Part 6
6. At the same time, the spirit of the gospel is not a fearful desponding spirit, but a spirit of filial confidence and joy. The great thing is to remember that safety is only to be found in a lively and growing state of piety in the heart.
LXXXIV. Coming to Christ
[December 7th, 1856.]
Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, Matt. 11:28. Ye will not come to me that ye might have life, John 5:40. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, John 6:37. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him, v. 44. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink, John 7:37. Them that come unto God by him, Heb. 7:25. Let him that is athirst come, Rev. 22:17. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, etc., Heb. 11:6.
I. To those who come to Christ rest is promised. All given to him shall come unto him. He will reject none who come. He that comes shall never hunger. Hence it follows:
1. That coming to Christ is essential to salvation. 2. That it is the thing, and the precise, definite thing which the awakened sinner should be exhorted to do. He is not to be directed to submit, nor to make choice of God, nor to change his purpose. These are duties, but not the duty any more than giving alms, or attending Church.
II. What is meant by coming? This is often an anxious question. Those exhorted to come do not know what to do. The reasons of this difficulty are, 1. The simplicity of the things to be done.
2. The reluctance to do what is involved in the command.
To understand what it is to come, we need only refer to the case of those who came to Christ, literally, i.e., the blind, deaf, leprous, the sick, etc. What did they do? Negatively, 1. They did not remain contented as they were. 2. They did not resort elsewhere for help. 3. They did not postpone application to Christ when the opportunity offered.
Affirmatively. 1. They went to him. But so did others. 2. They went for the purpose of being healed. 3. They went expecting to be healed. 4. They, therefore, made actual application to him. To do this, it was necessary, 1. To feel that they needed healing. 2. That they could not heal themselves, and that help could be obtained from no other quarter. 3. That Christ could and would heal them. 4. That he would heal not only others, but them, and that too when they applied.
This teaches us, first, What in reference to the coming of the soul to Christ is necessary before we come. 1. A sense of want. A conviction that we need spiritual healing, i.e., pardon and deliverance from sin. 2. That we cannot save ourselves. 3. That no one else can save us. 4. That Christ can and will. He that cometh unto God must believe, a. That he is. b. That he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So we must believe, a. That Christ is what he is, the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners. b. That he will save all who come to him. Secondly, What is meant by coming.
1. It is to draw near to Christ as the ever present Saviour, with the desire and expectation of being pardoned and sanctified by him.
2. It is actually to apply to him for salvation, believing that he will do it, trusting to his assurance that he will save all who come to him. The evidence of coming is that we receive what we come for. Those who came to Christ on earth received the gift of sight, hearing, speech, health, etc. So if we come, we get rest, pardon, eternal life.
III. Who are to come?
1. Not merely sinners who never came before. 2. But also his people, in all times of emergency.
Two additional truths are revealed by Scripture on this point.
1. The unwillingness of men to come, and consequently the guilt of not coming. 2. The necessity of being drawn by the Spirit.
The Scriptures teach,
1. That all are invited to come.
2. That all the elect do come.
3. That coming is essential.
4. That it is the very thing to be done.
5. That none who come shall be cast out.
6. That the reason why men do not come is their unwillingness.
7. That divine assistance is necessary.
LXXXV. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give yon
rest. Mat. 11:28
[January 10th, 1869.]
I. The promise.—The rest spoken of includes two ideas; first, relief from every thing that is burdensome and grievous; and second, rest or complete satisfaction of the soul, that state in which all the powers are appropriately exercised, and all the desires and aspirations are satisfied, and all capacities of the soul completely filled.
Nothing short of this can give a rational and immortal being rest. This implies knowledge for the understanding; excellence, subjective excellence, so that there should be inward harmony; and love and fellowship adequate to our nature and capacities.
II. The persons to whom the promise is addressed.—It is to all. There is no distinction or limitation. It is not to Jews, as such, or to Gentiles, to young or to old, to learned or to unlearned, to good or to bad. But it is whosoever, every one, all. These are the terms used in the Scriptures. The promise therefore is to men of all classes, of all nations, and of all generations to the end of the world.
As there is no limitation as to the class of persons addressed, so there is none as to the kind of burden under which they groan. It may be sickness, poverty, sorrow, responsibility, opposition, injustice, oppression, care of any kind.
It is specially intended, doubtless, for those who are burdened with a sense of guilt and consequent exposure to the wrath of God; those heavily laden with a sense of the power of their own evil hearts; those who have specific inward trials or temptations, whether from scepticism or any other source.
III. The person who makes the promise. Considering the nature and the universality of its address, it would be a mockery if made by any creature. No angel and no man could have the effrontery to utter such words as these. They are only suited to the mouth of God, to him who is present in all times and all places, who has all knowledge, who is omnipotent, and whose power extends to the soul as well as over outward events. They are the words of him who has in himself all the resources to satisfy all the wants of men and to free them from all their evils.
The speaker, however, is not God as God, nor God the Father, nor the Son, as such, nor the Spirit, but Christ, i.e., God as manifest in the flesh, the Theanthropos. It is the promise of one who has all the
resources and attributes of the Godhead, and yet is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh; who has suffered as we suffer; who has borne all the burdens we have to bear and all the sorrows we have to endure, save only those which flow from an evil heart.
The promise is from him who came into the world with the very purpose of delivering men from all the evils of the fall, of securing peace on earth, peace with God, and inward peace or rest for the soul.
It is the promise of one who has not only all the power requisite for its fulfilment, and all the love and tenderness which secure the exercise of that power, but of one who has made full provision for the supply of the wants which he proposes to relieve, provision for our justification, sanctification and complete salvation.
IV. The condition on which the promise is suspended is coming. To those who have no sense of need, no faith in Christ's willingness or power to give rest, or who, while admitting all this, still exclude themselves and fail to embrace the promise, it is of no avail.
Coming is simply believing. Not speculating but actually appropriating the offer of Christ as made to us personally. This is a transient act not to be repeated. It is a permanent state of trust and a repeated exercise of faith, in every emergency.
LXXXVI. My Son, give me thy heart.—
Prov. 23:26
[Oct. 5th, 1862.]
I. What is meant by the heart?
Human knowledge precedes science. Many of the facts of electricity were known, before electricity was discovered. The heart was known
as the seat and source of life, before the circulation of the blood was thought of. In the earliest books of Scripture the word is used as freely for the inward life as it is at present. We can now see the propriety of the figure better, but it is not more intelligible. As the bodily organ receives and sends forth the blood to every part, bearing heat, life, activity, through the whole body; so the power which drives the current of thoughts, feelings, affections, desires and volitions, all that constitutes our inward life, is called the heart. The Scriptures therefore speak of the thoughts and purposes of the heart as well as of its desires. The word includes the whole inward life. The heart is therefore the man's interior and real self, and the demand, give me thy heart, is a demand for the whole soul.
II. What it is to give the heart to God.
1. It is to make God the end of our lives. The object for which we live should not be self, the world, the creature in any form, but the glory of God, i.e., that God should be known, worshipped, loved and obeyed.
2. It is to make his will the rule of our life. Not our own desires, nor reason, nor conscience; but his revealed will. Not expediency, or the supposed good of others, but what God has declared to be right and obligatory.
3. It is to make God the delight of our life. That is, that we should not seek our happiness in the creature, but in God; assured that his favor and fellowship are our blessedness. This is what God demands of us. It is a reasonable demand,
1. Because of his infinite greatness and excellence.
2. Because our happiness and excellence depend on it. If we give our hearts to the creature, we thereby and therein give ourselves to perdition.
III. The objection that our hearts are beyond the control of the will.
1. This objection is not peculiar to this particular command. It lies equally against all the requirements of Scripture and conscience. The fact of inability is a fact of consciousness.
2. It is no less a fact of consciousness that this inability does not destroy, or even weaken our obligation.
3. While we cannot change our hearts or in our own strength turn to God, we can acknowledge our weakness and seek help from God, as did the blind and the deaf.
4. There is much that we can do. So far as the will is concerned we can determine that. And we can determine our outward acts. Those who thus persistently act, God draws to himself.
LXXXVII. Submission to God
[Dec. 11th, 1853.]
There are two great kingdoms in the world; that of God and that of Satan, of truth and of error, of light and of darkness, of holiness and of sin. All men are the subjects of the one or the other. There can be no neutrality. Not to submit to the one, is submission to the other. The exhortation of the Apostle is to submit to God and to resist the devil.
I. The nature of this submission.
1. In general, submission is the practical recognition of the rightful authority of God over us as our sovereign. Subjects are required to submit to magistrates, wives to their husbands, children to their parents, servants to their masters. In every case the nature of the submission is determined by the nature of the relation. Our relation to God requires that our submission to him should be absolute, without reserve, without hesitation, and without limitation.
2. This includes submission of the understanding to the truth of God. It may be assumed as certain that no revelation of God in his word can contradict the revelation which he has made of himself in our nature. Obedience to the laws of belief implanted in our nature, is only one form of submission to God, and therefore forms no limitation of the submission of our understandings to his truth. The intuitive principles of the mind are very few and limited, and therefore give us only a small amount of truth. God's word is the great storehouse of truth. To that and to all it contains we are to submit. It contains nothing inconsistent with the laws of our nature, or it would not be his word, and therefore to everything it contains we are to submit our understanding. This is the obedience of faith, a difficult duty, yet not to be evaded. It is the only security, the only ground of peace and assurance.
3. It includes, specially, submission to the plan of salvation. The Jews would not submit themselves unto the righteousness of God, Rom. 10:3. This is the specific thing required to be done in order to salvation. This, however, is very different from that doctrine of submission which requires only submission to the sovereignty of God. Such submission can only hang together with a perverted theory of religion.
4. It includes submission to the will of God, however manifested, as to our duty, where we shall go, what we shall do, and what we shall be, submission to our trials and afflictions. This is often the severest test of our subjection to God.
5. Submission includes becoming his subjects, so that God not only rules over us, but in us; so that all the powers of our mind, all the resources of our nature, all the members of our bodies, all our acquisitions and possessions should be given up to him and to the protection of his kingdom and glory.
II. Reasons or grounds for submission.
1. For general submission. a. God's right as our Creator; b. as our preserver; c. and his infinite superiority.
2. For submission of the understanding. a. Our own feebleness of intellect. b. God's infinite wisdom. c. The certainty of error in refusing to submit to God's teaching.
3. Submission to the plan of salvation. a. We have no righteousness of our own. b. That of Christ alone is all-sufficient, c. Our salvation depends on it. d. Perfect peace is the fruit of this form of submission.
4. Submission to the providence of God is founded, a. On faith that he does thus govern the world. b. On faith in his love. c. Faith in his wisdom. d. Willingness that he should do what seems to him to be good.
5. Subjection and devotion to his service rest, a. On his right to us. b. On our obligation to him. c. In this way only can we attain the end of our being.
LXXXVIII. Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. Phil. 2:12
[April 6th, 1856.]
I. The end to be attained. II. It is to be attained by working. III. The encouragement given to exertion.
I. The end to be attained is salvation. This includes, 1. Pardon. 2. Sanctification. 3. Eternal life. In other words, the whole benefits of redemption.
II. Salvation is to be attained only by working. This teaches, negatively, 1. That it is not a matter of course that men are saved because Christ has purchased redemption for them.
2. That salvation is not a benefit which others can confer upon us. We must work out our own salvation, and each man, his own. No priest can save us.
3. That it is not an easy work. Κατεργάζεσθε (katergazesthe) is a strong expression, and this working is to be with fear and trembling, i.e., with solicitude and anxiety, lest we should after all fail. This shows that we are engaged in a work which requires our utmost exertion. This is taught in various ways in the Scriptures. It says, strive to enter in at the strait gate. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.
The Israelites, to gain possession of Canaan, had to fight long and hard. No cross, no crown.
Positively, this teaches that working must be directed to a right end; not to making atonement for our sins; not to meriting salvation by our good works. These are the two great errors of all false religions. Men laboriously endeavor to work out their salvation, that is, to accomplish these ends, and they never make any progress. The end of our working is to obtain an interest in Christ and to bring our hearts and lives into conformity with the will of God. This is a great work, and one absolutely necessary. If a man thinks it enough to believe in Christ and then live as he pleases, he turns the grace of God into licentiousness, and lays up wrath against the day of wrath. We have to subdue the flesh, i.e., our corrupt nature, the world and the devil.
2. Our working is not only to be directed to the right end, but it must work, not in accordance with natural religion, or asceticism, or enthusiasm, but in accordance with the gospel. If God has devised and revealed a plan for saving men, it is only by conforming to that plan we can be saved. Therefore our working must recognize, a. The work of Christ, as Prophet, Priest and King. b. The work of the Holy Ghost. c. The efficacy of all the means of grace, none of which are to be neglected.
3. This working is not only to be directed to the proper end and according to the proper plan, but it must be assiduous, unremitting and laborious.
III. The encouragements.
The work is so great and we are so weak that, if left to ourselves, we should fail and might despair. God has not left us comfortless.
1. The encouragement is that God can, does and will aid us. 2. That this aid is not merely outward, giving us the means and opportunity, but inward and efficacious, giving us strength and will. 3. There is, therefore, a divine concursus, a co-operation promised, analogous to the working of God in nature and in those cases in which He gave strength to the palsied or to the lame.
4. This divine co-operation is congruous to the nature of the soul, though it is not sensible of it and does not feel coerced. 5. As it is absolutely necessary, it should be sought and relied upon.
LXXXIX. Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. Phil. 2:12
[September 18th, 1853.]
I. Salvation, the greatest of all blessings, without which everything else is lost.
1. Deliverance from the punishment of sin.
2. Deliverance from its power.
3. The eternal enjoyment of God.
II. Work out your salvation,
1. Does not imply that we can merit it;
2. Nor that we can effect it;
3. But that we have an important agency in its accomplishment. As illustrations of such agency, we have the examples of Christ's putting clay on the eyes of the blind man and telling him to wash in the pool of Siloam; Naaman commanded to bathe in the Jordan, etc. The sick may be assured of restoration, but they are exhorted to use diligently the appointed means.
What is the work? And how is it to be done?
The work is obedience. 1. To the gospel. 2. To the prescribed means of grace. 3. To all the commands of God.
How is the work to be done? With fear and trembling. This implies,
1. The general, conscientious, and earnest desire to attain the object.
2. Apprehension of failure through neglect.
3. Conviction of the need of effort and labor.
It is opposed, 1. To indifference. 2. To security. 3. To autinomian neglect.
III. The motive.—It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure, Phil. 2:13. We are not to despair, nor be discouraged, because the work is so great. We have an Almighty Helper. 1. God does assist men. 2. His assistance consists in or is rendered by his working in us. 3. He works τὸ θέλειν καὶ τὸ ἐνεργε͂ιν (to thelein kai to energein). The former includes, a, right feelings; b, right determinations. The latter, right actions. He gives strength to carry out our wishes and determinations.
Of this working of God it is taught, 1. That it is internal and not merely outward and objective. 2. That it is efficacious. 3. That it is sovereign and gracious.
Here as everywhere the divine and human are reproduced in their true relation.
1. Both are indispensable.
2. They are perfectly harmonious.
3. The human is subordinate and instrumental; the divine, controlling and efficient.
XC. Regeneration
[March 12th, 1854.]
I. The natural state of man.
1. It is a state of spiritual death.
2. As to the understanding, it is a state of blindness.
3. The affections are alienated from God and fixed on the creature.
4. The life or activity is devoted to things seen and temporal.
II. The translation from this state into a state of spiritual life is regeneration.
It is called in Scripture by different names, such as new birth, resurrection, new creation, change of heart.
With regard to this change, it is,
1. Not an outward one.
2. It is not a natural one.
3. It is not an essential one, or a change of essence.
4. But it is supernatural, both as to its nature and its origin.
5. It is not a mere change of purpose, or of opinion, or of feeling.
6. But it is the infusion of a new spiritual principle.
III. Its author is God.
It is a divine work. It is a work of power.
IV. The means of regeneration are the word and sacraments.
In what sense are they means?
1. That without them the effect is not produced.
2. They are not efficient of themselves.
3. They are not uniformly successful.
4. It is with and by the word that God effects the change. Illustrations: the healing of Naaman; the clay on the eye of the blind.
V. The evidences of regeneration are of three kinds:
1. The nature of the exercises of the new life. Holy affections contain in themselves the evidence of their own nature.
When sufficiently strong, there is no doubt entertained as to their character. There is great difficulty, however, in arriving at a satisfactory conclusion in this way.
a. Because these exercises are often weak.
b. Because it is so difficult to discriminate between gracious and natural affections, e.g., sorrow for sin may be from fear, or it may be a mere natural remorse, or it may be a spiritual apprehension. So our love to God may be mere natural reverence and gratitude. Our regard for Christ may be either natural or spiritual. So of faith.
c. Because the affections are not in exercise when submitted to examination.
No one can tell a good tree from a bad one by stripping off its bark, and submitting its organism to the microscope.
2. The witness of the Spirit.
a. There is such a witness.
b. It is different from the exercise of filial or gracious affections.
c. It is not of the nature of a revelation.
d. But is the production of a confidence in our own acceptance produced by the immediate agency of the Spirit, the effects of which are joy, peace, gratitude, love, obedience and devotion to the glory of God.
3. The third class of evidences is the effects produced. These are of three kinds:
a. There is a kind of knowledge which is the fruit, and therefore the evidence of regeneration. This knowledge is not speculative. It is not intuitive, but it is spiritual discernment, a divine illumination which includes (1) the apprehension of the truth whether concerning sin, or ourselves, or Christ, or the plan of salvation, or the moral law, or things unseen and eternal. (2.) The apprehension of the excellence of all that God approves. We see the glory of God, the beauty of holiness, the evil of sin, the face of God in Christ.
b. There are affections which are the effects and evidence of regeneration. That is, we seek our happiness in new objects. We prefer God's service to the world. We prefer Christians to other men. We find the duties of religion a delight.
c. There is a new life consequent upon regeneration. There is a worldly life, a scientific life, there is a philanthropic life, and there is a religious life. That is, one whose object is not self, not the world or creatures, but God. The definite fixed purpose is to glorify him. And the whole outward life is devoted to his service and regulated by his will.
XCI. Evidences of Regeneration
[September 22d, 1860.]
I. What is Regeneration?
1. It is not any outward reformation.
2. Nor any change of external state or relation.
3. Nor any change, though inward; of belief.
4. Nor any change in the substance of the soul.
5. Nor any mere change in its acts or exercises. But a change of nature, i.e., of that inward immanent disposition or spiritual state which is back of all voluntary or conscious activity, and which, in the things of God, determines that activity. It is the change from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is the work of the Spirit, and not of the subject of it, or of one man on the soul of another operating through the reason, conscience or the feelings. It is due to the immediate Almighty power of God, and therefore belongs to the class of supernatural events.
II. The question whether we are regenerate or not, is a question whether we are the children of God or the children of the devil, whether we are alive or dead, whether we belong to the kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of God's dear Son, whether we are saved or lost. Such being the nature of the change, and such the interests involved, two things would seem to follow.
1. That no man can rationally be indifferent to the question whether he is regenerated or not.
2. That a change so radical and so great must reveal itself. It cannot be a doubtful matter whether a man is alive or dead. Yet many true children of God are in doubt, from one or the other of two causes.
1. The life though present is so feeble. It is often doubtful whether a man in a swoon or cataleptic state is alive or not.
2. What is the more common cause, taking a wrong standard of judgment, assuming the necessity of evidences which they do not find in themselves.
III. What are then the evidences of regeneration? The negative side of the question at least is clear. That is, there are certain things which are clear evidence that we are not regenerated.
1. Infidelity, or the wilful rejection of the leading doctrines of Scripture.
2. Conscious aversion to Christ, his ordinances, or his people.
3. The purpose carried out in our lives to make self the end and rule of life, not only refusing to submit to the restraints of the law, but the refusal to submit ourselves to Christ and to live for his glory.
The positive side is no less clear, at least as a matter of theory.
1. As regeneration is the work of the Spirit, as it consists in the Holy Ghost entering the soul and there abiding as a principle of a new life, it follows that evidence of his presence is the natural and inevitable effect of the presence of a source of light, of love, of power, of holiness, peace and joy.
2. Hence, where the Spirit dwells there will be light. The soul will see truth to be truth, to be excellent, lovely and divine. Especially will it see the record concerning Jesus to be true, that he is the Son of God and Saviour of the world. It will have love to God, to Christ, to the Scriptures, to the Church, to the people of God.
3. There will be power to believe, to overcome the world, to conquer sin, to obey God, to make his will the rule of our life and his glory its end.
4. There will be peace and joy. Despair is inconsistent with spiritual life. Doubt and despondency are hostile to it. The question therefore whether we are regenerated is not to be decided by a metaphysical or microscopic examination of our emotions or affections. The character of these from the mere revelation of consciousness we cannot determine. But rather,
1st. From the general and habitual conformity of our mind to the mind of God.
2d. From the habitual conviction that Jesus is the Son of God, such a conviction as secures his being practically God to us.
3d. From the habitual purpose and endeavor to overcome all sin and to live for Christ's service and in obedience to his will.
XCII. Confession of Christ
[Jan. 23d, 1854.]
I. Confession, i.e., ὁμολογεῖν (homologein) is,—1. To say the same thing with others. To agree with. 2. To promise. 3. To acknowledge, to declare a person or thing to be what he or it really is.
II. To confess Christ is therefore to acknowledge him to be what he really is and declares himself to be.
1. To be the Son of God.
2. To be God manifest in the flesh.
3. To be the Saviour of the world.
4. To be the Lord.
III. Nature of this confession.
1. It is not enough that we cherish the conviction in our hearts, or confess it to ourselves or to God, to friends who agree with us.
2. It must be done publicly, or before men, friends and foes; amid good report and evil report; when it brings reproach and danger, as well as when it incurs no risk.
3. It must be with the mouth. It is not enough that men may infer from our conduct that we are Christians. We must audibly declare it.
4. This must be done, a. In our ordinary intercourse. b. In the way of God's appointment, i.e., by Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
5. It must be sincere. Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is only when the outward act is a revelation of the heart that it has any value.
IV. The advantages of confession.
1. It strengthens faith. Credo.
2. It is proof of regeneration, because it supposes the apprehension of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
3. It is an indispensable condition of salvation. How is this? a. Because God requires it. b. Because not to confess is to deny. c. Denial implies want of faith or want of devotion.
4. Christ will acknowledge those who acknowledge Him. He will do it publicly, before the angels of God, with His mouth, and to our eternal salvation.
V. The duty of confessing Christ.
1. It is not merely a commandment.
2. It is the highest moral duty to acknowledge the truth, and especially to acknowledge God to be God.
3. It is the most direct means we can take to honor Christ, and to bring others to acknowledge him.
Matt. 10:32, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven." Luke 12:8, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God." Mark 8:38, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Rom. 10:9, 10, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." 2 Tim. 2:12, "If we deny him, he will also deny us." 1 John 4:2, "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." 1 John 4:15, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God."
XCIII. Lord, what wilt thou have me to
do?
[January 18th, 1852.]
I. As an introduction, give an account and explanation of Paul's conversion. II. The state of mind expressed by this prayer. III. The cause of it.
I. Paul's conversion.
1. It was an improbable event.
2. It was a miraculous event, in its circumstances.
3. As such, it is a proof of the gospel.
a. Because no rational solution, other than that he gives, can be given for it. It was not a delusion. It was not a deception.
b. Because it proves Christ's resurrection, and thereby the whole gospel.
c. Because it authenticates Paul's doctrine as a supernatural revelation from Christ.
4. Though miraculous in its circumstances, it was normal in its essentials:
a. As to the nature of the change.
b. As to the means by which it is effected.
c. As to the evidences of its sincerity.
II. State of mind expressed.
1. It included an entire abnegation of self. He sought not, a. his own advancement, b. or his own enjoyment, c. or his own improvement.
2. It included absolute submission to Christ's authority. a. Not his own will; b. nor that of friends, rulers, or the world; c. but Christ alone had authority to determine and direct his course.
3. It included entire consecration to the service of Christ. a. Readiness to do his will. b. A willingness that he should determine not only the service, but the field and the circumstances.
III. Means by which it was produced. It was the revelation of Christ.
1. The nature of this revelation.
a. It was external and adventitious. Yet this was not all, for he was thus revealed to thousands.
b. It was a revelation to the reason. A rational conviction was produced.
c. It was a spiritual revelation, effected by his Spirit, and consisting in spiritual manifestation.
2. The truth revealed was the Divinity of Christ.
a. Because called Lord.
b. Because, in Gal. 1:16, he says: "It pleased God to reveal his Son in me."
c. Because of the analogy between this revelation and that in the Mount of Transfiguration.
d. Because Paul makes conversion consist in this knowledge of Christ.
e. From its effects, which were an entire turning from self, an entire submission to Christ, and entire devotion to him.
IV. Application.
1. Have we this state of mind?
2. In order to have it, we must have Christ revealed to and in us as Paul had.
CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCES,
CHARACTERISTICS, AND
PRIVILEGES
XCIV. If any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature. 2 Cor. 5:17
[January 19th, 1862.]
Paul had been a proud, self-righteous, malignant, persecuting man, hating Christ and Christians. He became just the opposite. That is, he became a new creature. This is not, 1. A mere change of opinion or of faith. 2. Nor of mode of life. 3. Nor of ecclesiastical connection; but an inward, radical change of character; a change of course for the better, as καινός (kainos) itself teaches, and as the nature of the case demands.
The prominent points in this change, as presented in the context, are, 1. A change in his views of Christ. He once regarded him κατὰ σάρκα, (kata sarka). He had no faith in him as the Messiah, as the Son of God, or as his Saviour. He had no reverence for him even as a good man, much less as a divine person. He had no love for him and no zeal for his glory or for the advancement of his kingdom.
2. A change in his governing motives and in the object of his life. He was selfish. He regarded his own happiness and interests as the first and dearest object. The motive which governed him was the desire to advance his own interests as connected with those of the nation to which he belonged. The object of pursuit with him was worldly, a
worldly church, a theocratical kingdom which differed in nothing from the kingdoms of this world, save that God was its ruler and the immediate author of its security and grandeur.
From this state of mind he was so converted that, 1. His views of Christ were changed. He came to regard him as God manifest in the flesh, to reverence and love him supremely, and to desire above all things his glory and the advancement of his kingdom.
2. His object now was not self. He no longer lived for himself but for Christ. The motive which governed him was not self-love, but the love of Christ, not to him, but his love to us.
This is a portraiture of conversion drawn by an inspired man. It must be, therefore, correct. It is not individual, peculiar to one case. It is declared to be general, i.e., designed to set forth what is the experience of every Christian. The converse of the proposition contained in the text must be true. If a man is not a new creature, he is not in Christ, and if not in Christ, he is none of his, has no part in his salvation. How then, brethren, is it with us? Let us not deceive ourselves. It is easy to say, Lord, Lord; to profess his name; his doctrines; to live so as to escape the discipline of the Church, and even the condemnation of men. But are we new creatures? Does the love of Christ constrain us? Is the governing motive of life with us, love for him? and the great object for which we live the glory of his name and the advancement of his kingdom.
We may be amiable, just, benevolent, correct, devout, without being Christians. The only evidence of our being in Christ is that we live for him who died for us, and because he loved us and gave himself for us.
Great things are said of those who are in Christ.
1. They are reconciled unto God. There is no condemnation to them.
2. They are the sons of God. 3. They are made in the righteousness of God. 4. He is their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. 5. They are partakers of his life, of his kingdom and glory. 6. They are new creatures.
Union with Christ therefore determines not only our relations, but our subjective state, not only our relation to the law and justice of God, and our external circumstances, but our inward character and life. This of itself proves that being in Christ cannot be anything merely formal or outward. Union with him must be of such a nature as to account for all these wonderful and glorious effects. What then is it to be in Christ?
1. It is to be in him by covenant, to be of the number of those given to him from eternity, for whom he assumed our nature, obeyed and suffered, and thus satisfied in their behalf all the demands of justice. Thus they are made righteous and heirs of his kingdom.
2. It is to be in him as a branch is in the vine, so that they are partakers of his life, i.e., of the Holy Spirit, who is the source of all life.
3. It is to be in him by faith, conscious of our covenant and spiritual union. From the second flows our holiness, and from the third especially, our joy and peace.
The method of salvation, therefore, is not, 1. Reformation. 2. Nor merely turning unto God. 3. Nor turning from self-love to loving the universe. 4. Nor making God our portion. All these leave Christ out of view. It is simply receiving Christ, becoming united to him, embracing him. If we do this, then it is proof that we are in him by covenant and by the indwelling of his Spirit.
We can do this as well as we can do anything else which is said to be necessary, turning to God, making ourselves a new heart. It is all we can do. We must fall into the arms of Christ. If not willing to do this, it is our own fault. If we do this, we are saved.
XCV. The Christian Race
[March 29th, 1857.]
There are many forms in which the Bible teaches the doctrine that the attainment of salvation is a difficult task.
1. It is directly asserted that few are saved; that the way is narrow and the door strait; that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence; that the righteous scarcely are saved.
2. The comparison of a laborer. We are to work out our salvation. We are compared to servants with whom the master is to reckon.
3. To soldiers engaged in a deadly struggle with numerous and powerful enemies.
4. The Bible abounds with exhortations, warnings and directions, implying the difficulty and the danger of the work.
5. We are compared to men called upon to run a race.
I. The main thing designed to be inculcated by all these modes of instruction is the necessity of exertion and effort in order to salvation.
If a laborer sits idle all the day, his work will not be done and he will lose his reward.
If a soldier neglects to watch or refuses to fight, his enemy has him in his power.
If a man called to run a race saunters along and puts forth no effort, he will not win the prize. And just as surely, if we take religion thus easy and make no strenuous exertion, we shall fail of eternal life.
II. The special truths meant to be taught by this figure of a race are
1. That we must renounce our sins. The man who ran a race divested himself of all encumbrances, his flowing robes. He laid aside every weight. So we must lay aside our own sin which is a clog, and which easily besets us. It gets in our way. What fetters would be to a runner, sin is to the Christian. It must be laid aside. It not only puts us to disadvantage and makes the race more difficult, but it renders success impossible. We must choose between giving up sin and giving up the race.
2. The necessity of self-denial. This includes a great deal more than casting off sin. It includes self-control. The refusal to indulge in any thing however lawful, which under the circumstances may be injurious. The subjugation of the appetites of the body, the affections of the heart, the habits of the life to the strict demands of duty and the exigencies of the case. This is illustrated by the apostle when he refers to the discipline of the combatants in the Grecian games.
3. The necessity of perseverance to the end; the exertion must be kept up to the last. What would it avail that a man should run onehalf or two-thirds of the course and then give up? His failure would be as complete and as ignominious as though he had never started. This is the case with multitudes. "Ye did run well," says the apostle, "who did hinder you?"
4. The necessity of fixedness of purpose and of aim. A runner must keep the goal in view. He must go directly towards it. He must not turn aside for any thing, however alluring or however important. If he does he will certainly fail. So, brethren, we must run our race as our great business to which every thing is subordinate. We must look away from the attractions of the world. It is not the question whether they are right or wrong, but whether they further or hinder us in our Christian race. We must look to Jesus, a. As our example. b. As the giver of strength. c. As himself our exceeding great reward.
III. The encouragements are proportioned to the difficulties of the race.
The reward is infinite. The evil of failure is infinite. A defeated combatant slinks away from notice, mortified, disgraced, unhappy, but what were his sufferings compared to what we must endure. We shall be banished from God and Christ and all holy beings, and consigned to outer darkness forever and ever.
XCVI. Justification by faith
[February 10th, 1867.]
The relation of God to fallen men. God is holy, man is polluted. God is just, man is guilty. God is infinite in all his attributes. His acts, or all his manifestations, in relation to his creatures are determined by his nature. He can no more act contrary to his holiness and justice than contrary to his reason. He, therefore, as holy repudiates the unholy, and as just he condemns the guilty. His nature is opposed to them. He is to them from his nature a consuming fire. There is nothing in the nature of God to render it necessary that he should save sinners. Not in his infinite love, for he has allowed the angels to perish without redemption. That God can pardon the guilty, that he can restore the unholy to his favor, cannot be learned, therefore, from any knowledge we have of his nature; nor from any thing which we find revealed in ourselves. Much less is the fact that he will receive and pardon sinners, a matter of human discovery or knowledge, but purely of supernatural revelation.
1. It was revealed simply that God could and would receive and pardon the guilty.
2. The method was perhaps made known from the beginning, so far, at least, as it was to be, a. In a way consistent with the character of God. b. And, therefore, in such a way as would secure satisfaction to justice; c. That this satisfaction was to be rendered for us, not by us. In the course of time all this was more clearly made known as it is now in the gospel.
1. That the eternal Son of God assumed our nature. 2. That he took our place. 3. That he fulfilled all righteousness in our behalf, satisfying both the justice and the law of God. 4. That this righteousness is freely offered to all who will receive and trust in it. 5. That those who do thus believe are justified, i.e., it is declared that so far as they are concerned, justice is satisfied, and they are restored to the favor of God.
The effects of this justification are declared to be, 1. Peace with God and peace of conscience. 2. Freedom of access to God. 3. The enjoyment of his favor and gift of the Spirit. This secures sanctification. 4. Security from the accusation of the law, from the power of Satan, from apostacy, from any cause of evil. 5. Participation with Christ in all the benefits of his redemption. We become the sons of God, and if sons, then heirs.
Justification and sanctification are therefore inseparably connected. And the objection that this doctrine leads to licentiousness is declared by the apostle to be self-contradictory. It proceeds on an entire mistake of our relation to Christ, through which our justification is secured. We are justified by his righteousness only because we are united to him, but if united to him, we are partakers of his life; and if partakers of his life, we live as he lives. It is impossible, therefore, that any unholy person, i.e., any one who determines to live in sin, or who does not strive to die unto sin and to live unto God, can have any scriptural hope of justification. God justifies only the members of Christ's body. Their sanctification is not the ground, but it is the evidence and effect of it.
This doctrine has been the corner-stone of the Church in all ages. It stands opposed,
1. To the rationalistic and Pelagian doctrine that men are justified by their own moral character.
2. To the doctrine that they are justified in virtue of the works done under the power of the Spirit or from a renewed heart.
3. To the doctrine that we are justified by obedience to the demands of the gospel as a lower rule of duty.
4. To the doctrine that justification is a subjective change in the man himself. All these views are inconsistent with Scripture, and effectually destroy the grounds of the sinner's hope, and are unfriendly to morals and holy living.
XCVII. Sanctified by faith that is in me.—
Acts 26:18
[April 7th, 1867.]
In this verse the words "by faith" do not qualify the preceding clause, but indicate the means by which the inheritance among the sanctified is to be obtained. Nevertheless as we are sanctified by faith, and as that is the subject intended for consideration, it may be best to consider the passage as teaching that doctrine. 1. What is sanctification? 2. How it is by faith. This latter includes two points: first, what is here meant by faith; and, second, how sanctification is by faith.
I. Sanctification morally, is cleansing, a cleansing from sin. And as sin includes guilt and pollution, sanctification includes both. The sanctified are those whose sins are pardoned, and whose souls are renewed.
Sanctification, therefore, includes far more than moral reformation. It includes the removal of guilt by expiation, or satisfaction of justice, and the renovation of the whole soul after the image of God. It is a radical change of nature, involving the death or crucifixion of the old
man and the putting on the new man, which is renewed after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness.
II. The faith here intended is not 1. A mere belief that God is, that we are his creatures, dependent upon him, and accountable to him. It is not faith in the great principles of religion and morals. 2. Neither is it simply faith in the Scriptures. 3. Nor faith in the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. But it is, 1. Faith of which Christ is the specific object. 2. Which includes belief of the record which God has given of his Son, viz.: that he is all that he is set forth in the Scriptures as being, God manifest in the flesh, the Saviour of men, the prophet, priest and king of his people. And this faith is not a mere conviction of the understanding, not a speculative, heretical or moral faith, but a conviction founded on the demonstration of the Spirit. 3. It is not only this assent to the truth but confidence in Christ, reliance upon him as a teacher, as an atoning priest, and as an Almighty ruler, full of grace and truth.
III. This faith sanctifies—i.e., it secures deliverance or cleansing from sin. How this is, so far as the guilt of sin is concerned is familiar to all. The forgiveness of sin and imputation of Christ's righteousness are promised to all who thus believe. The law demands perfect obedience and satisfaction of justice. This Christ has rendered. Those who renounce their own righteousness and believe that Christ has made a full satisfaction in their stead, and put their trust in what he has done, are immediately absolved from all guilt and accepted as righteous in the sight of God. Thus they are cleansed from guilt by faith in Christ.
As to the relation of faith to the spiritual cleansing of the soul from the presence and power of sin, the Bible teaches,
1. That the favor of God is the source of spiritual life. So long, therefore, as men are under the law and consequently under the curse, they must be under the power of sin.
2. When redeemed from the law and restored to the favor of God, they are immediately brought under the influence of his love and fellowship. When a man is condemned and confined to a dungeon, he is in darkness and misery. When pardoned and brought out into the light, he is brought under all the influences which are essential to his physical well-being. So it is with those who are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.
3. The effect of faith is union with Christ. The effect of union with Christ is the participation of his life and of his Spirit. We are in him as the branch is in the vine. And this is the indispensable condition of holiness. And not only the condition, but the cause or source of holiness.
This is one of a series of Scripture representations on this subject. There is another, very different, although consistent. What has been said relates, so to speak, to the passive effects of faith, i.e., to the effects produced upon us on the condition of faith. If we believe, we are justified, restored to God's favor, receive his Spirit, are united to Christ, and he dwells in us. But the Bible also presents another view of the subject, or, so to speak, the active effects of faith; how it acts in promoting our sanctification.
1. Faith is spiritual knowledge, or includes spiritual discernment. The effect of spiritual discernment is holy affections. 2. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. It brings us under the influence of the things unseen and eternal. It raises us above the world and makes us to walk with God and live in heaven, and therefore renders us spiritually-minded.
3. It is a shield by which we quench the fiery darts of Satan.
4. By faith we maintain constant intercourse with the Lord Jesus; seek his aid, his direction, the supply of his grace. We subdue sin by these acts, and call into exercise love, patience, meekness and all other holy affections.
XCVIII. They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and
lusts.—Gal. 5:24
[Nov. 11th, 1856.]
I. They who are Christ's. 1. Those who belong to Christ, who are really his, the subjects of his redemption. 2. Those who are his people, his sheep, the members of his body.
II. They have crucified the flesh, i.e., they entirely, finally, and effectually (though not perfectly) died to sin. They have renounced it, determined not to cherish or obey it. This is a change which they not merely desired or professed or hoped, but which they had experienced. The chapter treats of the principle of evil in man and of the counter principle of spiritual life. The works of the flesh and of the Spirit are enumerated. And the Apostle asserts that they who are Christ's, and they only, are delivered from the dominion of evil, and are under the control of the Spirit. No one therefore who is not free, of whom this is not true, has a right to regard himself as a Christian.
By flesh is meant our corrupt nature. It is the root of which evil passions and desires are the fruit. The Scriptures constantly recognize the existence and power of a principle of evil in our nature which is the cause or source of all conscious or active manifestations of sin.
III. The truth asserted is therefore the freedom of believers from the dominion of sin, and their being under the control of the Spirit of God. But why is this?
This is also taught in these words, as it is more clearly and fully elsewhere.
1. It is because the design of Christ's death was to destroy the works of darkness, to redeem his people from their sins, to bring them to God, to sanctify them as a peculiar people. Such being the design of his death, it fails of its object, unless this deliverance be actually accomplished in those that are his.
2. Because in virtue of the union between Christ and his people, his death was their death. His death satisfied the demands of the law, freed his people from condemnation, and restored them to the favor of God. The Scriptures teach that those under the law are under condemnation, i.e., under the wrath and curse of God, and do nothing but sin, because his favor is the life of the soul. The source of all holiness as well as of all happiness. Those therefore who are Christ's are being restored to the favor and fellowship of God, and are brought under his life-giving influence.
3. Because such is the nature of the union in question, those who are Christ's are partakers of his life. It is not a mere external or federal union, nor a union of sentiment and feeling, but such a union as exists between the branches and the vine, the members and the head of the body. As therefore the members of the body partake of the life of the head and cease to be members as soon as this ceases to be the case, so they are Christ's, that partake of his life. They are not his members, they are not his unless this be the case.
It is only saying the same thing in other words to say that the Holy Ghost is given to all who are in Christ, to effect this deliverance from the power of sin. The Spirit descends from Christ to us, and Christ dwells or lives in us by the Spirit.
1. The folly of those who profess to be Christians and hope that they are so, if they are servants of sin. That is, if in point of fact they are not delivered from its reigning power. They must not only desire and strive against it, but they must more and more overcome it.
2. The obligation which rests on us to live agreeably to our relation to Christ. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit.
3. The unspeakable blessing of being Christ's. The duty of love, gratitude and devotion to him, and of endeavoring to bring others to this life-giving Saviour.
XCIX. Mortify the deeds of the body
[Nov. 17th, year not given.]
In the natural man there is but one principle of life. In the renewed man there are two principles. These in Scripture are called flesh and spirit; the law of the mind and the law of the members, the new and the old man.
By principle is not meant any act or purpose or state of conscious feeling. It is something which is the source of acts, purposes and feelings, and which determines their character. It is a law in the sense of an abiding force.
The natural man is under the dominion of the flesh, i.e., his nature as it is since the fall. He can be under the dominion of nothing else, for there is nothing else in him. The word does not designate the sensual as opposed to the rational, the social or the moral principles of his nature, but it includes them all, as they exist since the fall. The work of regeneration is the production of a new nature, or a new principle of life, not to the exclusion or immediate destruction of the old, but in juxtaposition or co-existence with it. In the Scriptures this new principle is sometimes represented as something immanent in the mind, as when it is called a law, or grace (habitual). Sometimes it is said to be the Holy Spirit as dwelling in us. These modes of representation differ only in form. The Holy Spirit is the source of this new life, and he is its source, not merely by a transient act, as in the creation of a rational creature, but as his abiding presence is the
cause and condition of this new principle of life. So that it is one and the same thing whether we say the one principle contends against the other, or whether we say that the antagonistic forces are, on the one side, the flesh or corrupt human nature, and on the other the Spirit of God.
When these principles exist, as they are antagonistic, the consequence is strife. 1. This strife is necessary or unavoidable. 2. It is deadly. It must be carried on until one or the other is destroyed. 3. If the flesh triumphs the result is death. If the Spirit triumphs the result is life. By death is meant all that is included under the categories of spiritual and eternal death; and by life all that is included under those of spiritual and eternal life.
In Scripture, we are sometimes represented as the spectators of this conflict; we are the prize for which the combatants contend; the one striving for our perdition, the other for our salvation. More frequently we are represented as the combatants. The battle-field is not around us but within us. The opposing forces are the conflicting principles of our own nature as renewed.
Now it is implied in all this, 1. Not only that we are deeply interested in the issue of this struggle, but, 2. That we must take an active part in it. We must take sides with the one or with the other party. We cannot be neutral; we cannot be inactive; we cannot change from one side to the other. If we take either of these courses we perish. Our only safety is in taking the side of the Spirit. Unless we are successful in actually slaying, putting to death the evil principle, we shall perish eternally.
I. How is this to be done?
It is by mortifying the deeds of the body. The principle itself is beyond our reach. So far as we are concerned, our business is with its acts. No plant can live unless it is allowed to grow. If what reveals itself above ground be cut down as often as it appears, the root itself
will die. This with noxious weeds is often a tedious process, but if persevered in, it must finally succeed. So with the old man, or the principle of sin. If its acts, or actings are prevented or destroyed, the principle itself will grow weaker and weaker, until it finally dies.
II. It is to be accomplished,
1. By the use of all rational means. That is, by those means which human wisdom and experience suggest. As for example, a. The determination not to allow any such exercise to abide in the mind. b. By constant watchfulness against their manifestation. c. By carefully avoiding the occasions for calling them forth. d. By keeping the body under, i.e., by withholding all aliment to the principle of evil. This is the opposite of pampering the body and our evil passions.
But these means are all inefficient. They are necessary as subsidiary means and methods, but are of themselves powerless. And therefore,
2. It is by the Spirit. This means,
a. By the strength derived from the Spirit.
b. By the continued indwelling and co-operation of the Spirit with the feeble spiritual principles in our hearts.
c. By the use of all those means which the Spirit has ordained as the channels of his divine influence; faith in Christ, the word, sacraments and prayer.
C. Living by Faith
[Feb. 16th, 1862.]
I. What is faith? There are two senses of the term which it is at least convenient to distinguish: a principle or state of mind, and an act. When it is defined as the evidence of things not seen, etc., or when
used as antithetical to sight, it is the former. When we are commanded to believe, it is an act which we are required to put forth. These two things run into each other. When we trust, we perform an act, and we call into exercise an abiding principle. So when we believe in God or Christ, it is not merely a transient act, but an abiding principle which is called into exercise.
II. Living by faith.
Life includes all our activity as rational, moral and religious beings. Living by faith is to have our whole activity, inward and outward, permanently and characteristically determined by faith. It matters not whether we take this to mean by the objects of faith, or by the principle of faith. For the conscious exercise of the principle is on the objects.
All the things which call forth, regulate and determine our activity, our acts inward and outward, may be divided into two classes: objects of sight and objects of faith. The former includes all that we know of ourselves, i.e., the knowledge of which we attain by the exercise of our own powers, and the conviction of the reality and truth of which rests on sense or reason; the latter includes all we know, only because it has been supernaturally revealed to us, and our conviction of whose truth and reality rests on the authority of God.
It is true that these two classes of objects are not entirely distinct. They overlap each other. There are some things which we know of ourselves which God has revealed. So that the same object may be an object of faith, and an object of knowledge. But, 1. This is true only of some of the objects of faith. 2. What is known is only imperfectly known, compared to what is revealed.
3. The real practical conviction which controls the life is not that which rests on knowledge, but that which rests on testimony.
Under the head of the objects of sight, therefore, fall, 1. All the objects of sense, all things material. 2. All the truths of science. 3. All the truths of philosophy. The negative fact with regard to Christians is, that their life is not determined and controlled by this class of objects. They are not the supreme objects of their attention, desire or pursuit. Under the head of objects of faith fall all those truths which have been supernaturally revealed. They are called in Scripture the things not seen, the things of God, the things of the Spirit. They embrace all the great truths of Theology, Anthropology, Soteriology, Eschatology, which are presented in the Scriptures, and our knowledge and conviction of which rests on the testimony of God. That testimony is not merely objective, not external as by human inspired lips, nor by miracles, but inwardly by the Spirit, which reveals the nature as well as the reality of these truths. Hence these things do and must control the life of the believer. They have a governing power over him. They command his attention, his affections, and they call forth his efforts.
This is the comprehensive sense of a life of faith. And we are commanded thus to live, and to do this we must, 1. Abstract ourselves from all undue, abnormal converse with the things of sight. We must not devote ourselves to them beyond what is necessary or what is due to their real, though subordinate importance. 2. We must keep our minds and hearts in contact with things unseen, the objects of faith, that they may exert their due influence on us. 3. Seek by prayer and the use of all appointed means the aid and fellowship of God's Spirit.
The Scriptures, however, speak of living by faith in another sense. We are said to live by faith of the Son of God. This means that our whole religious life is sustained, guided and controlled by faith in the Lord Jesus. That is, by believing what the Scriptures have revealed, 1. concerning his person; 2. concerning his relation to us; 3. concerning his work for us. This is the form under which, and the means by which the more general life of faith is maintained. It is vain to be religious in the general, to have faith in the general truths of
Scripture, unless we have this specific life of faith in Christ. He is our life.
When a blind man is led by the hand, he walks by faith, not by sight. This is not a less safe mode of walking, not a less confident one, but it is a blind, dependent one. So a man is who is guided in a strange land. Thus the believer who is led by the hand of God into the knowledge of truth, the way of duty, the journey of life, and the path to heaven. He submits to be blindly led.
CI. Walking with God
[Jan. 7th, 1855.]
I. What is it?
Walking with any one is a familiar Scripture phrase for fellowship or communion. Walking with God, therefore, is habitual communion with him. 1. This includes a sense of his presence, a belief that he is, that he notices us, and is cognizant of our state and acts.
2. A sense of his favor, a conviction that he is reconciled to us, and that he loves us.
3. A continued reference to him in our inward and outward conduct; an outgoing of the heart and thoughts towards him in prayer, thanksgiving, love, reverence and confidence; and the consequent desire and effort to accommodate ourselves to his will, and to please him.
4. The believing reception of his communications to us. God dwells with his people. He manifests himself to them as he does not unto the world. He reveals to them his glory. He sheds abroad his love in their hearts. He by his Spirit brings his word and promises to mind, and thus maintains a constant intercourse between himself and the souls in whom he dwells.
II. The necessary conditions of thus walking with God are
1. First of all, reconciliation through the blood of Christ. Men are under God's wrath and curse. There can be no friendly intercourse until they are reconciled. And there is no reconciliation but through the blood of Christ.
2. Regeneration and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Without holiness no man can see or have fellowship with God. Unless, therefore, we be renewed in the temper of our minds, so as to desire and delight in God, we can have no fellowship with him.
3. Keeping the conscience free from guilt, and the mind from pollution. God will not come into a heart in which unholy affections are deliberately cherished. Pride, malice, envy, jealousy and all uncleanness must be banished, and the graces of the Spirit kept in lively exercise, in the use of all the appointed means of grace, if we would walk with God.
III. The advantages of walking with God are
1. That it purifies and elevates the soul. It tends to depress and weaken, and to strengthen all the principles of grace. It makes us like God.
2. It is the source of peace, it is the life of the soul, the highest form of its activity, and the perennial source of blessedness. It is independent of all external circumstances. It may be enjoyed in solitude, in sickness, in poverty. It satisfies and fills the soul, and renders it blessed, so that no other good is desired. "Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none on earth that I desire beside thee."