The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-05-04
CREATION DRAMAS
Continued From Page Five.

ing-thts Body Of Christ. which is the
Church"
Tho Pastor then stated the terms and
~condItiOr3 upon which any one is elici
bic to membership in the Body Ct
Christ: The Father gives the invita-.
ton while the High Calling Of this Age
is open. he u~o1ninates, those who ac-
cept the call, but each must elect him.
self BIZ compliance with the terms and
conditions. The speaker explained that
the call ~ g. drawing toward Coda
desire to come nea to Him. Some
have lit from birth, others get It at
their mothers knee. others through a
hymn, q book, through hearing the
Scriptures. etc. Whatever thus points
to Christ as the Way to God consti-
tutes a call, an invitation.
Walking In the Narrow Way.
Those who have heard the call. con.
tinued the Pastor, must learn that the
first step 10 to turn away from sin.
Next they must learn that God has
made provision through the death of
His Son whereby sins may be forgiven.
To those who take these two steps the
Savior says, "If any man will come
after Me, let him deny himself, take
up his CROSS and follow Me-" The
speaker explained that to deny ones
self Is to give over ones self-suflcIen-
cy, ones desire to DO his W will. and
to accept instead the Divine will. It
is just az If the person had died: he
is no longer his own. He has died to
all earthly ambitions, hopes, aims and
desires, and receives in their stead new
ambitions, hopes, aims and desires.
The Pastor next showed what It is to
take up the cross. One Just starting
in the narrow way to life will not
know what his cross Is TO be-. But
gradually he will perceive that 1t is the
crossing OF self-w1ll with the Divine
will. This will be manifest in various
ways, which may not be fully under.
stood at first; but II the conservation
was genuine, every trial will sooner or
later prove to be q blessing, and the
child Of God viii learn to rejoice in
what once seemed to be trtbulation.
Then the Pastor explained what Is
meant by following Christ. This sig
mites patient continuance in bearing
the cross. The n walking In the mar
row way must demonstrate to Divine
satisfaction that the character IS fixed
for truth, loyalty to God, to Ills Word,
to the principles Of righteousness.
This does not NEAR that the flesh Is
TO be perfected, the Pastor claimed,
but the New C~reature-the new will.
God well knows that In fallen human
nature there dwells no perfection.
Whatever is done In spite of ones en-
deavors to do right results from fleshly
weakness, and is not counted as sin.
But whatever wrong 1s done willingly
is sin. The weaknesses Of the flesh, of
the fallen nature, are covered with the
robe OF Christ's righteousness. There
fore It Is the New Creatures privilege
to go on from grace to grace, thus be-
coming more and more a copy of Gods
dear Son. our Lord and Savior.
The Church, Which Is Christ's Body.
According to the Pastor, all who have
taken these steps have come into the
Body Of Christ, the Church, which is
composed Of all begotten Of the Holy
Spirit. These were begotten Of the
Spirit at the moment when they pre-
scented their bodies living sacrifices in
Jesus anne. Then they were imme-
d1ately accepted of God and became
members in the Body Of Christ, all of
whom have the same amounting as that
of the Head of fhe Church
In the case Of the Apostles there was
q particular manifestation on the day
of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit, which
had first come upon Jesus the Head,
on that day flowed down upon the
shoulders, SO to speak, the Apostles
being the first members Of the Body.
Since then, all who come into the Body
come under the same amounting, as
members In particular Of the Body of
Christ, related to Jesus as New Crea-
lures In Christ, to whom old things
have passed away and all things be-
come new. We are not to speak nor
to think lightly OF any one whom God
accepts into this Body and who has,
through conservation, received the be-
geCLlnR or the holy spirit.
The GIorified Body Of Christ.
The spirit-begotten Body of Christ,
the Pastor thinks, will not be alto
the Body Of Christ In glory.
He believes that some who are now
On probation will prove to be I'M
worthy to be members in that glorious
Body. Only those who, after having
been begotten Of the Holy Spirit, shall
press faithfully on to the end of their
course, will become the real kings and
Of the future. he then ex-
planned why soue will fail to make
their calling and election sure to per
manent membership In the Body Of
Christ. These, he declared, will be Of
two classes. One class who fail to
make their calling and election sure
to membership in the glorifed Body of
are those who turn away from
the holy commandment, who return to
wallowing in the .mire OF Gin. For this
class, st. Peter says, there remains
only the bIsckness Of darkneas-the
Second Death. q Peter AIT, II, 22)
These have had all their share Of the
blessings and have misused them; and
80 there is nothing further for them in
Gods Plan.
The other class who also fail to
reach the goal Of membership in the
glorined Body OF Christ are those who
have neither denied the Lord that
bought them nor returned 10 wRIlow-