YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE,
By A. L. Guilford
THEREFORE glorify God in your body and spirit which are God's. Who are bought with a price? Those who are still the servants of sin, are they the ones to whom this language is addressed? No, surely not; for those who have not given themselves to God a willing sacrifice, are the servants of sin, as it is written, “to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey.” Although the blood of Christ was shed for the sins of the whole world, still those who do not avail themselves of this great salvation, and have not given themselves a living sacrifice, have not placed themselves, all they have and are, upon the altar, and have not received the forgiveness of sin, and have not had their hearts cleansed by the precious, atoning blood of Jesus, these have not been bought with a price, these are not the Lord's, but are children of their father the Devil, and his works they will do. But ye who have given up all for God, and have had a godly sorrow for sin, and have felt the power of Jesus' blood to cleanse from all sin, and have tasted that the Lord is good, to you it is said, “Ye are bought with a price.” Yes, a price indeed, even the life of the only and well beloved Son of the Almighty Jehovah, the Eternal God. And for this reason “ye should glorify God in your body and spirit which are God's.” But what is it to glorify God? and how may we do it? Is it to do as your natural inclinations would lead you to do? We read that by nature we are children of wrath. Well then, if we by nature are children of wrath we cannot glorify God by doing what is natural for us to do. Our natural or carnal nature must die before we167can glorify God. We understand that to glorify God is to obey him in all things. We must speak and act in such a way as to reflect honor upon the name of God, and live in such a manner that we shall receive a visible answer to our prayers. This will glorify God. We should exercise a living faith in God which will cause us to act out our belief to the full. We should live so purely before all that even the infidel and haughty scorner will feel an irresistible awe in our presence, and be led to believe that there is a power resting upon us not of ourselves, but the mighty soul-subduing power of the great I AM. Dear brethren and sisters, who among us will glorify God with all our energies of mind and body, awake to righteousness and sin not, that we may not receive the awful doom of those who are finally spewed out of the mouth of the Lord, but may enjoy the peace of God which passeth understanding here on this earth, and life everlasting on the new earth?
A. L. GUILFORD.
Monroe, Wis.