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27 - Modern Revivals - The Great Controversy · Philosophy and Faith

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Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven. Modern revivals. Forever the Word of God
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Speaker 1: has been faithfully preached, results have followed that attested its
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Speaker 1: divine origin. The spirit of God accompanied the message of
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Speaker 1: his servants, and the Word was with power. Sinners felt
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Speaker 1: their consciences quickened. The light which lighteth every man that
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Speaker 1: cometh into the world illumined the secret chambers of their souls,
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Speaker 1: and the hidden things of darkness were made manifest. Deep
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Speaker 1: conviction took hold upon their minds and hearts. They were
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Speaker 1: convinced of sin and of righteousness, and of judgment to come.
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Speaker 1: They had a sense of the righteousness of Jehovah and
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Speaker 1: felt the terror of appearing in their guilt and uncleanness
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Speaker 1: before the surtuer of hearts. In anguish, they cried out,
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Speaker 1: who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
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Speaker 1: As the Cross of Calvary, with its infinite sacrifice for
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Speaker 1: the sins of men, was revealed, they saw that nothing
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Speaker 1: but the man wards of Christ could suffice to atone
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Speaker 1: for their transgressions. This alone could reconcile man to God.
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Speaker 1: With faith and humility, they accepted the lamb of God
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Speaker 1: that taketh away the sin of the world through the
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Speaker 1: blood of Jesus. They had remission of sins that are past.
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Speaker 1: These souls brought forth fruit meat for repentance. They believed
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Speaker 1: and were baptized, and rose to walk in newness of life,
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Speaker 1: new creatures in Christ Jesus, not to fashion themselves according
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Speaker 1: to the former lusts, but by the faith of the
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Speaker 1: Son of God, to follow in his steps, to reflect
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Speaker 1: his character, and to purify themselves even as He is pure.
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Speaker 1: The things they once hated they now loved, and the
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Speaker 1: things they once loved they hated. The proud and self
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Speaker 1: assertive became meek and lowly of heart. The vain and
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Speaker 1: supercilious became serious and unobtrusive. The profane became reverent, the
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Speaker 1: drunken sober, and the profligate pure vain. Fashions of the
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Speaker 1: world were laid aside. Christians sought not the outward adorning,
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Speaker 1: of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold, or
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Speaker 1: of putting on of apparel, but the hidden man of
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Speaker 1: the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the
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Speaker 1: ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in
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Speaker 1: the sight of God of great price. Revivals brought deep
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Speaker 1: heart searching and humility. They were characterized by solemn, earnest
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Speaker 1: appeals to the sinner, by yearning compassion for the purchase
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Speaker 1: of the blood of Christ. Men and women prayed and
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Speaker 1: wrestled with God for the salvation of souls. The fruits
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Speaker 1: of such revivals were seen in souls who shrank not
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Speaker 1: at self denial and sacrifice, but rejoiced that they were
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Speaker 1: counted worthy to suffer reproach and trial for the sake
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Speaker 1: of Christ. Men beheld a transformation in the lives of
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Speaker 1: those who had professed the name of Jesus. The community
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Speaker 1: was benefited by their influence. They gathered with Christ and
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Speaker 1: sowed to the spirit to reap life everlasting. It could
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Speaker 1: be said of them, ye sorrowed to repentance, for godly
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Speaker 1: sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of,
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Speaker 1: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold
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Speaker 1: this self, same thing that ye sorrowed, after a godly sort.
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Speaker 1: What carefulness it wrought in you? YEA, What clearing of
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Speaker 1: yourselves yea, What indignation yea, What fear YEA, What vehement
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Speaker 1: desire YEA, what zeal yea? What revenge? In all things
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Speaker 1: ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
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Speaker 1: This is the result of the work of the spirit
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Speaker 1: of God. There is no evidence of genuine repentance unless
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Speaker 1: it works reformation. If he restore the pledge, give a
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Speaker 1: gain that he had robbed, confess his sins, and love
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Speaker 1: God and his fellow men, the sinner may be sure
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Speaker 1: that he has found peace with God. Such were the
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Speaker 1: effects that in former years followed seasons of religious awakening.
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Speaker 1: Judged by their fruits, they were known to be blessed
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Speaker 1: of God in the salvation of men and the uplifting
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Speaker 1: of humanity. But many of the revivals of modern times
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Speaker 1: have presented a marked contrast to those manifestations of divine
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Speaker 1: grace which in earlier days followed the labors of God's servants.
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Speaker 1: It is true that a widespread interest is kindled, many
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Speaker 1: profess conversion, and there are large accessions to the churches. Nevertheless,
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Speaker 1: the results are not such as to warrant the belief
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Speaker 1: that there has been a corresponding increase of real spiritual life.
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Speaker 1: The light which flames up for a time soon dies out,
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Speaker 1: leaving the darkness more dense than before. Popular revivals are
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Speaker 1: too often carried by appeals to the imagination, by exciting
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Speaker 1: the emotions by gratifying the love for what is new
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Speaker 1: and startling. Converts thus gained have little desire to listen
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Speaker 1: to Bible truth, little interest in the testimony of prophets
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Speaker 1: and apostles. Unless a religious service has something of sensational character,
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Speaker 1: it has no attractions for them. A message which appeals
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Speaker 1: to unimpassioned reason awakens no response. The plain warnings of
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Speaker 1: God's word relating directly to their eternal interests are unheeded.
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Speaker 1: With every truly converted soul, the relation to God and
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Speaker 1: to eternal things will be the great topic of life.
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Speaker 1: But where in the popular churches of today is the
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Speaker 1: spirit of consecration to God. The converts do not renounce
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Speaker 1: their pride and love of the world. They are no
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Speaker 1: more willing to deny self, to take up the cross
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Speaker 1: and follow the meek and lowly Jesus than before their conversion.
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Speaker 1: Religion has become the sport of infidels and skeptics because
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Speaker 1: so many who bear its name are ignorant of its principles.
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Speaker 1: The power of Godliness has well nigh departed from many
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Speaker 1: of the churches, picnics, church theatricals, church fairs, fine houses,
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Speaker 1: personal display have banished thoughts of gods and goods, and
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Speaker 1: worldly occupations engross the mind, and things of eternal interest
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Speaker 1: receive hardly a passing notice. Notwithstanding the widespread declension of
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Speaker 1: faith and piety, there are true followers of Christ in
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Speaker 1: these churches. Before the final visitation of God's judgments upon
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Speaker 1: the earth, there will be among the people of the
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Speaker 1: Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not
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Speaker 1: been witnessed since Apostolic times. The spirit and power of
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Speaker 1: God will be poured out upon his children. At that time,
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Speaker 1: many will separate themselves from those churches in which the
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Speaker 1: love of this world has supplanted love for God and
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Speaker 1: his word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly
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Speaker 1: accept those great truths which God has caused to be
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Speaker 1: proclaimed at this time to prepare people for the Lord's
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Speaker 1: second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work,
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Speaker 1: and before the time for such a movement shall come,
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Speaker 1: he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit.
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Speaker 1: In those trips which he can bring under his deceptive power,
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Speaker 1: he will make it appear that God's special blessing is
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Speaker 1: poured out. There will be manifest what is thought to
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Speaker 1: be great religious interest, multitudes will exalt that God is
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Speaker 1: working marvelously for them, when the work is that of
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Speaker 1: another spirit under a religious guise, Satan will seek to
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Speaker 1: extend his influence over the Christian world. In many of
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Speaker 1: the revivals which have occurred during the last half century,
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Speaker 1: the same influences have been at work to a greater
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Speaker 1: or less degree that will be manifest in the more
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Speaker 1: extensive movements of the future. There is an emotional excitement,
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Speaker 1: a mingling of the true with the false that is
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Speaker 1: well adapted to mislead. Yet none need be deceived in
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Speaker 1: the light of God's word. It is not difficult to
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Speaker 1: determine the nature of these movements. Wherever men neglect the
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Speaker 1: testimony of the Bible, turning away from those plain, soul
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Speaker 1: testing truths which require self denial and renunciation of the world,
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Speaker 1: there we may be sure that God's blessing is not bestowed.
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Speaker 1: And by the rule which Christ himself has given, ye
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Speaker 1: shall know them by their fruits. It is evident that
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Speaker 1: these movements are not the work of the spirit of God.
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Speaker 1: In the truths of his word, God has given to
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Speaker 1: men a revelation of himself and to all who accept them.
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Speaker 1: They are a shield against the deceptions of Satan. It
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Speaker 1: is a neglect of these truths that has opened the
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Speaker 1: door to the evils which are now becoming so widespread
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Speaker 1: in the religious world. The nature and the importance of
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Speaker 1: the Law of God have been to a great extent lost.
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Speaker 1: Sight of a wrong conception of the character, the perpetuity
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Speaker 1: and the obligation of the Divine Law has led to
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Speaker 1: errors in relation to conversion and sanctification, and has resulted
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Speaker 1: in lowering the standard of piety in the church. Here
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Speaker 1: is to be found the secret of the lack of
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Speaker 1: the spirit and power of God. In the revivals of
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Speaker 1: our time. There are in the various denominations men and
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Speaker 1: then for their piety, by whom this fact is acknowledged
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Speaker 1: and deplored. Professor Edwards a park in setting forth the
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Speaker 1: current religious perils, ably says, one source of danger is
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Speaker 1: the neglect of the pulpit to enforce the Divine law.
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Speaker 1: In former days, the pulpit was an echo of the
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Speaker 1: voice of conscience. Our most illustrious preachers gave a wonderful
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Speaker 1: majesty to their discourses by following the example of the
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Speaker 1: Master and giving prominence to the law, its precepts, and
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Speaker 1: its threatenings. They repeated the two great maxims that the
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Speaker 1: law is a transcript of the divine perfections, and that
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Speaker 1: a man who does not love the Law does not
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Speaker 1: love the Gospel, for the Law, as well as the Gospel,
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Speaker 1: is a mirror reflecting the true character of God. This
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Speaker 1: peril leads to another, that of underrating the evil of sin,
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Speaker 1: the extent of it, the demerit of it, in proportion
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Speaker 1: to the rightfulness of the commandment is the wrongfulness of
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Speaker 1: disobeying it. To the dangers already named is the danger
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Speaker 1: of underestimating the justice of God. The tendency of the
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Speaker 1: modern pulpit is to strain out the divine justice from
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Speaker 1: the divine benevolence, to sink benevolence into a sentiment rather
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Speaker 1: than exalted into a principle. The new theological prism puts
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Speaker 1: asunder what God has joined together. Is the divine law
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Speaker 1: a good or an evil? It is a good, then
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Speaker 1: justice is good, for it is a disposition to execute
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Speaker 1: the law. From the habit of underrating the divine law
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Speaker 1: and justice, the extent and demerit of human disobedience, men
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Speaker 1: easily slide into the habit of underestimating the grace which
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Speaker 1: has provided an atonement for sin. Thus the Gospel loses
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Speaker 1: its value and importance in the minds of men, and
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Speaker 1: soon they are ready practically to cast aside the Bible itself.
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Speaker 1: Many religious teachers assert that Christ by his death abolished
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Speaker 1: the Law, and men are henceforth free from its requirements.
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Speaker 1: There are some who represent it as a grievous yoke,
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Speaker 1: and in contrast to the bondage of the Law, they
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Speaker 1: present the liberty to be enjoyed under the Gospel. But
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Speaker 1: not so did prophets and apostles regard the Holy Law
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Speaker 1: of God, said David, I will walk at liberty, for
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Speaker 1: I seek Thy precepts. The apostle James, who wrote after
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Speaker 1: the death of Christ, refers to the Decalogue as the
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Speaker 1: royal law and the perfect law of liberty, and the Revelator,
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Speaker 1: half a century after the crucifixion, pronounces a blessing upon
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Speaker 1: them that do his commandments, that they may have right
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Speaker 1: to the Tree of life and may enter in through
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Speaker 1: the gates into the city. The claim that Christ by
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Speaker 1: his death abolished his father's law is without foundation. Had
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Speaker 1: it been possible for the law to be changed or
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Speaker 1: set aside. Then Christ need not have died to save
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Speaker 1: man from the penalty of sin. The death of Christ,
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Speaker 1: so far from abolishing the law, proves that it is immutable.
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Speaker 1: The Son of God came to magnify the law and
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Speaker 1: make it honorable. He said, think not that I am
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Speaker 1: come to destroy the law. Till heaven and earth pass
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Speaker 1: one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass
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Speaker 1: from the law. And concerning himself, he declares, I delight
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Speaker 1: to do thy will, O my God. YEA, thy law
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Speaker 1: is within my heart. The Law of God, from its
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Speaker 1: very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the
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Speaker 1: will and the character of its author. God is love,
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Speaker 1: and his law is love. Its two great principles are
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Speaker 1: love to God and love to man. Love is the
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Speaker 1: fulfilling of the law. The character of God is righteousness
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Speaker 1: and truth. Such is the nature of his law, says
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Speaker 1: the Psalmist. Thy law is the truth. All thy commandments
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Speaker 1: are righteousness, and the apostle Paul declares, the Law is holy,
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Speaker 1: and the commandment holy and just and good. Such a law,
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Speaker 1: being an expression of the mind and will of God,
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Speaker 1: must be as enduring as its author. It is the
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Speaker 1: work of conversion and sanctification to reconcile men to God
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Speaker 1: by bringing them into accord with the principles of his law.
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Speaker 1: In the beginning, man was created in the image of God.
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Speaker 1: He was in perfect harmony with the nature and the
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Speaker 1: law of God. The principles of righteousness were written upon
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Speaker 1: his heart. But sin alienated him from his maker. He
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Speaker 1: no longer reflected the divine image. His heart was at
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Speaker 1: war with the principles of God's law. The carnal mind
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Speaker 1: is enmity against God, for it is not subject to
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Speaker 1: the law of God. Neither indeed can be. But God
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Speaker 1: so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,
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Speaker 1: that man might be reconciled to God. Through the merits
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Speaker 1: of Christ. He can be restored to harmony with his Maker.
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Speaker 1: His heart must be renewed by divine grace. He must
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Speaker 1: have a new life from above. This change is the
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Speaker 1: new birth, without which, says Jesus, he cannot see the
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Speaker 1: Kingdom of God. The first step in reconciliation to God
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Speaker 1: is the conviction of sin. Sin is the transgression of
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Speaker 1: the law. By the law, is the knowledge of sin
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Speaker 1: in order to see his guilt. The sinner must test
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Speaker 1: his character by God's great standard of righteousness. It is
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Speaker 1: a mirror which shows the perfection of a righteous character
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Speaker 1: and enables him to discern the defects in his own.
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Speaker 1: The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides
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Speaker 1: no remedy. While it promises life to the obedient, it
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Speaker 1: declares that death is the portion of the transgressor The
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Speaker 1: Gospel of Christ alone can free him from the condemnation
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Speaker 1: or the defilement of sin. He must exercise repentance toward God,
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Speaker 1: whose law has been transgressed, and faith in Christ is his
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Speaker 1: atoning sacrifice. Thus he obtains remission of sins that are past,
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Speaker 1: and becomes a partition of the divine nature. He is
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Speaker 1: a child of God, having received the spirit of adoption.
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Speaker 1: Whereby he cries, Abbah, Father, Is he now free to
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Speaker 1: transgress God's law? Says Paul, Do we then make void
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Speaker 1: the law? Through faith? God forbid? Yea we establish the law?
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Speaker 1: How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer?
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Speaker 1: Therein and John declares, this is the love of God
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Speaker 1: that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous.
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Speaker 1: In the new birth, the heart is brought into harmony
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Speaker 1: with God as it is brought into accord with His law.
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Speaker 1: When this mighty change has taken place in the sinner,
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Speaker 1: he has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness,
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Speaker 1: from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The old
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Speaker 1: life of alienation from God has ended, the new life
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Speaker 1: of reconciliation of faith and love has begun. Then the
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Speaker 1: righteousness of the law will be fulfilled than us who
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Speaker 1: walk not after the flesh but after the spirit, and
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Speaker 1: the language of the soul will be Oh, how love
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Speaker 1: I Thy law. It is my meditation all the day.
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Speaker 1: The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
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Speaker 1: Without the law, men have no just conception of the
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Speaker 1: purity and holiness of God, or of their own guilt
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Speaker 1: and uncleanness. They have no true conviction of sin and
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Speaker 1: feel no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition
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Speaker 1: as violators of God's law, they do not realize their
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Speaker 1: need of the atoning blood of Christ. The hope of
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Speaker 1: salvation is accepted without a radical change of heart or
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Speaker 1: reformation of life. Thus, superficial conversions abound, and multitudes are
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Speaker 1: joined to the Church who have never been united to Christ.
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Speaker 1: Erroneous theories of sanctification, also springing from neglect or rejection
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Speaker 1: of the Divine law, have a prominent place in the
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Speaker 1: religious movements of the day. These theories are both false
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Speaker 1: in doctrine and dangerous in practical results, and the fact
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Speaker 1: that they are so generally finding favor renders it doubly
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Speaker 1: essential that all have a clear understanding of what the
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Speaker 1: scriptures teach. Upon this point, true sanctification is a Bible doctrine.
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Speaker 1: The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonian Church, declares,
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Speaker 1: this is the will of God, even your sanctification, and
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Speaker 1: he prays, the very God of Peace sanctify you wholly.
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Speaker 1: The Bible clearly teaches what sanctification is and how it
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Speaker 1: is to be attained. The Savior prayed for his disciples
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Speaker 1: sanctify them through Thy Truth. Thy Word is truth, and
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Speaker 1: Paul teaches that believers are to be sanctified by the
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Speaker 1: Holy Ghost. What is the work of the Holy Spirit.
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Speaker 1: Jesus told his disciples. When he the Spirit of truth
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Speaker 1: is come, he will guide you into all truth. And
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Speaker 1: the Psalmist says, thy law is the truth. By the
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Speaker 1: Word and the Spirit of God are open to men
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Speaker 1: the great principles of righteousness embodied in His law. And
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Speaker 1: since the Law of God is holy and just and good,
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Speaker 1: a transcript of the divine perfection, it follows that a
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Speaker 1: character formed by obedience to that law will be holy.
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Speaker 1: Christ is a perfect example of such a character. He says,
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Speaker 1: I have kept my father's commandments. I do always those
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Speaker 1: things that please him. The followers of Christ are to
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Speaker 1: become like him, by the grace of God, to form
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Speaker 1: characters in harmony with the principles of his holy Law.
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Speaker 1: This is Bible sanctification. This work can be accomplished only
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Speaker 1: through faith in Christ, by the power of the indwelling
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Speaker 1: spirit of God. Paul admonishes believers work out your own
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Speaker 1: salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which
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Speaker 1: worketh in you, both to will and to do of
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Speaker 1: His good pleasure. The Christian will feel the promptings of sin,
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Speaker 1: but he will maintain a constant warfare against it. Here
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Speaker 1: is where Christ's help is needed. Human weakness becomes united
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Speaker 1: to divine strength, and faith exclaims thanks be to God
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Speaker 1: which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: The scriptures plainly show that the work of sanctification is progressive.
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Speaker 1: When in conversion the sinner finds peace with God through
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Speaker 1: the blood of the Atonement. The Christian life has but
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Speaker 1: just begun. Now he is to go on unto perfection,
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Speaker 1: to grow up unto the measure of the stature of
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Speaker 1: the fullness of Christ. Says the apostle Paul, This one
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Speaker 1: thing I do forgetting those things which are behind, and
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Speaker 1: reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press
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Speaker 1: toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
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Speaker 1: of God in Christ. Jesus and Peter sets before us
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Speaker 1: the steps by which Bible sanctification is to be attained,
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Speaker 1: Giving all diligence, Add to your faith, virtue and to virtue,
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Speaker 1: knowledge and to knowledge, Temperance and to temperance, patience and
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Speaker 1: to patience, Godliness and to godliness, brotherly kindness and to
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Speaker 1: brotherly kindness charity. If ye do these things, ye shall
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Speaker 1: never fall. Those who experience the sanctification of the Bible
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Speaker 1: will manifest a spirit of humility, like Moses. They have
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Speaker 1: had a view of the awful majesty of holiness, and
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Speaker 1: they see their own unworthiness in contrast with the purity
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Speaker 1: and exalted perfection of the infinite One. The prophet Daniel
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Speaker 1: was an example of true sanctification. His long life was
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Speaker 1: filled up with noble service for his master. He was
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Speaker 1: a man greatly beloved of Heaven. Yet instead of claiming
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Speaker 1: to be pure and holy, this honored prophet identified himself
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Speaker 1: with the really sinful of Israel. As he pleaded before
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Speaker 1: God in behalf of his people, we do not present
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Speaker 1: our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy
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Speaker 1: great mercies. We have sinned, we have done wickedly. He declares.
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Speaker 1: I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and
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Speaker 1: the sin of my people. And when at a later time,
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Speaker 1: the Son of God appeared to give him instruction, Daniel says,
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Speaker 1: my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I
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Speaker 1: retained no strength. When JOB heard the voice of the Lord,
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Speaker 1: out of the horowind, he exclaimed, I abhor myself and
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Speaker 1: repent in dust and ashes. It was when Isaiah saw
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Speaker 1: the glory of the Lord and heard the Cheriobim crying Holy, Holy,
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Speaker 1: Holy is the Lord of Hosts that he cried out,
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Speaker 1: woe is me, for I am undone. Paul, after he
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Speaker 1: was caught up into the third heaven and heard things
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Speaker 1: which it was not possible for a man to utter.
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Speaker 1: Speaks of himself as less than the least of all saints.
21:49
Speaker 1: It was the beloved John who leaned on jesus breast
21:52
Speaker 1: and beheld his glory, that fell as one dead before
21:55
Speaker 1: the feet of the Angel. There can be no self exaltation,
22:00
Speaker 1: no boastful claim to freedom from sin on the part
22:03
Speaker 1: of those who walk in the shadow of Calvary's cross.
22:07
Speaker 1: They feel that it was their sin which caused the
22:09
Speaker 1: agony that broke the heart of the Son of God,
22:12
Speaker 1: and this thought will lead them to self abasement. Those
22:15
Speaker 1: who live nearest to Jesus disern most clearly the frailty
22:19
Speaker 1: and sinfulness of humanity, and their only hope is in
22:22
Speaker 1: the merit of a crucified and risen Savior. The sanctification
22:27
Speaker 1: now gaining prominence in the religious world, carries with it
22:30
Speaker 1: a spirit of self exaltation and a disregard for the
22:33
Speaker 1: law of God that market us foreign to the religion
22:36
Speaker 1: of the Bible. Its advocates teach that sanctification is an
22:41
Speaker 1: instantaneous work by which, through faith alone they attain to
22:45
Speaker 1: perfect holiness. Only believe, say they, and the blessing is yours.
22:52
Speaker 1: No further effort on the part of the receiver is
22:54
Speaker 1: supposed to be required. At the same time, they deny
22:58
Speaker 1: the authority of the law of God, urging that they
23:01
Speaker 1: are released from obligation to keep the commandments. But is
23:05
Speaker 1: it possible for men to be holy in accord with
23:08
Speaker 1: the will and character of God without coming into harmony
23:11
Speaker 1: with the principles, which are an expression of His nature
23:13
Speaker 1: and will, and which show what is well pleasing to him.
23:18
Speaker 1: The desire for an easy religion that requires no striving,
23:21
Speaker 1: no self denial, no divorce from the follies of the world,
23:25
Speaker 1: has made the doctrine of faith and faith only a
23:27
Speaker 1: popular doctrine. But what saith the word of God? Says
23:32
Speaker 1: the apostle James, What doth it profit? My brethren? Though
23:36
Speaker 1: a man say he hath faith and have not works?
23:39
Speaker 1: Can faith save him? Wilt thou know, o vain man,
23:43
Speaker 1: that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our
23:47
Speaker 1: father justified by works? When he had offered Isaac his
23:50
Speaker 1: son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with
23:53
Speaker 1: his works? And by works was faith made perfect? Ye?
23:57
Speaker 1: See then, how that by works a man is justied,
24:00
Speaker 1: and not by faith. Only. The testimony of the Word
24:04
Speaker 1: of God is against this ensnaring doctrine of faith without works.
24:09
Speaker 1: It is not faith that claims the favor of heaven
24:12
Speaker 1: without complying with the conditions upon which mercy is to
24:15
Speaker 1: be granted. It is presumption. For genuine faith has its
24:19
Speaker 1: foundation in the promises and provisions of the scriptures. Let
24:23
Speaker 1: none deceive themselves with the belief that they can become
24:26
Speaker 1: holy while wilfully violating one of God's requirements. The commission
24:31
Speaker 1: of a known sin silences the witnessing voice of the
24:34
Speaker 1: spirit and separates the soul from God. Sin is the
24:38
Speaker 1: transgression of the law. And whosoever sinneth transgresseth the law
24:44
Speaker 1: hath not seen him, neither known him. Though John and
24:48
Speaker 1: his epistles dwell so fully upon love, yet he does
24:51
Speaker 1: not hesitate to reveal the true character of that class
24:55
Speaker 1: who claim to be sanctified while living in transgression of
24:58
Speaker 1: the law of God. He that saith I know Him
25:01
Speaker 1: and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the
25:04
Speaker 1: truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word
25:07
Speaker 1: in him verily is the love of God perfected. Here
25:11
Speaker 1: is the test of every man's profession. We cannot accord
25:16
Speaker 1: holiness to any man without bringing him to the measurement
25:19
Speaker 1: of God's only standard of holiness in heaven and in earth.
25:23
Speaker 1: If men feel no weight of the moral law, if
25:26
Speaker 1: they belittle and make light of God's precepts, if they
25:29
Speaker 1: break one of the least of these commandments and teach men,
25:32
Speaker 1: so they shall be of no esteem in the side
25:34
Speaker 1: of Heaven. And we may know that their claims are
25:37
Speaker 1: without foundation. And the claim to be without sin is
25:42
Speaker 1: in itself evidence that he who makes this claim as
25:45
Speaker 1: far from holy. It is because he has no true
25:49
Speaker 1: conception of the infinite purity and holiness of God, or
25:52
Speaker 1: of what they must become. Who shall be in harmony
25:54
Speaker 1: with his character, because he has no true conception of
25:57
Speaker 1: the purity and exalted loveliness of Jane Jesus and the
26:01
Speaker 1: malignity and evil of sin. That man can regard himself
26:04
Speaker 1: as holy. The greater the distance between himself and Christ,
26:09
Speaker 1: and the more inadequate his conceptions of the divine character
26:12
Speaker 1: and requirements, the more righteous he appears in his own eyes.
26:17
Speaker 1: The sanctification set forth in the scriptures embraces the entire
26:21
Speaker 1: being spirit, soul and body. Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that
26:27
Speaker 1: their whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless
26:30
Speaker 1: unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, he
26:34
Speaker 1: writes to believers, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the
26:38
Speaker 1: mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
26:41
Speaker 1: sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God. In the time of ancient Israel,
26:47
Speaker 1: every offering brought us a sacrifice to God was carefully examined.
26:52
Speaker 1: If any defect was discovered in the animal presented, it
26:55
Speaker 1: was refused, for God had commanded that the offering be
26:59
Speaker 1: without blemish. So Christians are bidden to present their bodies
27:04
Speaker 1: a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God. In order to
27:08
Speaker 1: do this, all their powers must be preserved in the
27:11
Speaker 1: best possible condition. Every practice that weakens physical or mental
27:16
Speaker 1: strength unfits man for the service of his Creator. And
27:21
Speaker 1: will God be pleased with anything less than the best
27:23
Speaker 1: we can offer. Said Christ. Thou shalt love the Lord
27:27
Speaker 1: thy God with all thy heart. Those who do love
27:31
Speaker 1: God with all the heart will desire to give Him
27:33
Speaker 1: the best service of their life, and they will be
27:36
Speaker 1: constantly seeking to bring every power of their being into
27:39
Speaker 1: harmony with the laws that will promote their ability to
27:41
Speaker 1: do His will. They will not, by the indulgence of
27:45
Speaker 1: appetite or passion, enfeeble or defile the offering which they
27:49
Speaker 1: present to their heavenly Father. Peter says, abstain from fleshly
27:54
Speaker 1: lusts which war against the soul. Every sinful gratification tend
28:00
Speaker 1: to become the faculties and deaden the mental and spiritual perceptions.
28:04
Speaker 1: And the word or the Spirit of God can make
28:06
Speaker 1: but a feeble impression upon the heart. Paul writes to
28:10
Speaker 1: the Corinthians, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
28:14
Speaker 1: the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,
28:19
Speaker 1: and with the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace,
28:22
Speaker 1: long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, he classes, temperance. Notwithstanding
28:29
Speaker 1: these inspired declarations, how many professed Christians are enfeebling their
28:34
Speaker 1: powers in the pursuit of gain or the worship of fashion.
28:37
Speaker 1: How many are debasing their godlike manhood by gluttony, by
28:41
Speaker 1: wine drinking, by forbidden pleasure. And the Church, instead of rebuking,
28:46
Speaker 1: too often encourages the evil by appealing to appetite, to
28:49
Speaker 1: desire for gain or love of pleasure to replenish her treasury,
28:53
Speaker 1: which love for Christ is too feeble to supply. Were
28:58
Speaker 1: Jesus to enter the churches of today and behold the
29:00
Speaker 1: feasting and unholy traffic there conducted in the name of religion,
29:04
Speaker 1: would he not drive out those desecrators as he vanished
29:07
Speaker 1: the money changers from the temple. The Apostle James declares
29:12
Speaker 1: that the wisdom from above is first pure. Had he
29:16
Speaker 1: encountered those who take the precious name of Jesus upon
29:19
Speaker 1: lips defiled by tobacco, those whose breath and person are
29:23
Speaker 1: contaminated by its foul odor, and who pollute the air
29:26
Speaker 1: of heaven and force all about them to inhale the poison.
29:29
Speaker 1: Had the Apostle come in contact with a practice so
29:32
Speaker 1: opposed to the purity of the Gospel, would he not
29:35
Speaker 1: have denounced it as earthly sensual Devilish slaves of tobacco,
29:41
Speaker 1: claiming the blessing of entire sanctification talk of their hope
29:44
Speaker 1: of heaven. But God's word plainly declares that there shall
29:48
Speaker 1: in no wise enter into it anything that defileth know
29:52
Speaker 1: ye not that your body is the temple of the
29:54
Speaker 1: Holy Ghost, which is in you which ye have of God,
29:57
Speaker 1: and ye are not your own, for ye are bought
29:59
Speaker 1: with the press. Therefore, glorify God in your body and
30:02
Speaker 1: in your spirit, which are gods. He whose body is
30:07
Speaker 1: the temple of the Holy Spirit, will not be enslaved
30:09
Speaker 1: by a pernicious habit. His powers belong to Christ, who
30:13
Speaker 1: has bought him with the price of blood. His property
30:17
Speaker 1: is the Lord's. How could he be guiltless in squandering
30:20
Speaker 1: this entrusted capital. Professed Christians yearly expend an immense sum
30:25
Speaker 1: upon useless and pernicious indulgences, while souls are perishing for
30:30
Speaker 1: the Word of life. God is robbed in tithes and offerings,
30:34
Speaker 1: while they consume upon the altar of destroying lust more
30:37
Speaker 1: than they give to relieve the poor or for the
30:39
Speaker 1: support of the Gospel. If all who profess to be
30:43
Speaker 1: followers of Christ were truly sanctified, their means, instead of
30:47
Speaker 1: being spent for needless and even hurtful indulgences, would be
30:51
Speaker 1: turned into the Lord's treasury, and Christians would set an
30:54
Speaker 1: example of temperance, self denial, and self sacrifice. Then they
30:58
Speaker 1: would be the light of the world world. The world
31:02
Speaker 1: is given up to self indulgence, the lust of the flesh,
31:06
Speaker 1: the lust of the eye, and the pride of life
31:08
Speaker 1: control the masses of the people. But Christ's followers have
31:11
Speaker 1: a holier calling. Come out from among them, and be
31:15
Speaker 1: ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean.
31:20
Speaker 1: In the light of God's word, we are justified in
31:22
Speaker 1: declaring that sanctification cannot be genuine, which does not work
31:26
Speaker 1: this utter renunciation of the sinful pursuits and gratifications of
31:30
Speaker 1: the world. To those who comply with the conditions, come
31:34
Speaker 1: out from among them, and be ye separate and touch
31:37
Speaker 1: not the unclean. God's promise is, I will receive you
31:41
Speaker 1: and will be a father unto you, and ye shall
31:43
Speaker 1: be my sons and daughters, Saith the Lord Almighty. It
31:47
Speaker 1: is the privilege and the duty of every Christian to
31:50
Speaker 1: have a rich and abundant experience in the things of God.
31:54
Speaker 1: I am the light of the world, said Jesus. He
31:57
Speaker 1: that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, shall have
32:00
Speaker 1: the light of life. The path of the just is
32:04
Speaker 1: as the shining light that shineth more and more unto
32:06
Speaker 1: the perfect day. Every step of faith and obedience brings
32:11
Speaker 1: the soul into closer connection with the light of the world,
32:14
Speaker 1: in whom there is no darkness at all. The bright
32:18
Speaker 1: beams of the Sun of righteousness shine upon the servants
32:20
Speaker 1: of God, and they are to reflect his rays. As
32:25
Speaker 1: the stars tell us that there is a great light
32:27
Speaker 1: in heaven, with whose glory they are made bright. So
32:30
Speaker 1: Christians are to make it manifest that there is a
32:33
Speaker 1: God on the throne of the universe, whose character is
32:36
Speaker 1: worthy of praise and imitation. The graces of his spirit,
32:40
Speaker 1: the purity and holiness of his character, will be manifest
32:44
Speaker 1: in his witnesses. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians,
32:48
Speaker 1: sets forth the rich blessings granted to the children of God.
32:53
Speaker 1: He says, we do not cease to pray for you,
32:56
Speaker 1: and to desire that ye might be filled with the
32:58
Speaker 1: knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
33:01
Speaker 1: that he might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,
33:04
Speaker 1: being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the
33:08
Speaker 1: knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to his
33:11
Speaker 1: glorious power, unto all patience, and long suffering with joyfulness. Again,
33:17
Speaker 1: he writes of his desire that the brethren at Ephesus
33:20
Speaker 1: might come to understand the height of the Christian's privilege.
33:24
Speaker 1: He opens before them in the most comprehensive language, the
33:28
Speaker 1: marvelous power and knowledge that they might possess as sons
33:31
Speaker 1: and daughters of the Most High. It was theirs to
33:35
Speaker 1: be strengthened with might by His spirit in the inner man,
33:38
Speaker 1: to be rooted and grounded in love, to comprehend with
33:41
Speaker 1: all saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth
33:44
Speaker 1: and height, And to know the love of Christ which
33:47
Speaker 1: passeth knowledge. But the prayer of the Apostle reaches the
33:50
Speaker 1: climax of privilege when he prays that ye might be
33:53
Speaker 1: filled with all the fullness of God. Here are revealed
33:57
Speaker 1: the heights of attainment that we may reach the through faith
34:00
Speaker 1: in the promises of our heavenly Father. When we fulfill
34:03
Speaker 1: his requirements through the merits of Christ, we have access
34:08
Speaker 1: to the throne of infinite power. He that spired not
34:12
Speaker 1: his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
34:15
Speaker 1: How shall he not with him also freely give us
34:17
Speaker 1: all things. The Father gave his spirit without measure to
34:21
Speaker 1: his son, and we also may partake fits fulness. Jesus says,
34:26
Speaker 1: if ye, then, being evil, know how to give good
34:29
Speaker 1: gifts unto your children. How much more shall your heavenly
34:33
Speaker 1: Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.
34:36
Speaker 1: If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will
34:38
Speaker 1: do it. Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy
34:41
Speaker 1: may be full. While the Christian's life will be characterized
34:46
Speaker 1: by humility, it should not be marked with sadness and
34:48
Speaker 1: self depreciation. It is the privilege of every one so
34:52
Speaker 1: to live, that God will approve and bless him. It
34:55
Speaker 1: is not the will of our heavenly Father that we
34:57
Speaker 1: should be ever under condemnation and dark. There is no
35:02
Speaker 1: evidence of true humility in going with the head bowed
35:05
Speaker 1: down and the heart filled with thoughts of self. We
35:08
Speaker 1: may go to Jesus and be cleansed and stand before
35:11
Speaker 1: the law without shame and remorse. There is therefore now
35:15
Speaker 1: no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
35:19
Speaker 1: walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Through Jesus,
35:23
Speaker 1: the fallen sons of Adam become sons of God. Both
35:27
Speaker 1: He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified, are all
35:30
Speaker 1: of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to
35:33
Speaker 1: call them brethren. The Christian's life should be one of faith,
35:37
Speaker 1: a victory and joy in God. Whatsoever is born of
35:41
Speaker 1: God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that
35:45
Speaker 1: overcometh the world. Even our faith truly spake God's servant Nehemiah.
35:50
Speaker 1: The joy of the Lord is your strength. And Paul says,
35:54
Speaker 1: rejoice in the Lord alway. And again I say, rejoice,
35:59
Speaker 1: Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing in everything, Give thanks, for
36:04
Speaker 1: this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
36:08
Speaker 1: Such are the fruits of Bible, conversion and sanctification. And
36:12
Speaker 1: it is because the great principles of righteousness set forth
36:15
Speaker 1: in the Law of God are so indifferently regarded by
36:18
Speaker 1: the Christian world that these fruits are so rarely witnessed.
36:22
Speaker 1: This is why there is manifest so little of that deep,
36:25
Speaker 1: abiding work of the Spirit of God which marked revivals
36:29
Speaker 1: in former years. It is by beholding that we become changed.
36:34
Speaker 1: And as those sacred precepts in which God has opened
36:37
Speaker 1: to men the perfection and holiness of His character are neglected,
36:41
Speaker 1: and the minds of the people are attracted to human
36:43
Speaker 1: teachings and theories. What marvel that there has followed a
36:47
Speaker 1: decline of living piety in the church. Saith the Lord.
36:51
Speaker 1: They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and
36:54
Speaker 1: hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
37:00
Speaker 1: Thus it is the man that walketh not in the
37:02
Speaker 1: council of the ungodly. But his delight is in the
37:05
Speaker 1: law of the Lord. And in his law doth he
37:08
Speaker 1: meditate day and night. And he shall be like a
37:11
Speaker 1: tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
37:14
Speaker 1: his fruit in his season. His lief also shall not wither,
37:18
Speaker 1: and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. It is only as
37:22
Speaker 1: the law of God is restored to its rightful position,
37:25
Speaker 1: that there can be a revival of primitive faith and
37:27
Speaker 1: godliness among His professed people. Thus saith the Lord. Stand
37:32
Speaker 1: ye in the ways, and see and ask for the
37:35
Speaker 1: old paths, Where is the good way? And walk therein,
37:38
Speaker 1: and ye shall find rest for your souls. End of
37:42
Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven.