In our studies in the New Testament, we have found two grounds for special thanksgiving.

The first is that this precious volume is not limited to the four Gospels. It is true that these contain in germ form every truth of Christianity. But it is also true that they do not comprise, except in promise, any account of the marvelous completion of the system in the gift of the Paraclete, and that enlargement of privilege, deepening of experience, and perfection of spiritual life, which accompanied that crowning endowment of believers in Jesus Christ as the revelation of God. If there had been after his ascension no inspired and accredited record of the communication of God in the Holy Spirit, and of doctrines authoritatively unfolded and applied to human needs, the glorious gospel would have gone forth on its conquering career weighted with disabilities fatal to its success. It would have been like the angel of the Apocalypse trying to fly in the midst of heaven with clipped wings. But the Head of the church, in giving Christianity a good start, extended its inspired record beyond the earthly life of its Divine Founder. In fact, the pentecostal dispensation occupies more than half of the New Testament. A second topic of gratitude is found in the capacity and character of the man providentially called to lift the gospel out of the entanglements of Judaism, to cut the umbilical cord of the infant evangel, and send it forth on its universal mission.

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, was not only qualified to state the gospel clearly and defend it heroically, but to exemplify perfectly the full extent of its saving power. More than this, he was not, through a false modesty, ashamed to disclose and record his own interior experiences; first of conscious child-innocence (Rom. 7:9), then of an irksome and worthless legalism (Rom. 7:10-25), then of justification (1 Tim. 1:13), then the witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8:15), followed by the inward revelation of Christ — spiritual crucifixion and holy living. (Gal. 1:16; 2:20; 1 Thess. 2:10.)

After the four Gospels, two-thirds of the residue of the New Testament are made up of the history of St. Paul's ministry and his epistles, including the letter to the Hebrews. More than a third of the entire volume relates to the Apostle to the Gentiles. This is a sufficient reason for ranking next to the life of Christ in the education of the Christian minister, the "Portrait of St. Paul," especially that of which John Fletcher is the limner. I take this opportunity to acknowledge publicly that this book — now in the course of study for local preachers in the Methodist Episcopal Church — has had a large place among the influences which have molded my religious character. A sense of indebtedness to this great apostle has prompted me to prepare this series of Bible Readings, founded so largely on his epistles, "wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and the unsteadfast wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction." I have endeavored to expose this wresting and perversion of the truth in the interest of those who deny the possibility of holiness in this life. It is one of my aims in this book to present in popular form those results of modern scholarship which clear away misinterpretations alleged to lie against that perfection of the believer which he is commanded to seek and to obtain in the present life.

We shall not finish our expression of special thanksgiving, till we have mentioned the longevity of the beloved apostle, the latest surviving eye-witness of the incarnate Son of God, and to lift up his voice against errors which were corrupting the doctrines and ethics of the gospel of purity.

It is our purpose to rescue a text in John's first epistle from the strange work to which it has been put, a work repugnant to John's character, and contradictory to the tenor of his teaching — the doctrine that sin as a conscious inward experience must be constantly confessed.

Finally, we purpose to show, from both the Old Testament and the New, that not a word has been inspired by the Holy Spirit which excuses or extenuates sin, and that the salvation which God has provided in the mediation of his Son, and the gift of his Spirit, reaches man's deepest need, delivering the persevering believer from the guilt of sin, the love of sin, and the pollution of sin.

Dr. Daniel Steele, Professor of Theology in Boston University, was one of the spiritual and intellectual giants of the Wesleyan movement. He has been described as the most scholarly teacher or preacher of the holiness movement in America. What is more important, it is well known that he was a man of great personal conviction and holy living.

The present rebirth of interest in the writings and work of Dr. Steele is no accident. The present vacuum in holiness literature and the invasion of creeping Calvinism in method and theology have made it imperative to revive the works of the eminent holiness writers of another day.

It is fitting and proper that writings of Dr. Steele be reprinted and published far and wide. Shallow Calvinism is once again on the march. The prominent evangelists of our day subscribe to the position that "those who testify to being sanctified wholly lie, and know they lie when they so testify." In "Half Hours," Daniel Steele answers their silly prittle-prattle direct from the inspired pages of the Word of God. He not only defeats the enemy on the field of battle, but by inspired exposition he attacks their refuge of lies and follows them to their hiding place.

The writings of Dr. Steele are Gibraltars of truth founded upon the impregnable Word of God. If you own his "Mile-stone Papers," "Gospel of the Cormforter," "Jesus Exultant," or "HALF HOURS WITH ST. PAUL" you have the foundation of a real holiness library.

I count it a great privilege to have a small part in the reprinting of this, another holiness classic.

H. E. Schmul