Part 4
rather, there is a truth which at times was expressed by that paradox. That truth is, that what we know to be true on the testimony of God and experience, may appear to be false, or at least irreconcilable to other truths, to the understanding.
There are two sources of conviction: The one is the discursive understanding; the other, intuitional consciousness. These are always in accord in the sound or normal state of the mind, but often in conflict in the present disordered state of human nature; and we must make our choice between them. If we follow the former we shall become skeptics; if the latter, and we be the children of God, we shall know and believe the truth.
There is no subject on which this conflict of the understanding and of the inward consciousness is more apt to occur than the relation of God to the world, the dependence of the creature upon the Creator, the consistency of the controlling agency of God with the agency of the creature. The Scriptures and experience teach that there is such a dependence, and that it is absolute. But it is different in different cases.
1. The dependence of inanimate matter on God.
2. The dependence of sensitive living creatures on God.
3. The dependence of rational creatures on God.
4. The dependence of the soul for all the exercises of the spiritual life on God.
This is the subject of consideration. As to this point it is to be remarked,
1. That it is peculiar to fallen beings. As animals have a life of their own which is not the life of God, and as rational creatures have such a life, so it may be presumed that unfallen holy beings have a spiritual life of their own; so that their dependence on God for their
spiritual life is analogous to their dependence on him for their rational life.
2. This dependence is not to be confounded with our dependence on God as creatures for our rational life. But it is a dependence on the Spirit of God.
3. It assumes that we are dead, and that a new kind of life is produced by the Holy Ghost and sustained by him. So that without him we can do nothing.
4. We are thus dependent for knowledge, for holiness, for consolation, for perseverance and growth in grace.
5. This dependence, although absolute, does not supersede the use of means, or our obligation to exert ourselves. The promise of assistance is to those who strive and are faithful.
6. What is true of the individual believer is true of any company of believers, and therefore of such institutions as this and of the Church. Here we are absolutely dependent on the Holy Spirit. So is the ministry. So is the Church.
1. This relation to the Holy Spirit should be inwardly recognized and openly acknowledged.
2. We should abstain from everything which tends to separate from him. These things are, first, a spirit of self-dependence; secondly, every thing which offends the Spirit as unholy.
3. Earnest longing and prayer.
XLIX. He will reprove (convince) the world of sin, because they believe not on
me.—John 16:8, 9
[Sept. 20th, 1863.]
I. What is conviction of sin? II. What is the sin of which men must be convinced? III. How is the Spirit the author of that conviction?
The word κόσμος (kosmos) means 1. Order, proper and harmonious arrangement. 2. The universe as thus arranged. 3. The earth. 4. The inhabitants of the earth, mankind, men. 5. The wicked, unrenewed, as opposed to the Church or believers. Here it means men, considered as unrenewed; not all men, but the class or order who are the subjects of this conviction.
I. What is conviction of sin? The word ἐλέγχειν means, 1. To reprove, censure, or upbraid. 2. To convict, prove to be guilty. 3. To render manifest. Here it is used in the two latter senses. The people of the world are to be convicted at the bar of their own conscience of being sinners. That act is to be manifest to their own consciousness; and as sin includes two elements, viz.: guilt and pollution, the one expressing the relation of sin to justice and the other its relation to holiness, conviction of sin includes, a. The conviction of just exposure to the wrath of God on account of our character and conduct. And this includes the conviction that we deserve punishment, and secondly that we ought to be punished, and thirdly that we certainly shall be punished, unless in some way our guilt be removed. b. The conviction of moral defilement or pollution: that is, that we are in fact and in our own eyes offensive, degraded, and the proper objects of loathing.
The effects of conviction flow from these two sources, and are, a. Terror or dread of the wrath of God. b. Self-condemnation. c. Remorse, which includes both the consciousness of ill-desert, sorrow for the offense, and craving after satisfaction. It is stilled by punishment or adequate atonement. d. Self-abhorrence. e. Shame and confusion of face. There is nothing holy in all this.
II. The sin of which men are to be thus convinced is the sin of not believing on Christ.
This presents three points: 1. What is it to believe upon Christ? 2. What is included in the conviction of the sin of not thus believing? 3. Why is unbelief so great a sin?
First. What is it to believe on Christ? This includes, 1st. The belief that he is what he claimed to be, viz.: the Son of God, or God manifest in the flesh; the Messiah; the Prophet, Priest and King of his people, and therefore the Redeemer of men. This involves the recognition or the conviction and acknowledgment of the truth of all his doctrines. This faith, to be genuine, must not rest merely on external evidence, but on the revealing and testifying influence of the Holy Spirit. 2d. It includes reliance on Christ, in his propitiation, on his saving, sanctifying and protecting power. 3d. It includes, not exactly in its nature as faith, but as its inseparable adjunct and necessary effects, adoring love for his person, zeal for his glory, devotion to his service, and submission to his will. As we cannot separate in fact, or even in consciousness, the apprehension of beauty from the delight in it, so we cannot separate from faith in Christ, love, zeal, devotion and submission. The want of all these is unbelief. And men are convinced of sin when convinced that want of faith in Christ deserves the wrath and curse of God, and degrades and pollutes the soul.
III. Why is unbelief in Christ, or want of faith in him so great a sin and the greatest of all sins?
That it is so is directly asserted in John 3:18. "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God," and elsewhere as is distinctly implied in this verse. It is so great a sin, 1. Because it is the manifestation, exercise and effect of the greatest depravity. The disbelief of speculative truth is not sinful except where some moral obligation is violated in rejecting the evidence by which it is supported. But the
rejection of moral truth is in its nature sinful because it implies moral blindness and perversion of moral feeling. To call evil good and good evil, to approve of those who do evil, implies greater corruption than the mere commission of sin. Unbelief of the moral truth differs in the degree of its sinfulness according to the importance of the truth and the amount and kind of evidence with which it is attended. That the heathen are sinful and without excuse because they do not believe God as revealed in nature, is asserted by Paul. But this sin is slight compared with those who rejected God as revealed in the Old Testament, and their guilt again is small, compared to that of those who reject Christ. He is God in the clearest and most attractive revelation ever made of the Divine Being. The rejection of him implies the greatest blindness and depravity. It is therefore the greatest of all sins, and implies Satanic blindness of the eyes.
2. Because it involves the greatest conceivable ingratitude. It is not only the rejection of God, but it is the rejection of God humbling himself to be found in fashion as a man, and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, out of love to us and for our salvation.
3. Because it involves a preference and deliberate choice of evil instead of good, of Satan and the kingdom of darkness instead of the kingdom of God. "He who does not bow to Christ, has bowed to me," as the Poet makes Satan say.
4. Because it is the rejection of eternal life for ourselves, and doing what we can to render certain the perdition of others.
IV. The Holy Spirit alone can convince men of this sin.
1. It is certain that human reason or our own nature, as it is, will not do it. 2. That flesh and blood cannot do it. 3. The Holy Spirit alone can do it because he alone can open our eyes to behold the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. 4. It is his office to take the things of Christ and show them unto us.
1. That it is our first and greatest duty to repent of this sin and to believe on Christ in the sense above stated. 2. Our next great duty is to labor to convince the world of this sin, (for the Spirit produces this conviction through the truth), and to lead them to receive, acknowledge, love, worship, serve and trust the Son of God.
L. The necessity of the Spirit's teaching in
order to the right understanding of the
Scriptures
[Sept. 20th, 1868].
There are two kinds of knowledge, of faith, of repentance. Simon Magus believed and remained in the gall of bitterness. Paul believed and became a Christian.
In both cases there was a persuasion of the truth. Simon believed when he saw the miracles wrought by the Apostles: Paul, when Christ was revealed within him. Judas repented when he saw the evil consequences of his treachery; Peter repented when he saw his conduct in its true character. So there is a simple intellectual knowledge of the truth, and there is a spiritual knowledge and discernment.
How are these related; that is, how do they agree and how do they differ? 1. The things known are the same. 2. The act of knowing is the same. 3. But the spiritual excellence of the object is not apprehended in the one case, while it is in the other.
This may be illustrated by the case of the discernment of beauty. Now with regard to the knowledge of the Scriptures, there is no reason why the unrenewed man, without any special aid of the Spirit, should not acquire that knowledge as well as the knowledge of any similar volume. Of course, however, it must be under the same conditions. 1. He must study assiduously. 2. In the right method, and in the use of the right means. 3. He must be impartial and honest; not endeavor to establish a theory, but simply to ascertain the true sense.
Now, although this is possible, it is in reference to the Scriptures difficult and rare, because of the opposition of the heart to the doctrines of the Bible, and because the judgments of men are so largely determined by their feelings.
Therefore, for the attainment of this intellectual knowledge, there is great need of the Spirit's guidance to produce, 1st, Docility. 2d. To prevent opposition to the truth blinding the mind.
For spiritual knowledge the case is plain. On this subject the Scriptures teach, 1. The absolute necessity of divine teaching. No man cometh to me except he be taught of God. 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. No man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. He that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God. Besides, the Bible abounds in prayers for this divine teaching. And Paul declares all external teaching in vain without it.
2. The Scriptures say that the cause of this ignorance, blindness and inability to know the things of God, arises from two sources; first, our depravity. We are natural, carnal, the opposite of the spiritual, and cannot by any possibility discern that which is spiritual. And secondly, Satan, the god of this world, blinds the eyes. His influence is great and general. He persuades men to reject the truth. He raises objections, and excites the enmity of the heart.
It is a solemn fact, therefore, that those and those only who are led by the Spirit, come to the knowledge of the truth. This is the great office of the Spirit. This is to be recognized, and his guidance sought and submitted to.
Correct speculative knowledge and spiritual knowledge experience teaches do not admit of protracted separation. There can be no spiritual knowledge without speculative knowledge, but there may be the speculative without the spiritual.
But orthodoxy will not last without piety. An unconverted ministry forsakes the truth. This all history proves. Hence the great importance of this subject. The salvation of men largely depends on the ministry preaching the truth. That ministers should preach the truth, depends on their being converted and taught by the Spirit. Therefore, whether you are to be blessings or curses to the Church depends on your being taught of God.
LI. The indwelling of the Spirit
[November 26th, 1854.]
I. The meaning of the expression, God dwells, is that he specially and permanently manifests his presence.—Thus he is said to dwell in heaven; among the children of men; in Zion; among his people; in believers.
The Spirit is said to dwell in his Church, which is thus the temple of God; in believers individually, they are severally his temple; in the body of believers, so that it also is the Temple of the Holy Ghost.
II. It follows that where the Spirit dwells his presence is indicated by certain specific effects.—These are, 1. Either gifts ordinary or extraordinary, 2. or, graces, i.e., the fruits of the Spirit, 3. activity, 4. guidance, 5. consolation. The graces are, 1st. Knowledge. This is one of the chief ends for which the Spirit was promised by the Saviour to
his disciples. This knowledge includes correct intellectual convictions and spiritual discernment. To this are due orthodoxy and love of the truth, and adherence to it under all circumstances. To this source also are we indebted for the unity as well as the preservation of the faith. This is a ground of conviction beyond the reach of scepticism and unassailable by infidelity.
2d. Holiness in all its forms, of faith, confidence in God, in his word, promises, favors, etc. Love to God, Christ and the brotherhood, and to all men. Temperance, meekness, long-suffering.
3d. Hope, joy and peace. The consolations of the Spirit which sustain the soul under all sorrow, whether from conviction of sin or from afflictions.
4th. Other effects or manifestations of the Spirit's presence, are activity in resisting sin and in doing good. He is a source not only of inward spiritual life, but also of outward acts of devotion and obedience to the will of God.
5th. Another effect is guidance. This guidance of the Spirit is, a. By the word. b. By the inward operation on the mind, guiding its thoughts, shaping its conclusions and exciting right feelings; and not by impulse, and suggestion, or any magic methods.
Duties which flow from this doctrine.
1. To cherish the conviction that we in a special sense belong to God.
2. To reverence and cherish, and to obey the admonitions of the indwelling Spirit.
3. To preserve our soul and body pure as the temple of the Holy Ghost.
4. An humble, grateful sense of the unspeakable blessing thus conferred upon us, and of the dignity which belongs to all believers
as the temples of God.
LII. The Spirit giveth life. 2 Cor. 3:6
[January 8th, 1865.]
These words taken by themselves express a general proposition containing a comprehensive truth. By Spirit is meant the Spirit of God. It is not mind as opposed to matter, or life as opposed to form. The truth is not the philosophical dogma that all force, all power of life is a manifestation of Spirit, that the external or material is purely dead and powerless. But the scriptural truth that the Spirit of God is the source of all life. He is the Spirit of life.
1. Of the external world. 2. Of the animal world. 3. Of the rational world. 4. Of the spiritual world. In other words he is the source of spiritual life. We are dead. We are quickened by the Spirit. He dwells in us as the source of life, working in us both to will and to do. So that all just thoughts, right feelings, and holy conduct are to be referred to him, as all his gifts.
This is very different from the true meaning of the words in their connection. In other words, that is not the truth which Paul here intends to express. The meaning of the words is to be determined, first, by the drift of the apostolic discourse; secondly, by the explanatory or equivalent phrases which occur in the context.
Paul is here contrasting the law and the gospel, the old covenant and the new covenant. God, he says, had made him a minister of the new covenant. And then he goes on to show the glory of that ministry as contrasted with the ministry of the law. By the Spirit; therefore he must mean the gospel.
2. This is plain from the antithesis. Not of the letter but of the Spirit. The letter is explained to be that which was written on stone, i.e., the
law; the decalogue, which was the substance of the Mosaic law, or its foundation. As opposed to that the spirit means the gospel.
3. The letter is called the ministration of death; the Spirit the ministration of life. The one slays, the other gives life. In saying he was a minister of the Spirit, he says the same thing. So in Gal. 3:3, he says, "having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" i.e., having begun with the gospel, are ye made perfect by the law? The reason why the law is called the letter is plain. The reasons why the gospel is called the Spirit are, 1. Because it is antithetical to the letter. 2. Because the gospel is spiritual as opposed to what is literal, ceremonial and external. 3. Because the gospel is the organ of the Spirit. 4. Because the effusion, presence and power of the Spirit constituted the great characteristic of the Messianic period, or of the New Testament. In saying that he was a minister of the Spirit, the apostle says he was the minister of that covenant in and through which the Spirit, the source of all life, was given.
The sense therefore in which Paul intended us to understand the words, the Spirit giveth life, is determined by the sense in which the letter giveth life.
1. The letter or the law kills because it denounces death.
2. Because to convince and to condemn is all the law can do.
3. Because it awakens the sense of sin and helplessness, and slays all hope.
4. Because it excites sin and cannot either justify or sanctify. The Spirit or the gospel giveth life.
1. Because it declares the way of life. It reveals a righteousness which delivers us from the law and frees us from the sentence of condemnation.
2. Because it is that through which the Spirit is communicated as a source of life. Instead of a mere outward exhibition of truth and duty, it is a law written on the heart. It is a life-giving power.
3. Because the state of mind which it produces is life and peace. The Spirit is the source of eternal life.
The effects which this view of the subject produced on Paul were,
1. It filled him with a high sense of the dignity and glory of his vocation. It was in his estimation the highest of all works.
2. It made him humble under a sense of his insufficiency.
3. Yet confident, for God had rendered him able, or sufficient.
4. It determined him to use great plainness of speech, not to veil the truth as Moses veiled his face.
LIII. The Spirit's Intercession. Rom. 8:26
[Dec. 11th, 1864.]
Salvation is entirely of grace. The fall has brought us into an estate of sin and misery. From that estate we do not deserve to be delivered. And from it we cannot deliver ourselves. We must be redeemed. We are the subjects, not the agents of that work.
There are two distinct parts of redemption. One is referred to Christ, the other to the Spirit. Christ acts as our prophet, priest and king. The Spirit applies the redemption purchased by Christ. He convinces of sin. He renews, enlightens, sanctifies, leads and comforts. He dwells in us and constantly works in us to will and to do. He is in us the source or principle of spiritual life.
The work of intercession belongs both to Christ and to the Spirit. Although the word is the same, the work is different. Christ intercedes as a priest; the Spirit as an advocate. This latter word is so comprehensive that it expresses both the work of Christ and that of the Spirit. Christ is our helper. So is the Spirit. But the help they afford is not the same. The help of Christ is that, as just said, of a prophet, priest and king. That of the Spirit, so far as expressed in this passage, is that of an advocate whose office it is to put pleas and words into the mouth of his people. Christ intercedes by pleading for us, presenting his own merits and claims. The Spirit does not supplicate, but he teaches us and supplicates in us, in our name: so that the desires, the thoughts, the words, are his, i.e., due to his suggestion and agency, and not to the operation of our own minds. This is the difference, or one difference, between the intercession of Christ and that of the Spirit.
They differ, as we have seen, 1. In that Christ presents his own merits and claims. This the Spirit does not. 2. Christ himself asks, and asks in his own name. This the Spirit does not. 3. The Spirit does what he causes us to do. We pray under the dictation of the Spirit, and thus he is in us who utter the prayers, not as his, but as our own.
As to this intercession, it is, 1. According to the will of God, i.e., the desires and thoughts which arise in the mind and the petitions we utter are agreeable to his will, and that in two senses. a. Agreeable to his preceptive will. They are such as he approves. b. They are according to his purpose. The desires the Spirit excites are for things which it is in accordance with God's purpose to bestow.
2. This intercession finds expression often in groans, or desires which we cannot clothe in words. It is not necessary to the efficacy of prayer that it should be clothed in articulate language. The Lord knows the mind of the Spirit, i.e., the state of mind produced by the Spirit.
3. Such prayers are certainly efficacious. It is said of Christ, "Him the Father heareth always." His intercession cannot fail. This is no less true of the Spirit. The desires and prayers which he puts into the hearts of his people are sure to be answered, because, 1st. It is derogatory to the Spirit to assume the contrary. 2d. Because the apostle declares them to be according to the mind, i.e., the will and purpose of God.
4. If it be asked how we can distinguish between desires and petitions which are the dictate of our own hearts and those which are dictated by the Spirit, it may be answered in general that it is analogous to the question, how can we in any religious exercise determine whether it is gracious (spiritual) or not? How can we tell whether our sorrow for sin, our fear of God, our love of Christ, etc., are natural or gracious affections? This cannot be determined by any distinct consciousness we have of the Spirit's influence. It can only be told, 1. By the objects of these affections. 2. From their nature. 3. From their effects.
And so with regard to these prayers; if they are for objects which we know are right and in accordance with the will of God; if they are pure and spiritual, not selfish or mercenary in their nature; and if they produce in us the fruits of peace, submission or resignation, we may infer they are from the Spirit.
As the Spirit does not reveal to us what is according to the purpose of God, we must in our holiest aspiration say, "not my will but thine be done." 5. This intercession of the Spirit is a great ground of confidence and source of consolation.
Duties. 1. We should keep ourselves as far as in us lies in the fellowship of the Holy Ghost.
2. We should feel our dependence and obligations in regard to the Spirit.
3. We should adore the mystery of the Trinity, as the several powers of the Godhead co-operate in our salvation.
LIV. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Rom. 8:14
[Date not given.]
I. By the Spirit of God is of course meant the Holy Spirit.—The Spirit is everywhere present. He controls all the operations of nature. He operates on the minds of men, endowing and controlling them. He specially operates on the souls of the children of God. 1. In renewing them. 2. In imbuing them continually with new life. 3. In determining their inward and outward life.
II. What is meant by being led by the Spirit?
1. It is not by blind suggestions or impulses. It is not by a miraculous or abnormal operation, directing what text the eye shall fall upon. The general statement is that just made. The Spirit is the determining principle of the inward and outward life of the believer. So it is not they which live, but Christ, i.e., his Spirit which liveth in them. This leading of the Spirit is, 1. Consistent with our rational nature, liberty, and responsibility. 2. It is not a matter of consciousness. His influence mingles with our consciousness and determines it, but cannot be distinguished from it. 3. The guidance of the Spirit is not always or necessarily irresistible. We may yield to it or we may oppose it. Hence men are said to resist, to grieve, to quench the Holy Spirit. In all true believers the Spirit will in the end, according to God's promise, overcome all opposition and render them obedient. Nevertheless, it is true that, to their great detriment and loss, they may refuse to be led by him. So much for the nature of this leading.
III. As to the result of it, or the ends to which the Spirit leads us, they are,
1. The knowledge of the truth. This is not by revelation, or inspiration, but by illumination. There is thus spiritual teaching apart from the outward teaching of the word, as is proved from the Scriptures and by experience.
2. To the love of the truth, or the conformity of our hearts, our affections to the standard of God's will. That is, we are made to love God, Christ, the people of God, the service of God. We are led to all right exercises of faith, penitence, meekness and every Christian grace and virtue.
3. To the conformity of our outward life to the will of God. It leads to the government of the tongue, to the control of the passions, to the ordering of our life. It gives right views and right motives to determine our conduct in all the emergencies of life. Hence the Spirit leads one man to the ministry, another to some other profession, another to the missionary field.
IV. Why are those who are led by the Spirit, and they only, the sons of God?
1. What is meant by the sons of God?
a. Those who partake of his nature, by regeneration.
b. Those who are adopted into his family and are thus made the objects of his parental care and love, and the heirs of his kingdom.
c. Those who are governed by a filial, as opposed to a slavish spirit; who love, reverence, obey God as his children and are zealous for his glory.
There are three reasons why those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God.
1. Because this submission to the Spirit of our whole inward and outward life is the only evidence of our regeneration and adoption, in other words, of our sonship.
2. Because the Holy Spirit is in his nature a Spirit of adoption. He is not a servile Spirit. It is the Spirit of the Son, and therefore it is sent to those who are sons. Those and those only who are actuated by this filial Spirit are the sons of God; that is, are such in their inward character and temper.
3. Because in so far as the sonship, or being the sons of God, involves the idea of exaltation, dignity, glory, dominion, power or blessedness, the indwelling of the Spirit and his controlling power is the immediate source of all these distinctions and excellences.
V. The necessary conditions on our part in order to this guidance.
1. We must renounce our own guidance, the right, the ability or the desirableness of guiding ourselves. This includes the renunciation of the guidance of our own understanding, of our own will, or of our own desires.
2. We must renounce the guidance of men. a. Whether of the world, or of individual men, b. or of the Church.
3. We must under a sense of our dependence, and in full faith in the Spirit's office, resign ourselves to his guidance and submit to it.
LV. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
—Rom. 8:16
[Dec. 21, 1862.]
I. The thing testified to. II. The nature of that testimony.
I. The thing testified to, is that we are the children of God, τέκνα θεοῦ. There is the same difference between τέκνον and ὑιὸς as there is between child and son; the former applies to either sex, and is the more tender. We are born of God, i.e., produced by him. 1st. This does not refer to us as creatures, nor as rational creatures, but as regenerated, born again. So that we are partakers of the divine nature.
2d. It expresses the relation in which we stand to him, a. as objects of his love; b. as loving him, i.e., regarding him as a father. This filial spirit on our part includes, 1. Confidence in his love to us. 2. Reverence. 3. Zeal for his glory. 4. Devotion to his service.
3d. The word expresses or indicates the privileges arising from this relation to God. We are the heirs of God, the partakers of all those benefits and blessings which he has provided for his children. In testifying to our being the children of God, the Spirit testifies, that we are born of God, that we are the objects of his paternal love, and that we are heirs of the inheritance of the saints in life.
II. The nature of his witnessing.—It is not involved in our filial feelings, for the Spirit is said συμμαρτύρειν, to testify with, i.e., with our own hearts.
But, 1. It is direct or immediate. The Spirit assures us, just as he produces the assurance of the truth. 2. It is mysterious or inexplicable, just as much and no more than other operations of the Spirit are. And these in their turn are no more mysterious than the action of mind on matter, or matter on mind, or one created spirit on other such spirits. 3. It is self-evidencing. That is, it reveals itself as the witness or testimony of God. Just as the voice of God in the Heavens, in conscience, in the law, in the gospel, reveals itself in his word; so when the Spirit speaks to the soul it is known to be the Spirit.
4. It is infallible testimony, and produces assurance. This is not inconsistent with doubt and anxiety, first, because this witnessing is intermittent more or less; and secondly, because this voice of God may vary from the slightest, almost inaudible whisper, to the most clear and articulate enunciation.
5. It is sanctifying. That is its nature. It produces that effect just as fire burns, or light dispels darkness. It is never given where it is not true. And where it is true, where the soul is regenerated, then to banish doubt and fear and anxiety, is to infuse new life and vigor. It is to give peace and call out all graces. 1. We are to guard against selfdeception in this matter. 2. We should cherish the Spirit, that he may testify with our spirit.
LVI. Who hath also sealed us, and given
the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. 2 Cor. 12:2. See also Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 1 Tim.
1:19
[No date given.]
The object of attaching a seal to any thing is,
1. To authenticate it, as when a man signs and seals a deed. Thus, John 6:27, our Lord was sealed, sealed or proved to be the Son of God. 2. To preserve either from inspection, as when a letter or book is sealed, or from violation or injury. The sepulchre was sealed to preserve it from violation. Any person or thing is in the Scriptures said to be sealed when preserved from destruction. 3. To indicate ownership, 2 Tim. 2:19; "having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his," etc.
So in Revelation the people of God are said to be sealed or marked as belonging to him. See Ezekiel 9:4.
When therefore it is said that God hath sealed us, one or more, or all the above ideas are intended. In some passages one, and in others another, of these ideas is rendered the most prominent. All, however, are included. Those whom God seals, on whom he impresses his seal, he authenticates as his people, he secures from destruction, and he makes them as his own. They are known by that seal to be his. Any man therefore who has the seal of God impressed upon him is thereby proved to be one of his children; he is secure from destruction and is marked as belonging to God, claimed by him as his own.
II. What is the seal of God?
It is the Holy Spirit. His presence in the soul authenticates it as born of God, secures it from apostacy, and marks it as the property of God, the purchase of the Redeemer's blood. Hence the two expressions, "hath sealed us" and "hath given to us the earnest of the Spirit," are explanatory, the one of the other.
Any one, therefore, in whom the Holy Ghost dwells, knows thereby and is thereby known by others to be a genuine child of God.
Because the spirituality or holiness induced by the presence of the Spirit is, in its nature, affinity with God; or sonship, in one of the principal senses of that term.
Again he is assured of ultimate salvation. Not that he has no doubts or fears on that point. But he has the grounds of assurance and confidence, greater or less. The Holy Ghost secures the salvation of those in whom he dwells, because he is the purchase of the Redeemer's death. His continued indwelling is secured by the covenant of grace. And he conveys to the soul, in whom he dwells, this sense of security, because the Scriptures teach that those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells can never perish; because the feelings of which he is the author involve hope, joy, confidence, assurance of the love of God; and because he witnesses with our spirits, that we are
the children of God; and if children, then heirs. That is, by his communion with our spirits he awakens confidence in the fidelity of God just as he awakens the feeling of humility and penitence.
Again, as the different orders of knighthood or nobility among men are indicated by certain badges, so the believer by the indwelling Spirit is marked as belonging to the order of the sons of God. As such they are reverenced and waited on by angels, and as such they know and rejoice in each other as members of the same royal family.
Such being the doctrine on this subject, it follows:—
1. That the more distinct the impress of the seal of God is on the soul, the more will it experience of the benefits and blessedness which flow from being thus sealed. Ancient seals sometimes, as now, had figures and sometimes sentences engraved upon them, 2 Tim. 2:19. The figure may be so slightly cut, or so incrusted by foreign substances as to be scarcely distinguishable. The figure, so to speak, on the seal of God is the likeness of Christ. If that image is enstamped on the soul clearly, then all recognize it; but if it be feeble and indistinct, then the soul itself is forced to study it out carefully, and often is at a loss to determine whether it is the seal of God or not; and others are in the same state of suspense. Hence if we would experience the benefits of being sealed, we must grow in grace and in conformity to Christ. There is no peace to the wicked nor to those who live so near to the confines of sin that they cannot tell to which kingdom they belong.
2. The whole tendency of this doctrine is to humble, to elevate, to wean from the world, to render us content with our lot, and to induce us to live as becomes the children of God. No matter how poor, how despised or how afflicted a man may be, if he bears on his forehead the seal of God, he is a king and a priest.
LVII. The Holy Ghost as the Paraclete.
John 14:16
[April 8th, 1860.]
Circumstances under which the promise of the Spirit as our Paraclete was made. Its design was to encourage the apostles and to sustain them under the loss of Christ's presence.
The promise had special but not exclusive reference to the apostles. The Spirit was to do for them a two-fold work; one which contemplated them as believers, the other which contemplated them as apostles.
I. The meaning of the promise.
The word παράκλητος, as an adjective, means called for; as a substantive, one called upon for aid, as an advocate, called to one's side. The most comprehensive meaning of the word is helper. The Holy Ghost is our helper.
II. His qualifications.
1. He is omnipotent. 2. He is Almighty. 3. Infinite in wisdom. 4. Infinite in love. 5. Ever accessible and willing to help. 6. He is the Spirit of Christ, united to him and to his people, and in one sense is the principle of life in both.
III. How the Spirit acts as our helper.
A. TO THE APOSTLES
1. In bringing all things to their remembrance.
2. In rendering them infallible.
3. In conferring upon them the peculiar gifts of office, courage, παῤῥησία (boldness of speech,) patience, zeal, &c.
4. In co-operating with them miraculously, so as to confirm their divine mission and authority.
5. In attending their preaching with power, so as to render it effectual.
B. TO BELIEVERS, INDIVIDUALLY
1. As a teacher leading them in the knowledge of the truth, a. By regeneration, imparting life and the power of vision; b. By illumination; c. By aiding them in their mental operations; d. By bringing things to their remembrance and thus acting as a counsellor.
2. As a source of strength. a. Strengthening the principle of life by his constant communications. He strengthens our faith, love, &c. b. By giving the requisite qualifications for duty. For private, social and official duties. c. By sustaining us under discouragements and trials.
3. As a comforter. This is specially prominent because this is what the apostles specially needed, and what all believers as an afflicted people ever need. a. The Spirit comforts by assuring us of the love of God. b. By revealing to us the infinite glories and blessedness in reserve for us. c. By calming our agitations and shedding abroad in our hearts the fear of God. d. By calling into exercise those Christian graces which in themselves include true blessedness.
4. As an intercessor. a. He brings to God. To whom through Christ we have access by the Spirit. b. He indites our petitions. c. He excites desires which cannot be uttered in words, but which God understands and hears.
5. As the revealer of Christ. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us. a. He reveals the glory of Christ. b. He reveals to
us his work and offices, and our relation to him. c. He reveals Christ's love to us.
C. TO THE CHURCH
1. As the bond of union. They are one body through the Spirit. 2. By causing them to recognize, love, serve and help each other. 3. By making the word, sacraments and preaching means of grace, and of the conversion, enlarging and edifying of the Church. 4. By calling to the ministry, and giving the gifts for the office.
IV. Our special duty to the Spirit as the Paraclete.
1. To feel and acknowledge our entire dependence. 2. To desire and earnestly seek his aid. 3. To avoid every thing by which he can be grieved or his influence quenched.
LVIII. Grieve not the Spirit
[September 15th, 1861.]
I. Principles on which the language of Scripture is to be interpreted.
1. We must not attribute to God the imperfections or limitations which belong to our own natures. When God is said to love, to be angry, or to be grieved, we are not to suppose that God is subject to any agitation, much less to any painful emotion.
2. We must not leave the language vague or meaningless. To speak of an unconscious power or principle or law being angry or grieved, would be either a positive personification or meaningless. Such language when used of God is intended to give us definite knowledge, and such knowledge is trustworthy. All that it necessarily implies is to be received as certainly true.
II. The subject above announced implies,—1st, that the Holy Ghost is a person; that he is intelligent, self-conscious, and as such, not only an agent but the object of agency. That he is capable of being loved, obeyed, or disobeyed; that his approbation and favor may be won or lost.
2. It implies that the Spirit stands in an intimate relation to us, so as to be the object of our action; not only cognizant of our conduct, but so to speak affected by it in so far as his agency or operation toward us is measurably determined by our character and conduct.
3. This language implies or assumes what is elsewhere explicitly taught in the Scriptures, viz.: that the Spirit of God is the source of all life and activity in the universe. And more especially of all spiritual life. He is not only omnipresent and everywhere active in the world of mind and of matter, but he dwells in every believer individually and in the Church collectively, as the source of life and of all good. Consequently we are ever in his presence, and he is ever present with us. He knows our thoughts. He feels our emotions. He takes cognizance of every word, act and look.
III. Such being the nature of the Holy Spirit and the relation in which he stands to us, it follows that any thing inconsistent with his nature or which tends to oppose his works in us or others must grieve him— That is, it is, on the one hand, so far as we are concerned, an offence of the same nature as grieving a parent, a benefactor, would be; and on the other, it determines him to act towards us as an offended and wounded love leads a wise and holy parent to act towards a child. He withdraws his influences. He leaves us to ourselves. This dereliction, if final and entire, would be eternal perdition. As the Holy Ghost in his relation to us is set forth as the Spirit of truth, of holiness, of love, of consolation, and of glory, it follows,
1. That what is contrary to truth grieves the Spirit of truth. Not only what is opposed to veracity in word or act, but especially what is opposed to the truth as revealed by God. a. Want of faith, or
submission to the truth in our own minds, all unbelief or scepticism. b. All endeavors to pervert the truth in the minds of individuals. c. All heresy and false doctrine in the Church.
2. Everything impure or unholy; cherishing impure or unholy feelings in our hearts; exciting them in the hearts of others. This is represented as a sacrilege or desecration of the temple of God.
3. All irreverence, ingratitude or disobedience toward God, and all malignant or unamiable feeling or conduct toward our fellow-men, all disposition or conduct which tends to disturb the peace of the family, of the community, of the Church, or of the world, is opposed to the Spirit of love, who is thereby also the Spirit of peace.
4. So all that tends to produce misery or distress is opposed to him who is the Comforter.
IV. We should not grieve the Spirit,
1. Because he is a divine person. 2. Because we are so greatly his debtors. 3. Because he loves us and all his purposes and activities regarding us tend to our good. 4. Because we are absolutely dependent upon him for truth, holiness, and salvation. If he depart from us we perish forever.
SATAN AND HIS INFLUENCE—SIN
AND SINS
LIX. Satanic Influence
[Nov. 24th, 1861.]
I. There is such a thing.
That the Scriptures speak of such a being as Satan, and attribute a certain influence to him is certain. This is not to be understood as a figurative mode of speaking of the principle of evil in the world and in the hearts of men, nor is it an accommodation to Jewish notions and forms of opinion.
1. Because of the principle that we must understand the Scriptures according to their historical sense.
2. Because the rule of interpretation which gets rid of the doctrine of Satan and his influence, if carried out, would blot all the peculiar doctrines of the Scripture from the Bible. It has been so applied, to explain away the doctrines of sacrifice, justification, heaven and hell.
3. Because the attributes and acts of a personal being are so ascribed to Satan as to render it certain that the sacred penman did believe him to be a personal being.
II. What the Scriptures teach concerning the sphere of his power.
1. They ascribe to him great power and authority over other fallen spirits.
2. They ascribe to him power in the world and over the world. He is the god of the world. This means, a. that he controls the men of the world. b. That the aims, ends and agency of the world tend to the promotion of his kingdom. c. That this service and subjection, although unintentional and ignorantly rendered, are of the nature of homage. Paul thus teaches that idolaters are worshippers of demons. The things which they sacrifice they sacrifice to devils.
3. They ascribe to him a power over the souls of men, controlling in the children of disobedience, harassing and impeding in the children of God.
4. That the whole power of Satan over spirits, over the world and over the souls of men, is exerted against God and his kingdom. It is exerted in promoting evil and counteracting good. In individual men, in promoting error, in blinding the mind to the truth, in fostering unbelief, in exciting evil passions, in tempting to sin, as in the cases of Judas and Ananias; and in leading to despair.
III. As to its nature.
1. The Scriptures declare it to be exceeding great. 2. It is in the highest degree subtle, as in the temptation of Eve and in the temptation of Christ. He transforms himself into an angel of light.
3. It is inscrutable as to its mode, as we know not how one spirit operates on another.
4. But it must be congruous to the nature of the soul. a. Because it is described as a deceiving, as a seducing, as a tempting. b. Because it can be resisted. c. Because it is never represented as lessening the guilt of his victims.
5. As it is the power of a creature and of his subordinates, it is not almighty; neither is it ubiquitous. We know not the relations of spirits to space nor what limitations are placed on their activity. We only know that Satan is finite and therefore not everywhere.
IV. This power of Satan should be resisted.
1. Not in our own power, but in the power of the Lord. This means a. That the power of resistance is derived from the Lord. b. That it is the Lord's own almighty power exerted through us, as in miracles.
2. The means of resistance are not our own weapons, but the armor offensive and defensive of God. a. The breast-plate of righteousness. b. The girdle of truth. c. The shield of faith. d. The helmet of salvation. e. The sword of the Spirit. All are made available and brought into exercise by incessant prayers.
V. The issue of the conflict is not uncertain.—Christ has bruised Satan under our feet. If we resist in the strength of the Lord and in the use of his armor, we shall conquer. If we do not resist, or if this resistance is in our own strength or with our own weapons, we shall perish.
LX. Temptation
[Nov. 30th, 1862.]
Its nature; its sources; the means of resistance; its uses,
I. The nature of the temptation.
To tempt is to try. We tempt a person when we put him to the test. This may be done, 1. To see what he will do, as when men tempt God. They put his patience, his power, his fidelity to the test; or call upon him for proof of his being what he is. 2. To show what is in the person tempted, as when God tempts man. Thus God tempted
Abraham and is represented as trying his people, to bring their faith or patience into exercise and to render them conspicuous for the benefit of others. 3. This tempting may have for its object to lead into sin, as when Satan tempted Eve, Christ, and the wicked at all times. It is this latter kind of temptation: viz: solicitation to evil, that attention is now to be directed.
II. Sources of such temptations.
These, according to Scripture, are the world, the flesh and the devil.
1. The world, which includes men and all earthly things. First, the world presents the objects of our natural affections and desires. Secondly, it presents objects to excite inordinate or unholy affections and desires. It holds up to wealth its honors, its pleasures for our pursuit, and by them the great majority of men are led into perdition. Thirdly, the world tempts as much by its threats as by its solicitations. It threatens contempt, neglect, persecution, hatred. Fourthly, the men of the world seduce by their example and their principles, by their arguments and persuasions, by their denunciations and wrath.
2. The flesh, i.e., our corrupt nature, the evil heart, the remains of sin. This is the impelling power, the proximate power which leads to sin. So far as the world is concerned it has little or no power, except so far as it tends to excite what is evil. This is not intended to intimate that a holy nature may not be tempted, as were Adam and Christ. But simply that the power of what is outward to lead into sin depends mainly on the evil that is within. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. This term, lust, includes, 1st, the desires or appetites of the body; 2d, the evil dispositions of the mind, pride, envy, malice, vanity, &c.
3. The devil. He is the great tempter. He tempted our first parents, David, Judas, Christ, Ananias and Sapphira. He tempts the children of disobedience and the people of God. They are cautioned against
his devices and called upon to resist his machinations. With regard to the temptations of Satan, it is certain, first, that he does tempt the children of men; all men; us as well as others. Secondly, how he does this we do not know. Thirdly, we cannot distinguish between his temptations and the suggestions of our own evil hearts, any more than we can between the leading of the Spirit and our own exercises. Fourthly, the temptations of Satan are subtle, powerful and greatly to be dreaded; not to be despised or made light of. Most men are led captive by him at his will.
Besides these general sources of temptation common to all men, there are others peculiar to particular times of life—youth, manhood and age; to particular seasons, as of prosperity and of adversity; to particular professions, etc.
III. Means of resisting temptation. These are not the precepts of Philosophy, which prescribe the means of cultivating virtue. They are all supernatural or divine.
1. Watch and pray lest ye fall into temptation. Exercise the utmost care against the occasions and the beginnings of evil, and constantly look to God to protect you from being tempted, and to deliver you when temptation comes. He has taught us to say daily, Lead us not into temptation.
2. Another means is instant resistance. Let there be no dallying with evil. This is applicable to all kinds of temptation.
3. Faith in Christ, i.e., believing appeals to him as our Saviour, our King to protect us from all our spiritual enemies.
IV. Uses of temptation.
1. They teach us our weakness and reveal the depravity that is within us.
2. They teach us to depend on God.
3. They exercise and strengthen our graces.
4. They qualify us to sympathize with others and to aid them.
LXI. Indwelling Sin
[March 4th, 1855.]
I. Importance of the subject.
Redemption is deliverance from sin. Hence, the theory of redemption is determined by the theory of sin. 2. The practical application of redemption is determined by the sense of sin. That is, both our theology and our religion are determined by our views of sin.
As to theory. If there is no sin then there is no redemption. 2. If sin consists merely in action and is easy or possible to be avoided, then, redemption is a small matter. 3. But if sin is a great, certain, universal and unconquerable, and incurable corruption of our nature, this redemption is the work of God.
As to practice. It is a matter of fact that the religious experience of every man is determined by his view of sin. It is his sense of guilt and pollution which leads him to look to God for help, and of course the kind of help he seeks, and is willing to accept, depends upon his views of his sinfulness. All genuine religious experience consists in the conformity of our convictions and feelings with the truth of God.
II. Nature of indwelling sin.
1. What the Scriptures teach on this subject is the entire and universal corruption of our nature.
2. That this innate inherent, hereditary corruption manifests itself in all forms of actual sin, as a tree is known by its fruits.
3. That regeneration consists in creation of a new principle, a germ of spiritual life, and not in the absolute destruction and removal of this inherent corruption.
4. That consequently in the renewed there are two conflicting principles, sin and grace, the law of sin and the law of the mind.
5. That this remaining hereditary corruption, as modified and strengthened by our actual sins, is what is meant by indwelling sin.
III. The proof of this. 1. The plain declarations of the Scriptures, which everywhere teach not only that the renewed fall into actual sins, but also that they are burdened and polluted by indwelling corruption.
2. Our own consciousness and experience, which reveals to us the existence of this abiding evil; conscience upbraiding us not only for actual sins but also for the permanent, immanent state of our hearts in the sight of God.
3. The recorded experience of the Church in all ages; so that we must separate ourselves from the experience of God's people to deny this.
IV. The great evil of indwelling sin.
1. It is in itself of greater turpitude than mere individual acts. Pride is worse than acts of haughtiness or arrogance; so of malice, want of love of God, unbelief, the absence of love and of all right affections. It is this abysmal evil which humbles, burdens and oppresses the soul and forces it to look to Christ for deliverance.
2. It is a fruitful source of actual sins.
3. It is beyond the reach of the will and can only be subdued by the grace of God, in the use of the divinely appointed means.
V. These means are the Word, sacraments and prayer. By the assiduous use of these means the principle of evil is weakened and the principle of grace is strengthened.
2. By acts of faith on Christ, who is said to dwell in our hearts by faith.
3. By mortification; not asceticism, but refusing to gratify evil propensities and keeping under the body.
LXII. Indwelling Sin
[Sept. 17th, 1866.]
No subject is more difficult than that of sin. Concerning no other have there been so many controversies. And in none other have those controversies been so persistent. They are renewed with every generation.
There are two ways of looking at the subject, two guides assumed in the study of it. The one, philosophy or human reason, the maxims of morals; the other, the Scriptures, with which Christian experience always concurs. Often men adopt a principle in the philosophy of morals which seems clear to the understanding, which they find does not accord with their experience, and which the Scriptures do not recognize. And they feel they must renounce one or the other guide.
I. Sin, as determined by the Scriptures, and by experience of Christians, is want of conformity to the standard of right. That standard is the nature and law of God. Sin, or sinfulness may be predicated,
1. Of acts; 2 Of feelings; 3. Of volitions, specific or generic; 4. Of dispositions; 5. Of innate and immanent states of the mind.
II. Indwelling sin belongs only to the fourth and fifth classes. That is what is meant by indwelling sin is the original, inherent, hereditary corruption of our nature, and those modifications of this natural corruption induced by the habits of the individual. Or, it may be said to be inherent corruption as it exists in any individual.
III. The Scriptures teach, 1. Not only that all men sin; not only that all are under influences which render their sinning certain; but that the nature itself is corrupt or sinful. It is not such as God made. It is not conformed to his nature and law. It is not such as it ought to be.
2. That Regeneration consists in the production, not of new acts, nor of new views, feelings and purposes, but of a new principle antagonistic to the principle of depravity.
3. That Regeneration does not destroy the principle of evil, which remains, although weakened and counteracted.
4. That these two principles, the flesh and the Spirit, the law of the mind and the law in the members are in constant conflict.
5. That the new principle is generally victorious, constantly increases in strength and constitutes the character. It has on its side God, his Word, his Spirit, reason, conscience and the will. Against it are arraigned the world, the flesh and the devil.
6. That the new principle does not always prevail as to specific acts, and never as to complete conformity to the will of God.
7. That the final and complete victory of the new principle is certain. We are not engaged in a doubtful or hopeless conflict.
8. This victory is due not to us, not to the strength of the new principle, but to Christ by his Spirit, who works in us to will and to do.
IV. This victory is conditioned on our part, 1. By constant watchfulness. 2. By constant effort directed and guided by the word of God. 3. By constant penitence. 4. By constant faith. 5. By constant use of the means, including the whole panoply of God.
V. The practical conclusion is that we are infected with a mortal disease which can be kept in check and ultimately eradicated only by the most assiduous care and by the faithful adherence to the prescriptions of the Great Physician. But with care and through his power and skill we are sure to be restored not only to the paradisiacal health and beauty but to the full conformity to the image of Christ, and crowned with the wreath of victory. Those who are thus crowned are those who come out of great tribulation and conflict.
LXIII. The Deceitfulness of Sin
[April 3d, 1853.]
Either the latter, sin, qualifies the former, a being deceived, which is sinful, i.e., for which we are guilty; or, the first word qualifies the second, sin that is deceitful. Compare the expressions, deceitfulness of riches, of unrighteousness, of lusts. The latter is the better sense. The subject for consideration is the characteristic of sin as deceitful.
I. Sin is not an act but a power, a principle, something innate, indwelling, permanent and active, an enemy of the most dangerous kind, not only because it is within and ever on the alert and powerful, and has so many allies, but also because it is so treacherous.
II. How is sin deceitful?
1. It deceives us as to what is sinful, as in the case of Adam. So also in the case of thousands.
2. It deceives us as to its demands. It promises to be satisfied with a limited indulgence. So the slothful, the negligent, the sensual, the
avaricious. It is the first step that costs.
3. It deceives as to the pleasure it promises. Adam expected to be like God.
4. It deceives us as to the true motives which determine our conduct. Ministers, missionaries, as well as others are thus deceived.
5. It deceives us as to its effects and to the degree of impunity with which it can be indulged.
III. The effects of sin as thus deceitful.
1. It hardens. That is, a. as to the will it renders it stiff and fixed. It becomes settled in evil. b. As to the feelings it renders them obdurate. Motives cease to affect, the conscience to warn or reprove, and the result is a reprobate mind.
2. It slays or destroys the soul. a. In destroying its sensibility. b. In destroying desire and hope of amendment. c. In bringing it fully under the power of the law.
IV. Means of safety. The preliminary conditions are, 1. A sense of danger. 2. A sense of weakness. The means are, 1. Committing ourselves to Christ and his Spirit. To be guided by his wisdom. To regard nothing as innocent or harmless which he condemns.
2. To resist the beginning and first suggestions.
3. In doubtful cases always to go against what may be evil.
LXIV. The Sin of Unbelief
[March 4th, 1866.]
There are three general forms of unbelief.
1. That of scepticism, either doubting or rejecting the truths of religion and morals in general, or the divine origin and authority of the Bible in particular. Such persons are called sceptics or infidels.
2. Want of faith and confidence in God, in his promises and providence, which may and often does co-exist with a speculative belief of the Scriptures.
3. The rejection or failure to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as he is revealed and offered in the Bible, as when our Lord said the Spirit would convince men of sin, because they believe not on him.
These several forms of unbelief, although they have their common source in an evil heart, have, nevertheless, their specific causes and their peculiar form of guilt.
I. Scepticism. This arises,
1. From pride of intellect; assuming to know what is beyond our reach and refusing to receive what we cannot understand; setting ourselves up as capable of discerning and proving all truth.
2. From the neglect of our moral nature and giving up ourselves to the guidance of the speculative reason.
3. From the enmity of the heart to the things of God; or opposition in our tastes, feelings, desires and purposes, to the truths and requirements of the things of religion.
4. From frivolous vanity; or the desire to be thought independent or upon a par with the illuminate.
The sinfulness of this form of unbelief is manifest; first, as pride, self-exaltation is sinful and offensive in such a feeble insignificant creature as man.
Secondly, as the habitude of the moral nature which makes it possible to believe a lie, is evidence of moral degradation.
Thirdly, as opposition to the truth, is opposition to the God of truth. It is alienation from him, in which all sin consists. Hence unbelief is the generic form of sin. It is the general expression of aberration, and the opposition of our nature to his. It is, therefore, the source of all other sins.
II. Unbelief, or want of confidence in the doctrines, the promises and providence of God. This may exist in even the hearts of believers. It is a matter of degree. It arises either—
1. From the entire absence or from the low state of the religious life.
2. Or from the habit of looking at ourselves and on difficulties about us rather than at God. 3. Or from refusing to believe what we do not see. If God does not manifest his care, does not at once fulfil his promise, then our faith fails.
The sinfulness of this state of mind is apparent, 1. Because it evinces a low state of the divine life. It is the evidence and effect of spiritual weakness and disease. 2. Because it dishonors God, refusing to him the confidence due to an earthly friend and parent; which is a very heinous offense, considering his greatness and goodness, and the evidences which he has given of his fidelity and trustworthiness. 3. Because it is a manifestation of the same spirit which dominates in the open infidel. It is unbelief in a form which it assumes in a mind in which it has not absolute control. But it is in all its manifestations hateful to God.
III. Unbelief in reference to Christ.
This is a refusing to recognize and receive him as being what he claims to be. 1. As God manifest in the flesh. 2. As the messenger and teacher sent from God. 3. As our atoning sacrifice and priest. 4. As having rightfully absolute proprietorship in us and authority over us.
This is the greatest of sins. It is the condemning sin. Its heinousness consists, 1. In its opposition to the clearest light. He who cannot see the sun, must be stone blind. He who cannot see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ must be blinded by Satan. This blindness is moral, religious, and spiritual deadness.
2. It is the rejection of the clearest external evidence, which evinces the opposition of the heart.
3. It is the rejection of infinite love, and the disregard of the greatest obligation.
4. It is the deliberate preference of the kingdom of Satan before that of Christ,—of Belial to Christ.
LXV. Doubting in Believers
[Jan. 25th, 1857.]
Doubting is hesitation in believing. It implies uncertainty. It is therefore opposed at once to unbelief and to assurance.
I. Believers are often in this state of mind.
1. As to the truth which God has revealed. a. For example, as to the divine origin of the Scriptures; or admitting that, the inspiration of the Word of God. b. Or as to some one or more of its doctrines, the divinity of Jesus Christ, the constitution of his person, the nature of his work, the personality and work of the Spirit, the divine providence, etc., etc.
2. They are often doubtful, i.e., distrustful of the divine promises, either in reference to themselves or others.
3. Or they are doubtful as to his providence, afraid to commit themselves to his care.
4. They are often doubtful as to their good estate. These doubts are sometimes reasonable and sometimes unreasonable.
II. They are reasonable, when there is real ground for doubt. So long as a believer is in a state which affords little evidence either to himself or others of his reconciliation, it is only right that he should doubt. To be without doubts under such circumstances is carnal security. Such doubts are unreasonable and offensive to God,
1. When they arise from a self-righteous spirit. That is, when they arise from the impression that something to be done or experienced by us is necessary to our acceptance with God, or is required as a condition to be fulfilled before we can venture to believe.
2. When they arise from a distrust of the entire freeness of salvation. This is only stating the same cause in another form.
3. When they arise from a distrust of the merit of Christ, as though our sins were too great to be forgiven.
4. Or from distrust of the love of God to us. We can believe that God's grace is sovereign; or that he loves others, even sinners, but for some reason we cannot believe that he loves us. This, however, is the precise thing which we are required to believe.
5. A very common source of these doubts is the disproportionate influence of the subjective truths of the gospel, as compared to the objective truths, the anthropological as distinguished from the soteriological doctrine.