Our war is far more complex and desperate than theirs, and its
issues are infinitely more far-reaching, and we must equip
ourselves for it; and nothing is so vital to our cause as a
mastery of the doctrine and an assured and joyous possession of
the Pentecostal experience of holiness through the indwelling
Spirit.
I. _The Doctrine._--What is the teaching of God's word about
holiness?
1. If we carefully study God's word, we find that He wants His
people to be holy, and the making of a holy people, after the
pattern of Jesus, is the crowning work of the Holy Spirit. He
commands us to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord" (2
Cor. vii. 1). It is prayed that we may "increase and abound in
love one toward another, and toward all men... to the end He may
stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God" (1
Thess. iii. 12, 13). He says: "As He which hath called you is
holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is
written, Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter i. 15, 16). And in
the most earnest manner we are exhorted to "follow peace with all
men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord"
(Hebrews xii. 14).
2. As we further study the word, we discover that holiness is
more than simple freedom from condemnation for wrong-doing. A
helpless invalid lying on his bed of sickness, unable to do
anything wrong, may be free from the condemnation of actual
wrong-doing, and yet it may be in his heart to do all manner of
evil.
Pages:
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178