The Newtown bee., 1895-09-27

NOV DCllSNO III iuCCh lOW4J odf-
Jour of men, they had not yet come into
the Split of Sonship, they needed still
the awakening power of the Gospel OF
Christ, and to continue in his word, that
they might know the truth and that the
truth might make them free.
The only
BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD
had now come to set them free. They
were still in bondage to the letter Of the
law, the prophets had not been able to
bring them into the spirit of liberty, at
best they were faithful servants, clinging
to the privileges of their natural inher-
tance,as the seed of Abraham, but now the
fulness of the ages had come, we are no
longer bondservants, the Son has made
us free, we now abide in our Fathers
house, we are childre of God.
IF the Son therefore shall make you
free, ye shall be free indeed" Ard now
if we have caught anything of the divine
meaning in these words, let US see how
we can apply it to the relief of our own
conditions of life. Let US ask ourselves
whether we are in any spiritual bondage.
Or whether we have been made free in
deed. And how it is that the Son shall
make us free at ALI
Freedom is the highest state and con-
dition of life, whether of body, soul or
spirit. To be free is to have liberty of
nd nd 80
out ones life to God in all our relations,
Every man has his own Individuality and
peculiar gifts. The noblest life is that
which is loyal to God and true to itself.
The free man in the highest sense is
Gods man-one who is under no bond.
age to the world, or the flesh or the dev-
il. One whose body is not enslaved by
his soul; whose soul is not fettered by
his body; and whose spirit energised by
the power of God rules over his soul and
body, making all the conditions of life
subservient to the eternal kingdom of
truth and holy love.
The freeman, speaking after the man
ner of the world, is one who is not bound
by any servitude to any other, and is en-
titled to all the privileges of citizenship.
Socially and politically it is great thing
to be freemen; but a''corrupted freemen
are the worst of slaves" and as st Paul
says, ''He that was called in the Lord
being bondservant, is the Lords free
man." TO be freeborn American citi-
zen is great privilege; but man may
be freeborn and well born to all the So
cial and political privileges of this free
land and still live in bondage
TO HIS OWN PERVERTED APPETITEs
and pride and passion. The same is true
when we consider particularly the life of
the soul. The soul may act freely and
dwarfed and cramped by ignorance and
error and help in the servitude of preiu-
dice and falsehood.
Locke says, $50 far as man has d
power to think or not to think, to move
or not to move, according to the prefer
ence or direction of bis own mind, SO far
is man Free. But it is not all that be-
longs to freedom of soul that one has
power to think and is free to choose his
course in life, he may think to his own
confusion and choose to his own ruin I'M
less his freedom Of thought and of will
are conditioned by right motives and
by the Spirit of Truth. Free
thought may be only loose and indecent
suggestion, aud the free will may be on
ly bold and lawless conduct. But when
the soul takes its standards and motives
of thought and conduct from the Son of
God by faith, then I'VE shall know the
truth and the truth shall make you freen
Does man imagine for one moment
that because his will is free be can pre-
sumo to do as he wills without respect to
right or wrong? The universe was not
made on that plan, neither was any mans
soul constructed on that principle. As
Emerson says, let him learn prudence
OF a higher strain. Let him learn that
everything In nature, even notes and
feathers, 60 by law and not by luck, and
That what he sows he reaps.''
Does a man think that because he is
free to tell the truth that he is also at
liberty to deceive another Every viola
ton Of truth is not only . sort Of suicide
In the liar, but is stab At the health Of
human society,"
The freedom Of the soul is In the Spir-
1t Of truth which makes 1t at one with
God and with all His works SO that there
is no motive for deception. By bringing