“He that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6:7.
Are you freed from sin? If not, do you not see exactly where the difficulty lies?
There stands the truth of God, that “he that is dead is freed from sin.” Then if you are not freed from sin, the only cause of it is that you are not dead.
Jesus says, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but it if die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24.
Again He says, “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.” John 15:8.
As the Father is glorified in your bearing much fruit, and as it is only “if it die,” that it “bringeth forth much fruit,” it certainly follows that herein is the Father glorified, that ye die.
Are you dead? Are you freed from sin? Will you glorify the Lord by bearing much fruit? Will you die?
“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.”
Do you want forever to abide alone? “Without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5.
Without Him you can do nothing; without Him you abide alone: “except it ... die, it abideth alone;” except you die, you can do nothing.
But, bless the Lord, “if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
In being dead, then, there is freedom from sin; there is abiding with the Lord; there is the bearing of much fruit to the glory of God; and the end, eternal life.
In not being dead, there is bondage to sin; there is abiding alone; and the end, eternal death.
Thus he that will save his life shall lose it; but he that will lose his life for Christ’s sake shall keep it unto life eternal. Matthew 16:25.
Will you lose your life and save it? or will you save your life and lose it?
“It is appointed unto men once to die.” Hebrews 9:27. And in the gospel, God has fixed it so that every man can die that “once,” so as to live forevermore.
Except it die, it abideth alone; but when we choose to die that we may bring forth much fruit, He does not leave us alone, nor ask us to die alone. He only asks us to die with Him. Bless His name!
Then “if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” Romans 6:8. He does not live in sin. And living with Him, we shall not live in sin.
Are you freed from sin? Are you dead? Are you dead with Christ, so that you live with Christ?
“Believe, believe, believe in Jesus,” is the soothing fallacy that is lulling many to sleep in the cradle of carnal security, and we need to be alarmed. When you bring Jesus into your daily life and character, you will not talk of your feelings, but of what God hath said. When Christ is in the soul, then we will work for those around us who are in darkness. There will not be heard from any man, “Give me Christ, but away with the commandments of God, I do not want to hear anything about them.”
We must know that our feet are upon the eternal Rock. It is not for us to bring the word of God to our feelings and ideas, but to bring these to the word of God. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” We are in the perils of the last days, and Christ has said that false teachers shall arise in the world, and deceive many with their pernicious doctrines.
Then how shall we know the true from the false?—“Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Do they teach obedience to the law of God, or do they teach men to break his commandments? We are living in a world of false doctrines, and we must know what is truth.
We do not inquire, What is for my convenience? but, What is God’s word? If Christ had studied his convenience, he would never have left heaven to come to our world to die, to hang upon the accursed tree for us. Jesus has died for you, and now what will you do for Jesus? He says, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” And if you love Jesus, you will have your feet planted in the blood-stained foot-prints of the Man of Calvary, and at last those who have gained the victory will enter in through the gates into the city, and have a right to the tree of life.
God has given us reasoning faculties, and He wants us to use them. He has given us a chart which marks out for us the only right way to reach eternal life.
Study the Scriptures for yourselves. Hear what the voice of the true Shepherd says to you, and then walk in the path of humble obedience, and at last the gift of eternal life will be granted to you. We cannot afford to lose eternal life. May God grant that we may meet around the great white throne, and sing the song of redemption in the kingdom of glory.
“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I show the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23.
My mind, of late, has been dwelling upon the subject brought to view in the above text. As we are living in the days when evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Timothy 3:13), does it not become us to watch our conversation, that we may receive the blessing promised to him that ordereth his conversation aright.
We read in 1 Peter 1:15, “But as He which hath called you is Holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” Now is it not time that we take heed to the many passages of Scripture bearing upon this point? Our Saviour says in Matthew 12:36, 37, “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
It seems that idle words, jesting, and filthy conversation, is one of the besetting sins of this age. Dear brethren and sisters, are we clear of this sin? If we are not, let us start from this time, and resolve that we will be guilty of it no longer. How often our ears are stung by the filthy conversation of the wicked about us. And it can truly be said by those who are trying to become pure and holy in the sight of God, as it was of just Lot; who dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds (2 Peter 2:7, 8). And we read in 1 Peter 3:10, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.” And James says in chapter 3:13: “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” And Peter, speaking of the things that are to take place at the coming of the Lord, says, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” 2 Peter 3:11.
Dear brethren and sisters, Jesus is soon coming, and are we getting ready? Are we making that preparation that we shall need, to stand before the Judge of all the earth at His appearing? Oh let us arouse ourselves and be awake to the times in which we are living. The war cloud is hanging over this earth. The nations are angry; but the four angels are holding the four winds of the earth, till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. Revelation 7:1-3. Let us work while the day lasts; for the night soon cometh when no man can work. John 9:4.
Jesus will have a pure church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Ephesians 5:27. Then let us purify our souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. 1 Peter 1:22. Jesus gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:14. I want to get ready for the coming of the Saviour, and be numbered with the 144,000 in whose mouth will be found no guile, and sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. Revelation 14:1-5; 15:3.
