02 -- THE EXPERIENCE OF HOLINESS
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing f your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect will of God." -- Romans 12:1, 2. In this epistle to the Roman
Christians from the inspired pen of Paul we have a reasoned discussion of the
framework of the Christian faith. The Apostle tells us that sin is a race-wide
fact, and that grace is a heaven-born cure for the deepest need of sinful
humanity. He says that the cross is God's judgment of sin, and His great love
for the sinner. To him holiness and heaven are glorious possibilities. At the
close of the eleventh chapter there occurs a break; the transition is from the
theoretical to the practical, from logical deductions to personal exhortation.
The distinction is a very important one, for we should be sound in doctrine, but
it is equally as important to possess the experience for which the doctrine
stands. What can be more cold and metallic than logic unless it issues in life
and practice? It is highly important to be sound in the doctrine of holiness,
and yet what is the use of being sound doctrinally and not enjoy the bliss of
the glorious experience? Let me call your attention to three things:
* * *
I. THE PRESENTATION
That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. Look for a few moments at the
ground of the appeal. The entreaty is based on the mercy of God in granting to
the Gentiles a grafted-in place in His program, following the judicial casting
aside of Israel as a people. In the closing verse of the eleventh chapter the
apostle tells us that we are God's creatively, since that He is the great source
and center of life. Then, we are His preservatively, since that He sustains our
lives and upholds the world of which we are a part. We are also His ideally,
since He is the only worthy goal of life. Paul means to say, That since God has
such claims upon us we should recognize His ownership. And in view of these
facts, we should yield ourselves wholly to Him. Notice the character of this
presentation. It is a voluntary presentation to Christ. A military surrender is
forced -- a spiritual consecration is free. A sinner's surrender is not
compelled, for it is the act of a rebel grounding his arms in the presence of
Christ his conqueror. On the other hand, the consecration of the believer is the
loving act of a royal subject intelligently and deliberately committing himself
and all his resources to the God of his salvation. This is also a sacred
consecration. The little qualifying word "holy" describes the blessed objective
and character of the consecration. Aimless consecration has given rise to
endless reconsecrations that are seen in church circles today. What is needed is
a searching experience of the soul in which, under the light and leading of the
Holy Spirit, we yield ourselves entirely and eternally to the cleansing blood of
Christ and the doing of God's blessed will. Paul informs us that this is a
sacrificial presentation. Our offering is described as a "living sacrifice," in
contrast with the dead sacrifices of the Jewish altars. It should be the living
body as the tool and vehicle of the living soul -- God wants it. He wants people
who will sacrificially live for Him. It is conceivable that death might be
courted as an escape. Are we willing to live for Him the poured-out life? This
is the real test of our consecration -- it means obedience at any cost --and how
few of us know its full meaning! Finally, the apostle tells us that it is a
reasonable presentation. Self-dedication to the wondrous work of Christ in
redeeming us from all sin with His own blood is an act that conforms to the
highest reason. It is as rational as it is warmly affectionate and beautifully
appropriate. Anything less than complete commitment to God is at once
unreasonable and ungrateful.
* * *
II. THE TRANSFORMATION
Be ye transformed. The word transformed means an inner
change of disposition by the incoming of the Holy Spirit. Here we are struck with
the change from the active to the passive voice. We are urged to present our
bodies as a living sacrifice, but we are not bidden to transform ourselves into
that inward conformity to the perfect will of God. Here emerges the secret of a
holy life. It is the work of divine grace wrought in the heart by the Spirit of
God. To confine the thought of entire sanctification within the limits of
dedication is to remove God from the picture. The Lord cannot consecrate for the
believer any more than He can repent for the sinner. Consecration means the
presenting of oneself to the surgeon; sanctification means the "ether" and the
"knife." In the former we may be active, but in the latter we are being acted
upon. In one place this gracious transformation is related to the putting off
the "old man" (Eph.4:22, 23). In another place it is related to the reception of
the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5). The one thought is complementary to the other. The
renewing of the Holy Ghost" is begun in regeneration, but is not finished until
"indwelling sin" has been purged away, thus completing the moral renovation of
the soul. In regeneration there is renewal to the life of God; in full
sanctification there is renewal to the likeness of God. Both experiences are by
faith and therefore come to the soul in the nature of a crisis. When the heart is
transformed by the coming of the Holy Spirit to the believer, verses nine to
twenty-one of the context become an accurate description of the life of
holiness. Love is pure --evil is loathsome -- kindness is natural -- modesty is
unaffected -- hospitality is spontaneous --patience is enduring -- prayer is
constant -- hope is a flame -- peace is abiding -- victory is continuous. Thank
God for this mighty work of grace in the soul of the believer! It is
radical, thorough, universal, both inwardly and outwardly.
* * *
III. THE MANIFESTATION
That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect will of God. Full consecration and entire sanctification result
continuously and progressively in an unfolding of the divine will in terms of
life, demeanor and service. The will of God! How important it becomes to the
purified soul! How earnestly a clear apprehension of it is desired! How
seriously a thorough doing of it is performed! It is safe to say that the
experience of holiness has a twofold effect upon us in our relation to God's
will. First, it affects our discernment. When the Holy Spirit has full control
of the heart He imparts a spiritual insight, by which we are enabled to discover
and to discriminate God's thought concerning us. The Word of God is illuminated;
the Spirit's voice becomes more articulate in the confusion of voices that often
baffle and discourage the unsanctified; providences are more accurately
interpreted. Second, the experience of sanctification has to do with our
disposition. There comes with the experience of holiness an increased disposition
to accept unmurmuringly all the dispensations of the will of God. Beloved, there
is a place in God where resignation to His will becomes a delight. No longer do
you merely endure His will -- you embrace it with the confidence that in spite of
its pain or mystery now, nevertheless you will understand it better in the
bright light of His "more excellent glory." Then every misunderstanding and
baffling situation will become radiant and bright! My friend, it is only when our
life is fully committed to and harmonized with the perfect will of God that it
will yield its best. We squander ourselves and lay waste our powers unless
we have found ourselves in the purpose of the Eternal. If the Lord can have our
all -- none would dare to say what the consequences for good might be. Here is
where we face the plus of Deity; our all --and God! Only a dream in a youth's
throbbing heart, but God was in it, and the dreamer became Prime Minister of a
vast empire! Only a rod in Moses' hand, but plus God, and he smote a threatening
sea and led a nation from bondage to freedom! Only a sling and a stone from the
brook, but plus God, and it felled the swearing and cursing foe and turned the
tide of battle! Only a widow and two tiny coins, but Christ was there, and the
angel of immortality crowned the anonymous giver with a glory that fadeth not
away! Only an alabaster box broken and emptied, but it was for the Galilean, and
its fragrance was caught on the breezes of the centuries, and still sweetens
the gardens of life! In the operating room of a great surgeon, a frail woman lay
upon a table. Her husband stood by her side, holding her delicate hands, which
clung to him as never before. They had talked it allover -- it was her only hope
for life. She had put her home in order, and said farewell to friends and
relatives. She said, "Husband, you will stay with me, and hold my hand." "Yes,
wife," said he, "I will not leave you a moment." The surgeon adjusted his apron,
and arranged his instruments conveniently; the attendant stood ready for service.
"Now," said the surgeon, "we are ready, but you must let your husband step into
the other room, and close the door. He is liable to faint, he can do you no
good, and will be in our way." She hesitated a moment, and with one long, fond
look, she sighed and answered, "Just as you say, doctor." The husband stooped
silently and pressed a kiss upon her forehead, and with a heavy heart stepped
quietly away, and closed the door behind him. A trembling voice said, "Now,
doctor, I trust all to you, save my life if possible." The attendant applied the
anesthetic, the pallor of death spread over the patient's face, she breathed more
quietly, and then dropped into unconsciousness. The surgeon used the knife. "It
is just as I expected," said he, as he laid open the diseased part. The knife was
sharp, the hand was strong and steady, the delicate `task was soon performed, and
the wound was closed. The effects of the anesthetic wore away, the patient opened
her eyes, tears of gratitude rolled down her face, and she said, "Thank you,
doctor." Health and vigor soon returned, and she was hale and strong again. Will
any one say `that she should not testify to the skill of her physician? Would
you be circumcised in heart? Would you have the depravity entirely removed? Would
you have the "old man" forever crucified? Then, come to the Great Physician. Bid
all the world farewell, and shut yourself up with Jesus only; take the anesthetic
of a full surrender; lose all consciousness to your surroundings and die to self.
Fear not, trust the Almighty Christ! Now believe -- believe with all thy
consecrated heart! Continue to pray and to believe until the day is dawning --
the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings -- and floods of
glory will burst upon your soul!
