The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1920-04-15
THE PERSON AND OFFICE OF
THE HOLY GHOST.
By Rev. D. A. Friend.

unlldDle. he is everywhere at Cne
same moment; in heaven above, in
earth beneath, in the sea, and in the
air-everywhere. He sees all things
as they archie understands all things
perfectly; He hears our every word !;
He understands the most profound
secret of every heart, and the dark
ness and the light are both alike to
Him, and if the reader is acquainted
with his Bible he knows that these
assertions are all true.
Now, the Holy Spirit has several
offices which He fills with reference
to our highest spiritual interests, both
for time and for eternity. His first
office is to convict men of sin, of right
eousness, and of Judgment to come.
He counsels, He convinces, but He
never forces men and women into
measures, for that would deprive men
of their free moral agency and the
privilege of each one choosing for
himself. But He stands, as it were,
at the parting of the ways and points
out the broad way and it's consequent
ces and its ruinous results, and points
to the narrow way and the glories to
which it leads. But each one must
decide for himself, for that is the
plan which has been Divinely estab-
lished, and herein lies the awful fact
that every one holds his own eternal
destiny in his own hands.
The way of our salvation has been
well provided, and at the most inf
mite cost, but it is ours to accept or
reject it at our will, and the sacred
Herald stands and cries: Whoever
will may come and partake of the
water of life freely, without money
and without price, "and now when the
wise choice is made, it is the office
of the Holy SPIRIT to approve, and to
comfort, and to bless, and to lead Just
as long as the soul is willing to be
led in the right way. But He never
leads in a wrong way, neither will He
remain with us if we choose to go into
willful sin against the Divine coun-
sci.
But He will be with US as long as
we are with Him, but if we forsake
Him, He will forsake US. David said
to his son Solomon in the day that the
latter was crowned king, as he COM
mended him to God: IF thou seek
Him, He will be found of thee, but
if thou forsake Him, He will cast
thee off forever"
The next office of the Holy Split is
to justify the true penitent-the one
who is truly sorry for his sins, and in
sincere faith turns to the Lord Jesus
to be His forever. for broken and a
contrite heart is Gods acce pied sacri-
flee. Justification is that act of Gods
free grace in which He pardons our
sins and accepts us as righteous in
His sight for the sake of Christ.
And the next Office of the Holy
Spirit is the sanctifcation of the true
believer who ardently desires to live
a holy life, and this sanctifcation
is both progressive and instantaneous
In its progressive state it begins with
justification and it leads on those who
are willing to be thus led unto entire
conservation of soul and body and
spirit, to God, for service and use in
all things, which indeed is the privi-
lege and bounden duty of all Chris
tians, either men or women, and which
is the only sure preventive from fall
ing from grace or going back to the
world, as too many have so shamefully
done, and hence we have the definition
as set forth in the Methodist Cate
chism: "Sanctification is that act of
Divine Grace where we are made
holy" But when this point of entire
conservation is reached, as stated
above, the believer is at that very mo-
ment sealed by the Holy Spirit as
capatiHnl onI hnlxr inf n tha I ovid
And with this sealing the kingdom of
satan is cast out of that soul and the
Kingdom of God, which is righteous
ness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost, is established in that soul, and
the witness of the Spirit to the power
of Jesus blood to cleanse from all sin
is given, and now, as a result, we have
some one who indeed fulfills the great
commandment and loves the Lord his
God with all the heart and soul, and
mind, and might, and loves his neigh
Dor as himself, and such an one loves
and reads his Bible which becomes to
him a new book, and he loves and so
far as possible attends all the services
of the house of God. as never before,
and now such Christian begins to
grow in the knowledge of God and of
holy things as never before, and the
peace of God, which passeth all under
standing, keeps his mind and heart in
the knowledge and love of God and
His Son Jesus Christ. "And this is
the will of God even your sanctifca-
ton, for God hath not called US to I'M
cleanness, but unto holiness" Oh. for
band of holy men and women in
every church, in every society, in ev-
cry community, and satan would soon
tremble and cover before them and
his ruinous kingdom would soon totter
and fall
Oh, why should Christians live so
far beneath their privileges? Why
should we be weaklings while God
commands us to be strong? Why not
arise and shine since our light has
come, that the "glory of the Lord
may be risen upon us."-Isa. COL.
"For they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength: They shall
mount up with wings as eagles, and
they shall rush and not be weary, and
they shall walk and not faint lisa.
40:31.
The New York Democratic platform