“Only
the Gospel can form a plaster to draw out the every core of contention from the
heart. The apostle Paul testifies how he and his brothers were healed of
malicious attitudes:
“We
ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse
lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one
another” (Titus 3:3). And the Paul writes in some detail how that healing came:
“But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by work of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:4-5). He was
saying, “If this love of God to us in Christ had not appeared, if we had not
been washed by His regenerating Spirit, we would still be paralyzed under the
power of our lusts.”
Mortification
is a work of the Spirit. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). And the Gospel is the sacrificing knife in
the hand of the Spirit, the “sword” God uses to kill sin in the hearts of His
people (Ephesians 6:17).
Just
as the Gospel lays the axe to strife and digs it up by its bitter roots, so it
fills the hearts of men who embrace with principle, leading to peace and unity.
Some of these tenets are self-denial, long-suffering, and gentleness.
Self-denial prefers that another be honored before himself. Long-suffering is bearing
that which makes one easily provoked. And if gentleness is pushed by a wrong,
it holds the door open for peace to come in again.
We
can see a whole bundle of these sweet herbs growing in one bed: “The fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23). Now this fruit does not crop up in
just every hedge, but only from Gospel seed.”
From
the Puritan William Gurnall Found in The Christian in Complete Armour-Daily
Reading in Spiritual Warfare Published
by Moody Press Chicago 1994 First Published in 1655.
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