The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-03-20

WNAAAs
Regeneration b Gods breathing into man
Ilis own life-5t is literally being bsm
from above
2. II IS Gods will That We should Be-
sanctihed.
/ Thes. iy: 3-"For this is the viii o.
God. even your sanetihcation"
Some people feel much prpjudiced against
tine idea Of sanctifcation, but i is in Gods
Word. and It would be well for us 10 study
1t and realize 1t in our experience. To BIO
aanctlhed is to be separated, and IL IL GER
sainly the plan Of God that His people
shall be separated psBpie While they
are in the world" they are to- be m no
sense "of the world" They are com
unciean. and an the old law respecting the
Nazarte is a law for the Christian, ex-
cept that in the New Testament times that
law has been intensified by the touch OF
the living and risen Christ
If your life is not sanetlicd you Wrll live
contrary to the will of God
8 IL Is Gods will that we should be nj
timately glori6cd ] Peter y:10-" Burt the
God OF al grace, who hath called us unto
His eternal glory by Christ Jesus after
that We have suffered awhile make YOU
perfect, stablsh, strengthen, settle you.
John xvii: Father | viii that they
also. whom Thou hast given Ne, be with
Me where am that they nav behold My
glory, which Thou hast given Me-"
IL Is a good thing to turn again and
again in this way to the Scriptures to find
what is The plan God has marked out for
us, and then to square our lives according
to this plan to see wherein we have fol-
lowed it or have failed II the failure has
been gFievous it is not necessary that we
shol'd 20 in mourning all the day long,
for, just rs mother forgives the weakness
of her child and forgets the many short.
comings. so God has promised again and
again in His Word to blot out all our trans
grelsions and to remember them no more
against us forever
It is not therefore question as to
whether we can keep from SHINING our
selves-we know that we can not, but it is
altogether a question as to whether Christ
can keep us if we will but give Him the
right to do So / have no question but
that Que could walk from one corner of the
street to the other with Christ so con-
stantly before him that in his own judg-
ment at least, he would be overcoming
sin. / am perfectly clear that he could
increase his journey by many miles and
still be more than conqueror. | am abso..
lutelv confident that one could walk the.
whole dav with Christ so wildly before.
him that it would be peace and JOY. And
what could be ACCOMPLISHED in one day
could be made the rule of a mans entire
life
After the return of Christ for His church
there is to be a great dav of awards when.
those who have been faithful shall receive
recognition at the hands of the Lord Him.
self IN the presence of the assembled
hosts in the skies We can tell lust what
this reward is to be, ard yet this needs a
6 .---.1,~rAs1r We a,A rfya f9a
exact description of the crowns we shall
wear. nor can we estimate in human AN.
ruaee their value in the opinion of men.
But we know. after studying the New
Testament, that it is to be according to
our faith aud in proportion to our faithful
ness. tt is in this wav that averv child
If God may confdertiv say: 81 know what
nv award is to be" Fe measured it him
self II is verv true that one may stand
before God and receive from Him only a
measure Of reward. and it is likewise true
that he might have = greater blessing from
the hands IF his Master. John sDeaks
about 20 full reward" as If there wight he
a reward that is not complete. Alas. this
is only too true! But the opposite is also
true. that one may have at that GREAT dav
at the hands Of God Himself a full reward.
And the purpose Of this book is tn induce
us 10 lay hold of the promises of God. so
| that our lives may be~so shaved according
to His will that when that day comes we
shall stand before Him with rejoicing and
not with sorrow
| A crown is always a symbol of reward.
| Expressions containing the word are many
| times used in the New Testament. 1t is
| sometimes a 'crown of life" again a
"crown that is incorruptible,", a "crown O
! rejoicing" a crown of righteousness,
and "a crown of glory" But these names
| are given not simply for the sake of EN-
| phass. as the change, of name might be
! emphatic. but because each crown means q
certain kind of reward So far as | have
been able to see there are but FIVE crowns
in the New Testament Scriptures. Every
! christian NAV have one, but OH the JOY
of it! every Christian may have five. But
the message is still sweeter for If WI
should receive from, the hands of our glori
fed lord the crowns there would still b.
/ something in reserve.
/ Naturally the crown that shonld' CONT
first in order would be the one mentioned
in James i: l2-"Blessed is the man tina
endureth temptations: for when he is trieC
he shall receive the crown of life. which
the Ford hath promised to them that low
Him" This crown is also mentioned IL
Revelation ii: lobe thou faithful mt
death, and l win give thee a. crown o
life.
1t was to be. given TO the, Church o
Smyrna that suffered the most. / used t
read the text-"Be thou faithful unit
DEATH" and L supposed it meant simpl
that we needed to, be faithful during lif
and that when death came our respons
bility was ait an end, but the word
unto" and means not simply that on
should be faithful and willing to suffer 70
the Master, but to suffer and to die.
This leads me to say that the crown c
life is undoubtedly the one to be given t
the martyr-not simply the ONE who ha
died at the, stake. or the woman who ha
been thrown to the wild beasts that the
might devour her, but the one who has su
fered in body and mind unknown to fam,
but suffered nevertheless, and suffered fc
the glory OF God