Part 4
bear the iniquity of the father, it is obviously meant that the son will
not be punished for the sins of the father. The meaning of this
expression being so definite, there can be no doubt, of course, as to
the manner in which it is to be understood, when used in reference to
the Redeemer. The prophet Isaiah says, The Lord has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. My righteous servant shall justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities. He was numbered with transgressors,
and bore the sins of many. Isa 53.6, 11, 12 More explicit language could
not be used. This whole chapter is designed to teach one great truth:
that our sins were to be laid on the Messiah, that we might be freed
from the punishment which they deserved. It is therefore said, He
was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our
iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; for the
transgression of my people he was stricken. Isa 53.8 In the New
Testament, the same doctrine is taught in the same terms. He
himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. 1Pet 2.24 Christ was
offered to bear the sins of many. Heb 9.28 You know that he was
manifested to take away (to bear) our sins. 1Joh 3.5 According to all
these representations, Christ saves us from the punishment due to
our sins, by bearing the curse of the law in our stead.
Intimately associated with the passages just referred to, are those
which describe the Redeemer as a sacrifice, or propitiation. The
essential idea of a sin-offering, is propitiation by means of vicarious
punishment. That this is the Scriptural idea of a sacrifice, is plain
from the laws of their institution, from the effects ascribed to them,
and from the illustrative declarations of the sacred writers. The law
prescribed that the offender should bring the victim to the altar, lay
his hands on its head, and make confession of his crime; the animal
would then be slain, and its blood sprinkled on the altar. Thus, it is
said, He shall put his hand on the head of the burnt-offering, and it
will be accepted for him to make atonement for him. Lev 1.4 And he
brought the bullock for a sin-offering, and Aaron and his sons laid
their hands on the head of the bullock of the sin-offering. Lev 8.14 The
import of this imposition of hands is clearly taught in the following
passage: And Aaron shall lay his hands on the head of the live goat,
and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and
all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of
the goat; and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities, to a
land not inhabited. Lev 16.21-22 The imposition of hands, therefore,
was designed to express symbolically the ideas of substitution and
transfer of the liability to punishment. In the case just referred to, in
order to convey more clearly the idea of the removal of the liability to
punishment, the goat on whose head the sins of the people were
imposed, was sent into the wilderness; but another goat was slain
and consumed in its stead.
The nature of these offerings is further obvious from the effects
attributed to them. They were commanded in order to make
atonement, to propitiate, to make reconciliation, to secure the
forgiveness of sins. And they actually secured this effect. In the case
of every Jewish offender, some penalty connected with the
theocratical constitution under which he lived, was removed by the
presentation and acceptance of the appointed sacrifice. This was all
the effect, in the way of securing pardon, that the blood of bulls and
of goats could produce. Their efficacy was confined to the purifying
of the flesh, and to securing, for those who offered them, the
advantages of the external theocracy. Besides this efficacy, however,
which by divine appointment belonged to them considered in
themselves, they were intended to prefigure and predict the true
atoning sacrifice which was to be offered when the fulness of time
should come.
Nothing, however, can more clearly illustrate the Scriptural doctrine
of sacrifices, than the expressions employed by the sacred writers to
convey the same idea as that intended by the term sin-offering. Thus,
all that Isaiah taught about the Messiah — that the chastisement of
our peace was upon him; that by his stripes we are healed; that he
was stricken for the transgression of the people; that on him was laid
the iniquity of us all, and that he bore the sins of many — he taught
by saying, He made his soul an offering for sin. And in the epistle to
the Hebrews it is said, He was offered (as a sacrifice) to bear the sins
of many. Heb 9.28 The same idea, therefore, is expressed by saying
either he bore our sins, or he was made an offering for sin. But to
bear the sins of anyone, means to bear the punishment of those sins;
and therefore, to be a sin-offering conveys the same meaning.
Such being the idea of a sacrifice which pervades the whole Jewish
Scriptures, it is obvious that the sacred writers could not teach more
distinctly and intelligibly the manner in which Christ secures the
pardon of sin, than by saying he was made an offering for sin. All the
early readers of the Scriptures were familiar with this mode of
pardon. They had been accustomed to it from their earliest years.
Not one of them could recall the time when the altar, the victim, and
the blood were unknown to him. His first lessons in religion
contained the ideas of confession of sin, substitution and vicarious
sufferings and death. Therefore, when the inspired penmen told men
imbued with these ideas, that Christ was a propitiation for sin, that
he was offered as a sacrifice to make reconciliation, they told them in
the plainest of all terms, that he secures the pardon of our sins by
suffering in our stead. Jews could understand such language in no
other way; and therefore, we may be sure it was intended to convey
no other meaning. And in point of fact, it has been so understood by
the Christian church from its first organization to the present day.
If it were merely in the way of casual allusion, that Christ was
declared to be a sacrifice, we would not be authorized to infer from it
the method of redemption. But this is far from being the case. This
doctrine is presented in the most didactic form. It is exhibited in
every possible mode. It is asserted, illustrated, and vindicated. It is
made the central point of all divine institutions and instructions. It is
urged as the foundation of hope, as the source of consolation, the
motive to obedience. It is in fact the gospel. It would be vain to
attempt a reference to all the passages in which this great doctrine is
taught. We are told that God set forth Jesus Christ as a propitiation
for our sins through faith in his blood. Rom 3.25 Again, he is declared
to be a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the
sins of the whole world. 1Joh 2.2 He is called the Lamb of God that
takes away (bears) the sins of the world. Joh 1.29 You were not
redeemed, says the apostle Peter, with corruptible things such as
silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition
from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot. 1Pet 1.18-19 In the epistle to the
Hebrews, this doctrine is more fully exhibited than in any other
portion of Scripture. Christ is not only repeatedly called a sacrifice,
but an elaborate comparison is made between the offering which he
presented, and those which were offered under the old dispensation.
If the blood of bulls and of goats, says the apostle, and the ashes of a
heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh,
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
spirit (possessing an eternal spirit) offered himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb 9.13-14
The ancient sacrifices in themselves could only remove ceremonial
uncleanness. They could not purge the conscience or reconcile the
soul to God. They were mere shadows of the true sacrifice for sins.
Hence they were offered daily. Christ's sacrifice being really
efficacious, was offered but once. It was because the ancient
sacrifices were ineffectual, that Christ said, when he came into the
world, Sacrifice and offering you would not have, but you prepared
for me a body. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have no
pleasure, Then I said, Lo I come to do your will, O God. Heb 10.5 By
which will, adds the apostle (that is, by accomplishing the purpose of
God), we are sanctified (or atoned for) through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all; Heb 10.10 and by that one offering he
has perfected forever those who are sanctified; and about all this, he
adds, the Holy Ghost is witness. Heb 10.14-15
The Scriptures therefore clearly teach that Jesus Christ delivers us
from the punishment of our sins, by offering himself as a sacrifice on
our behalf; so that, as under the old dispensation, the penalties
attached to the violations of the theocratical covenant, were removed
by the substitution and sacrifice of bulls and of goats, so under the
spiritual theocracy, in the living temple of the living God, the
punishment of sin is removed by the substitution and death of the
Son of God. No ancient Israelite was ignorant of the mode of
atonement and reconciliation, when he had forfeited by
transgression, his liberty of access to the earthly sanctuary. So now,
no conscience-stricken sinner who knows that he is unworthy to
draw near to God, need be ignorant of that new and living way which
Christ has consecrated for us, through his flesh, so that we have
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Heb 10.19-20
In all the forms of expression mentioned up to here — namely, that
Christ was made a curse for us; he was made sin for us; he bore our
sins, he was made a sin offering — there is the idea of substitution.
Christ took our place; he suffered in our stead; he acted as our
representative. But as the act of a substitute is in effect the act of the
principal, all that Christ did and suffered in that character, every
believer is regarded as having done and suffered himself. The
attentive and pious reader of the Bible will recognize this idea in
some of the most common forms of Scriptural expression. Believers
are those who are in Christ. This is their great distinction and most
familiar designation. They are so united to him, that what he did in
their behalf, they are declared to have done. When he died, they died;
when he rose, they rose; as he lives, they also shall live.
The passages in which believers are said to have died in Christ are
numerous. If one died for all, says the apostle, then all died (not, all
were dead). 2Cor 5.14 He that died (with Christ) is justified from sin,
i.e. freed from its condemnation and power; if we died with Christ,
we believe that we shall live with him. Rom 6.7-8 As a woman is freed
from her husband by death, so believers are freed from the law by the
body (the death) of Christ, because his death is in effect their death.
Rom 7.4 And in the following verse, he says, having died (in Christ), we
are freed from the law. Every believer, therefore, may say with Paul, I
was crucified with Christ. Gal 2.20 In like manner, the resurrection of
Christ secures both the spiritual life and future resurrection of all his
people. If we have been united to him in his death, we shall be in his
resurrection. If we died with him, we shall live with him. Rom 6.5, 8
God, says the apostle, has quickened us together with Christ; and has
raised us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. Eph 2.5-6 That is, God has quickened, raised, and
exalted us together 9 with Christ.
It is on this ground also that Paul says that Christ rose as the first
fruits of the dead; not merely the first in order, but the earnest and
security of the resurrection of his people. For as in Adam all die, so in
Christ all shall be made alive. 1Cor 15.20, 22 As our union with Adam
secures our death, union with Christ secures our resurrection. Adam
is a type of him that was to come, that is Christ — inasmuch as the
relation in which Adam stood to the whole race is analogous to that
in which Christ stands to his own people. As Adam was our natural
head, the poison of his sin flows in all our veins. As Christ is our
spiritual head, eternal life which is in him, descends to all his
members. It is not they that live, but Christ that lives in them. Gal 2.20
This doctrine of the representative and vital union of Christ and
believers pervades the New Testament. It is the source of the
humility, the joy, the confidence which the sacred writers so often
express. In themselves they were nothing, and deserved nothing; but
in Him they possessed all things. Hence they counted all things but
loss that they might be found in Him. Hence they determined to
know nothing, to preach nothing, to glory in nothing but in Christ
and him crucified.
The great doctrine of the vicarious sufferings and death of Jesus
Christ is further taught in those numerous passages which refer our
salvation, to his blood, his death, or his cross. Viewed in connection
with the passages already mentioned, those now referred to not only
teach the fact that the death of Christ secures the pardon of sin, but
how it does it. To this class belong such declarations as the following:
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. 1Joh 1.7 We have
redemption through his blood. Eph 1.7 He has made peace through the
blood of his cross. Col 1.20 Being justified by his blood. Rom 5.9 You are
made near by the blood of Christ. Eph 2.13 You have come to the blood
of sprinkling. Heb 12.24 Elect for obedience and sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus Christ. 1Pet 1.2 To him who loved us and washed us from our
sins in his own blood. Rev 1.5 He has redeemed us to God by his blood.
Rev 5.9 This cup, said the Son of God himself, is the New Testament in
my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Mat 26.28
The sacrificial character of the death of Christ is taught in all these
passages. Blood was the means of atonement, and without the
shedding of blood, there was no remission; therefore, when our
salvation is so often ascribed to the blood of the Savior, it is declared
that he died as a propitiation for our sins. The same remark may be
made in reference to those passages which ascribe our redemption to
the death, cross, and flesh of Christ; for these terms are
interchanged, being of the same import. We are reconciled to God by
the death of his Son. Rom 5.10 We are reconciled by his cross. Eph 2.16
We are reconciled by the body of his flesh through death. Col 1.22 We
are delivered from the law by the body of Christ; Rom 7.4 he abolished
the law in his flesh; Eph 2.15 he took away the handwriting which was
against us, nailing it to his cross. Col 2.14 The more general
expressions respecting Christ's dying for us receive a definite
meaning from their connection with the more specific passages
mentioned above. Everyone, therefore, knows what is meant when it
is said that Christ died for the ungodly; Rom 5.6 that he gave himself a
ransom for many; Mat 20.28 that he died, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God. 1Pet 3.18 No less plain is the meaning of the
Holy Spirit when it is said, God did not spare his own son, but
delivered him up for us all; Rom 8.32 that he was delivered for our
offenses; Rom 4.25 that he gave himself for our sins. Gal 1.4
Seeing then, that we owe everything to the expiatory sufferings of the
blessed Savior, we cease to wonder that the Cross is rendered so
prominent in the exhibition of the plan of salvation. We are not
surprised at Paul's anxiety lest the cross of Christ be made of no
effect; or that he should call the preaching of the gospel, the
preaching of the cross; or that he should preach Christ crucified,
both to Jews and Greeks, as the wisdom of God and the power of
God; or that he should determine to glory in nothing save in the
Cross of Christ.
As there is no truth more necessary to be known, so there is none
more variously or plainly taught than the method of escaping the
wrath of God due to us for sin. Besides all the clear exhibitions of
Christ as bearing our sins — such as dying in our stead, making his
soul an offering for sin, redeeming us by his blood — the Scriptures
set him forth in the character of a Priest, in order that we might more
fully understand how it is that he effects our salvation. It was
predicted long before his advent, that the Messiah was to be a priest.
You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, was the
declaration of the Holy Spirit by the mouth of David. Psa 110.4
Zechariah predicted that he would sit as a priest upon his throne. Zec
6.13 The apostle defines a priest to be a man ordained for men in
things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices
for sins. Heb 5.1 Jesus Christ is the only real priest in the universe. All
others were either pretenders, or the shadow of the great High Priest
of our profession.
He had every necessary qualification for this office. He was a man.
For inasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he
also took part of the same in order that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest; one who can be touched with a sense of our
infirmities, seeing that he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet
without sin. He was sinless. For such a high priest became us, He
who was holy, harmless, and separate from sinners. He was the Son
of God. The law made men having infirmity, to be priests. But God
declared his Son to be a priest, who is consecrated forevermore. Heb
7.28 The sense in which Christ is declared to be the Son of God, is
explained in the first chapter of Hebrews. It is said there that he is
the express image of God; that he upholds all things by the word of
his power; that all the angels are commanded to worship him; that
his throne is an everlasting throne; that in the beginning he laid the
foundations of the earth; that he is from everlasting, and that his
years do not fail. It is from the dignity of his person, possessing this
divine nature, that the apostle deduces the efficacy of his sacrifice,
Heb 9.14 the perpetuity of his priesthood, Heb 7.16 and his ability to save
to the uttermost all who come to God through him. Heb 7.25
He was duly constituted a priest. He didn't glorify himself to be
made a high priest, but He that said to him, You are my Son, also
said, You are a priest forever. He is the only real priest, and
therefore his advent superseded all others, and put an immediate
end to all their lawful ministrations by abolishing the typical
dispensation with which they were connected. For the priesthood
being changed, there was of necessity a change of the law. There was
a disannulling of the former commandment for the weakness and
unprofitableness of it; and there was the introduction of a better
hope. Heb 7.12, 19 He has an appropriate offering to present. As every
high priest is appointed to offer sacrifices, it was necessary that this
man should have something to offer. This sacrifice was not the blood
of goats or of calves, but his own blood; it was himself that he offered
to God, to purge our conscience from dead works. Heb 9.12, 14 He has
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, which was accomplished
when he was once offered to bear the sins of many. Heb 9.26, 28 He has
passed into the heavens. As the high priest was required to enter into
the most holy place with the blood of atonement, so Christ has
entered not into the holy place made with hands, but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us, Heb 9.24 and where
he ever lives to make intercession for us. Heb 7.25
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God (let the reader remember what that
means), who has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
having by himself purged our sins and made reconciliation for the
sins of the people, every humble believer who commits his soul into
the hands of this High Priest, may come with boldness to the throne
of grace, assured that he will find mercy and grace to help in time of
need.
Section III. The righteousness of Christ
the true ground of our Justification. The practical effects of this doctrine.
The Bible, as we have seen, teaches first, that we are under a law
which demands perfect obedience and which threatens death in case
of transgression; secondly, that all men have failed in rendering that
obedience, and therefore are subject to the threatened penalty;
thirdly, that Christ has redeemed us from the law by being made
under it and in our place, satisfying its demands. It only remains to
be shown that this perfect righteousness of Christ is presented as the
ground of our justification before God.
In scriptural language, condemnation is a sentence of death
pronounced upon sin; justification is a sentence of life pronounced
upon righteousness. As this righteousness is not our own, as we are
sinners, ungodly, without works, it must be the righteousness of
another, even of him who is our righteousness. Hence we find so
constantly the distinction between our own righteousness, and that
which God gives. The Jews, the apostle says, being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness,
would not submit themselves to the righteousness of God. Rom 10.3
This was the rock on which they split. They knew justification
required righteousness; they insisted on urging their own, imperfect
as it was. And they would not accept of that which God had provided
in the merits of his Son, who is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone who believes. The same idea is presented in Rom 9.30-
32, where Paul sums up the case of the rejection of the Jews and the
acceptance of believers. The Gentiles have attained righteousness,
even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel has not attained
it. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the
works of the law. The Jews would not receive and confide in the
righteousness which God had provided, but endeavored by works, to
prepare a righteousness of their own. This was the cause of their
ruin. In direct contrast to the course pursued by the majority of his
kinsmen, we find Paul renouncing all dependence upon his own
righteousness, and thankfully receiving that which God had
provided. He had every advantage and every temptation that any
man could have to trust in himself — for he was one of the favored
people of God, circumcised on the eighth day, and touching the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Yet all these things he
counted but loss, that he might win Christ, and be found in him, not
having his own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
faith. Phi 3.8-9
Here the two righteousnesses are brought distinctly into view. The
one was his own, consisting in obedience to the law; this Paul rejects
as inadequate, and unworthy of acceptance. The other is of God and
received by faith; this Paul accepts and glories in as all-sufficient,
and as alone sufficient. This is the righteousness which the apostle
says God imputes to those without works. Hence it is called a gift, a
free gift, a gift by grace; and believers are described as those who
receive this gift of righteousness. Rom 5.17 Hence we are never said to
be justified by anything done by us or wrought in us, but by what
Christ has done for us. We are justified through the redemption that
is in him. Rom 3.24 We are justified by his blood. Rom 5.9 We are
justified by his obedience. Rom 5.19 We are justified by him from all
things. Act 13.39 He is our righteousness. 1Cor 1.30 We are made the
righteousness of God in him. 2Cor 5.21 We are justified in his name.
1Cor 6.11 There is no condemnation to those who are in him. Rom 8.1
Justification is therefore by faith in Christ, because faith is receiving
and trusting to him as our Savior, as having done all that is required
to secure our acceptance before God.
It is thus, then, that the Scriptures answer the question, How can a
man be just with God? When the soul is burdened with a sense of
sin, when it sees how reasonable and holy that law is which demands
perfect obedience, and which threatens death as the penalty of
transgression; when it feels the absolute impossibility of ever
satisfying these just demands by its own obedience and sufferings —
it is then that the revelation of Jesus Christ as our righteousness, is
felt to be the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. Destitute of
all righteousness in ourselves, we have our righteousness in him.
What we could not do he has done for us. Therefore, the
righteousness on which the sentence of justification is passed on the
believing sinner, is not his own, but that of Jesus Christ.
It is one of the strongest evidences of the divine origin of the
Scriptures, that they are suited to the nature and circumstances of
man. If their doctrines were believed and their precepts obeyed, men
would stand in their true relation to God, and the different classes of
men to each other. Parents and children, husbands and wives, rulers
and subjects, would be found in their proper sphere, and would
attain the highest possible degree of excellence and happiness. Truth
leads to holiness. And all truth is known to be truth, by its tendency
to promote holiness. As this test, when it is applied to the Scriptures
generally, evinces their divine perfection, so when it is applied to the
cardinal doctrine of Justification by faith in Jesus Christ, it shows
that doctrine to be worthy of all acceptation. On this ground, it is
commended by the sacred writers. They declare it to be in the highest
degree, honorable to God and beneficial to man. They assert that it is
so arranged as to display the wisdom, justice, holiness, and love of
God, while it secures the pardon, peace, and holiness of men. If it
failed in either of these objects — if it were not suited to the divine
character, or to our nature and necessities — it could not answer the
end for which it was designed.
It will be readily admitted that the glory of God, in the exhibition or
revelation of the divine perfections, is the highest conceivable end of
creation and redemption. And consequently, any doctrine which is
suited to make such exhibition is on that account, worthy of being
universally received and gloried in. Now, the inspired writers teach
us that it is peculiarly in the plan of redemption, that the divine
perfections are revealed; that it was designed to show to
principalities and powers, the manifold wisdom of God; that Christ
was set forth as a propitiatory sacrifice to exhibit his righteousness or
justice; and especially that in the ages to come, He might show forth
the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us in Christ
Jesus. It is the love of God, the breadth, and length, and depth, and
height of which surpass knowledge, that is here most conspicuously
displayed. Eph 3.18-19 Some men strangely imagine that the death of
Christ procured for us the love of God; whereas it was the effect and
not the cause of that love. Christ did not die that God might love us;
rather, he died because God loved us. God commends his love
towards us in this: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5.8 He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in him might not perish, but have eternal life. Joh
3.16 In this was manifested the love of God towards us: because God
sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1Joh 4.9-10
As this love of God is manifested towards the unworthy, it is called
grace, and this it is that the Scriptures dwell upon with such peculiar
frequency and earnestness. The mystery of redemption is that a
Being of infinite holiness and justice should manifest such wonderful
love to sinners. Hence the sacred writers so earnestly denounce
everything that obscures this peculiar feature of the gospel;
everything which represents men as worthy, as meriting, or in any
way by their own goodness, securing the exercise of this love of God.
It is of grace lest any man should boast. We are justified by grace; we
are saved by grace; and if it is of grace it is no more of works,
otherwise grace is no more grace. The apostle teaches us not only
that the plan of salvation had its origin in the unmerited kindness of
God, and that our acceptance with him is in no way or degree
founded on our own worthiness, but moreover, that the actual
administration of the economy of mercy is so conducted as to
magnify this attribute of the divine character. God chooses the
foolish, the base, the weak, yes those who are nothing, in order that
no flesh should glory in His presence. Christ is made everything to
us, that those who glory, should glory only in the Lord. 1Cor 1.27, 31
It cannot fail to occur to every reader that unless he sincerely rejoices
in this feature of the plan of redemption, unless he is glad that the
whole glory of his salvation belongs to God, his heart cannot be in
accordance with the gospel. If he believes that the ground of his
acceptance is in himself, or even wishes that it were so, he is not
prepared to join in those grateful songs of acknowledgment to Him
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, 2Tim 1.9 which
it is the delight of the redeemed to offer to Him who loved them, and
gave himself for them. Eph 5.2 It is most obvious that the sacred
writers are abundant in the confession of their unworthiness in the
sight of God. They acknowledged that they were unworthy
absolutely, and unworthy comparatively. It was of grace that any
man was saved; and it was of grace that they were saved rather than
others. It is therefore all of grace, that God may be exalted and
glorified in all those who believe.
The doctrine of the gratuitous justification of sinners by faith in
Jesus Christ, not only displays the infinite love of God, but it is
declared to be peculiarly honorable to him, or peculiarly consistent
with his attributes, because it is adapted to all men. Is he the God of
the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes of the Gentiles also;
seeing it is one God who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and
the uncircumcision through faith. Rom 3.29-30 For the same Lord over
all is rich to all who call on Him. For whoever calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved. Rom 10.12-13 This is no narrow, national, or
sectarian doctrine. It is as broad as the earth. Wherever men can be
found, the creatures of God, there the mercy of God in Christ Jesus
may be preached. The apostle greatly exults in this feature of the
plan of redemption, as worthy of God; and as making the gospel the
foundation of a religion for all nations and ages. In revealing a
salvation sufficient for all and suited for all, it discloses God in his
true character, as the God and Father of all.
The Scriptures, however, represent this great doctrine as no less
suited to meet the necessities of man, than it is to promote the glory
of God. If it exalts God, it humbles man. If it renders it manifest that
he is a Being of infinite holiness, justice, and love, it makes us feel
that we are destitute of all merit, indeed most ill-deserving; that we
are without strength; that our salvation is an undeserved favor. As
nothing is truer than the guilt and helplessness of men, no plan of
redemption which does not recognize these facts, could ever be in
harmony with our inward experience, or command the full
acquiescence of the penitent soul. The ascription of merit which we
are conscious that we do not deserve, produces of itself severe
distress; and if this false estimate of our deserts is the ground of the
exhibition of special kindness towards us, it destroys the happiness
such kindness would otherwise produce. Therefore, to a soul sensible
of its pollution and guilt in the sight of God, the doctrine that it is
saved on account of its own goodness, or because it is better than
other men, is discordant and destructive of its peace. Nothing but an
absolutely gratuitous salvation can suit a soul sensible of its ill-
desert. Nothing else suits its views of truth, or its sense of right. The
opposite doctrine involves a falsehood and a moral impropriety in
which neither reason nor conscience can acquiesce. The scriptural
doctrine, which assumes what we know to be true (namely, our guilt
and helplessness) places us in our proper relation to God; that
relation which accords with the truth, with our sense of right, with
our inward experience, and with every proper desire of our hearts.
This is one of the reasons why the Scriptures represent peace as the
consequence of justification by faith.
There can be no peace while the soul is not in harmony with God,
and there can be no such harmony until it willingly occupies its true
position in relation to God. So long as it does not acknowledge its
true character, so long as it acts on the assumption of its ability to
merit or to earn the divine favor, it is in a false position. Its feelings
towards God are wrong, and there is no manifestation of approval or
favor on the part of God towards the soul. But when we take our true
place and feel our ill-desert, and look upon pardoning mercy as a
mere gratuity, we find access to God and his love is shed abroad in
our hearts, producing that peace which passes all understanding. The
soul ceases from its legal strivings; it gives over the vain attempt to
make itself worthy, or to work out a righteousness with which to
appear before God. It is contented to be accepted as unworthy, and
to receive as a gift, a righteousness which can bear the scrutiny of
God. Peace, therefore, is not the result of the assurance of mere
pardon, but of pardon founded upon a righteousness which
illustrates the character of God, which magnifies the law and makes
it honorable; which satisfies the justice of God while it displays the
infinite riches of divine tenderness and love. The soul can find no
objection to such a method of forgiveness. It is not pained by the
ascription of merit to itself, which is felt to be undeserved. Its utter
unworthiness is not only recognized but openly declared. Nor is it
harassed by the anxious doubt whether God can forgive sin,
consistent with his justice. For justice is as clearly revealed in the
cross of Christ, as love. The whole soul, therefore, however
enlightened, or however sensitive, acquiesces with humility and
delight in a plan of mercy which thus honors God, and which, while it
secures the salvation of the sinner, permits Him to hide himself in
the radiance which surrounds his Savior.
The apostles, moreover, urge on men the doctrine of justification by
faith with peculiar earnestness because it presents the only method
of deliverance from sin. So long as men are under the condemnation
of the law, and feel themselves bound by its demands of obedience as
the condition and ground of their acceptance with God, they do and
must feel that He is unreconciled, that his perfections are arrayed
against them. Their whole object is to propitiate him by means which
they know to be inadequate. Their spirit is servile, their religion a
bondage, their God is a hard master. To men in such a state, true
love, true obedience, and real peace are alike impossible. But when
they are brought to see that God, through his infinite love, has set
forth Jesus Christ as a propitiation for our sins, that He might be
just, and yet justify those who believe; that it is not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy that
he saves us — they are then emancipated from their former bondage
and made the sons of God. God is no longer a hard master, but a kind
Father. Obedience is no longer a task to be done for a reward; it is
the joyful expression of filial love. The whole relation of the soul to
God is changed, and all our feelings and conduct change with it.
Though we have no works to perform in order to obtain justification,
we have everything to do in order to manifest our gratitude and love.
Do we therefore make void the law through faith? God forbid!
indeed, we establish the law. Rom 3.31 There is no such thing as real,
acceptable obedience until we are thus delivered from the bondage of
the law as the rule of justification, and are reconciled to God by the
death of his Son. Till then we are slaves and enemies, and have the
feelings of slaves. When we have accepted the terms of
reconciliation, we are the sons of God and have the feelings of sons.
It must not, however, be supposed that the filial obedience rendered
by the children of God, is the effect of the mere moral influence
arising from a sense of His favor. Though perhaps it is the strongest
influence which any external consideration can exert, it is far from
being the source of the holiness which always follows faith. The very
act by which we become interested in the redemption of Christ from
the condemnation of the law, makes us partakers of his Spirit. It is
not mere pardon, nor any other isolated blessing that is offered to us
in the gospel, but complete redemption, deliverance from evil, and
restoration to the love and life of God. Therefore, those who believe,
are not merely forgiven, but are so united to Christ, that they derive
from and through him, the Holy Spirit. This is his great gift,
bestowed on all who come to Him and confide in Him. This is the
reason why he says, Without me, you can do nothing. As the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can
you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He
that abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. Joh 15.4-5
The gospel method of salvation, therefore, is worthy of all
acceptation. It reveals the divine perfections in the clearest and most
affecting light, and it is in every way suited to the character and
necessities of men. It places us in our true position as undeserving
sinners; and it secures pardon, peace of conscience, and holiness of
life. It is the wisdom and the power of God unto salvation. It cannot
be a matter of surprise that the Scriptures represent the rejection of
this method of redemption, as the prominent ground of the
condemnation of those who perish under the sound of the gospel.
That the plan should be so clearly revealed, and yet men should
insist on adopting some other that is better suited to their
inclinations, is the height of folly and disobedience. That the Son of
God should come into the world; die the just for the unjust; and offer
us eternal life; and yet that we should reject his proffered mercy —
this proves such an insensibility to his excellence and love, such a
love for sin, such a disregard of the approval and enjoyment of God,
that if all other grounds of condemnation could be removed, this
alone would be sufficient. He that does not believe, is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. Joh 3.18
CHAPTER VI. FAITH.
Section I. Faith necessary in order for
salvation. The nature of saving Faith.
However abundant and suitable the provision may be which God has
made for the salvation of men, there are many who fail to attain
eternal life. There are some whom Christ will profit nothing. Indeed,
there are those whose condemnation will be greatly aggravated
because they have known and rejected the Son of God, the Savior of
the world. Therefore, it is not less necessary to know what we must
do to secure an interest in the redemption of Christ, than it is to
understand what he has done for our salvation.
If God has revealed a plan of salvation for sinners, then in order to be
saved, they must acquiesce in its provisions. By whatever name it
may be called, the thing to be done is to approve and accept the
terms of salvation presented in the gospel. As the plan of redemption
is designed for sinners, the reception of that plan on our part implies
an acknowledgment that we are sinners, and justly exposed to the
displeasure of God. To those who have no such sense of guilt, it must
appear foolishness and an offense. As it proceeds on the assumption
of the insufficiency of any obedience of our own to satisfy the
demands of the law, acquiescence in it involves the renunciation of
all dependence on our own righteousness as the ground of our
acceptance with God. If salvation is of grace, then it must be received
as such. To introduce our own merit in any form or to any degree, is
to reject it, because grace and works are essentially opposed. In
trusting to the one, we renounce the other.
As justification is pardon and acceptance dispensed on the ground of
the righteousness of Christ, acquiescence in the plan of salvation
involves the recognition and acceptance of the work of Christ as the
only ground of justification before God. However much the child of
God may be perplexed with anxious doubts and vain endeavors, he is
brought at last to see and admire the perfect simplicity of the plan of
mercy. He finds that it requires nothing on his part but the
acceptance of what is freely offered — the acceptance of it as free and
unmerited. It is under the consciousness of ill-desert and
helplessness, that the soul embraces Jesus Christ as he is presented
in the gospel. This is what God requires of us in order for our
justification. As soon as this is done, we are united to Christ; he
assumes our responsibilities; he pleads our cause; and he secures our
pardon and acceptance on the ground of what he has done; so that
there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The nature of the duty required of us in order for our justification, is
made still more plain, if possible, by the account which the Bible
gives of those who are condemned. They are described as those who
reject Christ, who go about to establish their own righteousness, and
refuse to submit to the righteousness of God; as those who look to
the law or their own works, instead of relying on the work of Christ.
They are those who reject the counsel of God against themselves
who, being ignorant of their character and the requirements of God,
refuse to be saved by grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.
The word by which this acceptance of Christ is commonly expressed
in the Bible, is faith. God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in him might not perish, but
have eternal life. He that believes in him is not condemned; but he
that does not believe is condemned already. He that believes in the
Son has everlasting life; he that does not believe the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he
that believes in me has everlasting life. Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature; he that believes and is baptized
shall be saved, he that does not believe shall be damned. Sirs, what
must I do to be saved? and they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved. God is just and the justifier of him that
believes in Jesus. The Gentiles have attained righteousness, even the
righteousness which is by faith; but Israel has not attained it,
because they did not seek it by faith. Knowing that a man is not
justified by works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we
have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith
of Christ and not by the works of the law. By grace you are saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. This is
his commandment, That we should believe in his son Jesus Christ.
He that believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.
Language so plain and so varied as this, cannot be misunderstood. It
teaches every serious inquirer after the way of life, that in order for
salvation, he must believe in Jesus Christ. Still, though he knows
what it is to believe, as well as anyone can tell him, yet as he reads of
a dead faith, as well as of a living faith, a faith of devils and a faith of
God's elect; as he reads on one page that he that believes shall be
saved, and on another, that Simon himself believed, and yet
remained in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity, he is
often greatly perplexed and at a loss to determine what that faith is
which is connected with salvation. This is a difficulty which is
inseparable from the use of language. The soul of man is so
wonderful in its operations; its perceptions, emotions, and affections
are so various and so complicated, that it is impossible for there to be
a different word for every distinct exercise. It is therefore absolutely
necessary that the same word should be used to express different
states of mind, which have certain prominent characteristics in
common. The definite, in distinction from the general or
comprehensive meaning of the word, is determined by the context;
by explanatory or equivalent expressions; by the nature of the thing
spoken of; and by the effects ascribed to it. This is found sufficient
for all the purposes of intercourse and instruction. We can speak
without being misunderstood, of loving our food, of loving an infant,
of loving a parent, of loving God, though in each of these cases the
word love represents a state of mind peculiar to itself, and different
from all the others. There is in all of them a pleasurable excitement
upon the perception of certain qualities; and this we call love, though
no two states of mind can well be more distinct than the complacent
fondness with which a parent looks upon his infant, and the adoring
reverence with which he turns his soul towards God.
We need not be surprised, therefore, that the word faith is used in
Scripture to express very different exercises, or states of mind. In its
widest sense, faith is an assent to truth upon the exhibition of
evidence. It does not seem necessary that this evidence should be of
the nature of testimony; for we are commonly and properly said to
believe whatever we regard as true. We believe in the existence and
attributes of God, though our assent is not founded upon what is
strictly called testimony. But if faith means assent to truth, it is
obvious that its nature and attendants must vary with the nature of
the truth believed, and especially with the nature of the evidence
upon which our assent is founded. A man may assent to the
proposition that the earth moves round its axis, that virtue is good,
that sin will be punished, that God promises salvation to him, as a
believer. In all these cases there is assent, and therefore faith; but the
state of mind expressed by the term is not always the same. Assent to
a speculative or abstract truth is a speculative act; assent to a moral
truth is a moral act; assent to a promise made to ourselves is an act
of trust. Our belief that the earth moves round its axis is a mere
assent. Our belief in the excellence of virtue is, in its nature, a moral
judgment. Our belief of a promise is an act of trust. Or if any choose
to say that trust is the result of assent to the truth of the promise, it
may be admitted as a mere matter of analysis; but the distinction is
of no consequence because the two things are inseparable, and
because the Scriptures don't make the distinction. In the language of
the Bible, faith in the promises of God is a believing reliance, and no
blessing is connected with mere assent, as distinguished and
separated from reliance.
It is, however, of more consequence to remark that the nature of the
act by which we assent to truth, is modified by the kind of evidence
upon which our assent is founded. The blind may believe, on the
testimony of others, in the existence of colors; and the deaf in the
harmony of sounds; but their faith is very different from the faith of
those who enjoy the exercise of the sense of sight or hearing. The
universal reputation of such men as Bacon and Newton, and the
acknowledged influence of their writings, may be the foundation of a
very rational conviction of their intellectual superiority. But a
conviction founded upon the perusal and appreciation of their own
works, is of an essentially different character. We may believe in the
testimony of those in whose veracity and judgment we confide; or
that a man of whom we know nothing has great moral excellence.
But if we see for ourselves the exhibition of his excellence, we believe
for other reasons, and in a different way. The state of mind,
therefore, which in the language of common life and in that of the
sacred Scriptures, is expressed by the word faith, varies essentially
with the nature of the evidence upon which our belief rests.
One man believes the Bible to be the word of God, and the facts and
doctrines contained in it to be true, simply on the testimony of
others. Born in a Christian land and taught by his parents to regard
the Scriptures as a revelation from God, he yields a general assent to
the truth, without troubling himself with any personal examination
into the evidence upon which it rests. Another believes because he
has investigated the subject. He sees that there is no rational way of
accounting for the miracles, the accomplishment of predictions, the
success and influence of the gospel, except upon the assumption of
its divine origin. Others, again, believe because the truths of the Bible
commend themselves to their reason and conscience, and accord
with their inward experience. Those whose faith rests upon this
foundation, often receive the word with joy; they do many things,
and have much of the appearance of true Christians; or like Felix,
they believe and tremble. This is the foundation of the faith which
often surprises the wicked in their last hours. Men who all their lives
have neglected or reviled the truth, and who may have accumulated a
treasury of objections to the authority of the Scriptures, are often
brought to believe by a power which they cannot resist. An awakened
conscience affirms the truth with an authority before which they
quail. Their doubts and sophistries fly frightened before the majesty
of this new revealed witness for the truth. To disbelieve is now
impossible. That there is a God, that he is holy and just, and that
there is a hell, they would give the world to doubt, but cannot. Here
is a faith very different in its origin, nature, and effects from that
which rests upon the authority of men, or upon external evidence
and argument.
Though the faith just described, is generally most strikingly exhibited
at the approach of death, it often happens that men who are
habitually careless, are suddenly arrested in their career. Their
conscience is aroused and enlightened. They feel those things to be
true, which before they either denied or disregarded. The truth,
therefore, has great power over them. It destroys their former peace.
It forces them to self-denial and the performance of religious duties.
Sometimes this influence soon wears off, as conscience subsides into
its accustomed slumber. At others, it continues long, even to the end
of life. It then constitutes that spirit of bondage and fear under which
its unhappy subjects endeavor to work out a way to heaven, without
embracing the gospel of the grace of God. The effects produced by a
faith of this kind, though specifically different from the fruits of the
Spirit, are not always easily detected by the eye of man. And hence
many who appear outwardly to be the children of God, are inwardly
under the dominion of a spirit that is the opposite of the loving,
confiding, filial temper of the gospel.
There is a faith different from any of those forms of belief which have
yet been mentioned. It is a faith which rests upon the manifestation
by the Holy Spirit, of the excellence, beauty, and suitableness of the
truth. This is what Peter calls the precious faith of God's elect. 2Pet 1.1
It arises from a spiritual apprehension of the truth, or from the
testimony of the Spirit with and by the truth in our hearts. The
Scriptures make frequent mention of this faith. Christ said, I thank
you, Father Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these
things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes.
Luk 10.21 The external revelation was made equally to the wise and to
babes. To the latter, however, was granted an inward illumination
which enabled them to see the excellence of the truth, which
commanded their joyful assent. Our Savior therefore added, No man
knows who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the
Son, and he to whom the Son reveals him. Mat 11.27 When Peter made
his confession of faith in Christ, our Savior said to him, Blessed are
you, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you,
but my Father who is in heaven. Mat 16.17 Paul was a persecutor of the
church; but when it pleased God to reveal his Son in him, he at once
preached the faith which before, he destroyed. He had an external
knowledge of Christ before; but he experienced this internal
revelation on his way to Damascus, and it effected an instant change
in his whole character. There was nothing miraculous or peculiar in
the conversion of the apostle, except in the mere incidental
circumstances of his case. He speaks of all believers as having the
same divine illumination. God, he says, who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness, has shined into our hearts, to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God, as it shines in the face of Jesus
Christ. 2Cor 4.6
On the other hand, he speaks of those whose minds the god of this
world has blinded, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, should shine on them. 2Cor 4.4 In the second
chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians, he dwells much upon
this subject, and teaches not only that the true divine wisdom of the
gospel was undiscoverable by human wisdom, but that when
externally revealed, we need the Spirit so that we may know the
things freely given to us by God. For the natural man does not receive
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him,
neither can he know them for they are spiritually discerned. 1Cor 2.12,
14 Hence the apostle prays for his readers, that the eyes of their
understandings (hearts) might be opened, that they might know the
hope of their calling, the riches of their inheritance, and the
greatness of the divine power of which they were the subjects. Eph 1.18-
19 And in another place, that they might be filled with the knowledge
of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Col 1.9 By
spiritual understanding is meant that insight into the nature of the
truth, which is the result of the influence of the Spirit upon the heart.
Since faith is founded on this spiritual apprehension, Paul says, he
didn't preach with the enticing words of man's wisdom, because a
faith which resulted from such preaching could be at best a rational
conviction; but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that
the faith of his hearers might stand, not in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God. 1Cor 2.4-5 Hence, faith is said to be one of the fruits
of the Spirit, the gift of God, the result of His operation. 10 These
representations of the Scriptures accord with the experience of the
people of God. They know that their faith is not founded upon the
testimony of others, nor exclusively or mainly upon external
evidence. They believe because the truth appears to them to be both
true and good — because they feel its power and experience its
consolations.
It is obvious that a faith founded upon the spiritual apprehension of
the truth, as it differs from every other kind of belief in its origin, it
must also differ in its effects. Of the multitudes who believe the
Scriptures upon authority, or on the ground of external evidence,
how large a portion disregard their precepts and warnings! To say
that such persons do not believe, although it is true in one sense, is
not true in another. They do believe; and to assert the contrary is to
contradict their consciousness. In the Bible, the state of mind which
they exhibit, is called faith, though it is dead. In other cases, this
rational conviction, combined with other causes, produces that
decorous attention to the duties of religion, and that general
propriety of conduct, which are so often exhibited by the hearers of
the gospel. The faith which is founded on the power of conscience
produces still more marked effects: either temporary obedience and
joy, or the despair and opposition manifested by the convinced, the
dying, and the lost; or that laborious slavery of religion which we
have already spoken of.
But that faith which is the gift of God, which arises from His opening
our eyes to see the excellence of the truth, is attended with joy and
love. These feelings are as immediately and necessarily attendant on
this kind of faith, as pleasure is upon the perception of beauty. Hence
faith is said to work by love. And as all revealed truth is the object of
the faith of which we now speak, every truth must, in proportion to
the strength of our faith, produce its appropriate effect upon the
heart. A belief of the being and perfections of God, founded upon the
apprehension of his glory, must produce love, reverence, and
confidence, with a desire to be conformed to his image. Hence the
apostle says: We all, with open face, beholding, as in a glass, the
glory of God, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as
by the spirit of the Lord. 2Cor 3.18 Faith in his threatenings, founded
upon a perception of their justice, their harmony with his
perfections, and the ill-desert of sin, must produce fear and
trembling. His people, therefore, are described as those who tremble
at his word. Faith in his promises, founded upon the apprehension of
his faithfulness and power, their harmony with all his revealed
purposes, their suitableness to our nature and necessities, must
produce confidence, joy, and hope. This was the faith which made
Abraham leave his own country to go to a strange land; which led
Moses to esteem the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the
treasures of Egypt. This was the faith of David also, of Samuel, and of
all the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of
weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight
the armies of the aliens. Heb 11.33-34 This is the faith which leads all the
people of God to confess that they are strangers and pilgrims on
earth, and that they look for a city which has foundations, whose
builder and maker is God. Heb 11.10 This is the faith which overcomes
the world, which leads the believer to set his affections on things
above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God; Col 3.1 which enables
him to glory even in tribulation, while he doesn't look at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things
that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are
eternal. 2Cor 4.18
And what shall we say of a faith in Jesus Christ founded upon the
apprehension of the glory of God, as it shines in Him; which beholds
that glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father full of grace
and truth; which contemplates the Redeemer as clothed in our
nature; the first-born of many brethren; as dying for our sins, rising
again for our justification, ascending into heaven and as now seated
at the right hand of God, where he ever lives to make intercession for
us? Such a faith, the apostle tells us, must produce love, for he says,
Who having not seen you love, and in whom, though now you do not
see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of
glory. The soul gladly receives him as a Savior in all the characters
and for all the purposes for which he is revealed; and naturally
desires to be conformed to his will, and to make known the
unsearchable riches of his grace to others. 11
It is no less obvious that no one can believe the representations given
in the Scriptures respecting the character of man and the ill-desert of
sin, with a faith founded upon a right apprehension of the holiness of
God and the evil of his own heart, without experiencing self-
condemnation, self-abhorrence, and a constant hungering and
thirsting after righteousness. Thus, of all the truths in the word of
God, it maybe said that so far as they are believed in virtue of this
spiritual apprehension, they will exert their appropriate influence
upon the heart and consequently upon the life. That such a faith
should not produce good fruits, is as impossible as that the sun
should give light without heat. This faith is the living head of all right
affections and of all holy living; without it, all religion is a dull
formality, a slavish drudgery, or at best a rationalistic homage.
Hence we are said to live by faith, to walk by faith, to be sanctified by
faith, to overcome by faith, to be saved by faith. And the grand
characteristic of the people of God is that they are Believers.
Section II. Faith as connected with
justification.
What has been said up to here is designed to illustrate the nature of
saving faith as it is represented in the Scriptures. It differs from all
other acts of the mind to which the term faith is applied, mainly on
account of the nature of the evidence on which it is founded. The
Bible, however, is more definite in its instructions on this subject.
Besides teaching us that there is a faith which receives as true all the
declarations of God, in virtue of evidence exhibited and applied by
the Holy Spirit, it tells us what those particular acts of faith are,
which secure our justification before God. It plainly teaches that we
are justified by those acts of faith which have a special reference to
Christ and his mediatorial work. Thus we are said to be justified by
faith in his blood. Rom 3.25 The righteousness of God is said to be by
faith in Jesus Christ; Rom 3.22 that is, by faith of which he is the object.
This expression occurs frequently. Knowing, says the apostle, that a
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ. Gal 2.16 Not having my own
righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith
of Christ. Phi 3.9 In all these places and in many others of a similar
kind, it is expressly stated that Christ is the object of justifying faith.
The same doctrine is taught in those numerous passages, in which
justification or salvation is connected with believing in Christ.
Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Joh 3.16
He that believes in the Son has everlasting life. Joh 3.36 Whoever
believes in him shall receive remission of sins. Act 10.43 Believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Act 16.31
The same truth is involved in all the representations of the method of
justification given in the word of God. We are said to be justified by
the death of Christ, by the blood of his cross, by the redemption that
is in him, by the sacrifice of himself, by his bearing our sins, by his
obedience, or righteousness. All these representations imply that
Christ, in his mediatorial character, is the special object of justifying
faith. It is indeed impossible that any man should believe the record
which God has given of his Son, without believing every other record
which He has given, so far as it is known and apprehended. Still, the
special act of faith which is connected with our justification, is belief
in Jesus Christ as the Savior from sin. And when we are commanded
to believe in Jesus Christ, the Scriptural meaning of the expression is
that we should trust, or confide in him. It does not express mere
assent to the proposition that Jesus is the Christ, which angels and
devils exercise; Mat 8.29 but it expresses trust which involves
knowledge and assent. To believe in Christ as a propitiation for sin, is
to receive and confide in him as such.
From this representation it is clear what we must do to be saved.
When the mind is perplexed and anxious from a sense of sin and the
accusations of conscience; when the troubled spirit looks round for
some way of escape from the just displeasure of God, the voice of
mercy from the lips of the Son of God is, Come to me, Believe in me,
Submit to be saved by me. Till this is done, nothing is done. And
when this cordial act of faith in Christ is exercised, we are accepted
for his sake, and he undertakes to save us from the dominion and
condemnation of our sins. The experience of the people of God, when
they are made the recipients of that divine illumination which reveals
to them the glory of God, their own unworthiness, and the plan of
salvation by Jesus Christ, is no doubt very various. It is modified by
their previous knowledge, by their peculiar state of mind, by the
particular truth which happens to attract their attention, by the
clearness of the manifestation, and by many other circumstances.
This diversity is readily admitted; yet, since no man can come to the
Father but by the Son; since without faith in him there is no
forgiveness and no access to God, it must still be true that — with
greater or less distinctness of apprehension — Christ and his
mediatorial work constitute the object of the first gracious exercises
of the renewed soul. Any approach to God, any hope of his favor, any
peace of conscience or confidence of pardon, that is not founded
upon him, must be delusive. Having (that is, because we have) such a
High Priest, we come with boldness to the throne of grace; and this is
the only ground on which we can venture to draw near. The whole
plan of redemption shows that there is no pardon, no access to God,
no peace or reconciliation, except through Jesus Christ. And this idea
is so constantly presented in the Bible, that all genuine religious