O man or woman, whoever thou art, that art savingly convinced by the
Spirit of Christ, thou hast such an endless desire after the Lord
Jesus Christ, that thou canst not be content with any thing below
the blood of the Son of God to purge thy conscience withal; even
that blood that was shed without the gates. Also thou canst not be
at quiet, till thou dost see by true faith that the righteousness of
the Son of Mary is imputed unto thee and put upon thee. Rom.
3:21-23. Then also thou canst not be at quiet, till thou hast power
over thy lusts and corruptions, till thou hast brought them into
subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then thou wilt never think that
thou hast enough of faith: no, thou wilt be often crying out, "Lord,
give me more precious faith; Lord, more faith in thy righteousness;
more faith in thy blood and death; more faith in thy resurrection;
and, Lord, more faith in this--that thou art now at the right hand
of thy Father in thy human nature, making intercession for me a
miserable sinner." And then, O poor soul, if thou comest but hither,
thou wilt never have an itching ear after another gospel.
If thou wouldst be faithful to do that work that God has allotted
thee to do in this world for his name labor to live in the savor and
sense of thy freedom and liberty by Jesus Christ; that is, keep
this, if possible, ever before thee--that thou art a redeemed one,
taken out of this world and from under the curse of the law, out of
the power of the devil, and placed in a kingdom of grace and
forgiveness of sins for Christ's sake.
This is of absolute use in this matter; yea, so absolute that it is
impossible for any Christian to do his work christianly, without
some enjoyment of it.
The first thing of which the soul is sick, and by which the
conscience receiveth wounding, is the GUILT of sin and fear of the
curse of God for it; for which are provided the wounds and precious
blood of Christ, which flesh and blood, if the soul eat thereof by
faith, give deliverance therefrom. Upon this FILTH of sin appears
most odious; for that it hath not only at present defiled the soul,
but because it keeps it from doing those duties of love which by the
love of Christ it is constrained to endeavor the perfecting of. For
filth appears filth, that is, irksome and odious to a contrary
principle now implanted in the soul; which principle had its
conveyance thither by faith in the sacrifice and death of Christ
going before. "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus
judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he
died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but to him that died for them and rose again."
The man that has received Christ desires to be holy, because the
nature of the faith that lays hold on Christ worketh by love, and
longeth, yea, greatly longeth, that the soul may be brought not only
into a universal conformity to his will, but into his very likeness;
and because that state agreeth not with what we are now, but with
what we shall be hereafter: "Therefore in this we groan, being
burdened" with that which is of a contrary nature, "earnestly
desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven;"
which state is not that of Adam'a innocency, but that which is
spiritual and heavenly, even that which is now in the Lord in
heaven.
Blessed be God for Jesus Christ, and for that he took our nature and
sin and curse and death upon him; and for that he did also by
himself, by one offering, purge our sins. We that have believed have
found rest, even there where Christ and his Father have smelled a
sweet savor of rest: because we are presented to God even now
complete in the righteousness of him, and stand discharged of guilt
even by the faith of him; yea, as sins past, so sins to come, were
taken up and satisfied for by that offering of the body of Jesus. We
who have had a due sense of sins, and of the nature of the justice
of God, know that no remission of the guilt of any one can be, but
by atonement made by blood. Heb. 9:22.
We also know that where faith in Jesus Christ is wanting, there can
be neither good principle, nor good endeavor; for faith is the first
of all graces, and without it there is nothing but sin. Rom. 14:23.
We know also that faith, as a grace in us, severed from the
righteousness of Christ, is only a beholder of things, but not a
justifier of persons; and that if it lay not hold of and applieth
not that righteousness which is in Christ, it carries us no further
than to the devils.
We know that this doctrine killeth sin, and curseth it at the very
roots: I say, we know it, who have mourned over him whom we have
pierced, and who have been confounded to see that God by his blood
should be pacified towards us for all the wickedness we have done.
Yea, we have a double motive to be holy and humble before him: one,
because he died for us on earth; another, because he now appears for
us in heaven, there sprinkling for us the mercy-seat with his blood,
there ever living to make intercession for them that come unto God
by him. "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins." Yet
this works in us no looseness nor favor to sin, but so much the more
an abhorrence of it: "She loveth much, for much was forgiven her;"
yea, she weeps, she washeth his feet, and wipeth them with the hairs
of her head, to the confounding of Simon the Pharisee, and all such
ignorant hypocrites.