Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 February 1912 — FAILURE and ITS CURE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FAILURE and ITS CURE

By Rev. Parley E.

Tarhnan,

Secretary of Extension Department, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago

TEXT.—Aar ye therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.—Col; 2: 6, 7.

Nothing mocks us so much as the sense of our own failure. We begin the day with great hopes, high ideal and Jofty purposes, but when tH 3 day dies out of the sky we confess to ourselves how - great has been our failure. This is especially true of Christians who . begin the day with a sincere purpose to

live as Christ would have them live, but who come to the close of the day confessing how/ far short they have come of being what Christ wanted them to be. And the criticism of the world, and the curse of the church is, that in those of us who have named the name of Christ practice comes so far short of confession, and that many of us who make pious professions by the very negligence of our living crucify the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame. Mr. Drummond spoke truthfully when he said that what the church needs is not more of us,. but a better brand of us. There is a better way to live. There is a Christian life possible to each one of us which is higher and holler and more victorious than any experience we have had hitherto. The perfection of Christian character is the perfection of faith in Jesus Christ— *■ the faith that takes him to be all and in all. Just as by a simple act of faith we received the gift of salvation from the crucified Christ we are to receive from the risen Christ the grace which we need to live a consistent Christian life. May we not explain our failure to become what we hoped to be, and what Christ wants to be, because we do not understand the difference between the appreciation of Christ and the appropriation of Christ? The Christian church does not lack in appreciation sermons, prayers, hymns and testimonies swelling the praise of Jesus; but lack of appropriation is shown in indifference to the claims of Christ and the demands of a holy life, in spiritual unrest when Christ has said, “Peace I leave with you,” and in frequent failure at the same point in my life. These are evidences of our neglect to take Christ as the complement of our daily need, of our neglect to clothe ourselves with Christ, of our lack of appropriation. As one read the New Testament three things are made clear: I. God’s purpose, which is to make us like Jesus Christ, although he uses ’various methods attained. Sometimes the means used do not seem pleasant to us, but when we realize his high purpose, we shall be satisfied. 11. Christ’s promise. As we begin to understand God’s purpose we ask who is sufficient for these things; but in the presence of every high call of God, of every holy purpose, of every unattained Ideal, Christ stands and say?, “My grace is sufficient for you.” And we may count him faithful who promised. 111. An adequate power. When we accept Christ by faith the holy spirit comes into us to perfect the purpose of* God and to make the promise of Christ actual in our Christian experience. It is the realization of the purpose, the faith in Christ’s promise, and surrender to the spirit that constitute the of that faith which .is the perfection of Christian character. So our lack of deeper Christian experience, of power in prayer, and of usefulness in service, does hot consist in the smallness of God’s purpose nor the weakness of Christ's promise, nor the lack of an adequate power—our failure is because we do not appropriate all of God there is for us in Christ Jesus. We are reminded of Martin Luther, who said that the entire secret of the Christian life lies in the use of the possessive pronouns; that it is a great thing to know that Jesus is a Savior, but a far greater thing to know that he is my Savior, tn fact,, the entire philosophy of the New Testament with relation to the Christian is that he shall put off the old man and •hall put on the new. Therefore, just as by faith 1 ask Christ to be my savior let me now take him for my need of humility, purity, strength, wisdom, sanctification, righteousness, redemption—“ All I need in thee to find." “Grace there 1«. my every debt to pay;, Blood to wash my every sin away; Power to keep me day by day; For me, for me.” Take Christ, appropriate him, enter upon the full possession and appropriation of your great inheritance In Christ Jews. It is the secret of a happy, victorious, Christ-like Ute,