hesitating to throw himself upon the mercy of God in Christ, let him hear
the Psalmist, who has represented under the most striking and affecting
images, the love of God towards man: “The Lord is full of compassion and
mercy; long-suffering and of great goodness. He will not always be
chiding, neither keepeth He his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with
us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our wickednesses. For
look how high the heaven is in comparison of the earth, so great is His
mercy also toward them that fear Him. Look how wide also the east is
from the west, so far hath He set our sins from Him. _Yea_, _like as a
father pitieth his own children_, _even so is the Lord merciful unto them
who fear Him_. For He knoweth whereof we are made, He remembereth that
we are but dust.” {37a} Let him hear St. John, who has stated the full
extent of Christ’s atoning and mediatorial power: “If _any man sin_, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is
the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.” {37b} Let him hear St. Paul, who has supplied
a sure ground of unfailing trust in God: “_He that spared not His own
Son_, but delivered Him up for us all, how _shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things_?” {37c} Should any one still hesitate to come
unto Christ as their Saviour, let him hear His merciful expostulation,
“_Ye will not come to me that ye might have life_.” {38a} Let him listen
to His gracious enquiry, “_Wilt thou be made whole_?” And if he still
cannot persuade himself, that there is mercy in store for such a sinner
as himself, let him at last draw comfort from the assurance, that “the
_Son of Man is come to save that which is lost_,” {38b} and seeks after
perishing sinners, as the faithful shepherd after the sheep which have
wandered from the fold. Nor is this all: not only does our gracious Lord
_seek after guilty and lost sinners_, but “_likewise there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over_ ONE SINNER _that repenteth_.” {38c}
What a proof have we here of the value of the soul in the sight of God!
His incarnate Son dying to redeem it from eternal misery; when restored
to His Father’s right hand, watching over it with constant care; and
seeking, with tender gentleness, to bring back the wanderers from the
fold of grace: and when the slave of sin breaks his fetters, and through
grace given unto him, falls repentant and humbled at the foot of the
cross, then joy is felt in the court of heaven, and the seraphic choir
give praise, and honour, and glory, to “Him who sitteth on the throne,
and the Lamb;” {38d} because a poor sinner has been turned, by the
marvellous grace of the Gospel, “from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God; that he may receive forgiveness of sins, and
inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Christ
Jesus.” {39a}
The gracious and unmerited invitations of Divine mercy are addressed to
all sinners by “God our Saviour, who will have all men to be saved, and
to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” {39b} Let not therefore any
one say, my sins are too great to be forgiven; this is to limit the
atoning efficacy of Christ’s blood, which is illimitable: let not any one
say, I am not yet fit to come unto Christ; this is to mistake the nature
of the Gospel, which is designed to remedy man’s natural unfitness: but
let all betake themselves to Christ for pardon of past sins, through His
blood; and for strength against future temptations, through His grace.
Nor let it be thought that these observations apply only to gross
sinners. One description of man’s natural condition, and only one,
applies to the whole human race;—“All have sinned and come short of the
glory of God:” and one means of restoration to the lost favour of God,
and only one, is offered to the whole human race;—the “being justified
freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ: whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God.” {40a} Those who refuse to come unto
Christ as sinners, stand self-excluded from all benefit of His atonement.
To such the Saviour addresses the words,—“Because thou sayest I am rich,
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and _knowest not that
thou art wretched_, _and miserable_, _and poor_, _and blind_, _and
naked_. _I counsel thee to buy of_ ME gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich; and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that
the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with
eye-salve that thou mayest see.” {40b} Man’s natural weakness and
sinfulness is the fundamental truth on which the Christian plan of
redemption is built; for if he had possessed inherent power to overcome
his natural depravity, and keep the commandments of God, the sacrifice of
Christ would not have been necessary for the atonement of his sins, and
for his escape from eternal condemnation. Did we not know that pride,
based upon a poor and defective system of morality, generally shows the
most decided hostility to the humbling doctrines of the Gospel, it would
hardly be believed that any would refuse to come to Christ as sinners.
How much at variance are such self-righteous feelings with the spirit of
the confession of our Church, in which, under the appropriate and
affecting figure of sheep wandered from the fold, we are accustomed to
entreat the pity, protection, and guidance, of the great “Shepherd of our
souls.” There are two considerations, however, which may, with the
Divine blessing, if duly weighed, bring such persons to the foot of the
cross with deep self-abasement and acknowledgment of sin: one is, that in
the Gospel the motive determines the value of an action; and the
Christian’s motive is, to do all to the glory of God: the other is, that
man is accountable, not only for his actions, but for his omissions; not
only for every idle word, but for every sinful wish; nay, more, for every
impure thought indulged and cherished. Let those who think their
failings few and venial, their merits great, and deserving of reward,
apply to their lives these two great tests of Christian holiness—praying,
at the same time, to “the Father of lights,” for grace and knowledge: and
if they be not brought to admit, that “in many things we offend all;”
{41} if it be not the language of their hearts, “We acknowledge and
bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we, from time to time,
most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy
Divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against
us;”—they are ignorant of the spirit of the Gospel, and far from the
kingdom of God. For, like the Jews of old, “they have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge: for they, being ignorant of God’s
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. _For Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth_.” {42a}
“That no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, he that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” {42b}
To true believers, “CHRIST IS ALL IN ALL:” {42c} on His atonement they
rest for pardon before God; on His grace they rely for strength; and to
His merits they trust for salvation. Their truly Christian hope is built
upon a lively faith; they believe “that man is very far gone from
original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so
that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the spirit, and therefore in
every person born into this world, it deserveth God’s wrath and
damnation.” {42d} That “the condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is
such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural
strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God; wherefore we have
no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the
grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and
working with us when we have that good will.” {43a} “That we are
accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works and deservings:
wherefore that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome
doctrine, and very full of comfort.” {43b} And “albeit that good works,
which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put
away our sins, and endure the severity of God’s judgments; yet are they
pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily
of a true and lively faith; insomuch that by them a lively faith may be
as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.” {43c}
Such are the four Articles of the Church of England which declare man’s
natural corruption; his just exposure to Divine condemnation; his means
of restoration to God’s favour; the meritorious cause of his salvation;
and the inseparable union of faith and good works. From which may be
drawn these two fundamental principles of the Christian faith—salvation,
alone through the all-sufficient merits of Christ; and sanctification,
alone through the renewing power of the Holy Ghost. Man is, in every
respect, a dependent being: the same Almighty Power which formed his body
from the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; can alone enlighten, renew, and sanctify his soul. Thus
faith—which is the rock on which the Church of Christ is built, and
without which we shall never believe the promises, accept the offers, or
attain the salvation of the Gospel—is the gift of God, and wrought in our
souls by the Holy Spirit. United with faith is true repentance, which is
no less the work of grace; for unless God enlighten the understanding,
there will be no just sense of sin; unless He soften the heart, there
will be no contrition: and from a true repentance there always springs
holy obedience, which is also produced by the Spirit: for the same
blessed Power which enlightens the darkness of the understanding and
softens the hardness of the heart, also rectifies the perversion of the
will, and sanctifies the corruption of the affections, that the believer
may know, choose, obey, and love, the way of godliness. And thus we
arrive at that blessed change in the life of a penitent, when he becomes
“a new creature in Christ Jesus,” when “old things have passed away, and
behold all things have become new;” when he has “put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
The renewal and sanctification of the soul is the only sure ground on
which the Christian can build his unfailing hope of salvation. Not that
any may presume to limit the extent of the Divine mercy, or state a
definite time for the operations of the Holy Spirit. The first is as
boundless as it is unsearchable; the second may be as instantaneous as it
is incomprehensible. Thus much we know with certainty, that when that
most encouraging call to repentance was addressed to the Jewish
people,—“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon;”—there was added,
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the Lord: for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” {45}
Still, all who have time and opportunity must prove the sincerity of
their repentance, and the soundness of their faith by the holiness of
their practice. Nor can it be too earnestly insisted upon, that it is
only by the gift of a new and holier nature, man can rise above the
pleasures of sense and things of time, and set his affections on the joys
of immortality; and that the new and holier nature is implanted, when the
gracious promise is fulfilled—“I will give them one heart, and _I will
put a new spirit within you_; _and I will take the stony heart out of
their flesh_, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in
my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my
people, and I will be their God.” {46a} It is to the use of palliatives
much of the insincere repentance and imperfect reformation of men is to
be ascribed. When their fears are alarmed, they set about correcting
some flagrant sins, and it may be, become outwardly moral, and even
attentive to religious duties; but the renewal of the heart, through
grace, and the dedication of its affections to God, are never thought of;
and yet they are satisfied with this condition. Such persons are only to
be roused by preaching conversion or condemnation. They must be taught
to pray, with repentant David, “_Make me a clean heart_, _O God_, _and
renew a right spirit within me_. Cast me not away from thy presence; and
take not thy Holy Spirit from me. O give me the comfort of thy help
again, and stablish me with thy free Spirit.” {46b}
The great work of the renewal and sanctification of the soul is
ordinarily accomplished by a progressive growth in grace; during which,
the believer is gradually enabled to obtain the mastery over the corrupt
affections of his nature, to acquire the graces and perform the duties of
the Christian character, and “to set his affections on things above,”
ever “pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus,” {47a} and endeavouring to “come in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” {47b} In the life
of some of those who have been “brought up in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord,” {47c} and have never departed from serving their God, there
may be no clearly defined transitions, no strongly-marked shades, in the
harmoniously-blended colours, in which has been traced the even tenor of
their way. But such cases are probably rare—for those who attain to a
very high degree of spiritual-mindedness, can generally fix upon some
definite period in their religious life, when they obtained clearer views
of their personal unworthiness, and of the holiness of God’s law; of the
insufficiency of the things of earth to minister to the wants of an
immortal soul; and of the inestimable value of the “treasure in heaven,”
than they ever possessed before; and when they learnt to rely on their
Lord more confidently, to love Him more devotedly, to advance His cause
more zealously, and to obey Him more steadily and implicitly. In the
case of those, who have either deserted the God of their youth for a
“world lying in wickedness,” but, like the prodigal, upon abandoning its
vices and follies, have been received and pardoned by a merciful Father;
or who have been brought up in ignorance of religion, but have been
plucked like a brand from the burning, by one of those afflictive
dispensations which God often sends in mercy to awaken sinners; the time
and circumstances of their conversion {48a} will be clearly marked and
ever remembered: “it is too momentous an event,” observes Paley, in
writing of such conversions, “to be forgot: a man might as easily forget
his escape from a shipwreck.” {48b}
The knowledge of the time, however, when conversion takes place, is
principally of importance, as far as it goes to establish the fact, the
certainty of which must always be determined by the effects produced; for
it is easy in this, as in every other particular of religious experience,
to be deceived. But there can be no deception when the believer is at
once conscious of a change in his heart, and exhibits a reformation in
his life; for then he may say, this I know, that whereas I was dead, now
am I alive in the Lord: he possesses an internal witness to his being
born of God;—“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of
God;” “He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness—in himself;”
and His life affords external proof of his sonship;—“Whosoever is born of
God, sinneth not.” {49a} He rejoices, therefore, in the glorious
privileges of the Gospel, through which “there is, therefore, now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh but after the Spirit;” through which, “as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, are the sons of God;” {49b} and through which, “the Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God;
and if children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus.”
Let, then, the reformed examine strictly into their lives, as to whether
they exhibit decisive proofs of a genuine conversion; of conversion, not
used in its limited sense, as implying a sudden or even violent change,
but in the more extended sense, of a recovery from sin, and of a full
development of the Christian character:—a conversion which, in its
completion, is equivalent to the renewal of the soul in righteousness;
the progress of which may be, in some, so gradual, as almost to be
imperceptible, but must be, in all, so certain, as to be unquestionable.
Let those, who, through the grace of God, have endeavoured to live ever
mindful of their baptismal engagements, and duly sensible of the blessed
privileges of the Christian covenant, institute a no less rigid
examination into their lives, as to how far they manifest a continued
growth in grace; an increasing in every good word and work; a growing
conformity to the example of Christ; a visible ripening for heaven; and a
gradual restoration of the lost image of God in the soul. And what is to
be said to those who have either never learnt, or have wilfully violated,
their baptismal engagements; and during a long course of sin, have
neglected, disobeyed, and forgotten God, whose calls to repentance they
still disregard? The same language must be addressed to the habitual, as
was applied to the externally reformed sinner;—whose heart was still the
seat of vain or impure desires, of base or malignant passions;—CONVERSION
or CONDEMNATION. “Of the persons in our congregations,” says Paley, “to
whom we not only may, but must, preach the doctrine of conversion,
plainly and directly, are those, who with the name indeed of Christians,
have hitherto passed their lives without any internal religion whatever;
who have not at all thought upon the subject; who, a few easy and
customary forms excepted (and which with them are mere forms), cannot
truly say of themselves, that they have done one action, which they would
not have done equally, if there had been no such thing as a God in the
world; or that they have ever sacrificed any passion, any present
enjoyment, or even any inclination of their minds to the restraints and
prohibitions of religion; with whom, indeed, religious motives have not
weighed a feather in the scale against interest or pleasure. To these it
is utterly necessary that we preach conversion.” {51a} “The next
description of persons to whom we must preach conversion, properly so
called, are those who allow themselves in the course and habit of some
particular sin, with more or less regularity in other articles of
behaviour; there is some particular sin, which they practise constantly
and habitually, and allow themselves in that practice. Other sins they
strive against, but in this they allow themselves. Now no man can go on
in this course consistently with the hope of salvation; therefore, it
must be broken off. The essential and precise difference between a child
of God and another is, that the true child of God _allows himself_ in no
sin whatever; cost what it may, he contends against, he combats all sin;
which he certainly cannot be said to do, who is still in the course and
habit of some particular sin; for as to that sin, he reserves it, he
compromises it. Here then we must preach conversion.” {51b} “In these
two cases, therefore, men must be converted and live, or remain
unconverted and die.” {51c}
Let then all those who are living in ignorance of the spirit, and
consequently in neglect of the obligations of the Gospel, lay this to
heart; and let them not imagine that it is only intended to alarm their
fears. The scoffer, the profane, the sceptic, and the infidel, can hope
for nothing through a Gospel which they ridicule, despise, or reject.
But the gay, the thoughtless, and the proud—the worldly, the avaricious,
and the sensual—the malicious, the censorious, and the envious—all
profess to believe the Gospel; and the lukewarm, the self-righteous, and
hypocritical, pretend to make it their rule of life. “To the law, and to
the testimony,” to see whether these must all be converted or condemned.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven. Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out devils, and in Thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” {52a} It
appears, therefore, possible to exercise some of the highest functions of
Christianity, and yet to be cast away. “Not the hearers of the law are
just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” {52b} “Be
ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
{52c} Hence, then, we learn the worthlessness of a mere profession of
the Gospel. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world: if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
{53a} Here we are taught the incompatibility of the love of the world
with the love of God. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which
are these;—adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of
the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” {53b}
This fearful catalogue of offences, which exclude from heaven, passes
sentence of condemnation upon all who live in the indulgence of any known
sin. From these, and many other passages of Scripture, as well as from
its general tenor, we arrive at the conclusion, that the various classes
of men which have been described, are all exposed to the righteous
judgment of God, ready to be revealed at the last day. They bear the
Christian name, it is true, but that is all they possess of a blessed
dispensation, which was ushered in by the preaching of repentance:—“The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, _repent ye and
believe the Gospel_;” {53c} and which has always imposed upon its
converts personal holiness, as a universal obligation, and inseparable
from its promises and rewards; “_Wherefore follow holiness_, _without
which no man shall see the Lord_.” {54a} “For the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who
gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” {54b} As
being destitute, therefore, of the essentials of the Christian faith, the
powerful writer, who has already been quoted at such great length, says,
“these persons are really in as unconverted a state as any Jew or Gentile
could be in our Saviour’s time. They are no more Christians, as to any
actual benefit of Christianity to their souls, than the most hardened
Jew, or the most profligate Gentile, was in the age of the Gospel. As to
any difference in the two cases, the difference is all against them.
These must be converted before they can be saved. The course of their
thoughts must be changed: the very principles upon which they act must be
changed. Considerations which never, or hardly ever, entered into their
minds, must deeply and perpetually engage them. Views and motives, which
did not influence them at all, either as checks from doing evil, or as
inducements to do good, must become the views and motives which they
regularly consult, and by which they are guided;—that is to say, there
must be a revolution of principle: the visible conduct will follow the
change, but there must be a revolution within.”
These observations are made by Paley, with reference to those persons
“who have hitherto passed their lives without any internal religion
whatever;” with whom, in short, religion has not been the rule of life.
Oh! that the countless multitudes within this kingdom, to whom this
description applies, and who are living regardless, if not ignorant, of
the eternal condemnation impending over their unconverted souls, “would
be wise and consider their latter end.” Oh that they would be persuaded
to learn from the word of God, what the holy name which they bear
requires of them; and consider what the vows made in baptism bind them
to, if they wish to be partakers of the precious benefits purchased for
his faithful servants by Christ, at the costly price of his blood. “Ye
do err, not knowing the Scriptures,” is a reproof which applies to them
all. For, unfortunately, the generality of men are content to receive
from others all they know of religion: they do not enquire for
themselves; but willingly acquiesce in the most indulgent views of human
duty. And if they do sometimes read the Bible, yet they do not study it,
and pray over it, with an anxious desire to be brought to a knowledge of
the truth; with a firm determination to receive the truth, however
unpleasant, however opposed to their present opinions; and with a
resolution, not suddenly taken, but after mature and anxious
deliberation, and not formed in dependence upon themselves, but upon
Divine grace, to build their faith and practice on its holy doctrines and
precepts. To all such, however, we would say, “This do, and ye shall
live:” let the time past of your lives suffice to have past in ignorance
or neglect of God’s gracious revelation to man; now delay not longer:
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand;” may the day-spring from on
high visit you, and the day-star arise in your hearts to give light to
you, who, whilst the beams of the Sun of Righteousness are shining around
you, are still lying in darkness and the shadow of death. “Search the
Scriptures,” and learn from them, and not from the opinions and conduct
of men, what is the hope of the Christian calling; search the Scriptures,
and from them learn, that ye must repent or die eternally.