"The desert rose, though never seen by man;Is nurtured with a care divinely good;The ocean pearl, though 'neath the rolling main,Is ever brilliant in the eyes of God."Think not thy worth and work are all unknownBecause no partial pensman paint thy praise;Man may not see nor care, but God will ownThy worth and work; thy thoughts and deeds and ways."
"The desert rose, though never seen by man;Is nurtured with a care divinely good;The ocean pearl, though 'neath the rolling main,Is ever brilliant in the eyes of God.
"Think not thy worth and work are all unknownBecause no partial pensman paint thy praise;Man may not see nor care, but God will ownThy worth and work; thy thoughts and deeds and ways."
Riding along a lonely country road one Sunday afternoon, many years ago, returning from a country church, a young preacher was talking to his companion, a young man eighteen years of age, telling him of God's love and ofGod's plan with men. The conversation had ended, and for some minutes they had been riding along in silence, when suddenly the young man spurred his horse up to the young preacher's horse, and seizing the reins, stopped both horses. Dropping the reins, he threw both arms around the preacher's neck, and as he began sobbing said, "Oh, R——, how good God is!" How little men consider God's goodness. How good God is to have ever brought us into being! How good God is, though we have all sinned against Him (Rom. 3:23), "that he might be just and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26), to have provided complete redemption for us from all iniquity (Titus 2:14)! How good God is to have "in love predestinated us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself"!—Eph. 1:5. How good God is to chastise us in love (Heb. 12:5, 6) instead of punishing us in Hell for our sins after we become His children (Ps. 89:27-34)! How good God is to place us where we will serve Him from love, and not from fear of punishment (2 Cor. 5:14, 15)! How good God is,in addition to our salvation, to provide rewards in Heaven for the services we render here (Matt. 6:20)! How good God is to provide that the poor, the ignorant, the obscure, can have just as great rewards as the more fortunate ones (Mark 1:41, 42)! How good God is to say, "if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire"!—1 Cor. 3:15.
FOR FURTHER STUDY:—The objection that the teaching of rewards in Heaven makes Christianity too matter-of-fact is not well taken. Punishments or rewards last through all eternity; with the unredeemed, in added degrees to the punishment in Hell; with the redeemed, in added rewards in Heaven. And they need to realize that with both classes this applies to the smallest deeds: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment."—Matt. 12:36. "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."—Matt. 10:42.
Neither is the objection well taken that to teach men to aim to have rewards in Heaven is appealing to an unworthy motive. Jesus taught it (Matt. 6:20), Paul taught it (1 Cor. 3:11-15), Moses endorsed it (Heb. 11:26), and the objector himself prays for God's blessings here in this life.
Nor is the objection well founded, that for people to aim to have rewards will destroy the motive of love. Rather, it adds to the motive of love. A father gives his son, yet not of age, a fine farm. Thatarouses the boy's love. The father tells the boy that, though not of age, he may have the full reward of his labor on the farm, beginning at once. This does not destroy the motive of love. So, the Saviour, having died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3), and given us eternal life (John 10:28, 29), arouses our love; to give us the privilege of having rewards in addition to salvation (Matt. 6:20), does not destroy our love, but increases it.
There is one limitation God's word makes to our deeds being rewarded: "Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in Heaven. When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have received their reward. But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee."—Matt. 6:1-4. If a redeemed man does his righteous deeds in order to get glory as reward here, he gets it, but none in Heaven,—the wrong motive prevents his receiving rewards in Heaven.God rewards according to the motive.
There seems to be one other limitation to receiving rewards in Heaven for the deeds of this life: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called greatin the kingdom of Heaven."—Matt. 5:19. The teaching seems to be that for one to deliberately break even the least commandment, while he will be saved ("The leastin the kingdom of Heaven") yet he will have no reward ("The leastin the kingdom of Heaven").
There is one passage of Scripture that some have thought contradicts the teaching of different rewards in Heaven: "The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man, an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market place, and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right I will give you, and they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more, and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but onehour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is and go thy way;I will give unto this last even as unto thee."—Matt. 20:1-14. From this the conclusion is drawn that there are no different rewards in Heaven; that all are rewarded alike. But not only does God's word elsewhere teach different rewards in Heaven, but the Saviour made His teaching on this point very plain. In the parable of the pounds, the servant who with one pound gained ten pounds is rewarded with authority over ten cities. But the one who with one pound gained only five pounds is rewarded with only five cities (Luke 19:16-19). This shows clearly a difference in rewards. If, now, this passage in Matthew teaches no difference in rewards, then we have a positive contradiction. But consider the two parables: the parable of the pounds is where men have the same opportunity, each one a pound; then they are rewarded according to what they accomplish. The parable of the vineyard is where the laborers work different lengths of time; in the morning, boys and girls, six, eight, ten, twelve years of age, becoming Christians and going into the vineyard; the third hour, young people, fifteen, eighteen, twenty years of age, becoming Christians and going into the vineyard; the sixth hour, young men and young women, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five years of age, becoming Christians and going into the vineyard; the ninth hour, men and women past middle life, forty, forty-five, fifty years of age, becomingChristians and going into the vineyard; the eleventh hour, old men and women, sixty, seventy, eighty years of age, becoming Christians and going into the vineyard. But does the Saviour mean all old men and women who become Christians in old age and begin working in the vineyard? No, for He limits it to those in old age who can say, "No man hath hired us." Then the Saviour means by the eleventh hour laborers in the parable those who in old age had never before had the opportunity of going into the vineyard; who had never before heard or understood the way to be saved, and enter God's service. With these, the Saviour reserves the sovereign right to give them just as great rewards as though they had entered the vineyard "early in the morning"; not that those who "have borne the burden and heat of the day" shall receive less, but that those who did not have the opportunity of entering the vineyard sooner, shall not lose because of it. Some one may think that there are no old men and women who do not know the way to be saved and enter the vineyard. Even in professedly Christian lands there are many old men and women who, because of wrong religious teaching, have never seen the real way to be saved; and in China and Africa there are vast numbers who can say, "No man hath hired us." To take a case: a mere child becomes a Christian and serves in the vineyard for seventy years; an old Chinaman eighty years of age hears the gospel for the first time, and becomes a Christian and works in the vineyard only one year and dies. He will receive as great a reward as the one who served God seventy years. Apply thisprinciple to the redeemed who died in early life: if those who entered at the eleventh hour, "because no man hath hired us" receive for one hour as much as those who have labored throughout the day, then those who entered the third hour and the Lord of the vineyard himself took them out the fourth hour, will receive as great rewards as though they had been left to bear the burden and heat of the day. Blessed consolation to those who have lost loved ones who were taken early in life.
Three of the Saviour's parables are closely connected in their teaching concerning rewards: The parable of the pounds, where each servant has a pound and one gains ten pounds and another five; one receives authority over ten cities, the other receives authority over five cities, just half the reward of the other, because he was just half as faithful (Luke 19:16-19). This parable represents that class of men who have equal opportunity in life (each one a pound) and teaches that their reward will be in proportion to what they accomplish. The second is the parable of the vineyard, representing the length of time of service when the laborers were not to blame for not entering the vineyard earlier; showing that they shall not lose because they could not get into the vineyard to work earlier. The third is the parable of the talents, where the one with five talents gained five other talents and the one with two talents gained two other talents, and they both received the same commendation, the same reward, "I will make thee ruler over many things" (Matt. 25:20-23); teaching that the one with small opportunity (two talents) if he usesit faithfully, will receive as great reward as the one with great opportunity (five talents) who uses it faithfully.
A widely misunderstood passage of Scripture bearing on the subject of rewards is 1 Cor. 9:24-27: "Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but only one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every contestant in the games is temperate in all things. They, indeed, do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I buffet my body and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, after having preached to others, I myself should be disapproved."—The 1911 Bible. The Authorized Version reads "a castaway"; the Revised Version reads "rejected." Many have thought that Paul was striving that he might not be a castaway (or rejected) from salvation. But notice the passage; he was striving not to be a castaway (or rejected) from something that is secured as a result of one's own efforts, "so run that ye may obtain." Salvation is not secured as a result of one's efforts; "to him thatworketh notbut believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."—Rom. 4:5. Rewards are secured as a result of one's own efforts; "each man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor."—1 Cor. 3:8. Again, what Paul was striving not to be a castaway (or rejected) from, is something that one receives after the race is finished; but salvation comes at the beginning of the race course, "He that believeth on the Sonhatheverlasting life,"—John3:36; "by gracehave ye beensaved."—Eph. 2:8. Rewards do come after the race is finished;—"thou shalt be recompensedat the resurrection of the just."—Luke 14:14. Again, in saying "I buffet my body," he has no reference to buffeting his body to keep it from sin, but fromcomforts and privileges that are not sinful. In the entire chapter he has referred only to his not eating and drinking; not leading about a wife as well as other apostles and the brethren of the Lord and Cephas; not being supported by those to whom he preached (1 Cor. 9:4-14); and in each case he says that he has a right to these things. Was Paul buffeting his body against having a wife lest he should be a castaway (or rejected) from salvation? Then only the Roman Catholic priests, among the preachers, will be saved. Was Paul buffeting his body against being supported by those to whom he preached, and working with his own hands for his living, lest he should be a castaway (or rejected) from salvation? Then the Roman Catholic priests and almost all of the Protestant and Baptists preachers will be lost. Will a man be a castaway (or rejected) from salvation for enjoying comforts and privileges that are not sinful and to which he has a right? But let Paul state for himself what he means: "For if I do this thing willinglyI have a reward."—1 Cor. 9:17. He then urges the Corinthian Christians to run in the race that they may receive the prize. "I buffet my body and bring it into subjection (from enjoying these sinless comforts and privileges); lest that by any means, after having preached (R. V. margin "have been a herald") to others (preaching or heralding torun in the race and so run as to obtain the prize, the reward) I myself should be disapproved" (a castaway, rejected,—from the prize, the reward). "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."—1 Cor. 3:14, 15.
But does Paul teach that there are rewards for bodily sufferings and self-denials? Let him explain: "Though I am free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all,that I might gain the more."—1 Cor. 9:19. That, by giving up these comforts and privileges he might win more people to be saved (1 Cor. 9:20-22).
There is the prize, there are rewards, for those who bring their bodies under from comforts and privileges that they may thereby win others to be saved. With the coppers in the foreign mission envelope from an orphan newsboy was found a note written in a child's awkward handwriting, "Starved a meal to give a meal." He would not have been a castaway from salvation had he bought and eaten his lunch that day; but there will be, at the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14), the prize for having brought his body into subjection that he might gain the more.
During a collection for foreign missions, a poor, ragged, one-legged negro hobbled down the aisle and laid three packages of money on the table: "Dat's fur my wife; dat's fur my boy; dat's fur me." When the collector saw the amount, he protested, saying that it was too much for a poor crippled man to give. As a matter of fact, it meant weeks of sacrificing,sometimes with no meat on the table. As the tears trickled down the black cheeks, the negro said, "Oh, Boss, de Lord's cause must go on, and I may soon be dead"; and turning he hobbled back to his seat. He was only a poor, ignorant, one-legged negro, but he ran in the race, and at the resurrection of the just he will receive the prize.
A Christian Chinaman sold himself to some mine owners that he might go down in the mines and while working lead his fellow-Chinamen to be saved. He had no support from those to whom he preached, but worked with his own hands. He ran in the race, and will receive the prize.
If the young Catholic priest was redeemed who turned from the comforts and privileges of a wife and home and gave himself for the lepers, there will be the prize at the resurrection of the just.
The world says that a man is a fool to make such sacrifices; Jesus said: "Thou fool ... so is he that layeth up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God."—Luke 12:20, 21. "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."—1 Cor. 3:14, 15.
HOW TO BE SAVED—REPENTANCE AND FAITH
"Repent ye and believe the gospel."—Mark 1:15."Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."—Acts 20:21."And ye when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him."—Matt. 21:32."Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."—Luke 13:3."And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."—John 3:14,15."Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:30, 31.
"Repent ye and believe the gospel."—Mark 1:15.
"Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."—Acts 20:21.
"And ye when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him."—Matt. 21:32.
"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."—Luke 13:3.
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."—John 3:14,15.
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:30, 31.
Wherever repentance and faith are mentioned in God's word without one exception, repentance comes before faith. There is a faith that comes before repentance; but it is pure historical faith, and does not result in salvation. "He that cometh to God must believe that he is,"—Heb. 11:26; the demons believe in God's existence, that He is; Thomas Paine believed in God's existence, that He is. But the faith that results in salvation invariably comes after repentance; "And ye when ye had seen it, repented not afterward,that yemight believe him."—Matt. 21:32. If, therefore, the faith that saves must come after repentance, then those who have no saving faith after repentance, have no salvation, are not really redeemed. Not only so, but if saving faith must come after repentance, then those who place the only faith theyclaim, before repentance, do not understand what saving faith is.
Jesus preached, "Repent ye and believe the gospel."—Mark 1:15. Paul preached "repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."—Acts 20:21. What does "repent" or "repentance" mean?
God's word teaches that one must repentin order to believe. "And ye when ye had seen it, repented not afterward,that ye might believe him."—Matt. 21:32. "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."—Luke 13:3. Then whatever "repentance" or "repent" means, it is something that must take place before one can be saved, before he can "believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15); before he can have "faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."—Acts 20:21. The Saviour gives a complete, perfect picture of salvation, and in that picture we can find what repentance means: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."—John 3:14, 15. Jesus says "As," "even so"; then in the case of the serpent in the wilderness we have a complete, perfect picture of the way of salvation. By seeing what came back there before the lifting up of the serpent, we can see what comes before believing in Him, or "faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice the incident to which the Saviour referred as showing the complete picture of the way of salvation: "And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the peoplespake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."—Num. 21:4-9. These people realized that they had sinned against God; that their sins deserved punishment; that they were justly condemned—"we have sinned";—that they were helpless, "Pray unto the Lord thathetake away the serpents from us"; and in their helpless condition they turned from their sins and turned to God. There had been, then, an entire change of mind and purpose, or they would never have turned from their sins to God. When they faced the fact that they had sinned and were justly condemned, there resulted sorrow, and their sorrow led to the change of mind and purpose to turn from their sins to God. Had there been no conviction of sin, no realization that they had sinned and were justly condemned, there would have been no change of mind, orpurpose to turn from sin to God. Here, then, we have what repentance is,—a conviction of sin, such a realization of the fact that one has sinned and is justly condemned that it produces such sorrow as leads to an entire change of mind and purpose to turn from sin and turn to God. God then provided the easiest way for them, "every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it [the brazen serpent] shall live."—Num. 21:8. The Saviour says, "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."—John 3:15.
Notice the case of the jailor, Acts 16:22-34. When the jailor fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Verse 30), they did not say, "Repent"; they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved."—Verse 31. But God's word teaches plainly that we must repent in order to believe (Matt. 21:32; Luke 13:3). Then repentance must have already taken place,—he must have already repented,—or they would have taught him "repentance toward God" as well as "faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."—Acts 20:21. Go back and notice the jailor's case: the night before, he had taken Paul and Silas with their backs bloody from the beating they had received, and had not washed their stripes (Verse 33), had given them no supper (Verse 34), and had thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. He was utterly hardened. The praying and singing hymns to God by Paul and Silas, the sudden earthquake, Paul's crying out against his committingsuicide, had convicted him of sin, such a conviction as had produced sorrow, for he came trembling and fell down before them; and the sorrow had led to an entire change of mind and purpose, and he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"—"what," anything God would have me do I am ready to do,—he had turned from his sins and had turned to God. Hence they did not say "Repent," for he had repented; but they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:31.
Having seen what the Saviour meant by repentance, let us go to the meaning of the word translated "repent." "This word," says J. P. Boyce, the great theologian, in his systematic theology, "means to reconsider, perceive afterwards and to change one's view, mind or purpose, or even judgment, implying disapproval and abandonment of past opinions and purposes, and the adoption of others which are different." B. H. Carroll, President Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary: "We may therefore give as the one invariable definition of New Testament repentance that it is a change of mind." B. H. Carroll, again, "Repentance is a change of mind toward God concerning a course of sin leading rapidly down to death and eternal ruin." Once more from B. H. Carroll: "If in one moment the soul is contrite enough to turn in abhorrence of sin against God from all self-help to our Lord Jesus Christ by faith, it is sufficient." John A. Broadus, the great American scholar and teacher: "To repent, then, as a religious term of the New Testament, is to change the mind, thought or purpose as regards sin and the service of God—achange naturally accompanied by deep sorrow for past sins, and naturally leading to a change of outward life."
As the Bible teaches that no man can be saved who has not repented ("Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."—Luke 13:3), and as no one has repented who has not been convicted of sin, who has not seen himself a guilty, justly condemned sinner, it follows that no one is saved, no one can be saved, who does not believe that God will and ought to punish sin. But to those who have repented, the way to be saved is simple, easy, sure: "Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:31.
FOR FURTHER STUDY:—There has been much misunderstanding about repentance. Some men, as Moody, Harry Moorehouse, J. H. Brookes, etc., have been charged with not preaching enough repentance, simply because they did not use the words "repent" and "repentance" as much as others; whereas, others who use the words often, and tell touching incidents, are said to preach "old-fashioned repentance." It is not the word repentance that God requires, but the thing repentance, and a sinner must repent or he cannot believe (Matt. 21:32) and he will perish (Luke 13:3). The gospel of John is the only book of the Bible given specifically to sinners to lead them to be saved. The way of salvation can be found in many of the books of the Bible, and is taught in them; but the gospel of John is the only book of the Bible given for the special, specific purpose of leading a sinner to be saved. "Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not writtenin this book: but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name."—John 20:30, 31. In this book, given specifically to lead a sinner to be saved, the word "repentance" or "repent" does not occur, but the thing repentance does (John 3:14, 15).
On the difference between the thing repentance and the word repentance, give attention to the words of John A. Broadus, the great American scholar and teacher already quoted: "Great difficulty has been found in translating this Greek word 'metanoein' into languages. The Syriac version, unable to give the precise meaning, falls back upon 'turn,' the same word as the Hebrew. The Latin version gives 'Exercise penitence' (poenitentiam agere). But this Latin penitence, apparently connected by etymology withpain, signifies grief or distress, and is rarely extended to a change of purpose, thus corresponding to the Hebrew word which we render 'repent,' butnotcorresponding to the terms employed in Old Testament and New Testament exhortations. Hence a subtle and pernicious error, pervading the whole sphere of Latin Christianity, by which the exhortation of the New Testament is understood to be an exhortation togriefover sin, as the primary and principal idea of the term. One step farther and penitence was contracted intopenance, and associated with mediæval ideas unknown to the New Testament, and the English Version made by Romanists now represents John and Jesus and Peter as saying (poenitentiam agere) do penance. From a late Latin compound (repoenitere)comes our English word 'repent,' which inherits the fault of the Latin; making grief the prominent element, and change of purpose secondary, if expressed at all. Thus our English word corresponds exactly to the second Greek word (metamelesthai), and to the Hebrew word rendered repent, but sadly fails to translate the exhortation of the New Testament."
Repentance is not a price that the sinner pays for salvation; neither is the sorrow that leads to repentance a price that he pays for salvation. And repentance does not make the sinner a fit subject for salvation; nor does the sorrow that leads to repentance make him a fit subject for salvation. No one can see that he has violated God's just and holy law and is guilty, justly condemned, helpless, without its producing sorrow and this sorrow will lead to repentance, to an entire change of mind and purpose, to turning from sin, and, as B. H. Carroll expressed it, from all self-help ("repentance from dead works,"—Heb. 6:1) to God.
Some are sometimes troubled as to how much sorrow there must be. There are different degrees of sorrow in different people, but there must be enough sorrow to lead to repentance, to an entire change of mind and purpose.
"In both the Old Testament and the New Testament exhortation the element of grief for sin is left in the background, neither word directly expressing grief at all, though it must in the nature of things be present."—Jno. A. Broadus.
"To repent is to change your mind about sin and Christ and all the good things of God. There issorrow implied in this; but the main point is the turning of the heart from sin to Christ. If there be this turning you have the essence of the repentance, even though no alarm and no despair should ever have cast their shadow upon your mind."—C. H. Spurgeon.
"Conviction of sin is just the sinner seeing himself as he is and as God has all along seen him."—H. Bonar, in "God's Way of Peace."
"The object of the Holy Spirit's work in convincing of sin is to alter the sinner's opinion of himself and so to reduce his estimate of his own character, that he shall think of himself as God does, and so cease to suppose it possible that he can be justified by any excellence of his own. Having altered the sinner's good opinion of himself, the Spirit then alters his evil opinion of God, so as to make him see that the God with whom he has to deal is really the God of all grace."—Bonar.
"It is impossible, therefore, in the nature of things, for a sinful being to appreciate God's mercy unless he first feels His justice as manifest in the holy law."—Walker, in "Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation."
"Man cannot repent and turn from sin till he is convicted of sin in himself."—Walker, in "Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation."
"The more we feel the want of a benefactor, temporal or spiritual, and the more we feel our inability to rescue ourselves from existing difficulties and impending dangers, the more grateful love will the heart feel for the being who, moved by, and in despite of, personal sacrifices, interposes to assist and save us."—Walker, in "Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation."
"As a feeling of want was necessary in order that the soul might love the being that supplied that want, and as Jesus came to bestow spiritual mercies upon mankind,how could men be brought to feel the want of a spiritual Benefactor and Saviour?"... "According to the constitution which God has given the soul, it must feel the want of the spiritual mercies before it can feel love for the giver of those mercies. And just in proportion as the soul feels its lost, guilty, and dangerous condition, in the same proportion will it exercise love to the being who grants spiritual favor and salvation. How then could the spiritual want be produced in the souls of men in order that they might love the spiritual benefactor?"... "The only possible way by which man could be made to hope for and appreciate spiritual mercies and to love a spiritual deliverer would be to produce a conviction in the soul itself of its evil condition, its danger as a spiritual being, and its inability, unaided, to satisfy the requirements of aspiritual law, or to escape its just and spiritual penalty. If man could be made to perceive that he was guilty and needy; that his soul was under the condemnation of the holy law of the holy God, he would then, necessarily, feel the need of a deliverance from sin and its consequences; and in this way only, could the soul of man be led to appreciate spiritual mercies, or love a spiritual benefactor."—Walker, in "Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation."
THE MEANING OF "BELIEVE ON" OR "BELIEVE IN" CHRIST
"God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life."—John 3:16 (R. V.)."This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."—John 6:27."He that believeth on me shall never thirst."—John 6:35."To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins."—Acts 10:43."Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:31."John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus."—Acts 19:4."To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness."—Rom. 4:5."Whosoever liveth and believeth in [into] me shall never die. Believest thou this?"—John 11:26."We have believed in [into] Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law."—Gal. 2:16 (R. V.)."I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day."—2 Tim. 1:12 (R. V.).
"God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life."—John 3:16 (R. V.).
"This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."—John 6:27.
"He that believeth on me shall never thirst."—John 6:35.
"To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins."—Acts 10:43.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:31.
"John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus."—Acts 19:4.
"To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness."—Rom. 4:5.
"Whosoever liveth and believeth in [into] me shall never die. Believest thou this?"—John 11:26.
"We have believed in [into] Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law."—Gal. 2:16 (R. V.).
"I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day."—2 Tim. 1:12 (R. V.).
If language can be made plain, if it can be used to express a fact clearly, then God's word teaches clearly, unmistakably, that the one who believes on Christ is going to Heaven. One may think it to be too good to be true, when he reads what God's word says along this line; he may be honestly tempted to suspect that there must be many hidden, suppressed conditions, which, if expressed, would make the meaning different; or from religious prejudice, he may warp the meaning or bring in other conditions;—but God's word is plain.
"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life."—John 3:16.
It does not say, whosoever believeth on him and unites with the right church, or is baptized the right way, or lives the right kind of a life; it simply says, "whosoever believeth on him"; and then the promise is plain and absolute, "should not perish."
Jesus said, "he that believeth on me shall never thirst."—John 6:35. He did not say, he that believeth on me and unites with the right church, or is baptized the right way, or lives the right kind of a life; he said plainly, simply, "he that believeth on me," and then added "shall never thirst."
Peter to the household of Cornelius said, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins."—Acts 10:43. He did not say, whosoever believeth on him and unites with the right church, or is baptized the right way, or lives the right kind of a life; but simply, "whosoever believeth on him," and then adds the plain promise, "shall receive remission of sins."
When the jailor came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" they answered, simply, plainly, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:31. They did not say, believe on the Lord Jesus and unite with the right church, or be baptized the right way, or live the right kind of a life; they said simply, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved."
When Paul wrote to the Romans, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness,"—Rom. 4:5, he did not say, believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly and unites with the right church, or is baptized the right way, or lives the right kind of a life; but simply, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness."
Jesus to the grief-stricken sister of Lazarus said, "Whosoever liveth and believeth in [into] me shall never die."—John 11:26. He did not say, whosoever liveth and believeth in me and unites with the right church, or is baptized the right way, or lives the right kind of life; but simply and plainly, "whosoever liveth and believeth in me," and then He adds His plain promise, "shall never die."
When Paul said to the Galatians, "we have believed in [into] Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ,"—Gal. 2:16, he did not say, we have believed in Jesus Christ and united with the right church and been baptized the right way, that we might be justified by faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. Instead of this, he puts it in simple, plain language.
In all of these cases, these conditions could have been expressed just as easily by the Saviour and Peter and Paul as they are expressed by religious teachers to-day. Why did not the Saviour and Peter and Paul express these conditions? There can be but one answer,—because they are not conditions of salvation. How could the Saviour and Peter and Paul have leftout these conditions if they are conditions of salvation?
But the question arises, if being baptized the right way and living the right kind of a life are not conditions of salvation, why do these things? Not from fear of Hell; God desires no service from that motive. Let the Saviour tell why. When He instituted the Lord's supper, He said, "This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many, for the remission of sins,"—Matt. 26:28; and then before leaving the upper room He said to His disciples: "if ye love me, keep my commandments."—John 14:15. Why love Him? Love Him because He shed His blood for the remission of their sins. Let Paul tell us why serve Him: "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge that if one died for all, then all died; and he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again."—2 Cor. 5:14, 15.
Now comes the all-important question, what do these parallel expressions, "believe on Christ" or "believe in [into] Christ" mean? Many, when they see how simple and plain is the teaching, say, "Why, almost every one believes on Christ." No; they believeaboutChrist, but notonChrist. A wealthy man deposits a large sum of money in the bank and promises to pay the debts of all the poor people who will trust him to pay their debts. They all may believe him, may believe about him; but only those who believe on him, depend on him, rely on him to pay their debts, will have their debts paid. So Christ died forall our sins (1 Cor. 15:3); He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity (Titus 2:14); but only those whobelieve onHim,depend onHim,rely onHim to save them, will ever be saved. The man who is depending on Christ and his baptism or Christ and his church, or Christ and his good life to save him, will be lost; for he is not believing on, depending on, relying on, Christ to save him; but only partly on Christ and partly on something else; andthere is no promise in God's word that those who partly believe on Christ shall be saved. The very fact that a man depends partly on Christ and partly on something else to save him, shows that he has never believed that the Saviour "gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:13, 14); the Saviour he is depending on is not the Saviour God's word reveals; and hence he has no Saviour at all.
Notice Paul's instruction to the Romans concerning believing on Christ: "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness."—Rom. 4:5. Consider the simple but vital teaching of this passage: He justifieth the ungodly. How? "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood ... to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, that he might bejustand thejustifierof him that believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:25, 26); "being now justified by his blood."—Rom. 5:9. And He justifies us from all sin, "Our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us fromalliniquity" (Titus 2:13, 14); redeems us from the curseof the law (Gal. 3:13), redeems us from under the law (Rom. 6:14), and this makes us God's children (Gal. 4:4-7).
Consider further: He justifiesthe ungodly. If He justifies the ungodly then all efforts to become godlyin order to be saved, are worse than wasted and are in rebellion againstGod's plan for men. "When we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for theungodly."—Rom. 5:6. "God commendeth his own love toward us, in thatwhile we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."—Rom. 5:8. "When we were enemieswe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son."—Rom. 5:10. Why? Because Christ justifies the ungodly. The Saviour did not say to Nicodemus, "Whosoever becomes godly should not perish," but "Whosoever believeth on him." Why? Because He justifiesthe ungodly. Paul and Silas did not say to the jailor, a hardened sinner, "Become godly and thou shalt be saved"; but "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved." Why? Because He justifiesthe ungodly. On what condition does He justify the ungodly? "To him thatworkethnot, butbelievethon him." Here is the work of the soul to be saved; Paul says to cease working at the task, and believe on, depend on, Him—He justifies the ungodly. God gave men ten commandments to keep. God's word says, "The man that doeth them shall live by them."—Gal. 3:12. But all men have failed to keep them; "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."—Rom. 3:23. To illustrate: A father gives a little boy ten rows of corn to work out and says to him, "Willie, if you will work outthe ten rows of corn to-day, I will pay you five dollars; but it will take steady work all day." About nine o'clock some boys persuade Willie to play, and he plays with them for two hours. Now he cannot get the task done, and so is sure to lose the five dollars. His grown brother comes to him and says, "Willie, I saw the trouble you were getting into, and had a talk with father. Father says that the work must be done or you will lose the five dollars. But father agreed to let me do the work for you. Now if you will quit working at the task and trust me, depend on me, I will see that the work is done, and that you get the five dollars." The little brother quits working at the task, and gets out of the field. He believes on, depends on, trusts, his big brother. If, now, there is any failure, it will be the big brother's failure, and not the little brother's. So, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness." If, then, the sinner will quit working at the task of his salvation and believe on, depend on Christ, trust the whole work of salvation to Him, He will "justify the ungodly" from "all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). If, then, there should be any failure of being saved, it would be Christ's failure, for He said, "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out."—John 6:37. Why, then, should the one who has thus trusted Christ ever be baptized, or live a faithful, godly life? Go back to the illustration: As the little brother quits working at the task in the field and believes on, depends on, trusts, the big brother to have the task done, a man meets him and says, "Willie, yourbrother was good to you. But to do your work for you, that you might not lose the five dollars, he left his field, and it needs work badly. If I were in your place, from love to my big brother, I would go and work in his field for him." The little brother says, "I will do it, sir." He goes over into his big brother's field and works harder than ever, not from fear of losing the five dollars, but from love to his big brother. So the Saviour, after we have believed on Him, trusted Him to save, justify us, says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."—John 14:15. "Go work to-day inmyvineyard,"—Matt. 21:28; not "inyour own." All the work that the redeemed, the saved, man does is not in his own field, to get the task done, that he may be saved; but in the big brother's field, from love to the big brother for having relieved him of the entire responsibility for the task.
To follow up the illustration: The big brother sees the little brother working in the big brother's field and he goes to him and says, "Willie, I appreciate this, for you are doing it from love to me. If you were doing it from fear lest I might not keep my promise, it would hurt me; for that would show that you did not trust me. But you cannot work for me for nothing. I will pay you fifty cents for every hour you work in my field. Now, work hard and have a large reward for your labor." So the Saviour says, "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."—Matt. 10:42. And he says, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven."—Matt. 6:20."He shall reward every man according to his works."—Matt. 16:27. The reward of fifty cents for every hour's work does not destroy the motive of love that moves the little brother; it only increases the motive of love.
But do not redeemed people, God's children, sometimes become backsliders? Yes. Go back to the illustration of the little brother and his task. As he is working from love to his big brother, in the big brother's field, the bad boys follow him and tempt him, and prevail on him to leave the big brother's field and to mistreat the big brother. The father sees it all; goes and takes the little brother out into the forest and reproves him for his wrong to his big brother, and then chastises him and sends him back to the big brother's field. So, when God's redeemed, saved children backslide, do wrong wilfully, He chastises them. "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."—Heb. 12:5, 6. "Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail."—Ps. 89:27-33.
Reader, which field are you working in? Are you working in your own field? trying to accomplish a task, now that you have sinned, you can never accomplish?—Meetallof God's just laws and requirements, and develop a character that will entitle you to a home in Heaven? Heed the message, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness." Believe on Him, depend on Him, to justify you from all iniquity (Titus 2:14). The moment you do, your eternal destiny is settled, "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."—John 5:24. Then, from love to the big brother, go into his field and work till the day is done.
In telling of his own salvation, Paul again makes plain what "believe on the Lord Jesus" means: "I know him whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day." Notice this declaration as to the apostle's salvation: "I know him." A man must "know him" or he cannot "believe on" Christ. He canriskHim without knowing Him, but he cannotbelieve onHim, cannottrustHim for salvation. It does not mean, know Him in every respect, as to how His divine and human nature could be united; as to how He could have had eternal existence; as to how His resurrected body could appear and disappear, etc., but to know Him in His character as Saviour. In trusting money to a bank one does not need to know how much German or French or English blood thereis in the bank officials. In trusting one's case to a physician, one does not need to know the different nationalities from which he is descended, but he needs to know him in his character as physician. So men must know Jesus in His character as Saviour, or they cannot believe on, trust Him to save them. They must, then, know Him as the Messiah, the promised Saviour, the complete sin-bearer, or they cannot believe on Him. But after one knows the bank, he must commit his money to the bank, else the bank is not responsible for it. After one knows the physician, he must commit his case to the physician, else the physician is not responsible. And so Paul says, "I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which Ihave committed unto him against that day." No one, then, is redeemed, is saved, who has not committed his salvation to Christ against that day. Let the reader get clearly the meaning of "commit." No one has committed money to the bank who yet holds to the money; no one has committed a package to the express company who yet holds to the package; no one has committed a letter to the post-office for delivery who yet holds to the letter. So no one has committed his salvation to Christ, no one is redeemed, is saved, who yet holds to the work of his salvation. He mustcommitit to Christ.
Further, no one hascommittedhis money to the bank who has not left the entire responsibility for the money's safety to the bank, leaving no further responsibility whatever upon himself for the safety of the money. No one hascommitteda package to the express company, who has not left the whole responsibilityfor the delivery of the package entirely to the company, leaving no responsibility whatever upon himself for its safe delivery. No one hascommitteda letter to the post-office who has not left the entire responsibility for its safe delivery to the government, leaving no responsibility whatever upon himself for its safe delivery. Even so, no one hascommittedhis salvation to Christ, no one is redeemed, is saved, who has not left the entire responsibility of his salvation to Christ, leaving no responsibility whatever for his salvation upon himself.
But one may have committed his money to the bank and yet not really have trusted the bank, but onlyriskedthe bank; one may have committed a package to the express company and yet not really have trusted the express company, but onlyriskedit; one may have committed a letter to the post-office and yet not really have trusted the post-office, but onlyriskedit. So, one may have committed his salvation to Christ, and yet be unredeemed, unsaved, because he onlyriskedChrist and did nottrustHim. Hence Paul says, "I know him whom I havebelieved,"trusted, taken at His word.
One other fact needs to be considered as to what believing on Christ means in Paul's case. He says, "I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to himagainst that day." It is not a committal of one's salvation to Christ a moment at a time, nor till one can see how he will afterwards feel; nor till one can see whether he is going to be able to live a Christian life. It is to commit one's salvation to Christ "against that day." And the momentone does what Paul did, commits his salvation to Christ against that day, God's word says he is saved, redeemed: "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."—John 5:24.
FOR FURTHER STUDY:—When Paul says, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieththe ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness,"—Rom. 4:5, he is in line with the teaching of the Saviour when He said, "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you,"—Matt. 21:31; and if the teaching of the Saviour and Paul on this point is true, then there is not left one square inch of ground on which the teachers of "salvation by character" may stand. They are not in agreement with the Saviour and Paul on this point, but there is one with whom they are here in strict agreement; "I hope for happiness beyond this life"; "I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy"; "The only true religion is deism, by which I then meant and now mean the belief of one God, and an imitation of his moral character, or the practice of what are called moral virtues; and thatit was upon this only(so far as religion is concerned)that I rested my hopes of happiness hereafter. So say I now, and so help me God." These are exact quotations from "The Age of Reason," by Thomas Paine. And those who preach "salvation by character" thus line up with Paine against the Saviour andPaul. They fail to see that there can be no proper character without proper motive, and that there can, in the sight of God, be no proper motive till one is redeemed, saved, and thus placed where the motive will be love, the purest motive possible to human beings. And they fail to see thatGod's plan with menis to save irrespective of character, and then to develop in the redeemed man the real character for all eternity.
God has not two ways of salvation; He has not two ways of believing on Christ. What is essential to one man's salvation is essential to the salvation of every man. What is "believing on Christ" for one man, is believing on Christ for every man. When Paul says "I know him whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day,"—2 Tim. 1:12 (R. V.), he has given the pattern of saving faith. "I know him." Manmustknow Him in His real character as Saviour or he cannot commit to Him against that day the matter of his eternal destiny, cannot believe on Him. What are the essential things, then, that must be included in "I know him" in His character as Saviour, in order that one can believe on Him, be saved by Him, be a real Christian? First, one must know Him as the promised Messiah, in order to really believe on Him, to be really a Christian. The high priest asked, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am."—Mark 14:61, 62. The woman at the well said, "I know that Messiah cometh, who is called Christ: When he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee, am he."—John 4:25, 26.As Ballard, in "The Miracles of Unbelief," has clearly pointed out, either (1) He was the Messiah; or (2) He was the illegitimate son of a fallen woman and the vilest deceiver the world has ever known, or (3) He was the illegitimate son of a fallen woman, and a poor, simple-minded ignoramus, who claimed to be the Messiah and honestly thought He was, but was simply ignorant and deluded. Men in their intellectual pride or religious prejudice may sneer and try to avoid this issue, but every honest thinking man will see and confess that only these three conclusions are possible, that one of the three is inevitable: and every honest man will take one of the three positions. Voltaire said "curse the wretch." He is to be commended as compared with the man who tries to avoid the issue.
Second, one must know Him as complete Redeemer in order to believe on Him, in order to commit one's salvation to Him against that day. There is no middle ground. He was either no redeemer at all, or He "gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity."—Titus 2:14. To try to avoid the issue here is as fatal as to try to avoid the issue as to His being the Messiah. To believe on, to commit one's salvation to, a partial Redeemer, is to have no redeemer at all, to be left unredeemed, unsaved.
Third, to know Him in order to believe on Him, to commit one's salvation to Him against that day, one must know Him as having been really raised from the dead.Belief in the real resurrection of the Saviour is essential to salvation.For one to be heralded abroad as a great preacher and theologian who yetdenies the literal, real resurrection of the Saviour, cannot change God's word that all such are yet unredeemed, lost, not real Christians. God's word is plain on this point: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, andshalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."—Rom. 10:9. "If Christ hath not been raised your faith is vain;ye are yet in your sins."—1 Cor. 15:17.
Chalmers, the great Scotch preacher, in a letter to a friend made plain what believing on Christ means: "I must say that I never had so close and satisfactory a view of the gospel salvation, as when I have been led to contemplate it in the light of a simple offer on the one side, and a simple acceptance on the other. It is just saying to one and all of us, There is forgiveness through the blood of My Son: Take it, and whoever believes the reality of the offer takes it.... We are apt to stagger at the greatness of the unmerited offer and cannot attach faith to it till we have made up some title of our own. This leads to two mischievous consequences: It keeps alive the presumption of one class who will still be thinking that it is something in themselves and of themselves which confers upon them a right of salvation; and it confirms the melancholy of another class, who look into their own hearts and their own lives, and find that they cannot make out a shadow of a title to the divine favor. The error of both lies in their looking to themselves when they should be looking to the Saviour. 'Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.'—Is. 45:22. The Son of man wasso lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:14, 15). It is your part simply to lay hold of the proffered boon. You are invited to do so; and you are entreated to do so; nay, what is more, you are commanded to do so. It is true, you are unworthy, and without holiness no man can see God; but be not afraid, only believe. You cannot get holiness of yourself, but Christ has undertaken to provide it for you. It is one of those spiritual blessings of which He has the dispensation, and which He has promised to all who believe in Him. God has promised that with His Son He will freely give you all things (Rom. 8:32); that He will walk in you, and dwell in you (2 Cor. 6:16); that He will purify your heart by faith (Acts 15:9); that He will put His law in your mind and write it in your heart (Heb. 8:10). These are the effects of your believing in Christ, and not the services by which you become entitled to believe in Him. Make a clear outset in the business, and understand that your first step is simply confiding acceptance of an offer that is most free, most frank, most generous, and most unconditional. If I were to come as an accredited agent from the upper sanctuary with a letter of invitation to you, with your name and address on it, you would not doubt your warrant to accept it. Well, here is the Bible, your invitation to come to Christ. It does not bear your name and address, but it says 'Whosoever,' that takes you in; it says 'all,' that takes you in; it says 'if any,' that takes you in. What can be surer or freer than that?"
Equally helpful are the words of Horatius Bonarin "Words for the Inquiring":—"If you object that you cannot believe, then this indicates that you are proceeding quite in a wrong direction. You are still laboring under the idea that this believing is a work to be done by you, and not the acknowledgment of a work done by another. You would fain do something in order to get peace, and you think that if you could do this great thing 'believing,' if you could but perform this great act called faith, God would at once reward you by giving you peace. Thus faith is reckoned by you to be the price, in the sinner's hand, by which he buys peace, and not the mere holding out of the hand to get a peace which has already been bought by another. So long as you are attaching any meritorious importance to faith, however unconsciously, you are moving in a wrong direction—a direction from which no peace can come. Surely faith is not a work. On the contrary, it is a ceasing from work. It is not a climbing of the mountain, but a ceasing to attempt it, and allowing Christ to carry you up in His own arms. You seem to think that it is your act of faith that is to save you, and not the object of your faith, without which your act, however well performed, is nothing. Accordingly, you bethink yourself, and say, 'What a mighty work is this believing—what an effort does it require on my part—how am I to perform it?' Herein you sadly err, and your mistake lies chiefly here, in supposing that your peace is to come from the proper performance on your part of an act of faith; whereas, it is to come entirely from the proper perception of Him to whom the Father is pointing your eyes, and in regard to whomHe is saying, 'Behold my servant whom I have chosen, look at Him, forget everything else—everything about yourself, your own faith, your own repentance, your own feelings—and look at Him! It is in Him, not out of your poor act of faith, that salvation lies; and out of Him, not out of your own act of faith, is peace to come.' Thus mistaking the meaning of faith and the way which faith saves you, you get into confusion, and mistake everything else connected with your peace: you mistake the real nature of that very inability to believe of which you complain so sadly. For that inability does not lie, as you fancy it does, in the impossibility of your performing aright the great act of faith, but of ceasing from all such self-righteous attempts to perform any act, or do any work whatsoever in order to your being saved. So that the real truth is, that you have not yet seen such a sufficiency in the one great work of the Son of God upon the cross, as to lead you utterly to discontinue your mistaken and aimless efforts to work out something of your own.
"But perhaps you may object further, that you are not satisfied with your faith. No, truly, nor are you ever likely to be. If you wait for this before you take peace, you will wait till life is done. Not satisfaction with your own faith, but satisfaction with Jesus and His work, this is what God presses on you. You say, 'I am satisfied with Christ.' Are you? What more, then, do you wish? Is not satisfaction with Christ enough for you, or for every sinner? Nay, and is not this the truest kind of faith? To besatisfied with Christ, that is faith in Christ. Tobe satisfied with His blood, that is faith. What more could you have? Can your faith give you something which Christ cannot? Or will Christ give you nothing till you can produce faith of a certain kind and quality, whose excellences will entitle you to blessing? Do not bewilder yourself. Do not suppose that your faith is a price, or a bribe, or a merit. Is not the very essence of real faith just your being satisfied with Christ? Are you really satisfied with Him and with what He has done? Then do not puzzle yourself about your faith, but go on your way rejoicing, having thus been brought to be satisfied with Him who to know is peace, and life, and salvation.... Faith, however perfect, has of itself nothing to give you either of pardon or of life. Its finger points you to Jesus. Its voice bids you look straight to Him. Its object is to turn away from itself and from yourself altogether, that you may behold Him, and in beholding Him be satisfied with Him and in being satisfied with Him have joy and peace."
Likewise James Denny, in "The Death of Christ," teaches the same lesson: "It is this great Gospel which is the gospel to win souls—this message of a sin-bearing, sin-expiating love which pleads for acceptance, which takes the whole responsibility of the sinner, unconditionally, with no preliminaries, if only he abandon himself to it."
A young person who felt that his time in this world was short, wrote to an eminent English preacher to write and tell a sinner what he must do to prepare to die—what is the preparation required by God—and when he is fit to die. The preacher wrote: "Iurge you to cast yourself at once, in the simplest faith, upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. All your true preparation for death is entirely out of yourself and in the Lord Jesus. Washed in His blood, and clothed upon with His righteousness, you may appear before God divinely, fully, freely and forever accepted. The salvation of the chief of sinners is all prepared, finished and complete in Christ (Eph. 1:6; Col. 2:10). Again I repeat, your eye of faith must now be directed entirely out of and from yourself, to Jesus. Beware of looking for any preparation to meet deathin yourself. It isall in Christ. God does not accept you on the ground of a broken heart, or a clean heart, or a praying heart, or a believing heart. He accepts you wholly and entirely on the ground of the atonement of His blessed Son. Cast yourself in child-like faith upon that atonement—'Christ dying for the ungodly' (Rom. 5:6)—and you are saved! Justification is this, a poor law-condemned, self-condemned, self-destroyed sinner, wrapping himself by faith in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is unto all them that believe (Rom. 3:22). He, then, is justified and is prepared to die, and he only, who casts from him the garment of his own righteousness and runs unto this blessed city of Refuge—the Lord Jesus—and hides himself there—exclaiming, 'There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus' (Rom. 8:1). God is prepared to accept you in His blessed Son, and for His sake He will cast all your sins behind His back, and take you to glory when you die. Never was Jesus known to reject a poor sinner that cameto Him empty and with nothing to pay. God will glorify His free grace by your salvation, and will therefore save you just as you are, without money and without price (Is. 55:1). I close with Paul's reply to the anxious jailor, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved' (Acts 16:31). No matter what you have been, or what you are, plunged into the fountain opened for sin, and for uncleanness (Zech. 13:1), and you shall be clean, 'washed whiter than snow' (Ps. 51:7). Heed no suggestion of Satan, or of unbelief; cast yourself at the feet of Jesus, and if you perish, perish there! Oh, no! Perish you never will, for He hath said, 'Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out' (John 6:37). 'Come unto me' (Matt. 11:28) is His blessed invitation; let your reply be, 'Lord, I come! I come! I come! I entwine my feeble, trembling arms of faith around Thy cross, around Thyself, and if I die, I will die cleaving, clinging, looking unto Thee!' So act and believe and you need not fear to die. Looking at the Saviour in the face, you can look at death in the face, exclaiming with good old Simeon, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation' (Luke 2:29). May we through rich, free and sovereign grace, meet in Heaven, and unite in exclaiming, 'worthy is the Lamb, for he was slain for us' (Rev. 5:12)."