"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." -- I Tim. 6:12.
Our Lord says,
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." -- Matt. 10:34.
Wherever sin and true holiness come in contact there must be
war.
All eminent saints have been great warriors.
Paul describes his life at its close by saying, "I have fought a good fight."
Luther and Wesley and Finney were mighty men of war.
But see to it that in the midst of all your
fightings you keep filled with love.
We have a Presbyterian brother -- a devout man of
God, and an able preacher -- who holds to the doctrine of sanctification. He
says that, as a matter of fact, he finds that those professing holiness are
generally "sanctified in streaks." Is there not too much ground for this
observation?
Some evidently love the world. They gain all
they can, and save all they can, -- but they do not give all they can. They
have enough, and more than enough, to make themselves and those dependent on
them comfortable as long as they live. Still they go on laying up for
themselves "treasures on earth." Some make a gain of godliness. Even "holiness
camp-meetings" are so managed that a good deal of money is made out of them.
The ground for tents to stand on is rented at a large profit; the tents and
furniture are rented at a profit; and even the railroads -- grasping as are
these corporations -- are made to share with the managers, the profits of
carrying the worshipers to these great gatherings. If those who labor
specially to promote holiness set such an example of money-making, is it to be
wondered at if the same spirit should be imbibed by others?
Some are greatly wanting in meekness and
humility. They put on style. In their dress, they violate the plain rules of
Scripture. They mince their words, and affect a high degree of social
refinement in their manner of speaking.
Others are too forward. They never know their
place. If they cannot lead, they balk. They must be foremost, or they will
not work at all. If you disagree with them in opinion, they take it that you
are their enemy. An effort to correct anything that is really objectionable,
they count as persecution. They are not "easy to be entreated."
Some are wanting in self-denial. They live in
ease and self-indulgence. They do not seem to know what it is to deny
themselves of anything for Jesus' sake.
Beloveds, the Gospel proposes to effect in each
one of us a perfect cure. We are sanctified
"through the truth." -- John 17:17.
This cannot be too strongly impressed upon the mind. You will be sanctified only so far as you receive the truth. If your views of truth are defective or distorted, there will be a corresponding defect or distortion in your piety. Do not be rickety Christians, with a head disproportional to the rest of your body. SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. Aim at a full and harmonious development of all the Christian graces. If you find you are defective in any respect, do not peevishly throw away the whole of your experience, and go over the same old, beaten road again, but come to God for that particular grace. Persevere in prayer until you get it. Insist upon it that it is your privilege to be right with God in all respects. Be willing to know your faults; for until you know them you will never seek deliverance from them. Welcome the light.
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity." -- II Pet. 1:5-7.