “first pure.” Had
he encountered those who take the precious name of Jesus upon lips defiled
by tobacco, those whose breath and person are contaminated by its foul
odor, and who pollute the air of heaven, and force all about them to
inhale the poison,—had the apostle come in contact with a practice so
opposed to the purity of the gospel, would he not have denounced it as
“earthly, sensual, devilish”? Slaves of tobacco, claiming the blessing of
entire sanctification, talk of their hope of heaven; but God’s word
plainly declares that “there shall in no wise enter into it anything that
defileth.”(817)
“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? for ye are bought with
a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God’s.”(818) He whose body is the temple of the Holy Spirit will not be
enslaved by a pernicious habit. His powers belong to Christ, who has
bought him with the price of blood. His property is the Lord’s. How could
he be guiltless in squandering this intrusted capital? Professed
Christians yearly expend an immense sum upon useless and pernicious
indulgences, while souls are perishing for the word of life. God is robbed
in tithes and offerings, while they consume upon the altar of destroying
lust more than they give to relieve the poor or for the support of the
gospel. If all who profess to be followers of Christ were truly
sanctified, their means, instead of being spent for needless and even
hurtful indulgences, would be turned into the Lord’s treasury, and
Christians would set an example of temperance, self-denial, and
self-sacrifice. Then they would be the light of the world.
The world is given up to self-indulgence. “The lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eye, and the pride of life,” control the masses of the people. But
Christ’s followers have a holier calling. “Come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean.” In the light
of God’s word we are justified in declaring that sanctification cannot be
genuine which does not work this utter renunciation of the sinful pursuits
and gratifications of the world.
To those who comply with the conditions, “Come out from among them, and be
ye separate, ... and touch not the unclean,” God’s promise is, “I will
receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”(819) It is the privilege and the duty
of every Christian to have a rich and abundant experience in the things of
God. “I am the light of the world,” said Jesus. “He that followeth Me
shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”(820) “The
path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto
the perfect day.”(821) Every step of faith and obedience brings the soul
into closer connection with the Light of the world, in whom “there is no
darkness at all.” The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon
the servants of God, and they are to reflect His rays. As the stars tell
us that there is a great light in heaven with whose glory they are made
bright, so Christians are to make it manifest that there is a God on the
throne of the universe whose character is worthy of praise and imitation.
The graces of His Spirit, the purity and holiness of His character, will
be manifest in His witnesses.
Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, sets forth the rich blessings
granted to the children of God. He says: We “do not cease to pray for you,
and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in
all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the
Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing
in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His
glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with
joyfulness.”(822)