THE FAMILY ALTAR 

August 16.

"For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good

thing-; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that

which is good I find not." Rom. 7:18.

When God's Holy Spirit has by means of the Gospel brought

us to believe in Jesus as our personal Savior, we then and there

have received the forgiveness of all our sins. But though our sins

are forgiven, we still often feel tempted in our heart by all kinds

of sin and evil lust against which we must continually fight and

pray. That often fills us with doubt and fear, whether our faith

is the true faith and we shall really be saved. But far from filling

us with fear, this fight in our heart against sin should fill us with

joy and gratitude to God ; for it is the unmistakable evidence that

God's Holy Spirit is at work in us, sanctifying and saving us in

the way ordained by God's infallible Word. No saint ever reached

heaven without having to fight against sin. Even Paul, the greatest

among the apostles of Christ, confesses that warfare in our text.

He knew nothing of it while he was still a self-righteous Pharisee ;

but as soon as he was converted to Christ, the fight in him against

sin began, and it continued all his life, as we gather from his

epistles. So let us take comfort and remember what Luther writes

of all truly converted Christians : "All the saints will have to sing

this little tune in the Lord's Prayer : 'Forgive us our trespasses !'

The others, who know no limit to their holiness, understand noth-

ing at all of this ; and hence saving grace is not preached for them,

because they hold the kingdom of Christ to be of such a nature

that in it there is no sin whatever, everything must be so pure

and clean as if the very doves had selected it; and demand such

a Christian who has no more sin and is holy, yea, like Christ

Himself. No ; far from it ! But he is a Christian who is a sinner

and aware of his sin, which displeases him sorely and grieves him

to the heart that he still feels sin. He is no Christian who neither

has nor feels any sin whatever, and if you find such a one, he is

an un-Christian, an anti-Christian, and no Christian at all." The

more we feel our sin, the more will it drive us to seek our right-

eousness alone in our blessed Savior.

A clean heart create in me,

Which in Thee, O God, believeth,

And at the iniquity

Of my sins sincerely grieveth;

And when hours of woe betide me,

In the wounds of Jesus hide me.