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at once
received God's Holy Spir–
it- his HUMAN natuTe, as
1
said
befare, does not flee. lt, too,
remains.
It
still
exerts a pull. We
still Jive in THIS PRESENT EVIL
WORLD, and
it
exerts a pull . God
still allows Satan to be around–
and HE exerts a pull.
So we now have THREE PULLS to
RESIST- tO OVERCOME! We must
now
overcome
these three-Satan,
this world and our own SELVES. We
have to battle against these three,
in arder to develop and strengthen
RIGHT CHARACTER within
US.
God
says pJainly it is THE OVERCOMERS
who shall be saved- who shall
REIGN with Christ!
No human being is strong
enough to do this BY HIMSELF! He
must seek, and IN FAITH receive,
the help and power of Goo. Even
with God's power he will ·not over–
come such forces easily, or all at
once. lT IS NOT EASY! Christ plainly
said the way to ultimate salvation is
hard, difficult. It's a constant BAT–
TLE-a struggle against self, the
world and the devil. The creation of
CHARACTER comes through EXPE–
RIENCE-it takes TIME!
THIS development is a PROCESS.
lt
is a matter of GROWTH-DEVEL–
OPMENT. lt requires, to become
PERFECT, fulJ and right KNOWL–
EDGE of the very Word of God–
because Jesus taught that we must
live by
EVERY wORD OF Goo.
The natural, unconverted mind
cannot fully and rightly UNDER–
STAND the Scriptures -of God. The
acquisition of this KNOWLEDGE, in
itself, is a procedure requiring TIME.
lt
is the DOERS of this Word, not
hearers only, who shall be saved.
But can any man oo, immediately
and all at once, this new
w
AYhe now
learns about? Can any man, al! at
once, break all HABITS he now sees are
wrong? No, he finds he has a FIGHT
against acquired former habits.
He still has this PULL of human
nature to overcome. This nature is
A LAw working within him. The
apostle Paul calls it the law of sin
and death.
Paul was
converted.
Paul was a
real Christian . He had repented,
accepted Christ and . received the
Holy Spirit. With his MIND, he
wanted with all his heart, and in real
intense sincerity, toDO God's
WAY!
But did Paul oo it perfectly?
40
Let him tell. LISTEN!
"For we know that the law is
spiritual," he wrote, "but
l
am car–
nal, sold under sin. For that which
1
do
I
allow not: for what
1
would,
that do
I
nol; but what
I
hate, that
do
l. ...
Now then it is no more
I
that do it, but sin that dwelleth in
me." He is speaking of human
nature within him. He continues,
' ' ... for to WILL is present with me;
but how to perform that which is
good
I
find not. For the good that
I
would
1
do not: but the evil which
1
would not, that
1
do ....
O
wretched man that
I
am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this
death? " (Rom. 7:14-15, 18-19,
24.)
Then he thanks God that Goo
WILL-through Jesus Christ, and
by the power of his HOLY SPIRIT.·
BuT
IT TAKES TIME!
The truly converted Christian
will find that he often stumbles,
under temptation,
and falls down–
even as a physical child, learning to
walk, often falls down. But the
year-old child does not get discour–
aged and give up. He gets up and
starts out again.
THE TRULY CONVERTED CHRIS–
TIAN
!S NOT YET PERFECT!
God
LOOKS ON THE
HEART- the
inner MOTIVE- the
real
intent!
If
someone is trying- if
he or she gets up whenever he or
she falls down , and in repentance
asks God's
forgivenes~.
and sets out
to do the very best NOT TO MAKE
THAT MISTAKE AGAIN- and to per–
severe with renewed effort to
OVERCOME, God is rich in merey
toward that person in his or her
striving to overcome.
Speaking lo CONVERTED CHRIS–
TIANS, John writes, " ... these
things write [ unto you, that ye sin
no
t.
And
ifany man sin
... " (
even
though he ought not) " ... we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Cbrist the righteous: and he is the
propitiation for OUR sins ... "
(1
John
2:1-2).
Yes, for the SINS of
converted CHRISTIANS. Such
people often are under heavier
temptation than befare conversion.
They are STRIVING against sin–
STRIVING to overcome. But they are
not yet perfect. Sometimes they are
caught off guard. They may actual–
ly sin. Then they w AKE UP, as it
were, and realize what they have
done. They REPENT. They are filled
with
remor-se-truly sorry-dis–
gusted with themselves. They go to
Goo, and CRY OUT for
HELP-for
more power and strength from God
to OVERCOME!
This is the
w
AY of the Chris–
tian!
Jt is the way of a constant BAT–
TLE-a striving against SIN-a
seeking God in earnest prayer for
help and spiritual POWER to over–
come. They are constantly GAINING
GROUND. They are constantly
GROWING in God's KNOWLEDGE,
from the BIBLE. They are constant–
ly rooting out wrong habits, driving
themselves into RIGHT habits. They
are constantly growing closer to
Goo through Bible study and
prayer. They are constantly grow–
ing in CHARACTER,
toward
perfec-.
tíon, even though not yet perfect.
With Paul, they say, "Not as
though
1
had already attained, either
were already perfect: but
I
FOLLOW
AFTER. . . . Brethren,
I
count not
myself to have apprehended: but
this
one thing
f
do,
FORGETTING those
things whích are behind, and reach–
ing forth unto those things which are
befare,
1
PRESS TOWARD THE MARK
FOR THE PRIZE OF THE HIGH CALL–
ING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS"!
(Phi
l.
3:
12-14.)
But, someone may ask, what if
one's life is cut off, and he dies
befare
he has attained this perfec–
tion? Js he saved, or lost? The
answer is that we shall never obtain
absolute perfection in
this
life.
1
said, earlier, that a person who is
converted does receive the Holy
Spirit at
a definite time-all at
once!
Not the full measure Christ
had- he is not at once full grown
spiritually-only a spiritual babe in
Christ. Yel he is then a changed,
converted man-changed in mind,
in attitude, in the
direction
he has
set himself to strive to travel. Even
though he has not yet reached per–
fection-even though he may have
stumbled under temptation and tak–
en a spiritual fall- as long as, in bis
mind and heart, he is earnestly striv–
ing to travel Goo's wAY, to over–
come and grow spiritually-as long
as God's Spirit is in him-as long as
he is being LED by the Spirit of God,
he is a begotten SON of God.
If,
anywhere along this life's
journey, that life is cut short, such
a roan will be resurrected. lt is only
The
PLAIN TRUTH