The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-03-30

triad Of tdgaries, Spiritualism, Free-love-ism
and Vegetarianism, are so frequently bound
up in the same wretched bundle of error, it
ticle of regard for the Scriptures and the
Spirit that dictated them could be led by such
errors from the faith of the gospel. To turn
away from the instructions and indwelling aid
of the Infinite Spirit of all light and love and
truth, and seek guidance from "spirits that
peep and mutter," is like perishing with
thirst and rejecting a fountain of living waters
for an empty and broken cistern. And yet
many apparently good and pious persons have
turned away from the faith once delivered to
the saints for these very delusions. The Spir-
it dictated an anathema upon him who should
preach any other gospel then, condescended
to give us an infinite argument, besides, for ad-
herring to his teachings, as those. which would
thoroughly furnish unto every good work; and
finally, to put us completely on our guard, gave
us definite prophecy of the very abandonments
of the gospel which now are seen. In defiance
of all this, some whom we had fondly trusted
were christians, will rush into the arms of such
delusions as modern spiritualism, rather
spiritisna, and so make utter shipwreck of faith.
! How shall we characterize such grieving of the
Spirit as this? ''This," says John, dis the vic
tory that-overcometh the world, even our
faith" the faith that rests solely on Jesus as
the divine Savior, the Son of God, the Infinite
Redeemer. But if we forsake this faith, even
so much as to add to it a trust in any finite
spirit, embodied or disembodied, then must tie
scorld orercone rs, instead of our overcoming
the world. 1t is sheer turning away from
that Spirit who Strengthened withall might in
the inward man for a glorious victory over
the world, the flesh and the devil, and who fur
nishes complete directory in his word, how
to shun the evil and attain the good.
Thus, as respects ourselves and our God,
must our faith, our repentance, our obedience,
our prayerfulness, and even our tempers, words
and thoughts, be zealously guarded, lest we
grieve the Holy Spirit. But, as we also sus-
tain most important and responsible relations
to our fellow-mcn, both saint and sinner, we
must notice,
7. And lastly.
The Holy Spirit is gricved, ,ehenerer ace
needtessly griere brethren, or neglect either
| concerted.
1t is a capital mistake, to suppose that our
sanctification by the Holy Spirit through the
word of truth is designed to be accomplished
solely by his indwelling in our hearts, or by
any or all of his dealings with us, as isolated
| individuals. "No man liveth to himself and no
man dieth to himself" The church of God
ic S,pi md hat lo1 fba
pie of God. God by his Spirit resides in it,
as by the cloudy symbol he filed and dwelt in
the typical temple of old. Christians compose
building ftly framed together, growing up unto
an holy temple in the Lord. They are ''lively
stones" not standing apart, but "built mp
spiritual house." that is the house of the
Spirit. True, there is no dwelling of the Spir-
it in the church, except by his dwelling in the
individual members; as there is no honey in
the comb except as it is in the particular cells
of which that comb is built. But hon
ey comb not having its cells ftly joined to-
gether SO as to support and sustain each other,
would prove failure for holding and preserv-
ing the honey. So christians must be joined
together and selfsustaining, bracing and hold
spirituality and thereby cause the temple to be
''flled with the Spirit" To drop the figure;
not only does the Spirit help our infrmities, by
dwelling personally in our individual hearts
and directly aiding US, but he prompts every
such heart to help its fellow. Thus may each
receive help from every other christian around
him. In the aggregate, this help which the
Holy Spirit gives us through others as his in
struments is immense. We may not, dare not,
undertake to live to ourselves. olive, and
let live" may serve the worldling as an ethi-
cal or prudential maxim, but the christian
must Ire and help Ite. So shall he be helped
The attempt, then, which some propose to
make, at living just as faithful christian lives
alone as in church relation, is direct insult to
the Holy Spirit, in view of the way in which
he comes saying "bear ye one anothers bur
dens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" The
law of Christ is that we shall be yoked togeth-
er They who are not meek and lowly enough
to learn of him this lesson, never can, in their
isolation and independence of brethren, find
either the yoke easy or the burden light
This must apply, also, in part, at least to
those who are church members yet shun many
of the duties and responsibilities borne by
their brethren. Not only must we be yoked,
but equally or evenly, yoked. If some attend
church and others neglect it, some are at pray
er meeting and others are habitually absent
some bear the temporal burdens and others
avoid them, is this being evenly yoked? And
yet, alas, how few churches escape these draw
hacks The soldier in battle incurs fearfully
increased risk by getting out of the ranks.
The sheep straying from the company of the
flock runs great hazard. Oh! for "the unity
of the Spirit" When the Holy Spirit gives
us such explicit directions how we should
love and help each other, admonishing, con-
Tossing to, exhorting, and praying for each
other, and that blessed Helper comes to us
every one, to dwell in us and help us do all
this, and we coldly turn aside, neither helping