Thou must have salvation either at the door of the law or at the
door of grace. "But," sayest thou, "I am for having it at the hands
of both. I will trust solely to neither. I love to have two strings
to my bow. If one of them, as you think, can help me by itself, my
reason tells me that both can help me better; therefore will I be
righteous and good, and will seek by my goodness to be commended to
the mercy of God; for surely he that hath something of his own to
ingratiate himself into the favor of his prince withal, shall sooner
obtain his mercy and favor than one that comes to him stripped of
all good."
I answer, "But there are not two ways to heaven: there is but one
'new and living way which Christ hath consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say, his flesh;' and besides that one, there is no
more. Heb. 10: 19-24. Why then dost thou talk of two strings to thy
bow?"
Mercy then is to be found alone in Jesus Christ. Again, the
righteousness of the law is to be obtained only by faith of Jesus
Christ; that is, in the Son of God is the righteousness of the law
to be found; for he, by his obedience to his Father, is become the
end of the law for righteousness. And for the sake of his legal
righteousness---which is also called the righteousness of God,
because it was God in the flesh of the Lord Jesus that did
accomplish it---are mercy and grace from God extended to whomsoever
dependeth by faith upon God, by this righteousness of Jesus, for
them.
He that is dark as touching the scope, intents, and nature of the
law, is also dark as to the scope, nature, and glory of the gospel.
I must confess it is a wonderful mysterious thing, and he had need
have a wiser spirit than his own that can rightly set these two
covenants in their right places, that when he speaks of the one he
doth not jostle the other out of its place. O, to be so well
enlightened as to speak of the one, that is the law, for to magnify
the gospel---and also to speak of the gospel so as to establish and
yet not to idolize the law, nor any particulars thereof---it is
rare; and to be heard and found but in very few men's breasts.
A man may appeal from the law to the throne, from Moses to
Christ---from him that spoke on earth to him that speaks from
heaven; but from heaven to earth, from Christ to Moses, none can
appeal. Acts 3: 22, 23.
Tell me, you that desire to mingle the law and the gospel together,
and to make of both one and the same gospel of Christ, did you ever
see yourselves undone and lost, unless the righteousness, blood,
death, resurrection, and intercession of that man Christ Jesus in
his own person, were imputed to you; and until you could by faith
own it as done for you, and counted yours by imputation? Yea, or no?
Nay, rather, have you not set up your consciences and the law, and
counted your obedience to them better and of more value than the
obedience of the Son of Mary without you to be imputed to you? And
if so, it is because you have not been savingly convinced by the
Spirit of Christ of the sin of unbelief.
I would riot be mistaken; I do not say that the Spirit of Christ
gives the least liberty to sin; God forbid; but its convictions are
of a more saving and refreshing nature than the convictions of the
law, and do more constrain the soul to holiness than that: the law
saying, Work for life; the Spirit saying, Now to him that worketh
not (for life,) but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. As thus: if I should owe to
two creditors ten thousand talents, the one should say unto me,
"Thou owest me five thousand talents, pay that thou owest;" the
other should say, "Thou owest me five thousand talents, and I
frankly and freely forgive thee all."
Now, these expressions are contrary one to another; even so is the
end of the convictions of the law not according to the end of the
convictions of the Spirit of Christ: the one saying, "Pay me that
thou owest;" the other saying, "Thou art frankly and freely forgiven
all."
Then the Interpreter took Christian by the hand, and led him into a
very large parlor that was full of dust, because never swept; the
which, after he had reviewed it a little while, the Interpreter
called for a man to sweep. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust
began so abundantly to fly about, that Christian had almost
therewith been choked. Then said the Interpreter to a damsel that
stood by, "Bring hither water and sprinkle the room;" the which,
when she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure.