River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-04-02


individually His merit. and thus makes
them holy and acceptable unto God.
who Immediately accepts them and be-
gets them of His Holy Spirit.
Thenceforth they are New Creatures
-'old things have passed away and
all things become new" They are now
counted as members of His glorious
Church Their sins that are past are
all cleansed; and the New Creature
has no defilement of itself. But at
taching to the flesh are certain imper
fections, which from time to time crop
out. The New Creature is to be prompt
to notice these; for the New Creature
is the new will. which henceforth reg
ulates the mortal body.
Apparently some of Gods dear peo-
pie have not realized what contract
they have on hand. Some are inclined
to be careless about watching the very
things which they have been told to
watch It is for all the consecrated
to remember that their first obligation
is in respect to their own flesh. not
that of others. We may give each
other valuable suggestions, but the re-
sponsibility for the body rests with
each as a New Creature. And here we
have the task of our lives; for In our
flesh, as the Apostle says, dwells no
perfection. Some have one degree of
imperfection and some another: some
are more imperfect and blemished in
one way and others in another But as
the Scriptures continually assure us.
there is none righteous, none perfect,
no, not one. We all come short and
need to recognize our shortcomings;
and we are to fight the good fight
against them.
The New Creature In School.
Whoever would be of the class to
which God has called us must Of ne
cessity be developed; therefore who
ever God has called. accepted and be-
gotten of the Holy Spirit are in the
School of Christ. Then begin the les
sons which they must learn-they must
grow in grace, in knowledge and in
love. AS the Apostle explains, they
If they are not thus transformed, they
will not be ready for the Kingdom to
which they are called. This trans
forming is not work in the flesh. al.
though it will affect the flesh to some
extent It is the renewing of the
mind-their minds must become new.
Thereafter matters are to be decided,
not according to their preferences, but
according to certain rinciples-justice
and love. The New Creatures in
Christ have a set of new rules. alto
gether different from what they had
before they became New Creatures.
The world has NO such rules and reg
ulations as those which are applicable
to the New Creatures in Christ. Ev-
erything done by those who are in the
School of Christ must be squared by
the Rule Of Justice. They dare not do
anything that would be unjust to a
neighbor to a brother or to anybody.
To the full extent Of their ability the
New Creatures must render justice.
Many of the Lords people apparently
have not fully realized this fact-that
obedience to the rules governing the
new nature means absolutely the Gold
en- Rule on their part toward all 9th
ers. They must not do to others what
they would not have others do to them.
Because Of failure on the part or
some to recognize this principle, the
way of the Lord is spoken evil OF
sometimes. If a Christian fails to pay
his debts, or if he is careless as to
how he involves himself in debt, it is
because this principle of justice does
not stand out prominently enough be-
fore his mind. AS an old creature he
has perhaps been in the habit OF 1g-
noring the lines of justice and of slid
ing along as he may be able and OF
leaving others in the lurch. This Will
not do for the New Creature; for he
has come under a set of new rules.
and no matter how much the old crea-
ture may seek to shirk, the New Crea-
lures duty is to bring the body into
subsection and to see that justice rules
in every act and word, and so far as
possible in every thought.
"They Shall All Be Taught of God"
To whatever extent the principles of
justice control our minds, to that ex-
tent we have character-likeness to
God. The cultivation of these princ1-
pies in all our actions and dealings, in
all our words and thoughts, must be
our daily concern. 1t may be cOmpar-
atively easy to be just SO far as money
is concerned, to say, | would pay TO
the very last penny, and would live on
the plainest of food rather than be IN
debt; but it is not SO easy to be thor
oughly just in our words and thoughts.
The New Creature is to sit in judg-
ment on every word which his mouth
may utter. 1t is no wonder that st.
James says that if any man sin not
with his tongue the same is perfect
man. The New Creature is to be on
guard that he may be developed along
thiS line and must thoroughly show