The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-09-19

'ci.eu, anu w NOT nnu single theology
which teaches that in any church. There
Is no creed or catechism which teaches
that, anu recommend every member of
every church In this congregation to 90
home and consult your covenant of faith.
your book OF discipline, your catechism,
your system of theology, the creed of
your CHURCH, and challenge one to find
that our church authorizes YOU to say
That when you were converted you were
c'eansed from inbred sin. There is not
church which teaches that. Once in a
while, there is an errorist in almost every
church who makes this mistake, and
says we have no sin to be cleansed from,
but there is not II church, not Il creed.
not system of theology accepted by any
church which teaches any such thing.
And yet, brother, nearly every Christian
Is hoping to be cleansed cleaused from;
that bad temper, that unholy desire,
cleansed from that proneness to covetous-
ness, cieansed from that proneness to
stray away from God. These are proofs
OF this remaining uncleanness. Let me
impress this upon you: Every Christian
Is hoping to be C'eansed But where are
you looking for cleansing? You are look
ing to tue means of grace, of your own
works, to your own growth, TO your own
efforts at self culture and self restraint;
80 Os'1Ni -CiA'i SNSl w ucIc tNCeDUlnR.LO
the blood OF Christ, every where excepting
to the atonement, everywhere excepting
to what Christ has done for you. Now
brother, sister, where would YOU point
that poor sinner for forgiveness that
comes into your chuich? Would YOU say.
give to the means of grace regularly, and
by and by, through the use of the means
of grace, you will be pardored; give to
this that or the other object of Christian
work, and by and by i: will give YOU
pardon. No, l would point him to Jesus,
the Lamb of God, that taketh away the
sins OF the world. That would be right
and scriptural Now, brother, am here
as your Christian brother, as minister
of the GOSPEL of Jesus to tell you that are
hoping for cleansing and want to get rid
OF the tendency for evil, | am here TO tell
you that the very same blood that taxes
away the sinners guilt will take away
Your deformity, and you can look away
from any power in the means of grace
and works of righteousness, though they
all have their place. DO not understand
ME co speak against these means of grace
or works of righteousness; hut say that
the blood of Christ was sent rs truly to
cleanse mans heart from inward sin rs
1t was TO cleanse the heart from past sins,
and If the Flood of Christ will do it, YOU
faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteous
ness" No. you ask me "A question You
say, But, Brother Smith, don't that
look rs # God did that all at opce?'' Well
now, let us look ut 1t. One thing is Ger
tain l. you look at the text. Suppose for
the sake o. the present investigation we
were to allow that it is possible, even
probable that he does that all at once;
still if you look ut the text, YOU must
agree with me that He does two things AT
once; that forgiveness is one thing, and
cleansing another. You must agree TO
that. So your contention is, hot that He
does not two works but that He does two
works at one time. Now, brother, of
course, i. some poor soul here were to get
both works done ut once tonight, nobody
would be happier than me, nobody would
give heartier shout than me; but hera
Is something we dare lot deny: that
| there are lots of you who have one work
done that have not the other work done.
Now, our gospel is mot to discount what
was done when You were converted God
| forbid! And call all to record that from
the first note struck in this meeting until
this hour, we have been UNFOLDING the
highest possible standard of conversion,
ana nave no place for the artificial con.
versions of m odern times so prevalent.
we counsel righteousness and iustifica-
tlon Now here are two things: one is
| forgiveness, the other is cleansing: one is
letting the sonl ont of prison, the other is
taking the disease out of its nature You
do not deny that these are two things
there, ut simply ask; Are both done at
! oEce!' do not dispute that they could
he done at once, but declare that scores,
ana hundreds aud thousands have for
| giveness accomplished that haze not
cleansing acco nplished in their hearts.
am here, brother, 10. tell you that the
same blessed Christ who forgave your
sins will cleanse you from all ulright-
eousness and make you whittier tunn
low. John says, 1.-The blood Of Jesus
Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all
| sin"
here il one point right here would
IKE to take moment to answer. have
always recoiled. brother-I may he lit.
tie sensitive, over nice;,l do not know,
but somehow | have always recoiled
when this text is spoken of in way to
indicate that there was some literal touch
| III the blood of Jesus that it somehow
! touched our nature, and by some sort OF
| chemical extraction took sin from our
heart. This is not tie idea Mt ALL The
blood of Christ shed on Calvary is n sub
stitute, sufficient substitute, for."-any-
thing that any man could do, or ought tc
DO, in order to get his sins forgiven; SD it
is sufficient substitute, vcarous
Offering, in the place of anything any
man could do to get his heart cleansed
therefore, Instead of depending on any
thing in the natural world, upon any
thing OF time, upon anything of growth
leave all human means to get rid OF Ge
- Ifu md
for tie sake of Christ's blood God hu.
blotted out all record against us il
heaven. has forgiven our sin, Is u mary
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