Part 7
inseparable — because salvation is not mere redemption from the
penalty of sin, but deliverance from its power. It is freedom from
bondage to the appetites of the body and the evil passions of the
heart; it is an introduction into the favor and fellowship of God; and
the restoration of the divine image to the soul, so that it loves God
and delights in his service. Salvation, therefore, is always begun on
earth. Truly, truly, I say to you, he that believes in me has eternal
life. Joh 6.47 This is the language of our Savior. To be spiritually
minded is life; to be carnally minded is death. Rom 8.6 No delusion is
more inexcusable (because none is more directly opposed to every
doctrine of the Bible) than the idea that a state of grace is consistent
with a life of sin. Without holiness no man can see God. Heb 12.14
Whatever our ecclesiastical connections may be, whatever our
privileges or professions, if we are not holy in heart and life; if we are
not habitually governed by a regard to the will of God; if we do not
delight in communion with him, and desire conformity to his image;
if we are not led by the Spirit and do not exhibit the love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and
temperance which that Spirit always produces Gal 5.22-23 — then we
are not religious men, nor are we in a state of salvation.
The Bible knows nothing of proud, selfish, covetous, impure
Christians. Christians are partakers of a holy calling; they are
washed, and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and by the Spirit of our God; they are saints, the sanctified in Christ
Jesus; they mind spiritual things; they have crucified the flesh with
its affections and lusts; they are poor in spirit, meek, pure in heart,
merciful; they hunger and thirst after righteousness — not that they
have already attained, or are already perfect; but they follow after,
that they may apprehend that for which they are also apprehended
by Christ Jesus; forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching
out to those things which are before, they press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phi 3.12-13 Their
conversation is in heaven; from which they also look for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like his glorious body, according to the working by which
he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Phi 3.20-21
Again, as God is holy, it is necessary that his people should be holy.
There can be no communion without concord, or congeniality. If one
loves what another hates, approves what another condemns, desires
what another rejects, there can be no fellowship between them. What
concord has Christ with Belial; or what fellowship has light with
darkness? 2Cor 6.14 Therefore, so long as we are what God disapproves
of; so long as we don't love what he loves, there can be no fellowship
between Him and us. Hence Christ says, Do not marvel that I said to
you, you must be born again. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. The carnal mind is
enmity against God, and so long as this prevails, it is impossible that
we should enjoy His presence. As God is the only adequate portion of
the soul; as His favor and fellowship are essential to our happiness;
as heaven consists in seeing, loving, and serving God — it is plain
that unless we are sanctified, we cannot be saved. We cannot enjoy
the society, the employments, or the pleasures of the people of God
above, if we take no delight in them here. The necessity of holiness,
therefore, arises out of the very nature of God; and consequently, it is
absolute and unchangeable.
We know also that holiness is the end of redemption. Christ gave
himself for his church, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, and that
it should be holy and without blemish. He died, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God. The object of redemption is
not attained in the case of those who remain in sin; in other words,
they are not redeemed. Therefore, it subverts the whole Gospel, and
makes the death of Christ of no effect, to suppose that redemption
and continuance in sin are compatible. The whole design and
purpose of the mission and sufferings of the Savior would be
frustrated, if his people were not made partakers of his holiness. For
the glory of God is promoted in them and by them only so far as they
are made holy; and the recompense of the Redeemer is his bringing
his people into conformity to his own image, so that he may be the
first-born among many brethren. Every child of God feels that the
charm and glory of redemption is deliverance from sin and
conformity to God. This is the crown of righteousness, the prize of
the high calling of God, the exaltation and blessedness for which he
longs, and suffers, and prays. To tell him that he may be saved
without being made holy, is to confound all his ideas of salvation,
and to crush all his hopes. The nature of salvation, the character of
God, the declarations of his word, the design of redemption, all
concur to prove that holiness is absolutely and indispensably
necessary. So that, whatever we may be, or whatever we may have, if
we are not holy, we are not the children of God, nor the heirs of His
kingdom.
Section II. The means of sanctification.
The attainment of holiness is often treated, even by Christian writers,
as a mere question of morals, or at most of natural religion. Men are
directed to control by the force of reason, their evil propensities; to
set in array before the mind the motives to virtuous living, and to
strengthen the will by acts of self-restraint. Conscience is summoned
to sanction the dictates of reason, or to warn the sinner of the
consequences of transgression. The doctrines of the presence and
providence of God, and of future retribution, are more or less relied
upon to prevent the indulgence of sin, and to stimulate to the
practice of virtue. Special directions are given to cultivate virtuous
habits, or to correct those which are evil.
As we are rational beings and were meant to be governed by reason
in opposition to appetite and passion, there is much that is true and
important in such disquisitions on the practice of virtue. But as we
are depraved beings, destitute of any recuperative power in
ourselves, such rules and the efforts to which they lead, by
themselves, must be ineffectual. God has endowed the body with a
restorative energy which enables it to throw off what is noxious to
the system, and to heal the wounds which accident or malice may
have inflicted. But when the system itself is deranged, instead of
correcting what is amiss, it aggravates what would otherwise be a
mere temporary disorder. And if the evil is checked in one part by
external means, it re-appears in another. Though you amputate a
decaying limb, the remaining part may soon exhibit symptoms of
mortification. So long as the system is deranged, such means are
mere palliatives, concealing or diverting the evil, but leaving the
source of it untouched. It is no less true that so long as the heart is
unrenewed, all that reason and conscience can do is of little avail.
They may obstruct the stream, or divert it into secret channels, but
they cannot reach the fountain. Since the fall, we retain reason, the
power of choice, conscience, the social affections, a sense of justice,
fear, shame, etc.; so much may be done by a skillful management of
these principles of action, towards producing proper conduct and
even great amiability and worth of character. But by these means, it
is impossible to call into existence right views and feelings towards
God and our neighbor, or to eradicate the selfishness, pride, and
other forms of evil by which our nature is corrupted. A man may be
brought by reason and conscience, to change his conduct, but not to
change his heart. A sense of duty may force him to give alms to a
man he hates, but it cannot change hatred into love. The desire for
happiness may induce him to engage externally in the service of God,
but it can't make that service a delight. The affections don't obey the
dictates of reason, nor the commands of conscience. They may be
measurably restrained in their manifestations, but they cannot be
changed in their nature. They follow their own law. They delight in
what is suited to the disposition of the one who exercises them.
Holding up to them what they ought to delight in, cannot secure
their devotion.
This is not meant to depreciate reason and conscience, but it is
necessary that their true province should be known, so that we may
not rely upon inadequate means in our efforts to become holy.
Though Scripture and experience teach us that our own unaided
powers are insufficient to bring us to the knowledge and love of God,
the rules which reason suggests for the culture of moral excellence,
are far from being destitute of value for the renewed man. It is no
doubt of importance that we be acquainted with the counsels of the
wise on this subject, and that we should habituate ourselves to the
vigilant use of all these subordinate means of improvement. We must
remember, however, that it is not by the strength of our own
purposes, nor by the force of moral considerations, nor by any rules
of discipline, that the life of God in the soul can be either produced or
sustained.
One class of men place their chief reliance for moral improvement
upon reason and conscience. Another, perhaps larger class, relies
upon means which are falsely assumed to have, by virtue of the
appointment of God, an inherent efficacy for that purpose; though
they have no tendency in themselves to produce holiness. Such are
not only the ablutions, pilgrimages, and penances of the heathen, but
the multiplied rites of corrupt Christian churches. Sprinkling the
body with consecrated water, the repetition of forms of prayer,
attending to religious services that are not understood, anointing
with oil, the imposition of hands, receiving the holy sacraments
without faith — these are supposed to convey grace to the soul. Great
reliance is placed on retirement from the world, on praying at
particular times or places, or in a particular posture, and on the
whole routine of ascetic discipline. With what laborious and
unavailing diligence these means of destroying sin have been
employed, the history of the church gives melancholy evidence. Even
in the days of the apostles, the disposition to rely on such means for
attaining holiness had begun to manifest itself. Even then, there were
men who commanded others to abstain from meats, who forbade
marriage, who said do not taste, do not touch, do not handle. These
things, says the apostle, indeed have a show of wisdom in will-
worship and humility, and in neglecting and dishonoring the body,
and yet they only served to satisfy the flesh. Col 2.21-23
The Scriptures teach us a different doctrine. They teach that
believers are so united to Christ, that they are not only partakers of
the merit of his death, but also of his Holy Spirit, which dwells in
them as a principle of life, bringing them more and more into
conformity with the image of God, and working in them both to will
and to do, according to His own good pleasure. They teach that so
long as men are under the law (that is, bound to satisfy its demands
as the ground of their acceptance with God) and are governed by a
legal spirit, or a mere sense of duty and fear of punishment, they are
in the condition of slaves; incapable of right feelings towards God, or
of producing the fruits of holiness. But when they are freed from the
law by the death of Christ, in the sense stated above, their whole
relation to God is changed. They are no longer slaves, but children.
Being united to Christ in his death, they are partakers of his life; and
by virtue of this union, they bring forth fruit unto God. They are
thereafter led by the Spirit which dwells in them; and this Spirit is a
source of life not only to the soul but also to the body. For if the
Spirit of him that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in us, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our bodies, by his
Spirit that dwells in us. Rom 8.11 The doctrine of sanctification,
therefore, as taught in the Bible, is that we are made holy not by the
force of conscience, nor of moral motives, nor by acts of discipline,
but by being united to Christ so as to become reconciled to God, and
partakers of the Holy Ghost. Christ is made to us sanctification as
well as justification. 1Cor 1.30 He not only frees from the penalty of the
law, but he makes holy. Therefore, according to the gospel, there is
no such thing as sanctification, without or before justification. Those
who are out of Christ are under the power, as well as under the
condemnation of sin. And those who are in Christ are not only free
from condemnation, but are also delivered from the dominion of sin.
The nature of the union between Christ and his people, on which so
much depends, is confessedly mysterious. Paul having said, We are
members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, immediately
adds, This is a great mystery. Eph 5.32 It is in vain, therefore, to
attempt to bring this subject down to the level of our comprehension.
The mode in which God is present and operates throughout the
universe, is an impenetrable secret to us. We cannot even
understand how our own souls are present and operate in the bodies
which they occupy. We need not, then, expect to comprehend the
mode in which Christ dwells by his Spirit in the hearts of his people.
The fact that such a union exists is clearly revealed; its effects are
explicitly stated, and its nature is set forth as far as it can be made
known, by the most striking illustrations. In his intercessory prayer,
our Savior said, I pray that they all may be one, as you Father are in
me and I in you, that they also may be one in us. I in them, and you
in me, that they may be made perfect in one. Joh 17.21-23 He that keeps
his commandments, says the apostle, dwells in Him, and He in him;
and hereby we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has
given us. 1Joh 3.24 If any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his; but if Christ is in you, the body (adds the apostle) may
die, but the soul shall live. Rom 8.9-11 Don't you know, asks Paul, that
your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you
have from God, and you are not your own? 1Cor 6.19 And to the same
effect, Don't you know that you are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you? 1Cor 3.16
The Scriptures are filled with this doctrine. The great promise of the
Old Testament in connection with the advent of the Messiah, was
that the Holy Spirit would then be abundantly communicated to
men. Christ is said to have redeemed us, that we might receive this
promised Spirit. Gal 3.13-14 And the only evidence recognized by the
apostles, of a participation in the benefits of redemption, was the
participation of the Holy Ghost, manifesting itself either in the
extraordinary powers which He then communicated, or in those
lovely fruits of holiness which never fail to mark His presence.
The effects ascribed to this union, as already stated, are an interest in
the merits of Christ in order for our justification, and the indwelling
of his Spirit in order for our sanctification. Its nature is variously
illustrated. It is compared to that union which subsists between a
representative and those for whom he acts. In this view, Adam is said
to be like Christ and Christ is said to be the second Adam; for as in
Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1Cor 15.22 This idea is
also presented whenever Christ is said to have died for his sheep, or
in their place; or when they are said to have died with him, his death
being virtually their death, satisfying the demands of justice on their
behalf, and redeeming them from the curse of the law. It is compared
to the union between the head and members of the same body. The
meaning of this illustration is by no means exhausted by saying that
Christ governs his people, or that there is a community of feeling and
interest between them. The main idea is that there is a community of
life; that the same Spirit dwells in him and in them. The body is
everywhere animated by one soul, which makes it one, and
communicates a common life to all its parts. And so the Holy Ghost,
who dwells in Christ, is communicated by him to all his people. He
makes them in a peculiar sense, one with him, and one among
themselves; and He imparts to all, that life which has its seat and
source in him. For as the body is one, and has many members, and
all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also
is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body — and
have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1Cor 12.12-13 Another
illustration, having the same import, is employed by Christ when he
says, I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me and I
in him, brings forth much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.
Joh 15.5 As the branches are so united to the vine as to partake of its
life and to be absolutely dependent upon it, believers are so united to
Christ as to partake of his life, and to be absolutely dependent on
him. The Holy Spirit communicated by him to them, is the principle
of life and fruitfulness in them.
Christ and his people are one. He is the foundation, they are the
building. He is the vine, they are the branches. He is the head, they
are the body. Because he lives, they shall live also; for it is not them
who live, but Christ that lives in them. Gal 2.20 The Holy Spirit, as
Jesus said to his disciples, dwells with you and shall be in you. He is
to them not only the source of spiritual life, but of all its
manifestations. They are baptized by the Spirit; Luk 3.16 they are born
of the Spirit; Joh 3.5 they are called spiritual, because the Spirit of God
dwells in them; 1Cor 3.16 whereas, the unregenerate are called natural
or sensual, "not having the Spirit." Jud 10 Believers are sanctified by
the Spirit; 1Cor 6.11 they are led by the Spirit; Rom 8.14 live in the Spirit;
Gal 5.25 they are strengthened by the Spirit; Eph 3.16 they are filled with
the Spirit. Eph 5.18 By the Spirit they mortify sin; Rom 8.13 through the
Spirit, they wait for the hope of righteousness; Gal 5.5 they have access
to God by the Spirit; Eph 2.18 they pray and sing in the Spirit. 1Cor 14.15
The Spirit is a source of knowledge to them, Eph 1.17 of joy 1The 1.6 of
love, long-suffering, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Gal 5.22
This doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is so wrought into
the texture of the Gospel as to be absolutely essential to it. It ceases
to be the Gospel if we abstract from it the great truth that the Spirit
of God, as the purchase and gift of Christ, is ever present with his
people, guiding their inward exercises and their outward conduct,
and bringing them at last, without spot or blemish, to the purity and
blessedness of heaven.
The secret of holy living lies in this doctrine of the union of the
believer with Christ. This is not only the ground of his hope of
pardon, but the source of the strength by which he dies to sin and
lives to righteousness. It is by being rooted and grounded in Christ
that he is strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, and
is enabled to comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth and
height of the mystery of redemption, and to know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge and is filled with all the fulness of God. It is
this doctrine which sustains him under all his trials, and enables him
to triumph over all his enemies; for it is not he that lives, but Christ
that lives in him, giving him grace sufficient for his day, and
purifying him unto himself, as one of his peculiar people, zealous of
good works.
As union with Christ is the source of spiritual life, the means by
which that life is to be maintained and promoted, are all related to
this doctrine and derive all their efficacy from it. Thus we are said to
be purified by faith, Act 15.9 to be sanctified by faith, Act 26.18 to live by
faith, Gal 2.20 to be saved by faith. Eph 2.8 Faith has this important
agency because it is the bond of our union with Christ. It not only
gives us the right to plead his merits for our justification, but it
makes us partakers of his Holy Spirit. Christ has promised that all
who come to him shall receive the Water of Life, which the apostle
tells us, means the Holy Spirit. It is by faith, and in the persuasion of
our consequent union with Christ, that we have confidence to draw
near to God and to open our souls to the sanctifying influence of His
love. It is by faith that we receive of his fulness and grace for grace. It
is by faith that we look to him for strength to overcome temptations
and to discharge our duties. It is by faith that we receive those
exceeding great and precious promises, by which we are made
partakers of the divine nature.
All Christians know from experience that faith in Christ is the source
of their holiness and peace. When beset with temptations to
despondency or sin, if they look to him for support, they are
conscious of a strength to resist, or to endure, which no effort of will
and no influence of motives ever could impart. When they draw near
to God as the members of Christ, they have freedom of access and
they experience a joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. When
pressed down by afflictions, if they remember that they are one with
Him who suffered for them, leaving them an example, they rejoice in
their tribulations, knowing that if they suffer, they will also reign
with him. 2Tim 2.12
Moreover, by virtue of our union with Christ, we receive the Holy
Spirit as the source of spiritual life; to maintain that life, we must
avoid everything which may provoke the Spirit to withdraw from us.
The Bible teaches us that the Spirit may be grieved; that his
influences may be quenched; that in judgment, God often withdraws
these influences from those who thus offend Him. Psa 51.11 Evil
thoughts, unholy tempers, acts of transgression are to be avoided not
merely as sins, but as offenses against the Holy Spirit. We must
remember that to defile the soul with sin, or the body by
intemperance or impurity, is sacrilege, because we are the members
of Christ, and our bodies the temples of the Holy Ghost. On the other
hand, right thoughts, just purposes, holy desires are to be cherished,
not only as right in themselves, but as proceeding from that heavenly
agent on whom we are dependent for sanctification.
This is a very different thing from opposing sin and cultivating right
feelings on mere moral considerations, and in dependence on our
own strength. This may be what the world calls morality, but it is not
what the Bible calls religion. Such considerations ought to have, and
ever will have their due weight with the Christian; but he doesn't
depend on them in his efforts to become holy, nor does he rely on his
own resources. The life which he leads is by faith in Jesus Christ; and
it is by constant reference to the Holy Spirit, and dependence on Him
that that life is maintained. For it is as inconsistent with the religion
of the Gospel, to suppose that we can make ourselves holy by our
own strength, as that we can be justified by our own works.
It is principally through the efficacy of prayer that we receive the
communications of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is not a mere instinct of a
dependent nature, seeking help from the author of its being. Nor is it
to be viewed simply as a natural expression of faith and desire, or as
a mode of communion with the Father of our spirits — but it is also
to be regarded as the appointed means of obtaining the Holy Ghost.
If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children; how
much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask him. Luk 11.13 Hence we are urged to be constant and
importunate in prayer, praying especially for those communications
of divine influence by which the life of God in the soul is maintained
and promoted.
The doctrine that the Holy Spirit works in the people of God both to
will and to do according to his own good pleasure, is not inconsistent
with the diligent use of all rational and scriptural means, on our part,
to grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. For though the mode
of the Spirit's influence is inscrutable, it is still the influence of a
rational being on a rational subject. It is described as an
enlightening, teaching, persuading process; all these terms suppose a
rational subject, rationally affected. The indwelling of the Spirit in
the people of God, therefore, does not supersede their own agency.
He acts by leading them to act. Thus we are commanded to do, and
in fact we must do, what He is said to do for us. We believe, even
though faith is of the operation of God; we repent, even though
repentance is the gift of Christ; we love, even though love, gentleness,
goodness and all other graces are the fruits of the Spirit. The work of
sanctification is carried on by our being thus led under this divine
influence, to exercise right dispositions and feelings. For the law of
our nature, which connects an increase of strength with the repeated
exercise of any of our powers, is not suspended with regard to the
holy disposition of the renewed soul. Philosophers say that the
vibrations imparted to the atmosphere by the utterance of a word
never cease. However this may be, it is certain that every pious
emotion strengthens the principle of piety, and leaves the soul
permanently better. The good derived from that influence, or from
those services which call our love, faith, or gratitude into exercise, is
not transient as the exercises themselves are. Far from it. One hour's
communion with God produces an impression never to be effaced; it
renders the soul forever less susceptible to evil and more susceptible
to good. And as the Holy Spirit is ever exciting the soul to the
exercise of holiness, and bringing it into communion with God, He
thus renders it more and more holy, and better fitted for the
unchanging and perfect holiness of heaven.
It is principally by the contemplation of the truth, the worship of
God, and the discharge of duty, that these holy exercises are called
into being. All thought and affection suppose an object on which they
terminate, and which when presented, tends to evoke these
exercises. We cannot fear God unless his holiness and power are
present to the mind; we cannot love him except in view of his
excellence and goodness; we cannot believe, except in contemplation
of his word, nor hope, unless in view of his promises. As these
affections suppose their appropriate objects, so these objects tend to
excite the affections. If it weren't for our depravity, they never could
be brought into view without the corresponding affection rising to
meet them. And notwithstanding our depravity, their tendency which
results from their inherent nature remains. And as that depravity is
corrected or removed by the Holy Spirit, these objects exert on the
soul their appropriate influence. We are therefore said to be
sanctified by the truth; Joh 17.19 to be made clean through the word of
Christ; Joh 15.3 to be born again by the word of truth; Jas 1.18 and to be
changed into the image of God by beholding his glory. 2Cor 3.18
It is most unreasonable to expect to be conformed to the image of
God, unless the truth concerning God is made to operate upon the
mind, often and continuously. How can a heart that is filled with
thoughts and cares about the world, and especially one which is often
moved to evil by the thoughts or sight of sin, expect that the
affections which correspond to the holiness, goodness, or greatness
of God should gather strength within it? How can the love of Christ
increase in the bosoms of those who hardly ever think of him or of
his work? This cannot be without a change in the very nature of
things. And therefore, we cannot make progress in holiness unless
we devote much time to reading, hearing, and meditating upon the
word of God, which is the truth by which we are sanctified. The more
this truth is brought before the mind, the more we commune with it
— entering into its import, applying it to our own case, appropriating
its principles, appreciating its motives, rejoicing in its promises,
trembling at its threatenings, rising by its influence from what is
seen and temporal, to what is unseen and eternal — the more we may
expect to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so as to
approve and love whatever is holy, just, and good. Men distinguished
for their piety, have ever been men of meditation as well as prayer.
They have been accustomed to withdraw the mind from the influence
of the world with its thousand joys and sorrows, and to bring it under
the influence of the doctrines, precepts, and promises of the word of
God.
Besides the contemplation of the truth, the worship of God is an
important means of growing in grace. It not only includes the
exercise and expression of all pious feelings, which are necessarily
strengthened by the exercise, but it is the appointed means of
holding communion with God, and receiving the communications of
his grace. Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall walk and not be
weary, they shall run and not faint. Isa 40.31 Blessed are those who
dwell in your house; they will be still praising you. They will go from
strength to strength, till they appear before God in Zion. Psa 84.4, 7
This is a matter of experience as well as revelation. The people of
God have ever found in the private, social, and public worship of the
Father of their spirits, the chief means of renewing their spiritual
strength. The sanctuary is the temple of God on earth, whose services
are preparatory to those of the temple not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. 2Cor 5.1 It is here, too, that the sacraments have their
appropriate place, as means of grace. They are to us what the
sacrifices and rites of the old dispensation were to the Israelites.
They exhibit and seal the truth and promises of God, and convey to
those who worthily receive them, the blessings which they represent.
The Christian, therefore, who is desirous to increase in the
knowledge and love of God, will be a faithful attendant on all the
appointed forms and occasions of divine worship. He will be much in
his closet; he will be punctual in the sanctuary and at the table of the
Lord. He will seek opportunities for fellowship with God, as a friend
seeks intercourse with his friend. And the more he can enjoy of this
communion, the better prepared he will be for that perfect fellowship
with the Father of lights, which constitutes the blessedness of
heaven.
Finally, to be good, we must do good. It has been falsely said that
action is the whole of oratory, and as falsely supposed that action is
the whole of religion. There is no eloquence in action except as it is
expressive of thought and feeling; and there is no religion in outward
acts, except as they are informed and guided by a pious spirit. It is
only by maintaining such a spirit, that external works can have any
significance or value. It is perhaps one of the evil tendencies of our
age, to push religion out of doors; to allow her no home but the street
or public assembly; to withhold from her all food except the
excitement of loud professions and external manifestations. This is
to destroy her power. It is to cut her off from the source of her
strength, and to transform the meek and holy visitor from heaven,
into the noisy and bustling inhabitant of the earth. It is so much
easier to be religious outwardly than inwardly — to be active in
church duties, than to keep the heart with all diligence — that we are
in danger of preferring the form of religion to its power. The same
love of excitement and a desire to be busy, which make men active in
worldly pursuits, may also make them active in religious exercises,
without changing their character.
But if there is danger on this side, there is quite as much on the
other. Although religion doesn't consist in outward acts, it always
produces them. Whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother
has need, and shuts up his heart of compassion from him, how does
the love of God dwell in him? 1Joh 3.17 The love of God can no more
fail to produce obedience to His commands, than a mother's love can
fail to produce watchfulness and care for her infant. Therefore, that
man's religion is vain which expends itself in exercises that relate
exclusively to his own salvation. And doubtless many Christians go
halting all their days, because they confine their attention too much
to themselves. It is only by the harmonious exercise of all the graces
— of faith and love towards God, and of justice and benevolence
towards men — that the health of the soul can be maintained or
promoted. It is not merely because the exercise of benevolence
strengthens the principle of benevolence, that doing good tends to
make men better. But God has ordained that the one who waters,
shall also be watered himself. He distills his grace on those who labor
for the temporal and spiritual benefit of their fellow men, and who
follow the example of the blessed Redeemer, walking with God while
they go about doing good.
True religion as we find it described in the Bible, is then neither an
external show, nor a fitful gush of feeling. It is a permanent,
spontaneous, and progressive principle of spiritual life, influencing
the whole man, and producing all the fruits of righteousness. It is not
any one good disposition, but the root and spring of all right feelings
and actions, manifesting itself in love and obedience towards God, in
justice and benevolence towards man, and in the proper government
of ourselves. This divine life can neither be obtained nor continued
by any mere efforts of reason or conscience, or by any superstitious
observances; but it flows from our union with Christ, who causes his
Holy Spirit to dwell in all his members. In order to promote this
divine life, it is our business to avoid everything which has a
tendency to grieve the Spirit of all grace, and to do everything by
which His sacred influence on the heart may be cherished. It is by
this influence that we are sanctified; for it leads us to exercise all holy
dispositions in the contemplation of the truth, in the worship of God,
and in the discharge of all our relative duties.
Summary
This unpretending volume, designed for the use of educated youth,
was written with the view of impressing on its readers those great
truths of revelation which are immediately connected with practical
religion. We have designed to convince them that all skepticism as to
the divine authority of the Scriptures is inexcusable, inasmuch as the
Bible brings with it its own credentials. It makes such a revelation of
the character of God, of the rule of duty, and of the plan of salvation,
as will challenge immediate assent and submission to their truth and
goodness. It sets forth the Redeemer as the Son of God and the
Savior of sinners, in whom the glory of God is so revealed, that those
who refuse to recognize him as their God and Savior refuse their
confidence in and obedience to infinite excellence. In order that
every mouth may be stopped, the Bible thus replete with evidence of
its divine origin, is confirmed by all kinds of adequate proofs from
miracles, prophecy, and history, that it is indeed the word of God.
The divine authority of the Scriptures being established, the great
question to be decided by everyone by whom they are known is,
What do they teach as to the plan of salvation and the rule of duty?
It has been our design to aid the reader in answering this question
for himself; to show him that the Bible teaches that we are all
sinners, and that being sinners, we have lost the favor of God and are
unable to effect our own redemption. When we feel that this is true
with regard to ourselves, we are convinced of sin, and are irresistibly
led to ask, What must we do to be saved? In answer to this question
the Scriptures set forth Jesus Christ as born of a woman, made under
the law, satisfying its demands, dying the just for the unjust, rising
again from the dead, and ascending up on high, where he ever lives
to make intercession for us. They teach us that it is not for anything
we have done or experienced, but solely for what Christ has done for
us, that we are justified in the sight of God. And that in order to be
saved through Christ, we must accept him as our Savior, not striving
to establish our own righteousness, but submitting to the
righteousness of God. Those who thus believe, at the same time
repent; that is, they turn from sin to God, through Jesus Christ. They
are now His followers, and declare themselves to be such by
confessing him before the world, and by devoutly attending to those
ordinances which he has appointed to be a means of acknowledging
our allegiance to him, and of communicating his grace to us.
The Scriptures further teach that our work has but begun when we
have thus renounced the world and joined ourselves to the Lord. The
spiritual life commenced in regeneration is carried on by the Holy
Spirit who dwells in all the people of God, by teaching them to look
to Jesus Christ, as their living head, for all those supplies of grace
and all that protection which their circumstances require. They are
thus washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and by the Spirit of our God. And being made fit for the inheritance
of the saints in light, they will at last be admitted into God's blissful
presence, and enjoy the full communications of His grace and love
forever and ever.
THE END.
Notes
[←1]
Joh 10.38; Act 8.6, 13; 15.12; 19.11; Gal 3.5; Heb 2.3-4.
[←2]
"ill-deserts" or "just deserts" are the bad things we deserve to
suffer for our offenses. – WHG
[←3]
Cavilling: raising trivial or irrelevant objections to avoid
resolving an issue. – WHG
[←4]
Turpitude: a corrupt, depraved, or degenerate act or practice. –
WHG
[←5]
An interest: a stake or share in the Kingdom of God through
faith in Jesus Christ. – WHG
[←6]
Wilberforce's Correspondence.
[←7]
Rev 22.11, is probably no exception to this remark, as the text in
that passage is uncertain.
[←8]
Rom 3.20; Gal 2.16; 3.11; 5.14.
[←9]
There is no separate word in the original corresponding to the
word together, which is not to be understood of the union of
believers with one another in the participation of these
blessings. It is their union with Christ that the passage asserts.
[←10]
Eph 2.8, Col 2.12.
[←11]
Joh 1.14; Rom 8.29, 25; Heb 8.1; 7.25; 1Pet 1.8; Eph 3.8.
[←12]
Rom 10.3 and 11.20.
[←13]
Mat 6:11; Joh 6.35, 50, 51; 1Cor 11.26.
[←14]
Affusion: baptizing by pouring water on the head; here it alludes
to anointing Aaron with oil, Exo 29.7. – WHG
[←15]
Condescending here doesn't mean patronizing, but treating all
others as worthy of our respect. – WHG