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The Power of the Blood by Jim Ehrhard

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus?” Years ago, songs about the blood of Jesus, its power, its efficacy, were sung with much conviction. Today, the blood of Jesus is rarely sung about. Many today are repulsed by such songs and would prefer to keep the focus on the love of God rather than speak about the blood required by a just and angry God.

But the blood of Jesus as a sufficient sacrifice for sin cannot be ignored in the gospel message. Indeed, it is the gospel message. “What can wash away my sin?” the song inquires. “Nothing but the blood of Jesus,” the Scripture responds. Notice that I said, the Scripture responds. Everything in the Scripture points to the importance of the blood sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews (9:22) reminds us that, apart from the shedding of blood, “there is no remission of sin.” In Galatians 2:21, Paul reminds us that if one could be made righteous by keeping the law, then Christ died needlessly. Revelation 7 speaks of believers having been “washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.” The shedding of blood as payment for sin is a crucial doctrine that begins in the Old Testament in Genesis and culminates on the cross with the death of Jesus. Everything in the New Testament points back to that death as the reason that man has forgiveness. That’s why Peter speaks of the “precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:19).”

Why is something so repulsive as the blood of an innocent man so precious? In Hebrews 9, the writer of Hebrews gives us at least three reasons why this precious blood is so essential for our salvation. Let’s examine them each briefly.

1. It Alone Cleanses from a Nagging Conscience.

Does your conscience make you feel guilty? Have you done some things that even your own mind refuses to let go of? A young boy once defined conscience as “the voice in my head that makes me feel bad even when what I do feels good.” How can one get rid of such feelings? Such feelings will persist until a sufficient payment is made for the wrongs done. That’s why the blood of Jesus alone can cleanse you from a guilty conscience. That’s why Peter said that believing in Jesus “cleanses you from all the things that could not be forgiven through keeping the law.” Unless something is done that is sufficient to cover what you have done, then you will never have a clean conscience.

Such was the case with the nation of Israel. In Hebrews 10:1-3, the writer reminds them that the blood of animals never solved the problem of a guilty conscience. If it had, then the sacrifices would have stopped. But instead, the sacrifices became a painful reminder that no animal atonement was sufficient to satisfy God’s righteous demands. For that reason, the sacrifices had to continue year after year. Instead of soothing a nagging conscience, the sacrifices served as a poignant reminder of their sins. They continued to know that what they did, although it might continue to allow them to have a relationship with God, it was not sufficient to pay for sins. They needed a perfect Lamb of God who would “take away the sins of the world” and in doing so, cleanse a nagging conscience.

2. It Alone Demonstrates God’s Feeling About Sin.

In Hebrews 9:9, the writer speaks of the blood sacrifices as a “symbol.” They were designed by God to be a constant object lesson of how much God hates sin. Few things are more repulsive to man than the sight of blood being shed. While some become insensitive to the shedding of blood, this is not a normal reaction. The initial reaction of man to the shedding of blood, especially innocent blood, is very repulsive.

Some of you might recall an incident in the 1980s when an American cameraman was filmed being shot in the head by a Nicaraguan revolutionary. To see a man pleading for his life have a gun put to his head and have the trigger pulled was bad enough. To watch as his blood splattered everywhere disgusted even the more seasoned reporters of war. Nothing is more repulsive to us than the shedding of blood.

For this reason, God chose the blood sacrifice as a continual reminder to us of how serious our sin is. Nothing is more disgusting in God’s sight than our sin. While we tend to excuse our sin and make excuses and minimize its seriousness, God demonstrates to us, through the blood sacrifice that sin, every sin we commit, is repulsive in His sight and every sin requires the ultimate penalty–payment by blood alone. That’s why the Scripture says, “The soul that sins, it shall die” (Ezk. 18:4), and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). God has chosen the blood sacrifice to remind us always of how much He hates sin.

3. It Alone Bestows Eternal Blessing.

The blood of Christ is precious because it alone cleanses a nagging conscience and it alone reminds us how God feels about sin. But, more importantly, the blood of Jesus alone can bestow eternal blessing. In Hebrews 9:16-17, we are reminded that a testament only takes affect once the testator has died. In other words, a “last will and testament” has no power as long as that person remains alive. In the same way, all the blessings of a relationship to Jesus are tied to His death. In Hebrews 9:15, by means of His death, we now receive an eternal inheritance. Without the shedding of the blood of Jesus, none of this would be ours today.

Imagine yourself under a mountain of debts that you are unable to pay. Then one day a letter arrives informing you that a rich uncle has died and left you a great inheritance. Once you were poor–now you are rich! But it was his death that made you rich. Not anything you did or anything you deserved. His death made the difference. That’s why the apostle Paul says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you, through his poverty might be made rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). The death of Jesus provided an eternal inheritance for you. Not one that can waste away and used up and then the inheritor will be poor again; His blood made you the inheritor of an inheritance that will last throughout all eternity.

One last thing needs to be understood. In Hebrews 9:27-28, we read: “And as it is appointed for men to die once and after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” This Jesus who came once to shed His blood will return again, not to die again (His death was sufficient to cover all sin), but to come for those who have given their lives to Him. On the day that John D. Rockefeller died, two tramps were sitting on a New York city street corner. One tramp inquired: “Why are you crying? You weren’t related to him.” “That’s why I’m crying!” was the reply. If you are related to Jesus through His death, then you have a great inheritance. But if not, then you too have reason to cry. For it is appointed unto every man to die once, and then comes the judgment. If the blood of Jesus is not covering your sin, then you will be accountable to God for all your own sin. And the Bible reminds us that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus shed His blood to pay for sin. Apart from the shedding of His blood, there is no remission of sin. Apart from the blood of Jesus, there is no new covenant in His blood. Apart from His blood, there is no gospel to proclaim. That’s why His blood is so precious to them who believe.

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in Jim Ehrhard |

From Our Hearts by Jim & Debbie Ehrhard

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

Romans the eighth chapter is one of the “crown jewels” for believers to gaze upon in the Word of God. It has been said that the Book of Romans is the “Alps” of the books of the Bible and that the eighth chapter of Romans is like the Matterhorn. Dwight L. Moody once said: “I would rather live in the center of Romans 8 than in the center of the Garden of Eden.” He explained that, even in the Garden, Satan was able to lead Adam and Eve into temptation, but the believer who lives in Romans 8, Moody reasoned, was protected from Satan’s deceptions. While such may be an overstatement, the believer who comes to rest in God’s sovereign control over all things (which is the message of Romans 8) is greatly strengthened against all kinds of difficulties.

If Romans 8 is a “crown jewel” for believers, then Romans 8:28 must be one of the more precious jewels. A. W. Tozer noted that Romans was like a beautiful ring on a woman’s finger, Romans 8 was like unto the jewel set in that ring, and Romans 8:28 was like the sparkle of that great jewel. Analogies aside, Romans 8 is a power chapter that speaks of God’s continuing work, protection, and plan for all believers.

With these thoughts in mind, the focus of this issue is that great chapter. In Romans 8, we find teaching on sanctification (8:1-17), suffering (8:17-25), the role of the Spirit in prayer (8:26-27), and God’s providence and constant love for His children (8:28-39). But most of Romans 8 provides comfort to believers no matter what they are facing in this world. Paul begins with the reminder that, for those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. He concludes the chapter with a great encouragement: that nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Throughout the chapter, great comfort is provided for those who are the children of God.

Because this chapter is so rich in truth and comfort for struggling believers, all of the articles in this issue are related to some aspect of Romans 8. Certainly we could have included many other excellent articles as this great chapter has been preached often by men of old to the edification of the saints. We hope that each one will serve to help you to better “comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height” (Ephesians 3:18) of the love of God which is found in Christ Jesus alone.

By His Grace,

Jim & Debbie Ehrhard

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The Believer’s Challenge by C. H. Spurgeon

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

“Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ who died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:34

The protest of an innocent man against the charge of an accuser may well be strong and vehement. But here we have a more uncommon and sublimer theme. It is the challenge of a justified sinner protesting with holy and inspired fervor that his character is clear and his conscience clean, even in the sight of heaven. Yet it is not the natural innocence of his heart, but the perfect mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, which gives him this amazing confidence. . . .

We have before us in the text the four marvelous pillars upon which the Christian rests his hope. Any one of them were all-sufficient. . . . But why is this [four all sufficient pillars]?” Why needeth the Christian to have such firm, such massive foundations? For this simple reason: he is himself so doubtful, so ready to distrust, so difficult to be persuaded of his own security. Therefore hath God, as it were, enlarged his arguments. . . .

I. The first reason why the Christian can never be condemned is because CHRIST HAS DIED.

In the death of Christ there was a full penalty paid to divine justice for all the sins which the believer can possibly commit. We teach that the whole shower of divine wrath was poured upon Christ’s head, that the black cloud of vengeance emptied itself upon the cross, and that there is not left in the book of God a single sin against a believer, nor can there possibly be even a particle of punishment ever exacted at the hand of the man that believeth in Jesus, for this reason–that Jesus has been punished to the full. . . .

This shall be an all-sufficient argument to shut [the mouths of all who seek to condemn us], “Christ hath died.” Here cometh one, and he cries, “Thou hast been a blasphemer.” Yes, but Christ died a blasphemer’s death, and he died for blasphemers. “But thou hast stained thyself with lust.” Yes, but Christ died for the lascivious. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, cleanseth us from all sin; so away with that foul fiend [the one condemning us]. “But thou hast long resisted grace, and long stood out against the warnings of God.” Yes, but “Jesus died;” and say what thou wilt, O conscience, remind me of what thou wilt; lo this shall be my sure reply–“Jesus died.”

There is in the death of Christ enough and more than enough. There is not only a sea in which to drown our sins, but the very tops of the mountains of our guilt are covered. . . . There is not only enough to put our sins to death, but enough to bury them and hide them out of sight. I say it boldly and without a figure–the eternal arm of God now nerved with strength, now release from the bondage in which justice held it, is able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Christ.

II. The second reason a believer hath, is — that CHRIST HAS RISEN AGAIN.

You will observe that the apostle has here prefixed the words, “yea rather!” Do you not see the force of this expression? As much as to say, it is a powerful argument for our salvation, that Christ died; but it is a still more cogent proof that every believer shall be saved, that Christ rose again from the dead. This does not often strike us. We generally receive more comfort at the cross than we do at the empty sepulcher. And yet this is just through our ignorance and through the blindness of our eyes; for verily to the enlightened believer there is more consolation in Jesus arising from the tomb, than there is in Jesus nailed to the cross. “Yea rather,” said the apostle; as if he would have it, that this is a still more powerful argument.

Now what had the resurrection of Christ from the dead to do with the justification of a believer? I take it thus: Christ by his death paid to his Father the full price of what we owed to him. God did, as it were, hold a bond against us that we could not pay. . . . Now Jesus by his death paid all the debt. . . .Still the bond was not canceled until the day when Christ arose from the dead; then did his Father, as it were, rend the bond in halves, and blot it out, so that thenceforward it ceases to have effect. It is true that death was the payment of the debt, but resurrection was the public acknowledgment that the debt was paid. “Now,” says Paul, “yea rather, he is risen from the dead.” O Christian, thou canst not be condemned, for Christ has paid the debt. Look at his gore, as it distills from his body in Gethsemane and on the accursed tree. But rather, lest there be a shadow of a doubt, that thou canst not be condemned, thy debts are canceled. Here is the full receipt: the resurrection hath rent the bond in twain.

III. The next clause of the sentence reads thus: “WHO IS EVEN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.”

Now I must call your attention to this clause, remarking that in other passages of God’s Word, Christ is said to have sat down forever at the right hand of God. . . . This seems to me to be one material argument for the salvation of the believer–Christ also sits in heaven. Now, he never would sit if the work were not fully done. Jesus when he was on earth, had a baptism to be baptized with, and how was he straitened until it was accomplished! He had not time so much as to eat bread, full often, so eager was he to accomplish all his work. And I do not imagine that he would be sitting down in heaven in the posture of ease, unless he had accomplished all–unless “It is finished!” were to be understood in the broadest and most unlimited sense.

Turning, however, more strictly to the words of the text, “Who is even at the right hand of God”–what meaneth this? It means. . . that Christ is now in the honorable position of an accepted one. The right hand of God is the place of majesty, and the place of favor, too. Now, Christ is the people’s representative. When he died for them, they had rest; when he rose for them, they had liberty; when he was received into his Father’s favor, yet again, and sat down at his own right hand, then had they favor, and honor, and dignity. . . . all the church is now raised up together, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The raising and the elevation of Christ to that throne of dignity and favor, is the elevation, the acceptance, the enshrinement, the glorifying of all his people, for he is there common head, and stands as their representative, and therefore, the acceptance of our souls. Who is he that condemneth, then? Condemn a man at the right hand of God? Absurd! Impossible! Yet there a I in Christ. Condemn a man who sits next to his Father, the King of kings? Yet there is the church, and how can she in the slightest degree incur condemnation, when she is already at the right hand of the Father with her covenant head.

And let me further remark, that the right hand is the place of power. Christ at the right hand of God signifies that all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth. Now, who condemns the people that have such a head as this? O my soul! What can destroy thee if omnipotence is thy helper? If the Almighty covers thee, what sword can smite thee? If the wings of the eternal are thy shelter, what plague can attack thee? Rest thou secure. If Jesus is thine all-prevailing king, and hath trodden thine enemies beneath his feet, if sin, death, and hell, are now only parts of his empire, for he is Lord of all, and if thou art represented in him, and he is thy guarantee, thy sworn surety, it cannot be by any possibility that thou canst be condemned. While we have an Almighty Savior, the redeemed must be saved; until omnipotence can fail, and the Almighty can be overcome, every blood-bought redeemed child of God is safe and secure for ever.

IV. And now I come to the fourth; and this also hath an encomium passed upon it–“WHO ALSO MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US.”

Our apostle, in the epistle to the Hebrews, puts a very strong encomium upon this sentence. . . . “He is able also to save them unto the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” This was pictured by the high priest of old. . . [who] first took the blood. . . . He did not bring the mercy-seat outside the veil, to carry the mercy-seat to the blood. No, the blood must be taken to the mercy-seat. God will not stoop when he is just; it must be brought to him. So the high priest takes off his royal robes, and puts on the garments of the minor priest, and goes within the veil, and sprinkles the blood upon the mercy-seat. Even so did our Lord Jesus Christ. He took the payment and bore it to God–took his wounds, his rent body, his flowing blood, up to his Father’s very eyes and there he spread his wounded hands and pleaded for his people. Now here is proof that the Christian cannot be condemned, because the blood is on the mercy-seat. It is not poured out on the ground; it is on the mercy-seat, it is on the throne; it speaks in the very ears of God, and it must of surety prevail.

But, perhaps, the sweetest proof that the Christian cannot be condemn-ed, is derived from the intercession of Christ, if we view it thus. . . . When Christ pleads, he does not plead with one who is stronger than him or inimical to him, but to his own Father.

What would you give, some of you, if you could have such a hope as this? Here are four pillars. O unhappy souls, that cannot call these your own! The mass of men are in uncertainty; they do not know what will become of them at last. They are discontented enough with life and yet they are afraid to die. God is angry with them, and they know it. Death is terrible to them; the tomb affrights them, and they can scarcely understand the possibility of having any confidence this side of the grave.

Ah, my hearers, what would you give if you could obtain this confidence? And yet it is within the grasp of every truly penitent sinner. If you are now led to repent of sin; if you will now cast yourself on the blood and righteousness of Christ, your eternal salvation shall be as sure as your present existence. He cannot perish who relies on Christ, and he who hath faith in Jesus may see the heavens pass away, but not God’s Word. He may see the earth burned, but into the fire of hell, he can never go. He is safe, and he must be saved, though all things pass away.

None hath a right to condemn, for he is the sole judge of right and wrong. And if he hath died, shall he put us to death; and if he hath risen for us, shall he thrust us downwards to the pit; and if he hath reigned for us and hath been accepted for us, shall he cast us away; and if he hath pleaded for us, shall he curse us at last? No! Come life, come death, my soul can rest on this. He died for me. I cannot be punished for my sin. He rose again, I must rise, and though I die, yet shall I live again. He sits at the right hand of God, and so must I. I must be crowned and reign with him forever. He intercedes, and he must be heard. He beckons me, and I must be brought at length to see his face, and to be with him where he is.

Edited and excerpted from a sermon preached on June 5, 1859 .

The current formatting and editing is copyrighted by Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in C. H. Spurgeon |

Suffering and Sovereignty by Jim Ehrhard

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

Perhaps no area of God’s sovereign control presents a greater puzzle to believers than does the problem of suffering. Why do we suffer? How can we be sure that God loves us if we have to endure such suffering? How can a Christian be victorious even when facing terrible suffering? These are some of the questions faced by every believer during some time of trial in life. Here in Romans 8, the apostle Paul deals with this difficult subject and provides some principles for handling suffering in a way that truly honors God.

In Romans 8:18-27, Paul provides four principle and four keys for handling suffering. First, he begins by reminding us that no suffering, no matter how great or how long, is worth comparing to the glory God will give us in heaven for bearing that suffering properly (vs. 18). We may experience some terrible times of suffering, but God’s future reward will make us say, “It was worth it all.” Like the athlete who struggles and strains to win the ultimate victory, the believer who suffers acknowledges the reality of the pain, but sets his sights on the glory to come later.

Second, Paul reminds us that all suffering is temporary (vv. 18-19). It may be long, even life-long, but it does not last forever. Creation understands this–we often forget it. That’s why Paul speaks about all of creation waiting in “eager expectation” for that day when God’s children will receive their future reward. In contemporary terms, all of creation is “on the edge of its seat” or “standing on tip-toe” to see the ultimate outcome of God’s great work in us through the suffering we are now experiencing. Most of all, creation understands that a day is coming when all this suffering will pass away–it’s all temporary.

Third, Paul reminds us that all suffering is a consequence (vs. 20-21). We often wonder why there is suffering in this world. Paul gives us the reason: all of creation was placed under bondage in the Fall. Every suffering experienced in this life is in some way related to sin. Before the Fall, all of creation functioned together in beautiful harmony. There was no sickness, no pain, no death. But when sin entered into the world, it not only affected man, all of creation was also affected by sin. All suffering is a consequence of the bondage of sin this world was placed under.

Fourth, suffering is universal. In verse 22, Paul notes, “the whole creation groans.” Suffering has touched all of creation. No part of it is immune. No one of us is exempt. Suffering is universal.

Additionally, Paul also provides us with four keys to handling suffering in our lives. First, he encourages us to focus on the purpose, not the pain. In Romans 8:28-29, he reminds us that God is working through all things in our lives, both good and bad, both pleasure and suffering, to accomplish His purpose: to make us more like Jesus. At times, that process will involve pain. Even Jesus, “though he was a son,” learned obedience “by the things he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Obviously, we have a much greater need to learn obedience and it is often through sufferings that the Lord teaches us.

Second, Paul tells us to focus on the glory, not the groan. The illustration he alludes to in verses 22-23 comes from childbirth. Every woman who has ever gone through childbirth knows the pain that is involved. But those who have been through it will go through it again because they focus on the great joy of the child born and not on the pain of the childbirth. Someone once noted that he had never seen a bumpersticker that said, “Let me tell you about my labor pains.” But it is the rare parent who is not eager to tell others about the son or daughter whose birth was worth enduring any amount of labor pains.

Paul’s encouragement to suffering believers is the same. Yes, the pain is real, but the result is worth all the pain we experience. We must focus on the glory that comes when the labor process is complete.

Third, we must learn to focus on the hope, not on the wait. In verses 24-25, Paul reminds us that our hope provides a confident assurance that God will provide for us in the future. Our problem is that we tend to put our focus on the waiting process rather than keeping our eyes on the hope that God has promised for us.

Fourth, we must focus on His presence, not on our weakness. In verses 26-27, Paul plainly acknowledges our weaknesses in times of suffering. We don’t know what to pray for. We don’t pray as we ought. We don’t often know what the will of God is for the particular circumstance we are facing. We are not certain how He will “work all things together for good.” But Paul tells us not to worry. God has placed His Spirit within us. He knows what are needs our (better than we do) and He knows our hearts. He knows what the perfect will of the Father is and He prays for us when we are not sure what to pray or how to pray it. During our times of trial, we must remember that the Spirit who knows us and the will of the Father perfectly is continually interceding perfectly for us.

Suffering is certainly common to all believers. But according to Paul, our present sufferings do not impede the work of God in us. And no matter what we suffer here, God will reward us far more greatly in eternity. That’s why the apostle could proclaim with confidence: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed in us.”

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in Jim Ehrhard |

The Comforting Spirit by A. W. Pink

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

One would naturally suppose that the good news of a free Savior and a full salvation would readily be embraced by a convicted sinner. One would think that, as soon as he heard the glad tidings, he could not forbear exclaiming, in a transport of joy, “This is the Savior I want! His salvation is every way suited to my wretchedness. What can I desire more? Here will I rest.” But as a matter of fact this is not always the case, yea, it is rarely so. Instead, the stricken sinner, like the Hebrews in Egypt after Moses had been made manifest before them, is left to groan under the lash of his merciless taskmasters. Yet this arises from no defect in God’s gracious provision, nor because of any inadequacy in the salvation which the Gospel presents, nor because of any distress in the sinner which the Gospel is incapable of relieving; but because the workings of self-righteousness hinder the sinner from seeing the fullness and glory of Divine grace.

Strange as it may sound to those who have but a superficial and non-experimental acquaintance with God’s truth, awakened souls are exceedingly backward from receiving comfort in the glorious Gospel of Christ. They think they are utterly unworthy and unfit to come to Christ just as they are, in all their vileness and filthiness. They imagine some meetness must be wrought in them before they are qualified to believe the Gospel, that there must be certain holy dispositions in their hearts before they are entitled to conclude that Christ will receive them. They fear that they are not sufficiently humbled under a sense of sin, that they have not a suitable abhorrence of it, that their repentance is not deep enough; that they must have fervent breathings after Christ and pantings after holiness before they can be warranted to seek salvation with a well-grounded hope of success. All of which is the same thing as hugging the miseries of unbelief in order to obtain permission to believe.

Burdened with guilt and filled with terrifying apprehensions of eternal destruction, the convicted sinner, yet experimentally ignorant of the perfect righteousness which the Gospel reveals for the justification of the ungodly, strives to obtain acceptance with God by his own labors, tears and prayers. But as he becomes better acquainted with the high demands of the Law, the holiness of God, and the corruptions of his own heart, he reaches the point where he utterly despairs of being justified by his own strivings. “What must I do to be saved?” is now his agonized cry. Diligently searching God’s Word for light and help, he discovers that “faith” is the all-important thing needed, but exactly what faith is, and how it is to be obtained, he is completely at a loss to ascertain. Well-meaning people, with more zeal than knowledge, urge him to “believe,” which is the one thing above all others he desires to do, but finds himself utterly unable to perform.

If saving faith was nothing more than a mere mental assent to the contents of John 3:16, then any man could make himself a true believer whenever he pleased–the supernatural enablement of the Holy Spirit would be quite unnecessary! But saving faith is very much more than a mental assenting to the contents of any verse of Scripture; and when a soul has been Divinely quickened and awakened to its awful state by nature, it is made to realize that no creature-act of faith, no resting on the bare letter of a text by a “decision” of his own will, can bring pardon and peace. He is now made to realize that “faith” is a “Divine gift” (Eph. 2:8, 9), and not a creature work; that it is wrought by “the operation of God” (Col. 2:12), and not by the sinner himself. He is now made conscious of the fact that if ever he is to be saved, the same God who invites him to believe (Isa. 45:22), yea, who commands him to believe (1 John 3:23), must also impart faith to him (Eph. 6:23).

Cannot you see, dear reader, that if a saving belief in Christ was the easy matter which the vast majority of preachers and evangelists of today say it is, that the work of the Spirit would be quite unnecessary! Ah, is there any wonder that the mighty power of the Spirit of Cod is now so rarely witnessed in Christendom? He has been grieved, insulted, quenched, not only by the skepticism and worldliness of “Modernists,” but equally so by the creature-exalting free-willism and self-ability of man “to receive Christ as his personal Savior” of the “Fundamentalists.” Oh how very few today really believe those clear and emphatic words of Christ, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me (by His Spirit) draw him” (John 6:44).

Ah, my reader, when GOD truly takes a soul in hand, He brings him to the end of himself He not only convicts him of the worthlessness of his own works, but He convinces him of the impotency of his wilt He not only strips him of the filthy rags of his own self-righteousness, but He empties him of all self-sufficiency. He not only enables him to perceive that there is “no good thing” in him (Rom. 7:18), but he also makes him feel he is “without strength” (Rom. 5:6). Instead of concluding that he is the man whom God will save, he now fears that he is the man who must be lost forever He is now brought down into the very dust and made to feel that he is no more able to savingly believe in Christ than he can climb up to Heaven.

We are well aware that what has been said above differs radically from the current preaching of this decadent age; but we will appeal to the experience of the Christian reader. Suppose you had just suffered a heavy financial reverse and were at your wits’ end to know how to make ends meet: bills are owing, your bank has closed, you look in vain for employment, and are filled with fears over future prospects. A preacher calls and rebukes your unbelief, bidding you lay hold of the promises of God. That is the very thing which you desire to do, but can you by an act of your own will? Or, a loved one is suddenly snatched from you: your heart is crushed, grief overwhelms you. A friend kindly bids you to “sorrow not even as others who have no hope.” Are you able by a “personal decision” to throw off your anguish and rejoice in the Lord? Ah, my reader, if a mature Christian can only “cast all his care” upon the Lord by the Holy Spirit’s gracious enablement, do you suppose that a poor sinner who is yet “in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity” can lay hold of Christ by a mere act of his own will?

Just as to trust in the Lord with all his heart, to be anxious for nothing, to let the morrow take care of its own concerns, is the desire of every Christian, but “how to perform that which is good” he “finds not” (Rom. 7:18) until the Holy Spirit is pleased to graciously grant the needed enablement; so the one supreme yearning of the awakened and convicted sinner is to lay hold of Christ, but until the Spirit draws him to Christ, he finds he has no power to go out of himself, no ability to embrace what is proffered him in the Gospel. The fact is, my reader, that the heart of a sinner is as naturally indisposed for loving and appropriating the things of God as the wood which Elijah laid on the altar was to ignite, when he had poured so much water upon it, as not only to saturate the wood, but also to fill the trench round about it (1 Kings 18:33): a miracle is required for the one as much as it was for the other.

The fact is that if souls were left to themselves–to their own “free will”–after they had been truly convicted of sin, none would ever savingly come to Christ! A further and distinct operation of the Spirit is still needed to actually “draw” the heart to close with Christ Himself. Were the sinner left to himself he would sink in abject despair; he would fall victim to the malice of Satan. The Devil is far more powerful than we are, and never is his rage more stirred than when he fears he is about to lose one of his captives: see Mark 9:20. But blessed be His name, the Spirit does not desert the soul when His work is only half done: He who is “the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2) to quicken the dead, he who is “the Spirit of truth” (John 16:13) to instruct the ignorant, is also “the Spirit of faith” (2 Cor. 4:13) to enable us to savingly believe.

And how does the Spirit work faith in the convicted sinner’s heart? By effectually testifying to him of the sufficiency of Christ for his every need; by assuring him of the Savior’s readiness to receive the vilest who comes to Him. He effectually teaches him that no good qualifications need to be sought, no righteous acts performed, no penance endured in order to fit us for Christ. He reveals to the soul that conviction of sin, deep repentings, a sense of our utter helplessness, are not grounds of acceptance with Christ, but simply a consciousness of our spiritual wretchedness, rendering relief in a way of grace truly welcome. Repentance is needful not as inducing Christ to give, but as disposing us to receive. The Spirit moves us to come to Christ in the very character in which alone He receives sinners as vile, ruined, lost. Thus, from start to finish “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9)–of the Father in ordaining it, of the Son in purchasing it, of the Spirit in applying it.

From Studies in Scriptures, December 1934.

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