The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-04-26

of the Lord. Spirit or Promise. Spirit
OF Truth, Holy one, Comforter G'ara-
c1ete). Jesus calls MIN the Com
forter (John -: 16; IL: -"
1t Is of great Importance from the
standpoint of worship that We decide
whether tho Holy Spirit is a divine
person, or simply an influence emanat-
ing from God The fact of the per
sonality Of the Holy Spirit ie proven
by the use 1f personal pronouns in
referring TO him. Reference to such
passages as John ! 5: 20. John Is: T. s,
3 and IA. Will reveal the fact that
The Holy Spirit s spoken Of rs II +.
II o ver personal characteristics,
acts offices and treatment are as
crlbed to the Holy Spirit, leading to
the grounded belief that the Holy
Spirit is a person. not merely an in
ffnence 1T is OF the highest ex-
perimental Importance that we know
the Holy spirit as person MANY
can testify TO the blessing that came
into their lives wnen they came t"
know the HOLY Spirit not merely as
gracious influence eInanatI0g II Is
true from Cod nut as an ever present
loving friend ana helper"
The convicting power OF the Holy
ia a prerequisite to all the gracious
Influences which he eN=rts when con-
sidered in his relation to Christians.
IN John 1s: s Jesus plainly pointed out
| what the Holy Spirit would DO for
/ the unreeenerated world o. con
Wet the world In respect OF SIN and
If Righteousness. and or JUDGMENT,
Conviction has been defined as "a
painful knowledge Of sinful self ana
~, Iey. ~
except through the HolV Spirit. The
/ instrument which he employs for
I bringing men tp conviction for sin ~
/ the sword of the Spirit" the word OF
/ God as read. heard, believed There
, is evidence in the Scriptures and in
common experience that the convtc-
| ton for sin wrought hs The Holy SPIRIT
! does not always lead 10 conversion
Felix trembled and Ag~ppa was al
most persuaded. but they were not
! saved. Many men have heard the
word taught or preached and been
wonderfully moved by II. YET have
gone on in their sins TO their destruc-
ton Effective conviction is illustrated
in Peters sermon on the day or Pente-
cost when they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and the rest
Of the apostles, Brethren, what shall
we dor And Peter said unto them.
Repent We, and he haptizedsevery one
p Of YOU IN the name OF Jesus Christ,
and VI shah receive the gift OF the
Holy Spirit. .... Then they that re-
ceived his Word were baptized; and
there were added unto them in that
day about three thousand souls"
The blessings of the Holy Spirit In
the Christians life may be summarized
az follows:
l. The Holy Spirit eets the believer
= free from the law OF sin and death
| fRomanS 8: ~.
.. The Holy Spirit strengthens the
) believer with power In the inward
man tEph. g. Is. Revised version>.
3. The Holy Spirit leads into q
life OF holiness (Roman- s: ~,
4. The Holy Spirit witnesses with
our spirits that we are the children Of
God (Romans &: is),
&. The Holy Spirit bears fruit In
the believer in the graces OF Christ
) tGal. s; -. s3).
6. The Holy Spirit guides the 30.
lever into all truth tJohn 1e: 10y.
, 7. The Holy Spirit helps the Christ.
ian to rray Jude 20; Eph. S: 49,.
: 8. The Holy Spirit caIls men and
sends them forth to definite Christian
!. service (Acts, IS: 2-4)
O. The Holy Spirit onfck-ns ths
, mortal body CT fhe believer fRomans
s: ny.
There are two extremes W c
Christians should by all means seek Il
: avoid in connection with evangelisti'
meetings, or what are commonl,
!. called ''revivals'' The first Is over
:. emphasis upon organi2ation-the ma
chinery of evangelism. without ahso
: lutte dependence upon the power o
the Holy Shirt to convict and convert
I The second is n complete neglect o
arrangements and plans for reaching
people through organized effort unde
( the idea that we must depend entiref
upon the Holy Spirits power. Per
y haps every evangelist has at som
time or other come upon each o
r these situations. In either case tn
work of soul-winning has been eeri
r ously interfered with, 1t matters no
how able the preacher may be. HOY
:. beautiful the singing. or how thorough
e the organization OF the forces an
field. in the last analysis the churche
are Ruthless OF real conversions un
e less the Holy Spirit does his blesse'
X Office work. But if meeting Is an
s nounced. a preacher engaged. an
o the people settle down'to the idea tina
= he will bring the revival with him
: reach the people by his own powe
n and effort, and the gospel prove ir
n restible to thu unsaved, II IL alto
x gether likely that there will be it'll
: or no fruit. Intelligent organization
v is needed in evangelism, coupled wit
:, strong supplicatfon to God for tn
L outpouring Of the Holy Spirit upol