Adapted from: “The Double Cure”  by Martin Wells Knapp

 

Martin Wells Knapp was born March 27, 1853, in Michigan. He says his mother was a sanctified woman who greatly influenced his life, but does not mention his father.  His mother sent him to college in Albion, Michigan. There he met and married a sanctified young lady named Lucy J. Glenn.  She died before he did and he married for a second time.  In 1877 he began preaching, but had not yet been sanctified.  Aided by his wife and friends, Brother and Sister William Taylor, he got light on the second blessing and was brought into the experience.  He says, “I finally crossed the Jordan.  On a glad night in the old parsonage of Duplain, Michigan, I was fully sanctified, Divinely healed of an old ill, and called to evangelistic work.”  Leaving the pastorate, he began holding revivals, and preaching holiness.  As many from the same era did, he began writing as well -producing a number of fine holiness books.  When his book “Pentecostal Letters” was published in 1902, it was copyrighted by his second wife who says in the Introduction, Mr. Knapp has gone away to be with God.”  Thus he died before his fiftieth birthday.

“It is published chiefly for use among those with whom he personally labors, for he is assured that many will read a book of this nature written by a pastor or a personal friend that otherwise would not be reached at all by any book of this character.  Of course, if it proves worthy of a wider circulation, no tears of sorrow will be shed on that account.  (EDITORS NOTE:  The copy I have is from the eighteenth printing, ten years after its original publication.)

“The design of the book is, avoiding the controversial forests where so many have been bewildered and lost, to show the gracious privilege of the constant reign of Christ within each human heart, and persuade, if possible, all who have not done so to ‘open the door’ at once, and ‘crown him King.’

“The book is written for honest, earnest seekers of the truth, and if such receive one-half the pleasure and profit in the reading that the author has in the writing, he will feel gratified. The book has been written among the many duties of a busy pastorate.

“The King cannot take an unclean temple for His permanent residence.  He has redeemed it from the enemy and made it a part of His possessions at great expense, and entering, He proceeds to apply the abundant resources at His command for its complete cleansing.  The stains of sin are so deep that nothing less than His own blood can make complete purification possible.  This blood He sheds, and in the shedding makes it possible for His agent, the Holy Ghost, to come and apply the truth to submissive, trusting souls, and make them ready to be His abiding home.  The soul gallery was filled with many paintings that appear inappropriate for the presence of the Kingly Artist.  Pride, Envy, False Ambitions, Lasciviousness and kindred works of the hand of sin are taken down and destroyed.  Scores of innate depravities suffer the same fate.  Sin pleads that they be allowed to remain until the body dies, or, at the most, they be covered with some drapery of dead works that he will donate for that purpose.  The King says, ‘No, they must go.’...

“The power of sin is broken!  The love of sin destroyed!  It may be that we shall yet find that so gracious and mighty a Conqueror will withhold no good thing from them in whom He reigns.”

 

How Knapp Entered Into His Rest

My only object in relating this is to glorify God. I love to tell what he has done for me, and in this way can do so, not only while I live and where I am, but where I may not be able to personally go, and after I have gone to heaven above.

God gave me an earnest Christian mother, and, through her influence, made precious impressions upon me when young, that never were totally erased. I cannot remember when I did not think of God and of eternity. My Egypt experiences lasted from the time I reached years of accountability until I was nineteen. Sometimes my heart was tender; but it grew harder as the years advanced. Awful conviction would sometimes possess me, but I quenched it. I grew very giddy. I came to dislike meetings, preachers, and all religious society. I would go without my meals rather than enter the house when a minister was there, and threatened to leave home if mother mentioned eternal matters.

Thus sadly Satan blinded me.

Mother would sometimes lay the Testament where I could not help seeing it when retiring, with some passage marked for me to read. Repeatedly I dreamed the Day of Judgment had come, earth was burning, the Judge descending, and I was unprepared!

 

                     “For years I bore about hell in my breast;

When I thought of my God it was nothing but gloom;

Day brought me no pleasure, night gave me no rest,

There was still the grim shadow of horrible doom.”

 

Egyptian night grew blacker and, deceived by my spiritual Pharaoh, I tried to be an infidel. God’s grace, through mother’s prayers, prevented. In hundreds of ways my Savior tried to win me from my servitude of sin; but deluded by the enemy, I refused to be won. When seventeen (through mother’s plans and sacrifice) I began my studies at Albion. Here I met her who is now my wife. She was a genuine Christian, and, next to mother, became instrumental in my conversion. In my Egyptian experience mother was my Moses, and she my Aaron. The sepulchral tones and sanctimonious ways of some who profess Christianity had set me against their kind of religion; but I was saved from being mystified by my Moses and Aaron, in whom the blessed, soul-cheering, joy-bringing gospel shone in all its purity.

Death scenes and funeral processions were a terror to me. The Spirit often used them to mightily catch my attention. The following words haunted me like echoes from a graveyard:

“Come, ye young, ye gay, ye proud,

You must die and wear a shroud;

Time will rob you of your bloom,

Death will drag you to the tomb;

Then you’ll cry, ‘Woe unto me!

Lost, through all eternity!’ “

 

O, how can I be thankful enough that I was not then cut off! ...........

 

“Yes! Death would have come and its angel have torn me

By force, to the judgment where hope could not be,

And the spirit of darkness from thence would have borne me

To unspeakable woes in his wide, burning sea.

Where the worms, and the wails, and the lashes cease never,

My poor ruined soul would have sickened of fire,

And I should be tortured forever and ever;

But the pains of eternity never would tire.”

 

I became fully convinced of my lost condition, yet would admit it to none but my “Aaron.” I was irritable when approached on the subject by any other. She believed that it was wrong for Christians to be “unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” and her loyalty to God led her to say: “I never can marry an unconverted man.” She kindly yet persistently urged an immediate and complete surrender to God. I was brought face to face with God and duty, and knew that I ought to yield. The tempter said, “There is time enough yet;” and for a time I listened to his voice and was supremely miserable.

Day and night thoughts of God, judgment, and eternal doom conspired to make me wretched. I resolved to yield. Then whispered the tempter: “Be a silent Christian.” I tried it. I began to read my Bible, kneel at the family altar, where in my pride of heart I had for a long time sat upright, and in silence try to pray. I felt that these were steps in the right direction, but still got no peace. Thus for some time I tried to compromise matters with God and bring Him to my terms, but He would not come.

Before this, God had gently entreated me by His servants. At this point I was made to feel that trifling with God in this half-hearted way must cease or He would come with sterner measures. I did not heed the warning, and then His judgment fell with crushing weight upon my soul. O, the horrors of those days of darkness! I had been forewarned, and knew I deserved all; so I could not murmur. Alone in the woods again, I sought to settle the question. I fell upon my knees and tried to pray. The question came: “Will you now fully yield?” I said: “In all things but just that one – I can not open my school with prayer.” This was my Red Sea.

The Salvation Test

I could get no peace, and whenever I tried to pray that question would rise like a specter before me. I would say, “Anything but that;” but it was God’s test question and He would not be turned away. At this point the impression came: “Now or never! Yield at once, or you will suddenly be cut off and forever lost!” This came like a lightning stroke. I felt as sure of its truth as I knew that I lived. The next Monday morning my school began. Tremblingly, I took my Bible and read one of the shortest Psalms I could find, and then my courage failed me. The next, and the next morning the same was repeated. Thursday morning I said: “This will do no longer; I will fully obey.” God helped, and I did as best I could, and then it was O, so easy to fully trust! And before the sun went down that night the witness of the Spirit was given, and peace -sweet, deep, rich, and inexpressible – was mine. My warfare with God was ended, past sins were all forgiven, the power of sin was broken, the first letter in the alphabet of redemption was learned, and I began the new life. I wrote at once to my friends of the change, made a public profession at the first opportunity, was baptized, and united with the Church. Soon came my call to the ministry and preparation for that work. We were married at twenty-three, and since then have gladly labored to bring others to Him who sought and saved us.

Fourteen years have passed since I crossed the Red Sea, and I have never for a moment felt like returning to Egyptian bondage. Glory to God in the highest for such a wonderful deliverance! For nine years I tarried in the Sinai Wilderness experience. I was converted, and knew it, loved God and His people, worked for Him as well as I could, saw many souls converted, and grew in knowledge and experience; but my temper, which was quick, often made me conscious that I did not possess of all the mind of Christ. I was hampered by selfish ambitions, joking and teasing tendencies, and other movements of the carnal mind. The fallen nature sought to expel the holy power that bound it, and there were frequent struggles within between the two contending principles. I needed the blessing mentioned in the following song prayer of a well-known poet:

 

 “Savior of the sin-sick soul,

Give me grace to make me whole;

Finish thy great work of grace;

Cut it short in righteousness.

 

Speak the second time, ‘Be clean;’

Take away my the fallen nature;

Every stumbling block remove;

Cast it out by perfect love.”

 

I had read much on the subject of heart purity, but had never heard a sermon on it. I knew that the Bible clearly taught cleansing from the fallen nature, and the fullness of the Spirit as the privilege of every believer. I reasoned: “God does not do things by halves. I know that He converted me and that I am His child, therefore I must be saved from the fallen nature.” The fact, however that it was in my heart, and that I often was painfully conscious of it was stronger than my argument. This confused me. I said: “I’ll keep it down;” but instead of that it kept me down. Then I said: “Heart purity must be a growth; I’ll grow into it.” I did grow in the knowledge of self and Christian privilege, but made little progress in the grace of perfect love. How it pains me that in my dullness I delayed so long in shallow waters when the great deep of God’s love was continually inviting!

In November of 1882, I permitted the Lord to lead me to Kadesh Barnea, on the borders of the promised land. By His grace I then and there entered the land, receiving the blessed work that cleanses from the fallen nature, and fills with perfect love. In June I had appointed a three-day special service for myself and the people to seek this longed-for experience. Rev. William Taylor and wife, two noble workers who had entered His Rest, were invited to assist. It was a time of deep heart-searching. Their testimonies and teachings were clear and given in all humility, and convinced me all the deeper of my great need and privilege. I received great help at that time, but not the consciousness that the great work was wrought.

Later in November the crisis came. I had been preaching full salvation, but could lead my people no further than I had gone myself. I set apart a time to settle the matter. God met me and gave me the promise: “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son CLEANSETH us from ALL sin.” The blessed Holy Spirit explained it to my heart, and helped me to take hold of it right then and there. He suggested: “Why not believe on the authority of his Word that God is doing just what He agrees to do just now?” I was conscious that the conditions upon which the promise was based were being met, and could see no reason why I should not, and replied: “Lord, I do.” In an instant I was made conscious of my cleansing. The “giants” fled, the “walled towns” crumbled, and Canaan, through Christ, was possessed! To God be all the glory!

The “fullness” soon followed. I saw then where my trouble had been. I had not dared to venture on the promise and trust in the present tense. I thanked God for the victory given, and asked that, in order with greater confidence I might publicly proclaim and urge the experience, that he would give me still further unmistakable evidence of its reality. I retired, looking for something more. I was not disappointed. Instead of some thing, some one came – the One altogether lovely, even Christ himself. I had slept about an hour when I was suddenly awakened by what sounded like three distinct knocks on the front door. In an instant I was made just as conscious of the Divine Presence as ever man was of the company of an earthly friend. I felt the presence of a gentle, unseen power upon my head. Then a wave of divine power and love, causing a sensation something like an electric shock, only inexpressibly pleasurable, rolled over my complete being. Then three impressions were made just as vividly as if uttered by an audible voice:

 

1. ”This is the added evidence you prayed for.”

2. ”You are healed of your disease.”

3. ”A definite call to special evangelistic work.”

 

A few days after, my wife received a call to the same work. Since then she has triumphantly passed to brighter realms above.

For years I had been suffering from the effects of sunstroke. It had taken me from my studies, and threatened to prostrate me completely. Every year of my preaching, some had thought, would be my last. Physicians said my only hope was to stop and rest. The physical cure was perfect. Both the spiritual and physical blessings stand the test of toil and time. Great and gratifying as the physical healing is, I count it a mere shadow compared with the spiritual uplift then received.

My wife says I have been a changed man. My members said there was a marked improvement in my preaching. Teasing, foolish jesting, and selfishness, by the Divine Plowman were rooted out, and the Spirit’s graces implanted in their stead. The second letter in redemption’s alphabet has been learned, and a holy ambition aspires to further progress, and then to teach to those unlearned.

Nearly five years have passed since Christ took complete possession of my soul. He abides. At first, for an instant, I would sometimes let go of Him; but He has taught me to constantly and obediently trust Him, and while doing so He stays. I have been tempted much, but He has given victory. I find a deepening love for Him and for His Church here below.

The impression made upon my mind to engage in evangelistic work continued to deepen. I said: “If this be of God, I will receive a call from the Church to engage in it.” I soon found, however, that our beloved Church does not yet officially recognize this office, and hence has no appointed agencies to call to this work. I found that the work was Scriptural, and that the Holy Spirit, in this and other generations, had in a marvelous manner set His seal upon it.

Then came invitation after invitation from the brethren to assist them in the very work to which we felt God was calling us. To some of these we were able to respond, and both on our own charge and in these places souls were converted and believers sanctified.

Thus we reached a point where the Spirit’s voice, the call of the Church through the many invitations to the work, fruitage in the work, and the open door, all combined to convince us that the call was from God. I therefore at our conference ( Michigan) we asked to be set free for this work.

The conference gave me a supernumerary relation, but with the interpretation put upon it, my conscience would not then allow me to accept of it, and so I was granted a certificate of location. It also further gave its sanction and set its seal upon the act by passing the following resolution:

 “Whereas, our brother, M. W. Knapp, has taken a certificate of location, in order to engage in evangelistic work; and “Whereas, We believe that the Holy Spirit has led him to this step; therefore, be it “Resolved, That we shall be glad to re-admit Brother Knapp at any time when the way shall open for his return to us; that, knowing the gifts, graces, and usefulness of Brother Knapp and his wife, we do cordially commend them to the fellowship and co-operation of God’s people everywhere, and to the blessings of God in their work.”

 

I have since been re-admitted.

Pastoral work, which often was distasteful before entering Canaan, has proved delightful since.

Preaching and other soul-saving work is blissful beyond expression. I would rather be an evangel of the glad tidings to lost souls than an archangel. I would rather have a millionth part of an interest in the salvation of a soul than globes of solid gold without that. I am anxious for no grander heaven than God is giving year by year.

Dear reader, may we each be so faithful in the earthly Canaan that we may greet each other in the heavenly! Unto Him that hath “called us out of darkness into his marvelous light” be glory and dominion forever and ever!

 

Entering Canaan

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it ... And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go. -- Joshua 1, 10, 11, 16.

“Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”   Heb. 10:19, 22.

 

When we follow Jesus’ voice,

How our raptured hearts rejoice!

When we yield to his control,

How our Jordans backward roll!

When we welcome his command,

Then, how soon in Beulah land!

 

Place: At the River Jordan.

Theme: Crossing the river.

The events occurring here are illustrative of those which transpire when the believer, by complete consecration and trust, enters into spiritual Canaan.

1. Israel had gained nothing by delay. Their enemies had improved the forty years that had elapsed by strengthening their men and munitions to resist them; and, besides this, the river Jordan now lay between them and the “promised land.” Delaying to enter spiritual Canaan invites similar obstacles.

The “giants” will grow stronger, and the “walled towns” be more completely fortified, and some seemingly uncrossable river will at last roll between the soul and the blessing.

2. They had learned wisdom from God’s judgments. Their own sufferings and the awful deaths of the “unbelieving” in the wilderness had made them submissive. Thousands have been brought to complete consecration by like measures. There are those who will “learn righteousness” only “when God’s judgments are in the earth.” Sickness, disappointments, and bereavements, prove angels in disguise, and lead them from waywardness to the very borders of the “promised land.”

3. A minister who enjoyed perfect love led them into the land. Moses’ “mantle” fell upon Joshua, and he “followed fully,” (amid high tides of opposition) the counsels of his Lord. No minister is fitted to lead the people until he himself is “following fully.” Unschooled men, “filled with the Spirit,” have led thousands into the spiritual Canaan, while doctors of divinity without it have proved “blind leaders of the blind.” Jesus’ rule for this dispensation was, not to let a preacher, even though he had been with him for years, go out until he received His Rest. Are we wiser than he?

4. The Jordan consecration service is preceded by preliminary instruction. (See Joshua 1) No better counsel for candidates seeking complete sanctification can be found than is here recorded.

(a) They were here commanded to “go over,” not “grow over,” and possess Canaan. So are we.

(b) They were here reminded that Canaan was a “gift” land; “the land that I do give them,” said the Lord. Likewise the “love,” “power,” and the “Holy Spirit,” which constitute the spiritual Canaan, are “gifts” of God, and are to be claimed without “money and without price.”

(c) They were here promised possessions: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you;” power: “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life;” and prosperity: “For then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Spiritual possessions, “incorruptible” and “fadeless;” spiritual “power over all the power of the enemy,” and success such that “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper,” are in a like manner offered to all who will be perfect in love.

What Joshua was to them the Holy Spirit is to the believer at spiritual Jordan. He explained God’s messages, and directed them what to do in each situation. The Spirit “takes the words of Jesus, and shows them unto us.” We are to be “led by the Spirit;” and if in any thing we be “otherwise minded, even this He shall reveal unto us.”

5. The source of their strength was to be the divine presence. “I will not leave thee nor forsake thee.” The same promise is given to all who will enter the spiritual Canaan. When the conditions upon which this promise is given are met, and its meaning realized and rested in, “giants” and “walled towns” shrink into nothingness.

6. They were to be guided by the revealed Word. “Thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.” In complete consecration the believer in a like manner vows to be guided by the Word in all things.

7. Israel, before taking the Canaan consecration pledge, was commanded to be very courageous.

“Be strong and of good courage,” was the triply emphasized commandment. All who enter upon a life of complete loyalty to God need like counsel. Millions under its influence have felt and sung:

“Sure I must fight if I would reign;

Increase my courage, Lord!

I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,

Supported by thy Word.”

 

With the Master’s “Be not afraid” sounding in their ears, they have hushed their fears, and boldly signed an eternal YES to all of God’s requirements.

8. Israel, at this point, made a complete consecration of all to God, saying: “All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go.” In a sense they had been consecrated ever since they broke away from Egypt; but now, in the light of all of God’s commands and promises, of their past experience and hopes of future conquest, they make a specific and complete consecration. So with the believer when he obtains full salvation he yields all his powers to God for time and for eternity. Submission at conversion is like the surrender of the rebel and his oath of allegiance to the government, while the consecration made at the time of complete sanctification is more like the enlistment of the soldier.

Wrong Ideas About Consecration

Wrong ideas of what complete consecration really is have hindered some right at this point:

(a) The idea that complete consecration and complete sanctification are identical. A person may be completely consecrated up to the point of acting faith in God’s promises that would bring the blessing, but neglecting to do this, he would still stay outside the land. Complete consecration is man’s part; complete “cleansing” and “filling” is God’s. Complete consecration bears the same relation to these that a perfect engine does to the steam that will put it in motion and enable it to fill the purpose for which it was made.

(b) Complete consecration is sometimes confused with repentance. Repentance is turning from the wrong way, putting on the brakes and reversing the engine. Complete consecration is submission of the engine to any work the owner may wish. Complete sanctification is the engine, fired up, steam on, and in full motion. In God’s Word sinners are commanded to “repent,” but believers to “consecrate” or “yield themselves” unto God.

(c) Others have gained the notion that in consecrating they were yielding something to God that did not previously belong to Him. Those need to remember that every power and possession of a human being is already God’s by “creation, preservation, and redemption,” and that when we “consecrate our all” we are simply “taking hands-off from God’s property,” and acknowledging His right to His own. What would be thought of Mr. A., should he find a twenty-dollar gold piece belonging to his employer in his possession, and, after a severe struggle over the matter, decide to “consecrate” it to its owner? Yet many act just as stupidly in regard to that which belongs to their Maker.

(d) It is also a mistake to suppose that consecration “as far as I know” is complete consecration. “It must be as far as God knows.” In the very nature of the situation much must be promised, that at the time cannot be known. It can not be known how great our capacities will be, or what means may fall into our hands, or what God’s Word and Spirit may reveal to us as duty, upon what errands He may wish to send us, or what crosses He may see fit to send; so, with Israel, we must cover all this ground with “whatsoever” and “wheresoever,” and obediently trust our Father for the “what” and “where.” How inexpressibly delicious to feel that:

“Where He may lead I’ll follow,

My trust in Him repose,

And every hour in perfect peace,

I’ll sing, He knows, He knows!”

“As Far as I Know” Consecration

The “as far as I know” consecration is as if one had the whole world to consecrate, and should take his place in the valley where but a fraction of his possession can be seen, and then consecrate as far “as he can see.” He would not get the blessing. He ascends a hilltop, where his range of vision is broader, and repeats the consecration with like results. Then he scales a mountain summit, and then from one of earth’s highest peaks, with a telescope, his vision sweeps a much wider circle, and he consecrates it all, but does not get the blessing. He has been consecrating “as far as he can see.” Finally, in despair, he bows before God and vows, “I yield all to thee – all that I can see, and all that is beyond my sight; the little that I am, and all I ever may be; this world as it is, and as it will be when all its resources are developed; and if in my name there are other worlds that I do not now know of; them, too, I yield to thee; and to all thy will as it is revealed, and as it may hereafter be made known, by thy assisting grace, I yield, and will forever yield.” Thus the fully consecrated soul covenants to yield all eternally to Jesus. And the “all” includes every power of the being, as it is and as it will be when it has by use (i.e. maturity) increased tenfold, a million-fold. It includes all earthly goods now possessed, and all that will be when the undiscovered gold mine is developed, or the princely legacy received. It includes everything now made plain, and all that ever will be through the years of time and cycles of eternity. It includes all, not as measured by changing human vision, from the valley or hilltop or mountain; but as seen by the Omniscient Eye. This is what God meant when he said: “If we walk in the light as He is in the light.” It is as if God should say: “My child, I have mapped out for you just the life-plan that you need; you can understand, and need to know but little of it now, but I will reveal it to you, explain it, and give you wisdom and strength to execute it as you need.

Will you subscribe to it?” Complete consecration responds: “Blessed Lord, write out my orders and my discipline for this life and the life to come, and, by thy grace, I promise to say amen to every word.”

Many things in the life that are not consistent with God’s will may not arise at the moment the consecration is made, but as soon as they are seen they are made to harmonize. Some have foolishly reasoned as a certain brother did in regard to his tobacco. He made a complete consecration, exercised the faith, and crossed over into Canaan. He had been there but a short time when his tobacco habit confronted him. He reasoned: “God sanctified me with my tobacco; therefore it cannot be wrong to use it.” But it still bothered him. Then he prayed: “If using this is wrong, then, O God, take thy Holy Spirit from me.” In an instant the Spirit took His flight: the horrors of the darkness that followed, the brother never wishes to feel again. He cried out: “It is enough; I yield!” Tobacco went, the Spirit returned, and he again rejoiced in His presence, having learned the lesson that the fully consecrated soul should yield at once to all of the Spirit’s corrections.

How Can We Know?

One asks: “But how can we know when all is consecrated?” Just as the soldier knows that he will execute the orders of his superior, or die trying to. Yes, even more surely, for man might require impossibilities; God cannot. Just as a person knows when he has deeded all his property to another, or promised a superior implicit obedience.

Israel at Jordan yielded the last point. The “whatsoever” and “wheresoever” covered the whole ground. I heard a minister’s wife once say that, in reviewing her consecration, she always “ran up against something” that she was not willing to do. Too many are like her in this respect. This is the secret of its being “so hard” for many to believe.

If the Israelites at Jordan had held on to their tobacco, if they had had it, or their “jewelry” or “godless organizations,” or had insisted on putting their music in the hands of the ungodly instead of the people divinely fitted for that work, or held on to wrong means for raising money instead of bringing in their tithes, or retained unscriptural practices in their business, or in any other way “kept back a part of the price,” they would have found it as difficult to exercise the “faith that brings the fire” as their brethren and sisters of today.

At Jordan, as at the Red Sea, the people were victorious through faith. Their surroundings differed, but in each instance it was faith that made them victorious. At the Red Sea they were threatened by enemies in the rear; here by foes within. In a like manner, at conversion it is the fury of the adversary and sins of the past that spur the seeker; while at complete sanctification it is the work within that calls for power from on high to do it. At the Red Sea the waters were divided before they reached them; at Jordan their feet “touched the water’s brim” before it receded. In a similar way faith is often tested more at the Jordan of cleansing and endowment than at the Red Sea of conversion. At the Red Sea they exercised faith in God’s specific promise to deliver them “out of Egypt”; at Jordan in His just as specific promise to lead them triumphantly “into Canaan.” At the Red Sea of conversion, faith is exercised in God’s promise to “pardon,” and deliver “out of the hand of our enemies,” and grant us “spiritual life.” At the Jordan of cleansing and endowment our faith appropriates His oath-affirmed promise to “cleanse from all sin,” leads us triumphantly “into spiritual Canaan,” where we may “serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.” In both instances it is the same “hand of faith” that is extended; but in the first instance it is reached out for pardon and sonship, and in the second for purity and power. In both instances the promises are pleaded; but in the first instance it is the promise of pardon and citizenship, while in the second it is for help to lay aside impediments, and claim armor, ammunition, and weapons, to ready for aggressive warfare. In both instances the promises which faith appropriates are more reliable than any banknotes earth ever saw; for they are the word of the Eternal, whose every promise is yea and amen in Christ Jesus, and who, “willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” One says: “I don’t doubt God’s Word, just its application to my case.” If you have not unreservedly yielded each and every point, of course you cannot claim its application; but if you have, do not hesitate for a moment to claim the promise that He receives and cleanses you. He says he does, and “he that believeth hath the witness in himself; he that believeth not God maketh him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” “The record” is that “if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Matching Faith and Actions

The one step that the children of Israel took after making the complete consecration was to act accordingly. At God’s command they arose, followed the “ark of testimony,” and crossed the Jordan.

In a like manner the believer, having fully yielded all to God, is to begin to put his bargain in practice, and, following the more “sure word of prophecy,” “reckon himself to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God.”

At this point Israel appropriated the long-neglected promise of possessing Canaan, and triumphantly took possession:

Israel’s part was:

1. To yield fully to God; and

2. Trust Him to give the victory.

 

God’s part was:

1. To lead them into the land as He had promised;

2. Make them conscious that they were there.

 

His part of the contract was conditioned upon and followed the performance of their part. They met the conditions, stepped out on God’s promise, and God met them, frightened their foes, rebuked the River Jordan even as He did the Red Sea, and in an instant they were in possession of the land. They believed it; they knew it.

In the parallel experience the same steps are to be taken. Man fully yields, and then in the present tense fully trust’s God’s promises of a spiritual Canaan on earth; and then God leads into the land and gives the witness of it. Then the soul begins to feel

T’is so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take him at his word;

Just to rest upon his promise;

Just to know, ‘Thus saith the Lord.

 

The first thing that Israel did after entering Canaan was to establish, by divine command, a memorial of the event. For this purpose they “set up” twelve stones: “And these stones shall be a memorial for the children of Israel forever.” The Red Sea and Jordan marked two memorable events in their history, which they were commanded to explain to their children to all generations. In a like manner, God’s people should commemorate both the Red Sea of conversion and the Jordan of complete sanctification. Ordinary birthdays and holidays should pale before them, like a tallow candle before the meridian sun. Other great blessings may have preceded these, and fallen between them, and certainly will follow them; but none so great as these. Blessed days! May their memories grow brighter forever!

 

Spiritual Sunshine

The Land of Canaan:

And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and olive yards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. -- Nehemiah 9:25.

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. -- Colossians 1:10-12.

When we yield with all the heart,

How our doubts and fears depart!

When we fully trust the blood,

How we sink beneath its flood!

How it cleanses from all sin,

Making pure and bright within!

How each grace from heaven grows,

When His Spirit Christ bestows!

How the Spirit’s fruits abound,

When in Christ complete we’re found!

How His fullness satisfies

All who dwell ‘neath Beulah’s skies!

 

They were in Canaan, and knew it. Both God and their surroundings declared it. The desert was behind, and vine-clad Canaan was on either hand. In a like manner the completely sanctified soul is made conscious of its condition by a consciousness begotten directly by God, and also by the “fruits of the Spirit,” which now adorn the life as the vines adorn the hills of Palestine.

Differences in Experience

The fact that they were in the land comes to each person in a different way. One would weep, and another laugh. Some would shout, and others feel quiet. The same is true of those who enter the Beulah-land of perfect love. “One person realizes principally a marked increase of faith, and calls it the ‘rest of faith.’ Another is conscious of a deep, sweet resting in Christ, and he calls it ‘resting in God.’ Another is permeated with a sense of the divine presence, and filled with ecstatic rapture, and he calls it the ‘fullness of God.’ Another feels his heart subdued, melted, refined, and filled with God, and he calls it ‘holiness.’ Another realizes principally a river of sweet, holy love flowing through the soul, and he calls it ‘perfect love.’ Another is prostrated under the power of the refining, sin-killing Spirit, and he calls it ‘the baptism of Fire;’ and another realizes principally a heaven of sweetness in complete submission to God, and he calls it ‘complete sanctification;’ while another may feel clearly and strongly conscious of complete conformity to all of the will of God, and calls it ‘Christian perfection;’ “ or, as sometimes is the case, these different feelings may so blend and intertwine that he will rejoice in the consciousness of a mighty, soul-satisfying change, without stopping to name it. He knows, and knows that he knows, that his will is sweetly lost in his Heavenly Father’s. Praise the Lord. In Canaan they had battles to fight. Their Jerichos were to be taken, and enemies were continually seeking to dislodge them. In spiritual Canaan the same is true. The fallen nature is cleansed away, but natural appetites and impulses must be properly controlled, and the “world, the flesh, and the devil” still seek supremacy. Never this side of the grave do the saints reach an altitude where they can afford to stop singing:

“My soul, be on thy guard!

Ten thousand foes arise;

The hosts of sin are pressing hard,

To draw thee from the skies.”

 

Kept from Falling

In the land of promise Israel needed to be very watchful. Let the believer learn from them. Jesus was tempted, and the servant never will get higher than his Lord. “Watch and pray!” shouts the great Captain of our salvation. To be deaf to this command is to dare infinite peril.

Israel was in danger of being driven from the land. They remained victors only by keeping intact the conditions upon which they entered. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” Like a hog in the mud, in spiritual Egypt and in the Desert Wilderness experience, it is impossible to fall! In the Sinai Wilderness experience, the danger of falling is very great, because of the dim light and the awful burden of the fallen nature. In Canaan the danger still remains; but by the “marvelous light,” the freedom from “carnality,” and the perpetual presence of the Almighty “Keeper,” it is comparatively small. If we will “remember” and keep hold of God’s hand, we have His positive promise that He is able not only to “keep us from falling,” but to present us faultless before the throne of His glory, with exceeding joy.” Hallelujah!

Spiritual Growth

In Canaan Israel “grew” as a nation as never before. Perfect love is the tropics of spiritual growth.

It is the “large place” that keeps enlarging, the “deep waters” that are ever deepening, the “bright light” that is ever brightening. Some have vainly thought that, because perfect love is received by faith, therefore, when obtained, growth ceases. Huge fallacy! A child with a cancer, confined to a dimly lighted room, will grow; but cure the disease, and let the child leap into the sunshine and the pure air, and will growth cease? The converted man is the child of God, still diseased and in the shade. Complete sanctification is his complete cure and liberation. The spiritual Canaan experience that follows is like the fresh air and sunshine in which he will “grow up” in value “like a cedar in Lebanon,” in spiritual beauty like “the lily,” and in righteousness like “an holy temple unto the Lord.” Canaan was higher up than Egypt. Some say: “O, we can not expect to be always on the mountain-top.” Such forget that the foot of Jesus’ cross was on the top of Mount Calvary, and that the foot of our cross is high up on the summit of the mount of complete Trust and Consecration; and that hence to keep at the foot of the cross is to abide on the top of the mountain.

Israel was completely in the land, yet as a nation was not mature. With them, and with the believer, there is a vast difference between completeness and maturity. Complete cleansing and complete filling come by faith, and instantaneously; but maturity, with the complete saint as with the complete apple, is the child of growth and contact with ripening influences.

Adapted from: “Out Of Egypt Into Canaan: or, Lessons in Spiritual Geography

By Martin Wells Knapp

 

Why Should We Seek The Double Cure?

To those of use who have walked in His Rest for some years and have acquainted ourselves thoroughly with the associated doctrine, a number of reasons become obvious, even though these points may not be immediately obvious to others. So many today have been steeped in the ways of today’s thinking which has sold itself out to the wide road of  “greasy grace”.

1.  The double cure is the will of God. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (Worldliness is spiritual fornication.) (Look “fornication” up in your Vine’s, and you will see that this meaning is true, along with the more obvious meaning. ES) Being separated from the world is the way to go!!!  Who would want anything else than to be in His Presence always? Rev. 14:8, 17:2, 17:4, 18:3, 18:9, 19:2.

2.  He who opposes complete sanctification ignorantly opposes God’s will and God’s major remedy for worldliness and all the varieties of spiritual darkness therein. He who accepts it puts himself in harmony with the higher will of God for his life.

3.  It is the great object of the incarnation of Jesus. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for He shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21.) He, therefore, who enters His Rest welcomes the mission of Jesus to this lost world, and he who opposes it opposes the very thing for which Christ humbled Himself and became obedient unto death. It is as simple as that!

4.  It was the prayer of Jesus for the Church. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17.) How blessed to accept this priceless gift that Jesus prayed for our sakes! How terrible to stand in the way of the answer to our Savior’s prayer! Your very life could be forfeit.

5.  It was the design of God in providing complete redemption. “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4.) When one is moving in harmony with God’s designs, he is borne on as by a resistless tide. When against them it is like fighting gravity.

6.  It is the great object of informed gospel preaching. “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:28.) The object of gospel preaching, therefore, is not simply to please, or entertain, or instruct, but to “present perfect.”

7.  It is essential to successful witnessing and work. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me.”.....(Acts 1:8.) Jesus commanded His disciples to tarry until they received this endowment. The divine order in Christ’s kingdom is: Come, and be saved. Tarry until endued with power. Then go and work and witness and win. The trouble is, who will tarry for a grace they do not even know about? Being filled with the Spirit is important; entering His Rest is even more so.

8.  It is essential to happiness. “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:11.) No more “up and down” religion! “These things” here mentioned are the “purging” of the vine and “abiding” in Jesus like the branch in the vine, both of which are embraced in the Double Cure.

9.  It is essential to gaining heaven. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14.) “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth.” (Revelations 21:27.) God will doubtless purify all who would have accepted holiness had they known the way. No soul will enter Heaven who knowingly has unrepented sin in their life. But outside of His Rest, this can be so easy to do.

He, therefore, who has completed his sanctification, has obtained the end of gospel preaching. He who opposes it opposes the object of one of the mightiest saving agencies in the universe. The people who demand that their minister shall substitute anything else instead of this, and the minister who yields to such an ungodly demand must face a fearful reckoning at the Judgment.

10.  It is an indispensable requisite of salvation. “Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:18.) He who rejects it rejects the only ship that can bear him into the haven of an uttermost salvation.

11.  It is God’s proof of the divinity of Christianity. “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:28.) Here Christ dearly declares that the demonstration of His divinity is not to be by learned books or by great sermons, but by the spectacle of believers living in the Beulah land experience of the Double Cure. Hence the receiving of this experience, as at Pentecost, leads to the conviction and conversion of sinners; and its rejection or evasion results in spurious or no conversions, and sinks the church into coldness, formality and death.

12.  It is the great object of the atonement. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” (Hebrews 13:12) “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25-27.) All who reject the Double Cure reject the very mission of Christ upon the cross. Hence, all such walk in doubt and darkness, while those who experience this truth rejoice in a supernatural assurance and victory. Our Savior’s humble birth and ignominious death were but a part of the cost of our salvation. Add to these His life of trial, His treatment by the Jews, the instability of His followers, His betrayal, the Gethsemane agony and His Father’s frown, and then remember that He suffered all this that we might be sanctified and rejoice in the blessedness of the Double Cure. It is no marvel that these truths have won multitudes from indifference and skepticism in regard to this precious experience, to acknowledge its reality and seek and receive its power.

Sweep on Thou convincing, conquering Christ until every believer’s heart,

“Is whiter than the driven snow,

And all, Thy saving fullness know.”

  

Conditions Required to Enter

While the gift of the Double Cure is free, yet certain conditions must be met in order to receive it. Both conversion and complete sanctification have a God side and a man side. In conversion the divine and the human work is clearly shown in the following related texts:

God’s Part in Conversion

Redemption.  "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold..... but with the precious blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:18, 19.) The Blood is the purchase price of man’s salvation; the Truth, the instrument; the Holy Spirit, the Superintendent; the Church, the agent.

Conviction.  “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:7, 8.) Pardon. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 65:7.) “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” ( this is a special promise to backsliders.) (Isaiah 44:22.)

Justification.  “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24.)

Adoption.  “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17, 18.)

Witness.  “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16.)

Imparts peace.  “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1.)

 Man’s Part in Conversion

 Intellectual belief.  In the very nature of the case no man can accept of the plan of salvation unless he knows of it and intellectually believes in it. One may have this kind of belief without salvation, but nobody can have salvation without having it. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is.” (Hebrews 11:6.)

Intense desire.  God forces conversion upon no one, and, therefore, it must be desired to be had.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13.)

Resolution.  “Whosoever will.” (Revelations 22:17.) “The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” (Joel 3:14.)

Repentance.  “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3.) Genuine repentance always includes the following:

Sorrow for sin.  “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4.)

Giving up sin.  “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” (Isaiah 1:16.)

Confession. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13.) See story of prodigal (Luke 16.) Pride sinks many into hell by keeping from confessing.

Restitution. “If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed ..... he shall surely live, he shall not die.” (Ezekiel 33:16.)

Prayer.  “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55. 6. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13.)

Appropriating faith.  “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36.)

In the work of complete sanctification there exists the same divine and human co-partnership as in conversion.

God’s Part in Sanctification

He pays the price for it.  “Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people, with His own blood, suffered without the gate.” (Hebrews 13:12.) “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” (Hebrews 10:19.)

He commands it.  “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16.) “Be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph. 6:18.) “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3.)

He promises it.  “That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.” (Luke 1:74, 75.) “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1.)

He exemplifies it.  “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48.) “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us.” (Ephesians 5:2.)

He imparts it.  It is not a state to be gained by growth, but a divine work to be wrought in the soul, and only He can do it. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17.) “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24.)

He designs it.  “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4.) He witnesses to it. “For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us.” (Hebrews 10:14, 15.)

 Man’s Part in Sanctification

Intellectual belief.  Without this it is as impossible to be sanctified as it is to be justified. For in one instance as in the other -- “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6.) The seeker for complete sanctification must believe in it as taught in God’s Word, as an experience of purity and perfect love to be sought and received by faith after conversion. This belief may exist without an understanding of the doctrine. A lady witnessed in one of our meetings that after she was converted she felt the need of something more. She said that she prayed as follows: “O God, You command me to be perfect. I don’t know what that means, but You do. Oh make me just what You mean by it.” She said “He heard me, and gave me what you call sanctification.”

The seeker must be a truly converted person. Unconverted professors and backsliders must first experience pardon. The power of sin must be broken before the poison of carnality can be expelled, and the patient made perfectly whole. Be sure you have a clear experience of present conversion, and then you can enter His Rest.

Intense desire.  “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6.) What intense figures are hunger and thirst! Esau, to appease hunger, sold his birthright. Hunger and thirst for holiness are accompaniments of the new birth. Only the Double Cure can satisfy them. God does not propose to give this rare gift to an unappreciative person. When we are willing to “sell all” for this priceless pearl, God deeds it to us. But never until then.

Resolution

“And Jacob was left alone..... And he said I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” (Genesis 32:24, 26.) Halfhearted effort is abortive in any field of endeavor. It is only when we seek with all the heart that the doors of this surpassingly glorious kingdom fly open. When modern Jacobs, like Israel of old, say and mean “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me,” then, as of old, they prevail. It has been seen that it is the will of God that all of His children should have it. When they will to have it, it is not long before they take possession. It is whosoever WILL that claims these possessions, not whosoever “hopes,” “tries,” “desires,” but whosoever WILL. When one gets where the minister did when he cried “Now I WILL enjoy this cleansing in the blood of the Lamb or die,” it will not be long before, like him, he can also say ‘Glory to God! I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” “Indecision” shuts God out of the soul, while “Fixed Purpose” swings the door widely open for Him to enter.

Complete Consecration

 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1.) This includes (a) Death reckoning; (b) Life reckoning: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11.) The soul cuts loose from the world at conversion; and dies to it at complete sanctification. This reckoning includes death to privelige, promotion, preconceived opinions, prejudices, ambitions, rivalries, selfish plans and worldly influences, and even to things and friends, good in themselves but coming between the soul and God. Search and be sure that no tie to self or the world remains to be cut; that self-crucifixion is so complete that there is a fixed purpose to please God and do all of His will though all the world oppose. Then reckon yourself to be alive to Him by a complete dedication of all of your redeemed being and belongings unto Him to be cleansed, filled, kept, and used only as He may will. If uncertain whether all is consecrated then claim the promise: “If in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” (Philippians 8:15.) In the light of the Spirit and Word let it be settled fully and forever, without any “ifs,” or “buts,” or dictation, or mental reservation that you do yield yourself fully to God in ALL THINGS, for ALL TIME and FOREVER. This is putting “all on the altar.” When you are sure that all is there then one more act and the soul enters into the rest of perfect love.

Appropriating Faith

 The crucified Christ is the Christian altar, and when you have so died to all else and yielded to Him that you have the consciousness that all is fully abandoned to Him, then, and not before, you are to believe on the authority of God’s Word that just now the altar Christ sanctifies you the gift. (Hebrews 13:12.) God declares, “whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.” (Exodus 29:37.)

And that “the altar sanctifieth the gift.” (Matthew 23:19.) You are the gift and Christ is the altar. All is now upon it, and there to remain. Then either one of two things is true. God keeps His Word and, “sanctifies the gift,” or breaks it and does not. He says the former. Satan suggests the latter. Your reception of the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier, or shutting Him out, now depends upon whether you believe God’s statement or Satan’s suggestion. Will you believe and “enter into rest,” or disbelieve and continue in unrest? Believe God and verify His promises, or disbelieve Him and “make Him a liar?” You are doing one or the other. (See 1 John 5:10.) Fully yield and fully trust Him now. As you value your soul, your usefulness and happiness; as you prize freedom from the fallen nature and efficiency in soul-winning work; as you revere God’s commandments and appreciate the provision He has made for your complete cleansing; as you wish to please Him, and finally sweep triumphantly through the gates washed in the blood of the Lamb, just now having laid all on the altar and gotten the witness to that fact, boldly step out on the promises and dare, in Jesus’ name and through His blood, to claim the Double Cure.

While everybody receiving the Double Cure may not have the same ecstatic experience, yet all may know that the work is done, and abide in the perfect soul rest that remains for all of God’s people. May each reader divinely led here and now from the heart yield all to Jesus, trust Him this moment to fully sanctify, and henceforth by His grace be living witnesses of the power and blessedness of the “Double Cure.”

 

How Retained

It is one thing to be healed and another to retain health and develop growth and strength. The Double Cure is not designed to be an end, but the means to a greater end. If the soul health it brings is not preserved then its benefits are lost. If they are preserved then the soul will grow in grace and increase in strength, enjoyment and usefulness forever. Certain spiritual laws had to be complied with to obtain the Double Cure. The same compliance is needed to retain it and secure the development and maturity which should follow. May the following hints for preserving soul health prove helpful:

Beware of self-confidence. Lean hard on Jesus; He only can keep you. For Satan is not dead, and will do his utmost to sever your union with Christ. All must be kept on God's altar.

 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7.)

That “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8.) That “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

That He “Is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” (Ephesians 8:20.)

That God “Is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy..... to whom be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.

Amen.” (Jude 24, 25.)

You can see that the above theme is continued constancy and diligence in the great themes of the faith: faith, prayer and abiding in Him.

  

Kept

Kept for Jesus and His glory,

I may every moment be

Kept by Jesus through His power,

Freely flowing unto me.

 

Kept from sin and needless sighing,

Kept from fear and doubt and pride,

Kept thro’ trials sharp and many,

Kept by Jesus crucified

 

Kept ‘mid all the world’s allurements,

Kept when passions strongly plead;

Kept ‘mid storm and persecution,

Kept in every time of need.

 

Kept when all around seems failing,

Kept when friends unfaithful prove;

Kept, and sweetly kept, by Jesus,

Happy in His perfect love.

 

M. W. Knapp, in Tears and Triumph --

 

From: “The Double Cure”  by Martin Wells Knapp