Graham guardian., 1915-06-25

ture We are all
sinners under sentence of death. But
God tells us that He purposes 70 bless
the world by and by, through the great
Millennial Kingdom that will help
mankind up out Of degradation. sin
and death to full perfection of human
nature. Meantime, He is taking out of
the world Church class, to be asso,
ciated with our Lord in the work of
blessing the world. Jesus Himself will
be the Head Of this company. and they
will be the Body of Christ. Whoever
desires to become member of this
Body must comply with the required
conditions.
Evidently the one quality for which
God Is looking Is honesty-sincerity OF
heart All whom God Is now receiv.
ing are honest-hearted. If He has thus
favored us with the Truth, 1t Is for us
to maintain this honesty, otherwise we
shall lose His favor. It requires hon
csty to confess that we are sinners
There is tendency on the part OF
mankind to say. II am all right" But
everybody knows that we all come
short Of perfection. If we confess our
sins. we demonstrate our honesty; and
He who made arrangement Tor the for.
giveness Of sin Is faithful to forgive
us. If we assert that we are not sin.
ners we make God liar Il John
10. 10.
Tho Terms of Discipleshp.
The Pastor then discussed the terms
Of membership in the Body of Christ
The candidate must first turn away
from sin and toward God. TO those
who have taken that step and are de
sirOus Of progressing, the Lord Jesus
says, sit down and count the cost"
The Bible never urges anybody along
this line, neither does God nor the
Lord Jesus Christ
There Is only one way to become a
Cnristian-tO enter into a Covenant
with God. A Covenant is positive
agreement The call Of the Gospel Age
Is one of sacrifice-to give up every
thing of an earthly nature. This is
the Covenant which our Lord Jesus
made: it is the only kind to be made
now. Whoever would be follower of
the Lord, must make the same Cove
nant of Sacrifice - Psalm 59:5: He
brews 1877.
The Church are to be joint-heirs with
Christ in His Heavenly Inheritance.
III we suffer with Him we shall also
reign with IIiSn." Whoever has counted
the cost and desires to become Christ's
disciple. must follow our Lords in
StructiOn: "If any man wills to be My
disciple, let him deny himself, take up
his cross and follow Me" To deny
himself Is to give up his will to the
Lord Jesus Christ; for every member
of the Body Of Christ must be In alb
sOlute accord with the Head.
A Great Work Of Transformation.
The speaker then explained that a
great work of transformation goes on
after one becomes u member of the
Lords family. No slave was ever un.
der greater bondage than is u Chris.
tian to his Master; for even the very
thoughts Of Christian are to be
brought into subjection to the Divine
will That will decides how he shall
spend his time, what kind of clothing
he shall wear, how much he shall eat,
etc. whether ye eat or drink or what
sOever ye do, do all to the glory of
God If he is thus rightly exercised.
he will receive u great blessing both
in his mind and in his body The
peace Of God, which passeth all under.
standing, will rule In his heart and |
life, through Christ Jesus
In conclusion the Pastor eXhOrted his |
audience to confess the Lord and to be |
loyal to Him to the core. Were there |
any present who had not given them
selves to the Lord, his advice would be
that they do so: that they tell the Lord |
that they accept all His gracious ar |
that they have given up |
their own wills and are taking up their |
cross to follow Him. The speaker re- |
minded them. however, that this course |
will cost tile crossing of their own wills |
and the denying of themselves even as |
II was with the Master.
He that despiScth you despiseth
Me" When we consider that our Lord |
is represented by His members In the
iesh we see that love for the brethren
means love for the Lord Therefore
whoever is ashamed of the brethren
of Christ is also ashamed of the Elder
that he is not TT for membership In
the Kingdom.