The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-12-16
PEOPLES PULPIT.
God WOrk
and ours.

Father and our Instructor as the Fa-
TIERS representative; that through him
we may be all taught of God-in the
School of Christ. Next we should note
the Divine method in this work of
grace being carried on In our hearts
from the time we fully submitted
them in full conservation. in faith.
Our text declares that Gods work in
us is divided into two parts-to toiH
and TO do. Let us examine first
How God Works In Us to Will.
The will is the real person or ego.
The body Is merely responsible as the
agent or servant of the will. With
the world the will and the body are
usually at one-sympothetical coop
erative. But in those begotten of Gods
Spirit as his children matters are diff
ferent. Their wills by conservation
are developed along lines quite antag-
onistic to the natural preferences of
their flesh. so that the Apostle wrote.
with the mind | myself serve Tor
desire to server the Law of God, but
with the flesh | serve Tor desire to
serve, the law of sin" (Romans vii.
25). Hence every spirit-begotten per-
son has warfare between his new
mind, with its holy aspirations and de-
sires and it's opponent flesh with its
animal propensities, some good and
some bad. Hence the Apostle exhorts
all these New Creatures to war
good warfare" against their own flesh
and to bring it into subsection to the
New Mind and to the Divine Law.
into captivity to the obedience of
Christ" I'll Corinthians x, 81. This. of
course. would mean absolute perfec-
ton. so far as the New Creature would
be concerned and complete deafness
so far as the flesh is concerned. With
every thought captivated to the Lord
the individual would never In any
sense commit sin other than the sin
of ignorance or imperfection.
God works in the minds of his peo-
pie not along the lines of enslaUement
of the mind after the manner Of Satan
and those who are subject to his de-
lusions-by hypnotiSm. etc. Gods OPP
GRAFTON is the very reverse of this. He
enlightens the mind to do his work. He
displays to our minds gradually light
and Truth purity and goodness in their
true colors. in contrast with sin. ig.
norance and deflement. And In the
same words he sets before us the great
prize of glory. honor and immortality
and joint heirship with our Redeemer
in his Kingdom. The power of these
hopes working in a consecrated mind is
wonderful. 1t can make the naturally
weak strong the naturally timid bold
as lion.
This operation upon the mind is a
gradual one from the time of our be-
getting of the holy Spirit until our
change-not all at once. but gradually,
little by little. the Lord displays to us
one feature after another of his won
derful Plan of salvation. Step by step
he shows to the appreciative and obedi-
ent heart the riches of his grace, his
loving kindness, his tender mercy, the
boundlessness of his love and the ulti-
mate outworking Of his Divine powers
for the blessing Of all of his creatures
who will accept his favors on his own
terms All the while he leaves us free
agents to will in harmony with his
proposition or to reject it. He will
coerce no one. Our Lord Jesus ex-
pressed the Fathers sentiment in this
matter saying. THE Father seeketh
such to worship him as worship him in
spirit and In truth" John iv, 81.
How God Works In Us to Do.
Endeavor to do right naturally fol-
lows right willing. But this does not
signify that God completes work
upon our wills first and then begins a
fresh work upon us, stimulating us to
do right to the best of our ability. On
the contrary, as through his providence
and Word God exercised an influence
upon our wills through the knowledge
of his Truth. little by little each new
point Of Truth was expected to be &C.
knowledged by efforts on our part to
do Gods will to the extent that the
new will was able to control the i'm
perfect body. We may safely con-
clude that each step in right-toilling
must be followed by q step in right
doing before another item of grace and
Truth would be granted as basis for
additional willing and then additional
doing. Thus. as we walk by first put
ting one foot forward and then the
other repeatedly. so the New Creature
walks or progresses by first willing
and next doing the Lords good pleas
ure to the extent Of his ability.
AS surely as the right-willing is the
result Of Divine operation In the re-
vealing of Truth. 80 also Is the right
doing. or the Divine influence in our
hearts working In US both TO toiH and
TO do Gods good pleasure. ST. Peter
gives us a word right to the point.
saying, Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises;
that by these ye might be partakers of
the Divine nature" I'll Peter 1. A..
Work Out Your Own Salvation.
We have heard many improper pray
ers presented at the Throne of Grace
by well-intentioned but misinformed
children of God. Many Christians re-
quest God to do for them that which
he tells them they must do for them
selves. The one who asks amiss some
times leaves the Throne of Grace con-
fident that God will do for him what
God has never promised to do for any
body. but has told us each must do
for himself Many pray. abandon us
not In temptation, but deliver us from
the EVIL One" and then walk straight
into temptation, wholly neglecting the