The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-01-29
The EvangeIist's Discourse
Friday Afternoon, Jan. rs.
SELF CONTROL wAsIHIs SUBJECT.
A Good Deal OF Christianity That Is
Travelling Abroad, but Doesn't strike
Home New Birth, New Creation,
New Nature and New Name.

coming INTO manhood about becoming
Christian, and his answer was that when
she and his father lived without constant
frettipg and jeoring he would talk about
becoming Christian, but he would like
to see them live out the Christian LIE
little while before be talked about becom-
ing a Christian.
Now, believe q good many sons and
daughters are standing In just about that
position. II we "a Ckristians haven't got
grace enough to live out the teaching OF
Jesus Christ, OF course we are not going
to reat b cur family.
Today want to speak about self con-
troi, about having the fruits Of the spirit.
II we don't have the fruits OF the spirit,
and IL we don't have the tenderness and
patience of Jesus Christ (Which
we SEQ right here In reii-
gious meetings sometimes) 1t Is
perfect sham, you know. j have spoken
to people Ia meeting like this before
now, and have had them tell ms to mind
my own business; and yet would hear
them singing at the top OF their voices,
draw me nearer, draw me nearer" IL
seems like perfect farce, you know.
Now what we want is to get home TO
ourselves. We have good deal OF Chris
tianity that Is travelling abroad, but
doesn't strike home. We want to get
control OF ourselves. This afternoon i
would like to get the audience TO look at
themselves IL they will 1t Is god thing
to examine yourself once In while and
see il You are really in the faith and in the
spirit. A good many people are sound In
the faith, but they are mighty unsound
In the spirit. They have nothing OF the
spirit of Jesus Christ about them. Now,
Paul laid this down In the sth. chapter OF
Romans, 9th. verse, "But We are not in the
flesh, but in the spirit, II so be that the
spirit OF God dwell In you. Now II any
man hath not the spirit OF Christ he Is
none of His" He may be Methodist In
good standing, or Baptist in good stand
ing, or an Episcopalian in good standing,
he may have been baptised and confirmed
and all that, but II he hasn't got the spirit
OF Christ he Is none OF His. she Is as
sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal."
Pass him on.
Now, we can put the test TO ourselves.
We can tell whether we have the same
kind of spirit. Not the same quantity,
but the same quality. Have we got any OF
the spirit of JesusY In the fist place, he
had a forgiving spirit. Have we got that?
lie had me, spirit. Have we got that?
He had loving spirit. Have We
got that? He had a gentle spirit. Have
we got that? He had = peaceful spirit.
Have we got that, or is there constant
friction in our homess Now, when man
says he has been converted, but he is pee
wish and fretful and irr,.f bic and touchy,
and he is hard to get along with at home
,r i'm society, tell you the whole thing
Is sham. He hasn't been converted to
the Lord Jesus Christ ut all. He has per-
haps had an impression, that is oil, and
by-and5y II will wear awayU was going to
say wear out, but II Is never worn on very
much IL 1t hasn't changed his life.)
Now, a person said TO me some time
ego, 81 want above every thing else to be
Chrlst-likc, but how am going to be like
Him." said, "If you want to be like
Him you must be born OF Him." This
afternoon want to call your attention to
that truth, "Excepta man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom Of God, much
less inherit it." l have preached on that
before, so will not take II up today. ]
i'll start right there. The first thing Is
to be born of he spirit. God Is a spirit,
and they that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and truth. Now, you
must be born OF tho spirit before you can
worship the spirit.
Now, the next thing Is, that we are born
into new creation. In Galatians vi. ,15v.
we read, "For in Christ Jesus neither cir
cumcision availeth anything, nor unoir-
cumcision, but n new creature" See! we
are born into new crea-
tion and become new crea-
ture. A man got up Ia one OF our meet
ings in New York some years ago who
had been pretty far down, but n wonder
full change had taken place and he said
he hardly knew himself. He said the fact
was, he was new man in his Old clothes.
That was just it. Not a man in new
clothes, but, new man in old
clothes. j saw an advertisement the
other day which rcad like
this. ali you want people Tn respect you
wear good clothes.n That is the worlds
idea OF getting the worlds respect. Why!
A leper may put on good clothes, but he
il leper still. Mere profess.on doesn't
transform a man, not by good
deal. It Is tho new nature
End Corinthians, 9th chapter, 18th verse,
"rherefore IL any man be in Christ, he is
new creature; old thirgs are passed
away; behold, AL things are become new"
fused to quote il this way, "'Lct' him be
new creature" Some one asked me where
! got the word "let.n / said found IL
in nv Bible. He said IL wasn't i'm
his, and looked and found that stuck
that word "iet" In. "If man be i'm
Christ, he is a new creature" Not "going
TO be-" but, cold things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new" Like
the Scotch lassie. She said she had
either changed or Scotland had changed
wonderfully. The heather was sweet
er, the air was sweeter, the birds
sang more sweetly, the sun was brighter.
Now the change had taken place In her
SELF She had been translated into the
kingdom OF light. The power of sin was
broken i'm her. Again, in Galatians v. II:
"For the flesh lusteth against the spirit,
and the spirit against the flesh;
and these are contrary one TO the
other 60 that ye cannot do the things We
would" Now, notice, there IL conflict
between the flesh and the spirit, and
want 10 say right here that some people
get discouraged aud think they have not