through the sprinkling of blood. The law by its sacrifices could never
‘make the comers thereunto perfect.’ If they could have done so those
sacrifices would have ceased to be offered, ‘because that the worshippers
once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.’ It should be
observed that the passage is not speaking of the purifying of the heart,
but of the purging of the conscience. To purify the heart, is to render
it so pure that it will love only pure things; to purge the conscience is
to remove from it the guilt of which it is conscious in consequence of
the impurity of the heart. Thanks be to God, this purifying is complete
through the offering of the Lord Jesus Christ once for all; and the
comers thereunto are through it perfect before God!
I know of no passage in which the word is applied to a present
sinlessness, or a present perfect purifying of the heart.
NOTE D.—TEMPTATION. HEB. IV. 15.
It is said of our Blessed Saviour, ‘For we have not an High Priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’ And it has been argued
that because He was tempted, yet without sin, therefore there is no sin
in temptation. I can scarcely imagine a more dangerous fallacy.
The meaning of the word, ‘to tempt,’ is to test, or to try. So ‘God
tempted Abraham,’ or put him to the test. (Gen. xxii. 1.) Thus our Lord
was in all points tried, or tested, like as we are: that is, by the
sinless infirmities of the body; by the surrounding circumstances of
life; by the influence of man, both friends and foes; by the Devil; and
even, we may reverently say it, by God Himself, when He called Him to
bear a burden much more heavy than that laid on Abraham. But He was
never tempted by any corruption in His own heart or nature, for if He had
been He would not have been ‘without sin,’ even though He had resisted
it. There was clearly no sin in being thus tested, nor did He ever sin
in yielding.
Temptation to evil must always be considered in its origin, as well as in
its effect. In daily life we think worse of the author of the temptation
than of the victim. But no temptation originated in the heart of our
blessed Redeemer. According to this text He was ‘without sin;’ for not
only did He never yield, but there was no evil in His heart in which sin
could originate. We are not, therefore, justified in quoting the
temptation of our sinless Saviour, that came upon Him from without, as
proving that there is no sin in those temptations which arise out of the
evil of our own hearts. There is certainly sin in such temptation as
that described by our Lord Himself, when He said, ‘Out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders,’ etc., (Matt. xv. 19); and in that
condemned by St. James in the words, ‘Every man is tempted when he is
drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.’ (James, i. 14.) In no such
cases are we covered by our Lord’s example; for, even if we are preserved
from falling, the temptation itself is sin, and the result of sin within
the soul.
DOCTRINAL NOTES.
IN the first edition of these Sermons I added a short review of two books
that have lately excited some attention in the Church. I understand that
their author is himself so much dissatisfied with them, that he has been
for some time past engaged in re-writing them. It is, therefore, not
worth my while to republish my review, and, instead of it, I have added
the following Notes.
Some of them are of a controversial character; but my object is to
promote agreement rather than controversy. Several excellent persons,
both clergymen and laymen, have lately experienced a remarkable answer to
their prayers for an increase of faith, and in consequence of the
peculiarities of the channel through which the answer has been given,
they have been supposed to have deviated from old paths, and to have
embraced new opinions at variance with the Word of God. I fear that this
may be the case in some instances, though I hope it is not so to any
great extent, for I find that many of them have never read the books to
which some of us have thought it our duty to object, and are as earnest
for the old truths as ourselves. I have therefore drawn up these Notes,
embodying what I believe to be the teaching of Scripture, in the hope
that they may prove a basis of union amongst those who are of one heart
and one mind in their common desire to exalt the name of their most
blessed Saviour.
The texts quoted must be regarded as only specimens, and not supposed to
contain the whole teaching of Scripture on the subject.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
1. The only standard of holiness recognised in Scripture is the perfect
character and will of God.
1 Peter, i. 15, 16; Rom. xii. 2.
There is no allusion in the Word of God to any lower standard of any
kind whatever. We are never taught there that ‘We are not called to
walk by the rule of angels, who excel, in strength,’ or that ‘our
standard is not that which it will be in our glorified bodies.’
According to Scripture, our rule is exactly the same as that of angels:
our standard is exactly the same as it will be after the resurrection:
and our constant prayer is, ‘Thy will be done in earth as it is in
heaven.’ It is not the object of the Gospel to lower God’s standard to
man’s level, but in, and through, the Lord Jesus Christ, to raise us to
His standard, and at length present us as faultless before His throne.
2. Personal holiness is the work of God.
Of God the Father.
Jer. xxxi. 33; John, xvii. 17.
Of God the Son.
Matt. i. 21; 1 Cor. i. 30.
Of God the Holy Ghost.
Acts, xv. 9; 2 Cor. iii. 18.
3. It is the action of the believer.
Heb. xii. 1; 1 John, iii. 3.
I have seen God’s work in holiness described as the same as God’s work
in the pardon of sin. But there is this essential difference:
Forgiveness is an act of God in His own mind alone; holiness is a work
of God in the mind of man, controlling and directing all the activities
of the mind. Forgiveness is, therefore, altogether external to man,
and must be received in trust alone; but holiness is a power and
principle of human action, and therefore is developed in human
activities. The distinction may be illustrated by repentance and
forgiveness. Both are the gifts of our exalted Saviour. (Acts, v. 31.)
But God forgives, and man repents.
4. It commences with a new creation in Christ Jesus.
2 Cor. v. 17; Eph. ii. 10.
5. It is the result of acceptance with God, and of the realization of
His mercy.
1 John, iii. 2, 3; Rom. xii. 1.
6. The principle which God employs to produce it is faith.
Acts, xv. 9; 1 John, v. 4.
7. The instrument which He employs to produce it is the truth as
revealed in His own Word.
John, xvii. 17.
8. The means by which it will be finally perfected will be the full view
of Christ Himself.
1 John, iii. 2.
PRACTICAL RESULTS.
If there is any difference on the subject of Personal Holiness amongst
those who hold the great principles of the Gospel, it is not likely to
appear so much in General Principles as in their practical application to
present life. It is, therefore, clearly important to ascertain what
should be the extent, and what the limits, of the Believer’s expectation.
If we do not expect all that He has promised, we cannot hope to rise to
His standard; and if, on the other hand, we expect what He has not
promised, we shall involve ourselves in either disappointment or
delusion. It is well, therefore, to consider from the Word of God what
we are taught to expect, and what we are not taught to expect.
WE ARE TAUGHT—
1. That when we are created in Christ Jesus old things will pass away,
and all things become new.
2 Cor. v. 17, 18.
2. That the Holy Spirit will dwell in our hearts.
John, xiv. 17.
3. That He will purify them.
Acts, xv. 9.
4. That we shall love the Lord Jesus Christ, and acknowledge our love.
2 Cor. v. 14; 1 John, iv. 19.
5. That we shall love the law of God, and delight in it
Ps. cxix. 97; Rom. vii. 22.
6. That we shall be set free from the dominion of sin.
Rom. vi. 14.
7. That we shall overcome external temptation.
1 John, v. 4, 5.
8. That we shall habitually live righteously in practical conduct.
Tit. ii. 12; 1 John, iii. 4–10.
9. That we shall be continually growing in grace.
2 Pet. iii. 18.
10. That in this present life, though we fail to fulfil God’s perfect
law, we may have the joy of pleasing God, and of actually bringing glory
to His name.
John, xv. 8; Col. i. 10; Heb. xiii. 16.
WE ARE NOT TAUGHT—
1. That the most eminent believers will be sinless.
1 John, i. 7–10.
From that passage we learn that those who are walking in the light, as
He is in the light,—
(1) Are continuously being cleansed from sin (ver. 7).
(2) ‘Have sin’ (ver. 8), ‘and have sinned’ (ver. 10).
(3) ‘Have sin to confess, for which they need forgiveness’ (ver. 9).
2. That original sin will ever in this present life be either
‘destroyed,’ ‘dead,’ or ‘rendered inert.’
Rom. vi. 12.
The words, ‘Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey
it in the lusts thereof,’ are addressed to those who are to ‘reckon
themselves dead unto sin and alive unto God.’ It is clear, therefore,
that sin was still alive in them, or else it would have been quite
needless to exhort them not to let it reign, and not to obey its lusts.
Compare also Rom. viii. 13; Col. iii. 5.
3. That sin is not sin till we discern it. So that ‘to-morrow I may
discern evil in things in which to-day I am living without condemnation.’
Sin is the transgression of the law, and what will be wrong to-morrow is
wrong to-day, whatever we may think of it. If the conscience is so
deadened, or seared, or perverted, that it does not perceive sin, that
deadness of conscience does not take away the sinfulness of sin, but only
adds the sin of not feeling sin to the sin of committing it. The
insensibility of a deadened conscience amongst those who have received
the Gospel must never be confounded with the ignorance of those who never
heard it
4. That believers attain to ‘perfection up to the measure of to-day’s
consciousness.’ As nothing of the kind is found in Scripture, it is
difficult to understand exactly what the expression means. But if it
mean that believers are kept so holy that there is nothing in either
their hearts or lives which their own conscience condemns, the statement
is directly opposed to such passages as Heb. ix. 14, x. 2, &c., which
show that one great purpose of the precious blood of Christ is to provide
a continuous purging of the conscience. If there is never anything on
the conscience which requires purging I cannot see that we have any need
for the purging blood.
5. That we are to be assured of the existence of our personal holiness
through faith, as we are of our justification. Faith is the evidence of
things not seen, and, therefore, the only direct evidence of our
justification: but personal holiness is within sight of conscience, and
it would be an abuse of faith to reckon ourselves holy when conscience
shows us that we are not really so. We believe ourselves to be accounted
righteous, though we know that we are really guilty; but we must not
believe ourselves to be actually holy when our own conscience condemns us
of sin.
1 John, iii. 19–24.
6. That our believing reception of the promise of holiness from the Lord
Jesus will supersede prayer.
Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, 36.
7. That our trust in the Lord Jesus for holiness will supersede personal
exertion and the diligent use of the means of grace.
Acts, xxiv. 16; 1 Cor. ix. 27; Jude, 21, 24.
8. That there is a higher life distinct from that of which we are made
partakers when first brought into union with the ‘Lord Jesus Christ,’
into which we may enter by a definite act of entire consecration.
No Scripture on this subject.
9. That entire consecration is the means whereby we are to attain to
union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The consecration of Scripture follows
that union, and does not precede it. The Christians at Rome were first
‘baptized into Jesus Christ,’ and afterwards, when they were ‘alive from
the dead,’ were exhorted to ‘yield themselves to God.’
Rom. vi. 3, 13.
There can be no doubt that the enjoyment of that blessed union is marred
and hindered by any reserve within the soul. But if we are not to rest
in it until we are satisfied that our consecration is entire, I see not,
for my part, how the heart can ever be at rest unless the conscience is
lulled to sleep by shallow and superficial views of sin. All who look at
the self-consecration of our most blessed Saviour must be convinced that
their own consecration, whatever it is, falls utterly short of such a
standard; and if we are to wait for the enjoyment of our union with Him
until our consecration is entire, or, in other words, till it is equal to
His, that enjoyment seems to be placed at an infinite distance from our
reach. Surely the teaching of Scripture is that we are admitted to the
union as we are, through His free grace; and then, because we live in
Him, we ‘live not unto ourselves, but unto Him that died for us and rose
again.’
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FOOTNOTES.
{27} Preached on Good Friday.
{64} See Note A.