THE DISPOSITION, NOT THE DEED.
By M. C. W.
THERE are many professed Christians who are yet struggling in the seventh chapter of Romans. While the law to them "is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good," and while they "delight in the law of God after the inward man," the following words better express their experience and condition:— "For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I." "For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil that I would not, that do I." Verses 15, 19. And at times they exclaim with Paul, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Verse 24, margin. Such a life is not pleasant. It is that of a convicted sinner, who sees something of the heinousness of sin, and something of the beauty of holiness; but at the same time feels unable to grasp the power to cast off the one and embrace the other. The constant failures destroy all confidence in God, and the will, weakened by constant yielding, leaves them utterly powerless to cope with long-established habits. Such, who really long for holiness, we hope to help. One of the principal causes of failure on the part of this class, if not the principal cause, is a wrong conception of the nature of sin, and how God regards it. It is not the deeds of sin which the Lord condemns in us primarily; but it is the disposition which leads us to sin, and which loves the sin. Therefore the warfare should not be against the deed but against the disposition, of which the deed is the fruit. "But," says one, "I do not love the sin; I hate it." Perhaps you do as regards the outbreaking deed. Our pride of reputation might lead us to hate it. Our ambition to be a strong Christian would lead us to hate the sinful deed. We do not wish our brethren to know that we sin; we do not like to humble our hearts before them again; and so in many cases conscience becomes benumbed, and the sin which once caused weeping, hardly causes a pang of remorse. The true conviction nearly, if not quite, leaves us; and pride is not able to resist lust. Others keep conscience alive. They lash and goad it by humiliation and confession of deeds in detail, thinking that this, perhaps, will give them the victory. But the conflict goes on, the Lord is sought, his forgiveness is obtained; but the poor soul goes from the mercy-seat to the sin. These are not rare cases; they are to be found everywhere. What is the cause of failure? How can it be prevented? The cause of failure, we repeat, is a love for sin; not a love for the sinful deed, but for the sinful disposition of which the deed is the legitimate fruit. We might as well try to destroy a tree by plucking its fruit and condemning it, as to attempt to destroy sin in our natures by confessing and condemning sinful deeds. We might as well try to prevent the tree from bearing fruit while root and trunk and limb remained untouched, as to prevent outbreaking sin while the disposition, which is the basis of the sinful deed, remains. If the fruit of a tree is hateful and only hateful to us, if its fruit and leaves are poisonous to our children, we would lay the ax at the root and destroy the tree utterly. It is in this way sin must be overcome. The ax of repentance, the hyssop of sorrow, must strike at the very root of our besetting sins if we would ever overcome them. We must understand the disposition which leads to the sin. A constant longing to indulge in a course of action, and a wishing that it was not wrong, is evidence that we are harboring a sinful disposition; and as long as such longings and wishes are harbored, we shall be overcome. The seed will bear its fruit. Lasciviousness and open transgression of the seventh commandment are often the legitimate fruit of undue curiosity concerning the other sex, a desire to be on intimate and familiar terms with some individual of the other sex, desires and longings which we cannot describe, and which seem so harmless, and are so between members of the same family, but should have no place outside,—all these are evidences of a disposition which, if allowed to bear its legitimate fruit, would end in open violation of the seventh commandment. Just so a desire for superiority, to occupy some office in which our brother has been placed, thinking that we might do better, is evidence of a disposition which will lead to envy, jealousy, and open violation of the ninth commandment. A constant wish that it might not be wrong to eat this or that, drink this or that, will lead to indulgence in appetite. Impatience is only the legitimate result of selfishness. We want our way, and everyone must yield to it in our time. If all do this to humor our whims, we are so good and patient; but if our way is crossed, it is impossible that we should not be impatient as long as we cherish our selfish regard for our own way. And it is absolutely impossible for us to overcome the sins while we hold the disposition. The seed-wish will bear the fruit-deed. It is inevitable. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." It is in this way that the word of God presents man's sinfulness before us; not in the form of individual deeds, but in the carnal, depraved heart. The deeds are mentioned as an evidence of what is within. The bitter waters indicate a bitter fountain from whence they flow. One or two passages will suffice for this:— "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Rom. 8:7, 8. "Now the works [fruits, evidences; 'for a tree is known by its fruit,' Matt. 12:33] of the flesh are manifest, which are these, Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal. 5:19-21. "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Matt. 15:19. The above passages make it clear that the cause of failure is not in the doing of the deed of sin, but in cherishing in our heart the disposition which leads to sin. Therefore to prevent the deeds of sin, we must put away the disposition and tendencies which cause the doing of the deeds. Every selfish longing, every unholy passion, every unlawful desire, every unholy lust, "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," must all be put away. In their beginning, their inceptive stages, they may seem right; but their wickedness is revealed in the hateful, shameful deeds. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death;" and that way is the way of the carnal heart, the deceptive ways of the beginning of sin.89 But realizing this, we can come to a merciful Redeemer, who was "made like unto his brethren" "in all things," who "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." We can cast ourselves upon his mercy, confessing our sins, acknowledging our sinful heart and sinful nature, and plead by simple faith his precious promises, and he will take away the hard, impenetrable heart of stone, and will give us the softened, subdued heart of flesh, which can be moulded by his Spirit after his own divine image. Eze. 36:25-27. While we, almost in despair, cry out with the apostle, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?"—the old man, the carnal heart and nature—we also, by faith, can declare with joy, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord;" for the gospel "is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." Rom. 1:16. And the "Author" of our faith will prove its "Finisher," if we will trust in him. He will give us power by his Holy Spirit to crucify the deeds of the body. Rom. 8:13. He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9); and, according to the riches of his glory, will grant us to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. Eph. 3:16-19. Defeated and disheartened brother, look up. Are you vile? He will cleanse you. Are you weak? He is strong. Does the way seem hard? He will walk with you, and the parched ground will become moist, and wells of joy will spring up in the desert. "O taste and see that the Lord is good." The waters of bitterness will become sweet, and the Marah of yesterday will be the Elim of to-day. Ex. 15:23-27.