The New Life

Grieving the Spirit.
Jesus and of the Holy Spirit to overcome temper.*
Confess the sin : God shall cleanse you from it.
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.
Then there is stealing : all sin against the property
or possession of my neighbor : all deception and dishonesty
in trade, whereby I do wrong to my neighbor,
and seek my own advantage at his cost. The
law of Christ is love whereby I seek the advantage of
my neighbor as well as my own. O the love of money
and property, which is inseparable from self-seeking
—it is incompatible with the leading of the Holy
Spirit. The Christian must be a man who is known
as honest to the back-bone, righteous, and loving his
neighbor as himself.'*
Then says the apostle: " «(? corrupt speech—but
such as is good for edifying as the case maybe."
Even the tongue of God's child belongs to his Lord,
He must be known by his mode of speech. By his
speaking, he can grieve or please the Spirit. The
sanctified tongue is a blessing not only to his neighbors,
but to the speaker himself. Foul talk, idle
words, foolish jests—they grieve the Holy Spirit.
They make it impossible for the Spirit to sanctify
and to comfort and to fill the heart with the love of
God.3
Young Christian, I pray you, grieve not the Holy
Spirit of God by these or other sins. If you have
^Matt. xi. 29; I Cor. vi. 19, 20; Gal. vi. 1 ; Epb. ii. 16, 17 ; Col.
i. 8 ; 2 Tim. i. 12.
2 Luke vi. 31 ; Rom. xiii. 10 ; i Thess. iv. 6.
3 Prov. X. 19, 20, 21, 31, xviii. 20 ;
Eccles. v. i, 2 ; Matt. xii. 36 ,-
Bph. V. 4 ;
Jas. iii. 9, iq.