The Promises of God: Ordering Our Conversation Aright
By H. A. St. John
The Promises of God.—No. 2.
“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.” Ps. 50:23. To behold the salvation of God in the sense of this promise is to experience its joys in our hearts here, and dwell at his right hand forever. And this great blessing is here based upon the condition, strange as it may appear, that we order our conversation aright. Simple and easy as this condition may appear at first thought, I maintain that it cannot be complied with by any of our fallen race out of Christ; or, in other words, that no individual, without having the carnal mind removed by thorough conversion to God, can possibly order his conversation aright. And so far as my experience goes, I apprehend that he that has embraced Christ will find it absolutely necessary to constantly watch and pray, if his speech is always with grace, seasoned with salt. That I say but the exact truth in this, I refer the reader to one item of the Saviour’s instruction. I do this that we may examine ourselves thereby. “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” Matt. 18:15. Has a brother injured us in any way, to go and tell it is duty, and, so far, the Saviour’s direction is generally complied with; but it should be observed that the Saviour is very explicit in pointing out to whom we should go, “Go and tell him his fault, between thee and him alone.” Right here then is a very general failure on the part of Christians to obey the Saviour’s plain, yet important, instruction. Bro. A. feels that Bro. B. has injured him. He tells it to Bro. C. and Bro. D. and so on, till perhaps all in the church know it, and not unfrequently it is freely disseminated among unbelievers, and perhaps as the last one, Bro. B. hears it, to his great grief. Naturally enough he feels tried with Bro. A., and, whether he has really injured Bro. A. or not, the work of reconciliation is made more difficult by the wrong course of Bro. A. Oh, what a grievous sin has Bro. A. committed! His part of the trouble may be, and perhaps generally is, the most difficult to settle. Generally I would prefer to be the subject of a report, than the one to carry an evil report about. Now all this kind of trouble in churches, and it is very abundant, too, comes from not ordering the conversation aright. It destroys the confidence of brethren in each other, dampens the fervor of brotherly love, and, in short, grieves away the tender Spirit of God, and leaves a church cold, formal, and lifeless. How many of my readers can plead innocent here? Can you say that you speak evil of no man? And do you not agree with me that constant watchfulness and prayer are necessary if we would order our conversation aright in this particular? The Saviour’s prayer for his people, that they might be one, even as he and his Father were one, can never be realized unless brethren understand their duty to each other, and cheerfully do it. Oh, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! But this can never be unless they learn how to order their conversation aright. When we view the matter properly, we can see why the Holy Scriptures, in so many places, makes the subject of conversation of so much importance. Says James, “If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” James 1:26. Says Paul, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Eph. 4:29. Again, to the youth he says, “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of a contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” Titus 2:8. The youth are apt to think that they are justified if they indulge in lightness because they are young, but Paul did not think so; nor Jesus, when he said, “That every idle word that man shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matt. 12:36, 37, did not refer to a privileged class. He did not except even the youth. To those who believe that the end of all things is at hand, and that the Saviour is soon coming, Peter says, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,” &c. 2 Peter 3:11, 12. Of all people on earth, they should have their conversation in Heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil. 3:20. For to such as order their conversation aright, and are without guile in their mouths, will the dear Saviour soon appear without sin, and unto their salvation. Reader, shall we be of that number?