The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-10-04
works viii be required each year. each

49, 1
| works viii be required each year. each
century, OF their experience.
Finally. before the glorious Epoch
shall conclude-before Messiah shall
turn over the Kingdom to Justice-all
the willing and Obedient will have
come to full perfection and hence to
full capacity for perfect works and
| God will demand them: they will
therefore be the standard or test In
| the worlds trial Day-"They shall be
| judged every man. according to his
works" In both these Judgments we
see Justice and Mercy tremendously
| working together In the interests of
those on trial. the differences between
the two operations being such merely
as adapt them to the conditions of the
individuals OIL trial
Come Now to Our Text.
| A glance at our text shows that 1t re-
lates to the present Age and not to the
| period Of Messiah's Kingdom. The
Apostle is addressing those called to
joint-heirship in the Kingdom, of
whom he says In the context that
| God In mercy hath quickened us with
Christ and raised us up together to a
| heavenly station in Christ Jesus, that
in the Ages to come we might show
| the exceeding riches of His grace In
His kindness toward US through Christ
Jesus" Without question these words
apply to the Elect Church. and with
equal certainty they cannot properly
be applied to the non-elect world,
whose opportunity for blessing belongs
to the next Age and will come to them
from the Father. through the Son. by
the Church in glory.
| Our text contains another statement
which has been the cause Of much dis
pute. namely. the one which declares
that I'VE are saved by grace through
faith, and that not Of ourselves, it is
the gift Of God" 1t is easy to under
stand the forepart of this statement.
| that we are saved by grace. and easy
also to understand the last part. name
| ly, that we are not saved by works and
that. therefore. none of US has any
ground for boasting in our salvation.
ID
even as others" We were under the
sentence Of death and could not recov-
er ourselves from that condition. What
ever, therefore, should be done for us
to help us out of our condemnation and
fallen condition would necessarily he of
grace. and also of God. Now we come
to the more difficult part of our text.
THAT Not Of Yourselves
How shall we understand the sug,
gestion that the faith is not Of our
selves but is the gift Of God? Surely
God does not exercise faith for us, and
surely also He does not develop the
| faith in us by some miraculous power.
for In either Of these cases the saints
would be merely machines. reactfng as
acted upon. This would neither de-
velop nor prove character, nor In any
wise fit and prepare us for the glorious
| work to which we have been called.
How is it Gods gift?. 4.
There IS one view of this statement
| which we believe clears it of all mys-
terry and, makes, 1t entirely harmonious
with Divine Justice and our RESPONSE
bility lit is this: -;
Faith In possible only where there
| is a basis of knowledge: In proportion.
therefore. as Divine providence grants
US knowledge Of Himself and of His
great PLAN. in that proportion. is II
possible for us, to exercise faith In
that Plan. and by our .,endeavors to
demonstrate the strength and sincerity
Of our faith. While it Is true that our
knowledge depends in large measure
upon our application In the study OF
the Divine WOrd-upOn our use of the
means and opportunities placed within
our reach by kind Providence-nev-
ertheless there are millions of our race
who have had no opportunity what
ever for knowledge. ,r..
For instance, during the more than
four thousand years from Adam to the
days of Jesus. knowledge and oppor-
tunity for faith were very limited.
For more than two thousand years
God made no direct revelation what
ever of His good Intentions in respect
to sending Savior. and the delivery
Of our race from the bondage of sin
and death Then the Message sent
was semi-private. To Abraham God
declared His intention of blessing the
world eventually. and further that this
blessing would come through Abra-
hams posterity. But what did the
masses Of mankind at that time know
Of that promise? Faith in that prom
Use was counted to Abraham for
righteousness: and the same with
Isaac and Jacob. Ultimately the prom
ise descended TO the nation of Israel.
Finally. Jesus came. and that which
had been promised began to have an
| actually. fulflment. Yet even then
the thing offered was so different from
! that which the Israeiites had for CEN
turtles expected that the majority of
them wholly failed to exercise the nec-
essary faith and to enter into the priv.
iIeges OF the hour-membership In Spir
itual Israel as sons Of God begotten
% "a higher nature. So. says the Apos-
lie. Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for. but the election
sbtained 1t and the rest were blinded"
Only the few had sutficiency of faith
10 make use of their knowledge. a
"lf Our Gospel Be Hid"
ST Paul declares that the Gospel is