The Christian Life: Its Proof and Pattern* By REV. PROF. W. H. GRIFFITH-THOMAS. D. D. W ï noticed Saturday that the purpose of- this Epistle, and therefore, of the Christian life,
merciful thing that the hymn does not appear in most of our modern hymn- books ; but, if it does, it will be more merciful if we never sing it! Intro spection has never solved -a single problem in the spiritual life. We are not to look to self, but to look off to Jesus for the solution of our Spiritual problems. But now, further, this assurance will never come by prayer or by wait ing on God. Such a basis is far too variable for assurance. The grounds of assurance are ethical, not emotion al; objective, not subjective. They are plain, definite, and tangible. St. John gives us three plain and definite statements in answer to the question, “How may I know?” These three are brought before us, first neg atively, and then positively. When all three are put together, they cover the entire Epistle; and I hope I may be able to show this morning that this Epistle, after all, is capable of analy sis. Some say that this Epistle cannot be analyzed. I am not so sure of that, or, rather, I am pretty sure of the op posite! I think if we look at these three methods of assurance, we shall get, not only these, but an outline of the Epistle for further study. 1. The first answer to that ques tion, the first proof of assurance, is — mark this— obedience. Will you look at chap. 2 :3, “Hereby we. do know that we love Him, ¿f we keep His commandments.” Then you will no tice the same in verse 5, with a slight addition: “ Hereby we know that we are in Him.” How? “ Whoso keep- eth His Word.” We are to keep His commandments in detail; we are to keep His Word in its completeness. The first result will be that we shall
is threefold : in chapter 1 :4 , a life of perfect joy ; in 2 :1 , a life of continual safety; in v. 13, a life of absolute cer tainty; or, to put it in familiar words,' “ Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment.” But now we must notice carefully the connection between thèse three aspects o f the purpose, as they are found here. The first depends upon the second, and the second upon the third: the joy depends upon the safe ty, and the safety is based upon the certainty. This morning we aré face to face at once with this great fact— ' that assurance, certainty, is the secret of secrets in the Christian life. If St. John wrote this Epistle that we might know, then it is fundamentally impor tant that we should know, and also endeavor to discover_the grounds of that knowledge. So here is the ques tion for us this morning, and it will occupy almost the whole o f our time : I T he P roof of the .C hristian B ife -—How M ay W e K now ? How may we have this absolute cer tainty o f which the Apostle speaks? That brings me to my first point : The Proof o f the Christian Life. It is of the first importance that we should face this question. This assur ance will never come by introspection. Many sing :
“ 'Tig a point I long to know, Oft causes anxious thought, Do I love the Lord or no? Am I His, or am I not?”
It is, indeed, a practical, definite question, but it will never be answered" along the line of that hymn. It is a *An address délivered Monday, August 4, 1913, 11 a. m., at Montrose Bible Conference, Montrose, Pa.
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