Chapter 25: Six Reasons for the Former Doctrine
is even more serious if they are able to say with certainty what that person's state is. When those who are wise and holy, who walk closely with God, say, "There is no peace for you," you should pay careful attention. Do you have any godly friends—people whom, in your conscience, you believe are truly godly, who walk faithfully with God and enjoy communion with Him? If such a friend even suspects that your spiritual condition is not right, that is a serious matter.
This is the case when the prophet says, "There is no peace for such and such wicked men," says my God. Through God's mercy, I have an interest in Him, and in His name, I declare that there is no peace for such wicked men.
Chapter 25 Six Reasons for the Former Doctrine:
1. The soul out of Christ has departed from God.
2. Every person by nature is an enemy to God.
3. Every person by nature is bound to the justice of God, to answer for what He can charge them with.
4. In a person out of Christ, there is everything to disquiet them.
5. Everyone out of Christ is condemned.
6. Such a person may, at any moment, be plunged into a gulf of wrath.
Because this text has taken some time to open up, and it contains much, I will mention no other than this; for it is indeed sufficient to
prove that all who are out of Christ can have no peace or rest in their souls. Would you like to know why and how it comes to pass that none who are out of Christ can find rest in their souls? I will not spend much time elaborating, but those truths that I am about to present on this point are exceedingly dreadful; they speak dreadfully to those who are out of Christ. Yet, because you have already heard so much about the willingness of Jesus Christ to be reconciled with you, His invitation to come to Him, and since I have much to deliver to you later regarding the true rest that a believing soul has in Jesus
Christ, I may take the liberty to show you briefly the restless condition of every soul that is out of Jesus Christ. I will do this through the following points:
First, certainly, a soul out of Christ can have no rest because it has departed from God. Know this—and oh, that the Lord would make you aware of it—that every man and woman is naturally separated from God. From birth, we have departed from Him, and there is a great distance between God and each of our souls naturally. All the union we come to have with God is through His Son, through Christ.
Therefore, until we come to be in Christ, there is a great chasm, a gulf, a vast distance between God and our souls. This is one of the first things the Lord reveals to a soul He intends to save—the great distance that naturally exists between God and the soul. It is impossible for a soul to have rest if it is separated from God, for God is the proper centre of an immortal soul. As Moses says in Psalm 90,
"Thou art our habitation." The soul can find no rest but in God, for God is the rightful place of an immortal soul. The true good of an immortal soul is the enjoyment of an infinite good. Now, if the soul is separated from that which is its true good and proper place, it is impossible for it to find any rest.
In Psalm 12 at the end, it is said of the wicked, "The wicked walk around." The words in the old Latin are "in a circuit," meaning they wander up and down. But a godly person walks in a straight line towards God as the centre, and there they find rest. When in their natural condition, they walk in circles, seeking rest but finding none.
As it is said of the unclean spirit in the Gospel, it walks up and down seeking rest, but finds none. So it is with people in the world: they would like to have rest and seek something good, but they find none because they have departed from God, who is the only rest for an immortal soul.
Secondly, not only is this true, but every person by nature is an enemy to God. Therefore, they cannot look upon God—the infinite, eternal, first being of all things—without terror if they truly know
Him. No man or woman, who understands what God is, can behold Him without terror in their natural state. Hence, it is impossible for them to have rest as long as they remain enemies of God. This is certainly the state of man by nature, and the Scripture is as clear on this point as on any other in divinity: we are all, by nature, enemies of God. Can you truly be at peace when you are an enemy of God?
Think of yourself: perhaps you have slept quietly, lived joyfully, and eaten and drunk with a great sense of peace, as you imagine. But this is your condition: you are naturally an enemy to the infinite, eternal first-being of all things.
Object. You might say, If we do not know it, we may have rest.
Answer. Such rest is like that of a man asleep at the top of a mast.
True, he may not know the danger while he sleeps, but would you say that such a man truly rests? Would you say a man has gone to rest if he sleeps at the top of a mast? Such has been your rest all the days of your life before conversion.
Thirdly, every person by nature is guilty and bound to the infinite justice of God, to answer for all that the Lord charges against them.
They must answer it before the Lord and satisfy the strict law of God's divine justice for all the charges. Can this person be in a state of rest? Can they truly rest if they understand this? If a person is found guilty and is bound over to court, they will have little rest until they are freed. For a soul to be bound over by the infinite, eternal
God to face eternal justice for all the charges God has against them— can such a soul rest? This is the condition of everyone out of Christ, of every soul before it comes to Christ.
Fourthly, not only is a person guilty before the Lord, but anything that might disquiet a person in this world is present in one out of Christ. What disturbs a person? Being in debt can disquiet them. To be in danger of arrest as soon as they step outside—can such a person sleep soundly, eat quietly, or drink peacefully? Let me tell you, that as long as you are out of Christ, you are in debt to the infinite and eternal God. You are bound to give satisfaction for what the Lord has charged against you. And for all you know, the next person you meet could be like a bailiff sent from the eternal God to arrest you and cast you into prison until you have paid the last penny. I remember reading about Augustus Caesar—Plutarch reports that Caesar, knowing of a prominent Roman who was deeply in debt, sent to buy the pillow upon which the man slept. Caesar reasoned that there must be something special about that pillow, for a man in such debt to be able to rest upon it. This illustrates the great trouble and restlessness of someone who is in debt. If that is true, then certainly, every person out of Christ is in a restless condition, for they owe God a debt of punishment because they have not paid the debt of obedience. God must have His debt paid, either in themselves or by a surety, and your only surety is in Christ. Christ undertakes to pay the debt for those who come to Him, whom He invites. If Christ does not
pay your debt, you must pay it yourself, or be cast into prison. This is why the damned lie in hell forever—they lie there paying the debt of obedience they owe to God. The Scriptures call our sins our debts. If you examine the different expressions of the Gospel writers, one speaks of trespasses, and the other of debts, showing that Christ did not intend to bind His people to use those exact words, but to present a pattern of prayer. This shows that we are to pray in that manner and for that purpose. This is an argument no one can dispute, for one Gospel writer gives the Lord's Prayer in one set of words, and the other Gospel writer presents it with different words.
One says, forgive us our trespasses, and the other says, forgive us our debts. They mean the same thing. But I say from this that Christ did not intend to bind us precisely to the words He spoke, but rather to use His prayer as a pattern for ours. So much for that point.
Fifthly, regarding the restless condition of all people out of Christ— these individuals are not only debtors and guilty, but each one is already condemned. A prisoner may be bound over, yet hope to escape when they go to trial. But this is certain: every man and woman out of Christ is a condemned creature. The sentence has already been passed upon them. I will give you a clear Scripture for this in John 3:18: He that does not believe in Christ is condemned already. Not only will they be condemned on the great day of judgment, but they are condemned now—condemned already. I could give you many other Scriptures, like Romans 8:1, which says,
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. This clearly implies that there is condemnation for those who are not in Christ, who walk after the flesh. Can anyone have peace when they are a condemned creature? Would you think that a man condemned in court, with the sentence of death passed upon him, could rest? If you found such a man asleep, would you not say, Alas! Can you rest now? Do you
think the night before the execution is a night of rest for the condemned? Let me say to you that those who have come to Christ know this was their condition before they came to Him. This is a certain truth: until you come to Jesus Christ and believe in Him, you are under a sentence of condemnation. He that does not believe is condemned already, and you who walk after the flesh are under condemnation.
You will say, God forbid, we hope we are not condemned. Now, Romans 8:1 will reveal the condition you are in: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Who are those in Christ and delivered from condemnation? They are those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Shall we examine this now? I challenge every soul to put it to the test, to see if they dare stake their souls and eternal state upon this
Scripture. Pay attention—it is the word of God, the word that will stand forever, even when you and I have fallen. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
Now, your eternal state depends on this—your soul rests upon it. If you are a man or woman who walks after the flesh, meaning that you follow the pleasures the flesh desires, that the lusts of the flesh are delightful to you, and your heart walks after them, living accordingly
—if it is your primary concern to make provision for the flesh, and when you have done so, you give liberty to your spirit to satisfy itself in the lusts of the flesh—you are not in Jesus Christ. Therefore, you are certainly under condemnation. And is this a time to rest now? Is there any rest for a soul in this condition?
So, all of you whose consciences tell you that up until now you have walked after the flesh and not after the Spirit—not after the truths
you find in the Word—perhaps you listen to the Word and say, It's true what the minister says; if only we could do what he says, but you cast off thoughts of those truths and dismiss what God speaks in His Word. Yet what He speaks in His Word should be as real to you as if He spoke it from Heaven. Therefore, you are out of Christ. And I speak these things in the name of God to draw men's hearts more effectively to come to Christ for rest.
For I do not intend to leave you here, merely telling you that there is no rest out of Christ. I also intend to tell you how you may find rest in Christ. But first, I must convince you that there is no rest for the soul outside of Christ. If you have had rest all this while without Christ, it has been a cursed, vile, and wretched rest. It has been no better than the rest of a condemned man. Indeed, let me tell you, all who are out of Christ are not merely condemned to die a temporal death, but an eternal death.
But you will say, They seem to have enough rest; it doesn't trouble them. I answer, what rest? It is just like a condemned man who goes to bed, falls asleep, and dreams that he is at home in his house, with his wife and children around him, at home with his friends, at his work, or enjoying his meal. Oh, how this poor man rejoices in his dream, thinking he is safe and well! But eventually, the poor man awakens and realises he is in prison, with shackles around his feet and the guard at the door. For all he knows, he may die the next day.
Certainly, this vividly illustrates the condition of natural men in the world. They are all condemned, but they are in a dream. They think they are out of danger, that all will be safe, that no misery will befall them. Oh, but when the Lord awakens them from this dream, they will see themselves in prison, under the sentence of condemnation,
and then they will wonder how they could have been so quiet all this time.
Sixthly: Yes, let me say further, if you are out of Christ, you are not only under the sentence of condemnation, but for all you know, at any moment you may be plunged into the gulf of the wrath of the infinite God. It is true, God has spared you for a long time—He has continued your life in His patience, perhaps for twenty, forty, or fifty years. But how do you know that what has never happened in your life before may not happen in a single night, day, or moment?
Though you have been spared a long time, you do not know whether, by morning, you may be among the damned in Hell. And is this a condition in which to rest?
For a man or woman to be in such a condition, where, upon examination, they must ask themselves: How do things stand between God and my soul? How do I stand with God? What relationship do I have with Him? What relationship does He have with me? How do I know that I may not soon be swallowed up in the gulf of the eternal wrath of the infinite God, and lie under it forever? What do I know to the contrary? And if this proves to be my fate, it would have been ten thousand times better that I had never been born. Is this a condition in which to rest?
Certainly, if God has revealed any truth in His word, these are indeed the truths of God. The condition of one out of Christ is like that of a person who has suffered shipwreck. Perhaps they cling to a piece of wood broken off from the ship, floating up and down on the sea, but they are in such danger that with every wave, they are at risk of drowning. Do you think it possible for such a person to sleep peacefully? It's true, you are not drowned yet, but you can see that with every wave, you are in danger of being swallowed up and sunk
to the bottom. It may be that some of you have suffered shipwreck and been delivered in a lifeboat. I believe that when you were in that situation, you could hardly sleep peacefully. If you tried to settle down in your boat and say, Well, here I will take my rest, wouldn't everyone think you mad?
This is exactly the situation of people in their natural state. They try to rest, knowing full well that at any moment, some dreadful wave of God's wrath could come and swallow them up, leaving them undone forever. Certainly, there is no peace for the wicked, says my God. If this is true, there is no peace.
There are several other particulars that could further explain the condition of all men who are out of Jesus Christ and why they cannot find rest. All this is to make Jesus Christ precious to you, so that you may seek the blessed condition that is to be found in Him.
Oh, that something which has been spoken today may be impressed upon your hearts, that you might go with that poor wretched sinner described in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 16, verse 30, and ask,
Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? The Lord has shown me my restless condition—I now see that the rest I have had has been no true rest at all. Oh, that this may cause you to inquire after Christ, to put your soul into an inquiring state, seeking Jesus
Christ, so that you may listen attentively to what will be said about the blessed rest Christ promises in this invitation, when He says,
Come unto me, you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Do not be afraid to apply to yourselves the things that have been delivered. These truths come from a text that clearly reveals to you the true rest that is in Christ, for this promise of rest is made to those who labour and are heavy laden. If these truths of God weigh upon