Latest / Philosophy and Faith / 19 - The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God - Sermons on Several Occasions

Transcript

19 - The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God - Sermons on Several Occasions · Philosophy and Faith

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  Speaker 1: The great privilege of those that are born of God.
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  Speaker 1: First John three, verse nine. Whosoever is born of God
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  Speaker 1: doth not commit sin. It has been frequently supposed that
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  Speaker 1: the being born of God was all one with the
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  Speaker 1: being justified, that the new birth and justification were only
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  Speaker 1: different expressions denoting the same thing. It being certain on
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  Speaker 1: the one hand that whoever is justified is also born
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  Speaker 1: of God, and on the other that whoever is born
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  Speaker 1: of God is also justified. Yea that both these gifts
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  Speaker 1: of God are given to every believer in one and
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  Speaker 1: the same moment, in one point of time, his sins
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  Speaker 1: are blotted out, and he is born again of God.
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  Speaker 1: But though it be allowed that justification and the new
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  Speaker 1: birth are, in point of time inseparable from each other,
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  Speaker 1: yet are they easily distinguished as being not the same,
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  Speaker 1: but things of a widely different nature. Justification implies only
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  Speaker 1: a relative the new birth a real change. God in
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  Speaker 1: justifying us does something for us. In begetting us again,
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  Speaker 1: he does the work in us. The former changes our
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  Speaker 1: outward relation to God, so that of enemies we become children.
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  Speaker 1: By the latter, our inmost souls are changed, so that
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  Speaker 1: of sinners we become saints. The one restores us to
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  Speaker 1: the favor, the other to the image of God. The
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  Speaker 1: one is the taking away the guilt, the other the
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  Speaker 1: taking away the power of sin, So that although they
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  Speaker 1: are joined together in point of time, yet are they
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  Speaker 1: of wholly distinct natures. The not discerning this, the not
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  Speaker 1: observing the wide difference there is between being justified and
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  Speaker 1: being born again, has occasioned exceeding great confusion of thought
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  Speaker 1: in many who have treated on this subject, particularly when
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  Speaker 1: they have attempted to explain this great privilege of the
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  Speaker 1: children of God. To show how whosoever is born of
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  Speaker 1: God doth not commit sin? In order to apprehend us clearly,
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  Speaker 1: it may be necessary first to consider what is the
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  Speaker 1: proper meaning of that expression whosoever is born of God?
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  Speaker 1: And secondly to inquire in what sense he does not
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  Speaker 1: commit sin. First we are to consider what is the
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  Speaker 1: proper meaning of that expression whosoever is born of God?
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  Speaker 1: And in general, from all the passages of Holy writ
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  Speaker 1: wherein this expression the being born of God occurs, we
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  Speaker 1: may learn that it implies not barely the being baptized,
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  Speaker 1: or any outward change whatever, but a vast inward change,
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  Speaker 1: a change wrought in the soul by the operation of
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Ghost, a change in the whole manner of
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  Speaker 1: our existence. For from the moment we are born of God,
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  Speaker 1: we live in quite another manner than we did before.
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  Speaker 1: We are, as it were, in another world. The ground
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  Speaker 1: and reason of the expression is easy to be understood.
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  Speaker 1: When we undergo this great change, we may, with much
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  Speaker 1: propriety be said to be born again, because there is
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  Speaker 1: so near a resemblance between the circumstances of the natural
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  Speaker 1: and of the spiritual birth, so that to consider the
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  Speaker 1: circumstances of the natural birth is the most easy way
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  Speaker 1: to understand the spiritual. The child, which is not yet born,
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  Speaker 1: subsists indeed by the air, as does everything which has life,
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  Speaker 1: but feels it not nor anything else, unless in a
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  Speaker 1: very dull and imperfect manner. It hears little, if at all,
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  Speaker 1: the organs of hearing, Being as yet closed up, it
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  Speaker 1: sees nothing, having its eyes fast shut and being surrounded
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  Speaker 1: with utter darkness. There are it may be, some faint
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  Speaker 1: beginnings of life, when the the time of its birth
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  Speaker 1: draws nigh, and some motion consequent thereon, whereby it is
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  Speaker 1: distinguished from a mere mass of matter, But it has
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  Speaker 1: no senses. All these avenues of the soul are hitherto
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  Speaker 1: quite shut up. Of consequence, it has scarce any intercourse
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  Speaker 1: with this visible world, nor any knowledge, conception, or idea
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  Speaker 1: of the things that occur Therein The reason why he
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  Speaker 1: that is not yet born is wholly a stranger to
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  Speaker 1: the visible world is not because it is afar off.
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  Speaker 1: It is very nonh It surrounds him on every side.
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  Speaker 1: But partly because he has not those senses. They are
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  Speaker 1: not yet opened in his soul, whereby alone it is
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  Speaker 1: possible to hold commerce with the material world. And partly
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  Speaker 1: because so thick a veil is cast between through which
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  Speaker 1: he can discern nothing. But no sooner is the child
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  Speaker 1: born into the world than he exists in a quite
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  Speaker 1: different manner. He now feels the air with which he
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  Speaker 1: is surrounded, and which pours into him from every side
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  Speaker 1: as fast as he alternately breathes it back to sustain
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  Speaker 1: the flame of life, and hence springs a continual increase
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  Speaker 1: of strength, of motion and of sensation, all the bodily
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  Speaker 1: senses being now awakened and furnished with their proper objects.
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  Speaker 1: His eyes are now open to perceive the light which
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  Speaker 1: silently flowing in upon them discovers not only itself, but
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  Speaker 1: an infinite variety of things with which before he was
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  Speaker 1: wholly unacquainted. His ears are unclosed, and sounds rush in
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  Speaker 1: with endless diversity. Every sense is employed upon such objects
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  Speaker 1: as are peculiarly suitable to it. And by these inlets,
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  Speaker 1: the soul, having an open intercourse with the visible world,
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  Speaker 1: acquires more and more knowledge of sensible things, of all
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  Speaker 1: the things which are under the sun. So it is
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  Speaker 1: with him that is born of God, before that great
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  Speaker 1: change is wrought. Although he subsists by Him in whom
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  Speaker 1: all that have life, live and move and have their being,
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  Speaker 1: Yet he is not sensible of God. He does not feel,
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  Speaker 1: He has no inward consciousness of his presence. He does
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  Speaker 1: not perceive that divine breath of life, without which he
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  Speaker 1: cannot subsist a moment. Nor is he sensible of any
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  Speaker 1: of the things of God. They make no impression upon
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  Speaker 1: his soul. God is continually calling to him from on high,
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  Speaker 1: but he heareth not. His ears are shut, so that
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  Speaker 1: the voice of the charmer is lost to him. Charm
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  Speaker 1: he never so wisely. He seeth not the things of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit of God, the eyes of his understanding, being
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  Speaker 1: closed and utter darkness covering his whole soul, surrounding him
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  Speaker 1: on every side. It is true he may have some
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  Speaker 1: faint dawnings of life, some small beginnings of spiritual motion,
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  Speaker 1: But as yet he has no spiritual senses capable of
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  Speaker 1: discerning spiritual objects. Consequently, he discerneth not the things of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit of God. He cannot know them because they
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  Speaker 1: are spiritually discerned. Hence he has scarcely any knowledge of
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  Speaker 1: the invisible world, as he has scarce any intercourse with it.
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  Speaker 1: Not that it is afar off, No, he is in
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  Speaker 1: the midst of it. It encompasses him round about the
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  Speaker 1: other world, as we usually term it is not far
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  Speaker 1: from every one of us. It is above and beneath
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  Speaker 1: and on every side. Only the natural man discerneth it,
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  Speaker 1: not partly because he has no spiritual senses, whereby alone
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  Speaker 1: we can discern the things of God. Partly because so
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  Speaker 1: thick a veil is interposed, as he knows not how
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  Speaker 1: to penetrate. But when he is born of God, born
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  Speaker 1: of the Spirit, how is the manner of his existence changed?
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  Speaker 1: His whole soul is now sensible of God, and he
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  Speaker 1: can say by sure experience thou art about my bed
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  Speaker 1: and about my path. I feel thee in all my ways.
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  Speaker 1: He settest me behind and before, and layest Thine hand
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  Speaker 1: upon me. The spirit or breath of God is immediately
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  Speaker 1: inspired breathed into the new born soul, and the same
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  Speaker 1: breath which comes from returns to God. As it is
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  Speaker 1: continually received by faith, so it is continually rendered back
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  Speaker 1: by love, by prayer and praise and thanksgiving. Love and
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  Speaker 1: praise and prayer being the breath of every soul which
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  Speaker 1: is truly born of God. And by this new kind
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  Speaker 1: of spiritual respiration, spiritual life is not only sustained, but
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  Speaker 1: increased day by day. Together with spiritual strength and motion
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  Speaker 1: and sensation, all the senses of the soul being now
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  Speaker 1: awake and capable of discerning spiritual good and evil. The
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  Speaker 1: eyes of his understanding are now open, and he seeth
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  Speaker 1: Him that is invisible. He sees what is the exceeding
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  Speaker 1: greatness of His power and of his love toward them
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  Speaker 1: that believe. He sees that God is merciful to him
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  Speaker 1: a sinner, that he is reconciled through the sun of
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  Speaker 1: his love. He clearly perceives both the pardoning love of
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  Speaker 1: God and all his exceeding, great and precious promises. God,
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  Speaker 1: who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness,
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  Speaker 1: hath shined and doth shine in his heart to enlighten
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  Speaker 1: him with the knowledge of the glory of God. In
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  Speaker 1: the face of Jesus Christ. All the darkness is now
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  Speaker 1: passed away, and he abides in the light of God's countenance.
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  Speaker 1: His ears are now opened, and the voice of God
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  Speaker 1: no longer calls in vain. He hears and obeys the
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  Speaker 1: heavenly calling. He knows the voice of his shepherd. All
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  Speaker 1: his spiritual senses being now awakened, he has a clear
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  Speaker 1: intercourse with the invisible world, and hence he knows more
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  Speaker 1: and more of the things which before it could not
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  Speaker 1: enter into his heart to conceive. He now knows what
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  Speaker 1: the peace of God is, what is joy in the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Ghost, what the love of God which is shed
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  Speaker 1: abroad in the heart of them that believe in Him
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  Speaker 1: through Christ Jesus. Thus the veil being removed which before
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  Speaker 1: interrupted the light and voice the knowledge and love of God,
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  Speaker 1: He who is born of the spirit, dwelling in love,
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  Speaker 1: dwelleth in God and God in Him. Having considered the
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  Speaker 1: meaning of that expression, whosoever is born of God. It
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  Speaker 1: remains in the second place to inquire in what sense
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  Speaker 1: he does not commit sin. Now, one who is so
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  Speaker 1: born of God, as hath been above discribed, who continually
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  Speaker 1: receives into his soul the breath of life from God,
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  Speaker 1: the gracious influence of his spirit, and continually renders it back.
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  Speaker 1: One who thus believes and loves, who by faith perceives
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  Speaker 1: the continual actings of God upon his spirit, and by
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  Speaker 1: a kind of spiritual reaction, returns the grace he receives
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  Speaker 1: in unceasing love and praise and prayer. Not only doth
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  Speaker 1: not commit sin while he thus keepeth himself, But so
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  Speaker 1: long as this seed remaineth in him, he cannot sin,
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  Speaker 1: because he is born of God. By sin, I here
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  Speaker 1: understand outward sin according to the plain, common acceptation of
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  Speaker 1: the Word and actual voluntary transgression of the law of
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  Speaker 1: the revealed written Law of God, of any commandment of
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  Speaker 1: God acknowledged to be such at the time that it
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  Speaker 1: is transgressed. But whoever is born of God, while he
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  Speaker 1: abideth in faith and love, and in the spirit of
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  Speaker 1: prayer and thanksgiving, not only doth not, but cannot thus
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  Speaker 1: commit sin. So long as he thus believeth in God
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  Speaker 1: through Christ, and loves Him, and is pouring out his
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  Speaker 1: heart before him, he cannot voluntarily transgress any command of God,
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  Speaker 1: either by speaking or acting what he knows God hath forbidden,
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  Speaker 1: so long that seed which remaineth in him, that loving, praying,
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  Speaker 1: thankful faith, compels him to refrain from whatsoever he knows
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  Speaker 1: to be an abomination in the sight of God. But
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  Speaker 1: here a difficulty will immediately occur, and one that to
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  Speaker 1: many has appeared insuperable and induced them to deny the
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  Speaker 1: plain assertion of the at and give up the privilege
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  Speaker 1: of the children of God. It is plain in fact
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  Speaker 1: that those whom we cannot deny to have been truly
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  Speaker 1: born of God, the spirit of God having given us
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  Speaker 1: in his word this infallible testimony concerning them, nevertheless not
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  Speaker 1: only could but did commit sin, even gross outward sin.
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  Speaker 1: They did transgress the plain known laws of God, speaking
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  Speaker 1: or acting what they knew He had forbidden. Thus David
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  Speaker 1: was unquestionably born of God. Or ever he was anointed
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  Speaker 1: king over Israel, he knew in whom he had believed,
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  Speaker 1: he was strong in faith, giving glory to God, the
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  Speaker 1: Lord saith he is my shepherd. Therefore can I lack nothing?
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  Speaker 1: He shall feed me in green pastures and lead me
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  Speaker 1: forth beside the waters of comfort. Yea, though I walk
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  Speaker 1: through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
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  Speaker 1: fear no evil, for thou art with me Psalm twenty three,
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  Speaker 1: verse one. He was filled with love, such as often
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  Speaker 1: constrained him to cry out, I will love THEE, O
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  Speaker 1: Lord my strength. The Lord is my stony rock and
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  Speaker 1: my defense, the horn also of my salvation and my refuge,
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  Speaker 1: Psalm twenty eight, verse one. He was a man of prayer,
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  Speaker 1: pouring out his soul before God in all circumstances of life,
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  Speaker 1: and abundant in praises and thanksgiving, Thy praise saith. He
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  Speaker 1: shall be ever in my mouth Psalm thirty four, verse one.
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  Speaker 1: Thou art my God, and I will thank THEE. Thou
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  Speaker 1: art my God, and I will praise thee Psalm one eighteen,
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  Speaker 1: verse twenty eight. And yet such a child of God
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  Speaker 1: could and did commits, Yea, the horrid sins of adultery
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  Speaker 1: and murder, and even after the Holy Ghost was more
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  Speaker 1: largely given after life and immortality were brought to light
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  Speaker 1: by the Gospel. We want not instances of the same
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  Speaker 1: melancholy kind, which were also doubtless written for our instruction. Thus,
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  Speaker 1: he who, probably from his selling all that he had
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  Speaker 1: and bringing the price for the relief of his poor brethren,
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  Speaker 1: was by the Apostles themselves surnamed Barnabas, that is, the
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  Speaker 1: son of Consolation Acts four Versus thirty six, thirty seven,
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  Speaker 1: who was so honored at Antioch as to be selected
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  Speaker 1: with Saul out of all the disciples, to carry their
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  Speaker 1: relief unto the brethren in Judea. Acts eleven, twenty nine
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  Speaker 1: and thirty This Barnabas, who, at his return from Judea, was,
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  Speaker 1: by the peculiar direction of the Holy Ghost, solemnly separated
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  Speaker 1: from the other prophets and teachers for the work whereunto
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  Speaker 1: God had called him Acts thirteen, Verses one to four,
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  Speaker 1: even to accompany the great Apostle among the gentiles, and
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  Speaker 1: to be his fellow laborer in every place. Nevertheless, was
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  Speaker 1: afterwards so sharp Acts fifteen, verse thirty five and thirty
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  Speaker 1: nine in his contention with Saint Paul, because he thought
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  Speaker 1: it not good to take with them John, in his
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  Speaker 1: visiting the brethren a second time, who had departed from
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  Speaker 1: them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work,
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  Speaker 1: that he himself also departed from the work, that he
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  Speaker 1: took John and sailed unto Cyprus. Acts fifteen, verse thirty nine,
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  Speaker 1: forsaking him to whom he had been in so immediate
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  Speaker 1: a manner, joined by the Holy Ghost. An instance more
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  Speaker 1: astonishing than both of these is given by Saint Paul
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  Speaker 1: in his Epistle to the Galatians. When Peter the Aged
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  Speaker 1: the Zealous, the first of the Apostles, one of the
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  Speaker 1: three most highly favored by his Lord, was come to Antioch,
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  Speaker 1: I withstood him to the face, because he was to
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  Speaker 1: be blamed, for before that certain came from James. He
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  Speaker 1: did eat with the Gentiles the Heathens converted to the
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  Speaker 1: Christian faith, as having been peculiarly taught of God that
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  Speaker 1: he should not call any man common or unclean, Acts ten,
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  Speaker 1: verse twenty eight. But when they were come, he separated himself,
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  Speaker 1: fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other
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  Speaker 1: Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was
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  Speaker 1: carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that
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  Speaker 1: they walked not uprightly. According to the truth of the Gospel.
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  Speaker 1: I he said unto Peter before them all. If thou,
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  Speaker 1: being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles,
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  Speaker 1: not regarding the ceremonial law of Moses, why compellest thou
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  Speaker 1: the Gentiles to live as do the Jews Galatians two,
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  Speaker 1: verse eleven. Here is also plain undeniable sin committed by
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  Speaker 1: one who was undoubtedly born of God. But how can
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  Speaker 1: this be reconciled with the assertion of Saint John, if
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  Speaker 1: taken in the obvious literal meaning that whosoever is born
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  Speaker 1: of God doth not commit sin? I answer what has
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  Speaker 1: been long observed is this, So long as he that
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  Speaker 1: is born of God keepeth himself, which he is able
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  Speaker 1: to do by the grace of God, the wicked one
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  Speaker 1: toucheth him not. But if he keepeth not himself, if
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  Speaker 1: he abide not in the faith, he may commit sin
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  Speaker 1: even as another man. It is easy therefore to understand
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  Speaker 1: how any of these children of God might be moved
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  Speaker 1: from his own steadfastness. And yet the great truth of
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  Speaker 1: God declared by the Apostle, remained steadfast and unshaken. He
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  Speaker 1: did not keep himself by that grace of God which
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  Speaker 1: was sufficient for him. He fell step by step, first
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  Speaker 1: into negative inward sin, not stirring up the gift of
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  Speaker 1: God which was in him, not watching unto prayer, not
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  Speaker 1: pressing on to the mark of the prize of his
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  Speaker 1: high calling. Then into positive inward sin, inclining to wickedness,
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  Speaker 1: with his heart giving way to some evil desire or temper.
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  Speaker 1: Next he lost his faith, his sight of a pardoning God,
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  Speaker 1: and consequently his love of God, and being then weak
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  Speaker 1: and like another man, he was capable of committing even
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  Speaker 1: outward sin. To explain this by a particular instance, David
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  Speaker 1: was born of God and saw God by faith. He
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  Speaker 1: loved God in sincerity. He could truly say, whom have
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  Speaker 1: I in Heaven but THEE. And there is none upon earth,
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  Speaker 1: neither person nor thing that I desire in comparison of THEE.
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  Speaker 1: But still there remained in his heart that corruption of nature,
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  Speaker 1: which is the seed of all evil. He was walking
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  Speaker 1: upon the roof of his house Second Samuel eleven, verse two,
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  Speaker 1: probably praising the God whom his soul loved. When he
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  Speaker 1: looked down and saw Bathsheba, he felt a temptation, a
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  Speaker 1: thought which tended to evil. The spirit of God did
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  Speaker 1: not fail to convince him of this. He doubtless heard
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  Speaker 1: and knew the warning voice. But he yielded in some
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  Speaker 1: measure to the thought, and the temptation began to prevail
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  Speaker 1: over him. Hereby his spirit was sullied. He saw God still,
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  Speaker 1: but it was more dimly than before. He loved God still,
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  Speaker 1: but not in the same degree, not with the same
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  Speaker 1: strength and ardor of affection. Yet God checked him again,
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  Speaker 1: though his spirit was grieved, and his voice, though fainter
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  Speaker 1: and fainter, still whispered, Sin, liath at the door, look
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  Speaker 1: unto me, and be thou saved. But he would not hear.
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  Speaker 1: He looked again, not unto God, but unto the forbidden object,
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  Speaker 1: till nature was superior to grace and kindled lust in
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  Speaker 1: his soul. The eye of his mind was now closed again,
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  Speaker 1: and God vanished out of his sight. Faith, the divine
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  Speaker 1: supernatural intercourse with God and the love of God cease together.
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  Speaker 1: He then rushed on as a horse into the battle
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  Speaker 1: and knowingly committed the outward sin. You see the unquestionable
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  Speaker 1: progress from grace to sin. Thus it goes on from
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  Speaker 1: step to step. One The divine seed of loving, conquering
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  Speaker 1: faith remains in him that is born of God. He
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  Speaker 1: keepeth himself by the grace of God and cannot commit sin.
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  Speaker 1: Two a temptation arises. Whether from the world, the flesh,
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  Speaker 1: or the devil, it matters not. Three the Spirit of
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  Speaker 1: God gives him warning that sin is near and bids
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  Speaker 1: him more abundantly watch unto prayer. Four he gives way
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: in some degree to the temptation, which now begins to
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: grow pleasing to him. Five the Holy Spirit is grief,
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: his faith is weakened, and his love of God grows cold.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Six the Spirit reproves him more sharply and saith, this
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: is the way, walk thou in it. Seven he turns
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: away from the painful voice of God and listens to
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: the pleasing voice of the tempter. Eight evil desire begins
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: and spreads in his soul, till faith and love banish away.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: He is then capable of committing outward sin, the power
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: of the Lord being departed from him. To explain this
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: by another instance, the apostle Peter was full of faith
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: and of the Holy Ghost, and hereby keeping himself he
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: had a conscious void of offense toward God and toward man.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: Walking thus in simplicity and godly sincerity. Before that certain
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: came from James. He did eat with the Gentiles, knowing
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: that what God had cleansed was not common or unclean.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: But when they were come, a temptation arose in his
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: heart to fear those of the circumcision, the Jewish converts,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: who were zealous for circumcision and the other rights of
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: the Mosaic law, and regard the favor and praise of
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: these men more than the praise of God. He was
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: warned by the Spirit that sin was near. Nevertheless, he
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: yielded to it in some degree, even to sinful fear
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: of man, and his faith and love were proportionably weakened.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: God reproved him again for giving place to the devil.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: Yet he would not hearken to the voice of his shepherd,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: but gave himself up to that slavish fear, and thereby
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: quenched the spirit. Then God disappeared, and faith and love
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: being extinct, he committed the outward sin, walking not uprightly,
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: not according to the truth of the Gospel. He separated
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: himself from his Christian brethren, and by his evil example,
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: if not advice, also compelled even the Gentiles to live
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: after the manner of the Jews to entangle themselves again
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: with that yoke of bondage from which Christ had set
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: them free. Thus it is unquestionably true that he who
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: is born of God, keeping himself doth not cannot commit sin.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: And yet if he keepeth not himself, he may commit
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: all manner of sin with greediness. From the preceding considerations,
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: we may learn first to give a clear and incontestable
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: answer to a question which has frequently perplexed many who
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: were sincere of heart. Does sin precede or follow the
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: loss of faith? Does a child of God first commit
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: sin and thereby lose his faith? Or does he lose
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: his faith first before he can commit sin? I answer,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: some sin of omission, at least must necessarily precede the
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: loss of faith, some inward sin, but the loss of
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: faith must precede the committing outward sin. The more any
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: believer examines his own heart, the more will he be
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: convinced of this, that faith working by love excludes both
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: inward and outward sin from a soul watching unto prayer.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: That nevertheless, we are even then liable to temptation, particularly
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: to the sin that did easily beset us that if
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: the loving eye of the soul be steadily fixed on God,
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: the temptation soon vanishes away. But if not, if we
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: are excel Cominoi, as the apostle James speaks James one,
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: verse fourteen, drawn out of God by our own desire,
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: and Deliazaminoi, caught by the bait of present or promised pleasure,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: then that desire conceived in us brings forth sin, And
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: having by that inward sin destroyed our faith, it casts
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: us headlong into the snare of the devil, so that
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: we may commit any outward sin whatever. From what has
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: been said, we may learn secondly, what the life of
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: God in the soul of a believer is, wherein it
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: properly consists, and what is immediately and necessarily implied therein
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: it immediately and necessarily implies the continual inspiration of God's
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, God's breathing into the soul, and the soul's
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: breathing back what it first receives from God, a continual
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: action of God upon the soul, and a reaction of
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: the soul upon God, an unceasing presence of God, the loving,
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: pardoning God, manifested to the heart and perceived by faith
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: and an unceasing return of love, praise and prayer, offering
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: up all the thoughts of our hearts, all the words
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: of our tongues, all the works of our hands, all
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: our body, soul and spirit, to be a holy sacrifice
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: acceptable unto God in Christ Jesus. And hence we may
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: thirdly infer the absolute necessity of this reaction of the soul,
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: whatsoever it be called, in order to continuance of the
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: divine life therein, For it plainly appears God does not
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: continue to act upon the soul unless the soul reacts
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: upon God. He prevents us. Indeed, with the blessings of
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: his goodness, he first loves us and manifests himself unto us,
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: while we are yet afar off. He calls us to
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: himself and shines upon our hearts. But if we do
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: not then love him who first loved us, if we
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: will not hearken to his voice, if we turn our
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: eye away from him and will not attend to the
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: light which he pours upon us, his spirit will not
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: always strive. He will gradually withdraw and leave us to
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: the darkness of our own hearts. He will not continue
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: to breathe into our soul, unless our soul breathes toward
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: him again, bless our love and prayer and thanksgiving, return
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: to him a sacrifice wherewith he is well pleased. Let
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: us learn, lastly to follow that direction of the Great Apostle.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: Be not high minded, but fear. Let us fear sin
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: more than death or hell. Let us have a jealous,
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: though not painful fear, lest we should lean to our
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: own deceitful hearts. Let him that standeth take heed, lest
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: he fall. Even he who now standeth fast in the
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: grace of God, in the faith that overcometh the world,
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: may nevertheless fall into inward sin, and thereby make shipwreck
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: of his faith. And how easily then will outward sin
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: regain its dominion over him. Thou, therefore, o man of God,
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: watch always that thou mayest always hear the voice of God.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: Watch that thou mayst pray without ceasing, at all times
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: and in all places, pouring out thy heart before him.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: So shalt thou always believe, and always love, and never
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: commit sin. End of Section nineteen