ABOUT 1900

ABOUT 1900

MY DEAR BROTHER, — ... I gladly send a few lines as to the matter in question. Mr. — came here to give an address and stayed the night in this house. Before he left in the morning we had our usual reading, the Scripture to which we had come being Acts 19. I remarked that probably Paul might feel inclined to ask the same question as in verse 2 if he came amongst certain “disciples” today. I went on to say it was important that the risen Christ should be preached so that souls might believe on Him and really be with God on the ground of another Man, even the One raised from the dead for their justification. I thought this was the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and that the Spirit was given consequently upon their believing in Christ. It is in Him that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.

I said that in my own case, when I began to break bread, I believed that Jesus had died for me, and therefore I should never perish, but it was not until some time afterwards that I saw with great delight that everything connected with me

^[p. 36] as a ruined sinner had been dealt with in the death of Christ, and that the risen One was my righteousness and that I could be with God entirely on the ground of what Christ was.

This I believed to be the time when I received the Spirit. I had preached before this in my small measure, doing what Apollos did — that is, making known the grace of God so far as I knew it myself.

This is the substance of what was said. — to my surprise, objected, and said he thought I had the Spirit before. I am sorry for those who denounce this as “bad doctrine” ...

Yours affectionately,