| Devotional Hours with the Bible |
Chapter 20 |
Page 4 |
It does not make one a Christian to have a correct creed, or to be a member of a church. We are Christians only when we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts. If the Spirit is in us, we shall have the marks of His indwelling in our life and character. One of these marks is love, another joy, another patience, another meekness, another gentleness, another self-control. No one can see the Spirit in us — no one can see God — but people soon know if the Spirit is in us by the way we live, by our disposition and conduct. Jesus once said to one of His disciples, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” Not unless we are cleansed by Christ can we really claim to be His. The words here are quite as strong — if we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of His. If we would have the Spirit of God, we must “put to death the deeds of the body.” Out hearts are great battle fields where destinies are decided. Two forces are ever contending for the mastery — the flesh, the old nature, and the Spirit — the new life of God in our souls. If the old nature conquers, we have lost all and must perish. But if the new nature, the Spirit, conquers, then we enter life. Without Christ we can only be defeated; through Christ’s help we can be victorious. We must be careful not to make this simply a human struggle, for alone we never can contend with the power of evil. But there is a beautiful promise in this same chapter, which says that we can be more than conquerors through Him that loved us. We must make sure to have Christ with us in the battle.
Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. It is a wonderful thought that we can be led by the divine Spirit Himself.
The Spirits leads us not from without, as in old times the pillar of cloud led the people, but by living in us and filling our hearts with right motives, feelings, desires, affections. We must open our hearts to the Spirit, for He never will force His way in. He stands at the door and knocks, and if we open to Him, He enters and becomes our guide. It is a glorious privilege to be a child of God. Here we are told how we can enter this relation. In one of the Gospels it is said that as many as receive Christ, to them He gives the right to become God’s children. It is very plain, therefore, — the door stands wide open into the household of the heavenly Father. All who submit themselves to the divine life and love and rule, become children of God.
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