The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-11-05

Ashamed to Call Them Brethren" !:
| Hebrews u. I'D. !:
one. 1t occurs over one hundred times
in the Bible, mostly in the plural form,
saints" Our text speaks Of saint
| ~, or sanctiied class, and declares our
Redeemer to be one Of these-their
! Head, their Lord. He declares that all
| the sanctified of this Gospel Age are
| one-of one spirit and 'fguratively of
one Body As for instance, the House
| of Lords is one body under a chair
J man. and the House Of Commons is
another body. The United States Sen
ate is another; and the House of Rep
| is 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
the Lord is now calling and drawing
from amongst men will every one Of
them) be saints, every one of them be
sanctifed.
The word ''sanctifled" 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 a great King. the
King Of the Universe, he nevertheless
has made plan which enables even
the humblest of his creatures to ap-
proach him through the merit of the
blood of Jesus, and by faith and obedi-
ence to the extent Of his ability in
sacrifice. to become a joint-heir with
his Redeemer in the heavenly King
dom. Thus the present call is confined
to a call to sanctification. AS st. Paul
declares. This is the will Of God Com
corning you). even your sanctification"
q Thessalonians iv. 81.
The word saint" signifies "holy
one" .'sanctifed one" "set apart" or,
taken as whole, it signifies one set
apart to holy usages. services. etc. We
are quite ready to admit that these are
a comparatively small number at the
present time; rs the Scriptures de-
clare. "a little flock;" 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 joint-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 to
his favor the unsanctified. the wicked.
The conditions during the Millennial
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
by sight. because Satan and sin and
darkness will have passed away, and
the light of Truth will flood and cover
says, "They shall teach no more every
man his neighbor. 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 self-sac-
rifice 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. 49,.
We must guard also against the
thought that the total number of Gods
elect would be as small a number as
the calendar of the saints recognized
imply. We hold that none is able to
judge definitely on this subject, except
the Master. He has given us general
intimations 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 1.-The 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 and
neglect no one who is of the proper at
titude of heart. We understand, too,
that our Lord is no respector of de-
nominational 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-
flee daily unto death in the Lords
service-all such are his disciples and.
as stated in our text, HE will not be
ashamed to call them brethren" But
all of this, be it noted. is based. not
upon their earthly Church relationship.
but upon their sanctification Of heart,
their relationship to their Redeemer
and Head. Jesus. Not only may these
be found by the Lord in various de-
nomination. but Of various ages. Of
various colors, of various nationalitieS.
of either sex. and on various levels.
One may be washerwoman. another
a farmer another exercising his tai
ents in business directions. another
giving his fine rs Il Pastor. priest or
knoweth them that are his" OIL limo
thy ii, 49,.
How to Become Sanctified.