The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1895-09-22
A PERFECT SANCTIFICATION,
Is Such a Condition Possible
in This Life?
How the Soul Can BIO Dead Unto Sin.
D'herenf Views of Salvation Among
Professed Chriotians--One CIsse Re
gard tho Gospel as Salvation Fyom Sin :.
the Other Fears He'll.

Likewise reckon 20 also yourselves IN br deas
Jesus Christ our Lord.''-Rom. vi II.
The connection OF this passage will
help us to understand it's meaning.
Near the close Of the previous CHAPTER
Paul had said-"The law entered that
the offense might abound; but where
sin abounded, grace did much more
abound, that as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness, unto eternal life,
by Jesus Christ our Lord" He speaks
here of sin rs being reigning princi-
Pile or monarch. and Of grace also as
reigninR. Then, In chapter g, he pro-
ceeds What shall we saw then? Like.
wise reckon ye also yourselves to be
DEAD Indeed unto sin, but alive unto
God through Jesus Chris our Lord"
You observe here that Paul speaks
OF the man, the old sinner, as being
cruciiiad with Christ-so DESTROYED by
the moral power Of the Cross that he
who was once o elmer shall no longer
serve sin When he speaks OF our be-
Ing planted or buried with Christ, we
must OF course understand him as en-
ploylng figures Of speech to teach the
soul from sin As Christ died for sin.
so by general analogy we die to sin;
while, on the other hand, IS He rose to
now and infinitely glorious life, 30 the
convert rises TO new and blessed life
OF purity AMI holiness.
Bus recurring particularly TO our
text, let me say-The language used in
our translation would seem TO denote
that our death to sin is precisely analo-
gous to Christ's death for sin; but this
Is not the case. We are dead 60 ain In
the sense that it is no longer to be our
master, implying that it has boon in
power over US But sin never was in
power over Jesus Christ-never WAS His
master Christ died TO abolish its power
over us-not TO abolish any power OF
sin over Himself, for it had none The
analogy between Chrlst's dea IN in rela.
ton to sin and our dyi0g to sin, goes to
this extent aud no farther: He died for
the sake OF making an atonement for
sin and creating moral power that
should be effective to kill the love of
SIN In oil hearts; but the Christian dies
unto sin In tho sense OF being divorced
from all sympathy with sin and oman
cipated from Its control.
But must proceed to remark upon
the text itself, and shall Inquire
l. What 1t is to be dead unto sin in
the sense OF the text.
II. What 1t Is to be alive unto God.
III. What i5 is to reckon ourselves
to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Nv. What 1t Is to be alive unto God
through Jesus Christ,
V. WHAT is implied in the exhorta-
tion OF our text.
l. Being dead to sin must obviously
DC the opposite to being dead in sim
The latter must undeniably be q state
OF entire sinfulness--a state in which
the soul Is dead to all gooi through the
power OF ain over 1t. But right over
against this, TO be dead to sin muss be to
oe indifference to lis attractions-beyond
the reach OF It's tufluence-Gs fully re-
moved from lis influences as the dead
arc from the objects of sense in this
world, AS he who Is dead in the natu-
raj sense has nothing more 10 do with
earthly things, so he who is d ad 10 sin
has nothing more to do with sins at
trac ions, or with shining itself
III. Whas Is 1t to be alive unto GodP
To be full OF life for Him-to be- alto
&c her activs and on the alert to d, His
will; to maze our whole lives s perpes.
ual Offering Him, constantly deliver
Ing up ourselves 10 Hin AID 30 His SER
vce that we may glorify His name and
subserye His interests
III What is IL to reckon ourselves
dead indeed unto him:
The word rendered reckon Is some.
times rendered account Abraham's
faith WAS accounted unto him for right
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