virus and the poison of sin. The flesh cannot master the flesh. The Lord brings a new power into man’s life when he becomes a Chris tian. It is Someone more powerful than the flesh which comes to occupy the throne-room of life. Yielding to the Spirit the flesh becomes powerless and impotent. A preacher tells about walking in the woods one day and seeing two little sapling trees rubbing against each other in the wind. As a result their bark had become bruised and the sap was running out. Years later when he went back to the same place he found the two saplings had come together, one absorbing the other as they grew the larger. The weaker one diminished and withered away while the other one grew into a large tree. This is the parable of the message I want you to have. As we yield to the Spirit, the life of the flesh is kept in subjection. This is Christian ma turity or spiritual growth. It is the Holy Spirit who deals with the flesh. We need to turn our lives over to the Holy Spirit and let Him have complete control. Triumph over the flesh is not realized through our own struggles or through our own efforts. It is solely through the abil ity and power of the Holy Spirit. Mr. Her* Fishback (right), executive director oi the Arizona Bible College, points out a spot ot interest on the campus in Phoenix, to William E. Mayes, student from Hemet, Cali fornia. ABC Is an affiliated school of Biola, with another record enrollment anticipatod for this month.
This being true, the prime necessity on our part is to yield to this benefi cent and powerful Guest who lives within us. Let Him fulfill His desires. This is very much like learning to float. Some folks will never learn be cause they will not quit kicking and splashing and relax, letting the water hold them up. While my wife is able to float, I have never been able to do so. She knows that the water is bouy- ant and sufficient to rely upon. Our daily need is not more trying but more trusting, no.t more strug gling but complete yielding to the Spirit of God. “Walk in the Spirit,” rightly exhorts the Apostle Paul. E very child of God should seek to master the contents of Romans, chapters six to eight, for they contain sorely neglected truths. The basic question to be considered is, “How is righteousness (or holiness) realized in this life?” There have always been a variety of answers given. Anything apart from Scripture, however, is er roneous. We need to be very careful never to forget that God’s object is not merely to forgive our sins but also to make us righteous. He has no other purpose but to make us like Himself. Justification is the beginning of this process. Our sins were reck oned to Christ in order that His right eousness might be reckoned to us. There is a difference between posi tion on one hand and spiritual condi tion on the other. Sanctified and righteous living is the urgent need of this hour on the part of God’s peo ple. It is utterly beyond the power of unregenerated men and women to un derstand such a philosophy of daily existence. Such people are satisfied to live in garments of their own weaving. The Bible describes their very best as merely “filthy rags” (Isa. 6 4 :6 ). The Christian life begins with a righteous standing and it leads to righteous living through the indwell- 30 CHRISTIAN LIVING SERIES How to Reckon
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