THE SECOND CHRISIS IN CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
12 -- A HOLY HEART NECESSARY FOR HOLY LIVING
Jesus said, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." "Either make the
tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit
corrupt; for the tree is known by his fruit."
Men are constantly inverting the divine order, and striving
to improve the fruit – the outward life and conduct -- in order to make the
heart good; striving to live holy in order to be holy. God says, "be ye
holy," in order to live holy. Strange to relate, the human method is quite
popular, while the divine method is quite unpopular.
Said a brother evangelist to me recently, "I am
preaching holy living as never before," when it is well known that he had
personally given up the definite testimony to the experience of heart holiness,
and had ceased to definitely press and urge the experience upon others; and
even questioned the possibility of such an experience.
This writer has a full appreciation of the importance of
holy living, but would insist that men must first have holy hearts in order to
live holily. We would emphasize, and insist on the divine order. As Jesus said
to the Pharisees, "Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter,
that the outside of them may be clean also;" we contend that the man who
preaches "holy living," without telling them the how of holy living,
and thus leading them first to the cleansing fountain, is surely inverting the
divine order, and urging the impossible. Men must have holy hearts before they
can live holy lives; and when the heart is holy they will live holy lives. They
are correlated as cause and effect; but the cause must of necessity precede the
effect.
Here is the cunning device and subtle temptation of the
devil: to preach on "holy living seldom, if ever, provokes opposition and
persecution; no one will object to holy living; whereas, the preaching on
sanctification-- "the act of Divine grace whereby we are made holy"—invariably
arouses opposition, and occasions offense and reproach. The "old man"
evidently does not care how much a man talks about "holy living,"
"the higher life," "the baptism of power for service,"
"a deeper work of grace," etc., so long as he is not dislodged; he
knows full well that mere resolution and human effort at "holy
living," without the blood that sanctifies, is certain to eventuate in
failure. But the instant you preach sanctification -- "the act of Divine
grace whereby we are made holy" -- which means the crucifixion,
dislodgement, and utter destruction of the "old man," he at once
arrays himself against the doctrine and whoever proclaims it.
We are free to say to men everywhere, that if they would be
popular with carnal professors and worldly church members, they should not
preach much on sanctification as a second work of grace, but instead, preach on
"holy living," and outward righteousness. That was popular even with
the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, "Ye make clean the outside of the cup
and of the platter, . . . indeed appear beautiful outward. . . . Ye also
outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and
iniquity." (Matt. 23:25, 27, 28.)
No pretense or effort to "holy living" will
commend us to God, so long as He sees that the heart is yet unholy. "For
the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but
the Lord looketh on the heart." (I. Sam. 16:7.) In the sight of God no one
is better than his heart; if the heart yet remains impure and unholy, then
before Him the person is unholy. Nothing can take the place of heart holiness.
Out of the heart are the issues of life; hence, God
constantly asks for the heart. No one is better than his heart. To undertake to
live a holy life without first obtaining a holy heart, is like undertaking to
purify and clarify a stream of water while there is yet a pig rooting in the
spring. "Can the fig tree, my brethren bear olive berries? either a vine,
figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." This being
true, we need constantly to preach sanctification, which is the work of God --
"the act of divine grace whereby we are made holy." "Christ also
loved the church and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it
should be holy and without blemish." (Eph. 5:25-27.)
