The Penn's Grove record., 1911-08-25

which every man who has
really tried to live a Christ-like life
must have discovered by experience.
Our natural impulses and desires lead
away from God, not toward God. By
nature we desire pleasure, we desire
outward success, we desire to have
our W way, we desire to assert our
selves and to maze those about us
1eel that we are as good, as smart,
as capable as any of them. And
within proper bounds-that is, under
subsection to the desires that should
be uppermost in our hearts-some of
these natural desires are lawful and
wholesome. But the trouble is that
these natural impulses take posses
sion of our hearts and crowd out the
desire for the on.y kind of life that
Is worth living-a lif. of sacrifice and
of LOVING service. And for this reason
these impulses, which Paul describes
as'the mind of the flesh" instead
Of being helpful to us, become harm
full; they antagonize every effort on
our part to form higher conceptions
of the meaning of life and to live in
the light of these higher conceptions.
1t follows therefore that they that
are in the flesh cannot please God"
No man who is under the control of
his natural impulses. however inno-
cent these may seem to be, can live
a life of subsection to the law of
God or of service for God.
Answer to Problem.
What then? How can a man
change his own nature, so that in
stead of coveting and striving after
the things of this life as his chief OBJ,
ject of pursuit, he will take delight
in making sacrifices for the sake of
Christ, and in trying to promote the
glory of Christ?
There is only n answer to that
question: He canno, do it. Not what
I would, that do I practice" Saul
says, "but what l hate, that l do"
For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh; for these are contrary the one
y the other; that We may not do the
things that We would"
The case is quite hopeless when
looked at only in the light of our own
capabilities. Unaided human en-
deavor cannot possibly fit man for
fellowship with God.
Indeed, not only do mans natural
impulses interfere with any attempt
on his part to draw near to God, but
they tend to ALLEVIATE him from God,
SO that he has less and less desire
for fellowship with God the longer he
allows himself to be governed by
these impulses.
This shows the absolute necessity
for the knock-down bloN, which Jesus
gave to Nicodemus. He met the pious
but self-righteous Pharisee with the
startling declaration, "Ye must be
born again." 1t is NJ. merely some
thing more than the righteousness
which you already possess that you
righteousness; you need a change of
heart, a change of nature. And that
is what every nan needs.
Beginning of New Life.
Jesus described the needed change
as a new birth. 1t is the beginning
of a new life, a spiritual life. And
this new birth into a new life is
brought about by the incoming and in
dwelling of the Holy Spirit, who re-
news and vitalizes the spirit of the
MON opd ca oiuoc him on jmpuIco
toward God that is strong enough to
overcome the natural impulses which
lead away from God.
"Ye are not in the flesh, but in
the spirit If SO be that the Spirit
of God dwelleth in you. But if any
man hath not the Spirit of Christ
he is none of His. And if Christ Is
in you the body is dead because of
sin; but the spirit is life because Of
righteousness"
"The body is dead" dead to spirit
ual things, because Of sin" AL
though the man has been born again,
and has become a child of God by the
i~ndwelling of the Holy Spirit. the de-
sires and impulses of his physical ma
ture still lead away from God, but
the spirit Is life because of righteous
ness" He has been washed in the
blood of Christ and made righteous in
Gods sight, and his spirit has been
ouickened and filled with hope and
brought into harmony with God. and
his whole life is inspired by a new