XII. Justification.

Justification implies pardon for our sins, past and present—something that God does for us; and regeneration is something done within us. Justification is generally understood to embrace both pardon and regeneration. They are, however, so near together as to belong to the same family; in fact, they are twins, and, taken together, they imply—first, reconciliation to God. In our natural condition, we are enemies to Him—made so by the sin of our first parents; secondly, by our own wicked works. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So, then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Jesus says, “Without me, ye can do nothing;” so that in our natural, unsaved condition we cannot do the will of God. Reconciliation implies Godly sorrow for sin, and a confession of the same, and obedience to the divine law. “Who so confesseth and forsaketh them, shall have mercy.” Again, it implies making wrongs right. If we have taken in deal, or in any other way, that which did not belong to us, we shall promptly restore. If we have wronged another in his character, we shall hasten to make it right. “Whoso keepeth the whole law, and yet offendeth in one point, is guilty of all.”

Many are in the dark in regard to their Justification; but there is no necessity for that, for where this work is wrought in the heart there are evidences that are unmistakable. For, says the Apostle, “Ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Here are two unimpeachable witnesses to the fact of a man’s conversion to God. First, the Spirit of God witnesses to the fact; that is, God the Holy Ghost divinely impresses the soul that the work is wrought—an inward conviction that our sins are forgiven; that so far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Again, our spirit or our mind is turned inward, and being illuminated by the Holy Ghost can discern or perceive the great change wrought within; and the witnesses uniting declare the great transaction done, and the soul cries out instinctively, “I am my Lord’s, and he is mine.” Glory to God! Amen. Again the fact that the kingdom is fixed within, bringing forth its legitimate fruit—righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost—is positive assurance that reconciliation to God has been consummated. “That being translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God’s dear Son,” the soul is exquisitely happy, and in joyous exclamation sings, “Tongue cannot express the sweet comfort and peace of a soul in its earliest love;” and so long as the soul retains pardon, it can sing, “Jesus all the day long is my joy and my song, O, that all his salvation might see.”

Again reconciliation to God implies that we have renounced the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh, so that we will not follow or be led by them. Here, is coming out from the world. The eye has become single to the glory of God, and the whole body is full of light. A justified soul has the light in regard to all the demands the Almighty has upon them and a determination to walk in it; hence, everything that is designed to please the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, will be laid aside. We shall eat, drink, labor and dress for the glory of God, and, if in any of these practices, whether it be eating or drinking, chewing, snuffing, or smoking tobacco, there remains a doubt in regard to the right or wrong of the matter, we are under condemnation if we practice the same, and this extends to all the relations of life. “He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

A justified soul has light in regard to costly churches, and the modern mode of selling them to the highest bidder, and running them according to modern expediency. It will not engage in such work, neither will it endorse by its means or its presence, the worship of God, singing, praying, or preaching, by unhallowed lips. It will not join hand in hand with the secret oath bound fraternity, that in heart, and in life, are opposed to the Gospel of Christ, full of worldly speculation, pride, fashion, banqueting, revelry, mirth, trifling, worldly mindedness, having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such, the command is to turn away, and the soul that is freely justified before God responds, “Lord obediently I’ll go.” Yes, Glory to God, it is in their hearts to turn from every abomination.

O, glory! Justification is a wonderful blessing! With this, we are enabled to keep all of God’s commands. It is not true, as commonly reported in religious meetings, by those professing salvation, that they are in the way, and yet, they are making zig-zag paths. “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life,” and the justified soul has found it, and is walking in it. Hallelujah! The first introduction into the kingdom of grace, gives the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil, and not only so, they are happy in God. “Believing,” says James, “ye rejoice with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.” “Again, the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Glory to God for justifying grace. This takes murmuring, complaining, fault-finding, dishonesty, covetousness, hatred, ill-will, emulation, strife, wrath, jealousy, adultery, and every miserable thing, blue devils, and all out of a man.

Dear reader, do you enjoy this grace?

Holiness Defined.

We read this paper before the ministerial association of Oswego, N. Y., January, 1880. We give the paper, and some of its criticisms:

They gave me this scripture to write from. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly.”—1 Thess. 5:23.

We formulated it in this way. What more did the prayer embrace than what they already had?

They were a Christian people. This they manifested. First, by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, by their love for God and each other. And thirdly, by their keeping the commandments, and entertaining a blessed hope of a glorious resurrection.

In this epistle, the first I think that the apostle wrote to any church, he does not reprove them for any faults, or failures in their moral or religious character, which he was always sure to do, if the condition of things required it; but treated them as a pure church; manifesting at the same time, a strong desire that they should attain unto all that completeness of life and character, which God required at their hands; and that holiness, which will alone permit us to see his face in peace. “And holiness, without which, no man shall see the Lord.”—Heb. 12:14.

Do the scriptures teach a distinction between regeneration, and entire sanctification? They do. “And I brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. For ye are yet carnal; for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” In that wonderful prayer of the Saviour, “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth,” the same doctrine is clearly brought to light.

The scriptures do assume a distinction between regeneration, and entire sanctification, or being sanctified wholly.

To sinners, God says—“Ye must be born again.” To the regenerate, He says, “be ye holy, for I am holy.” Unanswerable argument. These two classes of commands, in their various forms, are prominent through the gospels, and epistles. Different terms are employed in the scriptures to represent the same state, a perfect salvation.

Perfect love, perfection, sanctification, and holiness, are synonymous terms, pointing to the same exalted state of saving grace, enjoyed in this life. But while they all denote the same religious state, each one of them indicate some of its essential characteristics, and peculiar phases. These terms are significantly expressive of the state.

The term, “sanctification,” has regard especially to the work of a complete consecration of soul and body to God. To “sanctify,” means to set apart; to devote to holy uses. “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy.”

The term “perfection,” refers especially to the completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and its possession of all the graces of the spirit; completeness in kind. “Let us go on unto perfection.”

The term perfect love points more directly to the spirit, temper, and element in which the wholly sanctified and perfect Christian lives. “God is love,” and they that dwell in God, dwell in love.

In regeneration sin does not reign; in “sanctification,” it does not exist. In regeneration, sin is suspended; in sanctification, it is destroyed. In regeneration, irregular desires, anger, pride, unbelief, envy, malice, are subdued; in “sanctification,” they are removed.

Regeneration is salvation from the voluntary commission of sin; “sanctification” is salvation from the being of sin. “It is the will of God, even your sanctification.”

This state of grace is both permissive, and authoritative. The cleansing stream is in reach of every believer, and the declaration has gone out, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. It is gloriously possible to touch the hem of his garment, and be made whole every whit.” But secondly, it is the will of God in an authoritative sense. He requires us, to seek entire holiness. The length and breadth of the evangelical law, is this: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and what is this but a state of entire sanctification,” and what less could God require? I believe that all real Christians accept this statement, but disagree in regard to the time when this blessed work shall be accomplished. Many putting it at, or near death, while we, upon the authority of God’s word say that now, is the acceptable time, “To day, is the day of salvation.” This state of grace, bears its own legitimate fruit; and when Christians love the Lord with all their hearts, love the souls of men more than their own ease, or emolument, “and love each other with pure hearts fervently,” their example speaks volumes, and preaches more effectively than words in favor of the cause they profess to love.

“Then they put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” Then the gospel acquires an influence which wins its way to the heart of the multitude. The sacramental host of God’s elect, clad with the panoply of God, saved from the corruptions which are in the world, and armed with holy faith and mighty prayer, hold in check the powers of hell, and triumphs over the most formidable, and appalling obstacles. In her infancy, when few in number, the church by her purity, silenced the objections of philosophers, and the power of persecution; successfully assailed the strongholds of superstition, and finally demolished the whole fabric of idolatry, which had been rendered venerable and sacred by the lapse of ages. She “quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness was made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” The simple preaching of the cross, by men “sanctified” wholly, baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire, backed up by a holy and self denying life, like an earthquake struck dumb a giddy and clamorous world, and carried terror to the very gates of hell!

Who can look back to the period when Christianity achieved her noblest triumphs, and see altars and temples crumbling to dust, and the Gods of the heathen given to the moles and the bats, the church multiplied and increased under the bloodiest persecutions, martyrs going to the stake in ecstacy, and their very executioners converted by the grandeur of their example, and in their turn following them to the possession of the martyr’s crown—who I say, can survey these scenes without feeling convinced that there is a power altogether unearthly in a life of purity and self-denial. A life, wholly consecrated, and completely “sanctified,” heart and tongue set on fire with God’s eternal love.

When the purity and simplicity of the apostolic age shall characterize the great mass of Christian believers—when the institutions of Christianity shall be strictly conformed to the original plan, and the members of the church shall stand forth completely armed with the “armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,” then will the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven be given to the people of the Most High whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Daniel 7:27.

If these be facts and who can say they are not? then, what is the duty of every believer? and especially every minister of the gospel, but to seek until he, or she obtains the blessing?

After the paper was read the chairman called on the clergy to go tell what they thought of the paper. Brother “B.” was first called on. He was a Congregationalist. Said Brother B., “I was brought up on that cream, but I don’t believe a word of it now.”

Doubtless this Brother had been converted. His father was a United Brethren preacher, and believed in the life and power of salvation. This Brother had said to me previous to this that he and his father used to hold meetings with just such results and manifestations as you Free Methodist have. He was looked upon by the association as a free thinker.

Doctor D. T. was next called on. “Well,” said the aged divine, “I sin every day in thought, word and deed. That is all I have to say about that paper.”

A Congregationalist missionary to the churches of America, was present, having preached in the city the Sabbath previous.

When called upon to state his views upon the paper, remarked, “I take no stock in the doctrine discussed by the paper. If it means to feel good, there may be something in it and it’s possible I have got it, for there are times when I feel pretty good.”

Several preachers present would not venture a remark on the subject. The only one that endorsed the paper was Rev. Frank Beck, an M. E. preacher. He endorsed it heartily, backing up his argument by Scripture, Wesley and others; at the same time he was in bondage to oath-bound societies, and lacked that freedom and unction which every minister of the gospel ought to possess—might possess, if all was on the altar, accepted of God, set on fire of the Holy Ghost.

I was surprised with that intelligent, cultured, company of ministers, who manifested such ignorance in regard to what was meant, in being a gospel minister, or a real child of God.

Brother H. H. S., a Presbyterian, when asked what he had to say, replied, “I never met with any of those changes; and am satisfied with this—I have always been good. I think that I was converted before I was born, never since.”