And now for my experiences at Round Lake. I believe I had learned before the lesson that everything is in Christ, and that apart from Him I have absolutely nothing. But I had not yet found out what there is in Him. Like a person who knows that all their treasures are stored up in the different chambers of a beautiful temple, but has not yet opened some of the chambers, and consequently is in ignorance of the full extent of his possessions, so I had never apprehended one part of my riches in Christ, and that a very important part. I think my theological notions had stood somewhat in my way. I had never believed that the carnal nature could be utterly cast out of a soul. I knew it could be kept under and conquered; but I supposed its presence was an unavoidable necessity while on this earth. I learned at Round Lake that it might be cast out!Let me illustrate. Here is a man in his castle with strong walls and massive gates. An enemy from without is seeking to gain an entrance. The castle however is impregnable and the enemy would be forever baffled, but for the presence of a traitor inside the castle, who, no matter how closely he is watched, will find means every now and then to steal down and open the gates and admit the enmemy. What is needed to make security invariably safe is to have this inside enemy cast out of the castle, and the gates barred against him. The justified soul is in this castle, and his inside enemy is the carnal nature, or the “body of sin.” While that remains inside he never can get a complete or continuous victory.But can this inside enemy be got rid of? Is he not an inevitable companion of our life in the body? I have always thought he was. I see now that he is not. I see that Jesus died to rid us of this very enemy, and that those who trust Him for this wonderful deliverance, do really experience it. They are made “pure in heart,” through the cleansing power of the blood of Christ.I do not think I ever taught this, and I know I never trusted Jesus for it before, because I was ignorant of its being a part of the purchased salvation. But I thank God that now I do trust my mighty Saviour for even this great deliverance, and that it has brought me “perfect peace”.—To Anna, September 6, 1871Smith, Hannah Whitall ; Dieter, Melvin Easterday: The Christian's Secret of a Holy Life : The Unpublished Personal Writings of Hannah Whitall Smith. Oak Harbor : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, S. June 18%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%Hannah Whitall Smith wrote the above devotional in 1871.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 - "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
In 1871 (and in all the years before and after) people have struggled with sin...the same way we struggle with sin today. I love the way Hannah writes about this traitor that is living inside the fortress.
The question that each one of us needs to answer for ourselves (and before God), is:
How bad do you want to get rid of that traitor?
How hard will you work to get rid of that traitor?
I pray that my desire to get rid of that traitor increases.
David
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