"Born of the Spirit;" or, Gems from the Book of LifeOsborne, Zenas
Religion
"Born of the Spirit;" or, Gems from the Book of Life
Osborne, Zenas
Free Methodist Church of North America; Osborne, Zenas
There must be harmony between the law and the gospel. If we deal in
the law exclusively, we shall fail to get men saved to God. If we
stop declaring the law, we shall fail to reach the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. We must be made to know that we are sick, before we
will apply the remedy. The servant of God must cry aloud, and spare
not; lift up their voice like a trumpet and show the people their
sins, and Israel their transgressions. The great mass of professors
seem to ignore the law altogether. It has become very unpopular to
tell the people that they are sinners, and on their way to hell, and
unless they repent, they will surely perish. But on the other hand,
they are made to believe, and that too, by preachers, that they
are _naturally_ very good, and that we almost confer a great favor
on the Almighty, by letting Him bless us. A man will never give up
his sins, until he becomes sick of them. Hence he should be made
sick as soon as possible, and as sick as possible. Make him so, by
declaring the law to him, that he will disgorge freely and fully,
throwing up anything that caused a bilious state of soul. When this
is accomplished, you can safely apply the gospel remedy, without
much fear of a speedy relapse, or of healing slightly. There is not
much danger of the disease returning, where the system has been
thoroughly purged by law remedies. But to give the sweatmeats of the
gospel to them that need the law, tends to aggravate the case, and
make it worse. But, says one, does not the blood cleanse us from our
sins? Yes, the blood is the foundation, _if we confess our sins_ He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness--Glory to God! But to illustrate: In passing a
marble factory we see a large block of marble upon skids. The block
upon which we look is about eight feet long, five thick, and four
wide. A set of gang-saws, propelled by steam power, are cutting this
huge piece of marble up into slabs, about two inches thick. Above
this piece of marble is placed a conductor of water, conveying it
the whole length of the marble, and to every saw. On the top of
this marble is placed a bushel or two of sand. The water falling
upon this, washes it down upon the saws, causing them to execute
their design more rapidly upon the marble. Now, to the point: Our
hearts are naturally hard, stony. We have to be squared by the law;
these saws represent the law. Whatever the law condemns, _must_
be abandoned. The water falling upon the marble, represents the
gospel. We need to mix in a good deal of the gospel with the law.
The sand falling upon the saw is repentance and confession. To make
the law cut, we need to confess our sins; this brings us directly
to the blood. O, glory to God! Its good to live where the blood is
continually dropping upon our hearts. Bless God for the squaring
process of the law, and the polishing touches of the gospel. Brother,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account