“Ye shall be holy; for I am
holy.” 1 Peter 1:16 (R.V.)
Continually restate to yourself what the purpose of
your life is. The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but
holiness. Nowadays we have far too many affinities, we are dissipated with
them; right, good, noble affinities which will yet have their fulfilment, but
in the meantime God has to atrophy them. The one thing that matters is whether
a man will accept the God Who will make him holy. At all costs a man must be
rightly related to God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe God
can come into me and make me holy? If by your preaching you convince me that I
am unholy, I resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an
intense resentment because it must reveal that I am unholy; but it also awakens
an intense craving. God has one destined end for mankind, viz., holiness. His
one aim is the production of saints. God is not an eternal blessing-machine for
men; He did not come to save men out of pity: He came to save men because He
had created them to be holy. The Atonement means that God can put me back into
perfect union with Himself, without a shadow between, through the Death of
Jesus Christ.
Never tolerate through sympathy with yourself or
with others any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means
unsullied walking with the feet, unsullied talking with the tongue, unsullied thinking
with the mind – every detail of the life under the scrutiny of God. Holiness is
not only what God gives me, but what I manifest that God has given me.
9月1日 竭誠為主
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