of this it may be seen that
the order of the doctrinal Epistles is first, to state a great
Positional Truth, which is then followed by an appeal for a life
consistent with the truth revealed. The first great section of the book
of Romans (Chapters 1-8), sets forth the fact of a great and full
salvation; this is followed (omitting the dispensational parenthesis of
Chapters 9-11) by the closing section (Chapters 12-16), which is a
detailed description of the life a saved person should live, and which
opens with this appeal: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
minds, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God." So, in the first section of the letter to the Ephesians
(Chapters 1-3), the believer's position is unfolded, and this is
followed by a section (Chapters 4-6), which is a series of injunctions
for a heavenly walk; this section opens as follows: "I therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long
suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace." No appeal for faithfulness in the
Christian life will be found to be adequate or effective that does not
follow this same order, or that is not based upon some great revealed
fact of the new life in Christ. It is probable that the present neglect
and disregard for Positional Truth has, in spite of moral exhortation,
borne its legitimate fruit in a time-serving worldly Church.

It is a beautiful example of the harmony of the Scriptures that, while
the evil of the present age is so-clearly described, the true child of
God is most carefully separated from its relationships, and is seen to
be in a position so independent of all the authority of the world, that
he can walk with the Lord in unbroken communion and fellowship, even
while surrounded by this spiritual darkness. And, though the Scriptural
statements as to the ever increasing darkness of this age be rejected,
no meaning can be given to these passages that separate the believer
from this world, without the recognition of the black background of the
failure and sinfulness of this age. It is noticeable that the modern
s