To Mr. K——
Mr. K ’s statement of his case — Questions — Mr. K ’s resolution — Comparison — Inconsistency of Mr. K ’s position — May
the sanctification of the soul be achieved gradually? — “God’s word its own evidence” — Correspondence between faith and confession — “Have I lost my will?” — Answer — Illustrations — The obedient child — Abraham — The Saviour — Family government-Ruling by love — Daily intercession — Household dedication — Restraint — Abraham’s family — Joshua — Eh.
Dear Sir, — After the violent assault of Satan, referred to in my last, you say: “Not being conscious of having offended, I was alarmed, and renewed my struggle; sometimes endeavoring to consecrate myself to God, and sometimes believing that the consecration had been made; until I finally concluded that I must and would believe I had given up all, and trust his blessed promise, and live a life of faith. From that time to this, I have endeavored so to live, and yet I am not able to say that the blessing is mine.” I have quoted thus largely, in order that you may review your position. You finally concluded that you must and would five a life of faith.
Do you mean a life of faith on the Son of God? Have you indeed consecrated yourself wholly to him? And is your all now being presented to God, through Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world; and yet you cannot say that your sins are taken away; that you The Gift and the Altar.
are cleansed from all unrighteousness — wholly sanctified? Surely you are not willing to assume the position, that a living sacrifice, presented to God through Christ, is not holy and acceptable? I know you would not intentionally undervalue the precious blood of the atoning Lamb, and yet your position assumes it.
Your final conclusion was, to live a life of faith on the Son of God; that is, a life of entire dependence upon his merits, trusting in him to purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God. Far be it from you to say that you have trusted, without fully proving the faithfulness of God. With far less guilt might one in ancient times say, “I have laid all upon the hallowed altar, the altar that sanctifieth the gift, but cannot say that it is sanctified.” Under these circumstances, both the word of God would be doubted and also the inherent virtues of that altar which God hath declared to be an altar most holy. This is the sin which is aimed at when Christ says, “Ye fools, and blind! for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifieth the gift?”
You come to the Christian’s altar. “We have an altar.” Your final conclusion is that you have consecrated all upon this altar, which is Christ. In view of his sacrificial sufferings and death, should I ask whether there is virtue sufficient here to cleanse from all unrighteousness; to sanctify “He staggered not.” A Growing Faith.
wholly; what would you say? I know you would tell me that the virtues of this most holy altar are amply sufficient for the cleansing of a world of polluted mortals. Allow me to remind you of your final conclusion; that is, to live a life of faith on the Son of God: if so, then it is upon this hallowed altar that you are now resting.
And now, my dear brother K, if you will
resolve to let your faith depend on the word of God, and not upon your uncertain feelings, your difficulties will all be at an end. This, I believe, will from this time be your experience. Shall I
henceforth hear it said of brother K,” He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God?”
You ask my opinion relative to the evidence of the blessing being received slowly, or perhaps at intervals. We can conceive of one, who, on being informed of a matter of great importance, at first but partially relies upon the word of his informant; until accumulated evidence of the veracity of his friend puts it beyond doubt, and he becomes established in assurance that the word of his friend is evidence sufficient. He then proceeds to inform others of the fact: and if asked what evidence he has of its being so, he gives the name of his friend, and exclaims, “This is authority sufficient; I have his word, and the word of such a friend is its own evidence.”
will believe.” Confession.
“God’s word is its own evidence,” said an excellent minister, who loves to live by faith on the Son of God. Here let me again remind brother
K of his final conclusion, of which this forms
a part, “I must and will believe that I have given up all, and trust in God’s promise, and live a life of faith.” Do you believe God’s promise constitutes reliable ground for your faith? Is his word evidence sufficient to rest your faith upon? If you have come to the point to rely upon it fully as the foundation of your hope, you will not hesitate in making confession with your mouth. If you are not willing to do this, it proves that your faith is yet defective; for you will speak with a confidence precisely proportionate with what you deem to be the authority and faithfulness of Him upon whose word you rely.
But do not forget that believing with the heart, and confessing with the mouth, stand closely connected, and “what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” To the degree you rely on the faithfulness of God, 0 hasten to make confession with the mouth of this your confidence; and to the degree you honor God, by reposing on his faithfulness, will God honor you, by conferring upon you the graces of his Holy Spirit in their rich plenitude. My dear brother, let me urge you to be instant in season and out of season, in the performance of this duty: if we meet no more in time,
My own Will, God’s Will. Tests.
may we hail each other in the city of our God, and there joy to find our names enrolled among those who have been foremost among Christ’s holy confessors on earth.
But I observe a clause of your letter, not before noticed, of which I would say a word. You say, ‘* I fear I have a will of my own;” but of this you do not seem entirely confident. I am glad to observe your carefulness on this point. 0 may your conscience ever be
“Quick as the apple of an eye I”
But while endeavoring to ascertain the truth of this matter, do not forget that you have an enemy who day and night accuseth the saints before God. Would you indeed be willing to have your own will done, instead of the will of your heavenly Father? Imagine that the ruling of your destiny were, in any degree, taken out of the hand of God and placed at your own disposal, would you not be afraid to be intrusted with it, in any degree? If you would at once refer it all back to God, then the conclusion is evident; you have not a will of your own. But we may have natural shrinkings from certain forms of duty; yet if we do not yield to nature, it is still evident that the will of God predominates over our own will, and all is yet in obedience to Christ.
If a judicious parent require a child to do that to which his natiu’e is strongly disinchned, and the
Thine only Son.” “As thou wilt.”
child, fearful of grieving his father, yields, though nature still strongly shrinks, to what he knows to be the superior judgment of the father, the child is even more worthy of commendation, than if the requisition had not been painful to his nature. The love, obedience, and confidence of the child, have all by the act been tested, and exhibited in a manner calculated to move the heart of the father, quite beyond what it would have been had no such test been instituted.
If Abraham had been required to offer up Ishmael, instead of Isaac, would his faith and his obedience have been as thoroughly tested as they were? God said, “Take thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest.” When the Lord said this, doubtless all the tender yearnings of the father for his only son were roused even to an unusual degree. God did not forget this, when he said, “Now I know that thou fearest me, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.”
The Saviour also, who possessed as truly the human as the divine nature, had a will which shrunk from suffering: “If it be possible let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as / will, but as thou wilt.” His will was obedient to the
will of his Father. If, in our brother K, the
human will is subject to the divine will, then he may thank God and take courage.
Ruling in Love. Early Intercessions.
You inquire relative to our management with our little family; but, as you perceive, the size of my sheet forbids my saying much on this subject in the present communication. We have deemed it important
“Never to take the harsher way,
When love may do the deed.”
And we have endeavored to cherish in their young hearts that love and confidence which you observe. It is certainly far more desirable to rule by love than by fear, if such a thing may be. And it is my opinion that this may be done to a degree quite beyond what many parents imagine. God is love; and it is our earnest prayer that the atmosphere in which om* children live and move may be that of love. We have dedicated our house to God, and believe that he hears our prayer when we ask that his presence may abide with us, so that every one that enters our dwelling may feel the hallowing influence of the Spirit of holiness.
Before the routine of domestic duty for the day commences, I feel it a blessed privilege to present each member of our household individually before God. After having presented myself, with all my interests, temporal and spiritual, afresh to him through Christ, I daily plead the promise, “I will pour out my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring.” I try to claim the fulfillment of this promise, and believe myself successful.
Restraint. Abraham’s Family.
We have dedicated our children to God with an intention of devoting them in some special manner to his service, and are endeavoring to have their moral and religious training all directed to this point — usefulness in the church of Christ. You may infer from this that it is needful that their natural inchnations should at times be crossed to meet this point. In reference to gay society, or conformity to the world in dress, and other respects, we should think it proper to exercise parental authority if there were occasion for it. We are looking for wisdom to train them in the way in which they should go, and not in a way from which it would be needful that they should depart, on becoming themselves self-denying followers of the Saviour,
“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged,” is an admonition most important in family government. But I imao-ine that the sin of Eli is far more prevalent than that of undue family restrain. God said of faithful Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may brinoupon Abraham that which he hath spoken.” We observe by this, that the parental and household government of Abraham stood closely connected with the fulfillment of God’s promises to him.
Firmness and love equally blended are most es-
118 yAITH AND ITS EFFECTS.
Joshua. Eli. Heaven in the House.
sential in family disciplme. Courageous Joshua says, “I and my house will serve the Lord.” I have feared that some professors rather prefer that the cause of Christ should be wounded, than the feelings of their children and other members of their household. Thus was it with Eli. If expostulation and entreaty had been the only thing required, he does not seem to have been particularly deficient. Doubtless his sin was, that he did not, with faithful Abraham, command his children. You inquu’e about the religious state of our two younger children — whether they are Christians. I am not prepared to answer this question directly, and you see I have now almost filled another sheet. In love, farewell.