The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1904-02-11

| Then it is that Christ Himself comes clos.
| er than breathing, nearer than hands or
| feet, comes into the innermost recesses of
our nature for sympathy and communion
| with the human heart.
Christ within us is also the source OF
| power. Christ does not give US power by
| making mere machines of US. We are the
clay in the potter's hands, but we are some
! thing more. God does not want Us to be
| slaves, but freemen; not subjects. but sons.
| An equally false way of considering the
| help that we receive from God is that we
| are to do all that We can with our natural
| or redeemed powers, and then let God do
| the rest. So the longer we i've, the strong.
terposition. Every time God helps us, we
are less of man or woman, and the strong.
er We grow the more independent, and the
| less we need faith. The end Of it all would
be absolute independence of God. Surely,
this is not Gods idea.
The true way of looking upon our rela-
ton to Christ is that His presence within
our heart by faith gives us energy to
achieve, not oy enslaving, but by enfran'
; chising the will, invigorating it, energizing
it, vitalizing it, until with Augustine we
willing; we work, but God works the
working
Philippians: 2: II, ls, has often been mis-
understood. 1t says: Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling. For it
is God which worketh in you both, to will
and do of His good pleasure" To work
out" does not mean to work into outward
expression what God puts within us, but
as it literally means, to "achleve tor SAL
vation is an achievement as we'll as being
at the same time gift. Nor does 1T mean
<o rly IN, o
The possibility OF working out our sa!va-
ton rests upon the fact that God is with.
in, SO that we can will and do of His good
pleasure. Thus, will is not an instrument
which We can turn from side to side, and
which when necessary God can use; it is
ourselves acting. That which God does is
not. our act unless God works through our
wills.
The possibilities of such all empowered
life are divine We need not be pertec-
tionists and still believe as we ought that
Christ's grace is sufficient Tor US. Many
pretend to believe it, and do not live it.
They worry, they fret, they G i've up. The
most of US seem to think that the normal
Christian life is to rise and fall Ike Ike the he
tides. Yet Paul says: There hath no
temptation befallen you but such as is com, I'm,
mon to man; but God is faithful. who will
not suffer you to he tempted above that
ye are able; but will with the. temptation
also make a wey of escape, that We may
be able to bear it.
Christ within also makes all living sa-
cred. We have made sad divisions among
objects. We have divided space into holy
and unholy, and declared tnat God could
be found only in certain places. which had
been consecrated. we have DIVIDED time
into holy and secular, declaring that We
<>a,,,o Cod IN tho Sahnath and con-
duct our business and amusements IS we
pleased the rest of the week. We have dl:
vided money into two parts. We have sald
that the giving of the one.tenth., or one
twentieth to God. justified Us in the claim
OF unlimited freedom in the disposition
OF the rest. We have divided up persons:
and put a certain class of people called
priests, ministers. missionaries. upon PED
estais, declaring that the standard OF CON,
| duct for them differed from the standard
for others, and that their work was espe-
cially religious.
All wrong. All space is holy, and the
green grass may be the chancei carpet ana
the trees the massive pillars and the sky
! ing in spirit and truth. All time is sacred.
The Monday should be as much devoted to
Gods service a. Sunday, and the office and
! the store should be as mucn shrlnes o.
! devotion as the closet. All money is sa-
cred, and the money spent upon the nee
essaries of life, upon business and pleasure
should be spent with equal consciousness
as upon the church. All Christians have
| Christ within them, and they should aim
to objectify His life. There is nothing we
need to-day quite as much as the Chris
tianization of the secular life.
Then at last, the Christ within is the
source of final holiness. Christ at last
is to present US holy and unb!amab!e, and
irreprovable in His sight.
Sin does two things for Us. separates
US from God and distorts our nature. When
we are forgiven we are restored to the o.
vine fellowship. But what about the ct
fects of sin upon our nature: See the
sears upon the tree and what the life OF
the tree does for it. Listen to what Paul
says: II am perplexed until Christ -? 6e
formed within you." AS Christ had his
Reth.ehem, His Nazareth. His Ollve;;, SO
His Bethlehem, His Nazareth, His Oivet.
| Who knows why one plant grows into the
geranium, and the other into the rose; Ihe
tvpe is something more than the ideal pre-.
sented for the imitation of the plant. 1t
is an informing life: -, =,
I think it was the last thing that DIR.
A. S. Gurnbert wrote for the Examiner:
Among the Dutch the rose was sometimes
/ cuitiratad by planting an inferior rose TO-
c,ose to a rose of superior variety. me p
| rose of inferior quality was carefuiiy
watched and anthers removed 10 atola
seIf-pol!enization: the object being that
It IT, should be pollenized by the superior
rose. Gradually the rose thus treated took
upon itself the characteristics of the s,upe-
rior life of its companion" So, our lives
are pollenized as it were by His righteous
ness. 4,o
source of divine companionship, OF power
| for achievement, of the exaltatloon OF con.
duct, Of final holiness. He, who wishess
to plant hope within his own heart OF sucn
prospects, should begin and never CEASE
! exercising faith in HIM VINO loVeo Us ahu
| gave Himself to die for US.