Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Conviction of Sin by William Gurnall

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

The State of the Soul

When the Spirit begins His work of grace in the soul of man, he finds the creature ins such a state as it neither can nor will contribute to the least help in the work of salvation. As the prince of this world, when he came to tempt Christ, “found nothing in him” to befriend and further his tempting design, so, when the Spirit of Christ comes, he finds little encouragement from the sinner. No party within the castle of the soul to side with him when He comes first to set down before it and to lay siege to it, but all the powers of the whole man in arms against Him! Never was there any garrison more resolved to stand out against both the treaties and batteries of an assailing enemy, than the carnal heart is against the means that God uses to reduce it to obedience.

The Convicting Work of the Spirit

Now the Spirit’s address is suited to the several faculties of the soul, the principal of which are these three—understanding, conscience, and will. These are like three forts, one within the other, which must all be reduced before the town is taken—the sinner, I mean, subdued to the obedience of faith.

  1. The Spirit makes his approach to the understanding, and on it, he puts forth an act of illumination. The Spirit will not work in a dark shop; the first thing he does, in order to faith, is to beat out a window in the soul and let some light from heaven into it. Hence believers are said to be “renewed in the spirit of their minds” (Ephesians 4:23). By nature, we know little of God and nothing of Christ or the way of salvation by him. The eye of the creature therefore must be opened to see the way of life before he can by faith get into it.
  2. Then the Spirit makes his address to the conscience, and the act that passes upon it is an act of conviction. Now this conviction is nothing but a reflection of the light that is in the understanding upon the conscience, whereby the creature feels the weight and force of the truths he knows so as to be brought into a deep sense of them. Most under the gospel know that unbelief is a damning sin, and that there is “no name” to be saved by but the name of Christ. Yet how few of those know this convincingly, so as to apply it to their own consciences and to be affected with their own deplored state.
  3. The Spirit puts forth an act of renovation, whereby he does sweetly, but powerfully, incline the will which before was rebellious and refractory, to accept Christ and make a free and deliberate choice of him for his Lord and Savior. I say a “deliberate” choice, wherein the soul well weighs the terms Christ is offered on and, when it has considered all seriously, likes them and closes with them.

Evidences of this Convicting Work

  1. A sinner truly convinced is not only convinced of this sin or that sin, but of the evil of all sin. A parboiled conscience is not right, soft in one part and hard in another. The Spirit of God is uniform in its work.
  2. The convinced sinner is not only convinced of acts of sin, but of the whole state of sin also. He is not only affected by what he has done—this law broken, and that mercy abused by him—but with what his state and condition is. Many will confess they do not think by any means so ill of themselves that their state is a state of sin and death. Whereas the convinced soul freely puts himself under this sentence of death, owns his condition, and dissembles not his pedigree.
  3. The convinced sinner does not only condemn himself for what he has done and is, but he despairs of himself as to anything he can do to save himself. Many, though they go so far as to confess they are vile wretches, and have lived wickedly, and for this deserve to die; yet when they have put a rope about their neck by a self-condemning act, they are so far from being convinced of their own impotency that they hope to cut the rope with their repentance, reformation, and a bundle of good works which they think shall redeem their credit with God and recover his favor. And this comes to pass because the plow of conviction did not go deep enough to tear up those secret roots of self-confidence with which the heart of every sinner is woefully tainted.
  4. The convicted sinner is not only convinced of sin, so as to condemn himself and despair himself, but he is convinced of a full provision laid up in Christ for self-condemned and self-despairing ones. Without this, the soul convinced of sin is more likely to go to the gallows with Judas, or to fall on the sword of the law than to think of coming to Christ.

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 William Gurnall |

The Spirit Convicting by A. W. Pink

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

In the preceding article we sought to point out something of the real and radical difference which exists between that conviction of sin which many of the unregenerate experience under the common operations of the Spirit, and that conviction of sin which follows His work of quickening and enlightening the hearts of God’s elect. We pointed out that in the case of the latter, the conscience is occupied more with sin itself, than with its punishment; with the real nature of sin, as rebellion against God; with its exceeding sinfulness, as enmity against God; with the multitude of sins, every action being polluted: with the character and claims of God, as showing the awful despair there is between Him and us. Where the soul has not only been made to perceive, but also to feel—to have a heart horror and anguish over the same—there is good reason to believe that the work of Divine grace has been begun in the soul.

Many other contrasts may be given between that conviction which issues from the common operations of the Spirit in the unregenerate and His special work in the regenerate. The convictions of the former are generally light and uncertain, and of short duration, they are sudden frights which soon subside; whereas those of the latter are deep, pungent, and lasting, being repeated more or less frequently throughout life. The former work is more upon the emotions; the latter upon the judgment. The former diminishes in its clarity and efficacy; the latter grows in its intensity and power. The former arises from a consideration of God’s justice; the latter are more intense when the heart is occupied with God’s goodness. The former springs from a horrified sense of God’s power; the latter issues from a reverent view of His holiness.

Unregenerate souls regard eternal punishment as the greatest evil, but the regenerate look upon sin as the worst thing there is. The former groan under conscience’s presages of damnation; the latter mourn from a sense of their lack of holiness. The greatest longing of the one is to be assured of escape from the wrath to come; the supreme desire of the other is to be delivered from the burden of sin and conformed to the image of Christ. The former, while he may be convicted of many sins, still cherishes the conceit that he has some good points; the latter is painfully conscious that in his flesh there dwells no good thing, and that his best performances are defiled. The former greedily snatches at comfort, for assurance and peace are now regarded as the highest good; the latter fears that he has sinned beyond the hope of forgiveness, and is slow to believe the glad tidings of God’s grace. The convictions of the former harden, those of the latter melt and lead to submission. (condensed from Charnock.)

The great instrument which the Holy Spirit uses in this special work of conviction is the law, for that is the one rule which God has given whereby we are to judge of the moral good or evil of actions, and conviction is nothing more or less than the formal impression of sin by the law upon the conscience. Clear proof of this is found in the passages that follow. “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20): it is the design of all laws to impress the understanding with what is to be done, and consequently with man’s deviation from them, and so absolutely necessary is the law for this discernment, the Apostle Paul declared, “I had not known sin, but by the law” (Rom. 7:7)—its real nature, as opposition to God; its inveterate emnity, against Him; its unsuspected lustings within. “The law entered, that the offence (sin) might abound” (Rom. 5:20): by deepening and widening conviction upon the conscience.

Now it is that God holds court in the human conscience and a reckoning is required of the sinner. God will no longer be trifled with, and sin can no longer be scoffed at. Thus a solemn trial begins: the law condemns. And the conscience is obliged to acknowledge its guilt. God appears as holy and just and good, but as awfully insulted, and with a dark frown upon His brow. The sinner is made to feel how dreadfully he has sinned against both the justice and goodness of God, and that his evil ways will no longer be tolerated. If the sinner was never solemn before, he is solemn now: fear and dismal, fills his soul, death and destruction seem his inevitable and certain doom. Even the Lord Almighty Himself appears in the court of conscience to vindicate His honor, the poor criminal trembles, sighs for mercy, but fears that pardoning mercy cannot justly be granted such a wretch.

Now it is that the Holy Spirit brings to light the hidden things of darkness. The whole past life is made to pass in review before the convicted soul. Now it is he is made to realize that “the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Secret things are uncovered, forgotten deeds are recalled; sins of the eyes and sins of the lips, sins against God and sins against man, sins of commission and sins of omission, sins of ignorance and sins against light, are brought before the startled gaze of the enlightened understanding. Sin is now seen in all its excuselessness, filthiness, heinousness, and the soul is overwhelmed with horror and terror.

Whatever step the sinner now takes, all things appear to be against him: his guilt abounds, and his soul tremblingly sinks under it; until he feels obliged, in the presence of a heart-searching God, to sign his own death-warrant, or in other words, freely acknowledge that his condemnation is just. This is one of “the solemnities of Zion” (Isa. 33:20). As to whether this conviction is experienced at the beginning of the Christian life (which is often though not always the case), or at a later stage; as to how long the sinner remains under the spirit of bondage (Rom.. 8:15); as to what extent he feels his wretchedness and ruin, or how deeply he sinks into the mire of despair, varies in different cases. God is absolute sovereign, and here too He acts as He sees good. But to this point every quickened soul is brought: to see the spirituality of God’s Law, to hear its condemning sentence, to feel his case is hopeless so far as all self-help is concerned.

Here is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 30:6, “The LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart.” The blessed Spirit uses the sharp knife of the Law, pierces the conscience, and convicts of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. By this Divine operation the hardness of the heart is removed, and the iniquity of it laid open, the plague and corruption of it discovered, and all is made naked to the soul’s view. The sinner is now exceedingly pained over his rebellions against God, is broken down before Him and is filled with shame, and loathes and abhors himself. “Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do l see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it” (Jer. 30:6, 7)—such is, sooner or later, the experience of all God’s people.

Of ourselves we could never be truly convicted of our wretched state, for “the heart is deceitful above all things,” and God alone can search it (Jeremiah 17:9). 0 the amazing grace of the Holy Spirit that He should rake into such foul and filthy hearts, amid the dunghill of putrid lusts, of enmity against God, of wickedness unspeakable! What a loathsome work it must be for the Holy Spirit to perform! If God the Son humbled Himself to enter the virgin’s womb and be born in Bethlehem’s manger, does not God the Spirit humble Himself to enter our depraved hearts and stir up their vile contents in order that we may be made conscious thereof! And if praise is due unto the One for the immeasurable humiliation which He endured on our behalf, is not distinctive praise equally due unto the Other for His amazing condescension in undertaking to convict us of sin! Thanksgiving, honor and glory forever be ascribed unto Him who operates as “the Spirit of judgment” and “the Spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4).

Excerpted and edited from Studies in Scriptures, October 1934.

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 A. W. Pink |

Pardon for the Greatest of Sinners by Jonathan Edwards

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

“For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.” Psalm 25:11

It is evident by some passages in this psalm, that when it was penned, it was a time of affliction and danger with David. This appears particularly by the 15th and following verses: “Mine eyes are ever towards the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net,” etc. His distress makes him think of his sins, and leads him to confess them, and to cry to God for pardon, as is suitable in a time of affliction. See verse 7—”Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;” and verse 18—”Look upon mine affliction, and my pain, and forgive all my sins.”

Observe what arguments he makes use of in pleading for pardon.

  1. He pleads for pardon for God’s name’s sake.

    2. He has no expectation of pardon for the sake of any righteousness or worthiness of his for any good deeds he had done, or any compensation he had made for his sins; though if man’s righteousness could be a just plea, David would have had as much to plead as most. But he begs that God would do it for his own name’s sake, for his own glory, for the glory of his own free grace, and for the honor of his own covenant-faithfulness.

  2. He pleads the greatness of his sins as an argument for mercy.

He not only doth not plead his own righteousness, or the smallness of his sins. He not only doth not say, Pardon mine iniquity, for I have done much good to counterbalance it; or, Pardon mine iniquity, for it is small, and thou hast no great reason to be angry with me; mine iniquity is not so great, that thou hast any just cause to remember it against me; mine offence is not such but that thou mayest well enough overlook it. But on the contrary he says, Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great; he pleads the greatness of his sin, and not the smallness of it; he enforces his prayer with this consideration, that his sins are very heinous.

But how could he make this a plea for pardon? I answer, Because the greater his iniquity was, the more need he had of pardon. It is as much as if he had said, Pardon mine iniquity, for it is so great that I cannot bear the punishment; my sin is so great that I am in necessity of pardon; my case will be exceedingly miserable, unless thou be pleased to pardon me. He makes use of the greatness of his sin, to enforce his plea for pardon, as a man would make use of the greatness of calamity in begging for relief. When a beggar begs for bread, he will plead the greatness of his poverty and necessity. When a man in distress cries for pity, what more suitable plea can be urged than the extremity of his case?—And God allows such a plea as this: for he is moved to mercy towards us by nothing in us but the miserableness of our case. He doth not pity sinners because they are worthy, but because they need his pity.

DOCTRINE

If we truly come to God for mercy, the greatness of our sin will be no impediment to pardon—If it were an impediment, David would never have used it as a plea for pardon, as we find he does in the text.

The following things are needful in order that we truly come to God for mercy:

I. That we should see our misery, and be sensible of our need of mercy. They who are not sensible of their misery cannot truly look to God for mercy; for it is the very notion of divine mercy, that it is the goodness and grace of God to the miserable. Without misery in the object, there can be no exercise of mercy. To suppose mercy without supposing misery, or pity without calamity, is a contradiction. Therefore men cannot look upon themselves as proper objects of mercy, unless they first know themselves to be miserable; and so, unless this be the case, it is impossible that they should come to God for mercy.

They must be sensible that they are the children of wrath; that the law is against them, and that they are exposed to the curse of it: that the wrath of God abides on them; and that he is angry with them every day while they are under the guilt of sin —They must be sensible that it is a very dreadful thing to be the object of the wrath of God; that it is a very awful thing to have him for their enemy; and that they cannot bear his wrath. They must he sensible that the guilt of sin makes them miserable creatures, whatever temporal enjoyments they have; that they can be no other than miserable, undone creatures, so long as God is angry with them; that they are without strength, and must perish, and that eternally, unless God help them. They must see that their case is utterly desperate, for any thing that anyone else can do for them; that they hang over the pit of eternal misery; and that they must necessarily drop into it, if God have not mercy on them.

II. They must be sensible that they are not worthy that God should have mercy on them.

They who truly come to God for mercy, come as beggars, and not as creditors: they come for mere mercy, for sovereign grace, and not for any thing that is due. Therefore, they must see that the misery under which they lie is justly brought upon them, and that the wrath to which they are exposed is justly threatened against them; and that they have deserved that God should be their enemy, and should continue to be their enemy. They must be sensible that it would be just with God to do as he has threatened in his holy law, viz. make them the objects of his wrath and curse in hell to all eternity. They who come to God for mercy in a right manner are not disposed to find fault with his severity; but they come in a sense of their own utter unworthiness, as with ropes about their necks, and lying in the dust at the foot of mercy.

III. They must come to God for mercy in and through Jesus Christ alone.

All their hope of mercy must be from the consideration of what he is, what he has done, and what he has suffered; and that there is no other name given under heaven, among men, whereby we can be saved, but that of Christ; that he is the Son of God, and the Savior of the world; that his blood cleanses from all sin, and that he is so worthy, that all sinners who are in him may well be pardoned and accepted. It is impossible that any should come to God for mercy, and at the same time have no hope of mercy. Their coming to God for it, implies that they have some hope of obtaining, otherwise they would not think it worth the while to come. But they that come in a right manner have all their hope through Christ, or from the consideration of his redemption, and the sufficiency of it. If persons thus come to God for mercy, the greatness of their sins will be no impediment to pardon. Let their sins be ever so many, and great, and aggravated, it will not make God in the least degree more backward to pardon them.

This may be made evident by the following considerations:

1. The mercy of God is as sufficient for the pardon of the greatest sins, as for the least; and that because his mercy is infinite. That which is infinite, is as much above what is great, as it is above what is small. Thus God being infinitely great, he is as much above kings as he is above beggars; he is as much above the highest angel, as he is above the meanest worm. One finite measure doth not come any nearer to the extent of what is infinite than another. So the mercy of God, being infinite, must be as sufficient for the pardon of all sin, as of one. If one of the least sins is not beyond the mercy of God, so neither are the greatest, or ten thousand of them. However, it must be acknowledged, that this alone doth not prove the doctrine. For though the mercy of God may be as sufficient for the pardon of great sins as others; yet there may be other obstacles, besides the want of mercy. The mercy of God may be sufficient, and yet the other attributes may oppose the dispensation of mercy in these cases. Therefore I observe,

2. That the satisfaction of Christ is as sufficient for the removal of the greatest guilt, as the least—1 John 1:7: “The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin;” and Acts 13:39: “By him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” All the sins of those who truly come to God for mercy, let them be what they will, are satisfied for, if God be true who tells us so; and if they be satisfied for, surely it is not incredible, that God should be ready to pardon them. So that Christ having fully satisfied for all sin, or having wrought out a satisfaction that is sufficient for all, it is now no way inconsistent with the glory of the divine attributes to pardon the greatest sins of those who in a right manner come unto him for it.

God may now pardon the greatest sinners without any prejudice to the honor of his holiness. The holiness of God will not suffer him to give the least countenance to sin, but inclines him to give proper testimonies of his hatred of it. But Christ having satisfied for sin, God can now love the sinner, and give no countenance at all to sin, however great a sinner he may have been. It was a sufficient testimony of God’s abhorrence of sin that he poured out his wrath on his own dear Son, when he took the guilt of it upon himself. Nothing can more show God’s abhorrence of sin than this. If all mankind had been eternally damned, it would not have been so great a testimony of it.

God may, through Christ, pardon the greatest sinner without any prejudice to the honor of his majesty. The honor of the divine majesty indeed requires satisfaction; but the sufferings of Christ fully repair the injury. Let the contempt be ever so great, yet if so honorable a person as Christ undertakes to be a Mediator for the offender, and suffers so much for him, it fully repairs the injury done to the Majesty of heaven and earth. The sufferings of Christ fully satisfy justice. The justice of God, as the supreme Governor and Judge of the world, requires the punishment of sin. The supreme Judge must judge the world according to a rule of justice.

God doth not show mercy as a judge, but as a sovereign; therefore his exercise of mercy as a sovereign, and his justice as a judge, must be made consistent one with another; and this is done by the sufferings of Christ, in which sin is punished fully, and justice answered. Romans 3:25, 26: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” The law is no impediment in the way of the pardon of the greatest sin, if men do but truly come to God for mercy: for Christ hath fulfilled the law, he hath borne the curse of it, in his sufferings—Galatians 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

3. Christ will not refuse to save the greatest sinners, who in a right manner come to God for mercy; for this is his work. It is his business to be a Savior of sinners; it is the work upon which he came into the world; and therefore he will not object to it. He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Matthew 9:13. Sin is the very evil which he came into the world to remedy: therefore he will not object to any man that he is very sinful. The more sinful he is, the more need of Christ. The sinfulness of man was the reason of Christ’s coming into the world; this is the very misery from which he came to deliver men. The more they have of it, the more need they have of being delivered; “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick,” Matthew 9:12. The physician will not make it an objection against healing a man who applies to him that he stands in great need of his help. If a physician of compassion comes among the sick and wounded, surely he will not refuse to heal those that stand in most need of healing, if he be able to heal them.

4. Herein doth the glory of grace by the redemption of Christ much consist, viz. in its sufficiency for the pardon of the greatest sinners. The whole contrivance of the way of salvation is for this end, to glorify the free grace of God. God had it on his heart from all eternity to glorify this attribute; and therefore it is, that the device of saving sinners by Christ was conceived. The greatness of divine grace appears very much in this, that God by Christ saves the greatest offenders. The greater the guilt of any sinner is, the more glorious and wonderful is the grace manifested in his pardon—Romans 5:20: “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The apostle, when telling how great a sinner he had been, takes notice of the abounding of grace in his pardon, of which his great guilt was the occasion—1 Tim. 1:13: “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy; and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”

The Redeemer is glorified, in that he proves sufficient to redeem those who are exceeding sinful, in that his blood proves sufficient to wash away the greatest guilt, in that he is able to save men to the uttermost, and in that he redeems even from the greatest misery. It is the honor of Christ to save the greatest sinners, when they come to him, as it is the honor of a physician that he cures the most desperate diseases or wounds. Therefore, no doubt, Christ will be willing to save the greatest sinners, if they come to him; for he will not be backward to glorify himself, and to commend the value and virtue of his own blood. Seeing he hath so laid out himself to redeem sinners, he will not be unwilling to show, that he is able to redeem to the uttermost.

5. Pardon is as much offered and promised to the greatest sinners as any, if they will come aright to God for mercy. The invitations of the gospel are always in universal terms: as, “Ho, every one that thirsteth; Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden; and, Whosoever will, let him come.” And the voice of Wisdom is to men in general—Proverbs 8:4: “Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.” Not to moral men, or religious men, but to you, O men. So Christ promises, John 6:37: “He that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” This is the direction of Christ to his apostles, after his resurrection—Mark 16:15, 16: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature: he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved.” Which is agreeable to what the apostle saith, that “the gospel was preached to every creature which is under heaven,” Col. 1:23.

APPLICATION

The proper use of this subject is, to encourage sinners whose consciences are burdened with a sense of guilt, immediately to go to God through Christ for mercy. If you go in the manner we have described, the arms of mercy are open to embrace you. You need not be at all the more fearful of coming because of your sins, let them be ever so black. If you had as much guilt lying on each of your souls as all the wicked men in the world, and all the damned souls in hell; yet if you come to God for mercy, sensible of your own vileness, and seeking pardon only through the free mercy of God in Christ, you would not need to be afraid; the greatness of your sins would be no impediment to your pardon. Therefore, if your souls be burdened, and you are distressed for fear of hell, you need not bear that burden and distress any longer. If you are but willing, you may freely come and unload yourselves, and cast all your burdens on Christ, and rest in him.

But here I shall speak to some OBJECTIONS which some awakened sinners may be ready to make against what I now exhort them to.

I. Some may be ready to object, I have spent my youth and all the best of my life in sin, and I am afraid God will not accept of me, when I offer him only mine old age. To this I would answer, Hath God said anywhere, that he will not accept of old sinners who come to him? God hath often made offers and promises in universal terms; and is there any such exception put in? Doth Christ say, All that thirst, let them come to me and drink, except old sinners? Come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, except old sinners and I will give you rest? He that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out, if he be not an old sinner? Did you ever read any such exception anywhere in the Bible? And why should you give way to exceptions which you make out of your own heads, or rather which the devil puts into your heads, and which have no foundation in the word of God? Indeed it is more rare that old sinners are willing to come, than others; but if they do come, they are as readily accepted as any whatever.

2. When God accepts of young persons, it is not for the sake of the service which they are like to do him afterwards, or because youth is better worth accepting than old age. You seem entirely to mistake the matter, in thinking that God will not accept of you because you are old; as though he readily accepted of persons in their youth, because their youth is better worth his acceptance. It is only for the sake of Jesus Christ, that God is willing to accept of any.

You say, your life is almost spent, and you are afraid that the best time for serving God is past; and that therefore God will not now accept of you; as if it were for the sake of the service which persons are like to do him, after they are converted, that he accepts of them. But a self-righteous spirit is at the bottom of such objections. Men cannot get off from the notion, that it is for some goodness or service of their own, either done or expected to be done, that God accepts of persons, and receives them into favor. Indeed they who deny God their youth, the best part of their lives, and spend it in the service of Satan, dreadfully sin and provoke God; and he very often leaves them to hardness of heart when they are grown old. But if they are willing to accept of Christ when old, he is as ready to receive them as any others; for in that matter God hath respect only to Christ and his worthiness.

II. But, says one, I fear I have committed sins that are peculiar to reprobates. I have sinned against light, and strong convictions of conscience; I have sinned presumptuously; and have so resisted the strivings of the Spirit of God, that I am afraid I have committed such sins as none of God’s elect ever commit. I cannot think that God will ever leave one whom he intends to save, to go on and commit sins against so much light and conviction, and with such horrid presumption. Others may say, I have had risings of heart against God; blasphemous thoughts, a spiteful and malicious spirit; and have abused mercy and the strivings of the Spirit, trampled upon the Savior, and my sins are such as are peculiar to those who are reprobated to eternal damnation. To all this I would answer,

1. There is no sin peculiar to reprobates but the sin against the Holy Ghost. Do you read of any other in the word of God? And if you do not read of any there, what ground have you to think any such thing? What other rule have we, by which to judge of such matters, but the divine word? If we venture to go beyond that, we shall be miserably in the dark. When we pretend to go further in our determinations than the word of God, Satan takes us up, and leads us. It seems to you that such sins are peculiar to the reprobate and such as God never forgives. But what reason can you give for it, if you have no word of God to reveal it? Is it because you cannot see how the mercy of God is sufficient to pardon, or the blood of Christ to cleanse from such presumptuous sins? If so, it is because you never yet saw how great the mercy of God is; you never saw the sufficiency of the blood of Christ, and you know not how far the virtue of it extends. Some elect persons have been guilty of all manner of sins, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; and unless you have been guilty of this, you have not been guilty of any that are peculiar to reprobates.

2. Men may be less likely to believe, for sins which they have committed, and not the less readily pardoned when they do believe. It must be acknowledged that some sinners are in more danger of hell than others. Though all are in great danger, some are less likely to be saved. Some are less likely ever to be converted and to come to Christ: but all who do come to him are alike readily accepted; and there is as much encouragement for one man to come to Christ as another. Such sins as you mention are indeed exceeding heinous and provoking to God, and do in an especial manner bring the soul into danger of damnation, and into danger of being given to final hardness of heart; and God more commonly gives men up to the judgment of final hardness for such sins, than for others. Yet they are not peculiar to reprobates; there is but one sin that is so, viz. that against the Holy Ghost. And notwithstanding the sins which you have committed, if you can find it in your hearts to come to Christ, and close with him, you will be accepted not at all the less readily because you have committed such sins.

Though God doth more rarely cause some sorts of sinners to come to Christ than others, it is not because his mercy or the redemption of Christ is not as sufficient for them as others, but because in wisdom he sees fit so to dispense his grace, for a restraint upon the wickedness of men; and because it is his will to give converting grace in the use of means, among which this is one, viz. to lead a moral and religious life, and agreeable to our light, and the convictions of our consciences. But when once any sinner is willing to come to Christ, mercy is as ready for him as for any. There is no consideration at all had of his sins; let him have been ever so sinful, his sins are not remembered; God doth not upbraid him with them.

III. But had I not better stay till I shall have made myself better, before I presume to come to Christ. I have been, and see myself to be very wicked now; but am in hopes of mending myself, and rendering myself at least not so wicked: then I shall have more courage to come to God for mercy. In answer to this,

1. Consider how unreasonably you act. You are striving to set up yourselves for your own saviors; you are striving to get something of your own, on the account of which you may the more readily be accepted. So that by this it appears that you do not seek to be accepted only on Christ’s account. And is not this to rob Christ of the glory of being your only Savior? Yet this is the way in which you are hoping to make Christ willing to save you.

2. You can never come to Christ at all, unless you first see that he will not accept of you the more readily for any thing that you can do. You must first see, that it is utterly in vain for you to try to make yourselves better on any such account. You must see that you can never make yourselves any more worthy, or less unworthy, by any thing which you can perform.

3. If ever you truly come to Christ, you must see that there is enough in him for your pardon, though you be no better than you are. If you see not the sufficiency of Christ to pardon you, without any righteousness of your own to recommend you, you never will come so as to be accepted of him. The way to be accepted is to come—not on any such encouragement, that now you have made yourselves better, and more worthy, or not so unworthy, but—on the mere encouragement of Christ’s worthiness, and God’s mercy.

4. If ever you truly come to Christ, you must come to him to make you better. You must come as a patient comes to his physician, with his diseases or wounds to be cured. Spread all your wickedness before him, and do not plead your goodness; but plead your badness, and your necessity on that account: and say, as the psalmist in the text, not Pardon mine iniquity, for it is not so great as it was, but, “Pardon mine iniquity, for it is Great.”

From The Works of Jonathan Edwards, II: 110-113.

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 Jonathan Edwards |

Objects of His Choice Mercy by Stephen Charnock

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

Why God chooses the greatest sinners to be objects of His greatest mercy.

His Mercy Is Magnified in Such Choices

There is a disposition in the greatest sinners, more than in moral or superstitious men, to see their need: because they have not any self-righteousness to boast of. Man’s blameless outward carriage and freedom from the common sins of the times and places wherein they live, many times proves a snare of death to them, and makes them more cold and faint towards Christ: because they possess themselves with imaginations that Christ cannot but look upon them, though they never so much as set their faces toward him. And because they are not drenched in such villainies as others are, their consciences sit quiet under this moral carriage, and gall them not by any self-reflections. Therefore when the threatenings of the law are denounced against such sins, these men wipe their mouths, and bless God with the Pharisee, that they are not sinners of such a scarlet dye, and that they do such and such duties, and so go on without seeing a necessity of the new birth. By this means the strength of sin is more compacted and condensed in them.

Self-Righteousness and Morality May Keep A Man from Christ.

Superstitious and formal men are hardly seduced to their right wits: partly because of a defect in reason from whence, those extravagances arise, and partly because of these false habits and spirit of error possessing their faculties, they are incapable of more noble impressions. Besides, they are more tenacious of the opinions they have sucked in, which have command over their souls. Such misguided zeal fortifies men against proposals of grace, and fastens them in a more obstinate inflexibleness to any converting motions. This self-righteous temper is like an external heat in the body, which produces a persistent fever, and is not easily perceived till it be incurable. And naturally it is a harder matter to part with self-righteousness than to part with gross sins; for that is more deeply rooted upon the stock of self-love, a principle which departs not from us without our very nature. It has more arguments to plead for it; it has a natural conscience, as a patron for it. Whereas a great sinner stands speechless at reproofs, an outward law-keeper has the strong reinforcement of natural conscience within his own breast. It was not the gross sins of the Jews against the light of nature, [but] the idol of their own righteousness that was the block to hinder them from submitting to the righteousness of God (Romans 10:8).

Christ came to his own, and his own received him not (John 1:11). Those who seem to their heads in heaven by some kind of resemblance to God in moral righteousness, being undefiled with the common pollutions of the world—these received him not. Thus even publicans and harlots started ahead of them, and ran before them, to catch hold of the offers of grace. “Publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you” (Matthew 21:31). Just as travellers that have loitered away their time in an alehouse, being sensible how the darkness of the night creeps upon them, spur on, and outstrip those that were many miles on their way, and get to their stage before them. So these publicans and harlots which were at a great distance from heaven, arrived there before those who, like the young man [the rich young ruler], were not far off from it.

Great Sinners Are Most Easily Convinced of Their Need.

Great sinners are most easily convinced of the notorious wickedness of their lives. And reflecting upon themselves because of their horrid crimes against the light of nature, are more inclinable to endeavour an escape from the devil’s slavery, and are frightened and shaken by their consciences into a compliance with the doctrine of redemption. Whereas those that do by nature the things contained in the law, are so much a law to themselves, that it is difficult to persuade them of the necessity of conforming to another law, and to part with this self-law in regard to justification. As metals of the noblest substance are hardest to be polished; so men of the most noble, natural, and moral endowments are with more difficulty argued into a state of Christianity than those of more drossy modes of living. Cassianus speaks very peremptorily in this case: “often have we seen the cold and carnal warmed into a spiritual fervour; the dainty and the brutish—never.”

Man’s Sin Nature Makes Mercy Necessary

The insufficiency of nature to such a work as conversion shows that men may not fall down and idolize their own wit and power. A change from acts of sin to moral duties may be done by a natural strength and the power of natural conscience. For the very same motives which led to sin, as education, interest, profit, may, upon a change of circumstances, guide men to an outward morality; but a change to the contrary grace is supernatural.

Two things are certain in nature.

  1. Natural inclinations never change, but by some superior virtue.

    2. A loadstone will not cease to draw iron, while that attractive quality remains in it. The wolf can never love the lamb, nor the lamb the wolf. Everything must act suitably to its nature. Water cannot but moisten; fire cannot but burn. So likewise the corrupt nature of man being possessed with an invincible contrariety and enmity to God, will never suffer him to comply with God. And the inclinations of a sinner to sin, being more strengthened by the frequency of sinful acts, have as great a power over him and as natural to him as any qualities are to natural agents. And being stronger than any sympathies in the world, [this nature] cannot, by a man’s own power, or the power of any other nature equal to it, be turned into a contrary channel.

  2. Nothing can act beyond its own principle and nature.

Nothing in the world can raise itself to a higher rank of being than that which nature has placed it in. A spark cannot make itself a star, though it mount a little up to heaven; nor a plant endue itself with sense, nor a beast adorn itself with reason; nor a man make himself an angel. Thorns cannot bring forth grapes, nor thistles produce figs because such fruits are above the nature of those plants. So neither can our corrupt nature bring forth grace, which is a fruit above it. Effectus non excedit virtutem suae causae [the effect cannot exceed the power of its cause]. [Since] grace is more excellent than nature, therefore it cannot be the fruit of nature. It is Christ’s conclusion: “How can you, being evil, speak good things?” (Matthew 12:33, 34). Not so much as the buds and blossoms of words, much less the fruit of actions. They can no more change their natures, than a viper can do away with his poison.

Now though this I have said be true, yet there is nothing which man does in the world that has more effect than a self-sufficiency and an independence from any other power but his own. This attitude is as much riveted in his nature, as any other false principle whatsoever. For man does derive it from his first parents, as the prime legacy bequeathed to his nature: for it was the first thing uncovered in man at his fall—that he would be as God, independent from him. Now God, to cross this principle, allows his elect, like Lazarus, to lie in the grave till they stink, that there may be no excuse to ascribe their resurrection to their own power. If a putrefied rotten carcass should be brought to life, it could never be thought that it inspired itself with that active principle. God lets men run on so far in sin, that they do unman themselves, that he may proclaim to all the world, that we are unable to do anything of ourselves towards our recovery, without a superior principle.

Consider the following evidence:

  1. Man’s subjection under sin.

He is “sold under sin,” (Rom. 7:14), and brought “into captivity to the law of sin,” (Rom. 7:23). [He speaks of the] “Law of sin”— that sin seems to have a legal authority over him; and man is not only a slave to one sin, but many, (Titus 3:3), “serving divers lusts.” Now when a man is sold under the power of a thousand lusts, every one of which has an absolute tyranny over him, and rules him as a sovereign by a law. When a man is thus bound by a thousand laws, a thousand cords and fetters, and carried whither his lords please, against the dictates of his own conscience and force of natural light; can any man imagine that his own power can rescue him from the strength of these masters that claim such a right to him, and keep such a force upon him, and have so often baffled his own strength, when he attempted to turn against them?

2. Man’s affection toward sins.

He does not only serve them, but he serves them, and every one of them, with delight and pleasure (Titus 3:3). They were all pleasures, as well as lusts; friends as well as lords. Will any man leave his sensual delights and such sins that please and flatter his flesh? Will a man ever endeavour to run away from those lords whom he serves with affection, having as much delight in being bound a slave to these lusts, as the devil has in binding him? Therefore when you see a man cast away his pleasures, deprive himself of those comfortable things to which his soul was once knit, and walk in paths contrary to corrupt nature, you may search for the cause anywhere, rather than in nature itself. No piece of dirty, muddy clay can form itself into a neat and handsome vessel; no plain piece of timber can fit itself for the building, much less a crooked one. Nor a man that is born blind, give himself sight.

Excerpted and edited from Stephen Charnock, “The Chief of Sinners Saved.”

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 Stephen Charnock |

Total Depravity by Asahel Nettleton

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth; and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

The object of this discourse will be to illustrate and establish the doctrine of Total Depravity.

The doctrine does not imply that all men are equally wicked. There are evidently degrees of wickedness. It shall be more tolerable for the inhabitants of Sodom, than for those who reject the gospel. The servant that knew his Lord’s will and did it not shall be beaten with many stripes; but he who knew not his Lord’s will and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. In hell all will be totally depraved, and yet all will not be equally bad.

This doctrine does not imply that men are as bad as they can be. “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse.” And all the finally impenitent will wax worse and worse forever. The longer sinners suffer in hell, the more will they deserve to continue there.

This doctrine does not imply that men are not free moral agents. They possess all the faculties that are essential to moral agency-reason, judgment, memory, will, and affections. If they were not free moral agents, they could not be the subjects of moral depravity. To say, therefore, that total depravity is inconsistent with free agency is absurd. If it is, there can be no such thing as sin or blame in the Universe. For if total depravity annihilates free agency, then partial depravity destroys it in some degree.

This doctrine does not imply that men are destitute of conscience. The question is sometimes asked, “is there not something in man that tells him what is right and what is wrong?” Undoubtedly there is. If man had not a conscience, he could not be a sinner. But it is one thing to know our duty, and another to love it, and to do it. The more clearly a person sees his duty, the greater is his guilt if he does not perform it. Conscience will exist in hell. It is the worm that never dies. And who doubts that the lost spirits in hell are totally depraved?

But positively, by the doctrine of Total Depravity, it is meant, that all men, by nature, are destitute of love to G6d, and consequently wholly sinful—or to adopt the language of the text, that every imagination of the thoughts of their heart, is only evil continually.

The truth of this doctrine appears….

1. From direct passages of scripture. The text is decisive. The language is very striking. Suppose it were affirmed of Gabriel that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only holy continually. Could any one doubt that this language was intended to affirm that Gabriel was perfectly holy?

2. From the doctrine of regeneration. Men must be born again—they must pass from death to life. “You hath he quickened, who were dead.” If the heart were not entirely depraved, this change would not be necessary.

3. From the distinction which the scriptures make between the saint and the sinner. “Every one that loveth, is born of God.” This declaration implies that all unrenewed men are destitute of love to God, and of course totally depraved.

Should the sinner say, “there certainly is some goodness in myself;” I would answer that your testimony cannot be admitted. Suppose that it does not seem to you that you are totally depraved. You may be blinded by self-flattery. Your character may appear very differently to the omniscient God. “That which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God. Mark the words of the text—”And God saw that the wickedness of men was great.”

4. From the experience of every Christian. Look back, my brethren, to the time when you were under conviction of sin. Were you not brought to see that there was no good thing in you? Did not God treat you as if you were totally depraved, by refusing to bear and answer your prayers? Did you not find that you were not only destitute of love to God, but that your hearts were enmity against him? And when you began to love God, were you not conscious that you had never loved him before?

If this doctrine is true, conviction and conversion are necessary; and when persons begin to love God, it will be all new. And so we find it in revivals. So it was with Paul. “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.”

Thus, the experience of Christians perfectly harmonizes with this doctrine. But if the doctrine were not true, the young convert might say, I have indeed experienced a great change, but it is nothing new. I always felt so. I always loved God

5. From the experience of every sinner. When Adam had sinned, he was afraid, and hid himself from the presence of the Lord. So children when they first learn that God is present are afraid, and disposed to hide themselves. This shows that they are totally depraved. If there were any love to God in their hearts, they would be pleased with the idea of God’s presence. They would love to pray to him, and to converse about him.

Let me appeal to the experience of impenitent sinners. Do you love to pray? Do you love to meditate and converse on the subject of religion? Why is it that all the motives that are presented to your minds are insufficient to induce you to comply with the terms of the gospel? Why do you not repent? Do you say, you cannot? Then certainly you are totally depraved. If you had the least love to God, you could not help repenting. Think against whom you have sinned. What a heart must that be that can feel no contrition for sin committed against such a glorious being. Think of the love of Christ in dying for your sins, and in offering you salvation without money and without price. Surely if this is not sufficient to melt your hearts, they must be harder than adamant.

Think of the threatenings of eternal death. If you can venture on in sin in view of these threatenings, how amazingly obdurate must be your hearts.

Perhaps some one will say, “if these things are so, it will do no good for me to attempt the service of God, and I will do nothing.” To such a one, let me say, you express the very feeling of a totally depraved heart. If you had any love to God, you would not stop to inquire whether it would do you any good to serve him. You would delight in his service, and esteem it a privilege to serve him

If any of you, my hearers, do not believe that you are totally depraved, let me put your feelings to the test. You know that it will be your duty to enter into your closets to pray this night. If you love God, you will esteem it a privilege to do so. If you find your hearts opposed to this duty, and neglect it, or attempt it with great reluctance, you will know tomorrow, that you possess just such hearts as have been described.

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 Asahel Nettleton |

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »