A good man does not mean a faultless man. Of course the power which works on a believing soul is always tending to produce goodness and only goodness. But its operation is not such that we are always equally, uniformly, perfectly under its influence. Power in germ is one thing, in actual operation another. There may be but a little ragged patch of green in the garden, and yet it may be on its way to become a flower-bed. A king may not have established dominion over all his land. The actual operation of that transforming Spirit at any given moment is limited, and we can withdraw ourselves from it. It does not begin by leavening all our nature.
So we have to note--The root of goodness.
The main direction of a life.
The highest style of Christian life is a struggle. So we draw practical inferences as to the conduct of life.
This thought of imperfection does not diminish the criminality of individual acts.
It does not weaken aspiration and effort towards higher life.
It does alleviate our doubts and fears when we find evil in ourselves.
