27. “Η. Μ. Α.” John 15:1-81I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:1‑8), and 1 John 2:2828And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28) are pre-eminently practical. We cannot conceive how any intelligent person could think of applying such scriptures to the question of our standing in Christ. Is it true that all Christians abide in Christ? If so, where would be the force of the exhortation to do so?
28. “R. W.,” Montreal. We have received your kind favor; but we cannot, at all, see with you in the matter to which you refer.
29. “C. M.,” Milltown, near Dublin. If you will kindly send those back numbers to us, we can make good use of them.
30. “Η. T.” The only counsel we can offer you is to wait on the Lord, and ask Him to guide you. He has said, “I will guide thee with mine eye;” and “He cannot deny Himself.” It may be, He would have you to plod on patiently with your present occupation. We are in a much safer position, morally, when our business is the burden, on the back, and not the idol of the heart.
31. “G. S.,” Stow. Mark 2:55When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (Mark 2:5) encourages us to exercise faith for others; but it in nowise collides with the line of truth to which you have referred. It is our happy privilege to count on the boundless grace of God on behalf of any whom we may have upon our hearts; but no one is forgiven and justified before God, apart from repentance and faith wrought in his soul by the power of the Holy Ghost.
In Heb. 9:2828So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28) the Holy Ghost graciously takes in all the saints of God. He assumes that all are looking for the blessed Savior. Do you suppose that the Lord will only appear to those who hold the doctrine of His coming? Blessed be His name, there is not a single member of His body upon this earth who shall not rise to meet Him at that happy moment, when the sound of the trumpet announces His coming. Eternal praise to His peerless name!
32. “F. E.” The paper you have sent us is not only, as you say, “wanting in some points,” but unscriptural. You will, however, excuse our taking it up in this magazine, inasmuch as we have, from the commencement, sought to keep our pages free from everything of a controversial nature.
33. “M. A. G.,” Windsor. In 1 John 3:66Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. (1 John 3:6), “He that sinneth” refers to one who is morally characterized by “ sinning” (ὁ ἁμαρτάνων). Such an one has not seen or known “Him.” Now, the Christian, though liable to commit sin, if not watchful, is, nevertheless, not characterized by it. He stands, thanks be to God, on another footing altogether. He is not a sinning one, though having sin in him. In verse 9, the apostle is evidently speaking of the divine nature abstractedly, which can no more sin than Christ Himself. In chapter 1, on the contrary, the apostle says, “If we” Now, if any one were to say that he had no sin in him, or that he had not sinned, or that he could not sin, we should say he was self-deceived, and the truth was not in him. The believer is a complex person, having two natures; but “whosoever is born of God” is unquestionably the new man, looked at apart from the old nature. To say that I need not commit sin, is to state a blessed privilege (chap. 2:1); to say that I cannot is a delusion and a deceit. I have no right to excuse myself in a single sinful thought; but to say that I am not capable of a sinful thought, is a fallacy and a hollow assumption.
As to the expression, “Be filled with the Spirit,” it is just what we long for; to be so under the sway of the Holy Ghost, that Christ may be the one absorbing object of our hearts. Beloved friend, let us never be satisfied with anything short of this. Let us aim at it with our whole souls; and sedulously watch against every moral hindrance.