Chapter Seven
We are not to imagine that our hearts and lives must be changed. e must not assume that our hearts and lives must undergo any degree of change from sin to holiness before we can safely trust in Christ for the certain enjoyment of Himself and His salvation.
By nature, we are inclined to base our salvation on our own works. Even if we cannot make them procuring conditions or causes of our salvation by Christ, we will at least strive to make them necessary preparations to make us fit to receive Christ and His salvation through faith. People are easily convinced that this is not contrary to salvation by free grace, because everything attributed to our works or good qualities in this manner is simply seen as putting us in a suitable position to receive a free gift. Just as good manners and proper respect would lead us to tidy ourselves up before approaching a prince for a free gift, like Joseph did when he came out of the dungeon before appearing before Pharaoh. It appears to be a brazen disregard and disrespect towards the justice and holiness of God and Christ, an intolerable insult and indignity offered to the divine Majesty when anyone presumes to approach His presence in the filthy state of their sins, completely covered in festering sores without any attempt at healing or cleansing. Moreover, it is even worse when they attempt to invite the Most
Holy One into such a foul and stinking cesspool as a sinner's heart, before it has been reformed in any way. The parable about the man who was bound hand and foot and cast into utter darkness for attending the royal wedding without a wedding garment serves as a warning against all such presumption (Matt. 22:11, 13). Many who are horrified by the abominable filth in their own hearts are hindered from coming directly to Christ by such thoughts, which Satan strongly reinforces and amplifies in them through his suggestions, making it impossible to persuade them otherwise until God inwardly teaches them through the powerful illumination of His Spirit.
They delay the saving act of faith because they believe they are not yet properly prepared and qualified for it. For the same reason, many weak believers postpone partaking in the Lord's Supper for many years, even for as long as they live in this world, and would likely delay their baptism as well if they had not been baptized in infancy. Against all such thoughts, I will present the following considerations.
1. The error discussed in the previous section is equally detrimental to the practice of holiness and our entire salvation. It can be refuted using the same arguments presented earlier. Whether holiness is considered a procuring condition for our salvation through Christ or simply a condition necessary to qualify us for receiving Christ, we are still subjected to the legal terms of first fulfilling the duties required by the law in order to obtain life. Consequently, we are deprived of the assistance provided by the means of holiness mentioned earlier, such as union and fellowship with Christ, and the experience of His sanctifying gifts through faith, which should precede the practice of holiness in order to empower us. We are left to toil in vain for holiness while trapped in our cursed natural state, which only exacerbates our sinful corruption instead of putting it to death. As a result, we can never truly prepare ourselves for receiving
Christ as long as we live in this world. Thus, our attempts to prepare the way to Christ through holy qualifications only serve to fill it with stumbling blocks and deep pits, hindering our souls from ever attaining salvation through Christ.
2. Any change, no matter how small, in our hearts and lives from sin to holiness is not necessary before we receive Christ and His salvation by faith, according to the terms of the gospel and the Word of God.
Christ desires even the most wicked sinners to come to Him for salvation immediately, without delaying to prepare themselves.
When the wicked jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved, Paul directed him to believe in Christ, with the promise that he would be saved. The jailer and his household were baptized without any requirement to first reform their hearts and lives (Acts 16:30, 33). Similarly, the three thousand Jews who were converted by Peter's preaching and added to the church on the same day had no need for considerable time to prepare themselves, despite their recent involvement in the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 2:41, 23).
Christ commands His servants to go quickly into the streets and lanes, bringing in the poor, the maimed, the blind, and compelling them to come to His feast, without waiting for them to cleanse their sores or change their filthy rags (Luke 14:21-23). Christ wants us to believe in Him, the One who justifies the ungodly, and therefore He does not require us to be godly before we believe (Rom. 4:5). He came as a Physician for the sick, not expecting them to recover before coming to Him (Matt. 9:12). The vilest sinners are aptly prepared and qualified for His purpose, which is to display the surpassing riches of His grace by forgiving our sins and saving us freely (Eph. 2:5, 7). The purpose of the law of Moses was to increase offenses, so that where sin abounded, grace would abound even more (Rom. 5:20). Christ loved us in our sinful pollution, so much so that He died for us, and He will love us even in it, receiving us when we come to Him for salvation. He has fully satisfied God's justice on behalf of sinners, granting them righteousness, holiness, and salvation through fellowship with Him by faith. Therefore, it is not an affront to Christ or a disregard for God's justice and holiness to come to Him as polluted sinners. On the contrary, it would be an affront and a denial of the saving grace, merit, and fullness of Christ if we attempted to make ourselves righteous and holy before receiving Him and all righteousness and holiness in Him by faith.
Christ did not hesitate to touch a leper or wash His disciples' feet without expecting them to be cleansed and perfumed beforehand, unlike worldly great ones who imitate Christ by washing the feet of the poor.
3. Those who receive Christ with sincere faith will never lack a wedding garment to adorn them in the sight of God. Faith itself is highly esteemed and holy in God's eyes (2 Peter 1:1; Jude 20). God loves it because it attributes the glory of our salvation solely to His free grace in Christ (Rom. 4:16) and renounces any reliance on our own efforts to earn a right to Christ or to make ourselves acceptable to Him. It encompasses a genuine love for Christ as our Saviour and a deep hunger and thirst for His salvation. It is through faith that the soul hungrily feeds on Him. What more delightful wedding garment can sinners bring to their generous God, whose grand purpose is to display the abundant riches of His glorious grace and bounty at this wedding feast? The Father Himself loves them because they love
Christ and believe that He came from God (John 16:27). However, we must acknowledge that the excellence of faith lies in the fact that it does not consider itself or any of our works sufficient to make us acceptable in God's sight. It does not seek to be the wedding garment itself but rather purchases from Christ white robes to clothe us, so that the shame of our nakedness may not be exposed (Rev.
3:18). Although faith loves and desires the gift of holiness, it abandons the notion of immediately practicing holiness before coming to Christ for a transformed nature. It embraces Christ
Himself and in Him finds everything necessary for life and godliness. Thus, every true believer is clothed with the sun (Rev.
12:1), even with the Sun of Righteousness, the Lord Jesus, who is pleased to be our wedding garment, our feast, and the source of all our spiritual and eternal joy.
To provide further satisfaction and comfort to distressed souls who are gripped by the fear of their own sinfulness and God's wrath, and who hesitate to trust steadfastly in Christ for their salvation until they can observe some change from sin to holiness within themselves, I will mention several things that such individuals should find in themselves. I will demonstrate that if some of these aspects are not already encompassed in faith itself, they are the fruits and consequences of faith. Therefore, they cannot be reasonably expected before we place our trust in Christ for our salvation.
1. They believe that repentance is necessary before placing faith in Christ for salvation, because repentance is indeed crucial for salvation: "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke
13:3). Christ also emphasizes the duty of repentance before faith: "Repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). However, it is important to understand that Christ requires repentance as the ultimate goal and faith as the means to attain it. Although the goal takes precedence in intention, the means come first in practice and execution. Both repentance and faith are absolutely necessary for salvation. Repentance involves a sincere turning away from sin towards God and His service. And the only way to turn to God is through Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life, and without whom no one can come to the Father (John 14:6). And how can we come to Christ except through faith? Therefore, if we desire to turn to God in the right way, we must first come to Christ by faith. Faith must precede repentance as the essential instrument provided by God's grace for its effective fulfillment. Repentance is indeed a duty that sinners naturally owe to God, but the crucial question is, "How can sinners fulfill it?" This question is answered by the gospel of Christ: "Repent and believe." The way to repent is to begin with believing. Thus, the central message of John in his baptism of repentance was that they should believe in the One who would come after him, namely, Christ Jesus (Acts 19:4).
2. Regeneration is also necessary for salvation (John 3:3), and therefore, many believe that it must occur in themselves before they can confidently trust in Christ for their salvation. However, let us consider what regeneration truly means. It is a new birth or creation in Christ (1 Cor. 4:15; Eph. 2:10), where we become partakers of a divine nature that is distinct from what we inherited from the first
Adam. Now, faith is the uniting grace through which Christ dwells in us and we in Him, as previously explained. Therefore, it is the initial grace bestowed upon us in our regeneration and the means for all subsequent graces. When you truly believe, you experience regeneration; not before. Those who receive Christ through faith, and only those, become children of God. They are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John
3. They believe it is necessary to receive Christ as their Lord and Lawgiver by sincerely surrendering themselves to His authority and making a resolution to obey His laws before accepting Him as their Saviour. This is a key teaching of the new theology, where receiving
Christ as Lord is considered the essential act of saving faith.
Without this surrender to His kingly authority, the faith I described earlier, which involves trusting in Christ for salvation, is deemed nothing more than presumptuous. They assert that Christ will not grant His salvation to those who do not first submit to His rule. He regards them as His enemies because they refuse His reign over them, and He demands that they be brought before Him and put to death (Luke 19:27). I affirm as an absolute truth that Christ will save only those who sincerely yield themselves to obey His royal authority and laws.
However, we must observe that individuals are not brought to this holy surrender or sincere resolution of obedience before receiving His salvation, but rather through receiving it. People who have never truly recognised their spiritual death in sin may easily make a resolution of complete obedience to God when they are on their deathbeds, facing imminent danger, or preparing for the Lord's Supper. They do so in order to reconcile with God and trust in Christ securely for salvation. Yet, all such resolutions are futile and hypocritical, easily broken as soon as they are made. Those who are aware of the corruption within their own hearts understand that their minds are hostile to God's law and cannot submit to it (Romans 8:7).
They know that they cannot sincerely devote themselves to obedience before trusting in Christ for His salvation and for the gift of a new heart that enables them to will and do what pleases God. If Christ had never come into the world to save us, we would still be bound to obedient purposes, resolutions, and surrender. However, He knew that we are incapable of holy obedience unless He first makes us partakers of salvation. We will never obey Him as our Lawgiver until we receive Him as our Saviour. He is a saving Lord. Trust in Him first to deliver you from the guilt and power of sin, the dominion of Satan, and to grant you a new spiritual disposition.
Only then, out of genuine devotion, will the love of Christ compel you to wholeheartedly surrender yourself to live for the One who died for you (2
Corinthians 5:14). You will be able to declare with unwavering resolve, "O
Lord, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds" (Psalm 116:16).
Some people believe that certain good works are necessary before we can safely trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. They base this belief on the teachings of our Saviour, who said that if we do not forgive others, our heavenly Father will not forgive us. He also instructed us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12, 15). Additionally, restitution is required for things acquired wrongly from others before receiving sacramental atonement through the trespass-offering (Leviticus
6:5, 7). In response, I would like to point out that these teachings highlight the close connection between forgiving others, making restitution, and receiving forgiveness for our sins. These actions are necessary to prepare us for prayer and to receive the grace of pardon through the sacraments.
A living faith cannot exist without these fruits. Therefore, we cannot pray or partake in the sacraments in faith without demonstrating these qualities.
However, if we strive to perform these actions before placing our trust in Christ for forgiveness and salvation, our efforts will be in a slavish and hypocritical manner, lacking true holiness and acceptability. Our forgiveness of others will not be accompanied by genuine love for them, as we love ourselves for the sake of God. Similarly, our acts of restitution will be forced and insincere, comparable to Pharaoh allowing the Israelites to go or Judas returning the thirty pieces of silver out of fear and pressure. Once the fear that compelled us is removed, we will be quick to retract our forgiveness and wrong others again, just as Pharaoh brought the Israelites back into bondage after releasing them (Exodus 14:5).
If you genuinely desire to forgive others from the heart and love them again, you must first grasp, through faith in Christ, the love and mercy that God has shown towards you. Then, in accordance with the Apostle's instruction, you will be able to show kindness, tender-heartedness, and forgiveness towards one another, just as God, for the sake of Christ, has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32). Zaccheus' readiness to make restitution was a result of experiencing Christ's love, and his joyful acceptance of Christ into his home was evidence of the genuine faith that already resided in his heart.
I will list several other qualifications that troubled souls often seek within themselves as a means to be properly prepared to trust in Christ for their salvation. They labor anxiously for a long time, yet find themselves unable to attain these qualifications. As a result, they sink into sorrowful despondency, afraid to apply the consolations of God's grace in Christ to their wounded consciences. Let those who are perplexed pay attention to the following details and consider whether their own souls possess any of these qualities. O you afflicted, tossed with tempests, and without comfort, what qualifications do you desire that would encourage you to grasp onto Christ for salvation?
It is likely that in the bitterness of your soul, you will respond, "Oh, let me first have some love for God and godliness in my heart, and be freed from my hateful rising against Him and His service! Let me have good thoughts of God—His justice, mercy, and holiness—so that I may justify
Him even if He were to damn me, and so that I may not be filled with murmuring and blasphemous thoughts against Him. Let the raging of my lust be diminished, and the filthy state of my wicked heart be cleansed to some extent. Let me have a holy reverential fear of God, rather than a mere terrifying horror. I want to be more affected by God's wrath and not have a careless and indifferent attitude. I desire to be more humbled by my sin, to detest it, and to feel ashamed of it. I want to be truly sorry for my sin with godly sorrow, not just because of the punishment it brings, but because it grieves and vexes the Holy Spirit of God. I long to make a willing and sincere confession of my sin, to pour out my soul to the Lord in fervent prayer for forgiveness, and to praise and glorify Him wholeheartedly. I don't want to be lifeless like a stone in the duty of prayer, as I currently am."
Are these the things you desire, O poor troubled soul? The best response
I can offer for your swift comfort is to inform you that these things are indeed good, but your desires are ill-timed. It is unreasonable for you to expect these holy qualifications while you are in your natural state, burdened by the guilt of sin and the fear of God's wrath, before you have received atonement and the new spiritual life that comes through faith in Christ. By desiring these qualifications prematurely, you only exacerbate your corruption, harden your heart, and worsen the stench of your wounds.
Such good qualifications are included in the nature of faith, and for the most part, they follow after it. Therefore, they cannot be obtained before you trust in Christ for your salvation. I will discuss these qualifications in more detail, showing how they relate to faith, in their proper order.
Love for God's salvation and the gift of holiness is an inherent part of faith, and without it, faith cannot be genuine. Therefore, act in faith first, and as you grasp the understanding of God's love for your soul, it will gently draw and compel you to love God and His service wholeheartedly.
"We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). We cannot surpass
God in love, and we must perceive His love in order to love Him. If we view Him as a God who is against us, who hates us and will condemn us, our innate self-love will breed hatred and resentment towards Him, regardless of our intentions. The love that fulfils the law must emanate from sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5). If hatred prevails in you more than love, how can you expect to have good thoughts of God? Instead, you may have blasphemous or, at the very least, murmuring thoughts about Him. Ill-will never speaks or thinks kindly. The first right and holy thoughts you can have about God are thoughts of His grace and mercy towards your soul in Christ, which are encompassed within the grace of faith. Attain these thoughts first by believing in Christ, and they will generate love for God within you, along with all good thoughts about Him, gradually freeing you from blasphemous and murmuring thoughts. Love does no harm (1
Corinthians 13:5).
Once you have this love, you will be able to regard God as just and merciful, even if He were to condemn you while extending His grace to others. You will also be able to think well of His holiness and His decrees, which some find difficult to accept.
The way to overcome your raging lusts is through faith, as it purifies the heart and works through love (Acts 15:9; Galatians 5:6). The soul must find delight in God and Christ through faith; otherwise, it will crave fleshly and worldly pleasures. The more you struggle against lust without faith, the more it will be stirred up, even if you manage to restrain yourself from acting upon those desires. Pray for a holy fear of God, combined with fear of falling short of the promised rest due to unbelief (Hebrews 4:1). Such fear is a component of faith, and it will cultivate in us a reverential, even childlike fear of God and His goodness (Hebrews 12:28; Hosea 3:5). We must have grace to serve God with reverence. In the margin, it says, "We must have or hold fast grace." The only way to hold fast to grace is through faith, and this will quickly calm any panic and tormenting horror.
If you want to be free from carelessness and disregard for the wrath of God, the way to achieve this is by first believing and avoiding despair.
Carelessness often stems from despair, as people, for the sake of their own peace, tend to trivialise the evils they believe they cannot prevent. As the proverb says, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (1 Corinthians
15:32). True repentance for sin is either a part of faith or a result of it. Upon believing, we will remember our own wicked ways and actions that were not good, and we will despise ourselves for all our abominations (Ezekiel
36:31). We will willingly renounce our own righteousness and consider it worthless in comparison to gaining Christ through faith (Philippians 3:7-8).
However, beggars will make the most of their filthy rags until they are clothed in better garments, and the crippled will not discard their crutches until they have a better support to rely on. Genuine sorrow for sin is produced in us by believing in God's pardoning grace. It is a known experience that a pardon from a prince can sometimes bring tears from even the most stubborn criminal faster than the fear of the gallows. This was evident when the sinful woman washed Christ's feet with her tears (Luke
7:37-38). We are unlikely to be sorry for grieving God with our sins if we view Him as an enemy who will rid Himself of His burden and seek retribution through our eternal destruction.
Believing in God's forgiving and accepting grace is essential in leading us to make a sincere confession of our sins. The people freely confessed their sins when they were baptized by John in the Jordan River for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4-5). The confessions of those in despair are forced, similar to the coerced confessions and cries of criminals on the rack.
A pardon more readily opens the mouth for a genuine confession than the ultimatums of "Confess and be hanged" or "Confess and be damned."
Therefore, if you desire to freely confess your sins, first believe that God is faithful and just to forgive your sins through Christ (1 John 1:9).
And if you wish to pray to God or praise Him with heartfelt affection, you must first believe that God will hear you and grant you what is best for you for the sake of Christ (John 16:23-24). Otherwise, your prayers will be mere lip service, for how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? (Romans 10:14). You must first come to Christ, the altar, through faith, so that through Him, you may offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually (Hebrews 13:10, 15).
Lastly, moving from specific points to the overall statement presented in the guidance, if you inquire, "What must we do to carry out the deeds of God or attain any saving qualifications?" I must guide you to faith as the paramount action and the significant preparatory step for all good qualifications. This is best answered in the words of our Saviour: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:28-
29).