The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-05-20
down from high position of purity and

| IN mlnu, neart or action upon tne part "
those who were His professed followers.
dren of Israel, who, having been delivered
from Egypt, for their lack OF faith were de-
stroyed in the wilderness. He reminds
them of Sodom and Gomorrha; OF Cain,
Of Balaam and of Core, in order that they
may be persuaded of the high value which
God sets upon adherence and obedience to
the faith which He has given to. men; for
the point of the whole epistle lies in the
contrast h"tween those who thus neglected
their privilege and duties as children OF
God-who, knowing the right, yet, pursued
evil-who processing love to God .practi-
cally ignored Him in their lives, and those
who not only in outward profession, but
IN inward service, sought to live as be-
came the children of faith: Building up
themselves on their most holy faith, pray
ing in the Holy Ghost, and thus keeping
themselves in the love Of God, looking for
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life." OF the number of these he
prays, "may be those to whom he writes"
cry and the sure future punishment asso,,
ciated with the course OF wlckedness and
neglect of faith, and on the other hand,
blessedness now and hereafter Of those
who are not only in name. but in deed and
in truth, the children Of God, and in order
that those who read, and that all of every
time who hear this epistle may know how
to avoid the dangers against which he
warns them. and to persevere in their serr-
ice for God and for the right. he gives
them these two verses explaining the Prln'
servant of Cod; giving to them what has
been called "The Law of Christian Safe
ty," that they should keep themselves, in
the love of God, and explaining how that
may be done. /.
To this end he insists, first, upon the ne
cessity of establishing a true spiritual life
on proper foundation: Building, up your
self on your most holy faith" As in the
beginning of the epistle. so here, the faith.
the teaching the revelation Of God is given
as the foundation upon which alone true
religious life is to be built. There is no es-
tab1ishing of spiritual growth upon mere
fabric Of true religious character upon
| the teachings of men, and as for the church
itself Jesus Christ must needs be the true
corner stone, so of all religious ideas; the
| revelation of God must furnish the base:
As the foundation of building is essential
! not only to the solidity of that which is
erected upon it, but also furnishes the lines
| and dimensions according to which it is to
| be built. so unlesstthere is at the basis or
foundation of all religious life some rreveia-
| ton or some truth broad enough for an
| whole building, there can be no security
and no assurance that the character will
| stand. He who seeks to direct his course
| in life according to the teachings of mems
wisdom, or the dictates of human con.
science uninstructed by God, is sure to find
his character like unto ship; tossed about
by the waves and driven by contrary gales,
for human judgment and human ideas OF
| right and wrong are as valuable as are me
winds of heaven. There must be an ultl-
mate and universal standard of right &C.
| cordinq to which we may direct our moral
| lives, or we can never be sure that we are
not going wrong. Such an ultimate and
satisfactory standard must be given by
one whose knowledge is infinite as COM
| pared with that of man, and such stand:
ard has been given in the revelation OF
| God. It is therefore not unreasonable nor
unnecessary that the Bible should insist
upon this revelation as being the tounda-
tion upon which we are to build our char.
of the word building" here, as applying
to our relation to the revelation Of God.
Day by day and year by year the Christian
is erecting a structure either of righteous
ness or Of unrighteousness. According to
the general desire and tenor Of the life IS
the General character of the building On
| the whole, every man is moving onward
either toward holiness or toward wicked
ness, either advancing or retrograding IN
his moral nature. AS long as we live IN
this world We shall continue IN state OF
change. We never shall lay. down our az.
NOR nor have our work finished until we
cease to draw the breath of life. 1t Is nat
ural to believe that some, after many. years
of careful labor in the erection OF true
Christian characters, have suddenly turned
and in a short time destroyed the result
of wears of effort; there is danger to every
one lest by failing to continually build up
his character in Righteousness, IN the true
faith. he should be taking. away from shat
which he has already builded. There IS no
period of rest, there is no goal attained,
there is; no definite eternal reward until m y
we reach that other world. "Buildlng ls
the word used of our daily Christian lives.
Let lis see to it that every stone placed IN
the building Of our characters is one
formed upon the model of the life and
deeds OF Jesus Christ. and is strength to
the whole edifce.
The second duty insisted upon by Jude,
if the Christian would keep himself guard
ed from the dangers which beset him, is
expressed by the words praying IN the
Holy Ghost" Now we are we'll aware that
there is no prayer except in the holy
Spirit; that is to say. no prayer except
such as is in harmony with the SPIRIT of
God. and so sincere that that Spirit Will
ioin to it his utterance and intercessions,
with groanings which can not be uttered,
and he must needs be persuaded that the
HOLY Spirit which descended at Pentecost
is still active in the church. 1t needs no
enormous faith, no long experience to pray
in the Holy Ghost, but it requires SINGER
ity, a meaning and feeling in the prayer,
and a determination that the expression
of the desire made in the prayer shall be
followed by fitting action. -.
The third and fourth conditions requisite
to growth in spiritual life. referred to IN
the text, while not less important than
those already discussed, need only to be
mentioned, for their necessity is clearly
apparent: "Keep yourselves in the love OF
God, looki-g for the mercy Of our. Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life," living in
such a way that Gods love to US shall both
grow and be continually more apparent,
and stronger factor in our spiritual life
is something eminentiy necessary, II we
would live as His children. Were 1t not
for the supreme and infinite love OF God
we should have no hope either for, this
world or for the world to come, and the
more deeply we appreciate that love, and
the more strongly we cling to it, the more
confident may we be of our own future,
and the more will we be led to give unto
Him in return that love which He seeks
from US. And not less certain is it that
only through the expectation of the mercy
of our Lord Jesus Christ can we have hope
unto eternal life, as it is the only hope
which can sustain us IN the time or our
weakness, of our sin. of our despair. Ac..
cording as our confidence in the truth Of
the Gospel grows. and our assurance of the
love which Christ has for each of us, shal!
be our ability to stand in the evil days Of
this life and to persevere in our pursuit
after holiness. This is the divine word OF