Part 5
experience must be in accordance with it.
It is, however, of such vital importance for the sinner to distinctly
understand what it is that is required of him, that God has graciously
so illustrated the nature of saving faith, that the most illiterate reader
of the Scriptures may learn the way of life. It is not merely by the
term faith, or believing, that this act of the soul is expressed, but by
many others of equivalent import. The consideration of a few of
these will serve to explain more distinctly the plan of salvation, by
showing at once the nature, object, and office of justifying faith.
One of the most comprehensive and intelligible of these equivalent
terms is that of receiving. To as many as received him, he gave power
to become the sons of God. Joh 1.12 As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Col 2.6 Believers are therefore
described as those who receive the gift of righteousness; Rom 5.17 as
those who gladly receive the word. Act 2.41 To receive Jesus Christ is to
accept and recognize him in the character in which he presents
himself: as the Son of God, the Savior of sinners, as a propitiation for
our sins, as a ransom for our souls, as the Lord our righteousness. He
came to his own and his own did not receive him. The Jews would
not recognize him as the Messiah, the only mediator between God
and man, as the end of the law for righteousness. They denied the
Holy One, and put far from them the offer of life through him. Could
the nature, the object, or office of faith be presented more clearly
than they are by this representation? Can the soul, anxious about
salvation, doubt what it has to do? Jesus Christ is presented to him
in the gospel as the Son of God, clothed in our nature, sent by the
Father to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to redeem us from the curse of the law by being made
a curse for us. All we have to do, is receive him in this character; and
those who thus receive him he makes the sons of God — that is, the
objects of his favor, the subjects of his grace, and the heirs of his
kingdom.
A still simpler illustration of the nature of faith is contained in those
passages in which we are commanded to look to God. Look to me
and be saved, all you ends of the earth. Isa 45.22 Our Savior avails
himself of this figure, when he says, As Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Joh
3.14-15 The dying Israelite, who was commanded to turn his feeble eye
on the brazen serpent, was surely at no loss to know the nature of the
duty required of him. He knew there was no virtue in the act of
looking. He might look in vain all round the wide horizon. He was
healed, not for looking, but because the serpent was placed there by
the command of God, and salvation made to depend upon
submitting to the appointed method of relief. Why then should the
soul convinced of sin and misery be in doubt as to what it has to do?
Christ has been set forth as crucified; and we are commanded to look
to him and be saved. Can anything be simpler? Must not every
attempt to render more intelligible the Savior's beautiful illustration,
serve only to darken counsel by words without wisdom? Job 38.2
Another striking illustration of this subject may be found in Heb
6.18, where believers are described as those who have fled for refuge
to lay hold of the hope set before them. As of old, the manslayer,
when pursued by the avenger of blood, fled to the city of refuge,
whose gates were open night and day, and whose highways were
always unincumbered. So the soul, under the sense of its guilt and
convinced that it must perish if it remains where it is, flees to Jesus
Christ as the appointed refuge, and finds peace and security in him.
There the avenger cannot touch him; there the law which before
declared vengeance, spreads its ample shield around him and gives
him the assurance of safety.
A still more common method of expressing the act of saving faith, is
to be found in such passages as Joh 6.35. He that comes to me shall
never hunger, and he that believes in me shall never thirst. All that
the Father gives to me shall come to me; and whoever comes to me I
will in no wise cast out. Here coming and believing are interchanged
as expressing the same idea. So also in the following chapter, where
our Savior says, If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He
that believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living waters. Hence the invitations and commands of
the gospel are often expressed by this word. Come to me all you that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Mat 11.28 And in the
closing invitation of the sacred volume, The Spirit and the bride say,
Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts
come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Rev 22.17
Though this language is so plain that nothing but the illumination of
the Spirit can render it plainer, yet the troubled soul perplexes itself
with the inquiry, What is it, to come to Christ? Though assured that
he is not far from any one of us, we are often forced to cry out, O that
I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat.
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot
perceive him; on the left hand, where he works, but I cannot behold
him; he hides himself on the right hand, so that I cannot see him. It
is often the very simplicity of the requirement that deceives us. We
think we must do some great thing, which will bear a certain
proportion to the blessing connected with it. We cannot believe that
it is merely looking, merely receiving, merely coming as the prodigal
came to his father, or as the Israelite came to the high priest who was
appointed to make atonement for the sins of the people. Yet is it even
thus that we must come to the High Priest of our profession, with
confession of sin, and there submit to the application of his blood as
the appointed means of pardon, and rejoice in the assurance of the
divine favor. Or still more impressively, as the Hebrew believer came
to the altar, laid his hand with confession upon the head of the
victim, and saw it die in his stead, so does the trembling soul come to
Christ as its propitiatory sacrifice; and confiding in the efficacy of his
death, he looks up to God and says, My Father! Coming to Christ,
therefore, is the confiding reception of him in the offices and for the
purposes for which he is presented in the word of God — as our
mediator and priest, as our advocate with the Father, as our
Redeemer and Lord.
Another term by which faith is expressed is submitting. This is not to
be understood as meaning a submission to the will of God as a
sovereign ruler, giving up all our controversy with him, and resigning
ourselves into his hands. All this is duty, but it is not saving faith.
The submission required is submission to the revealed plan of
salvation; it is giving up all excuses for our sins, all dependence on
our own righteousness, and submitting to the righteousness which
God has provided for our justification. This is what the Jews refused
to do, and so they perished in unbelief.12 This is what we must do in
order to be saved. Men, when sensible of their guilt and danger, are
perplexed and anxious about many things. But there is only one
thing for them to do. They must submit to be saved as ungodly, as
sinners, as entirely undeserving, solely for Christ's sake. They must
consent to allow the robe of his righteousness to be cast over all their
nakedness and blood, that they may be found in him, not having
their own righteousness, but the righteousness which is by faith in
Jesus Christ. Then will they be prepared to join that great multitude
which stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white
robes with palms in their hands, crying with a loud voice, Salvation
to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb! For you were
slain, and have redeemed us unto God by your blood, out of every
kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation, and have made us unto
our God, kings and priests.
It is thus that the Bible answers the question, What must we do to be
saved? We are told to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And to set
forth the nature, object and office of this faith, the Scriptures employ
the most significant terms and illustrations. This is in order that we
may learn to renounce ourselves and our works, and to be found in
Christ, depending solely upon what He has done and suffered as the
ground of our acceptance with God. Those who thus believe, have
passed from death unto life; they are no longer under condemnation;
they have peace with God and rejoice in hope of his glory. As this
faith unites them with Christ, it makes them not only partakers of his
death, but of his life. The Holy Spirit given to him without measure,
is given to them through him; and it works in them the fruits of
holiness, which are to the praise and glory of God.
CHAPTER VII. REPENTANCE.
Clearly, the Scriptures teach that whoever believes shall be saved;
they teach no less clearly that unless we repent, we shall all perish.
Luk 13.3 These graces are not only alike indispensable, but they cannot
exist separately. Repentance is turning from sin to God, through
Jesus Christ; and faith is the acceptance of Christ in order to return
to God. Repentance is the act of a believer; and faith is the act of a
penitent. So that whoever believes repents; and whoever repents
believes.
The primary and simple meaning of the word commonly used in the
New Testament to express the idea of repentance, is a change of
mind as the result of reflection. In this sense, it is said, There is no
repentance with God. He is not a man that he should repent. Num 23.19
In the same sense, it is said that Esau found no place for repentance
when he was unable to effect a change in the determination of his
father. In the ordinary religious sense of the term, it is turning from
sin to God. This is the account commonly given of it in the word of
God. I thought upon my ways, said the Psalmist, and turned my feet
to your testimonies. Psa 119.59 When the wicked man turns away from
his wickedness that he has committed, and does what is lawful and
right, he will save his soul alive. Eze 18.27 Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the
Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon. Isa 55.7 And in his prayer at the dedication of the
temple, Solomon said, If the people think to themselves in the land
to which they were carried away captives, and will repent and make
supplication to you, saying, We have sinned and done perversely, we
have committed wickedness, and so they return to you with all their
heart and with all their soul; then hear their prayer and their
supplication in heaven, your dwelling place, and maintain their
cause. 1Kng 8.47, 49 To repent, then, is to turn from sin to God. But as
there is a repentance which has no connection with salvation, it
becomes us to search the Scriptures, so that we may learn the
characteristics of that repentance which is unto life.
As conviction of sin is an essential part of repentance, and as that
point has already been considered, it won't be necessary to dwell
long on this general subject. The prominence given to it in the
Scriptures, however, and the large share which it occupies in the
experience of Christians, demand that the nature of this turning from
sin, which is so often enjoined, should be carefully studied.
There is one general truth in relation to this point which is clearly
taught in the Bible; and it is that all true repentance springs from
right views of God. The language of Job may with more or less
confidence be adopted by every Christian: I have heard of you by the
hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I abhor myself
in dust and ashes. Job 42.5-6
The discovery of the justice of God serves to awaken conscience, and
it often produces a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery
indignation. Heb 10.27 This is the natural and reasonable effect of a
clear apprehension of the rectitude of the divine character, as of a
judge who renders to everyone his due. Accordingly, there are many
illustrations of the effects of this apprehension recorded in the
Scriptures. Fearfulness and trembling, said the Psalmist, have fallen
upon me; and horror has overwhelmed me. Psa 55.5 While I suffer
your terrors, I am distracted. Your fierce wrath goes over me. Your
terrors have cut me off. Psa 88.15 There is no rest in my bones because
of my sins. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy
burden, they are too heavy for me. Psa 38.4 These fearful forebodings
are so common in the experience of the people of God, that the
earlier writers make terror of conscience a prominent part of
repentance. There are, however, two remarks on this subject, which
should be borne in mind. The first is that these exercises vary in
degree from the intolerable anguish of despair, to the calm
conviction of our judgment that we are justly exposed to the
displeasure of God. And secondly, that there is nothing
discriminating in these terrors of conscience. They are experienced
by the righteous and the unrighteous. If they occurred in the
repentance of David, they also did in that of Judas. Sinners in Zion
are often afraid; and fearfulness often surprises the hypocrite. These
fearful apprehensions, therefore, are not to be desired for their own
sake, since there is nothing good in fear. It is reasonable that those
who refuse to repent, and to accept the offers of mercy, should fear.
But there is nothing reasonable in those fears which arise from
unbelief, or distrust of the promises of God. It so often happens in
the experience of the people of God, however, that they are made
sensible of their guilt and danger, before they have any clear
apprehensions of the plan of redemption — in fact, fear of the wrath
of God enters largely into the feelings which characterize their
conversion. The apprehension of the holiness of God produces awe.
The angels in heaven are represented as veiling their faces, and
bowing with reverence before the Holy One. Something of the same
feeling must be excited in the minds of men by the discovery of His
infinite purity. It cannot fail to excite awe, no matter what the state
of his mind may be. This, however, may be mingled with love, and
express itself in adoration; or it may co-exist with hatred, and
express itself in blasphemy. Very often, the effect is simply awe (or at
least this is the prominent emotion), and the soul is led to prostrate
itself in the dust. The moral character of this emotion can only be
determined by observing whether it is attended with satisfaction in
the contemplation of infinite purity, and with a desire for larger and
more constant discoveries of it — or whether it produces uneasiness,
and a desire that the vision may be withdrawn, and we be allowed to
remain at ease in our darkness.
In the next place, this discovery of the holiness of God cannot fail to
produce a sense of our own unworthiness. It is in His light that we
see light. It is by the apprehension of his excellence that we learn our
own vileness. And as no man can be aware that he appears vile in the
sight of others, without a sense of shame, we find that this emotion is
described as being one of the most uniform attendants upon
repentance. Thus Ezra, in his penitential prayer, says, O my God! I
am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you my God; for our
iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass has grown
up to the heavens. Ezr 9.6 Daniel expresses the same feeling when he
says, O Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us shame of face,
as at this day. Dan 9.7 And when He describes the restoration of his
people, even when assuring them of pardon, God says, You shall
know that I am the Lord, that you may be confounded and never
open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I am
pacified towards you for all that you have done, says the Lord God.
Eze 16.63
Just as the consciousness of unworthiness produces shame, when we
think of others, so when we think of ourselves, it produces self-
abhorrence. This latter feeling, therefore, also enters into the nature
of true repentance. In the strong language of the suffering patriarch
already quoted, the sinner abhors himself, and repents in dust and
ashes. In another passage, Job 40.4, the same distinguished servant
of God says, Behold I am vile; what will I answer you? I will lay my
hand on my mouth. And the prophet describing the repentance of
the people says, You shall remember your ways and all your doings
in which you have been defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in
your own sight, for all the evil that you have committed. Eze 20.43 It is
not the strength, but the nature of these feelings, which determines
the character of our repentance. Their nature is the same in all true
penitents; but their strength varies in every particular case. In all,
however, the sense of sin destroys that self-complacency with which
sinners soothe themselves, thanking God they are not as other men.
Luk 18.11 It humbles them before God, and places them in the position
which he would have them occupy. To this man I will look, says the
Lord, even to the one who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembles at my word. Isa 66.2 With such a soul God condescends to
take up his abode. For thus says the High and Lofty One who
inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Isa 57.15
This humbling sense of our unworthiness, which produces true
contrition and self-abasement, is essential to repentance. Most men
are willing to acknowledge they are sinners; but they are at the same
time disposed to extenuate their guilt; to think they are as good as
could reasonably be expected; that the law of God demands too much
of beings so frail as man; and that it would be unjust to visit their
deficiencies with any severe punishment. The change which
constitutes repentance destroys this disposition to self-justification.
The soul bows down before God under the consciousness of
inexcusable guilt. It stands self-condemned; and instead of regarding
God as a hard master, it acknowledges that He is righteous in all his
demands, and in all his judgments. Such were the feelings of David
when he said, I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever
before me. Against you, you only have I sinned, and done this evil in
your sight, that you might be justified when you speak, and clear
when you judge. Psa 51.4 The same feeling is expressed by Ezra: O
Lord God of Israel you are righteous .... behold, we are before you in
our trespasses, for we cannot stand before you because of this. Ezr 9.15
And Nehemiah uses language to the same effect: You are just in all
that is brought upon us; for you have done right, but we have done
wickedly. Neh 9.33 There can be no true repentance, therefore, without
this contrite spirit of self-condemnation and abasement.
The confession of sin, on which the Scriptures lay so much stress, is
the outward expression of this inward sense of ill-desert. It is not
enough that we secretly condemn ourselves. God requires a full and
ingenuous confession of our sins. And this our own hearts will
prompt us to make. As there is no desire in the penitent to extenuate
his guilt, so there is no disposition to conceal it. On the contrary, the
soul is anxious to acknowledge everything; to take shame to itself,
and to justify God. We accordingly find that a large part of the
penitential portions of the Scriptures is taken up in recording the
confessions of the people of God. When I kept silence, said the
Psalmist, my bones waxed old through my roaring all day long. For
day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was
turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I have not hidden my iniquity. I said, I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord; and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Psa
32.5 So long as he attempted to conceal his guilt, he found no relief;
the hand of God continued to press heavily upon him; but when he
acknowledged his transgressions he obtained forgiveness. The wise
man therefore says, He that covers his sins shall not prosper; but
whoever confesses and forsakes them, shall find mercy. Pro 28.13 The
New Testament is equally explicit as to this part of our duty. If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1Joh 1.8-9
This confession must be made to the person against whom we have
sinned. If we have sinned against our fellow men, we must confess to
them. If we have sinned against the church, we must confess to the
church; and if we have sinned against God, our confession must be
made to God. The Old Testament, in commanding restitution in case
of injury done to our neighbor, thereby commanded
acknowledgement to be made to the injured party. And in the New
Testament we are required to confess our faults one to another. Jas
5.16 However, as the great majority of our sins are committed against
God, it is to him that our confessions are to be principally made. And
even in those cases in which we sin against men, in a still higher
sense, we sin against God. Our sense of guilt in his sight, therefore,
will prevail over the sense of our injustice to those whom we have
offended. Thus David, though he had in the most grievous manner
sinned against his neighbor, he was so affected with the enormity of
his sin as committed against God, that he said, Against you, you only
have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. Psa 51.4
In the inspired records of penitential sorrow, we accordingly find
that confession is constantly made to God. Let your ear now be
attentive, said Nehemiah, and your eyes open, that you may hear the
prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now, day and night,
for the children of Israel your servants, and confess the sins of the
children of Israel which we have sinned against you. Both I and my
father's house have sinned, and have dealt very corruptly against
you; we have not kept the commandments, or the statutes, nor the
judgments which You commanded your servant Moses. Neh 1.6
Indeed, the greater portion of the remarkable prayers of Daniel,
Ezra, and Nehemiah which form the most authentic record of the
exercises of genuine repentance, is taken up with confessions of sin.
This shows how essential such confession is to the proper discharge
of this duty. No man, therefore, whose heart does not lead him freely,
fully, and humbly to acknowledge his sin before God, can have any
satisfactory evidence that he truly repents.
There is indeed a confession which remorse extorts from the lips of
those whose hearts know nothing of that godly sorrow which is unto
life. Thus Judas went to his accomplices in treachery and said, I have
sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood; then he went and
hanged himself. This, however, is very different from that ingenuous
acknowledgment of sin which flows from a broken spirit, and which
is fuller and freer, the stronger the assurance of forgiveness.
Though the Scriptures plainly teach that in all true repentance there
is a sense of sin, self-loathing, self-condemnation, sorrow, and
confession, yet such is the poverty of human language, that these
very terms may be — no, must be employed to express the exercises
of those who do not truly repent. It is said of Judas that he repented;
Mat 27.3 and we cannot doubt that his repentance included a
conviction of guilt, sorrow, self-abhorrence and confession. Yet all
this was nothing more than the operation of that impenitent remorse
which often drives men to despair, and which serves to feed the fire
that will never be quenched. Although we are forced to describe the
exercises which attend the sorrow of the world, by the same terms as
those which accompany the sorrow which is of God, they are
nevertheless essentially different in their nature. There is a gleam of
hope and a glow of love pervading the exercises of the true penitent,
which impart to all his exercises a peculiarity of character, and cause
them to produce effects specifically different from those which flow
from despairing remorse, or the agitations of an awakened
conscience. His views of the justice and holiness of God produce not
only a conviction of sin and sorrow for having committed it, but also
an earnest desire to be delivered from it as the greatest of all evils,
and an anxious longing after conformity to the image of God, as the
greatest of all blessings. The repentance of the ungodly consists in
the operations of conscience combined with fear; the repentance of
the godly, consists of the operations of conscience combined with
love. The one is the sorrow of the malefactor; the other the sorrow of
a child. The one tends to despair and opposition to God; the other to
hope and a desire for His favor. Both may lead to obedience; but the
obedience in the one case is slavish; in the other, it is filial. In the one
case it is mere penance; in the other it is repentance.
The circumstance which perhaps most perceptibly distinguishes true
repentance from mere conviction and remorse, is that the former
flows from the apprehension of the mercy of God. There is no hope in
the repentance of the ungodly. They may see by the light of
conscience and of the divine law, that their sins are exceedingly
great. They may be filled with terror from the apprehension of divine
justice, and even humbled and confounded under a view of the
infinite holiness of God and of their own vileness; but there is no
sense of forgiving mercy, no apprehension of the divine favor.
Instead of turning towards God, they therefore turn from him.
Following the example of Adam, they would gladly hide themselves
from His presence. And so terrible is that presence at times, that they
madly seek a refuge from it in the darkness of the grave, or call upon
the rocks and mountains to cover them. This is the sorrow that works
death. But in every case of real turning to God, there is more or less
distinct apprehension of His mercy. This may be so feeble as only to
enable the soul to say, Though he slay me, yet I will trust Him; Job
13.15 or, Who knows if He will return and repent and leave a blessing
behind him? Joe 2.14 or, to adopt the language of David, If I find favor
in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back. But if he says, 'I have
no pleasure in him,' here I am; let him do to me as seems good to
him. 2Sam 15.25-26 This, however, is sufficient to turn fear into hope,
and rebellion into submission.
It may be that the hope which saves the soul from sinking into
despair and which prevents it from turning from God in aggravated
opposition, is at times nothing more than a conviction that He is
merciful, without any distinct apprehension of the way in which his
mercy can be exercised, or any confident persuasion of our own
acceptance. Still, the soul believes that He is the Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and
truth. Exo 34.6 It has courage to adopt the language of the Psalmist:
For you, God, are good and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy
to all those who call upon you. Psa 86.5 In all the records of penitence
contained in the Scriptures, we therefore find that recognition of the
divine goodness is the great operative principle in turning the soul to
God. Thus Nehemiah says, You are a God ready to pardon, gracious
and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. Neh 9.17 And the
prophet presents this consideration as the great motive to those
whom he calls to repentance; Rend your hearts and not your
garments, and turn to the Lord your God; for he is gracious and
relents from harm. Joe 2.13
But inasmuch as there can be no confidence of forgiving mercy if it is
not founded on the revelation of the purpose of God; and as there is
no revelation of a purpose to pardon, except through the mediation
of Jesus Christ — however indistinct the view may be, at times, which
the soul takes of the plan of salvation — there must still be a
reference to the Savior in all authorized expectations of mercy. The
penitent may not know how God can be just and yet be the justifier of
sinners, but he can be persuaded not only that He is merciful, but
that He has found a ransom, and can without inconsistency save us
from going down into the pit. Doubtless, however, under the light of
the Gospel, it is far more common that the soul sees all that it reveals
of the mercy of God, and of the possibility of pardon in the face of
Jesus Christ. It is in Christ that God has revealed himself as
reconciled to the world, not imputing to men their trespasses. It is
because Christ was made sin for us, that we can be made the
righteousness of God in him.
All evangelical hope rests on the assurance that though we have
sinned, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins. This is the hope which
is effectual in winning the soul back to God. It is the discovery of the
love of God in giving his own Son, that whoever believes in him,
should not perish but have eternal life. It is this that breaks the hard
heart, revealing to it the exceeding turpitude of its sins, and at the
same time disclosing the readiness of God to freely forgive those who
come to Him through Christ. It is therefore not so much the
threatenings of the law, as the apprehension of the love of God,
which turns the sinner from his rebellion, and draws him back to
submission and obedience. All repentance without this, is legal and
slavish. It is the repentance of Pharaoh, or Judas, or the thousands
whom an awakened conscience and fear of wrath drive from their
former sins, and force to walk in clanking chains along a mistaken
road in search of heaven. This is the only repentance which
conscience and the apprehension of divine justice can produce. A
soul cannot approach an unreconciled God, any more than it can
embrace a consuming fire. A sense of the favor of God, or a hope in
His mercy, is essential to our returning to him with confidence and
love.
There is indeed a belief in the mercy of God, which instead of leading
men to repentance, encourages them to continue in sin. This is a
belief which arises out of ignorance. It is founded on a
misapprehension of the character of God. It is easy for those who
know nothing of the divine holiness and justice, and who look upon
sin as a misfortune or a trifle, to believe that God will not be so
severe as to mark iniquity. To such persons, the mercy of God seems
a matter of course; restricting its offers to no class of men, but
covering with its mantle, the sins of the penitent and of reprobate
alike. As they see no reason why God should not forgive, they easily
hope in his mercy. But when their eyes are opened to his immaculate
purity which forbids his looking on sin with allowance; opened to his
justice which forbids him to spare the guilty; to the strictness of his
law and to the fearfulness of its penalty — when conscience is
aroused and adds its sanction to the judgment of God, in a voice
whose authority and power can neither be questioned nor evaded —
then these hopes of mercy are seen to be like a spider's web. They are
swept away in a moment; and the difficulty now is to believe that
pardon, once thought so certain, is even possible. Hence the
assurances that God is plenteous in mercy and ready to forgive are so
numerous and earnest in the Scriptures. Hence the way in which
mercy can be exercised, consistently with those attributes which are
seen to enter into the essential excellence of God, is so clearly set
forth. Hence the invitations, the promises, yes, even the oath of God,
are given to beget hope in the mind of the convinced and humbled
sinner. It is not the whole, but the sick, who need the physician; and
it is not for the careless, who feel no need of pardon, but for the
anxious, who fear that there is scarcely room for mercy, that these
assurances are given.
Therefore, it is not that hope of mercy which springs from ignorance
and indifference, which is operative in the work of repentance, but
that which is founded upon the promises of God embraced by faith.
It is an enlightened hope. The soul in entertaining it, knows
something of the difficulties in the way of pardon, and something of
the method in which mercy can be consistently exercised. Such a
hope is not a matter of course; nor is it an easy attainment. The sense
of sin, the testimony of conscience, the holiness of God, the honor of
his law, are all apparently opposed to any reasonable expectation of
forgiveness. And therefore, although the declarations of Scripture are
so explicit on the subject, it often happens that the awakened sinner
feels that though these declarations may be true in reference to
others, they cannot be true as it regards himself. And when the
goodness of God is revealed to him; when he sees the divine love
surmounting all difficulties — no shipwrecked mariner surrounded
by darkness and tossed by tempests, hails with greater joy the break
of day, than such a soul hails the revelation of divine mercy. It is not
merely joy; it is wonder, gratitude, and love that take possession of
his soul, and fill him with the purpose of living devoted to God his
Redeemer. It is this hope which gives new life to the soul, and
accomplishes its return from the service of sin, to the service of God.
Hope in the mercy of God being thus important, it is the great design
of the Bible to reveal the love of God to sinners, in order to bring
them back from their apostasy. The sacred volume is full of
instruction on this important subject. Every command to repent,
implies a readiness on the part of God to forgive. Every institution of
divine worship implies that God is willing to receive those who
return to him. Every instance of pardon mentioned in the Bible is left
on record to show that there is forgiveness with God, that He may be
feared. With the same view, He has given those declarations of his
mercy, long-suffering, and love with which the Scriptures abound.
And above all, for this purpose has he set forth his Son as a
propitiation for our sins, that we may see not only that He is
merciful, but how He can be merciful and yet just. These offers of
mercy are made to all who hear the gospel, even to those whose sins
are as scarlet, or red like crimson. And none lose the benefit of them
who do not voluntarily and wickedly reject them — either carelessly
supposing that they need no forgiveness, or unbelievingly refusing to
accept pardon on the only terms on which it can be granted.
That repentance, therefore, which is unto life, is a turning; it is not
being driven away from sin by fear and stress of conscience, but
forsaking it as evil and hateful, with sincere sorrow, humility, and
confession. It is returning to God because He is good and willing to
forgive, and doing so with a determination to live in obedience to His
commandments.
There are but two ways in which we can judge the genuineness of this
change. The one is the comparison of our inward experience with the
word of God; the other is the observation of its effects. Every man is
conscious of his own feelings; attention and comparison will
generally enable him to ascertain their character. He may tell
whether he has had such views of the justice and holiness of God as
to produce a conviction of his own sinfulness and ill-desert; whether
he has been forced to give up his self-complacency, and to feel that
disapproval of his character and conduct which leads the soul to
confess with shame and sorrow, its guilt and pollution in the sight of
God. He may tell whether he has had such apprehensions of the
mercy of God in Jesus Christ as to induce him to return to his
heavenly Father, with a strong desire after his favor, and with a firm
determination to live to His glory. These are the exercises which
constitute repentance; and whoever is conscious of them, may know
that he is turned from death unto life.
However, as true self-knowledge is the most difficult of all
attainments; and as feelings are hard to detect in their true nature
(unless they are unusually strong); the surest test of the character of
any supposed change of heart is to be found in its permanent effects.
By their fruits you shall know them, is a declaration as applicable to
the right method of judging of ourselves, as of others. Therefore,
whatever may have been our inward experience, and whatever joy or
sorrow we may have felt — unless we bring forth fruits worthy of
repentance, Mat 3.8 our experience will profit us nothing. Our
repentance needs to be repented of, unless it leads us to confession
and restitution in cases of private injury; unless it causes us to
forsake not merely our outward sins, which attract the notice of
others, but those which lie concealed in the heart; unless it makes us
choose the service of God, as that which is right and congenial, and
causes us to live not for ourselves, but for Him who loved us and gave
himself for us. Gal 2.20
There is no duty of which the necessity is either more obvious in
itself, or more frequently asserted in the word of God, than that of
repentance. Nature itself teaches us that when we have done wrong,
we should be sorry for it, and turn away from the evil. Every man
feels that this is a reasonable expectation in regard to those who have
offended him. Every parent especially looks with anxiety for the
repentance of a disobedient child; and he considers nothing worthy
of the name, except sincere sorrow and a return to affectionate
obedience. No man need wonder, therefore, that God — who requires
nothing but what is right, and who can require nothing less —
commands all men everywhere to repent. Act 17.30 The salvation
offered in the gospel, even though it is a salvation of sinners, is also a
salvation from sin. The heaven which it promises, is a heaven of
holiness. The rivers of pleasure which flow from the right hand of
God, are filled with the pure waters of life. No man can therefore be
saved, who does not by repentance, forsake his sins. This is itself a
great part of salvation. The inward change of heart from the love and
service of sin, to the love and service of God, is the great end of the
death of Christ. He gave himself for his church, that he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, by the word; that
he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish. Eph 5.26-27 Therefore, a salvation for sinners, without
repentance, is a contradiction.
Hence it is that repentance is the burden of evangelical preaching.
Our Savior himself when he began to preach, said, Repent, for the
kingdom of God is at hand. Mat 4.17 And when he came into Galilee
preaching the gospel, he said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Mar 1.15 The
commission which he gave his apostles was that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.
Luk 24.47 In the execution of this commission, his disciples went forth
and preached, Repent and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, when the times of refreshing come from the presence of
the Lord. Act 3.19 In the account of his preaching which Paul gave
Agrippa, he said that he showed first to those in Damascus, and at
Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the
Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works fit
for repentance. Act 26.20 And he called upon the elders at Ephesus to
bear witness that he had taught publicly and from house to house,
testifying both to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance towards
God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. Act 20.21
Repentance, then, is the great, immediate, and pressing duty of all
who hear the gospel. They are called upon to forsake their sins and to
return to God through Jesus Christ. The neglect of this duty is the
rejection of salvation. For, as we have seen, unless we repent, we
must perish. It is because repentance is thus indispensably
necessary, that God reveals so clearly not only the evil of sin, and the
terrors of his law, but his infinite compassion and love; that He calls
upon us to turn to Him and live, assuring us that he is the Lord, the
Lord God merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth. This call to repentance commonly follows men
from cradle to grave. It is one of the first sounds which wakes the
infant's ear; it is one of the last which falls on the failing senses of the
dying sinner. Everything in this world is vocal with the voice of
mercy. All joy and all sorrow are calls to return to God with whom
are the issues of life. Every opening grave, every church, every page
of the Bible, is an admonition or an invitation.
Every serious thought or anxious foreboding is the voice of God,
saying, Turn, for why will you die? Eze 33.11 It is through all these
admonitions, that men force their way to death. They perish, because
they deliberately reject salvation.
It is one of the mysteries of redemption, that under the economy of
mercy, all duties are graces. Though repentance is our duty, it is no
less the gift of God. Those who twist the Scriptures to their own
destruction, gladly seize on such truths, either as an excuse for delay
under the pretense of awaiting God's time, or as a palliation of the
guilt of a hard and impenitent heart. But those who feel the greatness
of the work required of them, rejoice in the truth, and rouse
themselves with new energy to their duty, which is no longer a
hopeless task. And with all earnestness, they work out their own
salvation, because it is God who works in them to will and to do,
according to his own pleasure.
CHAPTER VIII. PROFESSION
OF RELIGION.
Section I. The nature and necessity of a
public profession of religion.
Religion consists in a great measure in the secret intercourse of the
soul with God; in those acts of adoration, gratitude, confidence and
submission which the eye of man cannot see, and with which the
stranger cannot intermeddle. These secret exercises, by controlling
the external conduct and supplying the motives for the humble
demeanor and benevolent actions of the Christian, cannot fail to
manifest their existence. But any unnecessary parading of them for
the notice of others, borders on the offense which our Savior
condemned in the ancient Pharisees. Agreeably to his directions, our
alms are to be given in secret; when we pray we should pray in
secret; and when we fast, we should not appear to men to fast, but to
our Father who sees in secret. In these words, Christ more than
condemns hypocrisy; he not only forbids the performance of
religious duties with the design of being seen by men, but he teaches
that true religion is unobtrusive, and retiring. It avoids the glare of
day. It is holy, solemn, secret — rejoicing in being unobserved. It is
directly opposed to the ostentatious display of religious feelings in
which those delight, who seem to make religion consist in talking
about it.
Although religion is thus retiring in its character, and although it
consists in great measure in the secret intercourse of the soul with
God, it nevertheless has its social and public relations, which render
it impossible that a true Christian should desire to keep the fact of
his being a Christian, a secret from the world. This is indeed often
attempted for a time, by those whose faith is weak, and who dread
the reproach with which a profession of religion is attended, in many
circumstances. The temptation to such concealment cannot well be
appreciated by those who have always lived in the bosom of a
religious society, where the profession of religious sentiments is a
passport to confidence and respect. Such persons little know the trial
to which those of their brethren are exposed, whose parents or
associates view all experiential religion with hatred or contempt, and
who visit every manifestation of pious feeling with the chastisement
of cruel mockings. To a greater or less degree, a large portion of the
people of God, are called upon to endure this trial; and they are often
tempted to ask whether they cannot be religious without letting it be
known? If religion is a secret thing, why may it not be kept a secret?
The answer to this question is simple and decisive. The confession of
Christ before men is declared in Scripture to be essential to salvation.
Our Savior said, Whoever confesses me before men, I will confess
him before my father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me
before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.
Mar 10.32 Again, Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this
adulterous generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him,
when he comes in the glory of his Father and with the holy angels.
Mar 8.38 Also Paul says, in writing to Timothy, Do not be ashamed of
the testimony of the Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be a partaker
of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. 2Tim 1.8
If we suffer, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also
deny us. 2Tim 2.12 And still more explicitly, when teaching the
condition of salvation, he says, If you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from
the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto
righteousness, and with your mouth confession is made unto
salvation. Rom 10.9-10
The same truth is taught in all those passages which assert the
necessity of baptism, because baptism involves a public profession of
the gospel. Thus our Savior said in his commission to the apostles,
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Mar 16.16 And on the
day of Pentecost, when the people were convinced of the sin of
having rejected Christ, and asked what they should do, Peter
answered, Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of
the Lord Jesus. Act 2.38 It was not enough that they should retire to
their houses and repent before God; they must publicly acknowledge
Christ and their allegiance to him. Therefore, there is no condition of
discipleship more clearly laid down than this. If we do not confess
Christ, he will not confess us. If we do not acknowledge him as our
Savior, he will not acknowledge us as his disciples. If we are not
willing to share with him in the reproach and contradiction of
sinners, we cannot share in the glory which he has received from the
Father.
The relation in which we stand to Christ as our king renders a public
acknowledgment of his authority necessary. In the kingdoms of this
world, no one is admitted to the privileges of citizenship without a
profession of allegiance. And in the kingdom of Christ, those who do
not acknowledge his authority, reject him. By refusing to confess him
as Lord, they declare that they are not his people.
The church is also often compared in Scripture to a family. Can a
child live in his father's house without acknowledging his parent?
May he receive the blessings of a mother's love, and not acknowledge
her to be his mother? May he pass her in the street without
recognition, and then steal, under cover of night, to be fed at her
table and to be protected by her care? As everyone feels that no child
with proper filial feelings, could hesitate to acknowledge his parents,
so we may be assured that we are not the children of God, if we are
afraid or ashamed to acknowledge Him as our Father, and our
obligations to honor and obey him.
It is still further to be considered that Christians are the worshippers
of Christ. The apostle salutes the Corinthians as those who call upon
the name of the Lord Jesus; and from the beginning, in Jerusalem
and at Damascus, Christians were designated as those who called on
the name of Christ. Act 9.14, 21 But what kind of a worshipper is he who
is ashamed or afraid to acknowledge his God? All the relations,
therefore, in which a Christian stands to Christ as his king, as the
head of the family of God, and as the object of divine worship,
involve the necessity of confessing him before men. And we
practically reject him in all these relations by neglecting or refusing
this public profession of him and his religion.
A moment's consideration of the nature of the religion of Jesus
Christ must convince us of the impossibility of being a secret
Christian. Not only the heart, but the whole external deportment
must be regulated by that religion. It forbids many things which the
world allows; it enjoins many things which the world forbids.
Obedience to its precepts of necessity includes a public profession,
because such obedience draws a line of distinction between its
disciples, and the people of the world. This is one of the reasons why
the people of God are called saints. They are distinguished, separated
from others, and consecrated to God. When they cease to be thus
distinguished from those around them, they cease to be saints. If
their inward temper and outward conduct do not mark them as a
peculiar people, they are not Christians. A city set on a hill cannot be
hidden. It cannot be that those who deny themselves, and take up
their cross daily, and follow Christ; whose affections are set on things
above; who walk by faith and not by sight; who live to God and keep
themselves unspotted from the world, should not visibly differ from
those whose spirit, principles, and objects are all worldly. Nor is it
possible that this difference should exist, without an avowal on the
part of the Christian, of its cause. He must appeal to the authority of
Christ as the justification of his conduct. And therefore, he cannot
live as a Christian without confessing Christ.
Besides the general temper and deportment required by the gospel,
there are many specific duties enjoined by Christ, which imply a
public profession of his religion. The organization of his church as a
visible society, supposes the separation of a people recognizing his
authority, and professing to act in obedience to His laws. The
commission which he gave to his disciples was that they should go
into all the world, preaching his gospel, making disciples, baptizing
them in his name, gathering them into distinct societies, and
appointing officers over them for conducting public worship, and for
the exercise of discipline All this supposes that his followers should
constitute a body publicly acknowledging him as their head, and
confessing him as their Lord and Savior before the world. How can a
man keep the fact of his being a Christian a secret, when Christianity
is made by its author, to assume this visible, organized form? It is
specially enjoined upon every believer to associate himself with the
church, to assemble with his fellow Christians for public worship,
and to unite with them in celebrating the Savior's death. If a
Christian is one who obeys Christ, and if obedience includes those
external acts which involve this public acknowledgment of him, then
no man can be a Christian who does not make this acknowledgment.
There are few duties commanded in the word of God (and those are
founded on positive precepts), which right feelings do not, of
themselves, urge us to discharge. If we are required to forsake sin, to
serve God, to love the brethren, to live for others rather than
ourselves, to be instant in prayer, to join in the public and social
worship of God — these are things in which the renewed heart
instinctively delights. The external command guides and sanctions
the performance; but the motive to obedience is not mere regard to
authority. In like manner, while the public confession of Christ is
enjoined in Scripture as a necessary duty, it is at the same time, the
spontaneous tribute of every Christian heart. If no subject requires
being urged to acknowledge a sovereign whom he loves; if no child
needs to be commanded to confess a parent whom he reveres; then
much less does the believer need to be forced to confess the Savior
whom he regards as the brightness of the Father's glory; the one to
whom he feels indebted for redemption, and whom he hopes to
worship and serve with saints and angels in heaven. It is not meant
to be asserted that no believer is ever ashamed of Jesus; nor that
under circumstances of peculiar trial, he may not fear to
acknowledge His truth, or to assume His name. Peter once denied his
master. But it is certainly true that no man can have right views of
Christ, and right feelings towards him, without habitually, openly,
and gladly acknowledging him as his God and Savior. He will esteem
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, and
choose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season.
It is not difficult to understand the nature of the duty now under
consideration. To confess Christ is to recognize his character and
claims. It is to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. It is to admit the
truth of the doctrines which he taught. It is to profess our allegiance
to him as our Lord and Savior. This confession must be public; it
must be made before men; it must be made with the mouth, and not
left to be inferred from the conduct. It should be remembered that
this includes more than the mere assumption of the name Christian,
as distinct from Pagan or Mohammedan. If men misconceive or
misrepresent the character of Christ, a profession of such erroneous
views is not the confession which he requires. To acknowledge Christ
merely as a good man, or an inspired teacher, is in fact to deny him
in his true character as the Son of God, as the propitiation for sin, as
the only mediator and the sovereign Lord of the living and the dead.
And to acknowledge the gospel merely as a code of morals, is to
reject it as the revelation of the grace of God. The confession which is
required is the public acknowledgment of Christ in his true
character, and of his gospel in its real nature. It will not do to strip
the gospel of everything offensive to human pride, and to
acknowledge the rest. The very thing to be done is to take the shame
of professing what is a scandal to the Jews, and foolishness to the
Greeks. It is to acknowledge our faith and confidence in a Savior
despised and rejected by men, and in doctrines which human reason
can neither discover nor comprehend.
There are several ways in which this public confession is to be made.
As already remarked, there is a confession included in the obedience
rendered to the commands of Christ. Obedience is therefore one
form of confession; and it can never be rendered without
distinguishing those who yield to it, as the followers of Christ. Again,
occasions frequently occur in which Christians are called upon to
avow the truth, to defend it against opponents, to urge it upon those
over whom they have influence or authority, or to give a reason for
the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear. 1Pet 3.15 But the
chief and most important mode of confession, is attendance upon the
ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's supper. So much prominence
is given to these institutions, in the word of God, that every Christian
should have clear ideas of their nature and of his own duty in regard
to them.
Section II. Baptism and the Lord's
Supper. The nature, design and efficacy of these
ordinances.
It is clearly taught in the Bible, that Baptism and the Lord's supper,
whatever other important ends they may be intended to serve, were
appointed as a mode of publicly professing our faith in the gospel.
The public participation in the rites of any religion is, in its nature, a
profession of that religion. It is on this ground that the apostle
charges with idolatry the Corinthians who, within the precincts of the
heathen temples, partook of the sacrifices offered to idols.
I speak as to wise men; judge what I say. Participation in a Christian
ordinance, isn't it an act of Christian worship? Participation in a
Jewish sacrifice, isn't it an act of Jewish worship? And by parity of
reasoning, isn't participation in a heathen ordinance, an act of
heathen worship? This is the purport of the apostle's argument in
1Cor 10.15-21, and it is obviously founded on the admitted truth, that
joining in the celebration of the ordinances of the gospel is, from the
nature of the act, a profession of the religion of Christ. The recipient
thereby places himself in communion with the object of worship and
with all his fellow worshippers. For we being many are one bread and
one body; for we are all partakers of one bread. Hence the apostle
adds, you cannot drink of the cup of the Lord and of the cup of
devils; you cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and the table of
devils. It is impossible to be in communion with Christ and Satan at
the same time. And therefore, it is the grossest inconsistency to
partake at the same time of the ordinances of Christ, and of the
sacrifices of devils. All this supposes that participation in Christian
ordinances is a profession of the Christian religion. When Christ
commanded the apostles to make disciples, baptizing them, etc., he
obviously intended that baptism should be a badge of discipleship, or
that his followers should acknowledge their relation to him by that
rite. This is indeed the prominent idea in the formula, To baptize in
the name of anyone. And hence Paul reminded the Corinthians that
they were not his disciples or followers, by asking them, Were you
baptized in the name of Paul? It is, however, unnecessary to dwell on
this point, as it is universally conceded that participation in the
ordinances of the gospel, is the appointed mode of confessing Christ
before the world.
As it is the duty of every Christian to confess Christ, and to confess
him in this particular way, it is necessary to inquire more particularly
into the nature and design of these ordinances. It has long been
customary in the church to call these institutions sacraments. Little
light, however, can be derived from the use of this term, because it is
not a scriptural word, and because it is employed by ancient writers
in a very comprehensive sense. As it comes from the word meaning
to consecrate, anything sacred was called a sacrament. The Romans
applied the term to a sum of money deposited in the hands of the
High Priest to stay the decision of a suit. They also called the oath by
which soldiers consecrate themselves to the military service a
sacrament; and in the Latin church (from where we borrowed the
word), it was used as synonymous with mystery, not only as applied
to things which had a hidden meaning, but in its wider sense of
signifying what was undiscoverable by human reason. In this sense
the Gospel itself, the calling of the Gentiles, the future conversion of
the Jews are sacraments. It is not from a word of such latitude of
meaning that the nature of the Christian ordinances can be learned;
but on the contrary, the Christian sense of the word must be
determined from what the Scriptures teach concerning the
ordinances to which the word is now applied.
They are, in the first place, rites of divine appointment, and not of
human institution. When Christ was about to ascend into heaven, he
said, Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the world. Mat 28.19-20 The rite of baptism
was therefore instituted by Christ, and is to be continued as long as
there are disciples to be made, even to the end of the world. And on
the night in which he was betrayed, he instituted the Lord's supper,
saying, Do this in remembrance of me, with the command that it
should be observed until He comes. The New Testament furnishes
abundant evidence that the apostles enjoined the observance of these
ordinances, both by precept and example, agreeably to the Savior's
directions. Therefore, no rite is a sacrament in the Christian sense of
the term, which is not a matter of divine appointment, and of
perpetual obligation.
In the second place, the Bible teaches us that the sacraments are the
signs of spiritual blessings. They are designed by outward,
significant actions, to represent inward, spiritual gifts. The great
blessing offered in the Gospel is union with Christ, and the
consequent participation of his merits and spirit, by which we are
freed from the condemnation and pollution of sin. And this is the
blessing which baptism and the Lord's supper are designed to
represent. Hence it is said, As many as have been baptized into
Christ, have put on Christ — which implies union with him. Gal 3.27
Believers are said to be baptized into one body. 1Cor 12.13 That is, by
baptism they are constituted one body; but they are one body only by
virtue of their union with their common Head. Don't you know, asks
the apostle, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ,
were baptized into his death? i.e. so as to be united with him in his
death. Rom 6.3 As union with Christ is the great blessing signified by
baptism, and as pardon and sanctification are the consequences of
that union, this ordinance is also represented as symbolizing these
two great blessings of the covenant of grace. Thus on the day of
Pentecost, Peter said to the people, Repent, and be baptized every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins. Act
2.38 And Ananias said to Paul, Arise and be baptized, and wash away
your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Act 22.16 In many similar
passages, the reference of baptism to pardon is very clearly
expressed.
No less clear is its intended significancy of sanctification. This is
plainly taught in the passages from the epistles to the Galatians and
Romans (quoted above), in which baptism is declared to represent
our union with Christ, and our death to sin, and our living to God.
And in the epistle to Titus, it is called "the washing of regeneration;"
Tit 3.5 and in the epistle to the Ephesians, Christ is said to sanctify his
church "with the washing of water by the word." Eph 5.26 It need
hardly be remarked that the ordinance is appropriately significant of
these great truths. Water is the common means of purification. Both
the guilt and pollution of sin are represented in Scripture as a
defilement; and hence they are said to be washed away by the blood
and Spirit of Christ. It is this two-fold purification that is so
appropriately represented by the ordinance in question.
The same truths, under a different aspect, are exhibited in the Lord's
supper. The bread represents the body of Christ, and the wine his
blood, as expressly declared by our Savior when he said, "This is my
body, this is my blood." And by our partaking of the bread and wine,
our partaking of that which they symbolize, is clearly represented.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion
of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one
body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. 1Cor 10.16-17 Here, as in
the passage quoted above in reference to baptism, believers are
declared to be one body, because by partaking of the Lord's supper
their communion with the Lord Jesus is expressed. These
ordinances, therefore, though in different ways, set forth the same
great truth. They are both divinely appointed symbols of our union
with Christ, and partaking of the benefits which flow from his
mediation and death.
We would greatly err, however, if we supposed they were merely
signs. We are taught that they are seals; that they were appointed by
Christ to certify to believers their interest in the blessings of the
covenant of grace. Among men a seal is used for the purpose of
authentication and confirmation. It is intended to assure the party
concerned, that the document to which it is attached, is genuine and
binding. In condescension to our weakness, God has been pleased
not only to promise pardon and purity to believers, but to appoint
these ordinances as seals of his promises. The simple assurance
given to Noah, that the earth would not a second time be destroyed
by a deluge, might have been a sufficient foundation for confidence;
but God saw fit to appoint the rainbow to be a perpetual
confirmation of his covenant; and throughout all generations when
that bow appears, men feel that it is not merely a sign of the
returning sun, but a divinely appointed pledge of the promise of God.
In like manner, God willing more abundantly to show to his people
the immutability of his promise, has confirmed it by these seals,
which are designed to assure the believer that as certainly as he
receives the signs of the blessings of the covenant, he will receive the
blessings themselves.
It is plain that these ordinances were really intended to confirm the
promises of God, from the fact that Paul says that circumcision was
the seal of the righteousness of faith. That is, it was designed to
assure Abraham and his descendants that God would regard and
treat as righteous, all who believed his words. And that something
similar is intimated by the ordinance of baptism, may be inferred
from the manner in which the apostle speaks of the spiritual import
of circumcision, and then of baptism, in Col 2.10, 12. And in
reference to the Lord's supper, the Savior said, This cup is the New
Testament in my blood; that is, the new covenant was ratified by his
blood. The cup is the appointed memorial of that blood; and it is
therefore, at the same time, the memorial and confirmation of the
covenant itself; it is the assurance to us that God has promised the
blessings of that covenant to all believers. Baptism and the Lord's
supper are therefore visible pledges or confirmations of the fact that
Christ has died, that his death has been accepted as a propitiation for
sin, and that for his sake God will grant pardon, sanctification, and
eternal life to all those who believe.