There was a man, in the days of the horse and buggy, by the name of James. He was a very good man. He had never harmed anyone. He professed to keep the commandments and thought that if anybody ought to go to heaven, he was the man. He had a good job as a coachman with a fine Christian master. Many a time, his master tried to tell him that he needed a Saviour. He did not know how deceptive his heart really was. He thought he kept the law—and what more was needed? "James," said his master one day, "If you can keep the law for half an hour, I’ll give you that fine brown horse of mine that you like so much." "Oh, thank you Sir! That is so good of you. I can easily keep the law for half an hour, for I always keep it." "All right. You go up to the hay loft over the stable, and stay there for half-an-hour, and I’ll lock you in so nobody can come and tempt you. If you keep the law for the half hour, the horse is yours." "I don’t know how to thank you, Sir. That horse sure is a beauty," said James, as he climbed the ladder to the hayloft. The half-hour soon passed, and down came James. "Well, how did you get along?" "Fine, thank you sir! And I certainly do want to thank you for that splendid horse." "And what did you do while you were in the hayloft?" "Oh, I was just thinking." "What were you thinking about?" "Why, to tell the truth, sir, I was just thinking that as you’re so good as to give me the horse, maybe you would let me have the saddle too; for you see, sir, the horse is not much use without the saddle." "Oh James, James. I am sorry to say I cannot even give you the horse. The law says, ‘Thou shalt not covet,’ and you were coveting all the time you were up in the loft. You have not kept the law for even half an hour, how much less for all your life!"

At this juncture, we can remember the words of Jesus in John 15:5: "for without me ye can do nothing." So for today, we would like to consider what part does God perform in our salvation and what does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit for we are told: "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30.

There are many precious promises in God’s holy word. Every single one of these if you have noticed, are given upon conditions. Let’s take one example from the last chapter: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city." We can inherit eternal life with the holy City of God if we keep the commandments of God. This is just like the promise of the horse to James. Unlike the deal with James, though, the opposite is true if we do not keep them. "And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whosoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life." Revelation 22:14; 21:27. Not only shall they not enter in but: "behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Malachi 4:1.

This is a hard saying indeed, for which of us have never sinned? "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. There is record of only One of whom it can be said that He "did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." It was the man Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 2:21, 22.

Since this is the case with man, how can we be allowed to enter into the kingdom of God if we have sin on us; and yes, even one will keep us out! "How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?" Job 25:4. To be justified means to be pronounced free from guilt or blame. Do any of us deserve to be justified? "Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm." Job 25:5, 6.

Why is it that we are so undeserving? Because the "Heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9. Since we are so wicked in our heart that even "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," "Who," then, "can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." Isaiah 64:6, Job 14:4. If we look to the human race or to ourselves, we are all without hope. This we saw clearly in the last chapter.

But wait. David said, "As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me." Psalm 55:16. This is again repeated in Acts 2:21: "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." What hope! What comforting words are here given! We are not left without hope. How much we can praise Him. It rests with Him who introduced the new covenant to save us if we call upon him and reason together.

But how can I in my sinfulness call upon His holy name? Verse 17 of the Psalm we just read gives the answer. "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice." We need to come to the Lord in prayer. "If they sin against thee, (For there is no man which sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee." 2 Chronicles 6:36-39.

We are promised that if we would only pray, He would hear us. But what are we to pray for? "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19. We are to pray that our sins be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come. In this, we have the example of David when he prayed: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." Psalm 51:1.

As we have received forgiveness from sin, we have repented. But how do we get to the point to repent? "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Acts 5:30, 31. We all knew that salvation is a gift of God and that we cannot buy it; but did we realize that repentance also is a gift? You see, a desperately sinful man does not desire to repent so he first needs to see his need and be convinced that he needs repentance. This work is difficult indeed—really impossible on our own. So with whom is it left to do this work? Notice this: "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 convince the world of sin." John 16:7, 8 margin.

It is true that the Lord has left His people in this world to call sin by its right name and to cry "aloud" and to "spare not." To lift "up thy voice like a trumpet, and to shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isaiah 58:1. But we can cry as much and as loud as we want; but if the Comforter is not present, the people will not be convinced. That work is one of the special duties of the Comforter and not of any one else. But who is this Comforter? "But the Comforter, which is the holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26.

Since His work is so very important and without which it is vain to preach, Jesus gave some special instructions together with a promise to the disciples before He ascended: Behold, "I send the promise of the Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8.

So we are led to repentance through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Thus if we reject the Holy Spirit, there is no more hope for us; for without Him, we cannot repent, and all the preaching in the world would be in vain.

Another important work for the Holy Spirit to do is found in John 16:13: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." Without Him, we can never be led into all truth. Let us see how important it is to be led into all truth. Who is the truth? Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6. Jesus is the truth and by Him only we can come to the Father. If we reject the Holy Spirit, we can never come to Christ and thus never come to God. Thus, we are lost.

One more thing we may add in this respect. "These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Timothy 3:14, 15. Since the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, and since the church of the living God is the pillar and ground of the truth, then, if we reject the work of the Holy Spirit, we will be led into the wrong church. On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to be led of the Holy Ghost, He will guide us to the true church of God here on earth.

We can see clearly, that without the aid of the Spirit of God, we are utterly helpless for it is He that ever gives us that desire to be made right with God. This is why we have a warning in this respect recorded by the Lord: "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Matthew 12:31, 32. Another warning we can repeat is: "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God." Ephesians 4:30.

If "we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Hebrews 10:26, 27. "What constitutes the sin against the Holy Ghost? It is willfully attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit. For example, suppose that one is a witness of the special work of the Spirit of God. He has convincing evidence that the work is in harmony with the Scriptures, and the Spirit witnesses with his spirit that it is of God. Afterward, however, he falls under temptation; pride, self-sufficiency, or some other evil trait, controls him; and rejecting all the evidence of its divine character, he declares that that which he had before acknowledged to be the power of the Holy Spirit was the power of Satan. It is through the medium of His Spirit that God works upon the human heart; and when men willfully reject the Spirit and declare it to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. By denying the evidence which God has been pleased to give them, they shut out the light which had been shining in their hearts, and as the result they are left in darkness. Thus the words of Christ are verified: "If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:23). For a time, persons who have committed this sin may appear to be children of God; but when circumstances arise to develop character and show what manner of spirit they are of, it will be found that they are on the enemy’s ground, standing under his black banner." Vol. 5, Testimonies for the Church, p. 634:1.

Again, the Holy Spirit is given to convict men of their sin. What happens if, instead of repenting, when the Holy Spirit convicts them, they cover up the sins? "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13. Does this mean that if we cover our sins "once" we are eternally lost? Let us get an understanding of these things.

Paul tells us, "While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your harts." Hebrews 3:15. There is such a thing as the hardening of a heart. The Israelites of old, sinned. After they sinned, God sent them a message through a prophet to repent. They rejected the prophet and continued their sin. The Lord did not let them go instantly but sent them more prophets. "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against this people, till there was no remedy." 2 Chronicles 36:16. Here we see that it was not just one single instance and then no remedy but it was continually rejecting the pleadings of the Spirit of God till there was no remedy.

The question may be justly asked, Why do people desire to go in this way? The Bible also gives us this answer. As it answers this perplexing question, let us ask ourselves whether we are on this way and if so, let us take heed and surrender ourselves to the Lord without delay. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 14:12. Many times we are satisfied only to go in a way that seems right, but this will lead us only to death. We must go in a way that is right. We can only do this by searching the Scriptures diligently and by accepting the guiding counsels of the Holy Spirit.

Another reason is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11: "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." It is not enough to just have the truth. We may be correct in all our doctrinal beliefs but this is not enough if we do not love the truth. If we just have an indisputable truth, we shall finally come to the point where we will actually believe a lie and fight against the truth. As we persistently reject this love of the truth and then are led to believe a lie, the Holy Spirit will finally have to declare: "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone." Hosea 4:17. Since the Holy Spirit is no longer with us and since we believe a lie, then Proverbs 28:9 is fulfilled: "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." This becomes inevitable because "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered." Romans 8:26. Once this stage is reached, the man is hopeless. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Hebrews 6:4-6.

What happens to a soul at this point then? "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed in her wallowing in the mire." 2 Peter 2:20-22.

How can we know if we have gone too far to turn back? From what we have seen, if we can still hear the call to repentance, we know we are not too far. Do you hear the Lord calling you? Do you hear that still small voice telling you: "This is the way, walk ye in it"? Isaiah 30:21. If so, you are not too far. You still have time on your side. At times we may even have to pray like David: "Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy Spirit from me, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit." Psalm 51:11, 12. This is the voice of the Lord calling us.

But let us not misuse this voice. If we neglect its calling, there may come a day when we shall desire to hear the word of the Lord: "Behold the day come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11, 12. We shall desire but we shall not hear. We shall pray, but He shall not answer. We will then know that the "harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Jeremiah 8:20. Woe unto us if this day comes upon us unawares. "Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts." Hebrews 3:7, 8.