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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 ...;. . ^ :----2 - 3 4 i 6 ORIGINAL AND INBRED SIN BY RE:V. RALPH C. HORNER, B. O. Author of "From the Altar, Etc.," "Notes on Bolai.d," "Voice Production," Etc ©ttawa : ItOM.A I,. ( It.MN, PIUNTEH, Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the vcar one thousand v'v^ht hundred and ninety six, hy Rev. R. C. Horner, B. O., at the Department of Agri- culture. (JONTENTa. (^HAPTKIl r. In the ima(jk of (Iod CHAPTER ir. OjMGINAL KlGHTEiJUSXESS (UIAPTICPt III. The Okkhxal Law Origin of Kvh, ADAjr's Fall (rilAPTEU IV. CHAI^TKR, V. CIlAPTJ<:Pt VI. Sin TuanhiMitteu CHAPTrCK VTT. Regeneration PAGE 7 10 10 18 (CHAPTER Vin. Inbred sin not removed my regeneration CHAPTER IX. Sin in Believers CHAPTER X. Repicntance (jp Believers . . . . CHAPTER XI. Why not at Conversion ? - - - - CHAPTER XII. Ckeeds - 25 28 31 10 IS 50 7(i SI il CHAPTKK xrn. Inbred sin 85 CHAPTER XIV. Inbkiod sin removed in this World - - 95 CHAPTER XV. Dress ----101 CHAPTER XVI. Ornamentation 105 CHAPTER XVII. Crucifixion lOU (CHAPTER XVHI. Entire Sanctification 114 CHAPTER XIX. Perfect Love - - - - - - - 120 CHAPTER XX. Take it by Faith 123 CHAPTER XXI. Doubt - 126 CHAPTER XXII. Waiting - - - 120 CHAPTER XXIII. Filled 131 CHAPTER XXIV. Holiness Preaching 138 CHAPTER XXV. Hidden Inic^uity 142 CHAPTER XXVI. Second Blessing 145 CHAPTER XXVII. »^ELF InDU^uGENCE - r r - - - 147 ir> PREFACE. The doctrine of Original and Inbred Sin has not been devoloped as other Christian doctrines have been by writers on the subject of Chris- tian Perfection. There is much need of light on this vital subject. Some honest Christian people would seek the experience of Entire Sanctification if they knew that Inbred Sin could be destroyed. They need light. If they had the necessary light they would walk in it. The Scripture teaching is clear and strong. Some have the experience of Salvation from Inbred Sin, but they have no intellectual grasp of the doctrine. They have no ability to present it to their hearers. Their lack of Biblical knowledge discounts their profession of the experience. We have not attempted to exhaust the sub- ject or fully develop the doctrine. We have vL I'RKFAC^. given a few short chapters to help all who are in trouble regarding their full redemption from Inbred Sin. We expect to help young men who need thought on this subject. We have had the fulness of the presence of the Holy Ghost while writing this book. We expect that it will be a blessing to many. — R.C.H. CHAPTER I. IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. A lylv right and wrong opinions of Tlieolo- ^~^ gians are generally traceable to their con- ceptions of man's original state. A science of redemption must include two things, namely, from wJiat and to what. If the fall is not allowed then there can be no redemption. If the moral and spiritual powers of man have only become dis-arranged, then all that is absolutely necessary is to re-arrange and thereby let all his natural and spiritual powers perform their function, as designed by our Creator. The plain teaching of Scripture is that man has very far fallen from original righteousness- Gen. I ; 13-17. The clear strong teaching is that man was created in the image of God, an in- corruptible picture of the God of Glory— Gen. 8 OKKilNAl, AND INnuKl) vSlN. I : 27. He was in the image of God's perfect holiness. There was no evil tendency, propen- sity or taint in his nature ; he was a])solutely free from all unholy desires and passions. He was pure as God is pure. Holy as God is holy. Righteous as God is righteous. His nature was perfectly holy All his thoughts, words and actions were in supreme love. There was no unholy tendency in his heart. No bias toward evil. He was inclined only toward good. He had no consciousness of evil. He knew noth- ing save good. Adam had a constituted fitness for the fellow- ship of the society in the universe of God. His supreme delight was in holding constant fellow- ship and communion with God — his maker and preserver. The perfect image of God was on all his mental and moral faculties and powers. He was perfectly free to do good and had no disposition to do wrong. He was a spiritual being, endued with understanding, a free will and various affections. He was full of love which governed all his tempers. He was full of justice, mercy and truth. IN THS IMAGK Olt GOD. a Man was created not to be i„ bondage, but endowed with liln^rly. He l,a it. Those who say that they are not troubled with these uprisings are unc(jnsci- ously overwhelmed with them. vSome repent of them and try to get rid of them but fail. The sincere Christian may spend fifty years in ])raying them down and retain the grace of God in his heart, but still the}' come up. Others repent of them and believe for deliver- ance, supposing that they will feel them no more, but still they come up. The root of sin from whence they spring must be destroyed. The hydra-headed monster must be killed. There must be the total death of the body of sin. There is only one remedy. He must be annihilated. God has sworn to destroy and He has promised to cleanse away all the filthiness. He will purge out the stench of the monster's abode. The blood has been shed. The fountain is open. It cleanses from all sin. The Spirit who sanctifies is at work. The way into the holiest is accessible. We are to have boldness to enter. We are to draw INHRKD SIN IS NOT KKMOVKD, KTC. 47 near will, lull assurance. Rcpeutancc must he as deep in the heart as tlie inl.recl monster. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of. The humble, nenitent' beheving soul feels the power of the word of God which is sharper than a twoed-ed sword and pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. By faith he plunges ])eneath the purple flood. He rises to all the life of God. Sin is totallN' destroyed, I,ove is made j.erfect. He rises to walk in all righteousness and holiness before Him all the days of his life. He is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. CHAPTER IX. SIN IN BELIEVERS, Those who are born of God may be days, weeks or months without feeling any evil in their hearts. They generally suppose that they will know war no more. Under temptation or provocation their old enemies or besetting sin (perhaps anger, fear or desire) arise and assault them that they may fall. In this state fear or doubt will arise. Many will fear lest they have been deceived. Others will be severely tempt- ted to doubt their conversion, and in this time of trial may be strongly tempted to believe that God has forsaken them. Those who commence to reason are defeated ; faith in Christ, the Al- mighty Christ, is the only refuge of safety. All who have been regenerated experience these tendencies toward sin in their hearts. The Spirit discloses to them all the hidden abomin- ations of their hearts — the whole depth of SIN IN BELIKVKRS. 49 their pride, self-will and hell. In this state they have the direct witness that they are the children of God. The Spirit creates an inex- pressible hunger and thirst for righteousness and true holiness ; they groan for the entire renewal in the image of God. The plain teaching of God's word is that there is sin in believers. The Apostle John addressed his epistle to children, young men and fathers. " I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abidetli in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." He said to these : * * If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The child of God is deceived when he says that regeneration saved him from in- bred sin. He has given place to a lie. The truth is not in him. No one should be deceiv- ed on this vital point. We have not been left in the dark. The Scripture is a plain declaration m 50 ORKIINAI, AND INr.KI':i) SIN of a positive fact in the experience of all the regenerated. We are not left to find out by temptation,, persecution or trial that the ])ody of «^n is not destroyed. When we are regenerat- ., the old man is crucified that the Ixxly of sin might be destroyed. See Rom. 6, 6. The clear, definite teaching of Scripture is that there is sin in believers. Paul says : "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat ; for hitherto ye were not Me to bear it, neither yet now are ye able." '[^or. iii. 1,2.) They were "in Christ" and they were "brethren," but they were ' irnal," they were still "babes in Christ." Tlie> were "fed with milk," and could not be classified with back-sliders, and they were "in Christ." The plain teaching is that the}' were "breth- ren," they Avere "in Christ" and at the same time they were "carnal," they were not saved from inbred sin. There were divisions among them, they had their choice of preachers. The children of God who are doing their SIN IN r.l.;i.IKVl' KS. 51 whole duty are painl'ully conscious of inbred sin. All the children of (iod know that they are not perfected in holiness. They are con- scious that they come short in filling up the law of love. Their best efforts are not failures, but they are conscious that they cou'.c short. Their experiences and lives are not up to their own ideal of what a Christian should and must be to enter in through the pearly gates. They know by reading the Bible that they are not what God requires them to be. The lives of the saints and martyrs make them blush with shame. They hunger and thirst for a deeper and richer experience. They are not guilty, condemned or overcome l)y the power of sin. They know that they are abiding in constant victory — that the grace of God is sufficient for them in battle ; but they are conscious also that they are not saved from the being of sin. Sin cleaves to the thoughts, words and actions of the regenerated in their best efforts and most happy hours. It is subdued, but it does remain in the heart. It is the inward foe. , It is not enough to know, as all serious, 52 ORIGINAL AND INBRKD SIN, honest Christians do, that there is sin in all who have been regenerated, and remains there until the second change is wrought. No person can be deHvered from it until they feel it. The conviction must be deeper than that which preceded regeneration. The true, honest, devoted Christian will pray for convic- tion. He will seek for the Spirit to search him and reveal to him the abomination of his heart. He will fast and pray and search the Scriptures to know how far short he comes of the perfect law of liberty there is in Christ Jesus for the sons of God. He will seek to know the whole depth of his depravit3^ He wants to know and feel the worst. He wants to feel it now. The Spirit will show him the whole depth of inherit- ed depravity. He is ready to do this for all the sons of God. He is grieved with those who cannot be induced to seek to know the sin of their hearts. The children of God retain their first-love by deep heart-searching and humilia- tion before God, to discover everythitig that is in them that hinders them in their Christian life. The Christian that earnestly seeks to know SIN IN be:uevp:rs. 53 and feel tlie sin of his heart will have no diffi- culty about the term inbred sin. The Spirit will reveal to him the hydra-headed monster. He will see him as God sees him. None can be delivered from the monster within until they have this vision of his presence. They must see him as he is, and feel the exceeding sinfulness of their fallen nature. The spirit will give deep, pungent conviction for inbred sin. He will reveal all the vileness and loathsome- ness of the carnal nature, so that conviction will be as Isaiah felt it when he said : "Woe is me ! for I am undone : because I am a man of unclean lips." This conviction enters into the whole nature. It takes away sleep and rest. It destroys the appetite. It takes the mind off everything else. It is a conviction of the greatness of the sin of the heart, and of the absolute necessity of being saved from it. It is a conviction that we must obtain all the grace of God or Jose what has been received already. What is needed in the Church of Christ to- day more than anything else, is this deep, pungent conviction of inbred sin in the hearts 54 OKIGINAI. AND INBRED SIN. of the individual members of the Church. It is each member seeing the malady of his own heart. Most members of the Church that we meet, can tell us the failings of their brethren ; they can see the inbred sin in others, but they seem to be totally blind to their own faults. He is the uliitc nvgcl while his brethren are corrupt at heart. A deep heart-searching among the children of God would give a revelation of inbred sin that would suprise many who sup- pose that there is no necessity for inquiring into this matter. They would learn that they have more inbred hin than they have love for their neighbors. It would save the people of God from finding fault with each other, from controversy, from praying at each other, and from saying many unkind things that they express in the absence of their brethren. In- bred sin is bhghting, blasting, and corrupting the members of the Church of Christ more than all diabolical agencies. There are some who deny that there is any such thing as inbred sin — - that we did not in- herit depravity from Adam. They are neither SIN IN BKI.IEVKRS. 55 Bible Christians nor theologians. All the creeds of the churches teach that there is sin in be- lievers—that it is inherited depravity. Those who say that there is no such thing as inbred sin are I^aodiceans. They are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. They do not know that they are wretched and miser- able, and poor and blind, and naked. Others admit that there is inbred sin, and declare that it must remain, that we are not saved from it. This is a positive denial of the divinity of Jesus. It is to say that there is not sufllcient merit in His blood. The Holy Ghost with them is only an influence and not God Almighty, the Third person in the Trinity. They are not willing to admit that Adam was pure as God is pure and holy as God is holy. They deny that man was made in the image of God, and that Jesus came to restore us to the Divine image. They do not accept the Scrip- ture record of the fall, and, therefore, they have no place for redemption from inbred sin. Mr. Wesley's standard for regeneration is higher than that of aiiy • theologian since the 56 Originai, and inbri^d sin. days of the Apostles. It is so high that some cannot see where the necessity for sanctification can exist. Those who have placed the standard of egeneration nearest the Bible teaching, have had most need and room for the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification. Those who have a low conception of regeneration gen- erally have no room for entire sanctification in their creed, and no need for it in their experience. Mr. Wesley clearly and strongly teaches that there is sin in believers and says : ' ' The op- posite doctrine, that there is no sin in believers, is quite new in the Church of Christ ; that it was never heard of for seventeen hundred years — never until it was discovered by Count Zin- zendorf. I do not remember to have seen the least intimation of it, either in any ancient or modern writer, unless, perhaps, in some of the wild, ranting Antinomians." In his sermon on "The Scriptural Way of vSalvation " he says, "Hence may appear the extreme mischievousness of that seemingly innocent opinion that there is no sin in be- SIN IN imivlKVI^RS. 57 lievers; that all sin is destroyed, root and branch, the moment a man is justified. By totally pre- venting that repentance it quite blocks up the wayto sanctification." This teaching that there is no sin in be- lievers is contrary to the teaching of the Bible, the creeds of the Church and the experience of the children of God in all the ages. It is to say that many good devoted Christians are not converted or they are backsliders. Mr. Wesley says in his bermon on "Sin in Believers" : "As this position— there is no sin in a be- liever, no carnal mind, no bent to backshding —is thus contrary to God's Word, so is it to the experience of His children. These con- tinually feel a heart bent to backsliding; a natural tendency to evil; a proneness to depart from the things of God and cleave to the things of the earth. They are daily sensible of shi remaining in the heart, pride, self-will, unbelief; and of sin cleaving to all they speak and do, even their best actions and holiest duties. Yet at the same time they know they are of God; Miey cannot doubt of it a moment." I 58 ORIGINAI. AND INBRI^D SIN. Mr. Wesle}' says : "We allow that, at the very moment of justification, we are born again; in that instant we experience that inward change from 'darkness into marvellous light;' from the image of the brute and devil into the image of God; from the earthly, sensual, devilish mind, to the mind which was in Christ Jesus. But are we then entirely changed ? Are we wliolU' transformed into the image of Him that created us ? Far from it; we still retain a depth of sin, audit is the consciousncso of this wliicli constrains us to groan, Icr c. full de- liverance, to him that is mighty to save." This precedes the reception of the grace of entire sanctification. This is the true feeling of :iieed. CHAPTKR X. REPENTANCE OF BELIEVERS. It is not enough for the children of (^od to become painfully conscious of inbred sin. This deep conviction is alxsolutely necessary. With- out it repentance is impossible. Those who are thus convinced must repent or stifle their con- victions. The trouble generally commences with repentance. Those who say that there is no such thing as inbred sin, and those who affirm that they were saved from it when re- generated, do so to relieve themselves from get- ting down to repent of inbred sin. Repentance is an absolute necessity. God never removes inbred sin until there is godly sorrow which produces repentance to salvation not to be re- pented of. Those who weep and mourn over the sin of their hearts, can l)e delivered from it. They have to feel the damning tendency of the presence of the thing itself. They have 6o ORIGINAL AND INBRKD SIN. to hate, loathe and abhor it. When they com- mence to groan under the death throes of the body of sin, their redemption draweth nigh. Their repentance must of necessity be deeper than that which prect -d regeneration, l)ecause inbred sin is deeper tlici" actual. It is birth sin. This is why it is called inbred sin. It is in us when we are born. It is ingrained in our nature and must be purged out. Repen- tance enters into the entire nature. The whole nature groans to -be delivered from the inbeing of evil. Let no person deceive himself by hoping for full redemption without this full, deep repentance which gets down as deep as the sin of the heart. This is not the popular line. The Gospel hue has never been popular. The friend of the world is the enemy of God. Those who teach that men may enter into the fulness of the Gospel of Christ without this re- pentance, have not entered the fulness them- selves, and are incapable of leading others into it. Deep humiliation, genuine repentance, and full assurance of faith is the Bible teaching. Hohness preaching can be endured if inbred ■•-j«.%». KKPRNTANCK OF BKLI KVKKS. 6l sin is not mentioned, l)ut when we preach that the people of God ninst repent, every formahst, every dignitary, every dnde, and every fossilized member are up in arms ready for fight. When their sin is pointed out, and they are told that they must repent of it, they show fight because they have lost the grace of justification if they ever had it. We may tell them that they need more faith, love, joy or power, and no person is offended. We may use the strongest language in declaring that Cod can save from all sin, and fill his people from all the fulness of him- self, and no person is made angry or offended. One sermon on the prevalent sin of God's own people will create a sensation. The preacher who will dare to show to the people of God the depravity of their hearts may expect to be unpopular. If he preaches it under the power of the Holy Ghost, they will get down and repent of their sin, or they will dismiss him as soon as possible. If he is true, he will save the honest few at least. Those who refuse to repent forfeit their son- ;'.hip immediately. There is no religion with- : 62 ORIGINAL AND INHKKI) vSIN. out repentance. It cannot be found without repentance. It is only the penitent who retain the u:race of God in their hearts. There is no other way of approaching- Ood Ahnigiity. The most Holy are the most penitent Christians on earth. Much grace brings nmch light. Those who see themselves most clearly have the lowest opinion of themselves. They love to sink down at the feet of Jesus. Those who huml)le themselves are lifted up by Jesus. God never builds up his people until He breaks them down first. Repentance is very be- coming to those who have sinned, as we have done. Those who say that they got through with repentance when they were re- generated only acknowledge to us that their religious life began and ended there. Those who have reached the Bible standard of Chris- tian perfection the total death of sin and the entire renewal in the love and image of God — retain this blessed experience by living humbly, penitently, and believingly before God. They are kept clean from all defihng influences of sin. KICPKNTANCK OK HICIJKVKRS. 63 Salvation from inbred sin must be sought as the definite experience of entire sanctification. Some have been seeking- for a deeper work of grace for years, and it is no deeper yet. Others become discouraged and turn l)ack to their former mode of living. Some have spent ^ears trying to su!)due and be saved from anger. They have learned liow to watch and control their temper when the trying time comes. It is there the same as it was at the first ; if they were one moment off their guard it would usurp supreme authority. Those who seek deliver- ance by repenting of the various mam'festations of inbred sin never get the experience of entire sanctification. It is true that inbred sin mani- fests itself, and in various ways. It is felt in anger, fe.nr, pride, selfishness, murmuring, fret- ting, envy and worldliness. Those who are using the grace of regeneration keep these various motions subdued. Inbred sin is deeper than the uprisings of evil. It is the old root from whence these sprouts grow. When the root is all taken out, there will be no more sprouts. The seeker of 64 ORIGINAL AND INIJRICI) SIN. entire sanctification must repent deeper than anger, pride, fear, selfishness, etc. He nuist get as deep as the root of sin, and repent of the \vh(jle de])th of the inbred monster. Salva- tion is never deeper than repentance. The vSpirit will give true genuine repentance to all who will fully yield and seek to get to the depths of their corrupt nature. The abvSolute necessity is to see and feel the whole corrup- tion of our nature as it remains, until the body of sin is destroyed. The vision is given by the Spirit to the anxious seeker who desires to see and know all his sin. Those who feel the depths of the dej^ravity of their nature will seek for deliverance, they will groan for full redem])tion ; if they are properly instructed that entire sanctification is by faith, they will find the experience immediately. If they only believe they shall immediately find that "all things are possible to him that believeth." Those who repent of mbred sin are called i- . to believe the Gospel. They must beheve Jesus is able to save them to the utter- mv>st. He is able to save from all the sin that KICPICNTANCH OV HKl.IKVlCkS. 65 rLMiiaiiis in the hearts of the re'(,nd the extent oi actual faith. The soul is saved to the depth that re- pentance reaches, and t(^ the extent that faith grasps when regenerated. Those who truly repent of actual sin are almost overwhelmed with grief and sorrow, the sight of inbred sin would completely cripple them and amiihilate their hopes of salvation. In mercy and love God does not reveal the hidden a])()minations of the depraved heart until the grace of regener- ation has been received and the faith established, riiose who find the grace of repentance for actual sin and succeed in reijenting of all they have actually committed against Cxod, are thank- ful that they were not required to do more at that time. It means a good deal to cut off all sin, to cease to do evil, and close every door so that there is no chance for retreat. It means more to loathe ourselves in dust and ashes, and to cry to God, as hell-deserving sinners,' to have mercy upon us for Jesus' sake. Re- pentance implies a complete surrender, the 7« UKKIINAK AND INHKlvD SIN. laying down every, weapon of reljellion, the giving np all h()])es of making ourselves better, and a willingness to go anywhere or suffer anything with Jesus. Repentance is an inward turning from all that is evil to all that is good. It is a great struggle. The vSpirit helps. He gives power to the sinner to repent. Ivvery sinner that will be saved must use the power given, to the very utmost of his ability. The sinner always knows when he has re- pented of his actual sins and he knows there is something wrong up to the very moment he has finished the bitter cup. It is possible for all who have repented of actual sin to believe in Jesus for salvation. It will be a struggle. The power to believe is from God. The act is a human effort supported by grace. It is the greatest struggle in this life. Nature, reason, and every diabolical agency sa)- Jesus does not save at this moment. Faith must say, in spite of feeling, intellectualism, the devil and every- thing else, Jesus is saving; He does save me now. It is a great effort for a sinner in dark- ness, full of sin and the devil to thus believe WIIV NOT AT CONVKKSION? 79 with the licart unto ri^^ditcousness. Those who beh've with the heart for salvation from actual siu, conclude that they have (l(,ne well, and are thankful that they were not called upon to do more at that time. In kindness, love, and mercy, God does not show to them the inbred monster. He reveals the whole depth of de- pravity to the reo;enerated soul who has grace to repent of inbred sin and believe for full redemption. There is another reason for the soul not being entirely sanctified when converted. The consecration of the soul to God previous to the work of regeneration must of necessity be exceedingly limited. The soul is outside of the kingdom until the spirit of adoption lias been received. He is in the kingdom of dark- ness. Light, knowledge and power must of necessity be so limited that consecration must be incomplete. It is certain that the consecra- tion necessary for efficient service cannot be made until the spirit of adoption has been re- ceived. The sinner can know nothing about the spiritual kingdom until he becomes spiritual ^—9 So ORIGIN AI. AND INIJRKD vSIN, himself. The natural man miderstandeth not the things of Christ for they are spiritually discerned, (i. Cor. 2: 14.) The consecration that precedes conversion can be nothing more than submission to God. He yields to the operation of the Spirit to receive a new heart. When he repents and believes, God gives him a new heart — This new heart he consecrates to God. This is the vScripture teaching. 'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that >e present your bodies a hving sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. which is your reasonable service." (Rom. xii. i.) CHAPTER XII. CREEDS. The creeds agree on many vital poiats in salvation. They are all clear and strong ^n the necessity of the New Birth. They agree in their teaching that there is sin in believers. However they may differ regarding the time and means by which this sin is destr* ytd, they agree that it remains in the hearts of the re- generated until they are entirely s..!ictified. That it does exist they agree ; as to when it may be destroyed there is a variation of opinion . There are individual men who have said that there is no sin in believers. They are few. They are not theologians, logicians or metaphy- sicians. They are not notorious for anything only for this one statement. They have made the bare affirmation. They have contributed nothing to the literary world. Like all other deluded mortals they have supposed that it is '■liVlSUiiJ.r^iri «i»tM 23 WEST MAIN STRflET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 <^ ^ w- w, 92 ORIGINAL AND INBRKD SIN. y. I**:.. , is unrighteousness. It is the sin from which the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth. John the Baptist referred to it as different from actual sin when he cried : * ' Behold the lyamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. ' * John i: 29. It is "the body of sin," "our old man," " root of bitterness," " the carnal mind, " "an evil heart of unbelief. ' ' The distruction of this root of sin in the heart is the crowning excellency of the work of Jesus in saving sinners. Redemption is not completed until sin is totally destroyed in the soul and the forfeited image of God is stamped upon the heart by the Holy Ghost. ' ' Renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him."-Col. 3: 10. There is full redemption from the root of sin. It is the inheritance of the saints — the blood-bought privilege of the sons and daughters of the lyord God. God has designed to de- stroy the root lest it should spring up and many be defiled by it. He annihilates all un- holy tendencies when they are repented of and abhorred, He destroys all the unholy tendencies INBRKD SIN. 93 of the heart. The roots of bitterness are to be destroyed, and nothing left to defile. - I^est ^ there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood. ' ' — Deut. 29:18 " Ust any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby may be defiled. "-Heb. 12 : 15. It is the will of God that all His children should seek redemption from this root of bit- terness.- Jesus -is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctificaticn and redemp- tion."—! Cor. I : 30. Deep conviction of inbred sin, evangelical repentance, and the full assurance of faith, are the indispensable requisites in seeking ' this full redemption. Those who believe the truth as it is in Jesus will repent of this root of bit- terness in their nature. They will cry to God for deliverance. By faith they will plunge into the fountain of cleansing. The blood will wash away all the defilement of the flesh and the spirit. Perfect love will drive out all fear. The Holy Ghost will seal unto the day of re- demption. -After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise."- Bph, I ; 13. X 94 ORIGINAL AND INBRKD SIN. . Those who are saved from inbred sin are grieved when they see their brethren and sisters in Christ conformed to the world in dress. Feathers, flowers, lace, gold and everything more than plainness are bad taste. They are both a sign and a fruit of pride. Some say that they never think of what they wear. We think they do when they are in the millinery shops and the gents' furnishing rooms. Jesus says : "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow INIe." Matt. i6 : 24. "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety ; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godli- ness) with good works."— I Tim. 2 : 9-10. e h It k )S at ^1, th i\ li- CHAPTKR XIV. INBRED SIN REMOVED IN THIS WORLD. There is a unity of thought, feeling, and expression that inbred sin cannot enter heaven. When and where it is destroyed is the point of divergence. The Roman Cathohc says in purgatory. Modern professors, who are more secular than sacred, say we cannot tell what takes place between death and judgment. We presume that they have a secret wish to die soon lest Jesus should come and find them in carnality. According to this theory those who have been dead for some time stand a much better chance than the Christians who are liv- ing when Jesus comes to judge the world. The sooner Christians would die the better, to have the advantage of the second probation. This diabolical delusion is being secretly advo- cated by the opponents of the second work of grace, 96 ORIGINAL AND INBRED SIN. Some believe and teach that the total de- struction of sin is effected by growth. They should tell us how long it v/ill take and how much we must grow to be fully redeemed. We think that growth does not change the nature of things. We consider that those who live a long time after they have been converted have a chance to be holy if it is by growth. Those who die soon after they have been con- verted must of necessity be lost, because they have no time to grow. This supposes that we may do in time what Jesus cannot do for us. It must be that they think that Jesus is not able to do it ; they would certainly not say that Jesus was not wilHng to save His people from all sin. " The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."— Rom. 8:7. Others teach positively that Christian perfec- tion is obtained by works. We think that in this way some have a very decided advantage. Healthy people can do more than those who are sick. Strong, rugged people, who have INBKKD SIN REMOVED IN THIS \VOKI.D. 97 many advantages and can do much work may reach the blessed experience of perfect love, if it is obtained by works. Those who are weak and sickly, with very few opportunities for working, will have to die without the experience. Another class teach that it cannot be ex- perienced until death. Death is going to do lor them what Jesus never did. Death, their last enemy, is going to be their best friend. The clear Bible teaching is that salvation is by faith. We are not made holy by purgatory, by a second probation, by growth, by works, or by death. "By grace are ye saved through faith ; and thai not of yourselves : it is the gift of God ; not of works, lest any man should boast." It is according to our faith. By faith it is received. The approach is by repentence. This is where the trouble commences. It is hard for carnality to submit to repentence. It means a willingness to die. Men will sub- stitute other things. They are unwilling to die with Jesus. Proud, selfish, self-willed Adam- nature has come all the way from the fall, and refuses to be slain as the monster within. 98 ORIGINAL AND INBRKD SIN. The acceptation of grov/th, works, or a second probation is a relief from repentance toward God and faith in the I^ord Jesus Christ. Those who repent of inbred sin and beheve in Jesus Christ for full redemption, experience the total death of sin and the entire renewal in the love and image of God. Those who try to substitute growth, works, etc., become spiritual dwarfs or become backsliders. It cannot be otherwise. The command of God is to repent and believe the Gospel. The refusal to repent is to actually breed doubt and unbelief and all forms of inward sin. It is the consent of the will given for sin to remain. It is to harbor the foul monster with- in. It is a surrender of our freedom in Jesus Christ. It is to break the covenant that we made on oui knees when seeking regeneration. The sinner who finds the pardoning love and favor of God must first turn from all sin to all holiness. He turns from everything to Jesus, and approaches God through Jesus Christ. The blood is h's only plea. Those who seek salvation froin inbred sin in any other way INBRKD SIN REMOVED IN THIS WORLD 99 have lost sight of the plan of salvation. Salva- tion from inbred sin is fonnd only by those who penitently seek this full redemption through the atoning blood of Jesus. The merit is in the blood. The blood cleanses from all sin. The Spirit seals unto the day of redemption. The [Epistles were written to Christians and not to sinners. They are for the purpose of revealing to the children of God the sin of their hearts. They are all addressed to the Churches for that purpose. They disclose to the children of God their sin and God's perfect remedy. The commands are clear and strong : "Be ye holy."— i Peter i : 16. " Be perfect. " — 2 Cor. 13 : II. The children of God are to cleanse themselves from all the fiithirx...,;s of the flesh and the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. -2 Cor. 7:1. The thousands of promises in the Epistles are given to the sons and daughters of God. Many of them are given to assure directly of redemption from in- bred sin. " If we confess our sins, He is faith- ful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,"-: John 1:9 ICXD ORIGINAL AND INP.RKD SIN. ' ' Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldne.ss in the day of judgment : because as he is, .so are we in this world." — I John 4:17. CHAPTKR XV. DRESS. There is a diversity of opinion on what Chris- tian people should wear. There should not be any difference of opinion among Methodists on this point. Our doctrine is clear. Mr. Wesley did not fail to leave to his children this matter clearly defined. The General Conferences have made it obligatory for Mr. Wesley's thoughts on dress to be read in all Methodist congrega- tions once each year. We think that the people are not to blame. We are confident that the ministry has not discharged its duty in this im- portant matter. Some of our brethren do not read them. Others have the audacity to re- buke those that do their duty to our people. There are some in the ministry whose example is directly contrary to our doctrine and discip- line. It is lamentable when a minister will break in his official capacity one of the rules I02 ORIOINAI. AND INHRKD SIN. :i iflffi he promised to observe when received on trial for membership in the Methodist Church, namely, "the putting on of gold or costly apparel." It may be said by some that the thoughts on dress are to be read only "where such coun- sels seem to be needed." Those who will read the thoughts will know at once that such counsel is needed in all the congregations of Methodism. The trouble is, the thoughts are not read in either our studies or pulpits. Mr. Wesley's notes o'l the New Testament with his first volume of sermons, is our stan- dard doctritie. In his note on i Tim. 2 : 9, he says : "Not with curled hair, not with gold, worn by way of ornament ; not with pearls — jewels of any kind : a part is put for the whole. Not with costly rdiment. These four are ex- pressly forbidden by name to all women (here is no exception) professing godliness, and no art of man can reconcile with the Christian profession the wilful violation of an express command. ' ' In his note on i Peter 3 : 3, 4, he says : Dress. 103 Verse 3. ••Three things are here expressly forbidden : curling the hair, wearing gold (by way of ornament), and putting on costly or gay apparel. These, therefore, ought never to be allowed, much less defended, by Christians. Verse 4. 'The hidden man of the heart ' — complete inward holiness, which implies a meek and quiet spirit. A meek spirit gives no trouble willingly to any; a quiet spirit bears all wrongs without being troubled. In the sight of God, who looks at the heart, all superfluity of dress contributes more to pride and anger than is generally supposed. The apostle seems to have his eye to this by substituting meek- ness and quietness in the room of the orna- ments he forbids. 'I do not regard these things,' is often said by those whose hearts are wrapped up in them ; but offer to take them away, and you touch the very idol of their soul. Some, indeed, only dress elegantly that they may be looked on ; that is, they squander away their I^ord's talent to gain applause, thus making sin to beget sin, and then plead one in excuse of the other. '^ I04 ORIGINAL ANt) INBRED SiN, In our standards, the duty and the privilege of the sons of Methodism is, as we have seen, clearly defined. The essential thing is that our doctrines should be preached and our dis- cipline enforced. We pray that there my be a spirit of loyalty to our doctrinal standards, and that our disciplines may be duly enforced. There never was a time in the history of Methodism when there was such need for un- compromising loyalty to our standards as there is at present. The close preaching of our standard doctrines and the faithful enforcing and observing of our disciplines is the bond of union among ourselves. CHAPTKR XVI. ORNAMENTATION. It is not so much the coat, the dress, or the hat as it is the style and the amount of trim- ming used. It is something more than what is necessary. It is the cutting, goring, puckering, and trimming that has become so excessive. It is the latest style, the last cut —the devil's masterpiece. It is painful to see the children of God caught in the devil's latest trap. If we want to see the latest style , in blazing colors, in plumes and feathers, in lace and ruffles, in silks and satins, in kids and glasses, in gold and diamonds, we may go to the Methodist Church:— the minister in the pulpit with his gold watch and chain, buttons and studs, and his wife dressed up in the very latest from Paris; the officials of the church trimmed up in all the pomp and vanity of this proud age, and their wives as if they had slipped out of the band-box. io6 ORIGINAI, AND INBRED SIN. God called the children of Israel a stiff-neck- ed people, and would not go up with them to the ^promised land until they stripped them- selves of their ornaments. They entered the stripping room at Mount Horeb and took off their ornaments. In this nineteenth century of the Gospel dispensation, we hear people say that they have reached the land of corn and wine, that they are where the milk and honey flow, and some say that they have reached Pisgah's top ; and yet they have never discov- ered the stripping-room down at Mount Horeb. They profess to have crossed the Jordan ; they appear to be down about the border of the Red Sea. Many say that they are not worshipping their ornaments. It is easy to understand that their affections were placed on them when they pur- chased them. .It is very apparent when we attempt to take them away from them, that they are the idols of their hearts. It is useless to attempt to take them away until the pride of the heart is destroyed. Pride covets these things, and when it is destroyed there will be msmt mmmmi Ornamentation. 107 a perfect hatred to them. There is no use in the children of God professing to be saved from sin while they are ornamented. Ornamentation is the blood of the poor, the bread of the hungry, and the clothing of the naked. It gives the lie to our profession of religion. We say that we have given up all for Jesus, that we have denied ourselves of all ungodHness and worldly lusts, and that we are not conformed to the world. The sinner listens to our profession, and then looks at our gold rings, watches, guards, and our silks, satins, lace, finery, flowers and feathers, and concludes that there is nothing in religion. Ornamentation is contrary to the first prin- ciples of our holy religion. The first principle of religion is self-denial. Jesus says : "If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Those who commence a religious life without stepping on the plank of self-denial are always trying to get right with God, and never succeed. Ornamentation generates pride, anger, and all lusts of the spirit. It is a sign as well as the loS OkiGINAL AND INBRED SiN. fruit of pride. It makes humility impossible, and is one of the chief causes of backsliding. Ornamentation closes the doors of our churches against the poor, who are not able to live up to the latest styles. The rich in this way are guilty of the blood of the poor. Ornamentation is the violation of the plain teaching of God's Word and the disciplines of the Methodist Churches. Ornamentation is the external evidence of the empty vaporings of a proud heart. Ornamentation is one of the visible expres- sions of a backslidden Church. CHAPTKR XVII. CRUCIFIXION. This is a vital theme. There are not many sermons preached on it. Most Christian people have no proper conception of it. Some know nothing about it in relation to their rehgious experiences. Most people wait to be taught. They do not seek for Bible truth. When they are not instructed they remain in ignorance of this gospel teaching, which should have the first place in their religious meditations. The regenerated are crucified. The children of God need not seek hoHness to crucify the " old man." He is crucified from the moment the work of regeneration is wrought. He is then nailed to the cross. Those who retain the grace of regeneration keep him nailed to the cross. His total death is effected by the work of entire sanctification. It is driving the spear to his heart. It is to know that he is totally no ORIGINAL AND INBRED SIN. dead. The pain ot death is felt while the be- lieving child of God is repenting of the presence of the monster within. Let none hope for this full deliverance until they are humbled and are truly repenting of inbred sin. Some have taught that crucifixion commences when the children of God have learned that it is their privilege to be entirely sanctified. They have taught that the ' ' old man ' ' is then nailed to the cross with the affection and lusts. This is an admission and a declaration that the "old man" has been having his own way, if not completely controlling the children of God. This is dangerous teaching. It gives license to people to sin and call themselves the children of God. The opposers of holiness as a second work of grace may truthfully say that the standard of regeneration is so lowered by such teachers that there is nothing in it. Others teach that the soul may be regener- ated and entirely sanctified without the cruci- fixion of the ' ' old man ' ' and the affections and lusts. Their teaching is that the children of God get willing to do what God requires of CRUCIFIXION. Ill them and when they do that they are entirely sanctified. The result of such teaching is that hundreds of people are professing entire sanc- tification when they are not regenerated. This is a deplorable state of things. The doctrine of entire sanctification has to suffer for this teaching. "The truth is the "old man " is crucified when the soul is regenerated. The carnal affections are nailed to the cross. The children of God reckon themselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our I,ord. They do not yield their members as servants of unrighteousness, but they do yield themselves unto God as those who are alive from the dead. They are led by the Spirit into all the truth. They walk before God in all meekness and long suffering. They are ready to suffer and die if need be with Jesus. The will of God, so far as they know it, is absolute law. They would rather die than sin against God. That which will bring glory to Jesus they will do if they should die in the attempt. I 12 ORIGINAI. AND INBRKD vSIN. The regenerated are so crucified that they do not get angry. They cannot be induced to show an irritable spirit. The "old man" is nailed to the cross and by faith he is kept there. The soul that is born of God is not under any diabolical influence. The Spirit rules and governs every faculty of the soul in the midst of all temptation and persecution. The Grace of God is sufficient for those who have it. They do not get angry, but they are more than conquerors through Him who hath loved them. They will feel an inward tendency toward anger when tempted and tried, but they do not let it rise. . The regenerated have power to do every duty in spite of all tendencies toward fear. They overcome their fears. They bear every cross and are inspired with might to walk in the presence of God. They are not afraid of the world or diabolical agencies. They feel strong tendencies toward fear in their hearts, but they do not allow them to rise. They repress and overcome fear by the grace of God, through the direct operation of the Spirit, CRUCIFIXION, JI3 Those who are born of God are not selfish, proud, or under any sinful tendency. They are under grace. They are kept by the power of God through faith. The Spirit of God remains in the hearts of the regenerated and guides them into all the truth. Entire sanctification totally destroys all the evil tendencies of the heart. Those who are living in the experience of entire sanctification never feel any tendency toward anger, pnde. fear, selfishness, envy, jealousy, malice, fault-finding or murmuring. They are full of love. They are all love. They love God with all the heart, mind, soul and strength, and they love their neighbors as themselves. The carnal mind being entirely destroyed is never felt. The soul is kept in perfect peace amidst every storm and attack of the enemy. The persecution that they may have to endure will not make them sour or discourage them in the service of the I,ord. They will be kept in great peace, and will not take of- fence when enemies oppose and say unkind things. CHAPTER XXVIII. ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. The Apostle prayed that the very God of peace Himself might sanctify His children wholly and preserve them blameless. They were first to be sanctified wholly and then preserved in that state of holiness. The change is wrought instantaneously, and the gradual work of preservation to be carried on unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The as- surance connected: — "Faithful is he that cal- leth you who also will do it." — i Thes. 5: 23-24. Negatively entire sanctification is the com- plete destruction of the being of sin. It is total annihilation. The root from whence springs anger, pride, fear, selfishness, envy, jealousy, malice, bickering, fault-finding, murmuring, grumbling, growling, whining, etc.^ is destroyed and removed. The man of sin being destroy- ed he is cast put^ and th§ place is thoroughly ■ ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. 115 purged from the stench of his habitation. The Holy Ghost applies the word, which is sharper than a two-edged sword. It divides asunder. It enters the joints and marrow. The inherited depravity which is ingrained in the nature is purged out and washed away by the cleansing blood. This is the cleansing of the l^lood that was not cleansed. The whole soul is made as clean as it is possible for it to ever be. It is whiter than snow. "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."— Psalm 51, 7. "That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." — Eph. 5 : 27. This total death cannot be effected by the Spirit until every sin is repented of in the Bible sense. The whole weight and depth of the depraved nature must be seen and felt until it becomes intolerable. The death throes must be felt and endured. Those who repent of the whole depth of their depravity, may hope for a total death, for perfect deliverance. This ii6 OKIGINAL AND INHRKD SIN. seems like a hard process. It may be effected in a moment. When the snrrender is complete and the Holy Ghost has given a perfect vision of inward corruption, self is abhorred and hated. Those who reach this point could not live with- out the entire change. "Woe is me ! for I am undone : because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen the King, the I^ord of hosts." — Isaiah 6:5. This freedom from sin is obtaijicd and fctaincd by faith. There will not be any more motions of evil in the heart ; under the most severe temptation and provocation there will be a calmness as serene as the balmy air of heaven. The entire renewal of the soul in love and in the image of God is utterly impossible until the soul has fully submitted and has repented of inbred sin. The modern teaching of the doctrine of salvation from all sin excludes the necessity of repentence and thereby deceives the honest seeker of full redemption. A^l Christian people need clear, strong, definite teaching in order to seek and find the positive, ■M 117 KNTIRK SANCTIKICATION. definite experience of entire sanctification. "Ye were made sorry after a godly manner."-^ 7: 9. 2 Cor. Positively, entire sanctification is the perfect fulness of the fruit of the vSpirit. It is the perfection of peace that will not take offence. It flows hke a river. It keeps the heart and mind. It is joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. It is love that suffereth long, that envieth not, that is not puffed up, that is not provoked and thinketh no evil, that beareth, be- lieveth, hopeth, and endureth all things' and never faileth. It is the fulness of long suffer- ing, goodness, meekness, temperance, and faith. It is a faith that never wavers. It satisfies every longing and developes every faculty. It is a supernatural discovery of the glory of God. It is an ineffable converse with God, face to face. The change by which the soul is brought into this state is entire sanctification. (The experience is properly called holiness.) Holi- ness is the result of the work of entire sancti- fication. It is the repose of the soul in the ii8 ORlGlNAlv AND INBRE:D SIN. fulness of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, good- ness, meekness, temperance, faith, etc. It is loving God with all the heart, mind, soul and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Some do not know whether they are in or out of the body when God reveals this glory to their souls. It is supreme ecstasy. It is being swallowed up in the infinite. The half has never been told. It will take eternity to unfold it. The witness of the Spirit to entire sanctifi- cation is always clear. It is generally more clear than the witness to regeneration. The direct witness of the Spirit that the work is wrought is the privilege of all who seek for full redemption. No one can truthfully say that the work is wrought until there is added this testimony of the Spirit. When the Spirit entirely sanctifies the soul, He gives the clear, unmistakable evidence that sin is totally de- stroyed, and the soul is entirely renewed in the love and image of God. "He hath per- fected forever them that are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost [is a witness to us." — Heb. ENTIRE SANCTIKICATION. 119 m 10: 14-15. '«Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."— 2 Cor. 2 : 12. No one should presume to say that they are entirely sanctified until they have the direct witness of the Spirit to their entire sanctifica- tion, as clear as to their regeneration. This clear, strong testimony of the Spirit abides with those who are true to the doctrine and ex- perience of entire hoHness, by doing every known duty. This direct witness is absolutely necessary. There will be with it perfect peace. Joy will abound like the waves of the sea. The love of God which was shed abroad in the heart will abide. The entire nature will be delus:ed with the glory of God. The soul will soar on the wings of love. This experience will not fluctuate. It will abide. Growth in grace will be rapid, and the soul will expand. "Non- unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."— Jude 24. CHAPTER XIX. PERFECT LOVE. It is possible to become so absorbed with the negative side of the great salvation as to lose sight of the positive. Rehgion is love. It is truthfully said that there is nothing higher. Perfect religion is perfect love. The heaven of heavens is love. God is love, "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God." It drives out, and keeps out fear. The fulness of love is the perfect absence of all sinful de- sires, appetites and propensities. I,ove melts, moulds, and refines. It destroys the coarseness of nature. It is the cord which binds all other graces together. It is the ruHng power in heaven. I,ove controls, fills and governs all the natural capabilities of perfect Christians. It constrains those who are filled with it to agonize day and night until they see sinners coming to Jesus. It is supreme affection. It PERFECT I,0VE. 121 is the same in quality as was in the heart of Jesus. The whole capacity of the Christ was filled with it. A Christian is perfect in love when every faculty of soul and mind, are full of love. It is being sanctified wholly in body, spirit and soul. Perfect love enters into all the thoughts. Kvery thought of the heart is made holy by it. When the thoughts of the heart are full of love, it is difficult for Satan to inject evil thoughts into it. When the prince of this world comes to the heart that is full of love, he has nothing in it. He is not coming looking for his own ; there is no room for him, the place is full of love. It is love that conquers our enemies. I^ove for God, love for the truth, for holiness, right- eousness and the perishing. It is more gracious than life. It is the most precious thing on this side of the pearly gates. It is the essence of heaven itself. It is a heaven on earth. It is an ocean without bottom or shore. Everything else will fail us ; love abides. I^ove fills every faculty of the souls of the entirely sanctified. The purposes of the holy soul are steeped in 122 Original and ini?red sin. love. Love enters into the intention, ambition, energy, enthusiasm, until they become a flame to let light shine and draw every storm-tossed mariner to the shore in safety. The soul that is perfect in love soars on wings as the eagle. It rises above the clouds and sees the storms below. lyove impels us onward and upward. It makes duty a pleasure and suifering a delight. Christian perfection is the standard of Chris- tian experience on earth. It is that rich ex- perience of perfect communion with the Father, including that peculiar blessed union as men- tioned in the seventeenth of John. This is the beloved theme of those who are made perfect in love. When the}^ hear it preached they be- come jubilant. They know it is not enough to be cleansed from all sin ; they hunger to be filled with all the fulness of God. They enjoy all the sweetness of the drawings of the Father ; all the love as manifest in the gift of the Son, and all the rich effusions of joy in the Holy Ghost. Tlie Holy Spirit maketh intercession in the soul with groanings which cannot be uttered to lead the child of God into this Canaan of perfect love. a CHAPTER XX. TAKE IT BY FAITH. This is the latest deUision. We meet many who say that they took it by faith at a certain time. The doctrine is, beheve that you have It, and you have it. In revival services there are some who believe that it is their special calling and work to get seekers to believe that they have it, and they have it if they will only believe it. Then there is another class of teachers who tell us that you may believe for salvation and not get it for some months after you believe for it. They will go so far as to declare that a certdin person believed that he was saved, and walked a certain number of months without receiving any assurance of salvation. They declare that the evidence may be given at any time, and that we cannot and need not expect to receive it at once. This is directly contrary to the plain teaching of Scrip- 124 Original and inbred sin. tuie is preached in many pulpits. There are some who call themselves teachers of holi- ness who offer this to their people as the very best that God can do for them. The Bible teaching is clear and emphatic on this point, so that we need not be deceived. The great trouble is that people do not search the Scriptures and are deceived by these im- posters. St. John says: "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him- self." Those who have not the direct witness of the Spirit to their entire sanctification, have not yet believed with all their heart for the ex- perience. St. Paul says ; "Now we have re- ceived, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." Kntire sanctification is the free gift of God to all who are repenting of inbred sin and are trusting in Jesus for full redemption. The Holy Ghost is a witness to us. He washes and seals the sons of God unto the day of re- demption. This is the ancient prophecy ful- filled : * * For by one offering he hath perfected TAKE IT BY FAITH. 125 forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost is a witness to us : for after that he had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Ivord. I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." CHAPTER XXI. DOUBT. The children of God should not cast away their confidence. When they give place to doubt they forfeit their sonship. ' * He that believeth not is condemned already." The children of God are believers. They believe all that God has said. They believe it because God has said so. They may have tendencies in their hearts toward doubt, but they do not yield to these evil uprisings. They suppress and overcome the evil of their hearts. Those who doubt are not saved. We are saved by faith — "The just shall live by his faith." The children of God walk by faith. By faith we become the children of God and by faith we retain our sonship. Salvation is by faith. Doubt makes salvation impossible. " He that doubteth is damned." The children of God must kill all tendencies toward doubt DOUBT. 127 or their doubts will kill them. Doubt not only hinders the work of Jesus, but it is dishonor- ing to God. The children of God are exhorted to take heed lest there be in them an evil heart of un- belief. Not to believe is to depart from the living God. We entef in by faith. The chil- dren of God are to draw near in full assurance of faith. Unbelief grieves the vSpirit. The un- believing can not enter the Canaan of Perfect Rest, the> will have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. The children of God are to be strong in faith, giving glory to God. The strongest command in the book is : "Have faith in God." It is in the present tense. The children of God are to believe per- fectly. It is the perfect faith that brings per- fect salvation. The way into the holiest is entered by faith. It is according to our faith. Entire sanctification is obtained by faith, and by faith the children of God walk in the light as He is in the light. Faith looks to the promise alone. By faith the atoning merit of 128 ORIGINATE AND INBRED SIN. Jesus' blood is appropriated to the heart so that sin is all removed and the heart made perfectly clean. By faith the world is overcome. By faith the children of God triumph and rise above the world. By faith they receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. By faith the children of God are strong to do His will ; they walk in all lowliness and meekness before Him. lat :iy 3y se he lie CHAPTKR XXII, WAITING. ss It is common to hear seekers say that they have done all they can, and they are waiting for the blessing. The expression is wicked. It implies that Jesus is either not ready or not willing to save. We are not surprised to hear sinners make such expressions ; we are grieved to hear professors of religion make such assertions. The plain teaching of Scripture is that God does the work the moment that faith takes hold of the promise. None have to wait for Jesus to become willing or ready. All things are ready, and we are invited to come. "Be- hold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the day of salvation." The Father is ready; the Son is ready; the Holy Ghost is ready ; Heaven is ready ; the fountain of cleansing is ready ; the angels are I3C5 OKIOINAI, AND INHKKD SIN. ready to triumph, and the seeker of holiness who is ready to receive by faith all the atoning merit of Jesus' blood, may be cleansed from all unrighteousness at this moment. The children of God who have retained the grace of regeneration, have been getting ready to enter the Canaan of perfect love. They have been repenting of every unholy tendency of their hearts. They have not cast away their confidence. They have been following the pillar. By the humble, strong, penitent prayer of faith they may enter in at once into the experience of full salvation. They must enter if they hold the beginning of their con- fidence. The truly penitent who believe in Jesus, are saved at once. All who remain penitent and walk by fliith, will be led into the experience of entire sanctification. The spirit leads into Christian perf(^ction all who are wil- ling to be led. CHAPTER XXIII. FILLED. God can fill, but not until we are emptied. The Holy Spirit can satisfy every longing and craving of our natures. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the promise of God. Truth, wisdom, reason, intelligence are innate or ac- quired, but they never satisfy. We are never satisfied until the Trinity is made known to us by the Holy Ghost. The soul cries ; Only God ! Only Jesus ! Only the Holy Ghost ! We cannot understand God, but we can take Him in and be perfectly satisfied with Him. We are to be filled with the Spirit. This is our duty and our greatest privilege. The Holy Ghost fills. He fills the empti- ness of humanity. The thought is blessed. It is divinely glorious. We cannot explain it, but we know it. It is better felt than told. Children in infancy do not know their parents, 132 ORIGINAL AND INBRED SIN. but they love them and are filled with tliein. He conies like the wind, like the rushing mighty wind. He comes with tongues of fire. He sits on holy people. He fires and enflames. He causes us to burn and shine. He refines as gold. The Holy Ghost turns all the batteries of heaven on those who are under Him in actual holy service. The Holy Ghost transforms us. He links our finite powers with the infinite. Our ignor- ance gives place to wisdom. Wisdom from above Our nothingness is swallowed up in the almightiness of the Holy Ghost. He in- spires, elevates and enthuses us with the power of His indwelling so that we groan for souls, we weep at the feet of Jesus, we prevail in prayer, we shout victory by faith, we lead them to Jesus, we hear the cry of the new-born and come again rejoicing bringing our sheaves with us. The Holy Ghost must be honored. We must not grieve the Holy Spirit. Stay, thou oft-ofiended Spirit, stay ! The Holy Ghost can so fill us that He will be felt by those to whom we speak. His FII.I.EI). i33 warming, burning rays of light and love will be felt. The influence that will go out from us will bless, heal and save. He will work through us so that the world will be filled with His glory. The increase of power always demands an increase of scope. The Holy Ghost will have the salvation of Jesus spread until the nations feel its redemptive power. Those who are filled with the Holy Ghost have frequent spontaneous outbursts of prayer, praise and exhortation. Enthusiasm comes from the infilling. It is not zeal, earnestness, faith, charity or service that produces the effect, but the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire. It is Holy Ghost fire that is needed to give light and heat. The Church of the hving God needs a baptism of light. Many are look- ing for light. They are looking to learning, theology, etc., and are getting into dense, thick darkness. They need the Holy Ghost to reveal Jesus to them. The Holy Ghost is dishonored by God's own people. It is done in blindness and ignorance. It is not done dehberately. The power of inbred sin is great. It must be 134 ORIGINAI, AND INBRED SiN. destroyed and the baptism of the Holy Ghost sought, then the wealth of the Church will be given to the Holy Ghost, then the people will fall at the feet of Jesus and cry, use me ! A proud, haughty Church cannot be endued with power from on high. She must first be hum- bled to repentance and the demon pride cast out. Come, Holy Ghost, and brood over our nature's night ; give repentance, give faith, give the power to go out after the lost, that the world may be claimed and brought to the feet of Jesus. Dr. Adam Clarke says : — "To be filled with God is a great thing ; to be filled with the ful- ness of God is still greater ; to be filled with all the fulness of God is greatest of all. This utterly bewilders the sense, and confounds the understanding, by leading at once to con- sider the immensity of God, the infinitude of His attributes, and the absolute perfection of each ! But there must be a sense in which even this wonderful petition was understood by the apostle, and may be comprehended by us. Most people, in quoting these words, endeavor ^II,I.KD. 135 to correct or explain the apostle by adding the word communicable. But this is as idle as it is useless and impertinent. Reason surely tells us that St. Paul would not pray that they should be filled with what could not be communicated. The apostle certainly meant what he said, and would be understood in his own meaning ; and we may soon see what this meaning is." "By the 'fulness of God,' we are to under- stand all the gifts and graces which He has promised to bestow on man in order to his full salvation here, and his being fully prepared for the enjoyment of glory hereafter. To be filled with all the fulness of God is to have the heart emptied of and cleansed from all sin and defilement, and filled with humility, meekness, gentleness, goodness, justice, holiness, mercy, and truth, and love to God and man. And that this implies a thorough emptying of the soul of everything that is not of God, and leads not to Him, is evident from this : that what God fills neither sin nor Satan can fill, nor in anywise occupy ; for, if a vessel be filled with one fluid or substance, not a drop or par- 136 Originai^ and inbrp:d sin. tical of any other kind can enter it, without displacing the same quantum of the original matter as that which is afterward introduced. God cannot be said to fill the whole soul while any place, part, passion, or faculty is filled, or less or more occupied by sin or Satan : and as neither sin nor Satan can be where God fills and occupies the whole, so the terms of the prayer state that Satan shall neither have any dominion over that soul, nor being in it. A fulness of humility precludes all pride ; of meekness, precludes anger ; of gentleness, all ferocity ; of goodness, all evil ; of justice, all injustice ; of holiness, all sin ; of mercy, all unkindness and revenge ; of truth, all falsity and dissimulation ; and where God is loved with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, there is no room for enmity or hatred to Him, or to any thing connected with Him ; so, where a man loves his neighbor as himself, no ill shall be worked to that neighbor ; but, on the contrary, every kind affection will exist toward him ; and every kind action, so far as power and circumstances can permit, will be done to l^ILLED. 137 him. Thus the being filled with God's fulness will produce constant, pious, and affectionate obedience to Him, and unvarying benevolence towards one's neighbor ; that is, to any and every human being. Such a man is saved from all sin ; the law is fulfilled in him ; and he ever possesses and acts under the influence of that love to God and man which is the fulfil- Hng of the law. It is impossible, with any Scriptural or rational consistency, to understand these words in any lower sense ; but how much more they imply (and more they do imply), who can tell? CHAPTER XXIV. HOLINESS PREACHING. The preacher who will leave inbred sin alone may preach holiness and no person will be offended, and none will enter into the experience of holiness. War commences when the mon- ster is disturbed. It is all right to tell men that they need a deeper work of grace, or they need more power, but do not speak of the total death of sin. The preacher who will de- clare that inbred sin must be destroyed, will have every formalist, every worldling, and every demon up in arms against him. It is neither pleasing nor popular to cut the right hand and the right foot off a child of God. The true minister of Jesus Christ must do more — he will pluck out the right eye. He probes the right eye until it will be a relief to have it taken out. It is this con- tinual probing that formal Christians hate. It HOtlNI^SS PRKACHING. 139 seems to be a cruel operation. It is only those who have perfect love undertake and prosecute this difficult unpopular piece of work. The perfect in love prosecute it with all diligence and fidelity. They succeed in this work on account of their thoroughness. They never cry peace, peace. They are satisfied that God will do the work, and when it is done the peace w^'ll be perfect and will flow like a river. Caughey says : — "When all is quiet, and the Gospel comes in word only, how very good- natured the • old man ' is ! The preacher is a very fine fellow; an agreeable, eloquent gentleman, if you please, of rare talents and learning ; the very preacher for him ! How polite and amiable ! But let the Gospel come, not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance (i Thess. 1:5); searching the inmost soul, flashing the lightnings of truth around the walls of the temple ; then are the dispositions and thoughts of many hearts re- vealed. (Luke 2 : 35). Let the truth of God strike home once or twice ' with unexpected 140 Original and inp,rp:d vSin. vividness,' then behold the attitude of the carnal mind. What indignation, what malice, what revenge, may be against him who flung the fatal weapon, and against all concerned ! We read of a viper which hides its teeth in its gums, requiring good sight to detect them. Simplicity might conclude them harmless. Provoke the viper, the teeth are instantly seen, protruding in battle array ! It is thus with the carnal mind the world over. Those who are living near the throne do not fret about order or decency in worship. They worship under the power of the Holy Ghost. They are not anxious about talent. They speak in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. They are not concerned about gram- mar, rhetoric or oratorical finish. They are absorbed in the subject matter, and speak with ease and fluency. The power of the Church is not in talent, social standing or wealth, but in the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. The weakness of the Church is in her efforts to secure wealth and men of social standing and culture. The power of the Church is not HOI.INICSS PREACHING. 141 in men, wealth or organization, but in the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost gives light, conviction, repentance, faith, and He regenerates, sanctifies and quickens all the dormant forces. CHAPTER XXV, HIDDEN INIQUITY. fc< P. The Church of Christ is suffering much from the hidden sins of its professed members. These are not what are called small sins, but they are great and terrible in their effects. Drinking, gambling, stealing and lying are small sins when compared with murder. It seems hard to have to make such a charge. We must deliver our own souls. By the grace of God we will save as many as possible of His children from being guilty of such crimin- ality. It is well known in very many places that people who are members of churches refuse to have children. They use means to destroy their offspring. Mothers teach their innocent daughters this damning act. We have prayed over men and women until we have given up in despair, and then we have been informed that they have been using means HIDDKN INIQUITY. 143 to murder their unl)()rn child' u. It is a inatter of great grief to us to have to bring this to light. Our salvation de])ends upon our loyalty to the truth. We dare not keep silent any longer. We must declare the sin of Israel. We consider tliat this would l)e a great crime for unconverted people to be guilty of commit- ting. We have been led to wonder whether it were possiljle for those who have yielded to this temptation while professing to be Chris- tians to fmd forgiveness. It does not seem possible to us that so dreadful a crime could be committed, and the conscience to remain free from guilt. We are afraid that the crime is becoming so prevalent that some are committing it, and have quieted their consciences so that they do not feel much guilt. The curse ol God must rest upon America if this crime is not speedily stamped out. Those who love the cause of God and have an interest in the common good should pray to God for mercy, charge home the sin on the guilty,, and save the Church of Christ from such a dreadful calamity. 144 ORIGINAI, AND INHRKD SIN. In iiiany places it is impossible to have an extensive revival of religion until these mur- derers are exposed and the mere}'' of God has been sought. The vSpirit is grieved, the vials of wrath are being filled, and C must soon in fury pour it out unless this udal wave of iniquity is removed. ail iir- las als )011 of CHAPTER XXVI. SECOND BLESSING. Those wlio have the first will feel their need of the second. They will have power over all inward and ontward evil. They will groan for redemption from inherited depravity. The plain, strong preaching of the atoning merit of Jesns' blood will be glad tidings to them. The first work of grace being so satisfactory to them, they will receive with delight the teaching of the second. Theop'xDsers of the "second blessing, properly so-called, ire in great need of the first. They may never have received the first. They may not have received the spirit of adoption where- by we cry, "Abba, Father." They may only have received the spirit of bondage. The first brought them under conviction, and they have remained in bondage. They do not want the second, because they were not saved by the 146 ORIGINAL AND INBRED SIN. first. The first brought them into misery, and they do not want any more misery. It is certain that those who do not want the second, have not yet received the first. Some say that they received what is called the second blessing when they found the first. If so, why do they become angry because others say that they had to have the second change. Should they not pity those who did not get it all at once. They should be pleased to see others find the second change, if by that means they reach their experience. They should encourage others to seek until they are freed from sin, even if it is necessary to have the second change. They should pity those who did not get it all at once, and not be bitter against them for seeking full deliver- ance. It is a very strong evidence that they are not fully saved. Those who are fully saved rejoice to see others receive the fulness. CHAPTER XXVII. SELF-INDULGENCE. This is a subject which requires much thought and prayer. It may truthfully be said that self is utterly destroyed and at the same time it is a fact that we have to do with self as long as we are in this world. There is a trinity in man - he has a body, a mind, and a soul. There is in man a physical self, a men- tal self, and a moral self. The mental and the moral self may be destroyed, but it is certain that the physical self cannot. We must keep our bodies under. Entire sanctification destroys everything that is habitual and gives perfect control of all natural appetites. Any kind of self-indulgence is a positive hindrance to spiritual power and progress. It will gradually subdue and ultimately entirely excinguish the fire of the heart. All sloth, all luxurious habits, all artificial appetites, and all mm 148 ORIGINAL AND INBRED SIN. tlie luxuries of the table. Every Christian whf) will retain the fire of (lod in his soul must keep his natural appetites for food, etc., under complete control. He must abstain and fast. He should eat only that which is necessary to keep up his physical strength and energy. He must absolutely abstain from all that is in- jurious to his health. The Spirit of prayer and supplication should be sought while the bod>- is denied its natural craving. Those who fast should not feel hungry — they should be kept by the Spirit; otherwise the>- are weakened physically and not strengthened spiritually. Fasting should be a means of grace to the people of God. We pra\' that the people of God may receive light on this vital subject. 1