The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1906-04-14
The Christian Conflict.

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold
on ETERNAL life.-L Tim. 6:12
Paul was no perfectionist. He un-
derstood himself as well as the Cos
pei quite too thoroughly to fall into
such delusion. He not only dig
claimed any such pretensions when he
said, Not as though | had already at
tained, either were already perfect"
but he describes his own life as one
OF constant conflict $50 fight T." he
exclaims, mot as one that beateth the
air" 1t is no sham fight, but a des-
perate encounter. Using the phrase
ology Of the boxing match, he tells us
lin the ninth chapter Of his letter to
the Corinthians-how he bruises and
beats down his unruly carnal nature
and gives it "a black eye" The ex-
perience Of the great apostle has been
the experience Of the strongest and
maturest Christian ever since his day.
Spurgeon, when writing to a friend
about his repeated attacks Of disease.
said THE tendency of my sickness
to return still abides-like original sin
in the unregenerate."
Pauls conflict was Just like ours;
1t was with that inside demon-or
"house-deyil," as Rutherford calls it
Of selishness, which kept rising up in
new disguises after he had snlitten it
down with sturdy blows. No one can
become true Christian until Jesus
has been admitted into the soul. If
this single process-which we call
the end of it, then
the Christian life would be compara-
lively easy. But SELF is adroit and
cunning, and persists in stealing back
into the heart under all kinds Of sub
tie DISCUSSES. We sometimes gain a
victory over it and imagine that we
have attended its funeral, and, lol
there it is again up and lively as ever.
This is the battle which we have to
fight every day Of our lives; 1t is the
conflict between self in some
form and the claims of our Lord and
Savior.
There Is another side to all this, a
side that angels must delight to look
upon. The victories which true grace
Is winning every day in human hearts
are the trophies which will make the
stars in the diadem of the conquering
Christ. The story Of self-denials and
runs like a thread of gold
through the Book of the Acts of the
Apostles-it is the record that no
'coffing skeptic can gainsay. Christ,s
leople are never so exalted as when
heir pride is down in the dust; they
re never so rich as when giving the
most abundantly; they are never so
ull as when emptied of self; they
lever advance SO nobly as when their
mbitions of a worldly kind are set
ack;- they never win SUCH glorious
rowns as those which are woven out
I crosses borne for Christ Jesus.
Why has God ordered it that every
life shall be one Of cease
sss conflict? If Paul is sinless to-day
4 Heaven. why was he left to io bat
e with Inward and outward l1es at
very step Of his heroic career? Ger
iinly for this one reason (whatever
Tiers there may be), that this life is
My the preparatory training school
,r another world, and no man shall
ear crown unless he strive for 1t.
o trut child of God should be dis
ouraged because his Christian life is
a incessant conflict with self in
undred forms, or with the assaults
affliction. Fight without ceasing ?
cans pray without ceasing,' too y
ev. Theodore L. Cuyler. Il