The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-06-30
THE BORDER LAND.

There are numbers of Christians real
or so called, who are conscious of not at
tempting to push their religion very far.
Their idea is to get just enough of it to
save them from hell-they do not want
any more. In some way they have
reached in Christian dynamics ga stable
equilibrium, and there they stand for
years and years and years-marking time.
They do not march.
This is very perilous state. 1t is a
terrible risk to run And then the acute
anguish of discovering just as the mes
senger of death arrives, that you have led
life of self-deception that you have
passed lifetime cherishing the fond
fancy that you were converted, when
it was all delusion
This comes of keeping back part of
the price" God will not have partial
surrender. You have got to ELECT /;
there is Satan and the kingdoms of this
world here is Pardon, Regeneration,
Sanctiication, and Heaven. What sort
of place will heaven be to you, if you
are unwilling to be sanctifed on earth .?
Sanctlfcation means the formation of
holy desires and affections in your heart
love TO God as a real Father love to
Jesus Christ as personal Saviour; re-
pentance for sin; desire to get rid of it !;
willingness to be holy as God is holy /;
conservation to the Divine life. Now if
you do not want this, you have none Of
what John Owen calls "spiritual-minded-
ness your tastes and affections are
carnal and if you a0iU not have it, you
cannot be saved
This is the ideal you have got to set
before you, and if you cannot get your
consent, you had as we'll relinquish the
notion that you are Christian.
You are probably one of those Chris
tians who are always saying there is
no harm in this, and there is no harm
in that, p" and so you go on absolutely un-
distinguishable from the unbelievers.
One mark of true Christian is tender
ness Of conscience, a constant sense of the
great taskmasters eye; you have hardly
any religious conscience at all indulg-
ing what you are pleased to call your
Christian liberty, you do pretty nearly
everything that you want to do, except,
perhaps, downright stealing and lying
and swearing, and the like.
You can easily test the matter Do
you realize that this is lost world, and
that thousands of the men and women
you see around you are going down to
hell? Do you think, with this great fact
environing you (many who are the dear
est to you on earth belonging to the null
titude we have referred toy, that exactly
the most becoming thing for you to do,
during your pilgrimage on earth, is to
try and have a good time?
Have you no duties? Is there no work
for you in the vineyard?
Here is another test you call yourself
Christian. God requires you to groeo.
Do you grow? Do you try to grow ?
Don't you try not to grow?
If consciously you resist the Spirit, and
refuse to make progress in the religious
life, you are living in deliberate sin can
a Christian do that? Read the first epis-
tie of John
1t is astonishing what large proper
ton Of the Christian army are thus en-
ployed merely marking time
The doctrine Of assurance" is taught
in the Bible; we believe Luther consid-
cred it necessary mark of Christian
now have you this witness Of the Spirit
that you have received His JUNCTION? If
not, how will you defend the act Of not
striving to get it?
This assurance is not the presump-
tuous conplacency Of the Christian world
ling who thinks that merely putting on
"A body is said 10 be in stable equilibrium if
it tends to return to its first position after the
equilibrium has been slightly disturbed. -Go-