The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-05-14


hearts of men against pure and holy living.
In very striking terms Jude calls atten--
tion to instances in history where God
showed His adherence of unfaIthtulness
in mind, heart or action upon the part OF
those who were His protested followers.
He refers to the large number OF the chll,
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, ID 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; ior
contrast between those who thus neglected
their privilege and duties as children OF
God-who, knowing the right, yet pursued
eviEwho processing love to God .practl-
cally ignored Him in their lives, and those
who not only in outward profession, but
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 Tor
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life OF the number OF these he
prayx, may be those 10 whom he writes,
hoping that they win see the present mis-
cry and the sure future punishment asso-
ciated with the course of wlckedness and
neglect of faith, and on the othef hand,
blessedness new and hereafter OF those
who are not only Ia name, but In deed ana
in truth. the children OF God, and In order
that those who read, and that all of every
time whs hear this eyistle may know how
to avoid the dangers against wReh he
warns them. and to persevere in their serv-
ice for God and for the right. he gives
them theee two verses explaining the prln-
cipies aid the method OF progress OF the
servant Of God; giving to them what = has has
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
eessity of establishing a true spiritual life
on a proper foundation: Building up your
self ON your most holy faith" As In the
beginning OF the epistle, so here, the faith,
as the foundation upon which alone true
religious life is to be built. There Is no es-
tabGshing of spiritual growth upon a mere
ly ethical foundation; there IS no erecting
a 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 10
erected upon it, but also furnishes the lines
and dimensions according to which it is to
De DullC, SO unless Cncre Is dC LuS OASIS VI
foundation of all religious life some revela-
ton or some truth broad enough for an
ideal and strong enough to sustain the
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 the
winds of heaven. There must be an ulti-
mate and universal standard of right ac-
cording to which we may direct our moral
lives, or we can never be sure that we are
mot 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 or
God. It is therefore not unreasonable nor
unnecessary that the Bible should insist.
upon this revelation as being the founda-
ton upon which we are to build our char
acters. Nor can we fail to notice the use
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 structure either of righteous
ness or OF unrighteousness. According to
the general desire and tenor of the HE 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 1--we In
this world we shall continue in state OF
change. We never shall lay down oar ar
NOR nor have our work finished until we
cease to draw the breath of life. It's nat
ural to believe that some, after many years
of careful labor in the erection of true
Christian characters, have suddenly turned
ND in, rQSnIt
of years 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 that
which he has already builded. There is no
period of rest, there is no goal attained,
we reach that other world. Building" IS
the word used, of our daily Christian lives.
Let us 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 a strength to
the whole edi6ce.
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
join to it his utterance and intercessions,
with groanings which can not be uttered,
and he must needs be persuaded that tho
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 REQUESTS
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, looking for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life,' living in
such way that Gods love to us shall both
grow and be continually more apparent,
and a stronger factor in our spiritual life
is something eminently necessary, if we
would live as His children Were it 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