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THE
NEW LIFE by
John Marshall
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Chapter
16 • MODESTY IN ALL THINGS
It
is through this love of God and neighbour, through bearing
the name of God and of Jesus, that we become warm bright lights
in the world, drawing men at times to glorify God. This is
the transformation in us that the new life should reveal;
this is the new man manifested to the world that men may see
and know that we are of God.
This divine responsibility should discipline us in every aspect
of life: in the ecclesia "that thou mayest know how men
ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the
church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth";
and as an overseer of the ecclesia where one should' be not
only a gentle man, ruling one's own house well and humbly,
but should "have a good testimony from them that are
without (outside)". Thus we should never be guilty of
quarrels, irritations or immodesties of speech, behaviour
or dress in the ecclesia, nor should they be displayed for
the gaze of the world, for it is through such that the name
of God may be blasphemed.
The new life with all its diversities of experience and suffering
is the training and preparation for our tasks in the life
to come, and the godly man is one in all circumstances. The
crucified Jesus is our example of suffering and of thought
for others even in his dying moments and if we can truly follow
him and take up with such assurance our own cross, we need
have no fears: we shall always "walk in wisdom toward
them that are without, redeeming the time";" we
shall always "love the brethren" and we shall always
live with modesty in all things.
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References
1 Tim 3v15 RV, 1 Tim 3v7, Col 4v5
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Chapter
17 • GOOD WORKS
THE spiritual life devoid of good works would be as useless as a
lamp without light. But what are we to understand by good works?
Obviously they must be of the kind that will be pleasing to the
Father, and Jesus gives us some guidance in this matter. When he
was asked: "What must we do, that we may work the works of
God?" he answered the multitude near Capernaum: "This
is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
In saying this Jesus opened up for the people the vast storehouse
of Scripture in which the prophets, from Moses onwards, had written
of him.
These prophets, who revealed the will of God, had shown that all
things centred on Jesus. He was the focal point of all history and
of all creation, and the "appointed heir of all things".
Hence devotion to the Word of God is the supremely good work, pleasing
to Him and profitable to the reader "for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness; that
the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every
good work".
The parable of the ten virgins emphasizes this in a particularly
vivid way. Each of them had a lamp. When we remember how heavily
Jesus drew on the Scriptures, the allusion becomes obvious: "Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet." And each virgin trimmed her lamp.
The Greek word is kosmeo
and means trim, adorn, beautify. Our word cosmetics is derived from
this, but whereas people who use cosmetics beautify themselves,
in the parable the virgins adorned or beautified their lamps, that
is the Word. This we do also when we bind our minds in a deep devotion
to it. And this is a good work in the best spiritual sense.
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References
1 John 6v28-29 RV, 2 Tim 3v16-17 RV, Matt 25v1-13,
Psa 119v105
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