Like Unto Leaven
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seen an end of all perfection: but Thy commandment is
exceeding broad.”
Psalm 119:89-96
.
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is loyalty to our Redeemer. This will lead us to do right because it is
right—because right doing is pleasing to God.
The great truth of the conversion of the heart by the Holy Spirit is
presented in Christ’s words to Nicodemus: “Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born from above, he can not see the kingdom of
God.... That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is
every one that is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:3-8
, margin.
The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, says, “God, who is
rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace
ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
Ephesians 2:4-8
.
The leaven hidden in the flour works invisibly to bring the whole
mass under its leavening process; so the leaven of truth works secretly,
silently, steadily, to transform the soul. The natural inclinations are
softened and subdued. New thoughts, new feelings, new motives, are
implanted.
“I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart, when I
shall have learned Thy righteous judgments. I will keep
Thy statutes.”
Psalm 119:7, 8
.
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A new standard of character is set up—the life of Christ. The mind is
changed; the faculties are roused to action in new lines. Man is not
endowed with new faculties, but the faculties he has are sanctified.
The conscience is awakened. We are endowed with traits of character
that enable us to do service for God.
Often the question arises, Why, then, are there so many, claiming
to believe God’s word, in whom there is not seen a reformation in