HOLINESS AS IT PERTAINS TO MAN

"Be ye holy."

We have seen what holiness is, as it pertains to God; now let us consider it as pertaining to man, and our first consideration will be

The Nature of Holiness.

1. It is the conformity of heart and life to the law of God, His moral law is the standard of rectitude to moral agents in all parts of the universe, and it pertains to the thoughts and intents of the heart, as well as the acts of the life, great or small. The state of heart which holiness implies will, of necessity, lead to a holy life, for if we make the tree good, the fruit will be good also.

2. This holiness is not experienced at the time of conversion, though the principle is then implanted. The seeking sinner has not learned the plague of his heart. He is chiefly concerned to secure pardon, not purity; he is weighed down under a load of guilt, and seeks its removal, and when God, for Christ's sake, forgives his sin, the Holy Spirit renews his heart, and he becomes "a new creature," a heavenly peace pervades his soul, and he fondly supposes that all his conflicts are at an end; that, because sin does not rule, that therefore it does not exist. But in time he finds the rising of pride, anger, or lust, showing him that although the power of sin is broken, it is not destroyed; that, though the man of sin is wounded, yet he is not slain; that, though the tree of sin is cut down, there are yet the roots of bitterness which spring up and trouble him. This was the experience of Bible Christians, as the epistles of Paul plainly show. And this is the experience of Christians in the present day; inbred corruptions still remain and must be cast out, or constant war must be kept up, sometimes conquering and sometimes conquered, and this is the very state in which the mass of believers live, and alas! many of them have never heard that there is any Holy Ghost that can sanctify them from all sin. They have yet to prove by experience that

"There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains."

Now this is a work that must be carried on after conversion, It is a second blessing, in harmony with, separate from, and subsequent to, the work of conversion. If there are any exceptions, those only establish the rule.

3. The holiness in question is the casting out of those inbred sins, the purification of the moral nature, and the restoration of the image of God, so that the soul is all glorious within, having all the fruits of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."

4. In this state, love is the ruling principle. Perfect or supreme love to God, and equal love to man, becomes the habit of his soul. The supreme affections find their center in God, so that as I gaze upon the celestial host I can say, "Whom have I in heaven but thee."' And as I gaze upon the dearest ones of earth I can say, "There is none upon earth that I desire beside thee."

5. The will is brought into blessed harmony with the will of God. This ruling faculty of the soul is the last to submit to the full claims of God, but in this state of holiness it must submit.

"Not my will, but thine be done."

"Prince of Peace, control my will;

Bid this struggling heart be still.

May thy will, not mine, be done;

May thy will and mine be one."

6. The conscience -- "God's vicegerent in the soul" -- becomes quick and tender, the slightest touch of sin to feel; just as the apple of the eye has no rest, when some foreign element is inclosed Therein, just so the sanctified conscience will give the soul no peace in the presence of the least sin.

7. The imagination, the creative faculty, will be filled with holy pictures, and pervaded by holy influences. And we never can tell the blessedness of a sanctified imagination. This is manifest in the night-watches.

8. We must ever maintain that holiness is the Conformity of the heart and life to the law of God, given to men in Eden and from Mount Sinai, and this law pertains to his physical, intellectual, and moral nature. But all these powers have been weakened by sin, so that we have not the capacity for virtue and piety that we should otherwise have had. But how can we harmonize these positions? The law will not compromise with sin or lower its claims, and yet the best of Christians are defective in judgment, word, or work. Here "the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ," and for all these defects, known or unknown, we are dependent upon the merits of Christ. So that the holiest saint may always say,-

"Every moment, Lord,

I need The merit of thy death."

9. The law of progression applies to this as to all other states, so that I can never be so holy as to admit of no increase; through all time and through all eternity we may become more and more assimilated with the divine image.

"Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place
Till we east our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise."

10. This holiness implies an entire consecration. The whole body, the whole soul, and the whole spirit must no longer be devoted to sin or self, in whole or in part, but to God and his glory, with every penny of our property, and every portion of our time. "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." This is the scriptural injunction and declaration. Now listen to the language of the soul fully athirst for this great blessing:--

"Take my soul and body's powers,
Take my memory, mind, and will,
All my goods, and all my hours,
All I know, and all I feel;
All I speak, or think, or do;
Take my heart, but make it new."

11. It includes and implies a perfect faith. Every degree of evangelical faith is saving, but the faith that brings this fullness must he perfect, an implicit trust and reliance on the promise of God. In a state of partial sanctification, how much doubt and unbelief is found, how much distrust of God and his providences, how much fear that all things will not work together for good, what a lack of the full assurance of faith; but in a state of holiness this is all removed. We can then fully trust in the atoning merits of the Redeemer's blood, and the unerring wisdom of Christ, our elder brother. "All God's plans and providences are right, -- "He doeth all things well."

In the quiet confidence of this faith the soul may say,-

"Calm on tumult's wheel I sit, Midst busy multitudes, alone; Sweetly waiting at thy feet, Till all thy will be done."

12. While in this state, faith, love, and consecration are perfect with humility, and the other graces of the spirit. Yet "we have this treasure in earthen vessels," for we are yet imperfect in judgment, and the error of judgment may lead to an error of practice; but though, in fact, I violate the moral law, yet in spirit I keep it, for my heart is filled with pure love, and "love is the fulfilling of the law." And I can still say, "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit."

13. This blessed state of grace brings the soul into its proper elements, where all its powers can find suitable employment, where God is the center and sun, and his word and works are our delight. This must of necessity be a happy state. There is a rich, exalted, and heavenly happiness pervading the whole soul; 'tis heaven below.

"How blest are they who still abide,

Close sheltered in thy bleeding side;

Who thence their life and strength derive,

And by thee move, and in thee live."

Reader, is this happy portion thine? "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" Can you call to mind the time when you forsook the last idol of your heart, and made an entire surrender of yourself to do the will of God! When peace, passing all understanding, possessed your heart? Or are you still "wandering round and round the mountain, battling with your own inward corruptions?" Are you yet in the hands of your enemies, -- pride, passion, unbelief, and love of the world? Are you still wandering in the wilderness, or lingering on this side of Jordan, and afraid of the sons of Anak? Oh, listen to your heavenly Joshua! who says, "You are well able to go up and possess the goodly land," or say, with the poet,--

"Oh, that I might at once go up,
No more on this side Jordan stop,
But now the land possess;
This moment end my legal years;
Sorrows and sins, and doubts and fears,
A howling wilderness."

Oh, will you not at this moment "give to the wind your fears," and enter into that blessed country?-

"A land of corn and wine and oil,
Favored with God's peculiar smile,
With every blessing blest;
There dwells the Lord our righteousness,
And keeps his own in perfect peace,
And everlasting rest."