The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1895-11-26

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we truly are. Christian people, emf
nent for their piety and usefulness
will sometimes fail to confess fault,
because it is too humiliating in COM
parison to their reputation in society,
in business circles, and in the church,
Even ministers will not acknowledge
their besetting sin or their peculiar
failings and we will allow the church
TO grow cold because we will not take
the advice or suggestions of others
but remain stark blind to all our
faults, as if we have already attained
to perfection in all things.
Brethren, the church can do with
out us at any time, but it can never
uake progress with us in it, until we
are willing to cast off self, have our
faults criticized and profit by it, baS-
ing our judgments on simple devo-
ton to Truth and to the glory of God
in our midst. We love to know the
truth of all things outside of ourselves
but when we must know the truth
concerning ourselves, O, how painful it
then becomes. But if you will rise
higher in the scale of being, if you will
be better man or better woman,
you must know the truth in relation to
yourself, not only in general, but spe-
officially, We readily admit that we
are sinners in need of the grace OF
God, but o, how unwilling are we to
acknowledge our own specific in-con-
constituencies This is why our
churches are dead spiritually. This is
why there are distinctions in society
in the church, because if any man love
the world the love ofthe Father is not
in him, and how can we reach the
souls of the lost until we are willing
to come down to the valley of humility
and sympathize with men as Christ
did with them, being willing to be
made all things to all men, that some
may be gained from eternal destruc
ton? Ii we are not willing to know
the truth about ourselves, we conse-
guently can not be devoted to it, and
certainly we will make no progress in
the Christian life.
Let us not yield to the light of truth
by sad experience, but let it come like
flood into our dark hearts, to dispel
the gloom of pride, conceit, error,
prejudice and all the forms of sin. But
truth must be such principle of our
being, that it Is not only spoken or
partly spoken, but that it is thought
spoken and acted. Horatius Bonar's
words should be ours and let us adopt
them at once:
"Think truly, and thy thoughts
Shall the worlds famine feed;
Speak truly and each word of thine
Shall be faithful seed,
Live truly and thy life shall be
A great and noble creed"
A man who thinks, speaks and lives
the truth plays no part in hypocrisy
either in the world or in the church
In the world he maintains a true rela.
to all people in the church he is the
honest confessor Of all his Weaknesses
both in and outside of the visible or
ganizalion, depending only on Christ
for the complete, final redemption Of
his soul. He j. like Paul ever seeking
that perfect holiness which God has
promised and will give at last TO all
who trust in Christ and which all
must have before they can enter Hea-
ven. Without holiness no man shall |
see the Lord. The truth will never
allow anyone to be satisfied with him
self. Man is 50 Mortified when guilty
of sin and its consequent punishment,
that he seeks for relief, ii he is true. If
he believes the truth concerning him
self, he will never rest until he is in
safety's fort.
Brethren, appeal to the church for
truth. If we are not Christians let Us
get out of it, if we are let us then
come up with better work. Let us
do our whole duty as Christians, seek
ing the spiritual advancement of our
selves and consequently OF the church
and the entire community in which
God has placed us, and let us never
rest satisfied until we leave this sin
cursed world. Then the words that
we speak will be spirit and life, be-
cause we communicating in our daily
walks the power of God in Christ.
The quickening influence of the Spirit
of God will always be with us and |