The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1884, Page 21

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Che Autheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY. f

PUBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LutnerRAN SynopicAL CONFERENCE oF NortH AMERICA.
R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

Vol. VI.

The Faithful Comforter.

“The Holy Ghost—He is faithful.”

Heb. 9, 15. 23.
To Thee, O Comforter Divine,
For all Thy grace and power benign,
Sing we Alleluia!

To Thee, whose faithful love had place

In God's great Covenant of Grace,
Sing we Alleluia!

To Thee, whose faithful voice doth win

The wandering from the ways of sin,
Sing we Alleluia!

To Thee, whose faithful power doth heal,
Enlighten, sanctify and seal,
Sing we Alleluia!

To Thee, whose faithful truth is shown,
By every promise made our own,
Sing we Alleluia!

To Thee, our Teacher and our Friend,
Our faithful Leader to the end,
Sing we Alleluia!

To Thee, by Jesus Christ sent down,
Of all His gifts the sum and crown,
Sing we Alleluia!

To Thee, who art with God the Son,
And God the Father ever One,

St. Louis, Mo., June, 1884.

Entered at the Post Oflice at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

No. 6.

Catechism we therefore confess: ‘‘I believe
that I can not by my own reason or strength
believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to
Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by
the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts,
sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”

This work of the Spirit is done through the
Gospel. By the Gospel the Holy Spirit works
true faith in the heart of the sinner who, by
the power of the same Spirit in the law of God,
has come to the knowledge of his sin and of
his lost condition. Therefore the Gospel is
“the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth,’”? Rom. 1, 16. With the
hand of faith the sinner accepts all the treas-
ures of Christ offered to him in the Gospel.
By the Spirit’s work in us we are thus made
partakers of Christ's work for us. And He
who works faith in the heart of man also pre-
serves it until the end. Through the Gospel
the Holy Spirit comforts, and guides, and
keeps us in the true faith until the end of our
pilgrimage. How great and necessary is the
Spirit’s work and how manifold are His bless-
ings! By the eternal welfare of your immortal
soul I beseech you, Do not resist the Holy

worthy as any man in Coalford,’’ was. the
reply, ‘‘for Iam a poor worthless sinner saved
by the grace of God through the precious blood
of Christ. I trust in Him alone.’’ Such is
ever the language of faith leading the sinner
to lose sight of self in the believing, adoring
contemplation of Christ, who so graciously and
sweetly says, ‘‘ Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out,’’ John 6, 37.

“But I am a great sinner, sayest thou?

Iwill in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I am an old sinner, sayest thou?

LT will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

I have served Satan all my days,

thou?

Twill in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I have sinned against light, sayest thou?

Iwill in no wise cast out, says Christ.

Ihave no good thing to bring, sayest thou?

Twill in no wise cast out, says Christ.”

sayest

An Important Duty.

The Holy Spirit's work is done through the

Sing we Alleluia! Amen!

Spirit!
—F. R. Havergal.

———»> -o<P + oe

Worthy in Christ.

The Spirit’s Work.

Out of Christ we have no worth or worthi-
ness at all, do what we may; but in Christ the
vilest of the vile are infinitely worthy, for they
are clothed with the righteousness of God. A
wicked swearing teamster, who had been the
terror of the neighborhood, was led by the
Spirit through the hearing of the Gospel to be-
lieve in Jesus, and it became known that he
would partake of the Lord’s Supper. Driving
through a town where he was well known, he
was met by an old woman with the question,
“They tell me, Thomas, that you be going to
take the Sacrament on Sunday; is it true that
you be?” ‘Yes, by the grace of Christ, my
Saviour,’’ he replied. “‘ But, Thomas, do you
think that you be worthy?” said the old
woman; ‘I don’t mean to reflect on ye, but
you know what kind of man you have been,
and what kind of life you have led, and do you
think, Thomas, that you be worthy?” “As

The work of our redemption is finished.
Christ took our place under the law and suf-
fered and died in our stend. He thus redeemed
us from sin, death, devil and hell and procured
for all men forgiveness of sins and life ever-
lasting. This is Christ’s work for us on which
our salyation rests. But these benefits of
Christ must become our own. There must be
@ work done in us in order that we may per-
sonally enjoy the redemption which Christ
procured for all men. ‘This work can not be
done by any power of sas for man is ‘‘dead
in trespasses and sin,’’ It is the work of
the Holy Spirit. No man can have a saving
knowledge of Jesus as the Saviour and Lord
over all, unless the Holy Spirit work this
knowledge in him. The Bible says, ‘‘No man
can ‘say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost,’? 1 Cor. 12, 8. In our Lutheran

means of grace. These means of grace are en-
trusted to the Church. She must see to it that
they are brought to men for the salvation of
souls. This is the duty of all Christians, and
it is a most important duty. As it is the Holy
Spirit’s good pleasure to lead souls to Christ
through the preaching of the Gospel, Christians
indeed have nothing more important to do
than to make the necessary provision for such
preaching. They can not suffer souls to die
for lack of that Gospel which the Holy Spirit
uses to work faith in the Saviour of sinners.
True Christians know from their own experience
the great value of the Holy Spirit’s work, they
realize in their own hearts the blessedness of
that work, and this makes them active and
zealous in performing their important duty of
bringing the life-giving Gospel to dying men
and spreading the blessings of the Holy Spirit
over a ruined world.
——> oe =
Tue Bible speaks to man in every condition

and walk in life, from the holiest saint Go the
most hardened sinner.