Chapter 28: Of the Rest that a Believer has by Christ from the Guilt of Sin, laid out in Ten Particu
Chapter 28:
Of the Rest that a Believer has by Christ from the Guilt of Sin, laid out in Ten Particulars.
1. Christ takes upon Himself all the sin of those that come to Him and stands charged with them before His Father.
2. He satisfies for sin.
3. The wrath of God is appeased.
4. He is continually at the right hand of His Father to intercede for sinners that come to Him.
5. Their souls are sprinkled with the blood of Christ.
6. The soul, upon first coming to Christ, is made perfectly righteous before God.
7. Christ not only undertakes for all past sins but also for sins to come.
8. Guilt shall never return once it is removed.
9. The soul, upon first coming to Christ, is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
10. Such believers are assured that the day of judgement will be the day of their absolution.
Now, we are only beginning to address the great point of all: the rest of the soul in Christ, what it is. In this, I shall follow the method used when discussing the burdens of sinners who were heavy laden. I spoke of five loads upon sinners that Christ calls to Himself, so that they might come to Him for rest. Now, corresponding to those five, we shall speak of the rest that is to be found in Christ.
The first burden was the sense of the guilt of sin. This was the first load upon sinners that Christ calls to come unto Him, that they might have rest.
Now, concerning the rest that the soul finds in Christ, in its deliverance from the woeful trouble of conscience regarding the guilt of sin, I shall not explain here what those troubles are, for that was covered earlier in discussing those that were weary and heavy laden.
If there are any who find their souls laden with the burden of the guilt of their sins, who perceive nothing but the wrath of God pursuing them—if, when asked what they see, they respond, "Oh, I see an angry God above, a guilty conscience within me, nothing but the wrath of God surrounding me, and beneath me, the bottomless gulf ready to swallow me"—to such, Christ says, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest from all these fears and troubles, and I will give you ease from the throes of your conscience and the grievous aching of your soul. Come to me."
What relief it is to a believer to be freed from the throbbing of conscience and the trouble of heart that arises from the guilt of sin!
This will be the first comfort to every believer who comes to Christ to consider:
First, that the Lord Jesus Christ takes upon Himself all the sins of those who come to Him. He is willing to stand charged with them before the Lord, and to have all their sins counted against Him and laid to His charge. Therefore, the Scripture tells us that Christ was made sin, as in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He hath made Him to be sin for us." Upon this, Luther boldly says that Christ was the greatest sinner in the world—not that He committed sin Himself, but that He bore the sins of all believers. There is a transaction by which the sins of all who come to Christ are laid upon Him, and this happens immediately when you come to Christ. I say that at the very first moment of your coming to Christ, all your sins are transferred to Him, and He stands charged with them before God.
It is like a poor woman, heavily in debt and fearful of officers coming for her. She is a widow, and she marries a rich man. Oh, what ease she has now! Why? Because all her debt is now charged to her husband. This could still cause anxiety, though, if her husband does not know about the debt. But if she tells him before the marriage, and he says, "This shall not prevent our union; I am content to pay it all," she might still worry until the day of marriage. But when that day comes, oh, what relief she feels! All the debt is now her husband's, and she knows he is able to pay it all. Similarly, Christ says, "I know all your fears, sorrows, and guilt, and what my Father holds against you. I know it all, and it does not stop me from being willing to unite with you. In fact, it is this very thing that makes me willing, and that makes me call to you, 'Come to me.' From the first moment you come to me, there will be a discharge of all your guilt.
You will not be held accountable—I will stand charged with everything." Here is ease and rest. This is a different kind of ease and rest than eating, drinking, and enjoying the pleasures and comforts of this world.
II.
Secondly, Christ provides rest from the guilt of sin by offering actual satisfaction. The Lord Christ satisfies the justice of His Father, and this satisfaction is applied to every believer at the very moment they come to Christ. A full satisfaction is made, so that the believer has now satisfied justice. When we come to Christ, our sins are not pardoned as if God had received no satisfaction, but rather, even though we are forgiven by grace, our surety—Christ—offers satisfaction. Christ presents His blood and merit to His Father as full satisfaction for all our debts and sins. In truth, He has already paid it, and upon your coming to Him, it is credited to you. For Jesus
Christ has satisfied the justice of God the Father that your soul so fears.
What do you fear in regard to your sins? "Oh, my sins make me liable to God's justice," you may say. But Christ replies, "I have fully satisfied the justice of my Father, and it was for your sins in particular." Oh, the rest and ease that comes to the soul when it sees that all its sins are dealt with! If we had strong faith at the moment of our first coming to Christ, we might actually see all our sins charged to Him.
III.
Thirdly, upon this, the wrath of God now comes to be appeased and satisfied. Before, the Lord looked upon you with an angry countenance, but upon your coming to Jesus Christ, the Lord embraces your soul, welcomes you, and regards you as a friend, as His child. This brings ease to the soul from the trouble caused by the guilt of sin.
IV.
Fourthly, beyond this, Christ not only takes our sins upon Himself and satisfies divine justice and wrath, but He also continually stands at the right hand of the Father to be your advocate. If the devil or anyone else accuses you of anything you have done, or if you fear that any of your sins might come before God to accuse you, Jesus Christ stands at the right hand of the Father to be your advocate. What is the office of an advocate but to answer any accusation brought against a person? Jesus Christ stands at the right hand of His Father to do this for you.
In John 2:1, it says: "My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." It is a great comfort to have someone stand and plead for you before the Father, to be your advocate. Christ is as real an advocate at the right hand of God for all
believers as any advocate in this world. This truth is found often in Scripture. If you read the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Holy Spirit speaks of the rest of God—the rest of God's people. Notice the first encouragement He gives and the foundation for the rest they have. In several places, He speaks of the rest of God's people, and the foundation of this rest is: "For we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." For we have a high priest—that is the foundation of the rest of the saints of God.
Fifthly, Christ says, "Come to me, and I will give you rest from all the trouble that you have from the guilt of sin." How? By sprinkling your consciences with my blood, so that you will be able to answer any temptation that comes to you. Not only will I stand before my Father on your behalf, but your consciences will be sprinkled with my blood, enabling you to respond to any accusation that Satan may bring to disturb your rest or disquiet your soul.
In Hebrews 10:22, it says: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Before you came to Christ, you had an evil conscience that was ready to accuse and trouble you. It vexed and tormented you, keeping you from sleeping at night. I appeal to you who understand what it is to know
God and what it means for a creature to be in relation to God—has your conscience not kept you awake at night? Perhaps while your wife slept peacefully beside you, your evil conscience lay within you, gnawing at your soul.
Now, to such, the Scripture says: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience." That is, the blood of Christ is sprinkled upon your soul and conscience, taking away the torment. Other things might trouble the conscience for a while, but it is the blood of Christ that cleanses you. When you come to Christ, your conscience is empowered to answer whatever may be laid against it.
Perhaps after a believer has come to Christ, the devil will object and attempt to disturb them. Often, after coming to Christ, a sinner's heart experiences as much disturbance as before. But take notice of the text in 1 Peter 3:21: "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Through Christ's resurrection, a believer gains a good conscience, having been sprinkled with His blood, and through this resurrection, they can answer their conscience. That is, whatever accusation the devil brings against the soul, the soul sprinkled with the blood of Christ is able to answer it. This is the comfort believers have: that their conscience is satisfied through the blood of Jesus
Christ. Perhaps at the first moment of coming to Christ, you do not fully feel this, but you begin to experience it and are enabled to rest in it.
VI.
Sixthly, the rest that is to be found against the trouble of the guilt of sin is this: upon the first coming of the soul to Christ, it is made as perfectly just before God as ever Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were, as all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs. You are as completely cleared of the guilt of your sin as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were. It is true, your sanctification is not perfected at your first coming to Christ, but I dare affirm that, at the very moment you
come to Jesus Christ, your justification is as perfect as that of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What a mighty comfort and rest this is!
What? I—a vile, defiled creature, who has had such dreadfulness upon my spirit—am now able to see myself standing as clear before the throne of God as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and as the apostles and prophets did? Oh, what a comfort this is! We ought to strive to become equal to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in sanctification, as we are already equal to them in justification. This is the ease and rest the soul finds in coming to Christ.
VII.
Seventhly, the rest that is to be had in Christ concerning justification, in freedom from the trouble that arises from the guilt of sin, is this:
Christ undertakes not only for what you have done, but for whatever sins you will commit throughout your life. O! that only believers might hear me say this! But it is a certain truth.
You may say, "Though I, by coming to Him, might stand justified before my Father, I am a poor creature and will sin again and again, bringing guilt upon my conscience." Yet come to Christ, for here is free grace in Christ, and know that Christ has laid in pardon for you against whatever guilt you might contract again. "There is mercy with thee, that thou mayest be feared; with thee, there is forgiveness." Christ has prepared forgiveness for the guilt of sin that you will later incur, ensuring that you will never be condemned.
Perhaps you will deserve condemnation a hundred times over, but Christ will ensure that you never enter into condemnation. You will never be in a state of condemnation. Oh, the rest that is found here!
VIII.
Eighthly, when the soul comes to Christ, there is no return of guilt.
Though Christ undertakes for what is past and what is to come, just
as it is with a malefactor who has been pardoned and received into favour yet may fear an alteration in his state, so too might you. But rest assured, the guilt that was upon you will never return again.
While a man who has received a pardon might see his former guilt return if he does not carry himself well, this is not the case for the soul pardoned by Christ. Once pardoned, your former guilt will never return. The Lord will blot out all your sins and remember them no more. Just as when you cast something out of your ship into the depths of the sea and never look for it again, so it is with God: all your sins will be cast into the depths of the sea, and they will be so far removed from you that their guilt will never return once you have come to Christ.
IX.
Ninthly, there is not only deliverance from guilt; our justification is not only negative (the removal of guilt), but it is also the clothing of the soul with the righteousness of Christ. We are given a perfect righteousness, that of the great Mediator of the New Covenant. Here is a righteousness that not only pardons me but also enables me to stand before the great God with perfect righteousness.
Yea, tenthly, and lastly, the rest we have in Christ is this: upon our coming to Him, we are assured that the great work of the day of judgement shall be the solemnity of our absolution, the solemnity of our pardon. One of the great works that God intends to accomplish on that day is to make your pardon public, celebrated by both men and angels. You have your pardon now, but the great work of God on that day will be to solemnize the absolution and pardon of the saints.
At that time, your sins will be put away anew, as the Scripture says, "In the time of refreshment, your sins shall be done away." They are already done away, but then they shall be done away in the presence
of men and angels. You need not fear that, at the day of judgement, God will come and reproach you for your sins.
When you were under the guilt of sin, what was more terrible to your soul than the thought of the day of judgement? "Oh, how can I stand before the holy God on that great day and have all these sins charged upon me?" But now, Christ says, "Come to me, and you shall never need to fear the great day of judgement anymore." For on that day, the great work will be to make your pardon a matter of celebration.
You need not fear the day of judgement any longer but instead long for it. Even if the great day of judgement is not terrifying to you, perhaps the particular judgement that awaits every soul—when God determines the eternal fate of each individual—may still cause fear.
But there will also be a great day of judgement when the whole world shall be judged.
Now, consider all these things together:
Christ undertakes for you.
Christ satisfies the justice of His Father.
Christ satisfies the wrath of His Father.
Christ is your advocate at the right hand of His Father.
Christ sprinkles your conscience with His own blood, and you stand as perfectly justified as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The guilt of your sins will never return.
Christ ensures that you will never come into condemnation.
You have not only freedom from death but also a perfect righteousness. Christ clothes you with His righteousness, and thus God the Father looks upon you with favour.
Christ assures you that the great work of the day of judgement will be to solemnize your pardon.
Thus says Christ, "Come to me, all you who lie under the weight of the guilt of your sins, come to me, and you shall have rest. I will make all this good to you." This is the rest that is found in coming to Jesus Christ. All the rest the world offers is worth nothing in comparison to this. Oh, therefore, let us be willing to endure any trouble! It is of little consequence what troubles we endure in this world, so long as we may come to Christ. And this is but one aspect of rest—this is but the easing of the soul from the first burden, and yet even this will be made real to the soul of a believer.
If God grants you a heart to grasp all these truths, you may depart in peace, bless God, and say with the Psalmist in Psalm 116, "And now, my soul, return unto thy rest." The original word is "rests"—return unto thy rests. Oh, here are rests, ten distinct rests for a soul burdened under the guilt of sin. Do not think it strange that we, as ministers of the Gospel, speak to you about the restless condition you are in because of sin. Be willing to allow us to trouble you about your sinful state, for we have so much rest to bring you to. Do not think the minister troubles you; do not complain that the Word troubles your conscience.
I appeal to you: if there is anything in God's Word that troubles a person's soul, is there not also much in God's Word to ease that soul and give it rest? This is the rest God offers, purchased by the blood of Christ. Our desire is that you would not cry "Peace, peace" to your souls when there is no peace. And now, having heard the beginning of the excellency that is found in Christ for the soul, you should cry out to God, "Lord, oh that I might be a partaker of this rest!"
Continue to desire to hear more and more of this blessed rest that is found in Jesus Christ.