TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

Paterson, N. J.

April 7, 1950

My dear young friends:

The Holy Spirit of God is an enemy unto many and the friend of only a few people. That is grace, my friends, when the Spirit of Pentecost is our portion. Or let us say, that is indeed grace, when we experience the power of Christ’s resurrection within our soul by the descent of the Holy Ghost. By nature we are enemies of God and we live in a world of enmity. There is again without doubt plenty of religion at this Eastertide but the fact still remains that man is a bitter enemy of the Spirit of truth according to what John speaks about in John 14:17. Do you believe that, my friends, or do you think the present religious world is different from then? This doctrine, that Grace or the Spirit of truth is the gift of God, is founded upon the very Word of God. But many teach that man should accept Jesus and rejoice in the spirit of Easter, but they do not teach man that Grace or the Spirit of truth, as it is in Jesus Christ, is the free and sovereign gift of God.

Do you know what the work of the Holy Ghost is ? The Holy Ghost convicts man of his sin. (This means that the Holy Ghost pronounces and proves man guilty of his transgression and so man is convinced thereof in his very heart and soul and mind.) The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, and teaches the elect sinner the truth. Do you know what man is by nature? He is a hypocrite or hypocritical! When we admonish man, then he compares his sins with the sins of other people. And he then finds so much good in himself that it is impossible for him to believe that he will be lost forever. The natural man can not believe that he will not see the kingdom of God. It is true, we readily say or acknowledge with our lips that we are sinners and unconverted; but, we do not actually believe it with our heart, for, if we did, we would indeed call upon God in earnest supplications. Many people, and especially young people, say with the greatest indifference of spirit, “we are unconverted!” Beware of this spirit, my young friends, and may you rather beg most earnestly of the Lord, for the Spirit of God. The Lord is pleased to grant His Spirit through the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, we may not act in the passive sense or say in a spirit of indifference “well, it isn’t my fault that I am not converted!” Whenever, we say that, then in reality we are saying that it is God’s fault. No, my friends, it is not God’s fault. God grants unto man an appointed time of grace which is termed “common grace,” in regard to all men, as we read about in Matt. 5:45: “for God maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Again, God grants unto man a day or time of grace in the external calling, effected by His Holy Word, whereby He calls all sorts of men, even those who are not the elect. Matt. 20:16: “Many are called, but few chosen.” It will always be and remain our own fault that we are lost forever. Or we may say it this way, man is ever guilty of his lost state and condition here in this life and also in the life to come. God extends the call to repentance unto man.

Some of my readers may now say: “Yes, but God has most certainly established His decrees from eternity! What, then, if I am not one of the elect of God?” My friends, remember the words in Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,” (why?) “that we may do all the words of this law.” We are responsible or accountable creatures, and God extends the call to repent unto man. It is like Rev. Kersten writes in his compendium on page thirty-one: “The will of God’s decree or, in other words, His secret will does not put Him under any compulsion. Likewise, neither is the will of God’s decree, the rule whereby He governs man as rational creatures, but the very rule is God’s law. And man’s deeds or actions are weighed in the balances of that law which declares them either good or evil. Therefore, neither the Sovereignty, nor the necessity of God’s decree, detracts from the freedom nor from the responsibility of man.” Consequently, we are held accountable by God, and the demand to repent is extended unto man.

Is man then able to convert himself? Indeed not! for that is God’s work, but not man’s or not His creatures! What I mean to say is this, may the demand to repentance be so deeply impressed upon your sou] that you would begin to pray in all earnestness of heart: “Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned.” Jer. 31:18. We should always be careful to avoid extremes. Especially those of a false passiveness; and very often, the spirit of legality; also that extreme of saying, “yes, I am still unconverted.” Oh, if you were ever truly impressed with a full sense of the meaning of that word, you would not be able to use that expression so readily. Unconverted means that the wrath of God is upon us. And, if we continue to live in this fearful state then after this life is past our portion will be everlasting damnation or eternal perdition. But then we also have the extreme of a false activeness or rather a false actuality. For instance, there are many who can tell people where New York is, but they cannot tell them how to get there and so it is with man. Friends, we stand in need of the Holy Ghost. Oh that He may indeed become indispensable or absolutely necessary unto you.

We must close for this time. We hope to visit our friends in Canada again and spend one Sunday with them. May the spirit of prayer be poured out in a great measure for those friends, and for all the dispersed and scattered people. We also express our thanks for the support given to us in this field of labor. We indeed have a constant calling or obligation enjoined upon us in this field. Pentecost certainly teaches us the necessity of the Mission activities. Isn’t it a fruit of the Pentecostal Wonder, or of Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Ghost?

Your ever mindful friend at Paterson,

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