Another class of seekers is very much concerned about the witness of
the Spirit to assure them that the blessing has been received. Probably
in these cases the very point that has not yet been consecrated to God
is the feeling, or the witness, which they so much desire. "It often
happens," says Dr. G. D. Watson, "that a patient, who has been cured of
some contagious disease, has to have a certificate on leaving the
hospital. In such a case the certificate does not cure him, but
certifies that he is cured. How absurd for a patient just entering the
hospital to clamor for his health certificate before receiving the
doctor and taking the remedies. In like manner, it is useless for a
seeking soul to be clamoring for the witness and waiting for the
feeling before receiving Jesus and fully trusting Him for the cure. We
are not to trust in the experience, but the Saviour who imparts the
experience."
Let us now return to Paul. In his first epistle to the Corinthians,
second and third chapters, he tells us of three classes of persons: the
natural man, the spiritual man, and the babe in Christ. The natural
man, he tells us, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; they
are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned. Such is a description of the unregenerate
wherever and whenever they are found. Their standard of judgment is not
that of the Holy Spirit. They are blind to the truth of God and deaf to
the story of salvation. Being without spiritual life they are, of
course, without spiritual judgment. And yet, just such persons are in
all our churches, and the number is by no means small. And often it
strangely happens that these are the very individuals who are
noticeably forward in expressing their opinions on the right way of
managing a church. Fine and costly edifices, artistic music,
entertainments and theatricals, eloquent preaching or lecturing,
something to be proud of and to draw the crowd--these are the things
which in their view make the church of their choice a success; but as
for the conversion of sinners, as for the spread of the gospel at home
and abroad, as for the sanctifying of believers, as for the things of
the Spirit of God, they are foolishness unto them. What they need is a
deep and pungent conviction, a true repentance, a living faith and a
sound conversion. May God hasten it in His time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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