SALVATION FROM SIN, THE END OF CHRISTIAN FAITH. BY JOHN HUMPHREY NOTES. "If we walk in the light, as God is in tlie liglit, we have conimuuism one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ iiis Son cleanseth us from all shi." — 1 John, 1 : 7. PUBLISHED BY THE ONEIDA COMMUNITY, ONEIDA, N. Y. 1S7('>. DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure %oom SALVATION FROM SIN, THE END OF CHRISTIAN FAITH, BY JOHN HUMPHEEY NOTES. "If we walk in the light, as God is iu the light, we h;ive communism one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." — 1 John, 1 : 7. PUBLISHED BY THE ONEIDA COMMUNITY, ONEIDA, N. Y. 1876. Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from Duke University Libraries littp://www.arcliive.org/details/salvationfromsinOOnoye n SALVATION FROM SIN. " Leaving- the first principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto per fection." — Heb. vi. 1. 1. HOLINESS THE PRINCIPAL OBJECT OF THE ATONEMENT. " This is a faithful sayiug, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save si/iners-." From what does lie propose to save them ? A few plain texts of Scripture will answer this question. On the first pag-e of the New Testament it is written, " She [Mary] shall bring- forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESLTS [Saviour] for /le shall save his people fioia their srxs." Matt. 1 : 21. " Wliat tlic law could not do. in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh : that the righteousness of the law might he fulfilled in us^ Rom. 8 : 3, 4. " Christ loved the Churcli. and gave himself for it, thai he might sanctify and cleanse it." Eph. 5 : 25, 26. " You, that were some time alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of liis flesh through death, to present you holy, and unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight:' Col. 1 : 21, 22. " Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity^' Titus 2 : 14. These texts explicitly declare the object of the mission and sacrifice of Christ to be the salvation of his people, not merely or primarily from the consequences of th.eir sins, but from their sins themselves. Dividing salvation into two great parts, viz., forgiveness of pat:t sin, and purification from {treseut sin, it is plainly implied in nearly all the declarations of the Bible touching the subject, that the latter part is \\w primary, and the formei- the secondary o\:)';\Qci of (3) 4 Object of the Atonement. the work of Christ. This appears in the above quotations. Puri- fication was so much more prominent than fbroiveness in the niinds of the New Testament writers, that their language in those pas- sages, and many others, wouhl almost lead to the conclusion that it was the only object of the atonement. The promise of the new covenant, as quoted by Paul in Heb. 10 : 16, 17, exhibits both parts of salvation, in their proper order of importance. " This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put my laws into their hearts^ and in their minds will I write them ; [this is purification ;] and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more .'" [this is forgiveness.] It is true that forgiveness, in the order of time, necessarily pre- cedes purification. The past must be forgiven, before men can be saved from the present and future power of sin. Hence we find salvation set forth iu the following manner : " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrigh teousness." 1 John 1 : 9. Here the order of the actual process of salvation is exhibited : 1st, con- fession ; 2d, forgiveness ; 3d, purification. But it is obvious that forgiveness, instead of taking precedence of purification in impor- tance, only bears the relation to it of means to an end. God pardons us that he may cleanse us. Forgiveness is the founda- tion of ])urification ; but purification is that, without which for- giveness would be worthless, as a foundation would be worthless without a superstructure. When, therefore, Christ is called the " Lamb of God. that tuketh away the sin of the world" we understand the language as meaning more than that by the atonement he has provided for the fo)given<.is of mankind, and so has taken away the legal con- sequences of sin. The " taking away of sij^s " is spoken of in Heb. 10 : 4, as equivalent to a cleansing, by which the conscience is purged from sin, and by which " the comer thereto is made perfect^' The apostle says that the sacrifices of the law could not effect this cleansing ; but he holds up the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, as able thus to " take away sins." His language is : " By the which will [the will of God executed by Christ on the cross, which will is given to believers by the Holy Spirit], we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Yer. 10. And again. " By one offering he hath forever Sins of Old Testament Sa'mts. 5 perfected them that are sanctified." Ver. 14. This language cer- tainly ascribes a purifying power to the atonement, and, indeed, in such a way as wholly to eclipse its purchase of forgiveness. It is said in 1 John 3 : 5, that Christ " was manifested to lair away our sins f^ and the meaning of the expression is clearl} determined by what immediately follows : " Whofen hlui, neither known hirnj^ He " takes away sin " in such a way, that they who avail themselves of his sacrifice do not commit sin. This view of tlic ol)ject for which Jesus Christ came into the world and laid down his life, and this view alone, justifies us in calling the message which came by him, " the. glorious gospel of the blessed God." A " gospel " is (lood neios, " glad tidings of great joy." Luke 2 : 10. But Jesus Christ brought no new-s to the world, if his message was merely or chiefly a proclamation of pardon. Forgiveness had been promised to the penitent from the beginning of the world. God had proclaimed himself to Moses and the children of Israel, " merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin." Ex. 34 : 6, 7. The " glad tidings of great joy" which the angels represented as com- ing with the birth of Christ, were in fact tidings of things well known to the prophets and patriarchs, if they related only to the pardoning mercy of God. But if Jesus Chdst came proclaiming not only the mercy of God in pardoning sin, but also his power to cleanse and preserve from sin ; if in addition to the forgiveness which was given to the patriarchs and prophets, he proposed to clothe believers with the robe of righteousness ; in a word, if it was, as we have shown, his peculiar office to " save his people from their sins" then truly he brought " good news" to the world — his message is worthy to be called " the glorious gospel." 11. THE SINS OP THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS IRRELEVANT. It is obvious that the doctrine of salvation from sin, thus exhib ited, is not liable to any objections drawn from th6 experience of saints who lived before the manifestation of Christ. We do not 6 'SV?/.s- of Old Teslament S'^xrnts. rely at all upon the use of the word perfect in reference to Noah, Job, «fec. ; and we have no occasion to prove that any of the " Old Testament saints" were free from sin. On the contrary wc ad- mit, nay we insist, that salvation from sin " was unknown to the a«res and o-cncrations"of the Jewish dispensation, and was revealed only after the corainu- of Christ. We draw a very broad line of distinction between the dispensation before, and the dispensation after the manifestation of Christ. To adduce the sins of Moses and David, as proof that the gospel does not give entire salvation from sin, is to overlook altogether this distinction of dispensations, and in fact to assume that Jesus Christ brought no new blessings to the world. This is as absurd as it would be to undertake to disprove the realities of the wonders effected at the present time bv steam power and the art of printing, by referring to facts that occurred a thousand years ago. For we affirm, and have shown, and shall sliow niorc abundantly, that the coming of Jesus Christ eifoeted a revolution in the condition of mankind with reference to spiritual privilege, as great as was eflFected in mechanics and letters, by the discovery of steam power, and the invention of the press. The Old Testament saints did indeed foresee the coming ol Christ, and rejoice in view of the blessings he was to bring. The prophets foretold that a "way of holiness" should be cast up; that a "new covenant," securing obedience, should be given to God's people ; that they should be " sprinkled with clean water," and "a new heart and right spirit" should be given them. But that this foresight did not by any means amount to a possess/on of the salvation of the gospel, is very evident from tlie following declaration of Peter : "Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory ; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of yon r souls: of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you : searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand ihe sufferings nf Christ and the glory that should FOLLOW. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minis- ter the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you, with ihe Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." 1 Pet. 1 : 8-12. This passage represents the saints of the Sms of Old Testament Saints. 7 primitive cliurcli as receiving " a salvation of their souls," wbich the Old Testament prophets only Jo retold as about to come after the sufferings of G/wist. But an objector may ask, " Were not tlie Old Testament saints saved?" We answer. Yes ; but not till Christ came in the flesh. Paul, speaking of the whole line from Abel downward, says — "These all, having obtained good report through faith, received Wit ihe iiromine., God having provided some better thing for us, that iliey WITHOUT US should not be mode 'perfect." Heb. 11 : 39, 40. Per- fect holiness (and of course salvation) was given to the saints in this world and in the spiritual world at the same time ; and it was not given to either, till the reconciliation of the divine and hu- man natures was effected by the incarnation and death of Christ. '' But the Old Testament saints certainly had faith ; and was it ■lot .sayt72^ faith ?" It was saving in this respect — it kept them from despair, and from such gross transgressions as would have sealed tbeir ruin, and gave them a hope, more or less clear and joyful, of ultimate, complete redemption ; but it did not save them from sill — it did not put them iii possession of that which the) hoped for. " They died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off." Heb. 11 : 13. Their faith, like a cable that connects a ship with the shore, connected them with a future salvation. The end of their faith, the shore which they hoped for, was perfect holiness ; but that shore they never reached, till after " the sufferings of Christ" — the outpouring of the blood of the new covenant. Then the saints on earth and in heaven " received the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls." " Were not the Old Testament saints born of God till the times of the new covenant?" No; for Christ was the "first-born" among all his brethren ; (Rom. 8 : 29 ;) " the head of the body, the church ; the bejinning, ih' first-horn from iJte dead." Col. 1: 18. The saints that lived before his manifestation, wore heirs of a future sonship ; i. e., they had the promise of God that they should be made partakers of the divine nature at a future timo. They were thus prospectively " children ;" but expe rime n lull y they were '^ servants." and did not receive the spirit of adoj)tion till the introduction of the Christian dispensation. All this is plainly set fortli in the following passage : " The heir, as lon-i as he is a cliild, d/ff(-)'eth notlilng from a servant, though he be lord of all ; but is 8 Sins of Old Testament Saints. under tutors and governors, uiUil the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were iii bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. to redeem them that were under the law, that we might re- ceive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son." Gal. 4 : 1-7. The line of division between the servant dispensation, and the son dispensation, clearly lies where God sent his Son into the world, and, after his sufferings, poured out the Holy Spirit. In denying that the Old Testament saints were born of God, we must not be understood as denying that they had any religion. It appears by the passage above quoted, that there arc two dis- tinct stages in religious experievce. in the first of which men may properly be called servants of God, while yet they are not sons. It is imj)ortant that this distinction should be clearly seen, and constantly kept in view. We admit, and teach, that the Old Testament saints were servants of God in tlie ages before Christ, and that they became sons at his coming. '• But what is the difference between servants and sons ? Did not the Old Testament saints love God ?" Yes ; and so many servants love and honor their masters, while yet there is no vital union, no hlood-relationship between them. So there was no vital union between God and man, till Christ came in the flesh. Abraham was called the friend of God, and he doubtless loved God as a man loves his friend ; but it is not said in scripture, and it is not true, that Christ was in him ; that he dwelt in God, and God in him. This spiritual indwelling was " hid from ages and from generations," and was manifested only after the mission of Christ. Col. 1 : 26, 27. It is this that brings men into hlood-relationship to God, so that they are entitled to t1ie name of "sons of God." It is written, '■'■ Every one that loveth is horn of 0mmittoth sin. is of the devil ; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God wa< muiifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Wliosoi^vr is horn of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaincrli in him ; and he cannot sin. because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the cliildren of the devil : whosoever doeth not riglitcousness, is not of God. neither he that loverh not his brother." 3 : 2-10. " Herein is our love ma^h^ perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment : because as lie is, so are toe in this world." 4 : 17. " We know that whosoever is horn of God sinneth not ; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one o 18 Holineas in the Primitive Church. touclicth him not." 5:18. If this is not i'erlectionism, we know not how, by any human language, Perfectionism can be expressed. We are aware that all this testimony — the very burden of the whole epistle — is counterbalanced in many minds by one little text that occurs in the first chapter, viz., " If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves^ and the truth is not in us." 1 : 8. But a candid survey of the context cannot but satisfy any discerning person, that t>as text was not designed to militate against the doctrine of salvation from sin. Let us look at what goes before it. The apostle, having entered into full fellowship with Christ's victory, in advance of the mass of the church, turns toward those who are following him, and announces the consequences of that fellowship. " This then is the message that we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in dark- ness, we lie, and do not the truth. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanselh us from all sin" Ver. 5, 7. Perfect holiness, then, is the result of the fellowship which he professes to have entered into himself, and which he proposes to them. He next proceeds to state the terras of admission to that fellowship ; and first, he bars out the self-righteous : "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." In other words , " Jesus Christ proposes to cleanse us from all sin. Now if we say we have no sin to be cleansed from— if, hefore availing ourselves ^r/ec,'^ It is also manifest from what we have before said, tliat this class became more and more numerous and distinct, a(= the harvest time of the ai)Ostolic ag'o approached, till at last, when John wrote his epis- tles, Perfectionism was fully developed, and liad become the ac- knowledged standard of Christian experience. Thus we have shown, first, that salvation from sin, present and future, was the great object of the mission and sacrifice of Christ ; secondly, that tlie sins of the Old Testament saints cannot fairly be adduced as evidence against this doctrine, because they were connnitted before Christ came into the world ; thirdly, that the sins of the disciples during Christ's personal ministry, cannot be so adduced, because they were committed before the death and resurrection of Christ, and the efi'usion of the Holy Spirit ; fourthly, that the sins of many in the primitive church after the day of Pentecost, cannot be so adduced, because they were com- mitted before the truth concerning Christ's death and resurrection Paul an Exaniplt, 21 was fully developed and applied ; and lil'tldy. tliat accordiii'jf to the testimony of Paul and John, Christianity in its maturity, did actually make some believers perfectly holy in this world. VI. PAUL AN EXAMPLE OF SALVATION FUOM ALL SIN. In support of the general argument whicli we have presented, we will now adduce an individual instance of perfect holiness. And our specimen shall be the apostle Paul. It has already been seen that he belonged to the class of those who were called /yp/;/^d. By a more particular examination of the testimony concerning him. we propose to show that he was saved from sin in this world. For this purpose, we will in the first place notice and exj)lain several passages in which he is said to have confessed sin ; sec- ondly, answer the specific charges commonly made against him ; and thirdly, produce positive proof that he was holy, from his own testimony. I. Paul's supposed confessions. (1.) In the seventh chapter of Romans the apostle says : '• I am carnal, sold under sin ; for what I would, that do I not ; but what I hate, that do I. To will is present with me ; but how to perform that which is good I find not wretched r.ian that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7 : 14-24. This passage, taken by itself, would seem to be a very explicit confession of sin. Indeed it is a confession of unmitigated, all-controlling depravity. If it is to be admitted as a description of Paul's Christian experience, it evidently proves th.at he was far below even modern Christians in si)iritual attain- ments, or at least in profession ; for the very lowest stanaards of the most fashionable creeds make some degree of righteoasness the test of Christian character ; whereas, according to the above con- fession. Paul was corapletehj carnal, a prisoner of sin bound hand and foot ; utterly unable to perform any good thing. He does not say with modern imperfectionists, that he is occasionalh^ over- come by sin, but that be is ''-sold under m\" Most persons ad- mit that the liard saying of John in 1 Epis. 3 : 8, means as much as this — that "lie that committeth sin hahihiaUi/, is of the devil." 22 Paul an Example. But tluit text, even thus reduced, gives no quarter to this experi- ence of Paul, for he confesses \\\m?,e\i uninterruptedly sinful. Be- fore consenting to the intolerable conclusion that Paul was " a child of the devil," the reader we think will be willing to examine critically the context and scope of Rom. 7 : 14-24. For this pur- pose, we offer him, in tlie following exposition, such help as can be given in a condensed form ; but it will be effectual only as he faithfully follows every step of it with careful thought, and studies the whole subject for himself. Tlie previous doctrine of the epistle concerning the laiv, is set forth in the following passages : " By the deeds of the law, shall no flesh be justified in his sight ; for hy the latv is the knowledge of 5m." Chap. 3 : 20. " If they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect ; because the law ivorketh wrath." 4 : 14, 15. " The law entered that the offense might abound." 5 : 20. In accordance with these views of the effect and design of the law, in the sixth chapter the apostle closes his exposition of salvation from sin by the gospel, with the follow- ing declaration : '' Sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye [i, e. as many as were baptized into Christ, see ver. 3] are not un- di'r the law, but under grace;" (6 : 14 ;) as though, if they were under law there would be no hope of deliverance from sin. These are the views which are discussed and fully explained in the sev- enth and a part of the eighth chapter. The substance of the first six verses of the seventh chapter may be stated thus : " The law is our husband while we are in the flesh, and the only offspring of this first marriage is sin. Christ is our husband, when we are baptized into him, and the offspring of this second marriage is righteousness. We cannot have both liusbands at once. Death to the law must precede marriage with Christ. Accordingly, we that believe, are dead to the law, by baptism into the death of Christ." In the 7th verse the apostle commences a vindica" tion of the law. In view of the foregoing doctrine, that sin is the fruit of marriage with tiie law, some might say that the law itself is sin. But Paul insists that the evil nature of the offspring in this case is not to be attributed to the husband, but to the wife. The law is holy, just and good, but the subjects of it being filled with the spirit of sin, only make tlie law an occasion of aggravated iniquity. Ver. 13. Here commences the disputed paragraph, vers. Paul an Example. 23 14-25 : ''For we know that the law is spiritual; lutlam car?ial, sold under sin The good that I would, I do not ; but the evil which I would not, that I do," &c. It is plain that the apostle is here giving the reason for the fact that the law produces sin. That reason is the opposition which exists between a carnal nature and the law. A marriage between them brings forth sin and death, because tlie parties are " unequally yoked." " The law is spiritual, but I am carnal / of course the fruit of a union between me and the law must be strife and irritation, resulting in aggravated sin and ultimate despair on my part, though the law is holy, just and good." Paul's supposed confession, then, is actually a description of the misery of a soul married to the law. Now we know that a person in that state is not a Christian ; for, to be married to the law and to Christ at the same time, would be that very spiritual polygamy which in the first verses of the chapter is expressly con- demned. Moreover in the 4th, 5th and 6th verses, the apostie plainly and repeatedly speaks of his own state, and that of those whom he addressed, as opposite to the law state wliich he after- wal-ds describes. "' ye art; be-^ome dead to the law by the body of Christ. When we were [past tense] in the flesh, the motions of sins, which ivere by the law, [/. e. those very motions whicli are described in verses 14-25,] did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law" &c. Paul, then, was not, at the time he wrote the epistle, under the law, and therefore did not describe his experience as a Christian, in tlie paragraph in question. He uses the present tense in that paragraph, because he is not relating historical facts, but is illus- trating a perpetual principle, without reference to time. The jire- sent tense and first person are freciuently used in such illustra- tions, because they are convenient and forcible. The actual ex- perience of Paul as a Christian, is fully exhibited in the eiglitli cha])ter, which begins thus — " There is therefore now no condem- nation to them whicli are in Christ Je.m-'<.^' Tlie intelligent reader will perceive, by examining tliis chapter and comparimz- it with the seventh, that the peace of the second marriage is the exact re- verse of the misery of the first. (2.) The following passage is often quoted as an instance in which Paul confessed sin : " N^ot as (hough I had al/-ead(/ tittained, eithc) were already/ perfect : but I follow after, if that I may ap- 24 Paul cm Examjple. prebend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not ynyself to have apprehended" &c. Phil. 3 : 12, 18. But we shall sec by consulting the context, that Paul is wholly misunderstood by those who take the ))assage by itself and construe it as an acknowledgment of moral imperfection. In the preceding verses Paul says, " I count all things but loss . . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrect{o7i, and the felloicship of his sujferin (/■'<, being made conformahle to his death; if by any means I might attain unto the reswrection of the dead: [here begins the supposed confession : ] not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect." It is obvious that " the resurrection of the dead," not perfect holiness, is to be under- stood as the object of the verb " attained" in this sentence ; so that the first clause certainly is not a confession of sin, but simply of a state of mortality. But in what sense does Paul say, " Not as though I were already perfect V We must find an answer by looking back and noticing what he was striving to attain. He counted all things but loss, tliat he " might know the power of Christ's resurrection, and the fellowship of liis snffrrincis^ being made conlbrmable to his death." He was not i»erfect then in this "sense, namely, he had not yet entered into full fellowship with Christ's death and resurrection. Does this imply that he was a sinner? If so, it implies also that Christ himself was a thinner, before he died and entered into immortality. The word p^rfert is used in three instances with reference to Christ, evidently in the very sense in which it is used in this confession. " Go, tell that fox," said Jesus, " Behold, I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected .•" [/. e. by the death of the cross.] Luke 13 : 32. " It became him by whom are all things, and lor whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." Heb. 2 : 10. "Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered ; and being made perfect, he be- came the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." Heb. 5 : 8, 9. Now no one supposes that Christ was less rhan perfectly holy, while he was in the flesh. Yet these passages plainly teach that he was in some sense " made perfect" by suffer- ing, and consequently that in some sense he was not perfect till his death. Previous to that event then, he might have said, as Paul an Example. 25 well as Paul, " Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect." And on the other hand Paul, as well as Christ, notwithstanding this confession, could claim to be in another sense perfect ; as in feet he does a few verses after, where he says, " Let us, as many as hajjerfeat, be thus minded." The truth is, Paul knew he was "apprehended of Christ" for all that Christ had himself attained, viz., the resurrection of soul and body ; and though he was already saved from sin, he did not count himself perfect by full fellowship with those sufferings which made Christ perfect, but acknowledged in opposition to those " who said the resurrection was past already," (2 Tim. 2 : 18,) that he was yet "following after," looking, as he says a few verses below the passage in question, " for the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall CHANGE our vile body." The imperfection which he acknowledges, so far as it related to spiritual character, was a dchciency, not of holiness, but of exjierience. A man cannot learn patience without suffering. Previous to the requisite suffer- ing, imperfection in t'ais respect is not voluntary but necessary. It is therefore not a moral, but a natural deficiency, and may be predicated of one who is perfectly holy, as we have seen it was predicated of Christ. (8.) We are sometimes referred to 1 Cor. 9 : 27, as evidence that Paul acknowledged imperfection. The passage with its con- text stands thus : " I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; so fight I, not as one that beatcth the air : but 1 keep under my body, and bring it into subjection ; leal thai by any nuan.s, when I have ^readied to dthem^ I myxelf shonld he a castaway.''^ It is diflieult to see how this can bo torturcl into any tliin'^- like a con- fession of sin. On the contrary, it is actually an assertion of faithfulness, lu order that the passage may accord with the conuuon views of the seventh chapter of Romans, and with the experience of impcrfectionists, it must be reversed thus : "I run iinct'i'tahily, I hglit a--i ojw that tiaakth the air, and I do not keep my body under, but am fre(|uently brought into subjection to it." The most that can fairly be said of it is, that it indicates the ex- istence of some fear in the apostle's mind that he might be a "castaway." But even this is \)\ no means a necessary construc- tion. A soldier in a besieged fortress might say, " I keep within the walls, lest I should be slain by the enemy's artillery," with- 20 Paul (ui Example. out cxpro>sinir finy fear or suggestinir any probability that he would actually be slain. (4.) Paul's account oC the " thorn in his flesh," -which the Lord gave him, " lest he s'lould be exalted above measure," (2 Cor. 12 : 7.) is often cited as a confession of imperfection. It is indeed an acknowledgment of weakness, and of a certain liability to sin ; which liability however was provided for and extinguished by the means which God employed in the case. Paul does not say that he was exalted above measure, but on the contrary, that God took measures to keep him from being so. Doubtless those measures were successful. The thorn in the flesh certainly was not in itself something sinful in him. It was " a messenger of Satan" sent, not to lead him into sin, but to '' hiffef (?'. e. to afflict) him. He besought the Lord that it might depart from him, and the answer was, " My grace is sufficient for thee : for my strength is made perfect in weakness." The thorn then was the harbinger, not of sin, but of sufficiency and perfection. So thought Paul. ■' Most gladly therefore," says he, " will I rather glory in my inflrmities, [certainly not in sin,] that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (5.) The following passage is supposed by some to be a con- fession of present sinfulness : " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom l am chief y 1 Tim. 1 : 15. The con- text plainly shows that the apostle here refers, not to his cliaracter after he became a Christian, but to his wickedness in persecuting the church. See ver. 13. " Howbeit," he continues, " for this cause I obtained [past tense] mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-sufi'ering,''"&c. His pre-eminent ofi'ense in " breathing out threatenings and slaughter" against the church, rendered him fit to be an example of the greatness of God's merv?y. In respect to his state as a Christian, he says just before, that Christ counted him ".faithful ;" which is altogether inconsistent witli the idea tliat he was at the same time the chief of sinners. Thus we have noticed all the passages in Paul's writings which are commonly adduced to jn-ove him a sinner by his own direct testimony, and we have found in every one of them proof to the contrarv. Paul an Example. 27 As a sequel to this branch of evidence, let the reader take a survey of all the />m//fiy,s' whicli Paul represents himself as offer- ing. In almost every epistle he gives samples of his petitions ; and if he had been habitually as abundant in confessions of sin as modern imperfectionists, he would cei'tainly have left some specimens on record. We venture to predict, however, that nothino; of the kind will be found. TI. SPECIFIC CHARGES AGAINST PAUL. (1.) His conteyit'wn with Barnahas. The account of this affair is as follows : — " Some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of God, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thouglit it not good to take him with them, who de- parted from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other : and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by tlie brethren unto the grace of God." Acts 15: 36-40. We observe upon this, in the first place, tliat there is no certain evidence that either Paul or Barna- bas sinned. A mere difference of judu'ment, wisely permitted for the purpose of separating them, may have been perfectly consis- tent with uniti/ of Jieart. " The contention was so sharp between them [not that they abused each other with words or blows, but] that they departed asunder one from the otlier.'' and probably by mutual consent, in peace. But we observe furtlier. that so far as there is any probable proof that either sinned, it goes to impeach the character of Barnabas only. John, about whom the con- tention arose, was Barnabas' nejihew. (see Col. 4 : Ki.i who doubtless was influenced by partiality for him, as Ids kinsman, and " determined to take him with them," without fii-st consulting Paul, or heeding iiis counsel afterwards. No reason is ti-iven for Barnabas' determination ; whereas Paul '' thought it not good" to take So\m,lecause he had once deserted them. It is plain that Paul acted conscientiously in the matter. Nothing but jirejudice or carelessness can discover tlie least evidence in these circum- 28 Paul an Example. stances, that he departed from iutegrity ; while candor finds fresh proof of his wisdom and firmness. (2.) His anaiheuKi upon the high priest. " Paul, earnestly be- holding the council, said, Men and bretliren, I have lived iii all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded thera that t-tood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall ; for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and com- mandest me to be smitten contrary to the law ? And they thai stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest ? Then said Paul, I wist not, lirethrcn, that he was the high priest : for it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." Acts 23 : 1-5. There was manifestly no sin in the mistake which Paul made respecting tiic official character of his abuser. He acknowledged no ■■ry par- ticular transaction of his life. We never feel that tliere is any occasion for us to inquire whether lie did riulit or wi-ong in this or that particular action — whether every movement of his body and mind through all his life, was measured and determined by the rule and )>lummet of theoretical morality — whether he preached and labored for sinners just exactly as nnich as he was able, and never slcjit the fraction of a second too nuich or too lit- tle. If it were necessary to go through such a process of scru- tiny before we could lawfully believe that Jesus Christ was per- fectly holy, we might well despair of over proving that he was the Son of God. But all such questioning is utterly foreclosed, as every man's consciousness must testify, by the simple fact that Jesus Christ was proved to be the Son of God, by his Father's power. We reverse the process. Instead of arguing that he was the Son of God because his external actions were perfectly holy, we ar- gue that his external actions were perfectly holy because he was manifestly the Son of God, in full fellowship with his Father. Now we insist that Paul's character ought to be tried by a similar process. If it can be shown that he was in spiritual union with Christ, it ought to ha presumed, unless full pmof to tlie contrary is produced, that all his external actions were righteous, and the " evil surmises " of irresjjonsible accusers ought to be given to the winds. III. Paul's views of his own character. (1.) He asserts his identlUj with Christ, in such passages as the following : " It pleased God ... to reveal his Son in me." Gal. 1 : 15, 16. " I am crucified with Christ ; nevertheless Hive ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Gal. 2 : 20. " For me to live is Christ." Phil. 1 : 21. " We are members of his hody.qf his fl^sh and nf Mx hones." Epli. 5 : 30. "We have the mind of Christ." 1 Cor. 2 : 16. In accordance with this testimony, he says that the Galatians received him "as an angel of (^od. ^^ven as Christ Jesus;" (Gal. 4 : 14; i and instead of rebukiuL^ tliem for man- 30 Paul an Example. worship, he rather censures them for not continuing thus to honor him. (2.) He plainly asserts his Jreedom from sin, as the consequence of his union with Christ, in the following passages : " How shall we Ihat are dead to sin, [i. e. by baptism into Christ's death,) live any longer therein ?" Rom. 6:2." The law of the Spirit of life hath made me free from the law of sin and deaths Rom. 8 : 2. " Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and. justly and un- hlamahly we behaved ourselves among you that believe." 1 Thess. 2 : 10. '■'(jriviwj no offense in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed : but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in watchings, in fastings ; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suflfering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, hy the armor of righteousness on the right hand aiid on the leftP 2 Cor. 6 : 3-7. " Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience that i)h simplioity and godly sincerity, not with fleMy wisdom, bat hy the grace of God, we have had our conversa- titm in the ivorld." 2 Cor. 1 : 12. (3.) His writings, instead of being filled with confessions of sin and unfaithfulness, every where abound with vindications of his own conduct, hold assertions of his righteousness, and appeals from, human accusation to the judgment of God, The following may serve as examples : " We have wronged no man, we have de- frauded no man." 2 Cor. 7:2." Ithink to he bold against some which think of us as though we walked, according to the flesh • for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh." 2 Cor. 10 : 2, 3. " Our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of un- cleanness, nor of guile : . . . neither at any time used we flatter- ing words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness ; God is wit- ness : nor of men sought we glory, nor of you." 1 Thess. 2 : 3- 6. " Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, alter what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men." Acts 20 : 18-26. " It is a very small thing that T should be judged of you, or of man's judgment He that judgeth me is the Lord." 1 Cor. 4 : 3-5. Miscellaneous Objections. 31 (4.) He constantly propoc-cs his own life as a perfect example Cor imitation. " I beseech you," says he, " Be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy, . . . who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways whicli hv in Christ." I Cor. 4: 16. '■'■ Be ye followers of me as I also am of Christ." 1 Cor. 11: 1. "Brethren, he followers together of me^ and mark them that walk so, as ye have us for an ensample." Phil, 8: 17. "Those things which ye both have learned and re- ceived, and heard and seen n? y/?^, do ; and the Cod of peace shall be with you." i'liil. 4 : 0. Let tiic reader imagine for a moment, how these exhortations would >ound in the mouth of one who was in the condition described in the seventh of Romans. Tlie last of them would amount to this : — " Ye have learned and received (viz. in Rom. 7 : 7 — 25) that I am carnal, sold under sin, doing the evil that 1 condemn, tind unable to do the good which my conscience enjoins. Follow me in these things ; live in slavery to sin as I do, and the God of peace shall be with you!" The testimony now before the reader, both negative and posi- tive, should be weighed in connection with the fact that Paul un- reservedly preaclied perfection to the churches ; (for examples see 2 Cor. 13 : 9-11, 1 Tliess. 5 : 23, 24 :) and that he made it the main object of one of his most important epistles, viz. that to the Hebrews, to exhibit Christianity as a dispensation of perfect holi- ness. (See Heb. 5 : 1 ; 6 : 11-19 ; 10 : 14-19, &c.) In view of all this we must conclude, eithei- that Paul was filled with self-deception, impenitence and pride, and that his life was altogether at variance with the theory whicli he preached, or that he was a genuine example of salvation from sin. Vn. MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS TO THE DOC- TRINE OF SALVATION FROM SIN. Objection 1. " If perfect holiness is attained, there is no fur- ther occasion for repe)dancer Answer. Repentance is genuine only wlien it results in the f>rsaTcin(j of sin. That periodical re- pentance, which implies continuance in the sin3 repented of, is most horrible hypocrisy. The doctrine of jjerfect iioliness doc3 indeed discard this kind of repentance. But it preaches to all vsinners — and tliat too witli a sinccritv and vehemence which be- 32 Mhsvella neons Objections. long" to no other doctrine — that scriptural repentance, which \\QG\\ tJuit loveth anoth&t\ kath falfiUed the law: for this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet ; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying. Thou shalt love tliy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor ; therefore love is the frdfiUing of the law." Rom. 13 : 8-10. And again, "All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Gal. 5 : 14. Thus the law, viewed through the new covenant, instead of being " exceeding broad," is as narrow as one little word, love. The question before the mind of one who seeks after holiness, is not whether he can duly observe all the ordinances of the Jewish or Christian ritual, or whether he can vmniediately perform all the good works which may be conceived of as resulting from tlie prin- ciple of the law, when it is perfectly developed in external action, but simply whether he can hve. If he does this one thing, the word of God authorizes his conscience to be content ; for " love is the fulfilling of the law." This root of all righteousness, this cure for the conscience, is [provided for in tlie gospel, not by the application of a written commandment, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. He that believes, loves, not by the power of his own will, but because " the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost." Thus Christ, by first concentrating the whole law into the simple requirement of love, and then converting that requirement into a spiritual gift, is " the end of the law for right- eousness to every one that believeth." Tiie exceeding breadth of the commandment is no hindrance to one who looks not to the commandment but to Clirist for salvation from sin. So much antinomianism is certainly part of the gospel. 36 Christian Faith. YIIL CHRISTIAN FAITH — THE ACT BY WHICH SALVATION FROM SIN IS ATTAINED. The gospel offers salvation from sin as a free gift. Of course the first thing to be done by one who seeks that salvation, is to clear away the rubbish of his own works. He must heartily re- pent, not only of his manifest sins, but of his supposed works of righteousness. All works that are not the fruit of God's life in the soul are ""dead works" utterly loathsome to one whose eyes are open to spiritual truth. Let the inquirer settle it in his lieart that " there is none good but one, that is God ;" that tlie right- eousness of every being in the universe, from the highest archangel to the lowest saint, is the righteousness of God : and of course that he is not to make himself righteous by tnorl-ing, but is to be made righteous by receivirKj grace ^ and he will see the necessity of setting his face io^iw(\. tXxa at-one-ment : sjjiritual union with God, instead of '" doing duty," will become the object of his efforts and hopes. In order to attain this union, its nature must first be clearly ascertained. We will therefore look at some specimens of Bible lano'uage concerning the condition of those who attained it in the apostolic age. Paul says — " I am crucified with Christ : never- theless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveih in me." Here is tiie reconciliation embodied — God and man made one. We must not explain away this testimony, by calling the \^\\^\\.?i,^q figurative. Spirits can dwell in each other, if bodies cannot. Paul means that the spirit of Christ (which is the same as Christ himself) actually lived and wrought righteousness in him. In another place he says, " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his ;" and then immediately adds, " If Christ he in you, the body is dead because of sin," &c. ; Rom. 8:9,10; from which it is evident, that to have the spirit of Christ, is the same thing as to have Christ himself indwelling. The church is the " body of Christ :" and as a man's life dwells in every member of his body, so Christ dwells in every member of his church. " Know ye not your own selves," says the apostle, " how that Christ is iti you except ye be reprobates ?" 2 Cor. 13:5. The condition, then, for which the inquirer seeks, is one in which he can truly say — Christian Faith. 37 " Christ livetli in me." The necessary consequence of that condi- tion is perfect holiness, because Christ is perfectly holy. We now come to tlio main question — How is this union, by which Christ dwells in the soul and saves it from sin, to be attained ? The witnesses of the New Testament answer with one voice — BY FAITH. What wc now want, therefore, is a clear dcfnii- tion of Christian faith. " He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Every form of faith, without which it is impossible to please Gotl, necessarily contains these two elements, viz : first, a belief of the existence of God ; second, a belief of his benevolence, and of course an ex- pectation of a reward in seeking him. The man who has never sought (tfter God^ may exercise faith, thus elementarily described ; and indeed, in the order of nature, such faitli iimsf precede all attempts to secure the favor of God. I cannot seek access to a man of wliose existence I am ignorant, and I shall not seek favors from one, unless I believe ho has the power, and will, to do me good. Between this starting point in the race of faith, and the goal which they have reached, to whom God has become all in all, we may discover and describe endless varieties and degrees of confidence in God. If I believe to-day in the existence of a God whose locality is above the firmament, and to-morrow dis- cover that he is an omuipresent God, I have advanced a step ic the course of faith. Again ; if I believe to-day only tlie general proposition, that the omnipresent God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and to-morrow discover that he actually. answers my prayers, 1 have advanced another step. II I sincerely and diligently seek after God, ray faith' will increase as my knowledge of him increases. Discovering his care over me. I trust his providence for temporal blessings —perceiving the i)ower of his spirit, and tlie holiness of his character, I trust !iim to keep me from the ways of wicked men. Finding that in his presence is fullness of joy, I trust his love will one day deliver me from the bondage and darkness of a sinful nature, and lit me for full and endless fellowship with himself. As God reveals his gooil will and power to me, my faith advances from one blessing to another, till that righteousness which alone can qualify me for the enjoy- ment of his glorious presence, becomes the object of my heart's 38 Christian Faith. desire ; and trusting in him, I see a cloudless prospect of eternal deliverance from sin in a future world. Thus far faith advanced under the Jewish dispensation. Thus far, before Christ came, God had revealed himself as the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Abraham received not the l)roinise of the new covenant, but saw it afar off, and rejoiced ; and all who followed in his footsteps before the advent of Christ, though they " obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise," but stood with him rejoicing in the hoj)e of eternal righteousness. The effect of faith in this stage of its advance- ment, upon the character and conduct, may easily be seen. As faith is necessarily limited by the revelation which God makes of himself,, if Abraham diligently sought after God — if his faith kept pace with his discoveries of the good will of God— he was " per- fect" in his day : not perfect, as being conformed to the image of God, but perfect as being conformed to his imperfect discoveries of God. It is manifest, however, that his perfection can be no standard by which the perfection of those to whom God has farther revealed himself, shall be measured. The legitimate effect of perfect faith in the imperfect revelations which God made to man during the Jewish dispensation, was to stimulate believers to the performance of the works of the law. In ob- serving the statutes and ordinances of the law, they did the work of servants, because, in so doing, they trusted God would ulti- mately make them his sons. If it be true, as many seem to sup- pose, that God has made no greater revelation of himself to the world than was given to Abraham and the Jewish saints, we may call ourselves believers, while we rest contented to stand with them as servants under the law, in hope, not in possession of righteousness. But if Jesus Christ has revealed the Father, and this revelation is worthy to be called the glorious gospel, before we call ourselves Christian believers, we must inquire, What is the gospel ?^and whether our faith corresponds to the tidings it brings. We have shown that the glad tidings that came by Jesus Christ, presented to the world actual salvation from sin, and were so understood and realized by the primitive church. If this is the gospel, sinners are not Christian believers ; for the taith which corresponds to this revelation of the good will of God, Christian Faith. 39- must be inconsistent with the commission of sin. If God sent his Son into the world for the purpose of saving his people from their sins, they who trust him are saved from their sins, or God is •defeated in his purpose. What then is the nature of Chi istian faith ? How shall a man who believes that God is, and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, become a believer of that gospel which brings salvation from sin ? We will endeavor to trace the transition. Suppose the man stands in the situation of a Jewish believer, a sinner, under the law, but rejoicing in the hope of righteousness and fellowship with God in a future world. He hears that God sent his Son into the world to save all who trust in him, from their sins. This is glad tidings to him, and he willingly believes it, because it brings that salvation to his door which he had hitherto supposed afar off. Difficulties and objections are easily removed from the mind of one who hungers and thirsts after righteousness. Suppose then his mind has settled into a convic- tion that the glad tidings he has heard are true. Though he is not in possession of the salvation of which he has heard, he has advanced in faith a step beyond the state of a Jewish believer. He has discovered that the feast which he before looked for at the end of a life of labor, is ready for him now. He withdraws his thoughts from that prospect beyond the grave, which had cheered him, ceases from his labor, and sets himself to fmd his Father's table. The question before him now is—floiv am I to be saved from 5in ? The gospel answers — /;// /he power of God. " But can this be done consistently with my free agency?" Ans. If God could dwell in Jesus Christ, controlling all his actions, yet leaving him a free agent, he can do the same in any other human being, to whom he can gain access. You know by experience, that he can in some measure, at least, manage your spirit, and dispose you to righteousness, without interfering with your free agency— why cannot his control over you be perfected consistently with your freedom ? Moreover, you expect to be kept by his power in ■eternal righteousness after death, and yet to be free— Why should you doubt his power to begin this work before deatli ? Suppose the inquirer to be convinced that God can dwell in him 40 Christian Fhith. as he did in Christ, and save him from sin, leaving him free — a second step is taken towards the possession of a perfect sal- vation. The next question is — " How shall I become the subject of that power of God which brings salvation ?" The gospel answers, hy faith in. his Son. " What is faith in the Son of God ?" Ans. It is a conviction, accompanied with a confession that Christ is in you^ a whole Savior. Unbelief replies — " Christ is not in me." Here is the critical spot where the contest between the devil and the Son of God is to be decided ; and here we resort to the record which God has given of his Son. Let it be remembered that the word of God must stand, if it contradicts your previous conceptions and feelings. If it declares that Christ is in you, your ignorance and unbelief of the fact, cannot prove tliis declara- tion false. On the contrary it may be proved that your ignorance and unbelief have crucified the Son of God in you, and tliat he only waits for the permission of your faitii, to burst the tomb of your heart and manifest his presence. We will not speculate upon the question of the possihility of Christ's presence in those who are ignorant of the fiict. You cannot dive deep enough into spiritual philosophy to prove it impossible, and I cannot dive deep enough to show you how it is true ; but we can both read the plain statements of the word of God. John says of Christ — the Word of God — " In him was life, and fJif life was the light of men ; and the light shinetli in dafJincs.-^. and the darkness compre- hendetli it not. That was the true light, wliich lighteth every man that Cometh into the world. He was in tlie world, and the world was made by him, and tJie world knew him -not." John 1 : 4-10. From this passage it appears that the life of the Word of God, lighteth every human being. It will not be ])retended that the gospel — the external light of the word of God — lighteth every man that cometh into the world. What meaning then can be attached to the passage, unless we believe that the Son of God, in becoming incarnate, gave life to all Jit sh, " came a light into the worUF of darkened sjnrits, so that he is actually life and light to those who know him not. " The light shineth in dark- ness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not." Shall the dark- ness therefore deny that the light shines ? " The world knew him not." Shall the world therefore denv that he has come into Christian Faith. 41 the world. You have hitherto been ignorant of the fact that Christ is life and liglit in you — shall you therefore deny the fact, in contradiction of the testimony of God ? The following passage more fully unfolds the meaning of those we have already examined. " Tliere are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood : and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater : for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that bclieveth on the Son of God hath tiie witness in himself: he that bclieveth not God, hath made him a liar ; because he bclieveth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath 'jiven to us eternal life: and this life is in his Son." 1 Jno. 5 : 8-11. There are three agents, or elements of salvation in the spiritual world, corresponding to spirit, (or air,) water, and blood, in tlie natural world. Water is that which cleanses the outside, (see John 15 : 3 ; Ei)h. 5 : 26,) to which the external word corresponds. " Blood is the life"— the vital element of tlie in- ward man. So the blood of Jesus Christ is the life of the soul. The spirit or air is the medium in which, and by which the blood and water have their action, and without which the blood would be useless. So the witnessing Spirit of God is that without which the blood and water of Jesus Clirist, /. e. his spiritual life and instructions, are of no avail. " He that helievetlt hath the witness" of the Spirit. " He that bclieveth nof^ hath the Nood, i. e. that life which is light shining in darkness, and perha])S the water, /. .". the word : but these are of no avail without that faith which admits the witness of the Spirit. The life of Christ is not comprehended, till the Spirit bears witness. " He that bclieveth not liath made God a liar ; because he hath not believed the record tliat God gave of his Sou : and this is the record, t]i any root. Rigliteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, arc the consequences of faith ; the word of God, and that only, is its foundation. The man who holds the note for a liundred dollars, in unbelief, cannot expect io feel richer than usual, till he believes the note to be genuine ; and he would be considered a very fool- ish man, if he should say in answer to arguments in favor of the genuineness of the note — " I feel as poor as ever, therefore the note cannot be good." Christ says, " Behold I stand at the door and knock ; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me." Let the inquirer understand, that believing the word of God opens the door for the admission of the living witness. It is wrong in this situation to say, " I would open the door if I could see him who stands on the outside." You cannot see through the door of unbelief. You hear the Savior's voice — that is enough — believe, open the door, and you shall see him and sup with him. While you are asking for sight and supper, before you open the door, Christ is suffering for your folly, knocking without. If the inquirer is now convinced that he is not to look for peace before believing, but in believing ; nothing is wanting to complete his salvation, but such a confidence in what his intellect perceives to be the truth of God, as will produce a confession that Christ is in him, a Savior from all sin. He can try his faith by such a question as this — " Am I v^illing without further evidence, relying solely on the testimony of God, to confess Christ a whole Savior ?" Confession, or a willingness to confess Christ, is the accompaniment rather than the consequence of faith. In- tellectual belief becomes an active principle, a belief of the heart, in the very act of confession. It is to no purpose in this spot, to make experiments upon God, as many have attempted to do, by undertaking to believe, while confession is withheld till the success of faith is ascertained. A whole-hearted and everlasting surrender to the faithfulness of God alone, can secure the fulfil- ment of his oromises to faith. Such a surrender can be made 46 The Spiritual Man. only by a confession, which leaves no way for retreat. Men are permitted to cuter the kingdom only on condition of destroying the bridge behind them. As God is true, the man who thus confesses Christ, shall be confessed of him, before the Father. His peace shall be like a river, and his righteousness as the waves of the sea. By the witness of the Spirit, he shall know that he is a child of God, and that " whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin : for his seed remaineth in him ; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." IX. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPIRITUAL MAN. We have shown tliat there were two classes of believers in the primitive church — a carnal class, not free from sin, though bap- tized with the Spirit — and a spiritual or perfect class, to whom alone belonged the title of " sons of God." We have shown also that the transition from the first to the second class, though not very distinctly marked in the writings of the apostles, clearly took place in individual cases as early as the middle of the apos- tolic age, and in greater numbers at a later period. We have ascribed this transition to the power of Christ's resurrection, apprehended and appropriated by the believer in his inmost life ; and we have defined the act of faith which thus appropriates full salvation. We propose, in conclusion, to examine the records of the primitive church with a view to obtaining a more exact idea of the traits of character which distinguish spiritual from carnal believers. 1. The first point we notice is that the spiritual man ha,s a renewed mind. "He that is spiritual," says Paul, "judgeth [^. e. discerneth] all things." 1 Cor. 2 : 15. The reason of this is that he " has the mind of Christ." v. 16. His intellect is not only under the influence of that spirit which " searcheth the deep things of God," but is assimilated to it, and acts in unison witii it. He has the mind of the " new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." Col. 3 : 10. (See also Eph. 4 : 23, and Rom. 12 : 2.) This renewed mind is strong and penetrating. Like the Word of God by which it is The Spiritual Man. 47 created, aLcl to wliich it is assimilated, it is " quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged swortl," and in a certain sense we may say that " all things are naked and open to it." " We speak wis- dom," says Paul, "-among them thud are perfect — even the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things whic'i God hath prepared for them that love him. But he hath revealed them unto Ufi hy his Spirit, which things also we speak." 1 Cor. 2 : (3-13. 2. Another distinguishing characteristic of the spiritual man is a loving heart. Paul says in the sequel of the discourse from which we have just quoted : " Ye are yet carnal ; for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, [or fac tions^ are ye are not carnal and vmlTi, as men ?" 1 Cor. 3 : 3. He does not halve the matter. He recognizes no such thing as an envious, contentious spiritual man. The import of his testi- mony is that among spiritual believers there is no quarreling. This result flows in part from the fact, already brought to view, that such believers have a renewed mind, the mind of Christ, and consequently think in unison. But its true source is the renewed heart. The spiritual man " dwells in love." He has gained the crown of all attainments, the " the bond of perfectness," which is charity. Carnal believers may have many of the external gifts of the Spirit ; but the spiritual only have that loving heart which " -suffe'tlh long, and is kind, envieth not, vaunteih not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seekelh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil ; rejoiceth not in iniquity, hut rejoiceth in the truth ; heareth all things, believeth all things, hopeih all things, endureth all things ; never fa ileth ." 1 Cor. 13 : ^8. This unquestionably is the grand attainment Avhich divides the spirit- ual from the carnal believer — the full born son of God from the " babe in Christ." For Paul says : " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels., and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal ; and though I have tl:e gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing ; and tliough I bestow all my goods to feed tlie poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." 1 Cor. 13 : 1-3. 48 The Spiritual Man. Here are many and great gifts and graces whicli a man may have and yet not be a son of God. It should be noticed that charity is distinguished not only from gifts of utterance, -revelations, and wonder-working ftiith, but even from that which is commonly accounted charity, viz., benevolence to the poor, and from self- sacrificing devotion. Indeed, any one who will study the defin- ition of charity above quoted, will perceive that it is far from being that outward-bound, bustling quality of character which usually passes for religious benevolence. Its elements are mostly negative. The idea of " doing good " is not very prominent in it, but as Paul says of it in another place, " it workeih no 111." It is just that quality which fits a man to live in social contact witli his fellow men, without giving offense^ and without taking offunsc. It implies a thorough extinction of selfishness, a perfect appreciation of the interests of others and of the value of peace, and a quiet reliance on tiie faithfulness of eternal love. 3. Another characteristic of the spiritual man is an unquench- able desire of progreHs. Paul was certainly a fit representative of the spiritual class. Let us see what was his state of mind. He says : "■ I count all tilings but loss for the excellency of the knowl- edge of Christ : . . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and tlie fellowship of his sufferings, being made con- formable to his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead : not as though I had already attained^ either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren I count not myself to have apprehended^ hut 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^ Phil. 3 : 8-15. Was there ever a more vivid expression of God-like ambition ! The apostle adds : " Let us, therefoee, as many as be perfect. BE thus minded ;" and " thus minded " will every one be who is truly spiritual. the end.