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Three Men in Fetters by Jim Ehrhard

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress provides a wonderful contrast between true and false faith.  Christian, possessing true faith, flees to the cross of Jesus where the burden on his back rolls away.  His great joy at the occasion reveals that Christian has trusted in Christ alone as payment for his sins:

Thus far did I come laden with my sin;

Nor could ought ease the grief I was in,

Till I came hither: what a place is this!

Must here be the beginning of my bliss?

Must here the Burden fall from off my back?

Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?

Blest Cross!  Blest Sepulchre!  Blest rather be

The Man that there was put to Shame for me!

As he comes to the bottom of the hill, Christian sees three men asleep with fetters on their feet.  One was called Simple, another Sloth, and the third, Presumption.  Out of his love and concern for them, Christian tries to awaken them and warns them of the danger that awaits them.  Each of these men portray many in our age.  They have a belief of sorts, but their belief does not stir them to go to the cross—each delays for different reasons.

Many today are like Simple.  When Christian warns him, he responds, “I see no danger.”  Simple may depict those who take a simple approach to life and eternity.  They believe what they can see and what they have experienced.  What could be simplier than that?  To them, there might be a God or there might not be.  In either case, they have a simple view of God—He is love and He forgives, so no matter what they do, everything will be okay.  They don’t want their life confused by theologies that tell them about God’s wrath or God’s holiness.  It’s easier to believe in a God of love.  It’s just that simple.  Their simple view holds them like chains on their feet from coming to Christ.

Others are like Sloth.  When Christina warns him, he replies, “Yet a little more sleep.”  These people believe, they really do.  They know there is a God, they know that Jesus died for sins, they know they need to repent and put their trust in Jesus to be saved.  And they will—some day—but not now.  They prefer to rest awhile.  They prefe

r to enjoy the pleasures of this world a little longer.  But one day (yawn), they intend to trust Christ—but not now.  Their desire to delay until another day shackles them and keeps them from the cross which liberates for eternity.

Still others are like Presumption.  He responds to Christian’s pleadings with a common proverb: “Every tub must stand on his own bottom.”  Rather than trusting Christ, Presumption is being lured to sleep because he believes that each man should help himself.  He is the self-made-man.  He certainly intends to get to heaven, but he will do so through his own good deeds and good life.  He will stand on his own bottom—he does not need to rely on anyone else.

Many are kept from heaven through such presumptions.  Jonathan Edwards once surmised: “Every man flatters himself, thinking that he shall escape hell, by what he has done, or is doing, or one day intends to do.”  That is an apt description of Presumption and his kin.  Those who are presumptuous flatter themselves.  They think they are better than God declares then to be.  They think they have no need of a Savior.

Oh, they will quickly agree that others might need one.  “If believing in Jesus helps you, that’s fine,” they say.  But in reality, they pity you that you are not strong as they are.  They will pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.  Since they boast on earth about their own deeds, there will be no place for them in heaven because “no one will boast before the Lord.”  The presumptuous are kept from the cross by their exalted views of themselves.  They will not come to Christ because they do not see the depths of their sin.

As the three returned to their slumbers, Christian walked on, puzzled by their harshness to him and his desire to help.  Bunyan records:

Yet he was troubled to think, that men in danger should so little esteem the kindness of him that so freely offered to help them, both by the awakening of them, counseling of them, and offering to help them off with their Irons.

So it is with those who are simple, slothful, and presumptuous.  Even when believers seek to share the truth with them, they become angry and upset for having their sleep disturbed.

Are you in one of these conditions?  Is your view of God and eternity simple or is it based on biblical truth?  Do you plan to repent “one day,” but now you see no hurry?  Do you think that each person has to do the best he can and God will accept that?  Then your faith is not true faith.  True faith sees the seriousness of the danger of eternal destruction of which God warns, sees the death of Jesus as sufficient to pay for all sins, and clings to Him alone for salvation.  Don’t be chained away from the cross through simple beliefs, slothful attitudes, or presumption.  Jesus says, “He that cometh to me I will never turn away.”

Posted in Jim Ehrhard |

Falling Away by Jim Ehrhard

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

Fear has the power to paralyze.  If you have ever been alone on a dark night and heard an unusual sound, you know how paralyzing fear can be.  One pastor remarked: “Fear is the devil’s scarecrow to keep us out of God’s corn.”

Israel knew that kind of fear as they came to the edge of the Promised Land.  They sent spies into the land who returned with a fearful report.  Rather than move forward into a land of milk and honey, fear paralyzed the Israelites at Kadesh-Barnea.

Nothing should be more fearful than the possible loss of one’s salvation.  Yet many believers live in constant fear that, one day, they might lose their salvation through some act or lifestyle of disobedience.  The writer of Hebrews believed that Jesus’ death removed any such fear for believers: “He shared likewise in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).  In other words, Jesus’ death on the cross should lead to assurance in His completed work, not to continued fear.

But whenever the issue of assurance is raised, someone always retorts, “Yes, but what about Hebrews 6?”  Many see in Hebrews 6:4-6 a passage providing air-tight proof that one can lose his salvation.  I once believed that.  In fact, my whole theology of the loss of salvation revolved, in particular, around that one passage.  However, while preaching through the Book of Hebrews, I came to realize that the context did not support my interpretation.  Hebrews 6 is not about the loss of salvation; it is about the security of true believers.

The Context of Hebrews 6

First, let’s consider the context of the Book of Hebrews.  The first thing we notice is that it is written to Jewish believers considering returning to their Jewish rituals to find their security.  Their situation is similar to that of the Galatians who wanted to add their Jewish rituals to the work of Jesus on the cross.  Paul reminded the Galatians that those who take such an approach are “fallen from grace.”

Here the writer of Hebrews reminds the Jews of the foolishness of returning to something inferior (the old law and Jewish rituals).  In Chapter 3, he reminds them that Jesus the Son is greater than Moses the Servant.  In Hebrews 7-9, he shows them the particular ways in which this new covenant is “a better covenant” than the old covenant.  “Why seek assurance of salvation through something that is inferior to what you have in Jesus?” is the idea that the writer sets forth.

Second, we notice that the warnings are about “not entering into God’s rest.”  Here the writer uses the experience of the Israelites at Kadesh-Barnea to illustrate the results of “drawing back.”  Their punishment was that they wandered in the wilderness instead of entering into the Promised Land.  Many have interpreted this to mean that believers who do not press on lose their salvation: the Israelites did not enter the Promised Land — these believers will not enter Heaven.

But such an interpretation hangs on the fact that the typology is correct.  Is the Promised Land synonymous with Heaven?  We know it is in Negro spirituals, but is it here in Hebrews?  The typology is this: all who did not enter the Promised Land are types of all who do not enter heaven.  While most today might not see any problem with that reasoning, any Jew would consider your conclusion ridiculous.  After all, one very important person who left Egypt with these Israelites also failed to make it to the Promised Land: Moses.  If these are examples of unbelievers who did not gain heaven (the Promised Land), then what about Moses?  Is he also lost, shut out from heaven?

Surely you see the problem.  Surely there must be another typology present in the writer’s mind.  There is.  Elsewhere in the New Testament, the Red Sea is seen as the picture of passing from death into life.  Indeed, in 1 Corinthians 10:2, Paul reminds the Corinthians that “all [who] passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses.”  If you asked an Israelite, “When was Israel saved?” they would respond, “When we passed through the Sea.”  Not, when they entered the Promised Land.

What, then, does the Promised Land portray?  Jesus promised believers that they would not only have life, but “have it more abundantly.”  In other words, the Christian life is designed to be a life overflowing with “milk and honey.”  Many through fear, disobedience, and unbelief fail to enter into that life.  Instead of enjoying the blessings of their relationship with the Lord in this life, they wander aimlessly just as Israel did in the wilderness.

The third observation from the context of Hebrews supports this interpretation.  Be careful to notice what these believers are in danger of losing.  Is it their salvation?  In Hebrews 6:9, the writer says they could lose “things that accompany salvation.”  In other places (Hebrews 6:12 and 10:34-36, for example), he tells them that they will lose “rewards” and “promises,” not salvation.

Finally, let’s consider the context of Hebrews 6 itself.  In the preceding passage (Hebrews 5:12-6:3), the issue is a failure to grow as a believer.  If Hebrews 6:4-6 is about losing salvation, then we would need to warn people who fail to grow and become teachers that they will lose their salvation!  (That may be great for Sunday School recruitment, but it is terrible theology!)  In the section that follows (Hebrews 6:7-20), the focus is on assurance.  In verse 10, the writer notes that God will not forget to reward us for the things we have done in ministry.  In verse 11, he desires that every reader come to a “full assurance” of salvation (which would not be possible in the theologies that teach that you can lose your salvation).  In verses 13-20, the writer concludes this section by pointing to the basis for assurance – not our deeds, but God’s promise and Jesus’ finished work.

Issues in Hebrews 6

Three initial questions arise as we consider Hebrews 6.  First, are those who “fall away” believers or non-believers? Many evangelicals have attempted to ignore this warning by claiming it was written about non-believers.  Someone has said that it referred to “professors of eternal life, not possessors of eternal life.”  Puritan John Owen and Baptist preacher John Gill interpreted it to refer to those who were “externally” believers, not internally believers.

However, neither the context nor the passage will allow such an interpretation.  Note the use of “we” in verse 3.  The writer seems to include himself in these categories.  When we read the list of descriptions given in verses 4-5, we would naturally conclude that the writer is referring to believers.  Indeed, Charles Spurgeon notes about these verses: “If the Holy Spirit intended to describe Christians, I do not see that he could have used more explicit terms than these are here.”

The second question relates to the issue of losing salvation. To begin with, the passage does not mention salvation.  It states that it is “impossible to renew them to repentance.”  While repentance is clearly required for salvation, it would be wrong to equate every use of the word as being salvation.  Indeed, the New Testament makes it clear that even believers need to repent continually.  Beyond that, the language of verse 6 could be translated in one of two ways: “It is impossible to renew them to repentance since they crucify…” or “while they crucify….”  Hence, the writer could be indicating not a permanent condition (since), but rather a condition that will not change as long as the believer remains in this state (while).

If interpreted as the loss of salvation, these verses present a number of theological problems. In verse 4, the writer of Hebrews mentions the “gift,” but, if it is not truly free, then is it truly a gift?  Secondly, there is the question of the role of God in salvation.  Again, the writer of Hebrews alludes to his understanding that the issue of security lies with God.  In verse 3, he notes that we can press on “if God permits.”  In other words, we have a part to play in our growth, but ultimately it all rests in God’s hands.  In Philippians 2:12-13, we see the same tension: “Work out [not work for] your own salvation, for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do, for His good pleasure.”

To interpret this passage as losing salvation, one must also question what God has said regarding His “keeping power.”  In verses like Philippians 1:6 and 1 Peter 1:5, God indicates His power and willingness to keep those who are His.  The writer of Hebrews also taught that the security of our salvation rested not on us, but on the prayers of Jesus for us (see Hebrews 7:25).  If one who is saved becomes lost, then Jesus is shown to be ineffective in His praying for us.

The final question to be raised relates to the issue of apostasy or falling away.  What is it that the passage indicates they fall away from?  Salvation is not mentioned in the passage.  The context suggests that the writer is warning about the failure of believers to press on in Christian growth and service.  They have fallen away, not from salvation, but from pressing on to be what they have been called to be.

Evidences of Falling Away

Before we leave this passage, we must ask what is the warning given so that we may heed it ourselves today.

Three evidences of one who is falling away are given in the last verses of Chapter 5.  Not Hearing the Word is one evidence (vs. 11).  The writer says they have become dull of hearing.  Like those who no longer hear the passing train after years of living by the tracks, these readers had become dull to the word of God.  They sit in congregations week after week and hear the Word, but it no longer impacts their lives as it once did, because they have become dull of hearing.

A second evidence is Not Growing (vv. 12-13).  Here the writer says that they ought to be teachers.  While they have been taught much, they have not grown to the point that they are able to teach others.  Instead, they continually need to be taught the simple things again and again.  The illustration used by the writer compares milk with their intake of God’s Word.  To understand this word picture, we must be reminded of what milk is to babies. In simple terms, it is pre-digested food.  The baby is unable to chew and digest for itself, so the mother eats the food and gives nourishment to the child through her milk.

There is nothing wrong with milk for nourishment when you are a baby.  But as a baby gets older, he needs to learn to eat for himself.  Believers in danger of falling away are those who still depend solely upon milk (pre-digested teaching of God’s Word) for their nourishment.  They should be able to eat (enjoy God’s Word) for themselves, but they cannot.  They continue to rely on others for all they receive.

Such is the sad state of most “Sunday Christians.”  The only nourishment they receive from the Bible is a Sunday morning sermon or Bible class.  The rest of the week, their Bibles sit untouched while their souls go unnourished.  They ought to be teachers by now, but instead someone has to keep teaching them.  Such are in danger of falling away.

The third evidence of falling away is Not Practicing. In Hebrews 5:14, the writer distinguishes between those who are “trained” and those who are not.  Those who have trained themselves have done so by putting into practice what they have learned.  Those in danger of falling away are those who hear but never practice what they have been taught.  This concern was made even more clear in Hebrews 2:1: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest we drift away.”

The Effects of Falling Away

The writer also suggests three effects of this condition. First, those who are in danger of falling away have No Building. In Hebrews 6:1, he speaks of laying a foundation in believers’s lives.  Paul uses a similar analogy in 1 Corinthians 3:9-13.

What a sad state is used to describe these believers.  They have the foundation (Jesus) but live in a house with no walls or roof.  No wonder the Christian life is frustrating for them.  They have not built anything upon that foundation.  When the storms of life beat upon them, they have no protection (compare Matthew 7:24-27).

Second, these have No Witness. Hebrews 6:6 describes the shame that such a one causes the Lord Jesus.  Rather than being a light pointing to Jesus, these are continually putting Jesus to “an open shame.”

A story is told about Peter escaping a Roman prison during the persecutions under Nero.  As Peter is fleeing out of Rome, he is surprised to see Jesus going into Rome.  He stopped Jesus and asked: “My Lord, where are you going?”  Jesus replied,” I’m going to Rome to die in your place.”  With that, Peter turned around, returned to Rome, and died a martyr’s death on a cross.  However, when the time came to be crucified, Peter asked to be crucified upside down, saying, “I am not worthy to die as my Lord died.”  When believers do not press on to live for the Lord, they fall away, and “crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame.”

No Fruit is the third effect of falling away.  In verses 7-8, the writer of Hebrews gives an illustration of what he has referred to in Hebrews 6:4-6.  There he pictures two plots of ground.  Both receive the same rain, but they produce different results.  One produces fruits useful to the one who cultivates (the Lord); the other produces thorns and briars.  One who has fallen away produces no fruit for the Lord and His kingdom.

The effects of falling away are serious.  They result in believers having no building, no witness, and no fruit.

End Results

Verses 7 and 8 also speak of the end results of theses two types of lives.  The one that goes on to maturity is “useful” to the Lord and thereby “receives blessing from God.”  The second that falls back and bears only thorns and briars receives a burning.

The Scriptures speak of two types of burnings.  One is for eternity; the other is for testing and purifying.  In 1 Corinthians 3:14-15, the Apostle Paul describes the burning of testing.  There he makes it clear that we will all experience this fire but that some whose works are nothing but wood, hay and straw, will find their deeds completely consumed on that final day.  But what will be the eternal result of this burning?  Will they lose their salvation?  No, Paul clearly states that, though they will suffer loss, “they will be saved though as through fire.”

The writer of Hebrews seems to be speaking of that same type of burning in Hebrews 6.  Notice carefully the words he uses.  The ground is not cursed (which might indicate a loss of salvation) but “near to being cursed.”  And “its end is for burning.”  In other words, God will not take away their salvation, but will expose the sum of their lives to His fire.  And even if all is burned up (1 Corinthians 3:15), they will not be lost.

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Faith’s Way of Approach by C. H. Spurgeon

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

Faith is essential.

According to the Christian religion, faith is the great essential thing.  “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”  Whatever we may do or may be, we cannot be acceptable with the Most High unless we believe in him.  Even prayer can only be a mockery if it be not the prayer of faith.  “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently him,” or else he does not really pray.  The Lord Jesus Christ died to save men but it is certain that no man will be saved without faith.  Even the blood of Jesus Christ does not save any except those who believe in it.  “God so loved the world” is a very wide expression, but remember how the verse goes on, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  Without faith, Christ is not ours.  His blood cannot cleanse us; his life cannot quicken us.  We must have faith to get at the blessings of salvation.

Faith is continuous.

Suppose we could be brought into touch with Christ without faith for a while, yet, if we had not continuous faith, we should not have a continued connection with the Savior, and consequently should not abide in eternal life; for it is written: “the just shall live by faith.”  They not only begin to live by faith, but continue to live in the same manner.  In our holy religion, everything is by faith, faith for life, and faith for death. Even the first tears of repentance must be salted with faith, and the last song on earth shall be full of faith. Ye must have faith, or ye must perish.  “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned,” is the declaration of Jesus Christ the Savior Himself.

Faith is relying on Christ.

We have [already] seen that it is essential.  It is [also] very important to understand its nature.  Well, faith with regard to God is the same as faith with regard to anything else.  It is the same act of the mind, though it differs as to its object.  When I believe in God, it is the same kind of mental act as when I believe in my friend.  I believe with the same mind.  Tis true that all saving faith is the work of the Holy Ghost in us; but be it always recollected that we ourselves believe, and that the Holy Ghost does not believe for us. What has the Holy Ghost to believe about?  It is not written that he is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  No, but we are to believe in him.  He leads us to faith, but the faith is our own act and deed.  If I understand aright the faith which saves, it is just this.  God has revealed such-and-such truth, I believe it to be true, and I so believe it to be true that I act upon it.  God has said that he has laid sin upon Christ; I believe he has done so.  He tells me that, if I trust Christ, I may be assured that my sin was laid upon Christ.  I trust Christ, that is, I rely upon him, and the reliance which springs out of belief is the essence of faith.

Faith is evidenced by its actions.

When a man believes a bank to be safe, he will put his money into it if he has need to do so; when a man believes in the honesty of another, the practical issue of it is [that] he takes his word and trusts him.  Now, mark, if I really do rest in Christ, I shall do what Christ bids me.  Faith must lead to obedience. He bids me forsake sin, and I do it by his help.  He bids me follow him, and I shall do it if I really believe in him.  A doctor says, “Now, trust me, my man, and I will cure you.” I trust him.  He sends me medicine and I take it.  But suppose I do not take the medicine; well, then, I never trusted him; my neglect proves I have not done so.

Faith includes obedience.

The only trust that saves the soul is that practical trust which obeys Jesus Christ.  Faith that does not obey is dead faith—nominal faith.  It is the outside of faith, the husk of faith, but it has not the vital corn of faith in it.  Sinner, if thou wilt be saved, thou must give thyself up to Jesus Christ to be his servant, and to do all that he bids thee.  Thou must rely alone upon him; trust not in fiction, but in reality, not by profession merely, but with thy whole heart; and thou must continue to lean, rest, and lie upon him, trusting alone in him.  This is what saving faith is.

Faith is a gift of God.

Now, there are some who say they wish they could get this faith; they declare that they would do anything to get it.  They earnestly long to believe, but somehow they cannot get a grip of faith, cannot quite make out what it is; or if they know what it is, they are still puzzled, they cannot exercise it.

Albeit faith is the gift of God, it is always the act of man— while faith is a privilege, it is always a natural duty.  Men are bidden to believe in Jesus, and are sinful if they do not believe in Jesus.  Where faith does exist, it is the gift of God; but where it does not exist, it is because men will not believe in him, but shut their eyes to his light.  If they would but see it, that light would convince them.

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Jude’s Doxology by Charles Spurgeon

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” — Jude 1:24, 25

Paul’s writings abound in doxologies.  You will find them in different forms scattered throughout all his Epistles.  But he is not the only apostle who thus pauses to magnify the name of God.  Here is “Judas, not Iscariot,” but the true-hearted Jude, who has been writing an Epistle which seems all ablaze with lightning, it burns so terribly against, certain orders of sinners.  Almost every word that Jude writes seems to have the roll of thunder in it; he appears to be more like the Haggai of the Old Testament than the Jude of the New.  Yet he cannot close his short Epistle until he has included some ascription of praise to God.

Learn from this, dear friends, that the sin of man, if we are ever called to denounce it, should drive us to adore the goodness and glory of God.  Sin defiles the world; so, after you have done your best to sweep it out, resolve that, inasmuch as man has dishonored the name of God, you will seek to magnify that name.  It is true that you cannot actually redress the wrong that has been done, but, at any rate, if the stream of sin has been increased, you may increase the stream of loyal and reverent praise.  Take care that you do so.  Jude is not satisfied with having rebuked the sons of men for their sin, so he turns round to glorify his God.

Observe that these doxologies, wherever we meet with them, are not all exactly the same.  They are presented to the same God, and offered in the same spirit; but there are reasons given for the doxology in the one case which are not given in the other.  Our morning text [Ephesians 3:20-21] told us of what God is able to do, and so does this.  They both begin with praising God’s ability; but while Paul spoke about the greatness of that ability in what it could do for us, Jude speaks of the greatness of that ability in preserving us from falling, and perfecting us so that we may be presented faultless before the presence of the glory of God.  Let us, in an adoring frame of mind, think over this sublime subject.

I. First, LET US ADORE HIM WHO CAN KEEP US FROM FAILING.

I address myself, of course, near only to God’s own people.  When shall we ever see a congregation in which it will be needless to make such a remark as that?  I cannot call upon some of you to adore God for keeping you from falling; for, alas! you have not yet learned to stand upright.  God’s grace has never yet been accepted by you.  You are not on the Rock of ages; you have not yet set out upon the heavenly pilgrimage.  It is a wretched state for you to be in, in which you cannot worship him whom angels worship.  It is a sad state of heart for any man to be in! to be excluded — self-excluded — from the general acclamations of joy in the presence of God, because you feel no such joy, and cannot, therefore, unite in such acclamations.

But to the people of God, I have to say this, dear brothers and sisters, we need keeping; therefore, let us adore him who can keep us.  As saved souls, we need keeping from final apostasy.  “Oh!” saith one, “I thought you taught us that those who are once saved shall never finally apostatize.”  I do believe that doctrine, and delight to preach it; yet it is true that the saved ones would apostatize, every one of them, if the Lord did not keep them.

There is no stability in any Christian, in himself considered; it is the grace of God within him that enables him to stand. I believe that the soul of man is immortal, yet not, in and of itself, but only by the immortality which God bestows upon it from his essential immortality.  So is it with the new life that is within us.  It shall never perish; but it is only eternal because God continues to keep it alive.  Your final perseverance is not the result of anything in yourself, but the result of the grace which God continues to give you, and of his eternal purpose which first chose you and of his almighty power which still keeps you alive.  Ah, my brethren, the brightest saints on earth would fall into the lowest hell if God did not keep them from falling.  Therefore, praise him, O ye stars that shine in the Church’s sky, for ye would go out with a noxious smell, as lamps do for want of oil, did not the Lord keep your heavenly flame burning.  Glory be unto the Preserver of his Church who keeps his loved ones even to the end!

But there are other ways of falling besides falling finally and fatally.  Alas, brethren! we are all liable to fall into errors of doctrine. The best-taught man, apart from divine guidance, is not incapable of becoming the greatest fool possible.  There is a strange weakness which sometimes comes over noble spirits, and which makes them infatuated with an erroneous novelty, though they fancy they have discovered some great truth.  Men of enquiring and receptive minds are often decoyed from the old paths, — the good old ways; and while they think they are pursuing truth, they are being led into damnable error.  He only is kept, as to his thoughts and doctrinal views, whom God keeps, for there are errors that would, if it were possible, deceive even the very elect; and there are men and women going about in this world, with smooth tongues and plausible arguments, who carry honeyed words upon their lips, though drawn swords are concealed behind their backs.  Blessed are they who are preserved from these wolves in sheep’s clothing.  Lord, thou alone canst preserve us from the pernicious errors of the times, for thou art “the only wise God our Savior.”

And, dear friends, we need keeping from an evil spirit.  I do not know whom I should prefer, — to see one of my dear Christian brethren fall into doctrinal error, or into an un-Christian spirit.  I would prefer neither, for I think this is a safe rule, — of two evils, choose neither.  It is sad to hear some people talk as if they alone are right, and all other Christians are wrong.  If there is anything which is the very essence and soul of Christianity, it is brotherly love; but brotherly love seems to be altogether forgotten by these people; and other Christians, who, in the judgment of sobriety, are as earnest, and as true-hearted, and as useful as themselves, are set down as belonging to a kind of Babylonian system; — I hardly know what they do not call it, but they give it all sorts of bad names, and this is thought to be a high style of Christianity.  God grant that the man may be forgiven who thought it, to be a worthy purpose of his life to found a sect, whose distinguishing characteristic should be that it would have no communion with any other Christians!  The mischief that man hast done is utterly incalculable, and I can only pray that, in the providence of God, some part of it may die with him.

O brethren and sisters, I charge you, whatever mistakes you make, not to make a mistake about this one thing, — that, even if you have all knowledge, and have not charity, it profiteth you nothing; even if you could get a perfect creed, and knew that your modes of worship were absolutely apostolic, yet, if you also imbibed this idea that you could not worship with any other Christians, and that they were altogether outside your camp, your error would be far worse than all other errors put together, for to be wrong in heart is even worse than to be wrong in head.

I would have you true to God’s truth, but, above all, I would have you true to God’s love.  My brother, I think you are mistaken about this matter or that, but do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?  If so, I love you. I have no doubt, that I also am mistaken about some things, but, do not therefore withdraw your hand, and say that you cannot have fellowship with me.  I have fellowship with my Father who is in heaven, and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and with his blessed Spirit; and methinks that it ill becomes you, if you call yourself a son of that same God, to refuse to have fellowship with me when I have fellowship with him.  God save you from this evil spirit; but, you may readily enough fall into it unless the Lord shall keep you.  Your very zeal for truth may drive you into a forgetfulness of Christian love; and if it does, it will be a sad pity.  O Lord, keep us from falling in this way!

But there are falls of another sort which may happen to the brightest Christian; I mean, falls into outward sin.  As you read Jude’s Epistle through, you will see what apostates some professors became, and you will be led to cry, “Lord, keep me from falling.”  And if you were the pastor of a large church like mine, you would see enough to convince you that traitors like Judas are not all dead, — that, amidst the faithful, the unfaithful are still found, — that there are bad fish to be thrown away, as well as good fish to be kept; and every time we execute an act of discipline, — every time we have to bemoan the fall of one who looked like a brother, — we may thank God that we have been kept, and may sing this doxology, “Unto him that is able, to keep us from falling, be glory and power for ever.”

And, dear friends, there is a way of falling, out of which people are not so often recovered as when they fall into overt sin; I mean, falling into negligence as to natural or Christian duties.  I have known professors who have been very lax at home, — children who were not obedient to their parents, — husbands who did not love their wives as they ought, — wives who were quite at home at this meeting and that, but very negligent of their domestic duties.  And, mark you, where that is the case, it is a thing to mourn over, for the Christian ought to be absolutely reliable in everything he has to do.  I would not give two pence for your religion if you are a tradesman, but, not fair in your dealings!  I do not care if you can sing like David, or preach like Paul, if you cannot measure a yard of material with the proper number of inches, or if your scales do not weigh rightly, or your general mode of business is not straight and true, you had better make no profession of religion.  The separation at what is called “religious” from the “secure” is one of the greatest, possible mistakes.  There is no such thing as a religion of Sundays, and of chapels and churches; at least, though there is such a thing, it is not worth having.  The religion of Christ is a religion for seven days in the week, — a religion for every place and for every act; and it teaches men, whether they eat, or drink, or whatever they do, to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the glory of God.  I pray that, you may be kept from falling away from that religion, and that, you may be kept up to the mark in serving the Lord in all things, and attending diligently to the little commonplace matters of daily life.

And you know, dear friends, there is another sort of falling; that is, when the heart gets gradually cold, when the Christian wanders away little by little, — when the life becomes more or less inconsistent with the profession.  Oh, how many professors get into this state!  They are like people who are not as well as they used to be.  They do not know when they began to feel worse; it was months ago, and every day they have got weaker, till now you can see their bones, though once they were full of flesh.  Now they discover that, whereas once they could have walked ten miles without fatigue, half a mile or less wearies them.  Their appetite, too, has gradually gone; they scarcely know how.  Ah, these are the sick folk with whom the physician has more trouble than he has with those who are suddenly seized by some well-known disease; and that gradual decline of spiritual health, which does not come all at once, but, little by little, is one of the most perilous of evils; and we have need continually to cry, “Lord, keep us from this;” and to praise his name that he is able so to keep us.

Thus I have shown you that we need keeping; and, brethren, none but the Lord can keep us. No man can keep himself; without God’s grace, he will surely fail.  And no place can keep us.  Some people think that, if they could get into such-and-such a family, they could keep from sin, but are mistaken.  In every position which man occupies, he will find temptation.  We have heard of the hermit, who hoped to get rid of all sin by living in a cave.  He took with him his little brown loaf and his jug of water, but he had hardly entered the cave before he upset his jug, and spilt the water.  It was a long way to the well, and he got so angry with himself for what he had done, that he soon discovered that the devil could get into a cave as quickly as he could, so he thought he might as well go back, and face the trials of ordinary society.  You cannot be kept from falling by choosing another situation.  You had better stop where you are, brother, and fight the devil there, for perhaps the next place that you select as the scene of combat may not be as suitable as the one you have now.

“Ah!” says one, “I wish I could get to

“A lodge in some vast wilderness,

Some boundless contiguity of shade

Where rumor of oppression and deceit,

Of unsuccessful or successful war,

Might never reach me more.”

Yes, yes; but that is not the way to conquer sin, is it?  Suppose the battle of Waterloo is just beginning, and here is a soldier who wants to win a victory; so he runs away, — gets off to Brussels, and hides himself in a cellar!  Is he likely to be numbered among the heroes of the day?   No, brethren; and if there is any sin to be overcome in this world, there is no credit to the man who says, “I’m going to hide somewhere out of the world.”  No, no, my brother; accept the lot that God has provided for you; take your place in the ranks of his soldiers; and whatever temptation comes, look up to him who is able to keep you from falling, but do not dream of running away, for that is the way to fall, that is being dedicated before the battle begins.  Nobody but God can keep you.  You may join whatever church you like; you may wear a hat with a broad brim, and say “thou” and “thee;” you may meet with those who break bread, and preach nothing but the gospel of the grace of God; you may dwell amongst the best people who ever lived; but you will still be tempted.  Neither place nor people, neither manners nor customs can keep you from falling; God alone can do it.

But here is the mercy – God can do it. Notice how Jude’s doxology puts it: “To the only wise God our Savior.”  It is because he alone is wise that he alone is able to keep us from falling.  He does it by teaching us the truth, by warning us against secret sin and by his providential leading.  Sometimes, he keeps temptation from us; at other times, he allows a temptation to come to us that, by overcoming it, we may be the stronger to meet another one.  Oftentimes, he delivers us from temptation by letting affliction come upon us. Many a man has been kept from falling into sin by being stretched upon a bed of sickness.  Had it not been for the loss of the eye, he would have looked upon vanity.  Had it not been for that broken bone, he would have run in the ways of ungodliness.  We little know how much preservation from falling we owe to our loss and crosses.   The story of Sir James Thornhill painting the inside of the cupola of St. Paul’s is probably well  known to you.  When he had finished one of the compartments, he was stepping backward that he might get a full view of it, and so went almost to the edge of the scaffolding, and would have fallen over if he had taken another step; but a friend, who saw his danger, wisely seized one of his brushes, and rubbed some paint over his picture.  The artist, in his rage, rushed forward to save his painting, and so saved his own life.  We have all pictured life; what a fairy picture we made of it; and as we admired it, we walked further and yet further away from God and safety, and got nearer and yet nearer to perilous temptation, when trial came, and ruined the picture we had painted; and then, though scarcely knowing why, we came forward and were saved.  God had kept us from falling by the trouble he had sent to us.

God has often kept us from falling by a bitter sense of our past sin.  We have not dared to go near the fire again, for our former burns have scarcely healed.  I have also noticed, in my own case, that when the desire for sin has come with force, the opportunity for sin has not been present; and when the opportunity of evil has been present, then the desire has been absent.  It is wonderful how God prevents these two things from meeting, and so keeps his people from falling.

Above all, it is by the Divine Spirit that God bears us up as upon eagle’s wings.  The Spirit teaches us to hate sin, and to love righteousness, and so we are daily kept from falling.  Brethren, join with me in adoring the Lord that he will keep us to the end.

Have we committed our souls into the hands of Jesus?  Then, our souls are safe for ever.  Are we trusting him to keep us till the day of his appearing?  If so, he will keep us; not one sheep or lamb out of his flock shall by any possibility be destroyed by the wolf, or the bear, or the roaring lion of hell.  They shall all be his in the day when they pass again under the hands of him that telleth them.

II. NOW, SECONDLY, LET US ADORE HIM BECAUSE HE WILL, AT THE LAST, PRESENT US “FAULTLESS BEFORE THE PRESENCE OF HIS GLORY WITH EXCEEDING JOY.”

There will come a day, brethren, when we shall either be presented in the courts of God as his courtiers, or else be driven from His judgment-seat as rebels against His authority.  We look forward with the confident expectation that we shall be presented as the friends of Christ, unto God even the Father; and that is, indeed, a cause for adoring gratitude.

Do you notice how Jude puts it?  “To present you faultless.”  There shall be none in heaven but those who are faultless. There shall by no means enter into those holy courts anything that defileth.  Heaven is perfectly pure; and if you and I are ever to get there, we must be pure as the driven snow.  No taint of sin must be upon us, or else we cannot stand among the courtiers of God.  His flaming throne would shoot forth columns of devouring fire upon any guilty soul that dared to stand in the courts of the Most High, if such a standing were possible.  But we are impure, — impure as to our acts; and, worst of all, impure as to our very nature; how then can we hope ever to stand there?  Yet, dear brethren and sisters, our confidence is that we shall.  Why?  Is it not because Christ is able to present us faultless there? Come, Christian, think for a minute how faultless Christ has made you so far as your past sin is concerned.  The moment you believed in him, you were so completely washed in his precious blood that not a spot of sin remained upon you.  Try to realize that, whatever your past life has been, if you now believe in Jesus Christ, you are cleansed from all iniquity by virtue of his atoning sacrifice, and you are covered by a spotless robe of righteousness by virtue of his blessed life of perfect purity and obedience to his Father’s will.  You are now without fault, so far as your past sin is concerned, for he has cast it all into the depths of the sea; but, you feel that you are not without fault as to your nature.

“Oh!” say you, “I feel everything that is evil rising at times within me.”  But all that evil is under sentence of death.  Christ nailed it to his cross.  Crucifixion is a lingering and very painful death, and the culprit struggles ere he breathes his last; but your sins have had their death-blow.  When Christ was nailed to the cross, your sins were nailed there too, and they shall never come down again.  Die they must, even as he died.  It will be a blessed hour when sin shall at last give up the ghost, — when there shall be not even the tendency to sin within our nature.  Then shall we be presented faultless before the throne of God.

“Can that ever be done?” asks one.  Well may you ask that question, brother.  Can it ever be that we shall not be tempted by one foul lust, nor be disturbed by one unbridled passion, nor feel the emotions of envy or of pride again?  Yes, it shall surely be.  Christ has secured this blessing to you.  His name is Jesus, Savior, “for he shall save his people from their sins.”  He must and will do this for all who trust him.  Rejoice that he will do this, for no one but God can do it.  It must be “the only wise God our Savior” who can accomplish this; but accomplish it he will.  Does your faith enable you to picture yourself as standing before the throne of God faultless?  Well then, give to the Lord the glory which is due unto him for such a wondrous act of grace as that.

This is how you are to be presented by Christ, in glory.  There is a great stir in a family when a daughter is to be presented at court, and a great deal is thought of it; but, one day, you and I, who have believed in Jesus, shall be presented to the Father.  What radiant beauty shall we then wear when God himself shall look upon us, and declare us to be without fault; — when there shall be no cause for sorrow remaining, and therefore we shall be presented with exceeding joy!  It shall be so, my brother; it shall be so, my sister; therefore do not doubt it.  How soon it shall be, we cannot tell; possibly, tomorrow. Perhaps, ere the sun rises again, you and I may be presented by Christ “before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”

We cannot tell when it will be, but we shall be there in his good time.  We shall be perfect; we shall be “accepted in the Beloved;” and, therefore, “unto him be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.  Amen.”

III. That is the note with which I have to close my discourse.  LET US, BECAUSE OF THESE TWO GREAT BLESSINGS OF FINAL PRESERVATION AND PRESENTATION BEFORE HIS GLORY, OFFER UNTO THE LORD OUR HIGHEST ASCRIPTIONS OF PRAISE.

Jude says, “Both now and ever.”  Well, we will attend to the “ever” as eternity rolls on; but let us attend to the praise of God “now” — at this moment: “To the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power now.”  Come, brethren and sisters, think of what you owe to him who has kept you to this day, and will not let you go.  Think of where you might have been; and think, I may say, of where you used to be, in your unregenerate state.  Yet you are not there now; but here you are, without self-righteousness, made to differ from your fellowmen, entirely through the grace of God.  You have been kept perhaps twenty years, thirty years, forty years, — possibly, fifty years.  Well, unto him be the glory; give him the glory even now.

How can you do it?  Well, feel it in your hearts; speak of it to your neighbors; talk of it to your children.  Tell everybody you meet what a good and blessed and faithful God he is, and so give him glory now.  And be happy and cheerful; you cannot glorify God better than by a calm, quiet, happy life.  Let the world know that you serve a good Master.  If you are in trouble, do not let anyone see that the trouble touches your spirit; — nay, more, do not let it trouble your spirit.  Rest in God; take evil as well as good from his hand, and keep on praising him.  You do not know how much good you may do, and how greatly you may glorify God, if you praise him in your dark times.  Worldlings do not care much about our psalm-singing unless they see us in pain and sorrow, and observe that we praise God then.  I like, and the world likes, a religion that will wash, — a religion that will stand many shows, and much rough usage.  Some Christians’ joy disappears in the wear and tear of life; it cannot endure the world’s rough handling.

Let it not be so with us, beloved; but let us praise, and bless, and magnify the name of the Lord as long as we have any being.

I know that, in speaking thus, I am only addressing a part of my congregation.  I wish that every man and woman here were now praising the Lord, and I am sure that you could not have a better occupation to all eternity.  Remember that, if you do not praise God, it is impossible for you ever to enter heaven, for that is the chief occupation of heaven; and remember also that praise from your lips, until those lips are divinely cleansed, would be like a jewel in a swine’s snout, a thing altogether out of place.  For you, dear unsaved hearer, the first thing is, not praise, but prayer, — nay, not even prayer first, but faith.  “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;” and then, in faith, pray the prayer which God accepts.  But, thou must first, believe in Jesus.   “And what does believing in Jesus mean?” thou askest.  It means this: thy sin deserves punishment, for God, who is just, must punish sin.  But his Son came into the world to suffer in the stead of those who trust him; and now, God can be Just, and yet the Justifier of every soul that believes in Jesus.  In the person of his Son, God hangs upon a tree, and dies a felon’s death; wilt thou believe in the merit of that death, and in the love of God, who spared not his own Son in order that he might spare us?  Canst thou trust Jesus as thy God and Savior?  Wilt thou do it now?  Then thou art saved.  The first moment of thus trusting God is the beginning of a new life, — a life which will drive out the old death of sin.  The moment that thou dost thus trust thy God, thou wilt be placed upon a new footing with regard to him, thy whole aspect towards God will be changed.  Repentance will take such possession of thy spirit that thou wilt be actuated by new motives, and swayed by new desires; in fact, thou wilt be a new man in Christ Jesus.

This is being saved, — saved from the love of sin, saved from returning to sin, saved from falling, and so completely saved that Christ shall one day present thee “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”

Posted in C. H. Spurgeon |

Reasons Assurance Is Not Attained by J. C. Ryle

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

I come now to the last thing of which I spoke.  I promised to point out to you some probable causes why an assured hope is so seldom attained. I will do it very shortly.

This is a very serious question, and ought to raise in all great searchings of heart.  Few, certainly, of Christ’s people seem to reach up to this blessed spirit of assurance.  Many comparatively believe, but few are persuaded.  Many comparatively have saving faith, but few that glorious confidence which shines forth in the language of St. Paul.  That such is the case, I think we must all allow.

Now, why is this so? —Why is a thing which two Apostles have strongly enjoined us to seek after, a thing of which few believers have any experimental [knowledge by experience] knowledge?  Why is an assured hope so rare?

I desire to offer a few suggestions on this point, with all humility.  I know that many have never attained assurance, at whose feet I would gladly sit both in earth and heaven.  Perhaps the Lord sees something in the natural temperament of some of His children, which makes assurance not good for them.  Perhaps, in order to be kept in spiritual health, they need to be kept very low.  God only knows.  Still, after every allowance, I fear there are many believers without an assured hope, whose case may too often be explained by causes such as these.

1. One most common cause, I suspect, is a defective view of the doctrine of justification.

I am inclined to think that justification and sanctification are insensibly confused together in the minds of many believers.  They receive the Gospel truth, —that there must be something done IN US, as well as something done FOR US, if we are true members of Christ; and so far they are right.  But, then, without being aware of it, perhaps, they seem to imbibe the idea that their justification is, in some degree, affected by something within themselves.  They do not clearly see that Christ’s work, not their own work,—either in whole or in part, either directly or indirectly,—is the alone ground of our acceptance with God; that justification is a thing entirely without us, for which nothing whatever is needful on our part but simple faith,—and that the weakest believer is as fully and completely justified as the strongest.

Many appear to forget that we are saved and justified as sinners, and only sinners; and that we never can attain to anything higher, if we live to the age of Methuselah.  Redeemed sinners, justified sinners, and renewed sinners doubtless we must be, —but sinners, sinners, sinners, always to the very last.  They do not seem to comprehend that there is a wide difference between our justification and our sanctification.  Our justification is a perfect finished work, and admits of no degrees.  Our sanctification is imperfect and incomplete, and will be to the last hour of our life.  They appear to expect that a believer may at some period of his life be in a measure free from corruption, and attain to a kind of inward perfection.  And not finding this angelic state of things in their own hearts, they at once conclude there must be something very wrong in their state.  And so they go mourning all their days, —oppressed with fears that they have no part or lot in Christ, and refusing to be comforted.

Reader, consider this point well.  If any believing soul desires assurance, and has not got it, let him ask himself, first of all, if he is quite sure he is sound in the faith, if his loins are thoroughly “girt about with truth,” and his eyes thoroughly clear in the matter of justification.  He must know what it is simply to believe before he can expect to feel assured.

Believe me, the old Galatian heresy is the most fertile source of error, both in doctrine and in practice.  Seek clearer views of Christ, and what Christ has done for you.  Happy is the man who really understands justification by faith without the deeds of the law.

2. Another common cause of the absence of assurance is, slothfulness about growth in grace.

I suspect many true believers hold dangerous and unscriptural views on this point: I do not of course mean intentionally, but they do hold them.  Many appear to me to think that once converted, they have little more to attend to, and that a state of salvation is a kind of easy chair, in which they may just sit still, lie back, and be happy.  They seem to fancy that grace is given them that they may enjoy it, and they forget that it is given, like a talent, to be used, employed, and improved.  Such persons lose sight of the many direct injunctions “to increase, —to grow, —to abound more and more, —to add to our faith,” and the like; and in this little-doing condition, this sitting-still state of mind, I never marvel that they miss assurance.

I believe it ought to be our continual aim and desire to go forward; and our watchword at the beginning of every year should be, “More and more” (1 Thess. 4:1): more knowledge, —more faith, —more obedience, —more love.  If we have brought forth thirty-fold, we should seek to bring forth sixty, and if we have brought forth sixty, we should strive to bring forth a hundred.  The will of the Lord is our sanctification, and it ought to be our will too.  (Matt. 13:23; 1 Thess. 4:3)

One thing, at all events, we may depend upon, —there is an inseparable connection between diligence and assurance.  “Give diligence,” says Peter, “to make your calling and election sure.”  (2 Peter 1:10)  “We desire,” says Paul, “that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.” (Heb. 6:11)  “The soul of the diligent,” says Solomon, “shall be made fat.” (Prov. 13:4)   There is much truth in the old maxim of the Puritans: “Faith of adherence comes by hearing, but faith of assurance comes not without doing.”

Reader, mark my words.  Are you one of those who desires assurance, but have not got it?  You will never get it without diligence, however much you may desire it.  There are no gains without pains in spiritual things, any more than in temporal.  “The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing.”  (Prov. 13:4)

3. Another common cause of a want of assurance is, an inconsistent walk in life.

With grief and sorrow, I feel constrained to say, I fear nothing in this day more frequently prevents men attaining an assured hope than this.  The stream of professing Christianity is far wider than it formerly was, and I am afraid we must admit, at the same time, it is much less deep.

Inconsistency of life is utterly destructive of peace of conscience.  The two things are incompatible.  They cannot and they will not go together.  If you will have your besetting sins, and cannot make up your minds to give them up; if you will shrink from cutting off the right hand and plucking out the right eye, when occasion requires it, I will engage you will have no assurance.

A vacillating walk, —a backwardness to take a bold and decided line, —a readiness to conform to the world, a hesitating witness for Christ, —a lingering tone of religion,—all these make up a sure receipt for bringing a blight upon the garden of your soul.

It is vain to suppose you will feel assured and persuaded of your own pardon and acceptance with God, unless you count all God’s commandments concerning all things to be right, and hate every sin, whether great or small.  (Psalm 119:128)  One Achan allowed in the camp of your heart will weaken your hands, and lay your consolations low in the dust.  You must be daily sowing to the Spirit, if you are to reap the witness of the Spirit.  You will not find and feel that all the Lord’s ways are ways of pleasantness, unless you labour in all your ways to please the Lord.

I bless God our salvation in no wise depends on our own works.  By grace we are saved, —not by works of righteousness, —through faith, —without the deeds of the law.  But I never would have any believer for a moment forget that our SENSE of salvation depends much on the manner of our living.  Inconsistency will dim your eyes, and bring clouds between you and the sun. The sun is the same behind the clouds, but you will not be able to see its brightness or enjoy its warmth, and your soul will be gloomy and cold.  It is in the path of well doing that the day-spring of assurance will visit you, and shine down upon your heart.

“The secret of the Lord,” says David, “is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” (Psalm 25:4)

“To him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50:23)

“Great peace have they which love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” (Psalm 119:165)

“If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” (1 John 1:7)

“Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” (1 John 3:18, 19.)

“Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John ii. 3.)

Paul was a man who exercised himself to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man. (Acts 24:16)  He could say with boldness, “I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith.”  I do not wonder that the Lord enabled him to add with confidence, “Henceforth there is a crown laid up for me, and the Lord shall give it me at that day.”

Reader, if any believer in the Lord Jesus desires assurance, and has not got it, let him think over this point also.  Let him look at his own heart, look at his own conscience, look at his own life, look at his own ways, look at his own home.  And perhaps when he has done that, he will be able to say, “There is a cause why I have no assured hope.”

I leave the three matters I have just mentioned to your own private consideration.  I am sure they are worth examining.  May you examine them honestly.   And may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

1.  And now, in closing this important inquiry, let me speak first to those readers who have not given themselves to the Lord, who have not yet come out from the world, chosen the good part, and followed Christ.

I ask you, then, to learn from this subject the privileges and comforts of a true Christian.

I would not have you judge of the Lord Jesus Christ by His people.  The best of servants can give you but a faint idea of that glorious Master.  Neither would I have you judge of the privileges of His kingdom by the measure of comfort to which many of His people attain.  Alas, we are most of us poor creatures!  We come short, very short, of the blessedness we might enjoy.  But, depend upon it, there are glorious things in the city of our God, which they who have an assured hope taste, even in their life-time.  There are lengths and breadths of peace and consolation there, which it has not entered into your heart to conceive.  There is bread enough and to spare in our Father’s house, though many of us certainly eat but little of it, and continue weak.  But the fault must not be laid to our Master’s charge: it is all our own.

And, after all, the weakest child of God has a mine of comforts within him, of which you know nothing.  You see the conflicts and tossings of the surface of his heart, but you see not the pearls of great price which are hidden in the depths below.  The feeblest member of Christ would not change conditions with you.  The believer who possesses the least assurance is far better off than you are.  He has a hope, however faint, but you have none at all.  He has a portion that will never be taken from him, a Saviour that will never forsake him, a treasure that fadeth not away, however little he may realize it all at present.  But, as for you, if you die as you are, your expectations will all perish.  Oh, that you were wise!  Oh, that you understood these things!  Oh, that you would consider your latter end!

I feel deeply for you in these latter days of the world, if I ever did.  I feel deeply for those whose treasure is all on earth, and whose hopes are all on this side the grave.  Yes: when I see old kingdoms and dynasties shaking to the very foundation, —when I see, as we all saw a few years ago, kings, and princes, and rich men, and great men fleeing for their lives, and scarce knowing where to hide their heads, —when I see property dependent on public confidence melting like snow in spring, and public stocks and funds losing their value, —when I see these things I feel deeply for those who have no better portion than this world can give them, and no place in that kingdom that cannot be removed.

Take advice of a minister of Christ this very day.  Seek durable riches, —a treasure that cannot be taken from you, —a city which hath lasting foundations.  Do as the Apostle Paul did.  Give yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and seek that incorruptible crown He is ready to bestow.  Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him.  Come away from a world which will never really satisfy you, and from sin which will bite like a serpent if you cling to it, at last.  Come to the Lord Jesus as lowly sinners, and He will receive you, pardon you, give you His renewing Spirit, fill you with peace.  This shall give you more real comfort than the world has ever done.  There is a gulf in your heart which nothing but the peace of Christ can fill.  Enter in and share our privileges.  Come with us, and sit down by our side.

2. Lastly, let me turn to all believers who read these pages, and speak to them a few words of brotherly counsel.

The main thing that I urge upon you is this, —if you have not got an assured hope of your own acceptance in Christ, resolve this day to seek it. Labour for it.  Strive after it.  Pray for it.  Give the Lord no rest till you “know whom you have believed.”

I feel, indeed, that the small amount of assurance in this day, among those who are reckoned God’s children, is a shame and a reproach.  “It is a thing to be heavily bewailed,” says old Traill, “that many Christians have lived twenty or forty years since Christ called them by His grace, yet doubting in their life.”  Let us call to mind the earnest “desire” Paul expresses, that “every one” of the Hebrews should seek after full assurance and let us endeavour, by God’s blessing, to roll this reproach away.  (Heb. 6:11)

Believing reader, do you really mean to say that you have no desire to exchange hope for confidence, trust for persuasion, uncertainty for knowledge?  Because weak faith will save you, will you therefore rest content with it?  Because assurance is not essential to your entrance into heaven, will you therefore be satisfied without it upon earth?  Alas, this is not a healthy state of soul to be in; this is not the mind of the Apostolic day!  Arise at once, and go forward.  Stick not at the foundations of religion: go on to perfection.  Be not content with a day of small things.  Never despise it in others, but never be content with it yourselves.

Believe me, believe me, assurance is worth the seeking.  You forsake your own mercies when you rest content without it.  The things I speak are for your peace.  If it is good to be sure in earthly things, how much better is it to be sure in heavenly things.  Your salvation is a fixed and certain thing.  God knows it.  Why should not you seek to know it too?  There is nothing unscriptural in this.  Paul never saw the book of life, and yet Paul says, “I know, and am persuaded.”

Make it, then, your daily prayer that you may have an increase of faith.  According to your faith will be your peace.  Cultivate that blessed root more, and sooner or later, by God’s blessing, you may hope to have the flower, You may not, perhaps, attain to full assurance all at once.  It is good sometimes to be kept waiting.  We do not value things which we get without trouble.  But though it tarry, wait for it.  Seek on, and expect to find.

There is one thing, however, of which I would not have you ignorant: —You must not be surprised if you have occasional doubts after you have got assurance.  You must not forget you are on earth, and not yet in heaven.  You are still in the body, and have indwelling sin: the flesh will lust against the spirit to the very end.  The leprosy will never be out of the walls of the old house till death takes it down.  And there is a devil, too, and a strong devil: a devil who tempted the Lord Jesus, and gave Peter a fall; and he will take care you know it.  Some doubts there always will be.  He that never doubts has nothing to lose.  He that never fears possesses nothing truly valuable.  He that is never jealous knows little of deep love.  But be not discouraged: you shall be more than conquerors through Him that loved you.

Finally, do not forget that assurance is a thing that may be lost for a season, even by the brightest Christians, unless they take care.

Assurance is a most delicate plant.  It needs daily, hourly watching, watering, tending, cherishing.  So watch and pray the more when you have got it.  As Rutherford says, “Make much of assurance.”  Be always upon your guard.  When Christian slept, in Pilgrim’s Progress, he lost his certificate.  Keep that in mind.

David lost assurance for many months by falling into transgression.  Peter lost it when he denied his Lord.  Each found it again, undoubtedly, but not till after bitter tears.  Spiritual darkness comes on horseback, and goes away on foot.  It is upon us before we know that it is coming.  It leaves us slowly, gradually, and not till after many days.  It is easy to run down hill.  It is hard work to climb up.  So remember my caution, —when you have the joy of the Lord, watch and pray.

Above all, grieve not the Spirit.  Quench not the Spirit.  Vex not the Spirit.  Drive Him not to a distance, by tampering with small bad habits and little sins.  Little jarrings between husbands and wives make unhappy homes, and petty inconsistencies, known and allowed, will bring in a strangeness between you and the Spirit.

Hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

The man who walks with God in Christ most closely will generally be kept in the greatest peace.

The believer who follows the Lord most fully will ordinarily enjoy the most assured hope, and have the clearest persuasion of his own salvation.

Posted in J. C. Ryle |

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