THE CONQUERING LIFE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6817, 22 September 1883, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE CONQUERING LIFE.

There is such a thing, as a religious self -lif o'.* <■ It is the life that is too often manifested? ': even by those who have a saying knowledge of Christ. There are mapy who understand) if clearly God's way of justification, who have' , \ yet to learn God's way of sanctification;; | They may have a true aim, namely,llto; ;, glorify Christ and to be made like Him; j they may have sincere and earnest desires, i aud they may bo makinj» constant atid vigorous efforts after holiness ; and yet they '. are continually being disappointed. Failure and defeat meet them at every tarn. . Not ' because they do not try, not because they do not struggle—they do all this—but because in their daily walk the life they are living is essentially the self-life and not the Christlife. ; ' For example, how many are working from a wrong source or centre? They aie endeavouring to do that which Christ has plainly declared can-not be done, namely— bring forth fruit from themselves, ''The branch cannot bear fruit of itself"—or from itself. Fruit ie not the outcome even of our new nature, but of the Spirit, that is, of God the Holy Ghort (tial. v. 22). : " From Me is thy fruit fouijd." Holiness is not only to the Lord but from the Lord. And yet how many there are who, perhaps unconsciously, are Ktriving to make themselves holy by working from self to God, rather than fiom Christ, He is not only the p.ittern to bo imitated, Ho is the fountain of our life. "All my springs are in Thee." If we are really following Christ's example we shall be walking according to this principle. How did Be glorify His Father? He tells ui distinctly, "lean of Mine own self do nothing" (John v. 30). That is, I am nor. ablu to be doing a single thing from Myself. Agairi, "I do nothing of Myself" (John viii. 28); cr, "I from Myself am doing nothing," "lepcak not of—or from —Myseif" (John xix. 10). He took the place of a servants of a son. The very idea of a sonship involves that of dependence. "Perfect souship involves perfect identity of will and action with the Father" (Canon Westcott). The Father was the fountain, or source of every word and work in Christ's earthly life. "The Father that dwelloth in Me, He doeth the works" .(John xiv, 10).

" According to the true reading, the Father abiding in Me doeth Hie works" (Canon Westcott), the believer 13 to walk as Christ walked. As Be lived in, and on the Father ; —so we are called to live ip, and on. Christ. 1 Aβ tlie Father dwelt in Him, so Christ must live in us. "Not I, bat Christ liyeth in I me," was St. Paul's testimony. This is to be draiwicg all our supplies from Him. He is then formed within, a well of W3ter springing up into eternal life. This is the only life thit triumpna over evih, the only life that yields fruit unto God. So With cross-buarini;. Ho-vv many Christians are rever ing God's older in this mutter ' The cro-s must Le ciriied ; there can be no aiscipleslup without it. But how is the cro=s to be borne? Not with self as the centre of our life. The EClMife cannpt 1 take up the cross It may dng the cross, or have it thrubt upon it, liut it will never 1 "take it up" Before true coss-bearing can be known self must be denied, that is, ? ignored It must be, not I, but Christ 1 living in me And jet h ivv miny act and I thick as if self is t > be got rid of by Carry--1 in_ the cross '' This 13 to our Lord's 1 order "If any mm will come after Me, 1 let him diny himself, and take up his cross, j .'and follow Me. ' j Den> ing self is the es ential condition to ' che taking up of the rr ss Io tike up the I cioss the idea of -voluntary and 1 cheerful accept woe. I Now, the ouly place where this renunI ciation of s If cau be harnt is at the cross of I Christ The point where the self-life ter--1 min ites is wh re tho Christ life b« gins. We 1 must know what it 13 to be ' Aiways bearI ing about jn tne boCv the dying (or putting I to death) of the Loul J<.sii", that fie life, aiso I of Jesus mi o ht b_> made niaLifist in our I body.' ' Another mist ike often made by believers is taking up 1 wrong position in relation to sin. While he -jeci th it Christ by His death has freed him from sin as a debt, how many a believer fails to see that he 33 delivered from sin as a m'o'er. And eO he fights and ; with a wew to conq *er sin, withI out the fact that Cariat has over- ' come every foe, and lias sccur d the position ) oi victoiy for all believers. I The mistake] he mikes is that he takes a lower position in relation to sin than that which in truth belongs to him He accepts freedom from sin as a debt by faith,, but he seeks to reach freedom from sin as a master aa an attainment by efft»t This is to take a wrong position, a lower one than really belongs to In the s)xth of Komans (\erses IS and 22) we read of being made iree from >in From tht. context we see in what sense this is to be understood—not free from its presence, or from lt-j assaults, but from its demiuion We are' by ', virtue of Christ s deith unto Bin tet fiee from the old tnastor sin. 1 aith takes up that position.' It is not an attainment tu be reached by degrees, and after a process of growth, but a position to be occupied at once by faitu. This ii, in fact, the liberty wherewith 'Christ hath made us free. We are to occupy it, and stand fast in it. We have to fi B ht, not in order to reach it; we have to fight not for it, or to it, but from it. This is the condit'on of true Christian conflict We lose that position through unbelief—by doubting We retain it by faith To retain it 13 to triumph;' and so true Christian conHio. if a good nght of faith.— Lift, of Faith. THE SILENCE OF PRAYER. In prayer -wospeikto God, but there is also the siknce oi prayer ■ Our lips utter no sound, we cannot hud words to express the language of the heart, nut the soul still prays Perhaps we arc too weary in body ur in mind, perhaps the brain raay be too utterly exhauste 1, to frame the petitions We would ask Still, we desire to .hold communii/n w<th Hun who bids us come to Him when we are tired "Come u'lto Me all ye that labour aud are heavy laden,, and I will give you rest." Then comes the experience and the-sweetness of the silepce of prayrr. What is it 9 (1) It is just kuo-l-ng-down in our accustomed place, aud lifting up our heart to Hiiu in a woidless petition which speaks only in the well of longing deep down in our souls (J.) It is lotting God speak to us ,in our silence and listening to Hia voice. r J here are many thin Q s He will eay to us, if we will only bear them—deep, sweet, holy things—comfoHing things, and things that wiil dia.v ub away from the world to follow Him more closely, (.i) It is a time ef great nearness to Jesus la He not close by ? Having felt tho weakness of our nature, He draws near in full sjmpathy with our woariness (4) It is a time ot strengthening Our "strength is." sometimes "to sit btill." No les3 do we receive strength from God when wo are drinking in siluice fiom Hun who chooses sometimes Himself to be ' "silent in lo\e " So iniy we arise from the 1 silence of prajer invigorated and strengthened —F. A. W. ! THE MAJESTY OF BIBLE PRECEPTS. There is no weakness jn them. No ouo of them is emasculated by" the modern prefix, "try." The 'Bible eaye, "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and i.urify jour hearts, ye double minded." " Cuase to do evil, learn to do well " "Depart fiom evil and do good " And thus through the whole Book, ' from Genesis to Revelation, a moral precept • is never preli\cd with the enfeebling " try," ' now so universally common. Just think of the Bible sa\ ing, . Try to depart from evil ! Try to cleanse your hands, ye sinners ! Try to speak the tiuth to one another ! Ami instead of "Do not kill," "Do not steal," " Do not commit adultery," cuppose we had, ' Do try not to kill ' Do try not to steal! Do try not to commit adultery ! It is time to stop experimenting in rnorila. Kone of it > is from above. It is all from beneath, a 1 device from the devil to break down the 1 force and majeaty, of the piecrpts of the Bible. That glorious Hook never uses tho word " try" in any such connection. It ' knows nothing of experimental morals 1 "Try" 13 never properly used except where a failure may be justifiable A failuie in morals never was aud rever can be justified. —TheExamuei. , MY REFUGE. Psalm xlvi. The Lbnl is my rifugo »D<i strength;. ■ ■ ' ■ ;'■' ' A ptieent and Intimto Friend ; ' ■:■. Ivo learned tho sTeet lesbun it length ;.",'.; ..- • My soul on His love may depend. ■■''-- ■" ' In seasons of sorrow, and doubt, "-,>\.'-i-,'K -:".',. ;\Vhch ffiondlcfls I; journoy alone, - "■'• ;V;". ;,■ -' , ■H\b incrcicH enccmp&sa about ' ■ ' Ills presence and love arc u.ado known. .' , When dtornis fill the oarth with alarms, -And mountain! aro ronkoil by the tido,. ■ - Ho gathers mo safo in Ilia arms, .... ' . And under ilis feathers I hide. Tho earth may rcmovo from its placo, .. The mountains aiak into tin sta, •':■-■ No change, whilo boboldioK His nice, ■•;; ■ '', ;.C»n trouble or terrify 1111., . ' '•_' A city I suon slnll heboid ..'■, , ' ■ WLoro 110 11 tho centre and light. . . > And walk on its pavciccnta of gold, ;And know no more sorrow or night. . There, site from temptation and strife, ' 111 dvn.ll in that blissful abode, ' ;Bo<ido the puro river of lifd, TJiat I'laddnns tho City of God —Mils. Abie Wittknmykr.