The Spirit and the Letter.
By J. M. Gallenmore
“The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life;” 2 Cor. 3:6; hence, “they that worship him [God] must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24. God’s typical people, the Jews, it is well known, confined their worship to the letter, to the exclusion of that much-needed spirit worship which alone gives life. The Saviour corrected this error, by teaching them, that sin consisted not alone in an open violation of the law, but that unlawful and evil desires of the heart were also sinful. Matt. 5:28. The obedience that the Lord requires is heartfelt, prompted by a love of right, and not by a fear of the penalty; and while it is true spirit service that is accepted in the sight of God, this can only be rendered by paying due respect to the letter. We know it is very easy to serve in the letter without the true spirit, and this cannot be too carefully guarded against; but there is no such thing as true spirit service without the letter also; notwithstanding we hear very much said against the letter, especially in connection with the Sabbath question. Sin is, as it ever has been, the transgression of the law of God, either in the letter or in the heart. The overt act, or letter violation, makes the sin the most daring; and this being the case, we cannot dispense with the letter; but let us be careful that we also have the spirit. Our obedience to God must be from the heart. We must delight in the commandments of God, as did the psalmist, and those commandments are not grievous to the truly converted soul. Whenever we are able to greatly delight in the law of God, then our obedience will be spirit obedience; but so long as we fail to have this delight, if we render obedience at all, it is of the letter that kills, and not of the spirit that gives life, and this obedience will never give us a passport into the eternal city. We read in 1 John 3:8: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” Let us see that our obedience to God is not in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth; then we shall obey in the letter and in the spirit also, and our obedience will be saving and life-giving. J. M. GALLENMORE. Salisbury, Mo.