Sunday Column.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 29 March 1913, Page 4

Sunday Column.

THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. (By N. Hyde). Gal. 5-22. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace long-suff-ering. gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such j there is no law." The receiving of the Spirit in the Scripture is always followed or associated with light. The spiritually -dead, are called blind, and again it is promised "He that follows Me shall not walk into darkness but shall have the light of life." When the Spirit is received by a soul lie does not bring with Him any fresh faculties, but rather tho power to quicken and utilise those we already possess. For instanco. the man who can't sing before bo is Spirit-filled, can't sing after though he often thinks he can. A man who is not a talker before is not a talker afterwards. But the presence of the Spirit, quickens the powers we have and often resurrects powers in us that we did not believe really existed. The quickening of our powers and

| the resurrecting of others, gives us | a new lease of life. Where ia'the j past we bail failure and disappointj nienl now we have success. Indeed j this is a. fail' test as to whether you have really obtained tho Spirit, if you now have victory when once you bad failure. | Every Spirit-filled Christian ha#, j something ihev can do in a special | May lor Cod and the Spirit fits them j for this important work. I 01 all the blessed positions and joys j out of heaven, the Spirit-filled life lis the best, Tho height and depth j to which we may go. serves to make j us tail at His feet: and say "Lord, help Thou our unbelief." Look at at Bom. 8-1 : "'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ .Jesus, who walk not after j the flesh but after the Spirit," To be led by the Spirit is to be free I lom condinnation, And the reason why there i.s no eondemnatoin is simply beeau.se "whosoever abideth in ! lint sitmeth not," .Job 3-G. And ihose who have received the Spirit [ have crucified the flesh with till its | affections and lust." This is a boautilnl experience to have crucified the tush and be tree liom condemnation, yet it is yours if you will claim it. Again, another fruit of the Spirit i.s clean lonveisatiou and Christian charily. Ihe essence of religion is heart purity, and if the heart is pure then the utterance of the lips will fx- in love. Another fruit that is promised is \e ,-halJ lie witness, Xow what is a u'itne.-si One who tells what knows. It is not sufficient to be in court and swtnri on ii;o side of the |»l;iiiil;(1 or defendant: to bo a w,lne»s yen must srep into the box ai"i give e.'.'d-nce. In the same way aie not a wiiiies.s lor (>o<! m the -■I'lise spe.ak of. by ineielv saying lam a Christian. If you arc to iii!iio-.s you 111ust speak for Mini. If you cau'f sprak for Christ, then , V| '" may have oilier Iruit. but vou nave not tlm Iruil as .a u itness. ■ \no;her glorious fruit of the Spirit is 11 'inxhire oi zeal and optimism tnai fallows ihe reception of the spirit. A Spirit-filled Christian is zealous and is always an optimist. I.ook ai the trials of the early lathers; and yet the Spirit enabled (hem to surmount every difficulty. Peter

ui'i oi hers were put in prison, the

angel relr-a>in.i!; them; they are "light again lielore the council and beaten and ierbidden to preach ill Mis name; "and they departed from ilie presence ol the council rejoicing that t hey were counted worthy to Mifler shame for IJ is name." Look to I'aul and Silas, beaten and cast into prison "and at midnight they prayed and sang praises to God." tan you tell me oi any power heside that u| the Holy Spirit-, that will enable men t-o sing and rejoicein tne midst ol such persecution? If is the strangest testimony possible for (in- divine origin of Christianity that- disciples, who. .after all, were only men. could endure what they did. and yet count, it an honour and a cause lor rejoicing that thoA' were worthy to .suffer shame for a I'-'ne thai Ihey Jowl. [f further '■ridence is no-ded «s to what Spirit died Christians will do for the cause of Jesus, turn to If Cor 11 -23 to 28:

"Tn stripes iibovo ino.nsnro. in prisons moro frequent. in deaths oft. Of the -Jesus five times received 1 forty .-nve one. Thrice was T bonlon with rods, once wa.s T stoned, thrice f suffered shipwreck, a niglit mill day hare f been in the deep; in jeni p.ey:ngs often, in perils of vwiters. in perils of-robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen. i„ p { > r jl s j„ t ] lo cjtVi in perils in the wilderness, in perils in Ihe sea in perils of false brethren, in we;iiv.'K'ss and paiiifnlnc.ss. in waf'cl;inj{; fil'ten. in hlinger ,;md thirst ill often, in cold ;uu | nakedne.vs. Hesid,. Ihe><i thing*. thi? eare of all the ehurche.s." To lead .such a iviord one would natur;dly , v |,. lL AV . ls a]] this ' Uecaiisa; of Iho presence of the -Spirit within that made Paul happier to be I lie len.sfc of all i T , ( ,l u , kingdom ol heaven than to liavo til© highest »i!'is tlie v,or!d could give, i'e did net complain that he was caii.-d en to Mifi'er f (ir the ikwuo of Jcv-ns; and in the same letter J'oicrrod to abore he writes "most g,l-u]H f/ioreloi e will J orv in niy iniii mil ;,v, that the power -of Christ |'';iy rest on mo/' This is a glorious ovpericiK""! that the "lean" Cdiristian knows unfiling of. !'nt v. e utnot ivst in New Testament |!n I(N t f . the Morions triumphs of a S'pirit-fdlcd life! for we enn see them tn-dny. Some of onli best hymns have hocn written nndor

nreiimstaiiccs which show tho writers to have had much of this Spirit. Tt wns after a man had lost his wife and two children at sea that on hearing the news lie sat down and wrote those beautiful words: "When peace like a river attendeth my way, W.hon sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot Thou hast taught mo to know, It is well, it is well, with my soul." In the "Life of Faith'' recently

how iu one week their only two children had been taken by fever, and the report closed something like this: 'It was hard to put away their playthings and to think we should no longer hoar their 'liappy voices, but we are still four, only separated." This is brave language coming from a beroaved mother, but it was spoken in the power of that indwelling spirit which we speak of. Hut if the glorious peace and consecration we have been speaking of is a beautiful fruit of the Spirit, there is still another fruit which is better. This fruit is only seen in the ripest of Christians and is .so far above the ordinary Christian that he is inclined to deny it is .a possible fruit at all. The fruit referred to is living daily free from sin. This is only attained to by a few and then perhaps only for periods, yet it is nevertheless obtainable. that is. if the Scriptures are true. We will turn again to the Bible: "Whoso is born of God doth not commit sin Tjeoause ho is bom of God." John -3-10. Ho "cannot" sin. using "cannot" in the moral sense, because the indwelling spirit makes him to abb ore sin <ind he rejects it and will not allow it to remain or take root. He cannot sin in the same sense that God cannot sin. because ho M ill not. Seme have looked ,nt John 1-8: "If we say we have no sin wo deceive ourselves." and thought tin's was a contradiction to the other verso, but on examination it will be seen that the apostle speaks to those who would deny tho fact of sin, and he says to such they deceive themselves, and then continues to say "If we confess our sin. ITo is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from 'all' unrighteousness"; and again "if we would be cleansed from 'all' sin. then wo must walk in the light as He is in tho light." 1 John. 1-7. I"t is a glorious truth that Christ died to save us from "all" our sin and not only from part of our sin. If sin remains in your lifo it is because you desire it to be so. anr not because He cannot cleanse you from it. If you think it is impossible to live without sin. then you ciro in opposition fo tho Bible. ' and you charge God with passing the sentence of hell on unforgiven sin. when \ou say you cannot help sin being in I vour life. You have tho idea that < t is a disease or a weakness when j iii reality it is a definite act against j !od's revealed truth. Again look I :o the Old Book. Ps. 4-4, "Stand ' n awe and sin not," John 5-1-f. Jesus to the blind man: "Sin no noro lest a worse thing overtake lice." Physical blindness was bad. nit sin no more lest something worse 'onio upon you. Bom. (3-14," "Sin ball not have dominion over you." I Cor. 15-34, "Awake to the right-

- ousness and sin not." Eph. .1-26. l 'l3o angry and sin not." JTcmomber niv Christian friend, you will be condemned if you sin. Cod has I said so, and Ho has already said, "My grace is .sufficient for you." If von will stop and think you will see that if sin is in your life it is because the perfect work of tho Spirit has not been done. If by meditation ■uul prayer you can go an hour without sin. then you fan go a day, and also a year. It is n day by day, a moment by moment trust. It is -vhat the apostle meant when he .-•aid I'ray with ceasing. "He that committeth sin is of the devil." iind "for this purpose was the *M)n of Man manifested that he might destroy tho works of the dwilV Christ did, not fail in his mission, he did destroy the works of flip-devil, and if "our lives are hid with Christ in God," then the devil's work will !>e. destroyed in us also. This is the highest, point of human attainment, to bo free from sin, and by God's grace to have conquered Satan. Hi is is tho most beautiful experience out of hcavou. and it can lie yours. Press our dear brethren towards tho prize, and the work of your high calling. Look to Jesus, tho author and finisher of your faith. I?est satisfied with nothing less than Christian perfection. Work and pray till Ho conies for you, and you will join your voice with the hosts of God crying, '"I'or ever with the Lord; amen, so lot it bo."