Let us ask ourselves, 'What does the will of God count for with us? We
know what He wants, and the claims of gratitude and sincere regard for
His glory should influence our attitude, and lead us to say, 'Lo! I
come to do Thy will, O my God!'
_He wills that I should holy be:
That Holiness I long to feel;
That full, Divine conformity
To all my Saviour's righteous will._
2. A second motive to Holiness may be found in _the urgent need of the
people around us_. We all know something of God's plan for saving the
world. It is, broadly speaking, on the line of using one man to save
another. Co-operation on this line is rightly expected from all
professing Christians.
Personally, I hold that professors of religion who are not moved by a
concern for the souls of others, and a willingness to use all possible
efforts to seek their Salvation, can hardly claim to be properly saved
themselves. The need of saved men and women to act on these lines of
consecrated effort is, indeed, very great, and the knowledge of this
fact should urge us to the fullest consecration. But we need to see
more clearly that unless we exhibit in our own characters and lives the
true fruits of Holiness, we shall either fail in our own consecration,
or our influence will be greatly reduced.
What do you think will be the effect of a man's words about the
Christian's 'separateness', and about Christ being the satisfying
portion of the human heart, if people see him seeking satisfaction with
the multitude that go to do evil? How will the world be influenced by
Christian talkers who sacrifice honour, truth, and perhaps honesty, in
their daily associations? How often people's tongues are tied, when
they ought to speak and act? They are half paralysed through a sense of
their personal inconsistency.
Holiness is not only the inspiration to holy effort; it is a necessary
qualification. The power of a holy life is the best evidence of what
God can do. Platform and Meeting-Holiness, or glass-case sanctity, are
feeble when compared with the exhibition of the blessing in daily
association. Therefore, 'Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven'.
These words indicate my meaning when I urge you to seek and maintain
the blessing of Holiness in the interests of those around you. Holy
lives are the most convincing sermons and testimonies. We often say
'Holiness is power'; and I am sure that you need all the power which
can be obtained to influence the world around for God and Salvation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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