The All-Sufficiency of Christ. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. I
by Charles Henry Mackintosh · English · Gutenberg #41502 · 579,896 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The All-Sufficiency of Christ. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. I
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: The All-Sufficiency of Christ. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. I
Author: Charles Henry Mackintosh
Release date: November 28, 2012 [eBook #41502]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41502
Credits: Produced by Júlio Reis, Moisés S. Gomes, Julia Neufeld and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST. MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS OF C. H. MACKINTOSH, VOL. I ***
Transcriber's note:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained
except in obvious cases of typographical error.
The word "over" is missing in the original: "The Father has given Him
power over all flesh."
* * * * *
MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS
of C.H.M.
The
All-Sufficiency
of Christ
_Miscellaneous Writings of_
C. H. MACKINTOSH
_Volume 1_
LOIZEAUX BROTHERS
_Neptune, New Jersey_
FIRST EDITION 1898
ELEVENTH PRINTING 1966
LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, Inc., PUBLISHERS
_A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work
and to the Spread of His Truth_
19 WEST 21ST STREET, NEW YORK 10, N. Y.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Pages
FORGIVENESS OF SINS: WHAT IS IT? 3-22
REGENERATION: WHAT IS IT? 3-32
IN THE FATHER'S HOUSE--_Poem_
SANCTIFICATION: WHAT IS IT? 3-22
FINAL PERSEVERANCE: WHAT IS IT? 3-24
A SACRED UNION--_Poem_
NOW AND THEN; OR, TIME AND ETERNITY 3-34
THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST 3-48
JOB AND HIS FRIENDS 3-70
WHAT RAISED THE WONDROUS THOUGHT?--_Poem_
THE BIBLE: ITS SUFFICIENCY AND SUPREMACY 3-14
CHRISTIANITY: WHAT IS IT? 15-26
JEHOSHAPHAT: A WORD ON WORLD-BORDERING 3-30
LIFE AND TIMES OF JOSIAH 3-87
_The original numbering of these writings has been retained.
Many of the above may be had separately in pamphlet form._
FORGIVENESS OF SINS
WHAT IS IT?
Oh, the blessedness! transgression forgiven--sin covered! This truly
is blessedness; and without this, blessedness must be unknown. To have
the full assurance that my sins are all forgiven is the only
foundation of true happiness. To be happy without this is to be happy
on the brink of a yawning gulf, into which I may at any moment be
dashed forever. It is utterly impossible that any one can enjoy solid
happiness until he is possessed of the divine assurance that all his
guilt has been canceled by the blood of the cross. Uncertainty as to
this must be the fruitful source of mental anguish to any soul who has
ever been led to feel the burden of sin. To be in doubt as to whether
my guilt was all borne by Jesus, or is yet on my conscience, is to be
miserable.
Now, before proceeding to unfold the subject of forgiveness, I should
like to ask my reader a very plain, pointed, personal question,
namely, Dost thou believe that thou canst have the clear and settled
assurance that thy sins are forgiven? I ask this question at the
outset, because there are many, now-a-days, who profess to preach the
gospel of Christ, and yet deny that any one can be sure that his sins
are forgiven. They maintain that it is presumption for any one to
believe in the forgiveness of his sins; and, on the other hand, they
look upon it as a proof of humility to be always in doubt as to this
most momentous point. In other words, it is presumption to believe
what God says, and humility to doubt it. This seems strange in the
face of such passages as the following: "Thus it is written, and thus
it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day;
and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His
name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke xxiv. 46, 47);
"In whom _we have_ redemption through His blood, _the forgiveness of
sins_, according to the riches of His grace." (Eph. i. 7; Col. i. 14.)
Here we have remission, or forgiveness, of sins (the word is the same
in the three passages) preached in the name of Jesus, and possessed by
those who believed that preaching. A proclamation was sent to the
Ephesians and Colossians, as belonging to the "all nations," telling
them of forgiveness of sins, in the name of Jesus. They believed this
proclamation, and entered on the possession of the forgiveness of
sins. Was this presumption on their part? or would it have been piety
and humility to doubt the forgiveness of sins? True, they had been
great sinners--"dead in trespasses and sins," "children of wrath,"
"aliens and foreigners," "enemies by wicked works." Some of them had
doubtless bowed the knee to Diana. They had lived in gross idolatry
and all manner of wickedness. But then, "forgiveness of sins" had been
preached to them in the name of Jesus. Was this preaching true, or
was it not? Was it for them, or was it not? Was it all a dream--a
shadow--a myth? Did it mean nothing? Was there nothing sure, nothing
certain, nothing solid about it?
These are plain questions, demanding a plain answer from those who
assert that no one can know for certain that his sins are forgiven.
If, indeed, no one can know it now, then how could any one have known
it in apostolic times? If it could be known in the first century, then
why not in the nineteenth? "David describeth the blessedness of the
man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
(Rom. iv. 6-8.) Hezekiah could say, "Thou _hast cast all my sins_
behind Thy back." (Isaiah xxxviii. 17.) The Lord Jesus said to one, in
His day, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." (Matt.
ix. 2.)
Thus at all times forgiveness of sins was known with all the certainty
which the word of God could give. Any one of the cases aduced above is
sufficient to overthrow the teaching of those who assert that _no one_
can know that his sins are forgiven. If I find from Scripture that any
one ever knew this marvelously precious blessing, that is quite enough
for me. Now, when I open my Bible, I find persons who had been guilty
of all manner of sins brought to the knowledge of forgiveness; and I
therefore argue that it is possible for the very vilest sinner to know
now, with divine certainty, that his sins are forgiven. Was it
presumption in Abraham, in David, in Hezekiah, in the palsied man,
and in numbers besides, to believe in the forgiveness of sins? Would
it have been a sign of humility and true piety in them to doubt? It
will perhaps be argued that these were all special and extraordinary
cases. Well, it matters not, so far as our present question is
concerned, whether they were ordinary or extraordinary. One thing is
plain--they completely disprove the assertion that _no one_ can know
that his sins are forgiven. The word of God teaches me that numbers,
subject to like passions, like infirmities, like failures, and like
sins as the writer and reader, were brought to know and rejoice in the
full forgiveness of sins; and hence those who maintain that no one can
be sure on this momentous question have no scriptural foundation for
their opinion.
But is it true that the cases recorded in the Holy Scriptures are so
special and extraordinary as not to afford any precedent for us? By no
means. If any case could be so regarded, it is surely that of Abraham,
and yet of him we read that "it was not written for his sake alone,
that righteousness was imputed to him: _but for us also_, to whom it
shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised
again for our justification." (Rom. iv. 23-25.) Abraham "believed in
the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness." (Gen. xv. 6.)
And the Holy Ghost declares that righteousness shall be imputed to us
also if we believe,--"Be it known unto you therefore, men and
brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things
from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts xiii.
38, 39.); "To Him give _all the prophets_ witness, that through His
name _whosoever believeth_ in Him shall receive remission of sins."
(Acts x. 43.)
Now, the question is, What did the apostles Peter and Paul mean when
they so unreservedly preached the forgiveness of sins to those who
listened to them? Did they really mean to convey to their hearers the
idea that no one could be sure that he possessed this forgiveness of
sins? When in the synagogue of Antioch, Paul said to his audience, "We
declare unto you _glad tidings_," did he entertain the notion that no
one could be sure that his sins were forgiven? How could the gospel
ever be called "glad tidings" if its only effect were to leave the
soul in doubt and anxiety? If indeed it be true that no one can enjoy
the assurance of pardon, then the whole style of apostolic preaching
should be reversed. We might then expect to find Paul saying to his
hearers, Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that no one
can ever know, in this life, whether his sins are forgiven or not. Is
there aught like this in the entire range of apostolic preaching and
teaching? Do not the apostles everywhere set forth, in the fullest and
clearest manner, remission of sins as the necessary result of
believing in a crucified and risen Saviour? Is there the most remote
hint of that which is so much insisted upon by some modern teachers,
namely, that it is a dangerous presumption to believe in the full
forgiveness of all our sins, and that it argues a pious and humble
frame of soul to live in perpetual doubt? Is there no possibility of
ever enjoying, in this world, the comfortable certainty of our eternal
security in Christ? Can we not rely upon God's word, or commit our
souls to the sacrifice of Christ? Can it be possible that the only
effect of God's glad tidings is to leave the soul in hopeless
perplexity? Christ has put away sin; but I cannot know it! God has
spoken; but I cannot be sure! The Holy Ghost has come down; but I
cannot rely upon His testimony! It is piety and humility to doubt
God's word, to dishonor the atonement of Christ, and to refuse the
faith of the heart to the record of the Holy Ghost! Alas! alas! if
this is the gospel, then adieu to peace and joy in believing. If this
is Christianity, then in vain has "the dayspring from on high visited
us, to give the knowledge of salvation through the remission of our
sins." (Luke i.) If no one can have this "knowledge of salvation,"
then to what end has it been given?
And let my reader bear in mind that the question before us is not
whether a person may not deceive himself and others. This would be at
once conceded. Thousands, alas! have deceived themselves, and
thousands more have deceived others; but is that any reason why I
cannot possess the absolute certainty that what God has said is true,
and that the work of Christ has availed to put away all my sins?
Men have deceived themselves, and therefore I am afraid to trust
Christ! Men have deceived others, and therefore I am afraid that God's
word will deceive me! This is really what it all amounts to, when put
into plain language. And is it not well to have things thus put? Is it
not needful, at times, to strip certain propositions of the dress in
which legality and fleshly pietism would clothe them, so that we may
see what they are? Does it not behove us, when men stand forth as the
professed and authorized exponents of a sound and enlightened
Christianity, to test what they say by the unerring standard of Holy
Scripture? Assuredly it does. And if they tell us we can never be sure
of salvation; and that it is presumption to think of such a thing;
and, further, that the very utmost we can attain to in this life is a
faint hope that, through the mercy of God, we may get to heaven when
we die; we must utterly reject such teaching, as being in direct
opposition to the Word of God. False theology tells me I can never be
sure, God's Word tells me I can. Which am I to believe? The former
fills me with gloomy doubts and fears; the latter imparts divine
certainty. That casts me upon my own efforts; this, upon a finished
work. To which shall I attend? Is there a shadow of foundation,
throughout the entire volume of God, for the notion that no one can be
sure of his eternal salvation? I most fearlessly assert there is not.
So far from this, the Word of God, in every section of it, sets before
us, in the clearest way, the privilege of the believer to enjoy the
most unclouded certainty as to his pardon and acceptance in Christ.
And, let me ask, is it not due to God's faithful Word and Christ's
finished work, that the soul confiding therein should enjoy the
fullest assurance? True, it is by faith that any one can so confide,
and this faith is wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost. But all
this in nowise affects our present question. What I desire is, that my
reader should rise from the study of this paper with a full and firm
conviction that it is possible for him to possess the present
assurance that he is as safe as Christ can make him. If any sinner
ever enjoyed this assurance, then why may not my reader now enjoy it?
Is Christ's work finished? Is God's Word true? Yes, verily. Then, if I
simply trust therein, I am pardoned, justified and accepted. All my
sins were laid on Jesus when He was nailed to the cursed tree. Jehovah
made them all meet on Him. He bore them and put them away, and now He
is up in heaven without them. This is enough for me. If the One who
stood charged with _all_ my guilt is now at the right hand of the
Majesty in the heavens, then, clearly, there is nothing against me.
All that divine justice had against me was laid on the Sin-bearer, and
He endured the wrath of a sin-hating God that I might be freely and
forever pardoned and accepted in a risen and glorified Saviour.
These are glad tidings. Does my reader believe them? Say, beloved,
dost thou heartily believe in a dead and risen Christ? Hast thou come
to Him as a lost sinner, and put thy heart's full confidence in Him?
Does thou believe that "He died for our sins according to the
Scripture, and that He was buried and rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures"? If so, thou art saved, justified,
accepted, complete in Christ. True, thou art, in thyself, a poor
feeble creature, having an evil nature to contend with every moment;
but Christ is thy life, and He is thy wisdom, and thy righteousness,
thy sanctification, thy redemption, thy all. He ever lives for thee up
in heaven. He died to make thee clean. He lives to keep thee clean.
Thou art made as clean as His death can make thee, and thou art kept
as clean as His life can keep thee. He made Himself responsible for
thee. God sees thee to be what Christ has made thee to be. He sees
thee in Christ and as Christ. Wherefore, then, I pray thee, tread no
more those gloomy corridors of legalism, pietism, and false theology,
which have resounded for ages with the sighs and groans of poor
sin-burdened and misguided souls; but, seeing the fullness of thy
portion, and the completeness of thy standing in a risen and
victorious Christ, rejoice in Him all thy days upon earth, and live in
the hope of being with Him forever in His own mansions of heavenly
glory.
Having thus sought to establish the fact that it is possible for one
to know, upon divine authority, that his sins are forgiven, we shall
now, in dependence upon the teaching of the Spirit of God, proceed to
consider the subject of forgiveness of sins, as unfolded in the Word,
and, in doing so, we shall present it under the three following heads;
namely,
First, the _ground_ on which God forgives sins.
Secondly, the _extent_ to which He forgives sins.
Thirdly, the _style_ in which He forgives sins. There is value in this
threefold presentation, as it gives clearness, fullness and precision
to our apprehension of the subject as a whole. The more clearly we
understand the ground of divine forgiveness, the more shall we
appreciate the extent, and admire the style thereof.
May God the Spirit now be our guide while we ponder, for a little,
THE GROUND OF DIVINE FORGIVENESS.
It is of the very last importance that the anxious reader should
understand this cardinal point. It is quite impossible that a divinely
convicted conscience can enjoy true repose until the ground of
forgiveness is clearly seen. There may be certain vague thoughts
respecting the mercy and goodness of God, His readiness to receive
sinners and pardon their sins, His unwillingness to enter the place of
judgment, and His promptness to enter the place of mercy,--all this
there may be; but until the convicted soul is led to see how God can
be just and yet the Justifier--how He can be a just God and yet a
Saviour-God--how He has been glorified with respect to sin--how all
the divine attributes have been harmonized, it must be a stranger to
the peace of God which truly passeth all understanding. A conscience
on which the light of divine truth has poured itself in convicting
power, feels and owns that sin can never enter into the presence of
God--that sin, wherever it is found, can only be met by the just
judgment of a sin-hating God. Hence, until the divine method of
dealing with sin is understood and believed, there must be intense
anxiety. Sin is a reality, God's holiness is a reality, conscience is
a reality, judgment to come is a reality. All these things must be
looked at and duly considered. Justice must be satisfied; conscience,
purged; Satan, silenced. How is all this to be done? Only by the cross
of Jesus.
Here, then, we have the true ground of divine forgiveness. The
precious atonement of Christ forms the base of that platform on which
a just God and a justified sinner meet in sweet communion. In that
atonement I see sin condemned, justice satisfied, the law magnified,
the sinner saved, the adversary confounded. Creation never exhibited
aught like this. There, the creature enjoyed the manifestation of
power, wisdom and goodness; but the fairest fields of the old creation
presented nothing like "grace reigning through righteousness"--nothing
like a glorious combination of "righteousness and peace, mercy and
truth." It was reserved for Calvary to display all this. There, that
grand and all-important question, How can God be just and the
Justifier? received a glorious reply. The death of Christ furnishes
the answer. A just God dealt with sin at the cross, in order that a
justifying God might deal with the sinner on the new and everlasting
ground of resurrection. God could not tolerate or pass over a single
jot or tittle of sin; but He could put it away. He has condemned sin.
He has poured out His righteous wrath upon sin, in order that He might
pour the everlasting beams of His favor upon the believing sinner.
"On Jesus' cross this record's graved,
Let sin be judged and sinners saved."
Precious record! may every anxious sinner read it with the eye of
faith. It is a record which must impart settled peace to the heart.
God has been satisfied as to sin. This is enough for me. Here my
guilty, troubled conscience finds sweet repose. I have seen my sins
rising like a dark mountain before me, threatening me with eternal
wrath; but the blood of Jesus has blotted them all out from God's
view. They are gone, and gone forever--sunk as lead into the mighty
waters of divine forgetfulness, and I am free--as free as the One who
was nailed to the cross for my sins, but who is now on the throne
without them.
Such, then, is the ground of divine forgiveness. What a solid ground!
Who or what can touch it? Justice _has_ owned it. The troubled
conscience _may_ rest in it. Satan _must_ acknowledge it. God has
revealed Himself as a Justifier, and faith walks in the light and
power of that revelation. Nothing can be simpler, nothing clearer,
nothing more satisfactory. If God reveals Himself as a Justifier, then
I am justified through faith in the revelation. When the moral glories
of the cross shine upon the sinner, he sees and knows, believes and
owns, that the One who has judged his sins in death, has justified him
in resurrection.
Anxious reader, see, I beseech thee, that thou apprehendest the true
ground of the forgiveness of sins. There is no use in our proceeding
to consider the _extent_ and _style_ until thy poor troubled
conscience has been led to rest upon the imperishable _ground_ of
forgiveness. Let me reason with thee. What is to hinder thee, from
this very moment, resting on the foundation of accomplished atonement?
Say, does thy conscience need something more to satisfy it than that
which satisfied the inflexible justice of God? Is not the ground on
which God reveals Himself as a righteous Justifier sufficiently strong
for thee to stand upon as a justified sinner? What sayest thou,
friend? Art thou satisfied? Is Christ sufficient for thee? Art thou
still searching for something in thyself, thy ways, thy works, thy
thoughts, thy feelings? If so, give up the search as utterly vain.
Thou wilt never find any thing. And even though thou couldst find
something, it would only be an encumbrance, a loss, a hindrance.
Christ is sufficient for God, let Him be sufficient for thee likewise.
Then--but not until then--wilt thou be truly happy.
May God the Holy Ghost cause thee to rest, this moment, upon an
all-sufficient sacrifice, as the only ground of divine forgiveness, so
that thou mayest be able to enter, with real intelligence and
interest, upon the examination of the second point in our subject,
namely,--
THE EXTENT OF DIVINE FORGIVENESS.
Very many are perplexed as to this. They do not see the fullness of
the atonement; they do not grasp the emancipating fact of its
application to all their sins; they do not enter into the full force
of those lines, which perhaps they often sing,--
"All thine iniquities who doth
Most graciously forgive."
They seem to be under the impression that Christ only bore some of
their sins, namely, their sins up to the time of their conversion.
They are troubled as to the question of their daily sins, as if these
were to be disposed of upon a different ground from their past sins.
Thus they are at times much cast down and sorely beset. Nor could it
be otherwise with them until they see that in the death of Christ,
provision was made for the full forgiveness of ALL their sins. True it
is that the child of God who commits sin has to go to his Father and
confess that sin. But what does the apostle say in reference to one so
confessing his sins? "God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Now, why does he say,
"Faithful and just"? Why does he not say, "Gracious and merciful"?
Because he speaks on the ground that the entire question of sin was
gone into and settled by the death of Christ, who is now up in heaven
as the righteous Advocate. On no other ground could God be faithful
and just in connection with the forgiveness of sins. The sins of the
believer have _all_ been atoned for on the cross. If one had been left
out, he should be eternally lost, inasmuch as it is impossible that a
single sin, however trifling, can ever enter the precincts of the
sanctuary of God. And, further, let me add, if all the believer's sins
were not atoned for in the death of Christ, then, neither by
confession, nor by prayer, nor by fasting, nor by any other means,
could they ever be forgiven. The death of Christ is the _only_ ground
on which God could, in faithfulness and justice, forgive sin; and we
know He must either do it in faithfulness and justice, or not at all.
This is to His praise and our exceeding comfort.
But I can imagine my reader exclaiming, "What! do you mean to say that
my _future_ sins were all atoned for?" To this I reply that all our
sins were future when Christ bore them on the accursed tree. The sins
of all believers, for the last eighteen centuries, were future when
Christ died for them. Hence, if the idea of future sins presents a
difficulty in reference to what we may commit, if left here, it
presents just as great a difficulty in reference to what we have
committed.[1] But, in truth, all this perplexity about future sins
arises very much from the habit of looking at the cross from our own
point of view instead of God's--looking at it from earth instead of
from heaven. Scripture never speaks of future sins. Past, present, and
future are only human and earthly. All is an eternal now with God. All
our sins were before the eye of infinite Justice at the cross, and all
were laid on the head of Jesus, the Sin-bearer, who, by His death,
laid the eternal foundation of forgiveness of sins, in order that the
believer, at any moment of his life, at any point in his history, at
any stage of his career, from the time at which the hallowed tidings
of the gospel fall upon the ear of faith, until the moment in which he
steps into the glory, may be able to say, with clearness and decision,
without reserve, misgiving, or hesitation, "Thou hast cast all my sins
behind Thy back." To say this, is but faith's response to God's own
declaration, when He says, "Their sins and their iniquities will I
remember no more;" "Jehovah hath made to meet on Him the iniquities of
us all."
[1] Let it be remembered that all the value of the atoning sufferings
of Christ on the cross are ever before God, and the soul of the
believer will there find the unchanging foundation of the blessed
words of Rom. viii. 34: "_Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that
died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us._"
Let us, by way of illustration, take the case of the thief on the
cross. When he, as a convicted sinner, cast the eye of faith upon that
blessed One who hung beside him, was he not, then and there, rendered
fit to enter the paradise of God? Was he not furnished with a divine
title to pass from the cross of a malefactor into the presence of God?
Unquestionably. Did he need anything more to be done for him, in him
or with him, in order to fit him for heaven? By no means. Well, then,
suppose that, instead of passing into heaven, he had been permitted to
come down from the cross,--suppose the nails had been extracted and he
allowed to go at liberty; he would have had sin in his nature, and,
having sin in his nature, he would have been liable to commit sin, in
thought, word, and deed. Now, could he ever lose his title, his
fitness, his meetness? Surely not. His title was divine and
everlasting. All his sins were borne by Jesus. That which had fitted
him to enter heaven at the first, had fitted him once and forever, so
that if he had remained on earth for fifty years, he would, at any
moment, have been equally fit to enter heaven.
True it is, if the pardoned sinner commits sin, his communion is
interrupted, and there must be the hearty confession of that sin ere
his communion can be restored. "If we say that we have fellowship with
Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." But this is
obviously a different point altogether. My communion may be
interrupted, but my title can never be forfeited. All was accomplished
on the cross. Every trace of sin and guilt was atoned for by that
peerless, priceless sacrifice. By that sacrifice, the believer is
transferred from a position of guilt and condemnation into a position
of justification and perfect favor. He is translated from a condition
in which he had not a single trace of righteousness, into a condition
in which he has not a single trace of guilt, nor ever can have. He
stands in grace, he is under grace, he breathes the very atmosphere of
grace, and he never can be otherwise, according to God's view. If he
commits sin (and who does not?) there must be confession. And what
then? Forgiveness and cleansing, on the ground of the faithfulness and
justice of God which have had their divine answer in the cross. _All
is founded on the cross._ The faithfulness and justice of God, the
advocacy of Christ, our confession, our full forgiveness, our perfect
cleansing, the restoration of our communion, all rests upon the solid
basis of the precious blood of Christ.
My reader will bear in mind that we are, at present, occupied with the
one point, namely, the extent of divine forgiveness. There are other
points of great importance which might be looked at in connection,
such as the believer's oneness with Christ, his adoption into the
family of God, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, all of which
necessarily imply the full forgiveness of sins; but we must confine
ourselves to our immediate theme, and having endeavored to set forth
the ground and the extent, we shall close with a few words on
THE STYLE OF DIVINE FORGIVENESS.
We are all conscious of how much depends upon the style of an action.
Indeed, there is frequently far more power in the style than in the
substance. How often have we heard such words as these, "Yes, I own
he did me a favor; but then he did it in such a way as to take away
all the good of it." Now, the Lord has His style of doing things,
blessed be His name. He not only does great things, but He does them
in such a way as to convince us that His heart is in the doing of
them. Not only is the substance of His acts good, but the style most
charming.
Let us have a sample or two. Look, for instance, at Christ's touching
word to Simon the Pharisee, in Luke vii. "When they had nothing to
pay, he _frankly_ forgave them both." Now, so far as the mere matter
of the debt was concerned, the result would have been the same
whatever style had been adopted. But what heart does not perceive the
moral power of the word "frankly"? Who would part with it? Who could
bear to see the substance stripped of its style? The creditor might
forgive with a murmur about the amount. That murmur would, in the
judgment of a sensitive heart, rob the act of all its charms. On the
other hand, the frankness of the style enhances, beyond expression,
the value of the substance.
Again, look, for a moment, at that familiar but ever fruitful section
of inspiration, Luke xv. Each of the parables illustrates the power
and beauty of style. When the man finds his sheep, what does he do?
Does he complain of all the trouble, and commence to drive the sheep
home before him? Ah, no! this would never do. What then? "He layeth it
on His shoulders." How? Complaining of the weight or the trouble? Nay;
but "_rejoicing_." Here we have the lovely style. He showed that He
was glad to get His sheep back again. The sheep would have been safe
on the shoulder however it had been placed there; but who would part
with the word "rejoicing"? Who would bear to see the substance of the
action stripped of its charming style?
So, also, in the case of the woman and her lost piece of silver. "She
lights a candle, sweeps the house, and seeks." How? With dullness,
weariness and indifference? By no means; but "diligently," like one
whose whole heart was in her work. It was quite manifest that she
really wanted to find the lost piece of silver. Her style proved this.
Lastly, mark the style of the father in receiving the poor returning
prodigal. "When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and
had compassion, and _ran_ and fell on his neck and kissed him." He
does not send out a servant to tell the erring one to turn aside into
one of the out-offices, or betake himself to the kitchen, or even to
confine himself to his own room. No; he himself _runs_. He, as it
were, lays aside his paternal dignity, in order to give expression to
his fatherly affection. He is not satisfied with merely receiving the
wanderer back: he must prove that his whole heart is in the reception;
and this he does, not merely by the substance of the act, but by his
style of doing it.
Various other passages might be adduced to illustrate the style of
divine forgiveness, but the above will suffice to prove that God
graciously recognizes the power which style has to act upon the human
heart. I shall, therefore, in closing this paper, make an earnest
appeal to my reader, as to what he now thinks of the ground, the
extent, and the style of divine forgiveness.
Beloved reader, thou seest that the ground is as stable as the very
throne of God itself, that the extent is infinite, and the style all
that the heart could possibly desire. Say, therefore, art thou
satisfied as to the great question of the forgiveness of sins? Can you
any longer doubt God's willingness to forgive, when He has set before
you, in such a way, the ground on which, the extent to which, and the
style in which, He forgives sin? Can you hesitate when He actually
"Opens His own heart to thee,
And shows His thoughts how kind they be"?
He stands with open arms to receive thee. He points thee to the cross,
where His own hand laid the foundation of forgiveness, and assures
thee that all is done, and beseeches thee to rest now, henceforth and
for evermore, in that which He has wrought for you. May the blessed
Spirit lead thee to see these things in all their clearness and
fullness, so that thou mayest not only believe in the forgiveness of
sins, but believe also that all thy sins are frankly and forever
forgiven.
C. H. M.
REGENERATION: WHAT IS IT?
There are few subjects which have given rise to more difficulty and
perplexity than that of regeneration, or the new birth. Very many who
are themselves the subjects of this new birth are at a loss to know
what it is, and filled with doubt as to whether they have ever really
experienced it. Many there are who, were they to clothe their desires
in words, would say, "Oh, that I knew for certain that I had passed
from death unto life. If only I were sure that I was born again, I
should be happy indeed." Thus they are harassed with doubts and fears
from day to day and from year to year. Sometimes they are full of hope
that the great change has passed upon them; but, anon, something
springs up within them which leads them to think their former hopes
were a delusion. Judging from feeling and experience rather than from
the plain teaching of the word of God, they are, of necessity, plunged
into uncertainty and confusion as to the whole matter.
Now, I would desire to enter, in company with my reader, upon an
examination, in the light of Scripture, of this most interesting
subject. It is to be feared that very much of the misapprehension
which prevails in reference thereto, arises from the habit of
preaching regeneration and its fruits instead of Christ. The effect is
put before the cause, and this must always produce derangement of
thought.
Let us, then, proceed to consider this question. What is regeneration?
How is it produced? What are its results?
I. And, first, What is regeneration? Very many look upon it as a
change of the old nature, produced, no doubt, by the influence of the
Spirit of God. This change is gradual in its operation, and proceeds,
from stage to stage, until the old nature is completely brought under.
This view of the subject involves two errors; namely, first, an error
as to the real condition of our old nature; and, secondly, as to the
distinct personality of the Holy Ghost. It denies the hopeless ruin of
nature, and represents the Holy Ghost more as an influence than as a
Person.
As to our true state by nature, the word of God presents it as one of
total and irrecoverable ruin. Let us adduce the proofs. "And God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that _every_
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was _only_ evil
_continually_." (Gen. vi. 5.) The words "_every_," "_only_," and
"_continually_," set aside every idea of a redeeming feature in man's
condition before God. Again, "The Lord looked down from heaven upon
the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and
seek God. They are _all_ gone aside, they are _all_ together become
filthy: there is _none_ that doeth good; no, not one." (Ps. xiv. 2,
3.) Here, again, the expressions "_all_," "_none_," "_no_, _not one_,"
preclude the idea of a single redeeming quality in man's condition, as
judged in the presence of God. Having thus drawn a proof from Moses
and one from the Psalms, let us take one or two from the prophets.
"Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: the
_whole_ head is sick, and the _whole_ heart faint. From the sole of
the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it." (Is. i. 5,
6.) "The voice said, 'Cry.' And he said, 'What shall I cry?' _All_
flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the
field." (Isa. xl. 6.) "The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer. xvii. 9.)
The above will suffice from the Old Testament. Let us now turn to the
New. "Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all, and
needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in
man." (John ii. 24, 25.) "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."
(John iii. 6.) Read, also, Romans iii. 9-19. "Because the carnal mind
is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God;
neither, indeed, can be." (Rom. viii. 7.) "Having no hope, and without
God in the world." (Eph. ii. 12.) These quotations might be
multiplied, but there is no need. Sufficient proof has been adduced to
show forth the true condition of nature. It is "lost," "guilty,"
"alienated," "without strength," "evil only," "evil continually."
How, then, we may lawfully inquire, can that which is spoken of in
such a way ever be changed or improved? "Can the Ethiopian change his
skin, or the leopard his spots?" "That which is crooked cannot be made
straight." The fact is, the more closely we examine the word of God,
the more we shall see that it is not the divine method to improve a
fallen, ruined thing, but to bring in something entirely new. It is
precisely thus in reference to man's natural condition,--God is not
seeking to improve it. The gospel does not propose, as its object, to
better man's nature, but to give him a new one. It seeks not to put a
new piece upon an old garment, but to impart a new garment altogether.
The law looked for something in man, but never got it. Ordinances were
given, but man used them to shut out God. The gospel, on the contrary,
shows us Christ magnifying the law and making it honorable; it shows
Him dying on the cross, and nailing ordinances thereto; it shows Him
rising from the tomb, and taking His seat as a Conqueror, at the right
hand of the Majesty in the heavens; and, finally, it declares that all
who believe in His name are partakers of His own life, and are one
with Him who is risen. (See, carefully, the following passages: John
xx. 31; Acts xiii. 39; Rom. vi. 4-11; Eph. ii. 1-6; iii. 13-18; Col.
ii. 10-15.)
It is of the very last importance to be clear and sound as to this. If
I am led to believe that regeneration is a certain change in my old
nature, and that this change is gradual in its operation, then, as a
necessary consequence, I shall be filled with continual anxiety and
apprehension, doubt and fear, depression and gloom, when I discover,
as I surely shall, that nature is nature, and will be nought else but
nature to the end. No influence or operation of the Holy Ghost can
ever make the flesh spiritual. "That which is born of the flesh is
flesh," and can never be aught else but "flesh"; and "all flesh is as
grass,"--as withered grass. The flesh is presented in Scripture not as
a thing to be improved, but as a thing which God counts as "dead," and
which we are called to "mortify,"--subdue and deny, in all its
thoughts and ways. In the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ we see the
end of everything pertaining to our old nature. "They that are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
(Gal. v. 24.) He does not say, They that are Christ's are improving,
or trying to improve, the flesh. No; but they "have crucified it." It
is utterly unimprovable. How can they do this? By the energy of the
Holy Ghost, acting not _on_ the _old_ nature, but _in_ the new, and
enabling them to keep the old nature where the cross has put it,
namely, in the place of death. God expects nothing from the flesh;
neither should we. He looks upon it as dead; so should we. He has
_put_ it out of sight, and we should _keep_ it so. The flesh should
not be allowed to show itself. God does not own it. It has no
existence before Him. True, it is in us, but God gives us the precious
privilege of viewing and treating it as dead. His word to us is,
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. vi. 11.)
This is an immense relief to the heart that has struggled for years in
the hopeless business of trying to improve nature. It is an immense
relief, moreover, to the conscience which has been seeking a
foundation for its peace in the gradual improvement of a totally
unimprovable thing. Finally, it is an immense relief to any soul that
may, for years, have been earnestly breathing after holiness, but has
looked upon holiness as consisting in the improvement of that which
hates holiness and loves sin. To each and all of such it is infinitely
precious and important to understand the real nature of regeneration.
No one who has not experienced it can conceive the intensity of
anguish and the bitterness of the disappointment which a soul feels,
who, vainly expecting some improvement in nature, finds, after years
of struggling, that nature is nature still--ever the same. And just in
proportion to the anguish and disappointment will be the joy of
discovering that God is not looking for any improvement in
nature,--that He sees _it_ as dead, and _us_ as alive in Christ,--one
with Him, and accepted in Him, forever. To be led into a clear and
full apprehension of this is divine emancipation to the conscience and
true elevation for the whole moral being.
Let us, then, see clearly what regeneration is. It is a new
birth,--the imparting of a new life,--the implantation of a new
nature,--the formation of a new man. The old nature remains in all its
distinctness, and the new nature is introduced in all its
distinctness. This new nature has its own habits, its own desires, its
own tendencies, its own affections. All these are spiritual, heavenly,
divine. Its aspirations are all upward. It is ever breathing after the
heavenly source from which it has emanated. As in nature water always
finds its own level, so in grace the new--the divine--nature always
tends toward its own proper source. Thus regeneration is to the soul
what the birth of Isaac was to the household of Abraham (Gen. xxi.).
Ishmael remained the same Ishmael, but Isaac was introduced; so the
old nature remains the same, but the new is introduced. "That which is
born of the Spirit is spirit": it partakes of the nature of its
source. A child partakes of the nature of its parents, and the
believer is made "a partaker of the divine nature." (2 Peter i. 4.)
"_Of His own will_ begat He us." (James i. 18.)
In a word, then, regeneration is God's own work, from first to last.
God is the Operator; man is the happy, privileged subject. His
co-operation is not sought in a work which must ever bear the impress
of one almighty hand. God was alone in creation, alone in redemption,
and He must be alone in the mysterious and glorious work of
regeneration.
II. Having endeavored to show, from various passages of Scripture,
that regeneration, or the new birth, is not a change of man's fallen
nature, but the imparting of a new--a divine--nature, we shall now, in
dependence upon the blessed Spirit's teaching, proceed to consider how
the new birth is produced,--how the new nature is communicated. This
is a point of immense importance, inasmuch as it places the word of
God before us as the grand instrument which the Holy Ghost uses in
quickening dead souls. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens
made," and by the word of the Lord are dead souls called into new
life. The word of the Lord is creative and regenerating. It called
worlds into existence; it calls sinners from death to life. The same
voice which, of old, said, "Let there be light," must, in every
instance, say, "Let there be life."
If my reader will turn to the third chapter of John's gospel, he will
find, in our Lord's interview with Nicodemus, much precious
instruction in reference to the mode in which regeneration is
produced. Nicodemus held a very high place in what would be termed the
religious world. He was "a man of the Pharisees," "a ruler of the
Jews," "a master of Israel." He could hardly have occupied a more
elevated or influential position. But yet, it is very evident that
this highly privileged man was ill at ease. Despite all his religious
advantages, his heart felt a restless craving after something which
neither his Pharisaism, nor yet the entire system of Judaism could
supply. It is quite possible he might not have been able to define
what he wanted; but he wanted something, else he never would have
come to Jesus by night. It was evident that the Father was drawing
him, by a resistless though most gentle hand, to the Son; and the way
He took of drawing him was by producing a sense of need which nothing
around him could satisfy. This is a very common case. Some are drawn
to Jesus by a deep sense of guilt, some by a deep sense of need.
Nicodemus, obviously, belongs to the latter class. His position was
such as to preclude the idea of anything like gross immorality; and
hence it would not, in his case, be so much guilt on his conscience as
a void in his heart. But it comes to the same in the end: the guilty
conscience and the craving heart must both be brought to Jesus, for He
alone can perfectly meet both the one and the other. He can remove, by
His precious sacrifice, every stain from the conscience; and He can
fill up, by His peerless Person, every blank in the heart. The
conscience which has been purged by the blood of Jesus is perfectly
clean, and the heart which is filled with the Person of Jesus is
perfectly satisfied.
However, Nicodemus had, like many beside, to unlearn a great deal ere
he could really grasp the knowledge of Jesus. He had to lay aside a
cumbrous mass of religious machinery ere he could apprehend the divine
simplicity of God's plan of salvation. He had to descend from the
lofty heights of Rabbinical learning and traditionary religion, and
learn the alphabet of the gospel in the school of Christ. This was
very humiliating to "a man of the Pharisees,"--"a ruler of the
Jews,"--"a master of Israel." There is nothing of which man is so
tenacious as his religion and his learning; and, in the case of
Nicodemus, it must have sounded passing strange upon his ear when "a
teacher come from God" declared to him, "Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Being _by birth_ a Jew, and, as such, entitled to all the privileges
of a son of Abraham, it must have involved him in strange perplexity
to be told that he must be born again,--that he must be the subject of
a _new birth_, in order to see the kingdom of God. This was a total
setting aside of all his privileges and distinctions. It called him
down at once from the very highest to the very "lowest step of the
ladder." A Pharisee, a ruler, a master, was not one whit nearer to, or
fitter for, this heavenly kingdom, than the most disreputable of the
children of men. This was deeply humbling. If he could carry all his
advantages and distinctions with him, so as to have them placed to his
credit in this new kingdom, it would be something. This would secure
for him a position in the kingdom of God far above that of a harlot or
a publican. But then, to be told that he must be born again left him
nothing to glory in. This, I repeat, was deeply humbling to a learned,
religious, and influential man.
But it was puzzling as well as humbling. "Nicodemus saith unto Him,
'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb, and be born?'" Surely not. There would be no
more gained by a second natural birth than by a first. If a natural
man could enter ten thousand times into his mother's womb and be born,
he would be nought but a natural man after all, for "that which is
born of the flesh is flesh." Do what you will with flesh,--with
nature,--and you cannot alter or improve it. Nothing could change
flesh into spirit. You may exalt it to the rank of a Pharisee, a ruler
of the Jews, a master of Israel,--and you could hardly make it
higher,--but it will be flesh notwithstanding. If this were more
generally and clearly apprehended, it would prove the saving of
fruitless labor to hundreds. Flesh is of no value whatever. In itself
it is but withered grass; and as to its most pious endeavors, its
religious advantages and attainments, its works of righteousness, they
have been pronounced by the pen of inspiration to be as "filthy rags."
(Isaiah lxiv. 6.)
But let us see the mode in which our blessed Lord replies to the
"how?" of Nicodemus. It is peculiarly interesting. Jesus answered,
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, 'Ye must be born again.' The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one
that is born of the Spirit." (John iii. 5-8.) Here we are distinctly
taught that regeneration, or the new birth, is produced by "water and
the Spirit." A man must be born of water and of the Spirit ere he can
see the kingdom of God, or enter into its profound and heavenly
mysteries. The keenest mortal vision cannot "see" the kingdom of God,
nor the most gigantic human intellect "enter" into the deep secrets
thereof. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. ii. 14.) "Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God."
It may be, however, that many are at a loss to know what is meant by
being "born of water." Certainly the expression has been made the
ground of very much discussion and controversy. It is only by
comparing scripture with scripture that we can ascertain the real
sense of any particular passage. It is a special mercy for the
unlettered Christian--the humble student of the inspired volume--that
he need not travel outside the covers of that volume in order to
interpret any passage contained therein.
What, then, is the meaning of being "born of water"? We must reply to
this question by quoting two or three passages from the Word. In the
opening of John's Gospel we read, "He came unto His own, and His own
received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power
to become the sons of God, even to _them that believe on His name:
which were born_, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but _of God_." (John i. 11-13.) From this passage we
learn that every one who believes on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
is born again,--born of God. This is the plain sense of the passage.
All who, by the power of God the Holy Ghost, believe on God the Son,
are born of God the Father. The source of the testimony is divine; the
object of the testimony is divine; the power of receiving the
testimony is divine; the entire work of regeneration is divine. Hence,
instead of being occupied with myself, and inquiring, like Nicodemus,
"How can I be born again?" I have simply to cast myself, by faith, on
Jesus; and thus I am born again. All who put their trust in Christ
have gotten a new life--are regenerated.
Again, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, _He that heareth My word, and
believeth on Him that sent Me_, HATH everlasting life, and shall not
come into judgment; but is passed from death unto life." (John v. 24.)
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath
everlasting life." (John vi. 47.) "But these are written that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that,
_believing, ye might have life through His name_." (John xx. 31.) All
these passages go to prove that the only way in which we can get this
new and everlasting life is by simply receiving the record concerning
Christ. All who believe that record, _have_ this new, this eternal
life. Mark, it is not those who merely _say_ they believe, but those
who actually _do believe_, according to the sense of the word in the
foregoing passages. There is life-giving power in the Christ whom the
Word reveals, and in the Word which reveals Him. "Verily, verily, I
say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." And then,
lest ignorance should marvel or skepticism sneer at the idea of dead
souls hearing, it is added, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is
coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,
and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
judgment." (John v. 25, 28, 29.) The Lord Christ can make dead souls,
as well as dead bodies, hear His quickening voice. It is by His mighty
voice that life can be communicated to either body or soul. If the
infidel or the skeptic reasons and objects, it is simply because he
makes his own vain mind the standard of what ought to be, and thus
entirely shuts out God. This is the climax of folly.
But the reader may feel disposed to inquire, What has all this to do
with the word "water," in John iii. 5? It has to do with it, inasmuch
as it shows that the new birth is produced, the new life communicated,
by the voice of Christ,--which is really the word of God, as we read
in the first chapter of James, "Of His own will begat He us _with the
word of truth_." (ver. 18.) So also in 1 Peter, "_Being born again_,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, _by the word of God_,
which liveth and abideth forever." (Pet. i. 23.) In both these
passages the Word is expressly set forth as the instrument by which
the new birth is produced. James declares that we are begotten "by the
Word of truth"; and Peter declares that we are "born again by the word
of God." If, then, our Lord speaks of being "born of water," it is
obvious that He represents the Word under the significant figure of
"water,"--a figure which "a master of Israel" might have understood,
had he only studied aright Ezekiel xxxvi. 25-27.
There is a beautiful passage in the epistle to the Ephesians, in which
the Word is presented under the figure of water. "Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it;
that He might sanctify and cleanse it with _the washing of water by
the Word_." (Chap. v. 25-26.) So also in the epistle to Titus: "Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy
He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our
Saviour; that, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life." (Chap. iii. 5-7.)
From all these quotations we learn that the word of God is the grand
instrument of which the Holy Ghost makes use in calling dead souls
into life. This truth is confirmed, in a peculiarly interesting
manner, by our Lord's conversation with Nicodemus; for, instead of
replying to the repeated inquiry, "How can these things be?" He sets
this "master of Israel" down to learn the simple lesson taught by
"the brazen serpent." The bitten Israelite of old was to be healed by
simply _looking_ at the serpent of brass on the pole: the dead sinner
now is to get life by simply looking at Jesus on the cross and Jesus
on the throne. The Israelite was not told to look at his wound, though
it was the sense of his wound that made him look: the dead sinner is
not told to look at his sins, though it is the sense of his sins that
will make him look. One look at the serpent healed the Israelite: one
look of faith at Jesus, who hung on the cross of Calvary, quickens the
dead sinner. The former had not to look a second time to be healed:
the latter has not to look a second time to get life. It was not the
way he looked, but the object he looked at, that healed the Israelite:
it is not the way he looks, but the object he looks at, that saves the
sinner: "_Look_ unto ME, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."
Such was the precious lesson which Nicodemus was called to learn, such
the reply to his "how?" If a man begins to reason about the new birth,
he must be confounded; but if he believes in Jesus, he is born again.
Man's reason can never understand the new birth; but the word of God
produces it. Many are astray as to this. They are occupied with the
process of regeneration, instead of the Word which regenerates. Thus
they are perplexed and confounded. They are looking at self instead of
at Christ; and as there is an inseparable connection between the
object at which we look and the effect of looking at it, we can
easily see what must be the effect of looking in upon one's self. What
could an Israelite have gained by looking at his wound? Nothing. What
did he gain by looking at the serpent? Health. What does a sinner gain
by looking at himself? Nothing. What does he gain by looking at Jesus?
"Everlasting life."
III. We come now to consider, in the third and last place, the results
of regeneration,--a point of the deepest interest. Who can estimate
aright the glorious results of being a child of God? Who can unfold
those affections which belong to that high and hallowed relationship
in which the soul is placed by being born again? Who can fully explain
that precious fellowship which the child of God is privileged to enjoy
with his heavenly Father? "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore
the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth
himself, even as He is pure." (1 John iii. 1-3.) "For as many as are
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and
if children, then heirs; heirs of God and _joint-heirs_ with Christ;
if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified
_together_." (Rom. viii. 14-17.)
It is most important to understand the distinction between _life_ and
_peace_. The former is the result of being linked with Christ's
_Person_; the latter is the result of His _work_. "He that hath the
Son hath _life_," (1 John v. 12); but, "being _justified_ by faith, we
have _peace_," (Rom. v. 1),--"having made peace through the blood of
His cross." (Col. i. 20.) The very moment a man receives into his
heart the simple truth of the gospel, he becomes a child of God. The
truth which he receives is the "incorruptible seed" of "the divine
nature." (1 Pet. i. 23; 2 Pet. i. 4.) Many are not aware of all that
is involved in thus simply receiving the truth of the gospel. As in
nature, the child of a nobleman may not know the varied results of the
relationship, so it is, likewise, in grace. I may be ignorant both as
to the relationship and its results; but I am in it notwithstanding;
and being in it, I have the affections which belong to it, and I ought
to cultivate them, and allow them to entwine themselves artlessly
around their proper object, even Him who has begotten me by the Word
of truth. (James i. 18.) It is my privilege to enjoy the full flow of
parental affection emanating from the bosom of God, and to reciprocate
that affection, through the power of the indwelling Spirit. "Now _are_
we the sons of God." He has made us such. He has attached this rare
and marvelous privilege to the simple belief of the truth. (John i.
12.) We do not reach this position "by works of righteousness which we
have done," or could do, but simply "according to His mercy He saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that
being justified by His grace, we should be _made heirs_ according to
the hope of eternal life." (Titus iii. 5-7.) We are "_called sons_"
and "_made_ heirs," and all this simply by the belief of the truth of
the gospel, which is God's "incorruptible seed."
Take the case of the very vilest sinner, who up to this moment has
been living a life of gross wickedness. Let that person receive into
his heart the pure gospel of God,--let him heartily believe "that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was
buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures"--and he there, then and thus becomes a child of God, a
thoroughly saved, perfectly justified, and divinely accepted person.
In receiving into his heart the simple record concerning Christ, he
has received new life. Christ is the truth and the life; and when we
receive the truth we receive Christ, and when we receive Christ we
receive life,--"he that believeth on the Son _hath_ everlasting life."
(John iii. 36.) When does he get this life? The very moment he
believes,--"_believing_ ye might have life through His name." (John
xx. 31.) The truth concerning Christ is the seed of eternal life, and
when that truth is believed, life is communicated.
Observe, this is what the Word of God declares--it is a matter of
divine testimony, not merely of human feeling. We do not get life by
_feeling_ something in ourselves, but by _believing_ something about
Christ; and that something we have on the authority of God's eternal
Word--"the Holy Scriptures." It is well to understand this. Many are
looking _in_ for evidences of the new life, instead of looking _out_
at the object which imparts that life. It is quite true that "he that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself" (1 John v.
10.); but, be it remembered, it is "the witness" of a life which is
received by "_believing_ on the Son of God," not by looking in upon
one's self; and the more undividedly I am occupied with Christ, the
more distinct and satisfactory will be "the witness" in myself. If I
make the witness my object, I shall be plunged in doubt and
uncertainty; but if I make Christ my object, I have the witness in all
its divine integrity and power. There is special need of clearness as
to this, because of the strong tendency of our hearts to make
something _within_ the ground of our peace and contentment, instead of
building, absolutely and exclusively, upon Christ. The more simply we
cling to Christ, apart from all beside, the more peaceful and happy we
shall be; but directly we take the eye off Him, we become unhinged and
unhappy.
In a word, then, my reader should seek to understand, with scriptural
accuracy, the distinction between _life_ and _peace_. The former is
the result of the connection with Christ's _Person_; the latter is the
result of believing in His finished _work_. We very frequently meet
with quickened souls who are in sad trouble and disquietude as to
their acceptance with God. They really do believe on the name of the
Son of God, and, believing, they have life; but, from not seeing the
fullness of the work of Christ as to their sins, they are troubled in
conscience--they have no mental repose. Take an illustration. If you
place a hundredweight upon the bosom of a dead man he does not feel
it. Place another, and another, and another, he is wholly unconscious.
Why? Because there is no _life_. Let us suppose, for a moment, the
entrance in of life, and what will be the result? A most distressing
sensation occasioned by the terrible weight upon the bosom. What then
will be needful in order to the full enjoyment of the life which had
been imparted? Clearly, the removal of the burden. It is somewhat thus
with the sinner who receives life by believing on the Person of the
Son of God. So long as he was in a state of spiritual death he had no
spiritual sensations--he was unconscious of any weight pressing upon
him. But the entrance of spiritual life has imparted spiritual
sensibilities, and he now feels a burden pressing upon his heart and
conscience, which he knows not exactly how to get rid of. He sees not
as yet all that is involved in believing on the name of the only
begotten Son of God. He does not see that Christ is at once his
righteousness and his life. He needs a simple view of the finished
atonement of Christ, whereby _all_ his sins were plunged in the waters
of eternal oblivion, and he himself introduced into the full favor of
God. It is this, and this alone, that can remove the heavy burden off
the heart, and impart that profound mental repose which nothing can
ever disturb.
If I think of God as a judge, and myself as a sinner, I need the blood
of the cross to bring me into His presence, in the way of
righteousness. I must fully understand that every claim which God, the
righteous Judge, had upon me, a guilty sinner, has been divinely
answered and eternally settled by "the precious blood of Christ." This
gives my soul peace. I see that, through that blood, God can be "just
and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Rom. iii. 29.) I
learn that in the cross God has been glorified about my sins--yea,
that the whole question of sin was fully gone into and perfectly
settled between God and Christ amid the deep and awful solitudes of
Calvary. Thus my load is taken off, my weight removed, my guilt
canceled: I can breathe freely; I have perfect peace; there is
literally nothing against me; I am as free as the blood of Christ can
make me. The Judge has declared Himself satisfied as to sin by raising
the sinner's Surety from the dead, and placing Him at the right hand
of the Majesty in the heavens.
But, then, there comes another thing of immense value. I not only see
myself as a guilty sinner provided with a way of access to God as a
righteous Judge, but I see God, in pursuance of His eternal counsels
of electing love, begetting me through the Word of truth, making me
His child, adopting me into His family, and setting me before Him in
such a way as that I can enjoy communion with Him as my Father in the
midst of all the tender endearments of the divine family circle. This
is obviously another phase of the believer's position and character.
It is no longer a question of his coming to God in the full and
settled consciousness that every just claim has been met--this in
itself is ineffably precious to every sin-burdened heart--but there is
far more than this: God is my Father and I am His child. He has a
Father's heart, and I can count on the tender affections of that heart
in the midst of all my feebleness and need. He loves me, not because
of what I am enabled to do, but because I am His child.
Look at yonder tottering babe, the object of ceaseless care and
solicitude, wholly unable to promote his father's interests in any one
way, yet so loved by the father that he would not exchange him for ten
thousand worlds; and if it be thus with an earthly father, what must
it be with our heavenly Father? He loves us, not for aught that we are
able to do, but because we are His children. He has begotten us of His
own will, by the Word of truth. (James i. 18.) We could no more earn a
place in the heart of the Father than we could satisfy the claims of
the righteous Judge. All is of free grace. The Father has begotten
us, and the Judge has found a ransom. (Job xxxiii. 24.) We are debtors
to grace for both the one and the other.
But, be it remembered, while we are wholly unable to earn, by our
works, a place in the Father's heart, or to satisfy the claims of the
righteous Judge, we are, nevertheless, responsible to "believe the
record which God has given of His Son." (1 John v. 9-11.) I say this
lest, by any means, my reader should be one of those who intrench
themselves behind the dogmas of a one-sided theology, while refusing
to believe the plain testimony of God. Many there are--intelligent
people, too--who, when the gospel of the grace of God is pressed upon
their acceptance, are ready to reply, I cannot believe unless God
gives me power to do so; nor shall I ever be endowed with that power
unless I am one of the elect. If I belong to the favored number, I
_must_ be saved; if not, I _can't_.
This is a thoroughly one-sided theology; and not only so, but its one
side is turned the wrong way--yea, it is so turned as to wear the form
of an absurd but most dangerous fatalism, which completely destroys
man's responsibility, and casts dishonor upon God's moral
administration. It sends man forth upon a wild career of reckless
folly, and makes God the author of the sinner's unbelief. This is, in
good truth, to add insult to injury. It is, first, to make God a liar,
and then charge Him with being the cause of it. It is to reject his
proffered love, and blame Him for the rejection. This is, in reality,
the most daring wickedness, though based, as I have said, upon a
one-sided theology.
Now, does any one imagine that an argument so flimsy will hold good
for a moment in the presence of the king of terrors, or before the
judgment-seat of Christ? Is there a soul throughout the gloomy regions
of the lost that would ever think of charging God with being the
author of its eternal perdition? Ah, no! it is only on earth that
people argue thus. Such arguments are never breathed in hell. When men
get to hell, they blame themselves. In heaven they praise the Lamb.
All who are lost will have to thank _self_; all who are saved will
have to thank _God_. It is when the impenitent soul has passed through
the narrow archway of time into the boundless ocean of eternity, that
it will enter into the full depth and power of those solemn words,
_"I would, ... but ye would not."_
In truth, human responsibility is as distinctly taught in the Word of
God as is divine sovereignty. Man finds it impossible to frame a
system of divinity which will give each truth its proper place; but he
is not called upon to frame systems, but to believe a plain record,
and be saved thereby.
Having said thus much by way of caution to any who may be in danger of
falling under the power of the above line of argument, I shall proceed
to unfold a little further the results of regeneration, as seen in the
matter of the discipline of the Father's house.
As the children of God, we are admitted to all the privileges of His
house; and in point of fact the discipline of the house is as much a
privilege as anything else. It is on the ground of the relationship in
which God has set us that He acts in discipline towards us. A father
disciplines his children because they are his. If I see a strange
child doing wrong, I am not called upon to chasten him. I am not in
the relationship of a father to him, and as a consequence I neither
know the affections nor the responsibilities of that relationship. I
must be in a relationship in order to know the affections which belong
to it. Now, as our Father, God, in His great grace and faithfulness,
looks after us in all our ways, He will not suffer aught upon us or
about us which would be unworthy of Him and subversive of our real
peace and blessedness. "Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh
which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they
verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He
for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness." (Heb.
xii. 9, 10.) Thus the discipline is a positive privilege, inasmuch as
it is a proof of our Father's care, and has for its object our
participation in the divine holiness.
But then, we must ever bear in mind that the discipline of our
Father's hand is to be interpreted in the light of our Father's
countenance, and the deep mysteries of His moral government to be
contemplated through the medium of his tender love. If we lose sight
of this, we shall be sure to get into a spirit of bondage as respects
ourselves, and a spirit of judgment as respects others, both of which
are in direct opposition to the spirit of Christ. All our Father's
dealings with us are in perfect love. When He furnishes us with bread,
it is in love; and when He takes down the rod, it is in love also.
_"God is love."_ It may frequently happen that we are at a loss to
know the why and the wherefore of some special dispensation of our
Father's hand. It seems dark and inexplicable. The mist which enwraps
our spirits is so thick and heavy as to prevent our catching the
bright and cheering beams from our Father's countenance. This is a
trying moment--a solemn crisis in the soul's history. We are in great
danger of losing the sense of divine love through inability to
understand the profound secrets of divine government. Satan, too, is
sure to be busy at such a time. He will ply his fiery darts, and throw
in his dark and diabolical suggestions. Thus, between the filthy
reasonings which spring up within and the horrible suggestions which
come from without, the soul is in danger of losing its balance, and of
getting away from the precious attitude of artless repose in divine
love, let the divine government be what it may.
Thus much with reference to our own souls while under any special
visitation of the hand of God. The effect as to others is equally bad.
How often may we have detected ourselves in the habit of cherishing a
spirit of judgment in reference to a child of God whom we found in
circumstances of trial, either of "mind, body, or estate." This should
be carefully guarded against. We ought not to imagine that every
visitation of the hand of God must necessarily be on account of some
special sin in the person. This would be an entirely false principle.
The dealings of God are preventive as well as corrective.
Take a case in point. My child may be in the room with me, enjoying
all the sweet intimacies which belong to our relationship. A person
enters who I know will utter things which I do not wish my child to
hear. I therefore, without assigning any reason, tell my child to go
to his room. Now, if he has not the fullest confidence in my love, he
may entertain all manner of false notions about my act; he may reason
about the why and wherefore to such a degree as almost to question my
affection. However, directly the visitor takes his leave, I call the
child into my presence and explain the whole matter to him, and in the
renewed experience of a father's love he gets rid of the unhappy
suspicions of a few dark moments.
Thus it is often with our poor hearts in the matter of the divine
dealings both with ourselves and others. We reason when we ought to
repose: we doubt when we ought to depend. Confidence in our Father's
love is the true corrective in all things.
We should ever hold fast the assurance of that changeless, infinite,
and everlasting love which has taken us up in our low and lost
estate, made us "sons of God," and will never fail us, never let us
go, until we enter upon the unbroken and eternal communion of our
Father's house above. May that love dwell more abundantly in our
hearts, that so we may enter more fully into the meaning and power of
regeneration--what it is, how it is produced, and what are its
results. God grant, it for Christ's sake! Amen.
C. H. M.
IN THE FATHER'S HOUSE
"The wanderer no more will roam,
The lost one to the fold hath come,
The prodigal is welcomed home,
O Lamb of God, through Thee!
"Though clothed in rags, by sin defiled,
The Father did embrace His child;
And I am pardoned, reconciled,
O Lamb of God, through Thee!
"It is the Father's joy to bless;
His love has found for me a dress,
A robe of spotless righteousness,
O Lamb of God, in Thee!
"And now my famished soul is fed,
A feast of love for me is spread,
I feed upon the children's bread,
O Lamb of God, in Thee!
"Yea, in the fulness of His grace,
God put me in the children's place,
Where I may gaze upon His face,
O Lamb of God, in Thee!
"Not half His Love can I express,
Yet, Lord, with joy my lips confess,
This blessed portion I possess,
O Lamb of God, in Thee!
"Thy precious name it is I bear,
In Thee I am to God brought near,
And all the Father's love I share,
O Lamb of God, in Thee!"
Sanctification: What is it?
To minister peace and comfort to those who, though truly converted,
have not laid hold of a full Christ, and who, as a consequence, are
not enjoying the liberty of the gospel, is the object we have in view
in considering the important and deeply-interesting subject of
sanctification. We believe that very many of those, whose spiritual
welfare we desire to promote, suffer materially from defective, or
erroneous, ideas on this vital question. Indeed, in some cases, the
doctrine of sanctification is so entirely misapprehended as to
interfere with the faith of the believer's perfect justification and
acceptance before God.
For example, we have frequently heard persons speak of sanctification
as a progressive work, in virtue of which our old nature is to be made
gradually better; and, moreover, that until this process has reached
its climax, until fallen and corrupt humanity has become completely
sanctified, we are not fit for heaven.
Now, so far as this view of the question is concerned, we have only to
say that both Scripture and the truthful experience of all believers
are entirely against it. The Word of God never once teaches us that
the Holy Spirit has for His object the improvement, either gradual or
otherwise, of our old nature--that nature which we inherit, by natural
birth, from fallen Adam. The inspired apostle expressly declares that,
"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. ii. 14.) This one passage is clear
and conclusive on the point. If "the natural man" can neither
"receive" nor "know" "the things of the Spirit of God," then how can
that "natural man" be sanctified by the Holy Ghost? Is it not plain
that, to speak of "the sanctification of our nature" is opposed to the
direct teaching of 1 Cor. ii. 14? Other passages might be adduced to
prove that the design of the Spirit's operations is not to improve or
sanctify the flesh, but there is no need to multiply quotations. An
utterly ruined thing can never be sanctified. Do what you will with
it, it is ruined; and, most assuredly, the Holy Ghost did not come
down to sanctify a ruin, but to lead the ruined one to Jesus. So far
from any attempt to sanctify the flesh, we read that "The flesh
lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and
these are contrary the one to the other." (Gal. v. 17.) Could the Holy
Ghost be represented as carrying on a warfare with that which He is
gradually improving and sanctifying? Would not the conflict cease so
soon as the process of improvement had reached its climax? But does
the believer's conflict ever cease so long as he is in the body?
This leads us to the second objection, to the erroneous theory of the
progressive sanctification of our nature, namely, The objection drawn
from the truthful experience of all believers. Is the reader a true
believer? If so, has he found any improvement in his old nature? Is it
a single whit better now than it was when he first started on his
christian course? He may, and should through grace, be able to subdue
it more thoroughly; but it is nothing better? If it be not mortified,
it is just as ready to spring up and show itself in all its vileness
as ever. "The flesh" in a believer is in no wise better than "the
flesh" in an unbeliever.--And if the Christian does not bear in mind
that _self_ must be judged, he will soon learn, by bitter experience,
that his old nature is as bad as ever; and, moreover, that it will be
the very same to the end.
It is difficult to conceive how any one who is led to expect a gradual
improvement of his nature, can enjoy an hour's peace, inasmuch as he
cannot but see, if he only looks at himself in the light of God's holy
Word, his old self--the flesh--is the very same as when he walked in
the moral darkness of his unconverted state. His own condition and
character are, indeed, greatly changed by the possession of a new,
yea, a "divine nature," (2 Pet. i. 4.) and by the indwelling of the
Holy Ghost, to give effect to its desires; but the moment the old
nature is at work, he finds it as opposed to God as ever. We doubt not
but that very much of the gloom and despondency, of which so many
complain, may be justly traced to their misapprehension of this
important point of sanctification. They are looking for what they can
never find. They are seeking for a ground of peace in a sanctified
nature instead of in a perfect sacrifice--in a progressive work of
holiness instead of in a finished work of atonement. They deem it
presumptuous to believe that their sins are forgiven until their evil
nature is completely sanctified; and, seeing that this end is not
reached, they have no settled assurance of pardon, and are therefore
miserable. In a word, they are seeking for a "foundation" totally
different from that which Jehovah says he has laid, and, therefore,
they have no certainty whatever. The only thing that ever seems to
give them a ray of comfort is some _apparently_ successful effort in
the struggle for personal sanctity. If they have had a good day--if
they are favored with a season of comfortable communion--if they
happen to enjoy a peaceful, devotional frame, they are ready to cry
out, "Thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; I shall never be
moved." (Ps. xxx.)
But, ah! these things furnish a sorry foundation for the soul's peace.
They are not Christ; and until we see that our standing before God is
_in Christ_, there cannot be settled peace. The soul that has really
got hold of Christ is desirous indeed of holiness; but if intelligent
of what Christ is to him, he has done with all thoughts about
sanctified nature. He has found his all in Christ, and the paramount
desire of his heart is to grow into His likeness. This is true,
_practical_ sanctification.
It frequently happens that persons, in speaking of sanctification,
mean a right thing, although they do not express themselves according
to the teaching of holy Scripture. There are many also, who see one
side of the truth as to sanctification, but not the other; and,
although we should be sorry to make any one an offender for a word,
yet it is always most desirable, in speaking of any point of truth,
and especially of so vital a point as that of sanctification, to speak
according to the divine integrity of the word. We shall, therefore,
proceed to quote for our readers a few of the leading passages from
the New Testament in which this doctrine is unfolded. These passages
will teach us two things, namely, what sanctification is, and how it
is effected.
The first passage to which we would call attention is 1 Cor. i.
30,--"But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and _sanctification_, and redemption." Here
we learn that Christ "is made unto us" all these things. God has given
us, in Christ, a precious casket, and when we open that casket with
the key of faith, the first gem that glitters in our view, in this
wisdom of God is "righteousness;" then, "sanctification;" and lastly,
"redemption." We have them all _in Christ_. As we get one so we get
all. And how do we get one and all? By faith. But why does the apostle
name redemption last? Because it takes in the final deliverance of the
body of the believer from under the power of mortality, when the voice
of the archangel and the trump of God shall either raise it from the
tomb, or change it, in the twinkling of an eye. Will this act be
progressive? Clearly not; it will be done "in the twinkling of an
eye." The body is in one state now, and "in a moment" it will be in
another. In the brief point of time expressed by the rapid movement of
the eyelash, will the body pass from corruption to incorruption; from
dishonor to glory; from weakness to power. What a change! It will be
immediate, complete, eternal.
But what are we to learn from the fact that "sanctification" is placed
in the group with "redemption?" We learn that what redemption _will
be_ to the body, that sanctification _is_ now to the soul. In a word,
sanctification, in the sense in which it is here used, is immediate,
and complete, a divine work. The one is no more progressive than the
other. The one is as immediate as the other. The one is as complete
and as independent of man as the other. No doubt, when the body shall
have undergone the glorious change, there will be heights of glory to
be trodden, depths of glory to be penetrated, wide fields of glory to
be explored. All these things shall occupy us throughout eternity.
But, then, the work which is to fit us for such scenes will be done
in a moment. So also is it, in reference to sanctification. The
_practical_ results of it will be continually developing themselves;
but the thing itself, as spoken of in this passage, is done in a
moment.
What an immense relief it would be to thousands of earnest, anxious,
struggling souls to get a proper hold of Christ as their
sanctification! How many are vainly endeavoring to work out a
sanctification for themselves! They have come to Christ for
righteousness after many fruitless efforts to get a righteousness of
their own; but they are seeking after sanctification in a different
way altogether. They have gotten "righteousness without works," but
they imagine that they must get sanctification with works. They have
gotten righteousness by faith, but they imagine they must get
sanctification by effort. They do not see that we get sanctification
in precisely the same way as we get righteousness, inasmuch as Christ
"is made unto us" the one as well as the other. Do we get Christ by
effort? No; by faith. It is "to him that worketh _not_." (Rom. iv. 5.)
This applies to all that we get in Christ. We have no warrant whatever
to single out from 1 Cor. i. 30, the matter of "sanctification," and
place it upon a different footing from all the other blessings which
it enfolds. We have neither wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, nor
redemption in ourselves; nor can we procure them by aught that we can
do; but God has made Christ to be unto us all these things. In giving
us Christ, He gave us all that is in Christ. The fullness of Christ
is ours, and Christ is the fullness of God.
Again, in Acts xxvi. 18, the converted Gentiles are spoken of as
"receiving forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among them which
_are_ sanctified by faith." Here, faith is the instrument by which we
are said to be sanctified, because it connects us with Christ. The
very moment the sinner believes on the Lord Jesus Christ he becomes
linked to Him. He is made one with Him, complete in Him, accepted in
Him. This is true sanctification and justification. It is not a
process. It is not a gradual work. It is not progressive. The word is
very explicit. It says, "them which _are_ sanctified by _faith_ which
is in me." It does not say, "which _shall be_ sanctified," or, "which
are being sanctified." If such were the doctrine it would have been so
stated.
No doubt, the believer grows in the knowledge of this sanctification,
in his sense of its power and value, its practical influence and
results, the experience and enjoyment of it. As "the truth" pours its
divine light upon his soul, he enters into a more profound
apprehension of what is involved in being "set apart" for Christ, in
the midst of this evil world. All this is blessedly true; but the more
its truth is seen, the more clearly we shall understand that
sanctification is not merely a progressive work, wrought in us by the
Holy Spirit, but that it is one result of our being linked to Christ,
by faith, whereby we become partakers of all that He is. This is an
immediate, a complete, and an eternal work. "Whatsoever God doeth, it
shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from
it." (Eccles. iii. 14.) Whether He justifies or sanctifies, "it shall
be forever." The stamp of eternity is fixed upon every work of God's
hand: "nothing can be put to it," and, blessed be His name, "nothing
can be taken from it."
There are passages which present the subject in another aspect,--the
_practical result_ in the believer of his sanctification in Christ,
and which may require fuller consideration hereafter. In 1 Thess. v.
the apostle prays for the saints whom he addresses, "And the very God
of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and
soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ." Here, the word is applied to a sanctification admitting
of degrees. The Thessalonians had, along with all believers, a perfect
sanctification in Christ; but as to the practical enjoyment and
display of this, it was only accomplished in part, and the apostle
prays that they may be wholly sanctified.
In this passage, it is worthy of notice, that nothing is said of "the
flesh." Our fallen, corrupt nature is always treated as a hopelessly
ruined thing. It has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. It
has been measured by a divine rule and found short. It has been tried
by a perfect plummet and proved crooked. God has set if aside. Its
"end has come before him." He has condemned it and put it to death.
(Rom. viii. 3.) Our old man is crucified, dead, and buried. (Rom. vi.
8.) Are we, then, to imagine for a moment, that God the Holy Ghost
came down from heaven for the purpose of exhuming a condemned,
crucified, and buried thing, so that He might sanctify it? The idea
has only to be named, to be abandoned forever by every one who bows to
the authority of Scripture. The more closely we study the Law, the
Prophets, the Psalms, and the entire New Testament, the more closely
we shall see that the flesh is wholly unmendable. It is, absolutely,
good for nothing. The Spirit does not _sanctify_ it, but he enables
the believer to _mortify_ it. We are told to "_put off_ the old man."
This precept would never have been delivered to us if the object of
the Holy Ghost were the sanctification of that "old man."
We trust that no one will accuse us of entertaining a desire to lower
the standard of personal holiness, or to weaken the soul's earnest
aspirations after a growth in that purity for which every true
believer must ardently long. God forbid! If there is one thing above
another which we desire to promote in ourselves and others, it is a
full personal purity--a godly practical sanctity--a whole-hearted
separation to God--from all evil,--in every shape and form. For this
we long, for this we pray, in this we desire to grow daily.
But then we are fully convinced that a superstructure of true,
practical holiness can never be erected on a legal basis; and hence it
is that we press 1 Cor. i. 30, upon the attention of our readers. It
is to be feared that many who have, in some measure, abandoned the
legal ground, in the matter of "righteousness," are yet lingering
thereon for "sanctification." We believe this to be the mistake of
thousands, and we are most anxious to see it corrected. The passage
before us would, if simply received into the heart by faith, entirely
correct this serious mistake.
All intelligent Christians are agreed as to the fundamental truth of
"Righteousness without works." All freely and fully admit that we
cannot, by any efforts of our own, work out a righteousness for
ourselves before God. But it is not just so clearly seen that
righteousness and sanctification are put upon precisely the same
ground in the Word of God. We can no more work out a sanctification
than we can work out a righteousness. We may try it, but we shall,
sooner or later, find out that it is utterly vain. We may vow and
resolve; we may labor and struggle; we may cherish the fond hope of
doing better to-morrow than we have done to-day; but, in the end, we
must be constrained to see, and feel, and own, that as regards the
matter of sanctification, we are as completely "without strength" as
we have already proved ourselves to be in the matter of righteousness.
And, oh! what sweet relief to the suffering one who has been seeking
for satisfaction or rest in his own holiness to find, after years of
unsuccessful struggle, that the very thing he longs for is treasured
up in Christ for him,--his own this moment, even a complete
sanctification to be enjoyed _by faith_! Such an one may have been
battling with his habits, his lusts, his tempers, his passions; he has
been making the most laborious efforts to subdue his flesh and grow in
inward holiness, but alas! he has failed.[2] He finds, to his deep
sorrow, that _he_ is not holy, and he reads that "Without holiness no
man shall see the Lord." (Heb. xii.) Not, observe, without a certain
measure, or attainment in holiness, but without the thing itself;
which every Christian has, from the moment he believes, whether he
knows it or not. Perfect sanctification is as fully included in the
word "salvation" as is "righteousness, or redemption." He did not get
Christ by effort, but by faith; and when he laid hold on Christ he
received all that is in Christ. Hence, it is by abiding in Christ he
finds power for the subjugation of his lusts, passions, tempers,
habits, circumstances, and influences. He must look to Jesus for all.
[2] The divine picture of this experience and conflict is given us in
the seventh chapter of Romans. For a full consideration of this
subject, see the pamphlet entitled, "Deliverance, What is it?" Price,
five cents.--[Ed.]
All this is simple to faith. The believer's standing is in Christ, and
if in Christ for one thing, he is in Christ for all. I am not in
Christ for righteousness, and out of Christ for sanctification. If I
am a debtor to Christ for righteousness, I am equally a debtor to Him
for sanctification. I am not a debtor to legality for either the one
or the other. I get both by grace, through faith, and all in Christ.
Yes, all--all in Christ. The moment the sinner comes to Christ, and
believes on Him, he is taken completely off the old ground of nature;
he loses his old legal standing and all its belongings, and is looked
at as in Christ. He is no longer "in the flesh" but "in the Spirit."
(Rom. viii. 9.) God only sees him in Christ, and as Christ. He becomes
one with Christ forever. "As he is, so are we in this world." (1 Jno.
iv.) Such is the absolute standing, the settled and eternal position,
of the very feeblest babe in the family of God. There is but one
standing for every child of God, every member of Christ. Their
knowledge, experience, power, gift, and intelligence, may vary; but
their standing is one. Whatever of righteousness or sanctification
they possess, they owe it all to their being in Christ; consequently,
if they have not gotten a perfect sanctification, neither have they
gotten a perfect righteousness. But 1 Cor. i. 30, distinctly teaches
that Christ "_is made_" both the one and the other to all believers.
It does not say that we have righteousness and "_a measure_ of
sanctification." We have just as much scripture authority for putting
the word "measure" before righteousness as before sanctification. The
Spirit of God does not put it before either. Both are perfect, and we
have both in Christ. God never does anything by halves. There is no
such thing as a half justification. Neither is there such a thing as a
half sanctification. The idea of a member of the family of God, or of
the body of Christ, wholly justified, but only half sanctified, is at
once opposed to Scripture, and revolting to all sensibilities of the
divine nature.
It is not improbable that very much of the misapprehension which
prevails, in reference to sanctification, is traceable to the habit of
confounding two things which differ very materially, namely our
_standing_ and our _walk_, or position and condition, The believer's
standing is perfect, because it is the gift of God in Christ. His
walk, alas, may be very imperfect, fluctuating, and marked with
personal infirmity. Whilst his position is absolute and unalterable,
his practical condition may exhibit manifold imperfections, inasmuch
as he is still in the body, and surrounded by various hostile
influences which affect his moral condition from day to day. If, then,
his standing be measured by his walk, his position by his condition,
what he is in God's view by what he is in man's, the result must be
false. If I reason from what I am in myself, instead of from what I am
in Christ, I must, of necessity, arrive at a wrong conclusion.
We should look carefully to this. We are very much disposed to reason
upward from ourselves to God, instead of downward from God to us. We
should bear in mind that
"Far as heaven's resplendent orbs
Beyond earth's spot extend,
As far My thoughts, as far My ways,
Your ways and thoughts transcend."
God looks on His people, and acts toward them, too, according to their
standing in Christ. He has given them this standing. He has made them
what they are. They are His workmanship. Hence, therefore, to speak of
them as half justified would be a dishonor cast upon God; and to speak
of them as half sanctified would be just the same.
This train of thought conducts us to another weighty proof drawn from
the authoritative and conclusive page of inspiration, namely, 1 Cor.
vi. 11. In the verses preceding, the apostle draws a fearful picture
of fallen humanity, and he plainly tells the Corinthian saints that
they had been just like that. "Such were some of you." This is plain
dealing. There are no flattering words--no daubing with untempered
mortar--no keeping back the full truth as to nature's total and
irretrievable ruin. "Such were some of you: but ye _are_ washed, but
ye _are_ sanctified, but ye _are_ justified, in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
What a striking contrast between the two sides of the apostle's
"_but_!" On the one side, we have all the moral degradation of man's
condition; and, on the other side, we have all the absolute
perfectness of the believer's standing before God. This, truly, is a
marvellous contrast; and be it remembered that the soul passes in a
moment, from one side to the other of this "but." "Such _were_ some of
you: but ye _are_," now, something quite different. The moment they
received Paul's gospel, they were "washed, sanctified, and
justified." They were fit for heaven; and, had they not been so, it
would have been a slur upon the divine workmanship.
"'Clean every whit,' thou saidst it, Lord;
Shall one suspicion lurk?
Thine, surely, is a faithful word,
And Thine _a finished work_."
This is divinely true. The most inexperienced believer is "clean every
whit," not as a matter of attainment, but as the necessary result of
being in Christ. He will, no doubt, grow in the knowledge and
experience of what sanctification really is. He will enter into its
practical power; its moral effects upon his habits, thoughts,
feelings, affections, and associations: in a word, he will understand
and exhibit the mighty influence of divine sanctification upon his
entire course, conduct, and character. But, then, he was as completely
sanctified, in God's view, the moment he became linked to Christ by
faith, as he will be when he comes to bask in the sunlight of the
divine presence, and reflect back the concentrated beams of glory
emanating from the throne of God and of the Lamb. He is in Christ now;
and he will be in Christ then. His sphere and his circumstances will
differ. His feet shall stand upon the golden pavement of the upper
sanctuary, instead of standing upon the arid sand of the desert. He
will be in a body of glory, instead of a body of humiliation; but as
to his standing, his acceptance, his completeness, his justification,
and sanctification, all was settled the moment he believed on the
name of the only begotten Son of God--as settled as ever it will be,
because as settled as God could make it. All this seems to flow as a
necessary and unanswerable inference from 1 Cor. vi. 11.
It is of the utmost importance to apprehend, with clearness, the
distinction between a truth and the practical application and result
of a truth. This distinction is ever maintained in the word of God.
"Ye _are_ sanctified." Here is the absolute truth as to the believer,
as viewed in Christ. The practical application of it, and its results
in the believer, we find in such passages as these. "Christ loved the
church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the Word." (Eph. v. 25, 26.) And "the
very God of peace sanctify you wholly." (1 Thess. v. 23.)
But how is this application made, and this result reached? By the Holy
Ghost, through the written Word. Hence we read, "Sanctify them through
thy truth." (Jno. xvii.) And again, "God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth." (2 Thess. ii. 13.) So also, in Peter, "Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit." (1 Pet. i. 2.) The Holy Ghost carries
on the believer's practical sanctification on the ground of Christ's
accomplished work; and the mode in which He does so is by applying to
the heart and conscience the truth as it is in Jesus. He unfolds the
truth as to our perfect standing before God in Christ, and, by
energizing the new man in us, He enables us to put away everything
incompatible with that perfect standing. A man who is "washed,
sanctified, and justified," ought not to indulge in any unhallowed
temper, lust, or passion. He is separated to God and should "cleanse
himself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." It is his holy
and happy privilege to breathe after the very loftiest heights of
personal sanctity. His heart and his habits should be brought and held
under the power of that grand truth that he is perfectly "washed,
sanctified, and justified."
This is true practical sanctification. It is not any attempt at the
improvement of our old nature. It is not a vain effort to reconstruct
an irretrievable ruin. No; it is simply the Holy Ghost, by the
powerful application of "the truth," enabling the new man to live, and
move, and have his being in that sphere to which he belongs. Here
there will, undoubtedly, be progress. There will be growth in the
moral power of this precious truth--growth in spiritual ability to
subdue and keep under all that pertains to nature--a growing power of
separation from the evil around us--a growing meetness for that heaven
to which we belong, and toward which we are journeying--a growing
capacity for the enjoyment of its holy exercises. All this there will
be, through the gracious ministry of the Holy Ghost, who uses the Word
of God to unfold to our souls the truth as to our standing in Christ,
and as to the walk which _comports with_ such standing. But let it be
clearly understood that the work of the Holy Ghost in practical
sanctification, day by day, is founded upon the fact that believers
"_are_ sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once." (Heb. x. 10.) The object of the Holy Ghost is to lead us into
the knowledge, the experience, and the practical exhibition of that
which was true of us in Christ the very moment we believed. As regards
this, there is progress; but our standing in Christ is eternally
complete.
"Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth." (Jno. xvii. 17.)
And again, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly." (1 Thess. v.
23.) In these passages, we have the grand practical side of this
question. Here we see sanctification presented, not merely as
something absolutely and eternally true of us in Christ, but also as
wrought out in us, daily and hourly, by the Holy Ghost through the
Word. Looked at from this point of view, sanctification is, obviously,
a progressive thing. I should be more advanced in personal holiness
next year than I was in this. I should, through grace, be advancing,
day by day, in practical holiness. But what, let me ask, is this?
What, but the working out in me of that which was true of me in
Christ, the very moment I believed? The basis on which the Holy Ghost
carries on the _subjective_ work in the believer, is the _objective_
truth of his eternal completeness in Christ.
Again, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man
shall see the Lord." (Heb. xii. 14.) Here, is holiness presented as a
thing to be "followed after"--to be attained by earnest pursuit--a
thing which every true believer will long to cultivate.
May the Lord lead us into the power of these things. May they not
dwell as doctrines and dogmas in the region of our intellect, but
enter into and abide in the heart, as sacred and powerfully
influential realities! May we know the sanctifying power of the truth;
(Jno. xvii. 17;) the sanctifying power of faith; (Acts xxvi. 18;) the
sanctifying power of the name of Jesus; (1 Cor. i. 30; vi. 11;) the
sanctifying of the Holy Ghost; (1 Pet. i. 2;) the sanctifying grace of
the Father. (Jude 1.)
And, now, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost,
be honor and glory, might, majesty, and dominion, world without end.
Amen.
_C. H. M._
FINAL PERSEVERANCE:
WHAT IS IT?
Dear friend: The question of final perseverance, though in our
judgment a very simple one, has perplexed a great many; and the
questions which you introduce to our notice, and the passages of
Scripture which you adduce, furnish abundant proof that your own mind
is not quite clear or settled on the point.
In seeking, then, to reply to your interesting letter, we have three
things to do, namely: first, to establish the doctrine of final
perseverance, or, in other words, the eternal security of all Christ's
members; secondly, to answer the questions which you have given us,
and which we take to be those usually or frequently put by the
opposers of the doctrine; and, thirdly, to expound those texts which
you have quoted, and in which you seem to find considerable
difficulty. May the Holy Spirit be our teacher, and may He give us
minds entirely subject to Scripture, so that we may be able to form a
sound judgment on the question now before us!
I. And first, as to the doctrine of final perseverance, it seems to us
exceedingly clear and simple if only we look at it in immediate
connection with Christ Himself. This indeed is the only true way to
look at any doctrine. Christ is the soul, centre, and life of all
doctrine. A doctrine separated from Christ becomes a lifeless,
powerless, worthless dogma--a mere idea in the mind--a mere item in
the creed. Hence, therefore, we must look at every truth as it stands
connected with Christ. We must make Him our point of view. It is only
as we keep near to Him, and look at all points from that one grand
point, that we can have a correct view of any point. If for example, I
make self my point of view, and look from thence at the subject of
final perseverance, I shall be sure to get a false view altogether,
inasmuch as it then becomes a question of _my_ perseverance, and
anything of _mine_ must necessarily be doubtful.
But if, on the other hand, I make Christ my viewing-point, and look at
the subject from thence, I shall be sure to have a correct view,
inasmuch as it then becomes a question of Christ's perseverance, and I
am quite sure that He _must_ persevere, and that no power of the
world, the flesh, or the devil, can ever hinder His final perseverance
in the salvation of those whom He has purchased with His own blood,
seeing "He is able to save to _the uttermost_ them that come unto God
by Him." This, surely, is final perseverance. It matters not what the
difficulty or what the hostile power may be, "He is able to save to
the uttermost." The world, with its ten thousand snares, is against
us, but "He is able." Indwelling sin, in its ten thousand workings, is
against us, but "He is able." Satan, with his ten thousand devices, is
against us, but "He is able." In a word, it is Christ's ability, not
ours; it is Christ's faithfulness, not ours; it is Christ's final
perseverance, not ours. All depends upon Him as to this weighty
matter. He has purchased His sheep, and surely He will keep them to
the best of His ability; and, seeing that "_all_ power is given unto
Him in heaven and on earth," His sheep must be perfectly and forever
safe. If aught could touch the life of the feeblest lamb in all the
flock of Christ, He could not be said to have "all power."
Thus it is immensely important to consider the question of final
perseverance in inseparable connection with Christ. Difficulties
vanish. Doubts and fears are chased away. The heart becomes
established, the conscience relieved, the understanding enlightened.
It is impossible that one who forms a part of Christ's body can ever
perish; and the believer is this--"We are members of His body, of His
flesh, and of His bones." (Eph. v. 30.) Every member of the body of
Christ was written in the book of the slain Lamb before the foundation
of the world, nor can anything or any one ever obliterate that
writing. Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith in reference to those
that are His: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me; and I _give_ unto them _eternal_ life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall _any_ (man, devil, or any one else) pluck
them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than
all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." (John
x. 27-29.)
Here, then, most assuredly, we have final perseverance; and that,
moreover, not merely the perseverance of the saints, but of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Yes, dear friend, this is the
way we would have you view the matter. It is the final perseverance of
the Holy Trinity. It is the perseverance of the Holy Ghost, in opening
the ears of the sheep. It is the perseverance of the Son, in receiving
all whose ears are thus opened. And, finally, it is the perseverance
of the Father, in keeping, through His own name, the blood-bought
flock in the hollow of His everlasting hand. This is plain enough. We
must either admit the truth--the consolatory and sustaining truth--of
final perseverance or succumb to the blasphemous proposition that the
enemy of God and man can carry his point against the Holy and Eternal
Trinity. We see no middle ground. "Salvation is of the Lord" from
first to last. It is a free, unconditional, and everlasting salvation.
It reaches down to where the sinner is in all his guilt, ruin, and
degradation, and bears him up to where God is in all His holiness,
truth, and righteousness; and it endures forever. God the Father is
its source, God the Son is its channel, and God the Holy Ghost is the
power of application and enjoyment. It is all of God from beginning
to end, from foundation to topstone, from everlasting to everlasting.
If it were not so, it would be presumptuous folly to speak of final
perseverance; but seeing it is so, it would be presumptuous unbelief
to think of aught else.
True, there are great and manifold difficulties in the
way--difficulties before and difficulties after conversion. There are
many and powerful adversaries; but that is the very reason why we must
keep the question of final perseverance entirely clear of self and all
its belongings, and make it repose simply upon God. It matters not in
the least what the difficulties or the adversaries may be, for faith
can ever triumphantly inquire, "If God be for us, who can be against
us?" And again, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword? As it is written, 'For Thy sake, we are killed all
the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Nay, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved
us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor _any other creature_, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Rom. viii. 35-39.)
Here, again, we have final perseverance taught, in the clearest and
strongest way possible--not any creature shall be able to separate us.
Neither self, in all its forms; nor Satan, in all his wiles and
machinations; nor the world, in all its alurements, or all its scorn,
can ever separate the "us" of Romans viii. 39 from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. No doubt persons may be deceived,
and they may deceive others. Spurious cases may arise; counterfeit
conversions may take place. Persons may seem to run well for a time,
and then break down. The blossoms of spring-time may not be followed
by the mellow fruits of autumn. Such things may be; and, moreover,
true believers may fail in many things; they may stumble and break
down in their course. They may have ample cause for self-judgment and
humiliation in the practical details of life. But, allowing the widest
possible margin for all these things, the precious doctrine of final
perseverance remains unshaken--yea, untouched--upon its own divine and
eternal foundation--"I give unto my sheep _eternal_ (not temporary or
conditional) life, and they shall _never_ perish." And again: "Upon
this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it." People may argue as they will, and base their
arguments on cases which have come under their notice, from time to
time, in the history of professing Christians; but, looking at the
subject from a divine point of view, and basing our convictions on the
sure and unerring Word of God, we maintain that all who belong to the
"us" of Romans viii., the "sheep" of John x., and the "church" of
Matthew xvi., are as safe as Christ can make them, and this we
conceive to be the sum and substance of the doctrine of final
perseverance.
II. And now, dear friend, we shall, in the second place, briefly and
pointedly reply to the questions which you have put before us:--
1. "Will a believer be saved, no matter into what course of sin he may
fall, and die in?" A true believer will, infallibly, be saved; but we
consider that salvation includes, not only full deliverance from the
future consequences of sin, but from the present power and practice
thereof. And, hence, if we find a person living in sin, and yet
talking about his assurance of salvation, we look upon him as an
antinomian, and not a saved person at all. "If we say that we have
fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the
truth." The believer may fall, but He will be lifted up; he may be
overtaken, but he will be restored; he may wander, but he will be
brought back, because Christ is able to save to the uttermost, and not
one of His little ones shall perish.
2. "Will the Holy Spirit dwell in a heart where evil and unholy
thoughts are _indulged_?" The body of the believer is the temple of
the Holy Ghost. (1 Cor. vi. 19.) And this precious truth is the ground
of exhortation to purity and holiness of heart and life. We are
exhorted not to grieve the Holy Spirit. To "_indulge_" evil and unholy
thoughts is not christian walk at all. The Christian may be
assaulted, grieved, and harassed by evil thoughts, and in such a case
he has only to look to Christ for victory. Proper christian walk is
thus expressed in John's first epistle: "We know that whosoever is
born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth
himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." (Chap. v. 18.) This is
the divine side of the question. Alas! we know there is the human side
likewise; but we judge the human side by the divine. We do not lower
the divine to meet the human, but ever aim at the divine
notwithstanding the human. We should never be satisfied with anything
lower than 1 John v. 18. It is by keeping up the true standard that we
may expect to raise our moral tone. To talk of having the Spirit and
yet "_indulge_" in evil and unholy thoughts is, in our judgment, the
ancient Nicolaitanism (Rev. ii. 6, 15), or modern antinomianism.
3. "If it be so, then, will not people say, they may live as they
like?" Well, how does a true Christian like to live? As like Christ as
possible. If one had put this question to Paul, what would have been
his answer? 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, and Phil. iii. 7-14, furnish the reply.
It is to be feared that the persons who ask such questions know but
little of Christ. We can quite understand a person getting entangled
in the meshes of a one-sided theological system and being perplexed by
the conflicting dogmas of systematic divinity; but we believe that the
man who draws a plea from the freedom, sovereignty, and eternal
stability of the grace of God to continue in sin, knows nothing of
Christianity at all, has neither part nor lot in the matter, but is in
a truly awful and dangerous condition.
As to the case which you adduce, of a young man who heard a minister
state in his sermon that "once a child, always a child," and who took
occasion from that to plunge into and continue in open sin, it is only
one of thousands. We believe the minister was right in what he said,
but the young man was wrong in what he did. To judge the words of the
former by the acts of the latter is utterly false. What should I think
of my son, if he were to say, Once a son, always a son, and therefore
I may proceed to smash my father's windows and do all sorts of
mischief? We judge the minister's statement by the Word of God, and
pronounce it true. We judge the young man's conduct by the same rule,
and pronounce it false. The matter is quite simple. We have no reason
to believe that the unhappy young man ever really tasted the true
grace of God; for if he had, he would love and cultivate and exhibit
holiness. The Christian has to struggle with sin; but _struggling_
with it and _wallowing_ in it are two totally different ideas. In the
one case we can count on Christ's sympathy and grace; in the other, we
are actually blaspheming His name by implying that He is the minister
of sin.
We consider it a very serious mistake to set about judging the truth
of God by the actings of men. All who do so must reach a false
conclusion. The true way is just to reverse the order. Get hold of
God's truth first, and then judge everything by that. Set up the
divine standard, and test everything thereby. Set up the public
scales, and weigh every man's load therein. The scales must not be
regulated by each man's load, but each man's load be tested by the
scales. If ten thousand professors were to fall away, and live and die
in open sin, it would not shake our confidence in the divine doctrine
of final perseverance. The selfsame Word that proves the doctrine to
be true, proves them to be false. "They went out from us, but they
were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have
continued with us; but they went out, that they might be manifest that
they were not all of us." (1 John ii. 19.) "The foundation of God
standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.
And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity." (2 Tim. ii. 19.)
III. We shall now proceed to examine the various passages of Scripture
which, as you say, are generally adduced by those who seek to
overthrow the doctrine of final perseverance. But before doing so, we
deem it of importance to lay down the following fundamental principle,
which will, in our judgment, be found most helpful in the
interpretation of Scripture generally. The principle is very simple.
No one passage of Holy Scripture can by any possibility contradict
another. If therefore there be a seeming contradiction, it must arise
from our want of spiritual intelligence. Thus, for example, if any one
were to quote James ii. 24 in defense of the doctrine of justification
by works, I might not be able to answer him. It is quite possible that
thousands, like Luther, have been sadly perplexed by that passage.
They may feel the fullest and clearest assurance that they are
justified, and that not by any works that they have done, but simply
"by faith of Jesus Christ," and yet be wholly unable to explain these
words of James--"Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and
not by faith only."
Now, how is one to meet such a difficulty as this? He really does not
understand the apostle James. He is involved in much perplexity by the
apparent contradiction between James and Paul. What is he to do? Just
to apply the principle above stated. No one passage of Scripture can
possibly contradict another. As well might we apprehend a collision
between two of the heavenly bodies while moving in their divinely
appointed orbits, as that two inspired writers could possibly clash in
their statements. Well, then, I read in Rom. iv. 5 such plain words as
these: "But to him that _worketh not_, but believeth on Him that
justifieth the ungodly, his _faith_ is counted for righteousness."
Here I find works entirely excluded as a ground of justification, and
faith alone recognized. So also in chapter iii. I read, "Therefore we
conclude that a man is justified by faith without (or apart from)
works of law." And, again, "Being justified by faith, we have peace
with God." Exactly similar is the teaching in the epistle to the
Galatians, where we read such plain words as these: "_Knowing_ that a
man is not justified by works of law, but by faith of Jesus Christ,
even we (Jews) have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by faith of Christ, and not by works of law: for by works of
law shall no flesh be justified." (Chap. ii. 16.)
In all these passages, and many more which might be quoted, works are
sedulously excluded as a ground of justification, and that too in
language so plain that a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err
therein. If therefore we cannot explain James ii. 24, we must either
deny its inspiration or have recourse to our principle, namely, that
no one passage of Holy Scripture can possibly contradict another, and
so remain, with unshaken confidence and unruffled repose, rejoicing in
the grand foundation truth of justification by faith alone, apart from
law-works altogether.
Having called the reader's attention to the famous passage in James
ii., it may not be amiss to offer him, in passing, a word or two of
exposition which will help him in the understanding of it. There is a
little word in verse 14 which will furnish the key to the entire
passage. The inspired apostle inquires, "What doth it profit, my
brethren, though a man _say_ he hath faith?" Had he said, What doth it
profit though a man _have_ faith? the difficulty would be insuperable,
the perplexity hopeless. But the important word "say" quite removes
all difficulty, and unfolds in the simplest possible way the point
which the apostle has in his mind. We might inquire, What doth it
profit though a man _say_ he hath ten thousand a year, if he have it
not?
Now, we are aware that the word "say" is constantly left out in
quoting James ii. 14. Some have even ventured to assert that it is not
in the original. But any one who can read Greek has only to look at
the passage and he will see the word _legee_ (_say_) placed there by
the Holy Ghost, and left there by all our leading editors and biblical
critics; nor can we well conceive a word of more vital importance in a
passage. Its influence, we believe, is felt throughout the entire
context in which it occurs. There is no use in a man merely _saying_
he has faith; but if he really has it, it "profits" him for time and
eternity, inasmuch as it connects him with Christ, and puts him in
full and inalienable possession of all that Christ has done and all
that He is for us before God.
This leads us to another point, which will greatly tend to clear away
the seeming contradiction between the two inspired apostles, Paul and
James. There is a very material difference between _law-works_ and
_life-works_. Paul jealously excludes the former; James as jealously
insists on the latter. But be it carefully noted that it is only the
former that Paul excludes, as it is only the latter that James insists
on. The acts of Abraham and Rahab were not law-works, but life-works.
They were the genuine fruits of faith, apart from which they would
have possessed no justifying virtue whatever.
It is well worthy of note that with the history of four thousand years
before Him, the Holy Ghost, in the apostle, should have fixed upon two
such works as that of Abraham in Genesis xxii. and that of Rahab in
Joshua ii. He does not adduce some acts of charity or benevolence,
though surely He might easily have selected many such from the vast
mass of materials which lay before Him. But, as if anticipating the
use that the enemy would make of the passage now before us, He takes
care to select two such illustrations of His thesis as prove beyond
all question that it is life-works and not law-works He is insisting
upon, and leaves wholly untouched the priceless doctrine of
justification by faith, apart from works of law.
Finally, if any should feel disposed to inquire as to the difference
between law-works and life-works, it is simply this: law-works are
such as are done in order to get life: life-works are the genuine
fruits of life possessed. And how do we get life? By believing on the
Son of God. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my words,
and believeth on Him that sent Me, _hath_ everlasting life." (John v.
24.) We must have life before we can do anything; and we get life, not
by "saying" we have faith, but by really having it; and when we have
it, we shall manifest the precious fruits thereof, to the glory of
God.
Thus, then, we not only implicitly believe that Paul and James _must_
harmonize, but we can plainly see that they _do_.
Having thus sought to define and illustrate our principle, we shall
leave you, dear friend, to apply it in the various cases of difficulty
and perplexity which may come before you in the study of Scripture,
while we endeavor to expound, as the Lord may enable us, the important
passages of Scripture which you have laid before us.
1. The first quotation is from the second epistle of Peter--"But there
were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon
themselves swift destruction." (Chap. ii. 1.) The difficulty of this
passage arises, we suppose, from the expression, "denying the Lord
that bought them." But there is, in reality, no difficulty whatever in
these words. The Lord has a double claim on every man, woman, and
child beneath the canopy of heaven. He has a claim founded on
creation, and a claim founded on redemption. It is to the latter of
these two that the apostle refers. The false teachers will not merely
deny the Lord that _made_ them, but even the Lord that _bought_ them.
It is of importance to see this. It will help to clear away many
difficulties. The Lord Jesus has a purchased right over every member
of the human family. The Father has given Him power over all flesh.
Hence the sin of those who deny Him. It would be sin to deny Him as
Creator; it is a greater sin to deny Him as Redeemer. It is not at all
a question of regeneration. The apostle does not say, Denying the Lord
that quickened them. This would indeed be a difficulty; but as the
passage stands, it leaves wholly untouched the truth of final
perseverance.
2. The second passage occurs at the close of the same chapter (verses
20 and 22)--"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the
world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse
with them than the beginning.... But it is happened unto them
according to the true proverb, 'The dog is turned to his own vomit
again: and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.'"
The diffusion of scriptural knowledge and evangelical light may and
does frequently exert an amazing influence upon the conduct and
character of persons who have known the saving, quickening,
emancipating power of the gospel of Christ. Indeed it is hardly
possible for an open Bible to be circulated, or a free gospel to be
preached, without producing very striking results which, after all,
will be found to fall far short of _the_ grand result of regeneration.
Many gross habits may be abandoned, many "pollutions" laid aside,
under the influence of a merely intellectual "knowledge of the Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ"; while, at the same time, the _heart_ has
never really been savingly reached at all. Now, it will be invariably
found that when persons shake off the influence of evangelical
light--even though that influence never extended beyond their outward
conduct--they are sure to plunge into greater depths of evil, and
greater excesses of worldliness and folly than ever; "The latter end
is worse with them than the beginning." The devil takes delight in
dragging the _quondam_ professor through deeper mire than that in
which he wallowed in the days of his ignorance and thoughtless folly.
Hence the urgent need of pressing on all with whom we have to do the
importance of making sure work of it, so that the knowledge of truth
may not merely affect their external conduct, but reach the heart, and
impart that life which, when once possessed, can never be lost. There
is nothing in this passage to terrify the sheep of Christ, but very
much to warn those who, though they may for a time put on the outward
appearance of sheep, have never been inwardly aught but as the dog and
the sow.
3. Ezekiel xviii. 24, 26--"But when the righteous turneth away from
his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all
the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his
righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his
trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned,
in them shall he die.... When a righteous man turneth away from his
righteousness and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his
iniquity, that he hath done, shall he die." With this we may connect
your reference to 2 Chronicles xv. 2--"The Lord is with you while ye
be with Him: and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you: but if ye
forsake Him, He will forsake you." We feel constrained, dear friend,
to say that it evidences a sad want of spiritual intelligence to
adduce such passages of Scripture as bearing in any way upon the truth
of the final perseverance of Christ's members. These, and numberless
other scriptures in the Old Testament, as well as many similar
passages in the New Testament, unfold to us the deeply important
subject of God's moral government. Now, to be merely a subject of
God's government is one thing; to be a subject of His unchangeable
grace is another. We should never confound them. To elaborate this
point, and to refer to the various passages which illustrate and
enforce it, would demand a volume: we would here only add our full
persuasion that no one can understand the word of God who does not
accurately distinguish between man under government and man under
grace. In the one case he is looked at as walking down here, in the
place of responsibility and danger; in the other, he is looked at as
associated with Christ above, in the place of inalienable privilege
and eternal security. These two Old Testament scriptures to which you
have referred us are entirely governmental, and, as a consequence,
have nothing whatever to do with the question of final perseverance.
4. Matthew xii. 45--"Then goeth he and taketh with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there:
and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall
it be unto this wicked generation." The closing sentence of this
passage quite explains the whole context. Our Lord is describing the
moral condition of the Jewish people. The spirit of idolatry had gone
out of them, but only for a time, and to return again in sevenfold
energy and intensity, rendering their last state worse by far than
aught that has yet appeared in their most marvelous history. This
passage, taken in a secondary way, may be very intelligently applied
to an individual who, having undergone a certain moral change, and
exhibited a measure of improvement in his outward conduct, afterwards
falls back and becomes more openly corrupt and vicious than ever.
5. 2 John i. 8, 9--"Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things
which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the
Father and the Son." In verse 8 the apostle exhorts the elect lady and
her children to look to themselves, lest by any means he should lose
aught of the fruit of his ministry. They were to form part of his
reward in the coming day of glory, and he longed to present them
faultless in the presence of that glory, that his reward might be
full. Verse 9 needs no explanation; it is solemnly plain. If one does
not _abide_ in the doctrine of Christ, he has got nothing. Let slip
the truth as to Christ, and you have no security as to anything. The
Christian most assuredly needs to walk watchfully in order to escape
the manifold snares and temptations which surround him; but whether is
that watchfulness better promoted by placing his feet upon the
shifting sand of his own performances or by fixing them firmly upon
the rock of God's eternal salvation? Whether am I in a more favorable
position for the exercise of watchfulness and prayer while living in
perpetual doubt and fear, or reposing in artless confidence in the
unchangeable love of my Saviour-God? We think, dear friend, we may
very safely anticipate your reply.
6. Rev. iii. 11--"Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou
hast, that no man take thy crown." Two things are here to be
considered, namely: first, this is an address to an assembly; and,
secondly, it does not say, That no man take thy _life_. A _servant_
may lose his _reward_; but a _child_ can never lose his eternal
_life_. Attention to this would remove a host of difficulties. Sonship
is one thing; discipleship is quite another. Security in Christ is one
thing; testimony for Christ is quite another. If our security were
dependent upon our testimony--our sonship upon our discipleship, where
should we be? True, the more I know my security and enjoy my sonship,
the more effective will be my testimony and the more faithful my
discipleship; but these things must never be confounded.
In conclusion, dear friend, you say that "All those texts which speak
of enduring to the end, and overcoming, are thought to mean that,
since there is a possibility of our not doing so, we may not be saved
in the end." As to this, we would merely add that we shall be most
happy at any time to enter with you upon the close examination of
every one of those passages to which you in this general way refer,*
and to prove, by the grace of God, that not one of them, when rightly
interpreted, militates in the smallest degree against the precious
truth of final perseverance; but that, on the contrary, each passage
contains within itself, or within its immediate context, that which
will clearly prove its perfect harmony with the truth of the eternal
security of the very feeblest lamb in all the blood-bought flock of
Christ.
May the Lord establish our souls, more and more firmly, in His own
truth, and preserve us unto His heavenly kingdom, to the glory of His
holy name!
C. H. M.
P. S.--Paley observes that "we should never suffer what we know to be
disturbed by what we know not." And Butler remarks nearly the same
when he says, "If a _truth_ be established, _objections_ are nothing.
The one is founded on our _knowledge_, and the other on our
_ignorance_." (See Jay's Autobiography, p. 170.)
A SACRED UNION
"'Twixt Jesus and the heavenly race
Subsists a bond of sovereign grace--
A tie which hell's tremendous train
Can ne'er dissolve or rend in twain.
"Life's sacred bond shall never break,
Though earth should to its centre shake:
We rest in hope, assured of this;
For God has pledged His righteousness.
"By Him 'twas counseled, planned, and done,
Wrought in the blood of His dear Son--
The Christ appointed to redeem
All that the Father chose in Him.
"O sacred union, firm and strong!
How great the grace! How sweet the song!
To God alone be all the praise
Of rich, eternal, heavenly grace.
"In spirit one with Him who rose
Victorious o'er His mighty foes;
Who went on high and took His seat,
Pledge of the serpent's full defeat.
"Triumphant thus o'er adverse powers,
(For all He is and has is ours,)
With Him, the Head, we stand or fall--
Our Life, our Surety, and our All.
"Thus saved in Him, a chosen race,
Here may we prove our faithfulness,
And live to Him who for us died,
With whom we shall be glorified."
NOW AND THEN; OR, TIME AND ETERNITY
The principles of truth laid down in Luke xii. are of the most solemn
and searching character. Their practical bearing is such as to render
them, in a day like the present, of the deepest importance.
Worldly-mindedness and carnality cannot live in the light of the truth
here set forth. They are withered up by the roots. If one were asked
to give a brief and comprehensive title to this most precious section
of inspiration, it might be entitled "Time in the light of eternity."
The Lord evidently designed to set His disciples in the light of that
world where every thing is the direct opposite of that which obtains
here--to bring their hearts under the holy influence of unseen things,
and their lives under the power and authority of heavenly principles.
Such being the faithful purpose of the Divine Teacher, He lays the
solid foundation for His superstructure of doctrine with these
searching words: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy." There must be no undercurrent in the soul. The deep
springs of thought must be laid bare. We must allow the pure beams of
heaven's light to penetrate to the depths of our moral being. We must
not have any discrepancy between the hidden judgment of the soul and
the style of our phraseology--between the bent of the life and the
profession of the lips. In a word, we specially need the grace of "an
honest and a good heart," in order to profit by this wondrous
compendium of practical truth.
We are too apt to give an indifferent hearing or a cold assent to
_home truth_. We do not like it. We prefer interesting speculations
about the mere letter of Scripture, points of doctrine, or questions
of prophecy, because we can indulge these in immediate connection with
all sorts of worldly-mindedness, covetous practices, and
self-indulgence. But ponderous principles of truth, bearing down upon
the conscience in all their magnitude and flesh-cutting power, who can
bear, save those who, through grace, are seeking to purge themselves
from "the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy"? This leaven is
of a most specious character, takes various shapes, and is therefore
most dangerous. Indeed, wherever it exists, there is a most positive
and insurmountable barrier placed before the soul in its progress in
experimental knowledge and practical holiness. If I do not expose my
_whole soul_ to the action of divine truth,--if I am closing up some
corner or crevice from the light thereof,--if I am cherishing some
secret reserve,--if I am dishonestly seeking to accommodate the truth
to my own standard of practice, or parry its keen edge from my
conscience, then, assuredly, I am defiled by the leaven of hypocrisy,
and my growth in likeness to Christ is a moral impossibility. Hence,
therefore, it is imperative upon every disciple of Christ to search
and see that nothing of this abominable leaven is allowed in the
secret chambers of his heart. Let us, by the grace of God, put and
keep it far away, so that we may be able on all occasions to say,
"Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth."[3]
[3] The meaning which is generally attached to hypocrisy is a false
profession of religion. It assuredly means this, but it means much
more. A tacit assent to principles which do not govern the conduct
deserves the appellation of hypocrisy. Looking at the subject in this
point of view, we may all find occasion of deep humiliation before the
Lord.
But not only is hypocrisy utterly subversive of spiritual progress, it
also fails in attaining the object which it proposes to itself; "for
there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that
shall not be known." Every man will find his level, and every thought
will be brought to light. What the truth would do _now_, the
judgment-seat will do _then_. Every grade and shade of hypocrisy will
be unmasked by the light which shall shine forth from the
judgment-seat of Christ. Nothing will be allowed to escape. All will
be reality _then_, though there is so much fallacy _now_. Moreover,
every thing will get its proper name _then_, though it be misnamed
_now_. Worldly-mindedness is called prudence; a grasping, covetous
spirit is called foresight; and self-indulgence and personal
aggrandizement are called judicious management and laudable diligence
in business. Thus it is _now_; but _then_ it will be quite the
reverse. All things will be seen in their true colors, and called by
their true names, before the judgment-seat. Wherefore it is the wisdom
of the disciple to act in the light of that day, when the secrets of
all hearts shall be disclosed. As to this, he is placed on a
vantage-ground, for, says the apostle, "we must all [saints and
sinners--though not at the same time, nor on the same ground,] be
manifested [φανερωθῆναι] before the judgment-seat of
Christ." Should this disturb the disciple's mind? Assuredly not, if
his heart be so purged of the leaven of hypocrisy and his soul so
thoroughly grounded, by the teaching of God the Holy Ghost, in the
great foundation-truth set forth in this very chapter (2 Cor. v.),
namely, that Christ is his life, and Christ his righteousness; that he
can say, "We are manifested [πεφανερώμεθα,--an inflection
of the same word as is used at verse 10,] unto God, and I trust also
are manifested in your consciences."
But if he be deficient in this peace of conscience and transparent
honesty of heart, there is no doubt but that the thought of the
judgment-seat will disturb his spirit. Hence we see that the Lord, in
Luke xii, sets the consciences of His disciples directly in the light
of the judgment-seat.--"And I say unto you, _My friends_, Be not
afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that
they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him,
which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say
unto you, Fear Him." "The fear of man bringeth a snare," and is
closely connected with "the leaven of the Pharisees;" but "the fear of
the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and causes a man always so to
carry himself--so to think, speak, and act--as in the full light of
Christ's judgment-seat. This would impart immense dignity and
elevation to the character, while it would effectually nip, in the
earliest bud, the spirit of haughty independence, by keeping the soul
under the searching power of divine light, the effect of which is to
make every thing and every one manifest.
There is nothing that so tends to rob the disciple of Christ of the
proper dignity of his discipleship as walking before the eyes or
thoughts of men. So long as we are doing so, we cannot be unshackled
followers of our heavenly Master. Moreover, the evil of walking before
men is morally allied with the evil of seeking to hide our ways from
God. Both partake of the "leaven of the Pharisees," and both will find
their proper place before the judgment-seat. Why should we fear men?
why should we regard their opinions? If their opinions will not bear
to be tried in His presence who has power to cast into hell, they are
worth nothing; for it is with Him we have to do. "With me it is a very
small thing that I should be judged of you, or man's judgment." Man
may have a judgment-seat _now_, but he will not have it _then_;--he
may set up his tribunal in time, but he will have no tribunal in
eternity. Why, therefore, should we shape our way in reference to a
tribunal so frail and evanescent? Oh, let us challenge our hearts as
to this. God grant us grace to act _now_ in reference to _then_--to
carry ourselves here with our eye on hereafter--to look at time in the
light of eternity.
The poor unbelieving heart may however inquire, If I thus rise above
human thoughts and human opinions, how shall I get on in a scene where
those very thoughts and opinions prevail? This is a very natural
question, but it meets its full and satisfactory answer from the
Master's lips; yea, it would even seem as though He had graciously
anticipated this rising element of unbelief, when, having carried His
disciples above the hazy mists of time, and set them in the clear,
searching, powerful light of eternity, He added, "Are not five
sparrows sold for two farthings? and not one of them is forgotten
before God. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not, therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Ver.
6, 7.) Here the heart is taught not only to _fear_ God, but also to
_confide_ in Him,--it is not only warned, but also tranquilized.
"Fear" and "fear not" may seem a paradox to flesh and blood, but to
faith it is no paradox. The man who fears God most will fear
circumstances least. The man of faith is at once the most dependent
and independent man in the world--dependent upon God, independent upon
circumstances. The latter is the consequence of the former.
And mark the ground of the believer's peace. The One who has power to
cast into hell, the only One whom he is to fear, has actually taken
the trouble to count the hairs of his head. He surely has not taken
the trouble for the purpose of letting him perish here or hereafter.
The minuteness of our Father's care should silence every doubt that
might arise in our hearts. There is nothing too small and there can be
nothing too great for Him. The countless orbs that move through
infinite space and a falling sparrow are alike to Him. His infinite
mind can take in with equal facility the course of everlasting ages
and the hairs of our head. This is the stable foundation on which
Christ founds His "fear not" and "take no thought." We frequently fail
in the practical application of this divine principle. We may admire
it as a principle, but it is only in the application of it that its
real beauty is seen or felt. If we do not put it in practice, we are
but painting sunbeams on canvas, while we famish beneath the chilling
influences of our own unbelief.
Now, we find in this scripture before us that bold and uncompromising
testimony for Christ is connected with this holy elevation above men's
thoughts and this calm reliance upon our Father's minute and tender
care. If my heart is lifted above the influence of the fear of man,
and sweetly tranquilized by the assurance that God takes account of
the hairs of my head, then I am in a condition of soul to confess
Christ before men. (See _vv_. 8-10.) Nor need I be careful as to the
result of this confession, for so long as God wants me here He will
maintain me here. "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and
unto magistrates and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye
shall answer, or what ye shall say; for the Holy Ghost shall teach you
in the same hour what ye ought to say." The only proper ground of
testimony for Christ is to be fully delivered from human influence,
and established in unqualified confidence in God. So far as I am
influenced by or a debtor to men, so far am I disqualified for being a
servant of Christ; but I can only be effectually delivered from human
influence by a lively faith in God. When God fills the heart, there is
no room for the creature; and we may be perfectly sure of this, that
no man has ever taken the trouble to count the hairs of our head; we
have not even taken that trouble ourselves; but God has, and therefore
I can trust God more than any one. God is perfectly sufficient for
every exigency, great or small, and we only want to trust Him to know
that He is.
True, He may and does use men as instruments; but if we lean on men
instead of God,--if we lean on instruments instead of on the hand that
uses them, we bring down a curse upon us, for it is written, "Cursed
be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose
heart departeth from the Lord." (Jer. xvii. 5.) The Lord used the
ravens to feed Elijah, but Elijah never thought of trusting in the
ravens. Thus it should be ever. Faith leans on God, counts on Him,
clings to Him, trusts in Him, waits for Him, ever leaves a clear stage
for Him to act on, does not obstruct His glorious path by any
creature-confidence, allows Him to display Himself in all the glorious
reality of what He is, leaves every thing to Him; and, moreover, if it
gets into deep and rough waters, it will always be seen upon the crest
of the loftiest billow, and from thence gazing in perfect repose upon
God and His powerful actings. Such is faith--that precious thing--the
only thing in this world that gives God and man their respective
places.
While the Lord Jesus was in the act of pouring forth these unearthly
principles, a true child of earth intrudes upon Him with a question
about property.--"And one of the company said unto Him, 'Master, speak
to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.'" How
marvelously little did he know of the true character of that heavenly
Man who stood before him! He knew nothing of the profound mystery of
His being, or the object of His heavenly mission. He surely had not
come from the bosom of the Father to settle lawsuits about property,
nor to arbitrate between two covetous men. The spirit of covetousness
was manifestly in the whole affair. Both defendant and plaintiff were
governed by covetousness. One wanted to grasp and the other wanted to
keep; what was this but covetousness? "And he said unto him, 'Man, who
made Me a judge or a divider over you?'" It was not a question of
which was right or which was wrong as to the property. According to
Christ's pure and heavenly doctrine they were both wrong. In the light
of eternity a few acres of land were little worth; and as to Christ
Himself, He was only teaching principles entirely hostile to all
questions of earthly possession; but in His own person and character
He set an example of the very opposite. He did not go to law about the
inheritance. He was "Heir of all things." The land of Israel, the
throne of David, and all creation belonged to Him; but man would not
own Him, or give Him possession. "The husbandmen said among
themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and seize upon
the inheritance.'" To this the Heir submitted in perfect patience, but
(eternal homage to His glorious name!) by submitting unto death He
crushed the enemy's power, and brought "many sons to glory."
Thus we see in the doctrine and practice of the Heavenly Man the true
exhibition of the principles of the kingdom of God. He would not
arbitrate, but yet He taught truth which would entirely do away with
the need of arbitration. If the principles of the kingdom of God were
dominant, there would be no need for courts of law; for inasmuch as
people would not be wronged of their rights, they could have no wrongs
to be righted. This would be admitted by all. But then the Christian,
being in the kingdom, is bound to be governed by the principles of the
kingdom, and to carry them out at all cost; for, in the exact
proportion that he fails to exhibit those principles, he is robbing
his own soul of blessing, and marring his testimony.
Hence, then, a person going to law is not governed, in so doing, by
the principles of the kingdom of God, but by the principles of the
kingdom of Satan, who is the prince of this world. It is not a
question as to his being a Christian, but simply a question as to the
principle by which he is governed in the act of going to law under
any circumstances.[4] I say nothing of the moral instincts of the
divine nature, which would surely lead one to apprehend with accuracy
the gross inconsistency of a man who professes to be saved by _grace_
going to _law_ with a fellow-man--of one who, while he owns that if he
had his _right_ from the hand of God, he would be burning in hell,
nevertheless insists upon exacting his rights from his fellow-man--of
one who has been forgiven ten thousand talents, but yet seizes his
fellow by the throat for a paltry hundred pence. Upon these things I
shall not dwell. I merely look at the question of going to law in the
light of the kingdom, in the light of eternity; and if it be true that
in the kingdom of God there is no need for courts of law, then I press
it solemnly upon my reader's conscience, in the presence of God, that
he, as a subject of that kingdom, is totally wrong in going to law.
True, it will lead to loss and suffering; but who is "worthy of the
kingdom of God" who is not prepared to "suffer for it"? Let those who
are governed by the things of _time_ go to law; but the Christian is,
or ought to be, governed by the things of _eternity_. People go to law
_now_, but it will not be so _then_; and the Christian is to act _now_
as if it were _then_. He belongs to the kingdom; and it is just
because the kingdom of God is not dominant, but the King rejected,
that the subjects of the kingdom are called to suffer. Righteousness
"suffers" _now_; it will "reign" in the millennium, and it will
"dwell" in the new heavens and the new earth. Now, in going to law,
the Christian anticipates the millennial age. He is going before his
Master in the assertion of his rights. He is called to suffer
patiently all sorts of wrongs and injuries. To resent them is to deny
the truth of that kingdom to which he professes to belong. I press
this principle upon my reader's conscience. I earnestly implore his
serious attention thereto. Let it have its full weight upon his
conscience. Let him not trifle with its truth. There is nothing which
tends so to hinder the freshness and power, growth and prosperity, of
the kingdom of God in the heart as the refusal to carry out the
principles of that kingdom in the conduct.[5]
[4] How often, alas! does it happen that people go to law to be
_righted_ of their _wrongs_, and in the end find themselves _wronged_
of their _rights_!
[5] The Christian should be governed by the principles of the kingdom
in every thing. If he is engaged in business, he should conduct his
business as a child of God, and a servant of Christ. He should not
have a Christian character on Lord's day and a commercial character on
Monday. I should have the Lord with me in my shop, my warehouse, and
my counting-house. It is my privilege to depend upon God in my
business; but in order to depend upon Him, my business must be of such
a nature, and conducted upon such a principle as He can own. If it is
not so, I must leave the Lord out, and I am then on the same footing
as the men of the world, and left to fall into their ways and manner
of doing business.
Of course, everything depends upon the motive which actuates the mind.
What, then, is my motive in my daily labor? Is it to provide food and
raiment, or is it to lay up treasures upon earth? If the former, God
has pleasure in it, and is with it; so that, if you are in the way of
His appointment, you have only to depend upon Him.
Faith always puts the soul on a totally different ground from that
occupied by the world, no matter where or what our calling may be.
Take, for example, David in the valley of Elah. Why did he not fight,
like other men? Because he was on the ground of faith. So also
Hezekiah. Why did he put on sackcloth when other men put on armor?
Because he was on the ground of simple dependence upon God. Just so in
the case of a man in trade; he must carry on his trade as a Christian,
else he will mar the testimony and rob his own soul of blessing.
But some may say that it is bringing us down from the high ground of
the Church, as set forth in Paul's epistles, to press thus the
principles of the kingdom. By no means. We belong to the Church, but
we are in the kingdom; and while we must never confound the two, it is
perfectly plain that the ethics--the moral habits and ways--of the
Church can never be below those of the kingdom. If it be contrary to
the spirit and principles of the kingdom to assert my rights and go to
law, it must, if possible, be still more contrary to the spirit and
principles of the Church. This cannot be questioned. The higher my
position, the higher should be my code of ethics and tone of
character. I fully believe, and desire firmly to hold, experimentally
to enter into, and practically to exhibit the truth of the Church as
the body and bride of Christ--the possessor of a heavenly standing,
and the expectant of heavenly glory, by virtue of her oneness with
Christ; but I cannot see how my being a member of that highly
privileged body can make my practice lower than if I were merely a
subject or member of the kingdom. What is the difference, as regards
present conduct and character, between belonging to the body of a
rejected Head and belonging to the kingdom of a rejected King?
Assuredly it cannot be to lower the tone in the former case. The
higher and more intimate my relationship to the rejected One, the more
intense should be my separation from that which rejects Him, and the
more complete should be my assimilation to His character, and the more
precise and accurate my walk in His footsteps in the midst of that
scene from which He is rejected.
But the simple fact is, WE WANT CONSCIENCE. Yes, beloved reader, a
tender, exercised, honest conscience, which will truly and accurately
respond to the appeals of God's pure and holy Word, is, I verily
believe, the grand desideratum--the pressing want of the present
moment. It is not so much principles we want, as the grace, the
energy, the holy decision, that will carry them out, cost what it may.
We admit the truth of principles which most plainly cut at the very
things which we ourselves are either directly or indirectly doing,--we
admit the principle of grace, and yet we live by the strict
maintenance of righteousness. For example, how often does it happen
that persons are preaching, teaching, and professing to enjoy grace,
while at the very moment they are insisting upon their rights in
reference to their tenants; and, either directly themselves or
indirectly by means of their agents, dispossessing poor people,
unroofing their houses, and sending them out, in destitution and
misery, upon a cold, heartless world! This is a plain, palpable case,
of which, alas! there have been too many painful illustrations in the
world within the last ten years.
And why put cases? Because one finds such melancholy deficiency in
sensibility of conscience at the present day, that unless the thing is
brought home plainly to one's self it will not be understood. Like
David, our indignation is wrought up to the highest pitch by a picture
of moral turpitude, so long as we do not see _self_ in that picture.
It needs some Nathan to sound in our ears, "Thou art the man," in
order to prostrate us in the dust, with a smitten conscience, and true
self-abhorrence. Thus, at the present day, eloquent sermons are
preached, eloquent lectures delivered, and elaborate treatises written
about the principles of grace, and yet the courts of law are
frequented, attorneys, lawyers, sheriffs, agents, and sub-agents are
called into requisition, with all their terrible machinery, in order
to assert our rights; but we feel it not, because we are not present
to witness the distress, and hear the groans and execrations of
houseless mothers and children. Need we wonder, therefore, that true
practical Christianity is at a low ebb amongst us? Is it any marvel
that leanness, barrenness, drought and poverty, coldness and deadness,
darkness, ignorance, and spiritual depression should be found amongst
us? What else could be expected, when the principles of the kingdom of
God are openly violated?
But is it unrighteous to seek to get our own, and to make use of the
machinery within our reach in order to do so? Surely not. What is here
maintained is, that no matter how well defined and clearly established
the right may be, the assertion thereof is diametrically opposed to
the kingdom of God. The servant in Matthew xviii. was called "a wicked
servant," and "delivered to the tormentors," not because he acted
unrighteously in enforcing the payment of a lawful debt, but because
he did not act in grace and remit that debt. Well, therefore, might
the Lord Jesus sound in His disciples' ears this warning voice, "Take
heed and beware of covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in
the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
But how difficult to define this "covetousness"! how hard to bring it
home to the conscience! It is, as some one has said of worldliness,
"shaded off gradually from white to jet black;" so that it is only as
we are imbued with the spirit and mind of heaven, and thoroughly
schooled in the principles of eternity, that we shall be able to
detect its working. And not only so, but our hearts must, in this
also, be purged from the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
The Pharisees were covetous, and could only turn Christ's doctrine
into ridicule (see Luke xvi. 14); and so will it be with all those who
are tainted by their leaven. They _will_ not see the just application
of truth, either as to covetousness or any thing else. They will seek
to define it in such a way as will suit themselves. They will
interpret, modify, pare down, accommodate, until they have fully
succeeded in getting their conscience from under the edge of God's
truth; and thus they get into the power and under the influence of the
enemy. I must either be governed by the pure truth of the Word or by
the impure principles of the world, which, as we very well know, are
forged in Satan's workshop, and brought into the world to be used in
doing his work.
In the parable of the rich man, which the Lord here puts forth in
illustration of covetousness, we see a character which the world
respects and admires. But in this, as in every thing else brought
forward in this searching chapter, we see the difference between _now_
and _then_--between "time and eternity." All depends upon the light in
which you look at men and things. If you merely look at them _now_, it
may be all very well to get on in trade, and enlarge one's concerns,
and make provision for the future. The man who does this is counted
wise _now_, but he will be a "fool" _then_. But, my reader, let us
remember that we must make God's _then_ to be our _now_; we must look
at the things of time in the light of eternity--the things of earth in
the light of heaven. This is true wisdom, which does not confine the
heart to that system of things which obtains "under the sun," but
conducts it into the light, and leaves it under the power of "that
world" where the principles of the kingdom of God bear sway. What
should we think of courts of law and insurance offices if we look at
them in the light of eternity?[6] These things do very well for men
who are only governed by _now_, but the disciple of Christ is to be
governed by _then_. This makes all the difference; and truly it is a
serious difference.
[6] It should be a serious question with a child of God, ere he avails
himself of an assurance company, whether in the matter of fire or
life, "Am I hereby distrusting God? or am I seeking by human agency to
counteract divine visitations?" There is something sadly anomalous in
a Christian's insuring his life. He professes to be _dead_, and that
Christ is his _life_; why then talk of insuring his life? But many
will say, "We cannot bring Christianity into such things." I ask,
Where are we to leave it? Is Christianity a convenient sort of
garment, which we put on on Lord's day, and at the close of that day
take it off, fold it carefully up, and lay it on the shelf till the
following Lord's day? It is too often thus. People have two
characters; and what is this but the leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy? Insurance offices are all very well for the men of this
world, who should certainly avail themselves of them, inasmuch as
every thing around and within is so uncertain. But to the child of God
_all is sure_. God has insured his life forever, and hence he should
regard insurance offices as so many depots of unbelief.
"The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully." What sin
is there in being a successful agriculturist or merchant? If God bless
a man's labor, should he not rejoice? Truly so; but mark the moral
progress of a covetous heart. "He thought _within himself_." He did
not think in the presence of God,--he did not think under the mighty
influences of the eternal world; no, "he thought within
himself"--within the narrow compass of his selfish heart. Such was his
range; and therefore we need not marvel at his practical conclusion.
"What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?"
What! Was there no way of using his resources with a view to God's
future? Alas! no. Man has a future (or thinks he has) on which he
counts, and for which he makes provision; but self is the only object
which figures in that future,--self, whether in my own person or that
of my wife or child, which is morally the same thing.
The grand object in God's future is Christ; and true wisdom will lead
us to fix our eye on Him, and make Him our undivided object for time
and eternity--_now_ and _then_. But this, in the judgment of a worldly
man, is nonsense. Yes, Heaven's wisdom is nonsense in the judgment of
earth. Hearken to the wisdom of earth, and the wisdom of those who are
under the influence of earthly maxims and habits. "And he said, 'This
will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and _there_
will I bestow _all_ my fruits and my goods.'" Thus we have what he
"thought," what he "said," and what he "did;" and there is a
melancholy consistency between his thoughts, his words, and his acts.
"_There_," in my self-built storehouse, "will I bestow _all_."
Miserable treasure-house to contain the "all" of an immortal soul! God
was not an item in the catalogue. God was neither his treasury nor his
treasure. This is plain; and it is always thus with a mere man of the
world. "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up
for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." Thus we
see that a worldly man's provision is only "for many years." Make the
best of it, it cannot go beyond that narrow limit. It cannot, even in
his own thought about it, reach into that boundless eternity which
stretches beyond this contracted span of time. And this provision he
offers to his never-dying soul as the basis of its "ease and
merriment." Miserable fatuity! Senseless calculation!
How different is the address which a believer may present to his soul!
He too may say to his soul, "Soul, take thine ease; eat, drink, and
be merry;--eat of the fatness of God's storehouse, and drink of the
river of His pleasures, and of the wine of His kingdom; and be glad in
His accomplished salvation; for thou hast much goods, yea,
unsearchable riches, untold wealth, laid up, not merely for many
years, but for eternity. Christ's finished work is the ground of thine
eternal peace, and His coming glory the sure and certain object of thy
hope." This is a different character of address, my reader. This shows
the difference between _now_ and _then_. It is a fatal mistake not to
make Christ the Crucified, Christ the Risen, Christ the Glorified, the
Alpha and Omega of all our calculations. To paint a future, and not to
place Christ in the foreground, is extravagance of the wildest
character; for the moment God enters the scene, the picture is
hopelessly marred.
"But God said unto him, 'Thou fool! this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: THEN whose shall those things be which thou hast
provided?'" And then mark the moral of all this. "So is he," no matter
who--saint or sinner, "that layeth up _treasure for himself_, and is
not rich toward God." The man who hoards up is virtually making a god
of his hoard. His mind is tranquilized as to the future when he thinks
of his hoard, for if he had not that hoard he would be uneasy. It is
sufficient to put a natural man entirely out of his reason to give him
naught but God to depend upon. Any thing but that for him. Give him
old pieces of parchment in the shape of title-deeds, in which some
clever lawyer will finally pick a hole, and prove worthless. He will
lean on them--yea, die in peace, if he can leave such to his heirs.
Give him an insurance policy,--any thing, in short, but God for the
natural heart. ALL IS REALITY SAVE THE ONLY REALITY, in the judgment
of nature. This proves what nature's true condition is. It cannot
trust God. It _talks_ about Him, but it cannot _trust_ Him. The very
basis of man's moral constitution is distrust of God; and one of the
fairest fruits of regeneration is the capacity to confide in God for
every thing. "They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee."
None else can.
However, my main object in this paper is to deal with Christian
consciences. I ask the Christian reader, therefore, in plain terms, is
it in keeping with Christ's doctrine, as set forth in the gospel, for
His disciples to lay up for themselves treasure on the earth? It seems
almost an absurdity to put such a question, in the face of Luke xii.
and parallel scriptures. "Lay not up for yourselves treasure on the
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through and steal." This is plain enough, and only wants an honest
conscience to apply it, in order to produce its proper results. It is
directly contrary to the doctrine of the kingdom of God, and perfectly
incompatible with true discipleship, to lay up "treasure," in any
shape or form, "on the earth." In this, as in the matter of going to
law, we have only to remember that we are in the kingdom of God, in
order to know how we should act. The principles of that kingdom are
eternal and binding upon every disciple of Christ.
"And He said unto His disciples, 'Therefore I say unto you, Take no
thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what
ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than
raiment.'" "Be careful for nothing," says the Spirit by the apostle.
Why? Because God is caring for you. There is no use in two thinking
about the same thing, when One can do every thing and the other can do
nothing. "In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall garrison [φρουρήδει] your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." This is the solid foundation
of peace of heart, which so few really enjoy. Many have gotten peace
of conscience through faith in the sufficiency of Christ's work, who
do not enjoy peace of heart through faith in the sufficiency of God's
care. And oftentimes we go to pray about our difficulties and trials,
and we rise from our knees as troubled as we knelt down. We profess to
put our affairs into the hands of God, but we have no notion of
_leaving them_, there; and consequently we do not enjoy peace of
heart. Thus it was with Jacob, in Genesis xxxii. He asked God to
deliver him from the hand of Esau; but no sooner did he rise from his
knees than he set forth the real ground of his soul's dependence, by
saying, "I will appease him by a present." It is clear he had much more
confidence in the "present" than in God. This is a common error amongst
the children of God. We profess to be looking to the Eternal Fountain;
but the eye of the soul is askance upon some creature-stream. Thus God
is practically shut out; our souls are not delivered, and we have not
got peace of heart.
The apostle then goes on, in Philippians iv. 8, to give a catalogue of
those things about which we ought to think; and we find that _self_ or
its affairs is not once alluded to. "Whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are venerable [σεμνά], whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these things.... And the God of peace
shall be with you." Thus, when I know and believe that God is thinking
about me, I have "_the peace of God_;" and when I am thinking about
Him and the things belonging to Him, I have "_the God of peace_."
This, as might be expected, harmonizes precisely with Christ's
doctrine in Luke xii. After relieving the minds of His disciples in
reference to present supplies and future treasure, He says, "But
rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added
unto you." That is, I am not to seek the kingdom with the latent
thought in my mind that my wants will be supplied in consequence.
That would not be true discipleship. A true disciple never thinks of
aught but the Master and His kingdom; and the Master will assuredly
think of him and his wants. Thus it stands, my beloved reader, between
a faithful servant and an all-powerful and all-gracious Master. That
servant may therefore be free, perfectly free, from care.
But there is another ground on which we are exhorted to be free from
care, and that is, the utter worthlessness of that care. "Which of
you, with taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then
be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for
the rest?" We gain nothing by our care; and by indulging therein we
only unfit ourselves for seeking the kingdom of God, and place a
barrier, by our unbelief, in the way of His acting for us. It is
always true in reference to us, "He could there do no mighty work,
because of their unbelief." Unbelief is the great hindrance to the
display of God's mighty works on our behalf. If we take our affairs
into our own hands, it is clear that we do not want God. Thus we are
left to the depressing influence of our own perplexing thoughts, and
finally we take refuge in some human resource, and make shipwreck of
faith.
It is important to understand that we are either leaning on God or on
circumstances. It will not do, by any means, to say that we are
leaning on God _and_ circumstances. It must be God _only_, or not at
all. It is all very well to talk of faith when our hearts are, in
reality, leaning on the creature in some shape or form. We should sift
and try our ways closely as to this; for inasmuch as absolute
dependence upon God is one of the special characteristics of the
divine life, and one of the fundamental principles of the kingdom, it
surely becomes us to look well to it that we are not presenting any
barrier to our progress in that heavenly quality. True, it is most
trying to flesh and blood to have no settled thing to lean upon. The
heart will quiver as we stand upon the shore of circumstances, and
look forth upon that unknown ocean--unknown to all but faith, and
where naught but simple faith can live for an hour. We may feel
disposed, like Lot, to cry out, "Is it not a little one? and my soul
shall live." The heart longs for some shred of the creature, some
plank from the raft of circumstances,--any thing but absolute
dependence upon God. But oh! let God only be known, and He must be
trusted; let Him be trusted, and He must be known.
Still the poor heart will yearn after something settled, something
tangible. If it be a question of maintenance, it will earnestly desire
some settled income, a certain sum in the funds, a certain amount of
landed property, or a fixed jointure or annuity of some kind or other.
Then, if it be a question of public testimony or ministry of any kind,
it will be the same thing. If a man is going to preach or lecture, he
will like to have something to lean upon; if not a written sermon, at
least some notes, or some kind of previous preparation,--any thing
but unqualified, self-emptied dependence upon God. Hence it is that
worldliness prevails to such a fearful extent amongst Christians.
Faith alone can overcome the world and purify the heart. It brings the
soul from under the influence of time, and keeps it habitually in the
light of eternity. It is occupied not with now, but with _then_,--not
with _here_, but _hereafter_,--not with earth, but with heaven. Thus
it overcomes the world and purifies the heart. It hears and believes
Christ's word, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom." Now, if "the kingdom" fills my
soul's vision, I have no room for aught beside. I can let go present
shadows, in the prospect of future realities; I can give up an
evanescent _now_, in the prospect of an eternal _then_.
Wherefore the Lord immediately adds, "Sell that ye have, and give
alms: provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the
heavens that fadeth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth
corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will the heart be also."
If I have treasure on earth, no matter in what shape, my _heart_ will
be there also, and I shall be a downright worldly man. How shall I
most effectually empty my heart of the world? By getting it filled
with Christ. He is the true treasure which neither the world's "bags"
nor its "storehouses" can contain. The world has its "barns" and its
"bags," in which it hoards its "goods;" but its barns will fall and
its bags will wax old: and then, what will become of the treasure?
Truly "they build too low that build beneath the skies."
Yet people will build and hoard up, if not for themselves, at least
for their children, or in other words, their second selves. If I hoard
for my children, I am hoarding for myself; and not only so, but in
numberless cases, the hoard, in place of proving a blessing, proves a
positive curse to the child, by taking him off the proper ground
appointed for him, as well as for all, in God's moral government,
namely, "working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may
have [not to hoard up for himself, or for his second self, but] to
give to him that needeth." This is God's appointed ground for every
man; and therefore if I hoard for my child, I am taking both myself
and him off the divine ground, and the consequence will be a
forfeiture of blessing. Do I taste the surpassing sweetness of
obedience to and dependence upon God, and shall I deprive my child
thereof? Shall I rob him, virtually, and so far as in me lies, of God,
and give him, as a substitute, a few "old bags," an insurance policy,
or some musty parchments?
But why need I hoard up for my children? If I can trust God for
myself, why not trust Him for them likewise? Cannot the One who has
fed and clothed me feed and clothe them also? Let not the truth be
misunderstood or misinterpreted. I am bound, by the powerful
obligations of the word and example of God, to provide for my own;
for, "if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his
own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." (1
Tim. v. 8.) This is plain enough. And, moreover, I am bound to fit my
children, so far as God's principles admit, and my province extends,
for any service to which He may be graciously pleased to call them.
But I am no where instructed in the Word of God to give my children a
hoard in place of an honest occupation, with simple dependence upon a
heavenly Father. As a matter of actual fact, few children ever thank
their fathers for inherited wealth; whereas they will ever remember,
with gratitude and veneration, having been led, by parental care and
management, into a godly course of action for themselves.
I do not, however, forget a passage which has often been used, or
rather abused, to defend the worldly, unbelieving practice of hoarding
up. I allude to 2 Corinthians xii. 14.--"Behold, the third time I am
ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek
not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the
parents, but the parents for the children." How glad people are when
they get a semblance of Scripture-authority for their worldliness! In
this passage it is but a semblance of authority; for the apostle is
certainly not teaching Christians to hoard up--he is not teaching
heavenly men to lay up treasure upon the earth, for any object. He
simple refers to a common practice _in the world_, and to a common
feeling _in nature_, in order to illustrate his own mode of dealing
with the Corinthians, who were his children in the faith. He had not
burdened them, and he would not burden them, for he was the parent.
Now, if the saints of God are satisfied to go back to the world and
its maxims, to nature and its ways, then let them hoard up with all
diligence--let them "heap treasure together for the last days;" but
let them remember that the moth, the canker-worm, and the rust will be
the end of it all. Oh for a heart to value those immortal "bags" in
which faith lays up its "unfading treasure," those heavenly
storehouses where faith "bestows all its fruits and its goods"! Then
shall we pursue a holy and elevated path through this present evil
world--then, too, shall we be lifted upon faith's vigorous pinion
above the dark atmosphere which inwraps this Christ-rejecting,
God-hating world, and which is impregnated and polluted by those two
elements, namely, _hatred of God, and love of gold_.
I shall only add, ere closing this paper, that the Lord Jesus--the
Adorable, the Divine, the Heavenly Teacher, having sought to raise, by
His unearthly principles, the thoughts and affections of His disciples
to their proper centre and level, gives them two things to do; and
these two things may be expressed in the words of the Holy Ghost--"To
serve the living and true God, and wait for His Son from heaven." The
entire of the teaching of Luke xii, from verse 35 to the end, may be
ranged under the above comprehensive heads, to which I call the
Christian reader's prayerful attention. We have no one else to serve
but "the living God", and nothing to wait for--nothing worth waiting
for but "His Son." May the Holy Ghost clothe His own Word with
heavenly power, so that it may come home to the heart and conscience,
and tell upon the life of every child of God, that the name of the
Lord Christ may be magnified, and His truth vindicated in the conduct
of those that belong to Him. May the grace of an honest heart, and a
tender, upright, well-adjusted conscience, be largely ministered to
each and all of us, so that we may be like a well-tuned instrument,
yielding a true tone when touched by the Master's hand, and
harmonizing with His heavenly voice.
Finally, if this paper should fall into the hands of one who has not
yet found rest of conscience in the perfected atonement of the Son of
God, I would say to such an one, You will surely lay this paper down
and say, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it?" You may be disposed
to ask, "What would the world come to, if such principles were
universally dominant?" I reply, It would cease to be governed by
Satan, and would be "the kingdom of God." But let me ask you, my
friend, "To which kingdom do you belong? Which is it--_now_, or
_then_--with you? Are you living for time, or eternity,--earth, or
heaven,--Satan, or Christ?" Do, I affectionately implore of you, be
thoroughly honest with yourself in the presence of God. Remember,
"there is _nothing_ covered that shall not be revealed." The
judgment-seat will bring _all_ to light. Therefore I say, Be honest
with yourself, and now ask your heart, "Where am I? How do I stand?
What is the ground of my peace? What are my prospects for eternity?"
Do not imagine that God wants _you_ to buy heaven with a surrender of
earth. No; He points you to Christ, who, by bearing sin in His own
body on the cross, has opened the way for the believing sinner to come
into the presence of God in the power of divine righteousness. You are
not asked to do or to be any thing; but the gospel tells you what
Jesus is, and what He has done; and if you believe this in your heart,
and confess it with your mouth, you shall be saved. Christ--God's
Eternal Son--God manifest in the flesh--co-equal with the Father,
being conceived by the Holy Ghost, was born of a woman, took upon Him
a body prepared by the power of the Highest, and thus became a REAL
MAN--very God and very man,--He, having lived a life of perfect
obedience, died upon the cross, being made sin and a curse, and having
exhausted the cup of Jehovah's righteous wrath, endured the sting of
death, spoiled the grave of its victory, and destroyed him that had
the power of death, He went up into heaven, and took His seat at the
right hand of God. Such is the infinite merit of His perfect
sacrifice, that all who believe are justified from ALL THINGS--yea,
are accepted in Him--stand in His acceptableness before God, and can
never come into condemnation, but have passed from death into life.
This is the gospel!--the glad tidings of salvation, which God the Holy
Ghost came down from heaven to preach to every creature. My reader,
let me exhort you, in this concluding line, to "behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world." BELIEVE AND LIVE!
_C. H. M._
THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST
When once the soul has been brought to feel the reality of its
condition before God--the depth of its ruin, guilt, and misery--its
utter and hopeless bankruptcy, there can be no rest until the Holy
Spirit reveals a full and an all-sufficient Christ to the heart. The
only possible answer to our total ruin is God's perfect remedy.
This is a very simple, but a most important truth; and we may say,
with all possible assurance, the more deeply and thoroughly the reader
learns it for himself the better. The true secret of peace is, to get
to the very end of a guilty, ruined, helpless, worthless self, and
there find an all-sufficient Christ as God's provision for our very
deepest need. This truly is rest--a rest which can never be disturbed.
There may be sorrow, pressure, conflict, exercise of soul, heaviness
through manifold temptations, ups and downs, all sorts of trials and
difficulties; but we feel persuaded that when a soul is really brought
by God's Spirit to see the end of self, and to rest in a full Christ,
it finds a peace which can never be interrupted.
The unsettled state of so many of God's dear people is the result of
not having received into their hearts a full Christ, as God's very own
provision for them. No doubt this sad and painful result may be
brought about by various contributing causes, such as a legal mind, a
morbid conscience, a self-occupied heart, bad teaching, a secret
hankering after this present world, some little reserve in the heart
as to the claims of God, of Christ, and of eternity. But whatever may
be the producing cause, we believe it will be found, in almost every
case, that the lack of settled peace, so common amongst the Lord's
people, is the result of not seeing, not believing, what God has made
His Christ to be to them and for them, and that forever.
Now, what we propose in this paper is, to show the anxious reader,
from the precious pages of the Word of God, that there is treasured up
for him in Christ all he can possibly need, whether it be to meet the
claims of his conscience, the cravings of his heart, or the exigencies
of his path. We shall seek, by the grace of God, to prove that the
_work_ of Christ is the only true resting-place for the _conscience_;
His _Person_, the only true object for the _heart_; His _Word_, the
only true guide for the _path_.
And first, then, let us dwell for a little upon
THE WORK OF CHRIST AS THE ONLY RESTING-PLACE FOR THE CONSCIENCE.
In considering this great subject, two things claim our attention;
first, what Christ has done for us; secondly, what He is doing for us.
In the former, we have atonement; in the latter, advocacy. He died for
us on the cross: He lives for us on the throne. By His precious
atoning death He has met our entire condition as sinners. He has borne
our sins, and put them away forever. He stood charged with all our
sins--the sins of all who believe in His name. "Jehovah laid on Him
the iniquity of us all." (Isa. liii.) And again, "For Christ also hath
once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us to God." (1 Pet. iii. 18.)
This is a grand and all-important truth for the anxious soul--a truth
which lies at the very foundation of the whole Christian position. It
is impossible that any truly awakened soul, any spiritually
enlightened conscience, can enjoy divinely settled peace until this
most precious truth is laid hold of in simple faith. I must know, upon
divine authority, that all my sins are put away forever out of God's
sight; that He Himself has disposed of them in such a manner as to
satisfy all the claims of His throne and all the attributes of His
nature; that He has glorified Himself in the putting away of my sins,
in a far higher and more wonderful manner than if He had sent me to an
everlasting hell on account of them.
Yes, He Himself has done it. This is the very gist and marrow--the
heart's core of the whole matter. God has laid our sins on Jesus, and
He tells us so in His holy Word, so that we may know it upon divine
authority--an authority that cannot lie. God planned it; God did it;
God says it. It is all of God, from first to last, and we have simply
to rest in it like a little child. How do I know that Jesus bore my
sins in His own body on the tree? By the very same authority which
tells me I had sins to be borne. God, in His marvelous and matchless
love, assures me, a poor guilty, hell-deserving sinner, that He has
Himself undertaken the whole matter of my sins, and disposed of it in
such a manner as to bring a rich harvest of glory to His own eternal
name, throughout the wide universe, in presence of all created
intelligence.
The living faith of this must tranquilize the conscience. If God has
satisfied Himself about my sins, I may well be satisfied also. I know
I am a sinner--it may be, the chief of sinners. I know my sins are
more in number than the hairs of my head; that they are black as
midnight--black as hell itself. I know that any one of these sins, the
very least, deserves the eternal flames of hell. I know--because God's
Word tells me--that a single speck of sin can never enter His holy
presence; and hence, so far as I am concerned, there was no possible
issue save eternal separation from God. All this I know, upon the
clear and unquestionable authority of that Word which is settled
forever in heaven.
But, oh, the profound mystery of the cross!--the glorious mystery of
redeeming love! I see God Himself taking all my sins--the black and
terrible category--all my sins, as He knew and estimated them. I see
Him laying them all upon the head of my blessed Substitute, and
dealing with Him about them. I see all the billows and waves of God's
righteous wrath--His wrath against my sins--His wrath which should
have consumed me, soul and body, in hell, throughout a dreary
eternity,--I see them all rolling over the Man who stood in my stead,
who represented me before God, who bore all that was due to me, with
whom a holy God dealt as He should have dealt with me. I see
inflexible justice, holiness, truth, and righteousness dealing with my
sins, and making a clear and eternal riddance of them. Not one of them
is suffered to pass! There is no connivance, no palliation, no
slurring over, no indifference. This could not possibly be, once God
Himself took the matter in hand. His glory was at stake; His unsullied
holiness, His eternal majesty, the lofty claims of His government.
All these had to be provided for in such wise as to glorify Himself in
view of angels, men, and devils. He might have sent me to
hell--righteously, justly, sent me to hell--because of my sins. I
deserved nothing else. My whole moral being, from its profoundest
depths, owns this--must own it. I have not a word to say in excuse for
a single sinful thought, to say nothing of a sin-stained life from
first to last--yes, a life of deliberate, rebellious, high-handed sin.
Others may reason as they please as to the injustice of an eternity of
punishment for a life of sin--the utter want of proportion between a
few years of wrong-doing and endless ages of torment in the lake of
fire. They may reason, but I thoroughly believe, and unreservedly
confess, that for a single sin against such a Being as the God whom I
see at the cross, I richly deserved everlasting punishment in the
deep, dark, and dismal pit of hell.
I am not writing as a theologian; if I were, it would be a very easy
task indeed to bring an unanswerable array of Scripture evidence in
proof of the solemn truth of eternal punishment. But no; I am writing
as one who has been divinely taught the true desert of sin, and that
desert, I calmly, deliberately, and solemnly declare, is, and can be,
nothing less than eternal exclusion from the presence of God and the
Lamb--eternal torment in the lake that burneth with fire and
brimstone.
But--eternal halleluiahs to the God of all grace!--instead of sending
us to hell because of our sins, He sent His Son to be the propitiation
for those sins. And in the unfolding of the marvelous plan of
redemption, we see a holy God dealing with the question of our sins,
and executing judgment upon them in the Person of His well-beloved,
eternal, and co-equal Son, in order that the full flood-tide of His
love might flow down into our hearts. "Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins." (1 John iv. 10.)
Now, this must give peace to the conscience, if only it be received in
the simplicity of faith. How is it possible for a person to believe
that God has satisfied Himself as to his sins and not have peace? If
God says to us, "Your sins and iniquities I will remember no more,"
what could we desire further as a basis of peace for our conscience?
If God assures me that all my sins are blotted out as a thick
cloud--that they are cast behind His back--forever gone from His
sight, should I not have peace? If He shows me the Man who bore my
sins on the cross, now crowned at the right hand of the Majesty in the
heavens, ought not my soul to enter into perfect rest as to the
question of my sins? Most assuredly.
For how, let me ask, did Christ reach the place which He now fills on
the throne of God? Was it as God over all, blessed forever? No; for He
was always that. Was it as the eternal Son of the Father? No; He was
ever that--ever in the bosom of the Father--the object of the Father's
eternal and ineffable delight. Was it as a spotless, holy, perfect
Man--One whose nature was absolutely pure, perfectly free from sin?
No; for in that character, and on that ground, He could at any moment,
between the manger and the cross, have claimed a place at the right
hand of God. How was it, then? Eternal praise to the God of all grace!
it was as the One who had by His death accomplished the glorious work
of redemption--the One who had stood charged with the full weight of
our sins--the One who had perfectly satisfied all the righteous claims
of that throne on which He now sits.
This is a grand, cardinal point for the anxious reader to seize. It
cannot fail to emancipate the heart and tranquilize the conscience. We
cannot possibly behold, by faith, the Man who was nailed to the tree,
now crowned on the throne, and not have peace with God. The Lord
Jesus Christ having taken upon Himself our sins, and the judgment due
to them, He could not be where He now is if a single one of those sins
remained unatoned for. To see the Sin-bearer crowned with glory is to
see our sins gone forever from the divine presence. Where are our
sins? They are all obliterated. How do we know this? The One who took
them all upon Himself has passed through the heavens to the very
highest pinnacle of glory. Eternal justice has wreathed His blessed
brow with a diadem of glory, as the Accomplisher of our
redemption--the Bearer of our sins; thus proving, beyond all question,
or possibility of a question, that our sins are all put away out of
God's sight forever. A crowned Christ and a clear conscience are, in
the blessed economy of grace, inseparably linked together. Wondrous
fact! Well may we chant, with all our ransomed powers, the praises of
redeeming love.
But let us see how this most consolatory truth is set forth in holy
Scripture. In Romans iii. we read, "But now the righteousness of God
without law [χωρὶς νόμου] is manifested, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God by faith of
Jesus Christ un
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/41502