p. 8 | THE GREAT SALVATION by George W. Reaser

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Dec 12, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 48.

THE GREAT SALVATION

By George W. Reaser

By GEO. W. REASER.

THE EARNEST OF THE SPIRIT.

"WHO also hath given us the earnest of the Spirit," writes the apostle to the church at Corinth. Some one will ask, "What is the Spirit?" Our reply can be suggestive only. The Holy Spirit is the life, the energy, of God, manifested in creation, in redemption, and in upholding the universe. It is the omnipresence of the Father and Son. Abundant Scripture foundation for each specification in this definition has been supplied in preceding articles. This article will be a brief study of the office work of the Spirit in the great plan of salvation.

"Verily, verily I say unto thee," says the Saviour, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God." It is evident from this that not a single soul will be saved from this world except by the operation and transformation of the Holy Spirit. The leopard can not change his spots, nor the Ethiopian his skin; no more can those who have been accustomed to do evil, do good. There must be the exercise of creative power in the marvelous transition from sinner to saint, from impurity to purity, from darkness to light, from fallen nature to divine nature, from cursing to praising, from hatred to love, from being without God and without hope in the world to sonship and the full assurance of hope, from the family of Satan to the family of God, from death to life, from shame of sin to glory in Christ Jesus, from every form of wickedness to perfection of character.

The First Step.

Jesus said that when the Spirit was come, He would reprove the world of sin, and would, at the same time, lift up a standard of righteousness. The first step toward being born into the kingdom of God is to be convicted of sin. When the Word of God is presented, pointing out sin, the Holy Spirit is present to perform its office work of convicting of sin. If the convicted one will yield and confess, then the Word and the Holy Spirit will point him to the only Source of remedy for sin—the Sinless One—the Saviour of men.

Consider the work of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. First, the apostles were all filled with the Holy Spirit,—an essential preliminary to that which was to follow. This infilling they acknowledged to be the fulfilment of the promise of Christ. They then lifted up the crucified One, the sense of guilt was fastened upon their hearers by the Holy Spirit, and when they were thus "pricked in their hearts," they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter gave ready answer, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."

Here was a multitude of souls saved, who would have been lost without the operation of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts; for it is God's special appointed Agency to convict of sin, to lead to repentance, and to point to the only Source of cleansing for sin. But the promise was not limited to the day of Pentecost. It is "to you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off." This same Spirit seeks an entrance to the heart of every man who comes into the world. The only thing that can possibly prevent conversion is barring the door of the heart against it, and refusing its gracious invitation.

After receiving the operation of the Spirit to full conversion, this Agency in the plan of redemption witnesses in our hearts,—in harmony with the Word,—that we are

Adopted into the Family of the King of the universe, with Christ as our Elder Brother, and we joint-heirs with Him, and all of the privileges and eternal blessings which accrue to that family are ours. When the Spirit thus comes, it is an "earnest"—part payment in advance—of our inheritance, and by it we are "sealed unto the day of redemption." This is the Christian's life-insurance policy, purchased, and all of the premiums paid in advance, at the cost of the life of the Son of God. It can never "lapse" as long as our faith holds the Spirit in our hearts. It "loadeth us with benefits" daily, and not only insures us in case of death, but in the ultimate, is a guarantee against that death most to be dreaded, and which should be the most studiously avoided—"the second death."

This same policy will, on the same basis, provide for our dependent ones, after our decease. If some insurance company could furnish an absolute guarantee of "benefits" to policy holders during life, and full benefits to the one insured after death, men who were convinced of its stability would eagerly insure. The Lord offers an "absolute policy" with all these desirable features. It is, in a sense, a "mutual benefit policy," for, while it gives the insured eternal benefits, the Lord experiences infinite joy in bestowing the benefits upon the policy-holders.