The Penn's Grove record., 1903-05-08
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down from a high position of purity and

1Ao ieISis 10 tne large NUMBER OF tne cnii-
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 between those who thus neglected
their privilege and duties as children Of
God-who, knowing the right, yet pursued
evil-who protesting 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
ing IN the Holy Ghost, M 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"
hoping that they viii gee the present mis-
cry and the sure future punishment asso-
ciated with the course Of wickedness 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 serv-
ice for God and for the right, he gives
them these two verses explaining the prin-
ciples and the method of progress of the
servant of God; 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
~ n o1~1 $780, -. ffD..I1s ~z.~-
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-
tablishing 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 a 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 unless there is at the basis or
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 n 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 a 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
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 a stand
ard has been given in the revelation OF
God. 1t 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 a structure either OF righteous
| ness or of unrighteousness. According to
the general desire and tenor of the life ID
| 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 a state OF
change. We never shall lay down our ar
| 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 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,
| there is no definite eternal reward until
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 edifice. :
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 well 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
| Join to it his utterance and lntercesslons,
| 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 a 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 pc
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 a way that Gods love to us shall both
grow and be continually more apparent,
and a stronger factor IN our spiritual HE
is something eminently 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, n
the more strongly we cling TO it, the more
confident NAV 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 1t 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 OF 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, shall
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
| God; it is His message to us, and may He
grant us grace so to "build up ourselves
in our most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost, keeping ourselves in the love
Of God, looking for the mercy Of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life" that we
NAV be guarded from the evils into which
so many are falling about us in the world,
the evils of doubt, of carelessness, of i'm
morality, so that We shall be saved, as it
were. brands from the burning and kept
ing, and presented by Him f~aultless be-
fore the presence of His glory with exceed
ing joy"
His Ways Are Gentle.
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