The Lambertville record., 1909-11-10

Hebrews Ii. I'D. !
ooCes-.-.-.-s-.-s-s-s-s- -s-s.s-s-s-.-s-s-s-s-s-s0
reign Of Mcssiah-that 1t will be a
time OF blessing. of uplifting mankind,
and that therein the elect saints of this
age will be privileged to cooperate
with their gloritlcd Redeemer in bring
lug about the upllft. the resurrection,
the restitution of all who will then
prove willing and obedient.
The term saint" is not a sectarian
one. 1t occurs over one hundred times
in the Bible, mostly in the plural form.
saints" Our text speaks of saint
Redeemer to be one Of these-their
Head. their Lord. He declares that all
the sancti0ed of this Gospel Age are
one--of one spirit and iiguratively of
one Body. As for instance. the House
of Lords is one body under a chair
man, and the House of Commons is
another body. The United States Sen
ate is another; aud the House Of Rep.
resentatives Is another. So the Church
IL the Body of Christ over which he is
the Head. the Presiding officer and
Member But the point specially to be
noticed Is that all who will belong
ultimately to this Church class which
from amongst men will (eyery one Of
themI be saints. every one Of them he
sanctliied.
| The word .'sanetified" signifies to be
set apart to holy usage or services. as
distinct and separate from any earthly
ambition, calling or business. Never
theless these sanctified ones are not
merely the clergy or those without
earthly responsibilities. While our
heavenly Father Is n great King. the
King of the Universe, he nevertheless
has made Il plan which enables even
the humblest of his creatures to ap-
proach him through the merit Of the
blood of Jesus, aud by faith and obedi.
cnce to the extent Of his ability In
sacrifice, to become a joint-heir with
his Redeemer in the heavenly King
dom. Thus the present Gull Is confined
TO call to sanctification. AS st. Paul
declares. This is the will of God (eon
cerning YOU. even your sanctification'
Il Thessalonians ", ~.
The word saint" signifies holy
one" "sanctihed one" "set apart or,
taken ms n whole, 1t signifies one set
apart to holy usages, services. etc. We
are quite ready to admit that these are
comparatively small number Mt the
present time; as the Scriptures de
clare. "a little lock;" and again. mot
many" and again. few there be that
find It,"
When we say that God is now select
ing a special class to be jolnt-heirs
with Christ and that he has deter
mined that this special class shall con
sist exclusively of the sanctIfied. let us
not be misunderstood to mean by this
that in the next age God will accept tt
his favor the unsanctified. the wicked
The conditions during the Millcnnial
| Age will be much easier for mankind
than are present conditions OF the
| Church. the elect. the saints. Now we
must walk by faith; then we will walk
darkness will have passed away, and
the light OF Truth will food and cover
| the whole earth, so that, as the prophet
says, '"They shall teach no more every
man his ncighbor. saying. know the
Lord; for they shall all know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest Of
them, saith the Lord Jeremiah XXI.
34. The rewards for obedience to the
Divine requirements In the Millennium
will be the earthly rewards, eternal
life or the earthly restitution plane
The reward proffered to those who
now walk the narrow way by sclf.sac.
rllce Is a spiritual one glory. honor
and Immortality on the spirit plane,
like unto the holy angels-and higher
than this: like unto our Lord Jesus In
his glorified state; as seen by the Apos-
tie. shining above the brightness Of
the sun at MONDAY" (Acts XVI. 10.
We must guard also against the
thought that the total number OF God q
elect would be as small number as
the calendar Of the saints recognized
by some of our Christian friends might
imply. We hold that none IL able to
judge definitely on this subject, except
the Master. He has given US general
intimatlons OF the lines OF his decision.
but he has not permitted US to deter
mine the matter, saying, Judge moth
Ing before the time" We are to con.
tent ourselves. therefore, with the
thought that "thc Lord knoweth them
that are his" and that he Will accept
no one who In any degree is disloyal
IN heart, and that he will overlook aud
neglect no one who IL Of the proper at
titude OF heart We understand. too.
that our Lord is no respector OF de.
nominationai lines, but that. In every
sect, he who loves God. and who ac-
cepts the merit Of Christ by faith. and
who presents his body a living sacri-
| fee daily unto death in the Lords
serviee-all such are his disciples aud.
as stated in our text. He will not be
ashamed TO call them brethren" But
| all Of this, be II noted. Is based, not
upon their earthly Church relationship.
but upon their sanctillcation OF heart.
their relationship 10 their Redeemer
and Head. Jesus. Not only may these
be found by the Lord In various de-
nominations. but of various ages. of
various colors. OF various nationalities.
OF either sex. and on various levels.
One may be n washerwoman. anothe.
farmer, another exercising his tai
ents In business directions, another
giving his time as a Pastor. priest or