Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-01-21
DIR. MARION NH. HULL.


DIR. MARION NH. HULL.
When Paul was in Corinth he wrote
to the Christians in Rome of his pur-
pose to visit them. and explaining some
of the doctrines not clear to them.
Some Jews still felt they had a peculiar
advantage because they were of the ma
ton of Israel and there were some
Gentiles who felt that the Jews had no
further chance since they had rejected
the offer God had made them in Christ
To set both right, Paul wrote this let
ter. Il am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ; for 1t is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believ-
eth"
Briefly stated, the argument is this:
The Gentiles have sinned and are with
out excuse. The Jews have sinned and
are without excuse. God is no respecter
of persons: all have sinned and are with
out excuse We are justified by faith;
even this is true in Abraham's case
Everything that we have is due to the
love of Jesus, and is free gift, and
cannot be bought by anything that we
are or have done.
Being justified by faith, we must live
a new life, the life of faith, new
sphere in which we are dead to sin and
alive to God. We are free from the
bondage of the law and are led by the
Spirit
This is also applicable to Israel The
Jews had certain advantages and were
saved in the same way as the Gentiles;
this in spite of the fact that apparent
ly as a nation they have been cast off,
The full truth however. is that the ma
ton is not cast off entirely, but a rem
nant will be grated in again.
During all this Paul urges his leaders
to a consecrated life. a life which has
due respect for authority.
THE SPIRIT LIFE.
With this as a background, we can
better appreciate the eighth chapter of
Romans. the basis for our study. Late
ly We have been studying about God s
Spirit In this passage, in which Paul
deals with the life of faith, which has
been received as the free gift of God
through the life of Christ, he tells us
how this life of faith may beslived
through the power of the indwelling
Spirit. He has been speaking of a new
sphere into which his life has been cast
since he has been justified by faith, and
yet of his struggles to live as he would;
for, while he is free from the law, yet
he has not yet been made holy, and
tween his old and new natures. Finally
he realizes the great struggle and his
inability to do what he would do, and
eXclaims, ooh, wretched man that l ami
Who shall deliver me from this dead
body (using as an illustration that
which the Romans understood for when
they would punish a criminal they
chained to him corpse, which he had
to drag around with him). Finally he
realized that, while he could not do it
himself, Christ could, and he ends
Il thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord" Immediately he goes into this
eighth chapter, where he shows that
there is no judgment to those who walk
by the Spirit, and that what he could
not do of himself the Holy Spirit en-
abled him to do. and he gives this won
derful statement of the life of faith.
This life consists in putting to death
the actions of the body 1t has certain
characteristics, just the opposite of
those of the life of the flesh Let us
see what they are. Instead of bondage
there is freedom; instead of fear there
is confidence.
The children of God are guided by the
Spirit of God. and are assured by Him
that they are children, so that they lose
their fear and begin to cry Abba,
Father" That is, as a little baby learns
to know his parents he says papa"
and then later on learns to know him
as his father" If we can Just rea-
lie that we are Gods children every
thing else will clear up; difficulties will
disappear like clouds before the sun
But sonship carries with it even more;
for we are made heirs of God joint
heirs with Jesus Christ, and receive as
our right when we have been adopted
into the family everything that God has
to give. Even glory-we shall share
Christ glory with. Him if we suffer
with Him also.
This brings us to the second charac-
teristic of the life of Faith. 1t is suf-
fering; not suffering without hope, but
suffering which is made light by the
greatest hope. We have not only hope
for the individual, but the whole crea-
tion groans under the suffering of
present sin, waiting for the time when
Jesus comes again, when creation it
self will experience the joys of His full
redemption. When Adam sinned the
ground was cursed for his sake, but
because of the second Adams death for
sin, the curse will be removed from the
ground, even, and the reaper shall over
take him that soweth the seed, so fer
tile will the ground be-
And the third characteristic of the
lie OF the spirit Is aH edHlltSl S6thlnS
to please God We know that i'm the
life of the flesh it is impossible TO
please God, that that life is at enmity
with God, and nothing that it does is
pleasing to Him. But in the life of
the Spirit we may please Him, for in
our seeking for what His will is We
have the help of His Spirit who helps
our infirmities so that We are taught
what to pray for and how to pray for
the thing which will be pleasing to Goo.
Yes, in everything we have His aid and
His interest, no matter what may come
into our live: Eve know that all things
work together for good to them thai;
love God" Ii may seem hard, this life,
but its end is glory, for in His own
way and for His own glory, and by
His own will, He has called some and
determined beforehand that they shall
be made like His Son; that there might
be the great brotherhood of which Jesus
the Son of the Head. And those whom
He has called and predestined, He has
justified, and those whom He justifies,
He also glorifies.
What a marvellous life this life Of