Arizona republican., 1913-07-28

i before a large congregation, and is published by request. It is one Of a series of summer talks on The Heart of the Gospel" In the main 1 Dr. Deere spoke as follows:
 Before we can arrive at the truth of the doctrine of sanctification two things must happen. First, our pre- conceived ideas must suffer them selves to be tested by the word of 1 God, and prejudices must be put aside. I plead for the open mind We draw down the blinds to keep out the light but that is a bad attitude to take toward truth. Sanctification- let us be willing to throw up the blinds that new light may enter, and the windows too, for sometimes our ideas get stale and our vision warped.
 Then. too, nobody can know the truth about sancitification until he is willing to weigh all the scripture on the subject. comparing text with text. The hungry dog may seize one bone out of the pile and run away with it, but as Bible students We dare not lift a text out of it's setting and keep it separate from others that re late to the same subject It is not always easy to take a single bone and to reason from that back to the animal of which it was a part. You may De putting a chicken bone into a guinea or the bone of a sheep into the body of dog. Reserve your Judgment until you get all the bones together and your conclusion will probably be true. Sanctification- the word occurs in text after text and all the scriptures must be brought together, or you will be as far from the truth when putting the bones of a bleating sheep into the anatomy of barking dog.
 Now if your mind is open until you are willing to hear what the Bible has to say about the subject. am ready to ask with profit the aIl- interesting question: What is sane tiflcation ?' Well, it is not a spiritual spasm like some Christians have in revival seasons. For when the spasm passes away the spirituality is apt to go with it. Measles, humps. whooping cough, we have but once and that is the end of it if it is not the end of us. But sanctificatfon regeneration and must never cease till Mother Earth closes in upon our mortal bodies. T am still pressing on,' shouted Paul, toward the close of a long life of victory over sin.
 SancttficatiOn is not life of com plete holiness to be realized here. Some of you have thought it was The nearer we reach perfection here below the better it will be for all But we must not project ourselves falsely into the belief that God OK poets us to be sinless while in the flesh, for Encouragement will sadder our features and despair will cast it's gloom over our path True, God does command, Be ye holy even as I am holy,' but many things assure us that the realization of that ideal must await our complete transforma- ton into the likeness of Christ when We shall see Him face to face
 No man yet has been known to reach the point of perfection Paul said he had nOt-'I do not count myself to have apprehended.' Noah, one of the best men, imbibed too freely of the wine. David. whose feet scaled the heights of holy achieve ment, slipt and fell till his heartbreak came out in the bitter vail: Create in me clean heart, O God," Job. whom the Bible calls a perfect man. was so much better than his fellows that he was relatively perfect. but under the heavy hand of affIiction that rested upon him Job lost his patience and cursed the day of his birth John, whose purity of life and spotless reputation gave him the GOV eted privilege of resting his head in 1 the bosom of the Son of God, later seized his pen and wrote in the i strongest words his own history as well as yours and mine: If we say that we have no sin. we deceive our selves. and the truth is not in us" l
 One man of whom I have read | seemed to think he had reached the ] goal and going to MT. Moody he de- | cIared the same. But the experience 1 ed evangelist who had been fighting | sin in himself and in others so long said: T will go ask your wife about | 1t. Immediately the man lost his temper. and forthwith he saw that i an ungoverned temper and sanctifica- i ton cannot abide in the same life.
 l have no doubt there is a higher iesree of holiness for each of us than we have yet reached, and we ought to strive for it. Certain am 1 -fs4t satisfaction with meager spirit lahty IS one of the blots on the es- cutcheon of our Christian living. I
 
 nore rapidly be changed into the mage of Gods Son But as to any 'f us ever reaching the point where We can say, T am sinless," God does lot require it. The Bible distinctly declares the contrary, and the ex- 'erience of men in all ages discounts he fact.
 Well. if sanctification is not re iival fire or the living of a perfect 1 fife on the earth, what does the text nean-"This is the will of God even 1 our sanctification? This sanctifica- ion as used in the Bible has two meanings. First it means set apart or God. In this sense we read in 1Xodus that the first born. both of nan and beast, was to be consecrat- ,d-a sanctified beast and a sancti- led man being one that was devoted o Gods service. In this senbe Moses