February, 1942 45 Beginning at the Sanctuary I N EVERY Christian heart there is the seed of longing for a more holy life and for the souls of lost By E. SCHUYLER ENGLISH* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania lege is our responsibility. The more active our service in His name and the more we are jntrusted with the Word of His grace, that much more should the self-judgment be operative. \ . THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
He must work through empty and un sullied channels to effect His full min istry, and theft are very few such channels. The fact that we do not see more conversions is due to no lim itations set by our Father God, but to the circumstance of the inconsistency of our Christian walk in comparison with our most holy profession. There should be, therefore, a con stant searching of our own hearts on the part of all of us who name the name of Christ, lest unawares there may have crept in there those things which quench the Spirit of God \or that form impediments against His, outflow. And it is a significant thing that in both the Old and New Testa ments there is the clear implication that exactly in proportion to our privi
men and women. This must be so inasmuch as the Christian is the tem ple of the Holy Ghost whose mission is that those whom He has sanctified may experience practical sanctifica tion, and that the world may be con victed of sin and brought to the feet of the Saviour. We say that there is the “seed” of longing for sanctification and souls, for it is a sad commentary upon the church of Christ that the fruition is very rarely Seen. Upon the part of many there is a certain desire to ex perience the inworking and outwork ing of the Spirit, and upon the part of some the desire has grown into a deep longing; but the latter state, the burning and constraining burden that we shall be holy and acceptable unto God in our walk and fruitful in our witness, is far too rare among us. Apathy in the Sanctuary Even in the sphere of Christians who are well-taught in the Scriptures, who know how to divide the Word aright—yes, and among those who are engaged in what is often termed “full time Christian work,” that is, preach ers, pastors, missionaries; evangelists, and in the cases of Sunday-school and Bible class teachers as well—there is a distressing carelessness in respect to the purpose of our calling. God’s purpose is that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, and that we should bear much fruit. To be sure, this is not a studied in difference, but rather a thoughtless and unconscious and irresponsible neglect of God’s Word and His will for our lives. Such an attitude is to be noticed most glaringly perhaps in the walk and witness of some who hold positions of prominence because of their platform ministry or executive calling, but it is an attitude which is common in the church as a whole. Is it any wonder, then, that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation to them that believe, seems to be ineffective from the lips of many Christians? Its power has not diminished. The Holy Spirit is still the perfect Enabler. But *Associate Editor o f Our Hope Magazine,
You will, recall Ezekiel’s vision of the slaying in Jerusalem, wherein the man clothed in linen, who carried a writer’s inkhorn by-his .side, was to set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sighed and cried because of the abominations of the city. There after, .he was to smite with the sword those who bore not that mark—and hg was to begin at the sanctuary of the Lord (Ezek. 9:6)! Even there would be found those who were not con cerned over evil, whose profession of allegiance to the Lord was empty, in spite of their nearness fo His sanc tuary. In a like manner, the Apostle Peter declared to first-century Christians that the time had come for judgment to-begin at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). And that time is here npw, as it has been present in every day. The time is short! Ere long our earthly journey may be over. It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to redeem the hours, counting it not shame to suffer for the sake of the Lord, and further, reckoning it all joy to be conformed more and more to the image of the Saviour and to be used of Ylim to bring others into the blessed place of salva tion and peace. Particularly among those of us who have heard His “Go yfe” and have heeded the command, it is high time that we remind ourselves of His “Lo, I” and Search our hearts. For the power of our witness is not ours but H is.' In how far are we tapping, the spring of that power? How much do we feed on His Word? How close do we walk with the Lord? There are numerous criteria by which we may determine for our selves the answers to these questions. But space will permit us to look at only the three indicated below. I. Daily Washing. As the Aaroriic priesthood had per force to wash their hands and their feet at the laver of brass (Ex. 30:17- 21) before ministering in the taber nacle, so we who have been made a kingdom of priCsts need to have our hearts sprinkled (Heb, 10:22) daily, [ Continued on Page 50]
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