completeness of Christian character. Some of these experiences call for a more detailed discussion here.

3. Argument of Romans vi. In the sixth chapter of Romans we have an argument intended to show the incompatibility of sin with the new life of righteousness which is received through faith in Christ. Three most important considerations are advanced which we may briefly state as follows: (1) Death unto sin and life in Jesus Christ involves such a crucifixion of the old man that the former bondage to sin is utterly broken, and the passions and lusts which held the higher nature down like a dead body imprisoning a living spirit (comp. vii, 24) are done away (κaтaρyŋoñ, annulled, abolished, put an end to). This means a thorough-going emancipation from the bondage of sin (vers. 1-11). (2) Therefore, the argument proceeds, sin is no longer to reign in the body, and sinful lusts must be no more obeyed, but the members of the body are thenceforth to be consecrated unto God as "instruments of righteousness," just as if the body itself were alive from the dead (vers. 12-14). (3) It follows, then, that, as a matter of logical necessity, servants of righteousness cannot be servants of sin. The servant of sin may indeed be free as regards righteousness (ver. 20; but what a wretched slavery such freedom!), but it is clear that the servant of righteousness is made free from sin. And the outcome of it all is that "now being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life" (vers. 15-23). There is no mistaking the main points in this argument. Sin and righteousness are opposites. We cannot live in both at the same time, and therefore deliverance from the one involves subjection to the other. With the new birth the entire life of the individual takes a new trend. There is no burden of condemnation crushing down upon them that have obtained pardon and remission of sins, but, according to Rom. viii, 1-11, the Spirit of heavenly life, by whose potent agency the new birth is accomplished from above (dvodev), triumphs over the flesh, and the adopted child of God is thenceforth to be led and governed by the Spirit which sanctifies the whole nature and ultimately glorifies it in eternal life.

4. Doctrine of 1 John iii, 9, 10. This same doctrine is written in Johannine style in 1 John iii, 9, 10. The necessary opposition of sin and righteousness is conceived as so complete that the two cannot coexist and control the human spirit at one and the same time. "Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him; and he cannot sin (où dúvarai ȧuaprávεiv), because he is begotten of God." In verse 6 of the same chapter

it is affirmed that "whosoever abideth in him (that is, in Christ) sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him." There is, in this apostle's thought, an irreconcilable antagonism between the life of the sinner and that of the child of God who "abides in the Son and in the Father" (ii, 24; comp. i, 3, and John xiv, 23). It was not in his mind to affirm that a child of God can never under any circumstances fall into sin, and bring condemnation upon himself; nor does he teach that the religious life of all the children of God must needs be uniform in light and power. He elsewhere contemplates the case of a "brother sinning a sin not unto death" and receiving life from God (v, 16), and he declares to his little children (TEKvía), whom he would deter from sin, that "if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins" (ii, 1). He admonishes against saying that "we have no sin," and "have not sinned," and says that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (i, 8-10). We cannot suppose, therefore, that this apostle shut his eyes to the great variety of human experiences, and intended to maintain that the believer in Christ, once forgiven of sin and "cleansed from all unrighteousness," could never thereafter grieve the Spirit and lapse into sin again. He simply does not entertain such questions in his epistle, although, as we have just shown, he recognizes a "propitiation for our sins" amply sufficient to meet all special situations. His main contention is the fundamental truth that fellowship with the Father and with Jesus Christ is utterly inconsistent with the doing of sin (πоιν Tην ȧμаρríav iii, 4). Whosoever abideth and would continue to abide in the blessed heavenly fellowship does not, must not, cannot commit sin. His sins are supposed to be sent away (ápínu), and his spiritual nature cleansed from all unrighteousness, and, in possession of a blessed hope, he “purifieth himself, even as God is pure" (iii, 3; comp. 2 Cor. vii, 1).

5. Sanctification and Holiness. Such purification from sin is clearly indicated in the scriptural use of the words for sanctification and holiness (ἁγιάζω, ἁγιασμός, ἁγιωσύνη, ὅσιος, ὁσιότης). All who have the life in Christ are regarded as sanctified (Acts xx, 32; xxvi, 18), that is, set apart and consecrated to a holy purpose

1 Verse 6 affirms that "whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him" (ovx ¿wpakev avτòv ovdè ¿yvwkev avtóV). The perfect tense here employed contemplates, as in ii, 3, the condition described as continuing into the present. It refers to the prevailing character and habit of "every one that sinneth" (ras 6 dμaprávwv). This habitual sinner is not thought of as a man who has suddenly fallen and turned temporarily from the light, but one who has not seen and does not know the Lord Jesus. To all such the Lord himself can also say, as in Matt. vii, 23, "I never knew you."

in life.' And thus in Old Testament thought the sabbath day, the place of worship, the priests, and the people Israel were spoken of as sanctified (p). But in the New Testament the word sanctify, as applied to believers in Christ, means not only a consecration to a holy purpose but also an inner purifying of the soul. Both ideas may be included in the prayer of Jesus that his disciples might be sanctified in the truth (John xvii, 17). According to Eph. v, 25-27, "Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water in the word, that he might present the church to himself as a glorious bride, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." Here obviously the idea of cleansing from all defilement is the prominent thought, and so it is again in the somewhat similar language of 1 Thess. v, 23: "The God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ." Such sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit (2 Thess. ii, 13; 1 Pet. i, 2), and consists in personal holiness of heart and life. The heart of everyone who would "increase and abound in love" is to be "established unblameable in holiness before our God and Father in the presence of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones" (1 Thess. iii, 13). The believer must "present his members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification" (Rom. vi, 19; comp. verse 22), and "abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul" (1 Pet. ii, 11). All this is confirmed by the words of 1 Thess. iv, 3-7: "This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the passion of lust. . . . For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification." The apostle appeals to his own holy, righteous, and blameless behavior as an example (1 Thess. ii, 10), and in 2 Cor. vii, 1, he admonishes and exhorts in the following strong and significant words: "Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." All this accords with the doctrine of "the new man, who after God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth" (Eph. iv, 24), and it fits the lofty thought of this same epistle that God "chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love" (i, 4). All these scriptures imply a thorough clearance from the old sinful life, and the attainment of a state of personal purity. It involves the cultivation and

'Compare the like use of the word in 2 Tim. ii, 21; Heb. ii, 11; x, 10, 14.

growth of positive virtues, as we shall see; but the main thought in the Spirit's work of "cleansing from all unrighteousness" is rather an ideal of release from the old bondage of the flesh; a freedom from the dominion of sin. This emancipation may not be the work of a few days. The struggle may be a long one. The "cleansing from all defilement of flesh and spirit" may require repeated washings from above. And yet, in some hearts, this great work may be speedily accomplished. Habits, temperament, and training may condition many of the operations of the Spirit.

ness.

6. Practical Righteousness. In order, then, that the inner cleansing of the sanctification be genuine and permanent, there must be along with it the positive knowledge and practice of righteousness. A holy life is impossible apart from a righteous life, and it is important that our concept of righteousness be accurate and exalted. "Except your righteousness (dikalooúvn) be something more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." If one may not even enter the kingdom without such superior righteousness, much less can he be reckoned great in the kingdom of heaven without the true knowledge and possession of what Christ means by righteousHe means no mere outward observance of the letter of the law; no Pharisaic show of worship, and fasting, and sacrificing at the temple; no saying and doing not (Matt. xxiii, 3). No tithing of small herbs, nor even of all one's income (Luke xviii, 12), can be made a substitute for those "weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith" (Matt. xxiii, 23). A cleansing of the outside, while the heart is ready for extortion and excess, is like the whited sepulcher, "outwardly beautiful, but inwardly full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanliness" (vers. 25-28). The righteousness of the kingdom of heaven sees in the old prohibition of murder a solemn admonition for "every one who is angry with his brother" (Matt. v, 21, 22; comp. 1 John iii, 15). Not only the act of adultery is a violation of the law, "but every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already with her in his heart" (Matt. v, 28). The old law of retaliation is for the individual supplanted by the higher law of non-resistance of evil, doing good for evil, loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors (vers. 38-45). True brotherly love must not grow cold upon forgiving an offender seven times; it will not thus set a limit to its pure affection, not even "until seventy times seven" (Matt. xviii, 22); and such forgiveness must come freely "from the heart" (ver. 35). For, according to the old proverb, "As one thinks in his soul, so is he" (Prov. xxiii, 7). The true, pure inner feeling and purpose give character to the out

ward act. "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good" (Luke vi, 45), and God knows the hearts of all men (Luke xvi, 15) and the righteousness which endures his gaze must be no outward show but the genuine feeling and purpose of the soul. The doctrine of righteousness in the epistle of James is in substantial agreement with the teaching of Jesus. "The wrath of man works not the righteousness of God" (i, 20), that is, the kind of righteousness which God wills, and which will be acceptable in his sight. The attainment of such righteousness requires the "putting away of all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness." It is the outgrowth of "the implanted word, which is able to save the soul." The man who exemplifies this righteousness is a faithful doer, not a forgetful hearer of the word of truth by which he was brought forth into the light and life of God (comp. ver. 18). "He that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing" (ver. 25). This perfect law of liberty is in some sense identical with the "word of truth" (ver. 18), but that "word" is in the writer's thought no other than the Law and the Prophets as summed up, explained, and enhanced in the teaching of Jesus. It embodies the "royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (ii, 8). The doing of it is a fulfilling (reλeiv, nλnpwoai) of the law in the present ethical sense, even as Jesus did (comp. Matt. v, 17); a consummation of the inmost ideals of moral excellence. It is a perfect law, inasmuch as it is, like the word of God's holiest revelations, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It allows no stumbling even in one thing; "for whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one commandment, has become guilty of all" (ii, 10). It is a law of liberty to the man who looks into its real spiritual nature, sees the blessedness of doing its commandments from a pure heart, and obeys out of unfeigned love of the truth. In perfect love and obedience of this sort of law the soul enjoys its highest freedom. The righteousness of this law is manifest in the bridling of the tongue (i, 26), in visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction (27), in showing one's faith by his works (ii, 14-26), and in exercising the heavenly wisdom which is "pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of such righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace" (iii, 17, 18). Such a personal righteousness is no empty appearance of piety, like "the leaven of the Pharisees" (Luke xii, 1), but a deep inwork