Montgomery County sentinel., 1943-06-17


light. as he is in the light. we have
fellowship one with another. and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth
| US from all sin.-I John III.
Religion and life go together. To
hold the tenets of Christian truth in
ones head and not to have them
move the heart is to deny the very
faith one processes. Yet this is the
danger which faces the believer-a
temptation before which many have
fallen. The result is that much of
what passes for Christianity in
these days is very thin stuff. very
remote from the original" (Shoe-
maker).
John was not content with such a
weak imitation, and in his writings
he set up the true standard OF a
forgiven and transformed life, liv-
ing itself out in love and sacrifcial
service. If we have forgotten what
God meant us to be in Christ, or
are members of church which has
way, this lesson affords an opportu-
nifty for penitence and works meet
thereunto.
The true Christian life must have
l. Sin Forgiven and Life Trans
formed Il John 2:1-6).
Not only at the beginning of the
Christian life is sin dealt with and
put away, but day by day-yes, mo-
ment by moment-we have the
cleansing power of the blood of our
Divine Advocate.
This is Of the utmost importance,
for God can only use clean chan
nels for the outgoing of His power
and grace to the world. We know
our own weakness and the defiling
presence Of the world. But unlike
the unregenerate man, we do not
submit and go down; we turn to
Christ for forgiveness and cleans
ing.
The transformation of life which
thus comes to the believer is shown
in obedience to the commandments
of God In the early church there
were those who said that if they only
believed in Christ as Saviour it made
no difference how they ived-and
they have their followers in our day.
Be sure of this, the essential thing
in Christian profession is not how
you talk about Christ, but how you
walk in obedience to His command
ments.
Real Christianity will cause us to
be
II. Hated by the World and Loved
by the Brethren Il John 3:13-18).
The world, that is, unregenerate
mankind, hates genuine Christian
no matter how kind and loving he
may be. Why? Because the Chris
tian believer gives the non-believer
an uncomfortable sense Of inferiori-
ty. The presence of high Christian
ideals in marked contrast to his own
selfish policies arouses his anger
and resentment (Douglass).
The presence of a clean, godly
life in a community makes every
sinner look that much blacker, and
the world, the flesh, and the devil
will do everything possible to break
down and destroy such testimony.
We, as Christians, should not be
surprised that the world hates us.
In fact, we should be troubled if it
does not hate us, for if our Chris
tianity really means anything, it is
dstasteful to a God-hating world.
Beware if sinners find nothing in
your life which distresses them and
convicts them of sin.
In the midst of enmity the Chris
tian is not afraid, for he is
iii. Indwelt by God and Unafraid
in the World Il John 4:15-lO.
A sincere confession of Christ as
Saviour brings a man into that close
relationship to GoI which is ex-
pressed in the words, God abideth
in him, and he in God" ". 15).
The full depth of meaning of these
words is obviously beyond our linn
tied understanding, but we accept
the fact by faith and rejoice in it.
We recognize that it means that we
are brought by our faith in Christ,
into the very center Of Gods love.
Christ. the well-beloved Son, who
stands In that blessed place. draws
US into the circle and there we stand
in Him.
Gods love showed itself in the CIV
ing Of His Son as the Redeemer of
the world. II was and is unselfish
and sacrificial devotion to the eter-
nal welfare of those who merited
only judgment. We do not love un-
til we reflect that quality in our
lives.
Such love casts out fear. Fellow
ship is impossible in an atmosphere
Of fear, but love rules it out. In
Christ we realize that God first
loved US, and then our hearts go out
in warm devotion to him.
Not only does the Christian no
longer fear the day Of judgment.
but he is unafraid in the present
evil world. This is not because of
his own strength or ability, but be-
cause through faith in Christ he is