DEAR BRETHREN: -- You are expecting a letter -- which with us we call our circular. -- Our theme is "Holiness." We exhort you to "perfecting holiness in the fear of God." In the language of another, it is our duty to live wholly to Christ, as Christ lived and died for us. The heathen have no such motives to urge them to holiness as we have, and our duty is to give up both our hearts and lives to glorify the Father, Son and Spirit, whose we are. Greater things are expected from us than from other men. Think not that because Christ has done so much for us, we must sit still; much less indulge ourselves in sin, because Christ offered up such an excellent sacrifice for its expiation. No. Though Christ became a sacrifice for sin, He never was a cloak for it. "If one died for all, then were all dead; that they that live should not henceforth live to themselves, but unto Him that died for them." We ought to let the grace which is in our hearts flow out in all our actions. The faith that is in our hearts ought to appear in our prayers, the truth and righteousness of our hearts in our trading. Let grace refine, ennoble, and elevate all our actions, that we may say, "Truly our conversation is in heaven."The Redeemed of the Lord are under the highest, obligations to be holy.
I know this command lies upon all men, and it is not unusual for them to feel the obligations of the command on their consciences, even when their impetuous lusts hurry them on to its violation. But there are special ties that bind us to holiness more than others. God the Father, has placed us under obligations to holiness of life, not only by the common tie of creation, but by the designs and counsels of mercy for our recovery and salvation. It was He that laid the corner stone of our salvation with His own hands. God gave His Son to be our Redeemer. What a stupendous and astonishing act of grace!God binds us to it, by the remuneration of our obedience. Have we ever sought Him diligently, and not found Him a Rewarder. Did he ever give a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, and not received a disciple's reward. Oh! What a good Master do the saint's serve! Though we must not work for wages, yet God will not let our work go unrewarded. For He is not unrighteous to forget our work and labors of love. God takes pleasure in our holiness. "Such as are upright in their way are His delight." "Forget not to do good, and to communicate, for with such sacrifices He is well pleased." We know we cannot "walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing," except we be "fruitful in every good word and work." "Only let our conversation be as it becomes the Gospel of Jesus Christ." This is the great and main thing He expects of us in this world, and will we do it? We are further bound to a holy life, by what the Son has done for us. Did He not shed His blood to "redeem us from our vain converts?" Did Christ only buy our persons, and not our services also? Every moment of our time is His; every talent is His; and do we defraud Him or His own? But further, the Holy Spirit will be quenched, grieved, and displeased by an impure, loose and careless conversation; and what will we do then? Who shall comfort us when the Comforter is departed from us; when He that should relieve our souls is far off. Oh! "grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption." There is nothing grieves Him more than an ungodly life, for He is a Holy Spirit. We are under obligation to our own souls, as well as to God, to keep our lives pure, to "walk as children of the light." We can not plead ignorance. We live, indeed, in a contentious, disputing age. In other things our opinions are different. One christian is of this judgment, another of that; but in this we all meet, in one mind, and judgment, that it is our indisputable duty to live pure, strict and holy lives. "We have received how we ought to walk, and to please God." "He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." Yea, aggravated sin; sin beyond that of the heathen; sin that sadly wastes and violates conscience, certainly we have no cloak for our sin. Again, we are professors of holiness. We have given in our name to Christ, to be His disciples; and by this our engagements to a holy life are further strengthened; "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." The name of Christ is called upon us, and it is a worthy name. Better we had never professed His name, than to pour contempt on Jesus Christ, by scandalous conversation before the world.
The mass of wicked men may sin and sin again, and the world take little notice of it; but the faults of professors are like a comet, or an eclipsed sun, on which all men gaze, and make their observations. We have also often reproved and censured others for their falls, which adds to our obligations to walk circumspectly. Will our rebukes ever do good to others, while we allow in ourselves what we condemn in them. Our censures and reproofs of others will leave us without plea or apology, if we guard not carefully our own lives. We are further bound to a life of practical holiness on uccount [account] of our brethren. They will be as men conformed at the report of our fall. The fall of one christian is a reproach to all the rest. Our very enemies shall engage us to this pure and holy life, both as they are our bold censurers and our watchful observers. If our lives be loose and defiled, we will not only be a shame to our friends, but the song of our enemies. Oh! Say they, whatever these men talk, we see they are no better than we; they can do as we do; they can deceive and cheat for advantage. What a sad thing is this, we may fix the bonds of death on their souls. If all these things are of no force with us, may it not be questioned, notwithstanding our profession, whether any spiritual principle, any fear of God, or love to Christ be in our souls.
We now pass many interesting thoughts, to remark that God will use our holiness and purity of life, "to win souls to Christ and bring them in love with religion." Practical holiness is lovely, attractive and constraining. "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His son, Jesus Christ." [W]ho can but covet the company of them who keep company every day with God. Great is the efficacy of visible holiness upon the hearts of men. God makes our holy living an encouragment to His ministers. And indeed it is of no small use to refresh their hearts, and strengthen their hands in their painful work; "Now we live," saith the apostle, "if ye stand fast in the Lord." He speaks as if his very life lay at the mercy of the people, because so much of its joy and comfort consisted in their regularly and steadfastness. God knows what a hard duty His poor ministers have, and how many discouragements attend them in their work. Hear how one of them expresses it: "Ministers would not be grey-headed [sic] so soon, nor die so fast, notwithstanding their great labors, if they were but successful; but this cuts to the heart, and makes us bleed in secret, that, though we do much, yet it comes to nothing. Our work dies, therefore we die -- not so much that we labor as that we labor in vain; Christians, you hear our case, you see our work, now a little to cheer our spirits in the midst of our hard and killing labors; God sends us to you for a little refreshment, that, by beholding your holy and heavenly conversation, your cheerful obedience, and sweet agreement in the ways of God, we may be comforted in all these troubles."
Finally God will use the purity of our walk to judge and convince the world in the great day. It is true, the world shall be judged by the gospel, but our lives shall also be produced as a commentary upon it; and God will not only show them by the word how they ought to have lived, but bring forth our lives and ways to stop their mouths by showing how others did live. "The Saints shall judge the world, yea, we shall judge angels." "See that we be holy in manner of conversation; see that, as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, we so walk in Him, for without Holiness no man shall see the Lord."
============== [From Madison (IN) Baptist Association Minutes, 1867, pp. 6-8. Two paragraph marks are added for easier reading. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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