Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-04-17

M type, VINO Is TO ne
the fountain head
of worldwide blessing, they present an
irreconcilable conflict of what .Abra-
ham is expected to be and what he
actually is. 1t is the difference be-
tween a proof and the finished por-
trait. This blemish in the unretouched
proof of the patriarch's life is the
strongest evidence that God is the pho
tographer. So with all Of Gods he
roes-He never hides their weaknesses
and failures. They are not perfect be-
ings, even though chosen and used Of
God, but men Of Ike passions with U.S.
They are not finished work. but in
the making.
Abraham obeys the call Of God as
the sacrifice Of every earthly tie and
| possession--lives a life Of most re-
markable faith separated UNTO Gods
| wtll--until he entertains angels Of
Heaven In HE tent and shares pro-
found secrets with the Most High.
Then he turns aside to deceit and
cowardice-saying his wife IL his sis
ter This Is the very sin that over
took him twenty years before Up to
the surface 1t comes again when the
same combination OF circumstances
tests Abfaham's faith and fidelity. All,
what mirror his life is To us. Look
and failures reflected. Here is the
only solution of such Inconsistencies.
The man of God is never placed upon
a pedestal as perfect. However rich
In faith, true to separation, Christlike
In character development, he still has
] the old Adams nature-unchange
and Interchangeable. lie has been born
Of the Spirit, baptized into the Spirit,
indwelt by the Spirit, sealed by the
Spirit, yet he still lives his life In the
| flesh which lusteth against the Spirit.
| The old nature is not eradicated,
nor destroyed, but y new divine nature
has been implanted to live and grow
| and overcome the cid by its victorious
power and fruitfulness. But the old
Is still there and simply needs proper
surface conditions to manifest itself,
| although it waits the opportunity for
| twenty years. The flesh In the saint
| Is the same as In the sinner. 1t will
defile the life of faith even as life
Of unbelief. The lessons OF Abraham's
detection are significant.
L We never get beyond the POSSIBLE
| ity of sin so long as we are In this
| world. One of Satan's most successful
articles Is to deceive the saints Of
God into profession of slnless per-
lection. To boast you cannot sin amy
more is Of itself TO sin all the more
No Scripture can be found TO support
such an experience. Those that seem
to, declare the perfeetness Of the com
| pleted work of Christ's sacrifice-but
do not describe the present earthly
state OF the child of God
III. The result of such sinful conduct
| is not lost salvation but broken fell
lowship. SO few children eksGod have
learned to distinguish between rela-
tlonslTip and fellowship. The one de-
| ponds upon birth and the other upon
| behavior. The one Is initial, unchange.
| able and eternal; the other is inter
| mittent, receivable and progressive
| CA't 40 lHV acceptance VI 1BliSt . LIE
ished work-the other the appropria-
| ton of that work. Oh, the children of
| God who are misbehaving: worldly.
/ like Lot: who lose their temper like
I Moses; heshly. like David; who deny
| their Lord, like Peter; intolerant, like
the, Sons of Thunder: who 20 fishing
when Christ needs them lisSt like the
dfcninlqc a
are we-"Let him that fiinlSeth he
standeth take heed lest he fall" Our
safety is in Him alone Plt broken
fellowship means a wort ass testi- |
mony. The King of Geras proached
Abraham for his unbecola ~ conduct
and God was misrepresenf d to the |
heather. 1t is impossible ~ witness
unless we are living in unbgoken fell |
lowship. Lips and life must tell the |
same story.
III. The secret of avoiding such hui /
initiating experiences is to walk in the |
light If we walk in the.light, we have |
fellowship. Abraham turned south to |
Gerar not by divine orders He was |
allured from separation when he /
SHuulu Hdfc stdScu WHeie 1Ou put |
him. He may have had the best Of /
motives and purest of desires but he
got out of the path of obedience and I
out Of the protecting grace of God. He |
was permitted to fall prey to the
lusting old nature that he might learn !
once more the old. oldS lesson: Trust
and obey, for there's no other way to
be happy in jesus, but to trust and
obey"