The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1920-02-28

ing sacrifice. There is nothing in thi
injunction that ever hints at asceticisn
1t is simply IN exhortation to devot
to God our bodies which rightly be
long to him. This is a reasonabl,
service, and we shall understand it I
be such if we keep in mind that eve
u bodies do not belong to us but :
God, and that they are the temples %
the Holy Spirit Il Cor. 6:19-2O).
We now naturally ask, how shall W
present our bodies as a living sac
ice? If we turn to the sixth chapt
Of Romans we shall find the answer t
this question. In that chapter w
read, "Let not sin therefore reign
your mortal body, that We should ODE.
It in the lust thereof neither yield yt
your membera as Instruments of ur
Righteousness unto sin; but yield your
selves ndtQs GOD. d those that ar
alive from the dead. and your menlbes
as instruments Of righteousness until
God" .
The second thing urged upon us BY
our text is noncomformity to this age:
B not conformed to this world" or
as better rendered, ito this age" This.
if it means anything, means that we
are not to be like the time in which
wIive. which IS called evil by the
word of God. Paul's expression con-
corning it is, This evil age" In thus
characterizing the age in which we
1.-Two Da1l docs not paoaccariIv mann
that everything in it is bad, but rather
that evil is its distinguishing or char
acteristic mark. 1t was with knowl-
edge of this fact that Jesus, in his in
tercessory prayer, prayed for his
disciples of all time, saying, 81 pray
not that thou shouldst take them out
of the world, but that thou shouldst
keep them from the evil"
1t should be evident to all that this
injunction ear that we as Christians
are not to fashion lives after thi
age so that they correspond with it
but we are to take a position toward
this age that will put us out of CORE
spondence with its evil. This unques
tionably means that we shall b.
obliged oftentimes to decline to ALLOW
u lives to be governed by the habit
and customs of our times. We canno'
if we obey God, be in agreement wit
those things that are contrary to III
standard which God has set for u
This may meal that we shall be col
sidered by the world a queer people
but If this cause us humiliation W
should be perfectly willing to suffe
shame for Christ's sake. In fact, tn
word of God tells us that Jesus Chris
gave himself for us that he Nigh
redeem us from all iniquity and purify
unto himself a peculiar people, zealou'
of good works."
The third injunction of our text is
"Be We transformed by the renewin
of your mind" More, you see, is ex
pected of us as Christians than o
conformity to this age. We are to b.
not only unlike it, but entirely differ
ent from it. The word transformed
is the same word translated trans
figured" in the accounts concernin:
Christ when he took Peter, James anf
John with him into the mountain
apart from the rest of the disciples
and was, if we now use the word o
our text, transformed" before then
The accounts tell us that "His face dit
shine as the sun, and his raiment wa
white as the light" OF course it l.
not expected of US that we shall hav.
such a supernatural appearance as dif
Christ, but that our life shall partak
of the characteristics of that c%ountr!
toward which we are travelling. 81
that those who see us shall know BY
our conduct that our citizenship is il
heaven.
The text tells us the divine way b!
which we may be transformed. 1t is
'by the renewing of the mind" If WI
turn to Titus 3:5 we shall see hat thi.
is the work in us of the Holy Spirit
There we read of the renewing of III
Holy Ghost" Brethren, if we are t
be unlike this age, and like the age 1
come, it will be only as we allow Coz
through the Holy Spirit, to 'renew on
minds"