LAWTON CHURCH OF GOD, LAWTON,
OKLAHOMA
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DISCOURSE
V.
FULL REDEMPTION IN CHRIST.
“Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”—Hebrews 7:25.
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”—John 4:14.
IN remarking upon these passages, the
attention of the reader is invited to a consideration of the following
propositions, which it will be my object to illustrate and establish. I. Christ presents himself to us as a
Saviour in this sense, that he is both able and willing to meet fully every real
demand of our being; in other words, perfectly to supply all our real
necessities. II. We will notice some of the demands
of our nature which Christ pledges himself to meet. III. Illustrate the nature of faith in
Christ as such a Saviour. IV. I will endeavour to show that the
object of Christ, in all his dispensations towards his people, is to induce in
them the exercise of this implicit faith towards him. V. That it is only when this implicit
faith is exercised towards Christ, that he can accomplish in us all that he has
promised. VI. That Christians honour Christ most
highly, when, and only when, they rely upon him for an entire fulfilment in them
of all that he has promised. I. Christ presents himself to us as a
Saviour, in this sense, that he is both able and willing to meet fully every
real demand of our being; in other words, perfectly to supply all our real
necessities. The truth of this proposition I argue,— 1. From the fact that it is positively
promised in the text, and elsewhere in the Bible. “He is able to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him.” “Whosoever shall drink of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst;” i.e., all his real
necessities shall be perfectly supplied. 2. On this condition only can Christ
claim to be unto us the object of supreme regard. If there is any real demand of
our nature, which he is unable or unwilling to meet, for the supply of that
demand, we should look to some other source. 3. Christ is infinite in power and
love, and therefore must be both able and willing thus to “supply our need.”
II. We will now consider some of the
demands of our being, which Christ pledges himself to meet. All the real demands
of our nature are comprehended in these two—a state of perfect moral purity
and blessedness. That these may be possessed in all their fulness, the following
special demands must be met:— 1. As sinners, we need pardon. Till we
are conscious that God has forgiven our sins, and fully restored us to his
favour, a state of well-being is with us an absolute impossibility. To meet this
demand, Christ presents himself to us as our “Advocate with the Father,” and
as the “propitiation for our sins.” “Being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “And not only so, but we also
joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the
atonement.” 2. Another demand of our nature is,
entire deliverance from the power of sin, into a state of conscious perfect
moral rectitude. In every condition, actual and conceivable, this is a
changeless demand of our being. Until it is met, and perfectly met, the want of
it will, of necessity, render our minds “like the troubled sea.” To meet
this demand, Christ presents himself as able and willing to “redeem us from
all iniquity,” and render us “perfect and complete in all the will of
God.” 3. Another demand of our nature is,
conscious security against all the temptations to sin, from the “world, the
flesh, and the devil.” To meet this demand, the Saviour pledges himself that
“he will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but will with the
temptation make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it.” He presents
us with the armour of righteousness, assuring us that, if we will “put on the
whole armour of God,” we shall be “able to stand against all the wiles of
the devil.” 4. Another fundamental demand of our
being is, a love of knowledge. In view of this demand, Christ holds before our
minds the declaration of eternal love—“And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus, whom he hath sent”—and then
presents himself to us as able and willing, through his Spirit, to communicate
this knowledge to us. 5. To a state of perfect well-being,
the friendship and favour of other minds is an indispensable requisite. To
supply this want of our being, he holds before us the Divine declaration,—“I
will dwell in them and walk in them;” “and will be a father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” He then lifts our
contemplation to the eternal throne, and pledges himself to introduce to us an
endless and blissful association with the pure spirits that are congregated
there. 6. We have also certain demands
through our physical constitution, which need to be met. To meet these, Christ
stands ready to do for us the following things:—1. To render us perfectly
contented with our circumstances, whatever they may be. 2. To render us in the
highest sense blessed, in what infinite love actually confers upon us. The saint
who could sit down to her meal, which consisted barely of a cup of water and a
few dry crusts of bread, and lift her heart to heaven with the exclamation,
“All this, Lord, and Jesus too,” hardly needed another ingredient to her cup
of blessedness, to cause it to overflow. 3. To bestow upon us all that will be
to us, in our circumstances, a real blessing. “Seek first the 7. I notice but one other demand of
our nature which is met in Christ, which is this—an assured hope of a peaceful
death and a glorious immortality. To meet this demand, he spreads before us the
following assurance:—“In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come and receive you unto myself, that where I
am there ye may be also.” With what infinite sweetness can we pillow our heads
upon such a pledge as this! Such, Christian, is the fulness that
dwells in Christ for you. Such, also, is your completeness in him. In view of
this fulness, this perfect completeness, he claims to be the sun and centre of
your soul. “To whom shall we go,” blessed Jesus, but unto thee? “Thou hast
the words of eternal life. And we believe, and are sure, that thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” III. We are now prepared for our third
inquiry, which is, The nature of faith in Christ as such a Saviour.
It implies,—1. A consciousness of infinite guilt, poverty, and helplessness in
ourselves. 2. The apprehension of Christ as a present Saviour, able and willing
to meet all the demands of our being, as described above. 3. The actual
reception of him, and cordial and voluntary surrender of our whole being to his
control, that he may accomplish in us all that He has promised to those “who
come unto God by him.” The individual that knows and believes the “love that
the Father hath unto us”—that relies with implicit confidence upon the
absolute truth and rectitude of all that Christ has affirmed, and casts all his
powers and interests upon his faithfulness, with the peaceful expectation of
realising, in his own experience, a blessed fulfilment of all that he has
promised,—such an individual exercises that faith, by which we are told “the
just shall live.” This leads me to remark,— IV. That the object of Christ, in his
dispensations and teachings, is, to induce in us the exercise of this implicit
faith in himself. A bare allusion to a few circumstances in the life of our
Saviour will afford a sufficient illustration of this part of our subject. For
example,—1. The promptness with which he invariably granted the requests of
those who cast themselves with implicit faith upon his power and faithfulness,
together with the commendation which he always bestowed upon such acts of
confidence. 2. The fact that he always required such confidence, as a condition
of extending relief, by the exertion of miraculous power. “If thou canst
believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” 3. His perpetual
reference to the unbelief of his disciples, as the cause of their failure to
perform miracles, of their fear in the tempest, and of their carefulness in
respect to the supply of their temporal necessities. 4. The repeated assurance
that he gave them, that, if they would only exercise this implicit faith in him,
“nothing should be impossible to them.” 5. The manner in which he sent them
forth to preach, and then asking them, at the close of his ministry, whether, in
going out under his protection, “as sheep in the midst of wolves,” without
any provision at all for their wants, they had lacked anything. One object is
perfectly visible in all these instances, which was, to break their hold
of every other object, and to lead them to hang their entire being, with
implicit trust, upon his power and faithfulness. Such was the single object of
his entire course of treatment, in respect to his disciples and hearers while on
earth. The same object, Christian, he is now pursuing towards you. When unbelief
has disappeared from your heart; when you will “credit all that he has
said;” when you shall calmly and peacefully repose all your powers and
interests upon his faithful word—then his object, in respect to you, is
accomplished. Then he will open the fountains of eternal love, and let its
life-giving waters flow in upon you for ever. He then can and will accomplish in
you all that infinite love desires. “Said I not unto thee, that if thou
wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God?” V. I am now to show, that it is only
when this implicit confidence is exercised towards Christ, as a Saviour able and
willing to meet all our necessities, that he can accomplish in us all that he
has promised. How else, for example, can he preserve us, free from all care, and
“keep us in perfect peace?” While the mind reposes with unwavering trust in
his ability and faithfulness to meet all its necessities, the necessary result
is a state of perfect quietude. Distrust, on the other hand, as necessarily
throws the mind into a state of agitation. The little child could be preserved
in a state of perfect peace, in the midst of the wildest fury of the hurricane,
by the thought that his father held the helm, so long, and so long only, as he
reposed implicit confidence in that father’s ability and faithfulness to guide
the vessel through the storm. So of the Christian: Christ will “keep those in
perfect peace” whose minds are stayed on him, because they trust in him. To
keep the mind thus, while in a state of distrust, is an absolute impossibility. For the same reason, it is impossible
for Christ to be unto us an object of supreme love and delight, until we are
brought to confide in him as being such a Saviour as he represents himself to
be. Then, and then only, can he stir up the deep fountains of feeling within us,
and cause the tide of love and blessedness to roll on for ever. How, it may further be asked, is it
possible for Christ to bring us into a state of perfect obedience to his will,
until we are induced to exercise implicit confidence in the absolute wisdom and
rectitude of his requisitions? Whatever Christ does for us as a Saviour, he does
and must do, on one condition only—that confidence implicit is reposed in his
ability and faithfulness to meet and supply our necessities. The experience of
every individual will present a perfect verification of his declarations,—“I
am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
On the other hand, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
sins.” VI. Lastly, I am to show, that
Christians honour Christ the most highly, when, and only when, they rely upon
him for an entire fulfilment in them of all that he has promised, i.e.,
to supply all their real necessities. The more enlarged and confiding their
expectations, the higher the honour they confer upon him. This is evident from
the following considerations:— 1. They then, and then only, give him
full and perfect credit for veracity in the testimony which he has given
respecting himself. Such a Saviour he represents himself to be. When we trust
him with full and perfect confidence as such a Saviour, we honour him as a
“faithful and true witness.” Unbelief, a want of this implicit confidence,
casts the highest possible dishonour upon Christ, because it practically
affirms, that he is not what he has declared himself to be. 2. In the exercise of this full and
implicit confidence in Christ as a perfect Saviour, we honour, in the highest
possible degree, his benevolence, his mercy, his love. To expect less from
Christ than a full supply of all our necessities, is to affirm, that his love is
not infinite. 3. In the exercise of this confidence
only, we give him credit for being a perfect Saviour. If there is a
solitary demand of our being, which he is not able and willing to meet, he is so
far, as a Saviour, imperfect. Do you wish, Christian, to put the
highest possible honour upon Christ? “Open your mouth wide,” with the joyful
confidence that he “will fill it.” Cast all your cares upon him. Believe
that in him you are “complete,” and seek and expect from him the most
perfect fulness. When you expect from him less than this, you cast reproach upon
his character for veracity and faithfulness, as possessed of infinite love—as
an all-powerful and perfect Saviour. You affirm, that “in him all fulness”
does not dwell. You wound his heart of love. You “grieve his Holy Spirit.”
You put out the light of your own soul.
REMARKS.
I. We may now understand the
distinction between perfect and imperfect faith. They are not distinguished, I
suppose, by this, that in reference to the same object and the same feature of
Christ’s character, the mind may be in a state of trust and distrust at one
and the same moment. Our faith may be imperfect for two reasons:—1. We may
repose confidence in one, and not in every feature of Christ’s character as a
Saviour. For example, the mind, in consequence of ignorance of the perfect
fulness of Christ’s redemption in all respects, may repose full confidence in
Christ as a justifying, but
not as a sanctifying Saviour. 2. For the same reason, the mind may
repose confidence in Christ, for sustaining grace, in one condition in life, and
not in another. We may, for example, expect Christ to bless us in our closets,
but not in the midst of our business transactions. The faith of all such persons
is imperfect. Perfect faith, on the other hand, is a full and unshaken
confidence in Christ, as in all respects, at all times, and in every condition,
a full and perfect Saviour—a Saviour able and willing to meet every possible
demand of our being. II. We also see how it was, that Satan
effected the ruin of our first parents. It was by persuading them, that there
was one fundamental demand of their being—a love of knowledge—which God did
not design to meet; and by inducing them to attempt to supply that demand by
transgressing the Divine prohibition. In this state of distrust of God’s power
or willingness to meet and supply all their necessities, all mankind now are by
nature; and this distrust is the sole cause of every act of disobedience on
earth. III. We may now understand one
fundamental design of the plan of redemption. It is to restore in man the full,
implicit, and universal confidence in the power, wisdom, and love of God, which
was exercised by our first parents before the fall, and is now exercised by all
holy beings in existence. What God said to Abraham, he says to all the sons of
men, who will hearken to his voice, as Abraham did,—“I am thy shield, and
thy exceeding great reward.” When God is chosen by the soul as its eternal
portion, in whom every demand of its being is perfectly met, then the work of
redemption is accomplished in man, as far as his restoration to the love and
favour of God is concerned. IV. We also see when it is that an
individual is brought into a state of entire and permanent holiness—when he is
settled into a state of full and perpetual consciousness, that in Christ every
demand of his being is met, and when all his powers are sweetly yielded up to
his control, that he may thus supply our wants, and accomplish, in and through
us, all the good pleasure of his goodness. Of such a person, in such a state, it
may truly be said, “There is none occasion of stumbling in him.” Nor will
there ever be to all eternity. Into this blissful state, Christian, Christ is
both able and willing to bring you. Into this state he will bring you, as soon
as you will credit his testimony to his own ability and willingness, and will
accordingly surrender yourself to his sweet control. V. We are now presented with another
inexplicable difficulty in the way of the theory, that perfection in holiness is
unattainable in this life. The advocates of that theory are bound to take the
ground, that, in our condition in this life, such perfection—i.e., a
state of perfect moral rectitude—would not be, on the whole, a blessing to us,
for the glory of God, and the good of the universe; or admit that Christ is able
and willing to confer this perfection upon us. If it is a good, Christ stands
pledged to confer it upon us. For God has said, that “no good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly.” “My God shall supply all your need,
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Further, if such perfection
would be a good to us, and Christ did not present himself to us as able and
willing to meet this perpetual and changeless demand of our being, he would be
to us an imperfect Saviour. Again, if such perfection is not in
this life a good, for the glory of God, or the well-being of the universe, we
are under obligations infinite not to pray for it, or to aim to attain it. To
make the present possession of that which, we believe, would not now be a good,
the object of prayer and effort, must undeniably be in a high degree
criminal. But is not the fact, that a state of moral rectitude would be a good
to us, for the glory of God, and the good of the universe, a self-evident truth?
Is it not demonstrably evident that it is a good, from the fact that it is
required of us in the Bible; that Christ prayed for it in behalf of all
Christians, and taught them to pray for it; and that such motives are held
before us in the Bible, to induce in us this perfect obedience to God? Now, which of the above alternatives
shall we take? Shall we say, that perfection in holiness is not in this life a
good, and, for this reason, as we are bound to do, if the supposition before us
is correct, cease to aim at it, or pray for it? Or shall we say, that such
perfection is a good, and that Christ, though able,
is unwilling to confer it upon us, and thus impeach his
benevolence, his character as a perfect Saviour? Or, finally, shall we affirm,
that a state of perfect moral rectitude is in this life a good, and that Christ
is both able and willing to confer it upon us, and thus proclaim
his absolute perfection as a Saviour? One, and only one, of the above
alternatives we must take. Which is most honourable to Christ? Which is most
conformable to the teachings of inspiration? Which does it become us, as the
pupils of the Bible and Spirit of God, as the disciples of such a Saviour, to
assume? VI. We see, also, how it is, and by
what means that Satan is endeavouring to draw Christians away from Christ. It is
by tempting them to believe, that some one or more of the demands of their being
are not met in Christ, and thus to draw off their hearts from him to some other
object. In every instance in which a Christian falls into sin, he does it under
the influence of some such temptation as this. For the time being, he is led
practically to distrust the power or willingness of Christ to answer some of the
demands of his nature. To meet this demand, the individual trespasses the
command of Christ. VII. We see, also, that the sentiment,
that Christ is not both able and willing to render us, in this life, perfect in
holiness, and thus meet this great, this fundamental demand of our nature, is
directly and most perfectly adapted to induce distrust in him, and throw the
mind under the power of the great enemy. No sentiment can be conceived of, which
is more perfectly adapted to secure this object, than the one under
consideration. VIII. We may now understand the full
meaning of the passage, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth.” The meaning of the passage I suppose to be
this—Christ accomplishes in and for the believer all that the law would have
done, had he always perfectly obeyed its requisitions. For example, perfect
obedience to the law secures to the subject a full exemption from all
condemnation, and a sure title to the protection and favour of God. This the
Christian enjoys through faith in Christ. Entire obedience to the law would have
rendered his moral character absolutely perfect, and infinitively lovely and
excellent in the estimation of God, and of all intelligent beings. A character,
equally perfect, lovely, and excellent, the believer receives through implicit
faith in Christ. Further, obedience to the law would have rendered the believer
perfectly blessed in the love and favour of God. A blessedness equally perfect
descends to the believer through faith in Christ. Again, obedience to the law
would have secured to the believer a full and perfect supply of every necessity.
Every demand of our being is met with equal fulness in Christ. All that the law
would have done for the believer, had he perfectly obeyed its requisitions,
Christ does for him, and infinitely more. IX. We are also prepared to answer an
objection, which is sometimes brought to the doctrine maintained in these
discourses, to wit, that it tends to dishonour the law, by lowering the standard
of moral obligation. When I hear this objection, I am often reminded of a
declaration made to Paul by a fellow apostle—“Thou seest, brother, how many
thousands of Jews there are that believe; and they are all zealous of the
law.” Whenever the thought is presented, that perfect conformity to the Divine
requisitions is not only required, but expected, of us in this life, a great
zeal is instantly manifested for the law, as if some fearful sacrilege was done
to it by the above supposition. The standard of moral obligation, it is said,
will be let down, and Antinomianism, and errors fearfully dangerous, will be
introduced. But how a law is honoured, by maintaining that the subject will
never obey it, is more than I can understand. And what is gained by elevating
the standard of theoretical, and lowering that of practical attainment, is
equally inexplicable to my mind. Christians should also understand, that, in
their zeal to elevate the law, they may limit the grace of God. To place the law
far above the provisions and promises of Christ’s redemption, confers honour
neither upon the law nor Christ. On the other hand, “Christ magnifies the law
and makes it honourable,” in the highest sense possible, when, as the Mediator
of the new covenant, he “puts the law in the minds, and writes it in the
hearts,” of his people, and brings all the powers of their being into sweet
subjection to its requisitions. X. In the light of this subject, you
see, Christian, the real cause of every sin you commit; of all your “care and
trouble about the many things” of this life; of your want of perpetual peace
in God, and of the “aching void” in your heart in its stead; and of the
absence of that state of perfect content which arises from the consciousness
that all your wants are met in Christ. All this has its origin in one principle
exclusively—unbelief—a want of confidence in Christ as a full
and perfect Saviour. Until you become fully sensible of this fact; until you are
led to refer all your particular sins, all your carefulness and anxiety about
your worldly interest, your want of perfect peace, and every improper feeling
that arises in your mind, to one source—unbelief—you will never feel as you
ought the “exceeding sinfulness of sin.” XI. We may understand the origin and
cause of the profound insensibility and hardness of heart, in respect to the
love of Christ, of which professors of religion so commonly complain. Three
facts will sufficiently account for this state of gloom and heartfelt
despondency:—1. Christians generally are ignorant of the fulness of that
redemption which they have in Christ. Unbelief has taken their Lord away from
their hearts, and they know not where it has laid him. The secret of having a
heart always melted with love and tenderness, is an indwelling Christ, from
whose fulness our cup of blessedness may perpetually flow. 2. Another cause of
the state under consideration is this—the fact that almost every Christian, in
uniting with the Church, took upon him the most solemn covenant and vow to live
in a state of entire consecration to Christ, not only in the absence of all
expectation that such vow would be kept, but with the definite belief that it
would not be kept. With such a vow and such a belief lying together upon your
conscience, Christian, cease to wonder that your heart has been hardened into
the profoundest insensibility and gloom. 3. Another cause of this state of
things is, the daily habit of praying definitely for a state of entire
sanctification, with the full belief that God will not answer such requests by
the bestowment of the blessing prayed for. Let me beseech you, Christian, as you
value the presence and favour of God, as you would not fasten a heart of stone
as a perpetual mill-stone to your deathless soul, never to put up such a prayer
again. “Be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong.” XII. One important aspect of the
question at issue between the advocates and opposers of the doctrine of
Christian perfection, here presents itself to the contemplation. That Christ is
able to render us, in this life, as well as in eternity, “perfect and complete
in all the will of God,” none, I presume, will deny. The apostle, XIII. We are now prepared for the
contemplation of another, and very interesting aspect of the question, Whether
perfection in holiness is attainable in this life. That doctrine has the highest
possible internal evidence in its favour, which directly and manifestly falls in
with the great design of God in the Gospel; while the doctrine which wants this
characteristic is equally destitute of all claim to our belief. Now, every one
is aware that the great and fundamental design of the Gospel is, to induce in
the Christian the exercise of implicit faith in Christ. Which view of the
character of Christ is best adapted to increase in us the exercise of such faith
in him—that which presents him to our contemplation as able and willing to
meet perfectly every demand of our being, or that which presents him as able indeed,
but unwilling, during the progress of the present life, to meet one
fundamental and changeless demand of our nature, i.e., to “sanctify us
wholly,” and preserve us in that state to his coming and kingdom? Is not the
former view of the character of Christ most perfectly adapted to induce the
exercise of perfect faith, and the latter as perfectly adapted to induce the
opposite state of mind, that is, unbelief? XIV. I will here notice a remark which
is sometimes made in respect to dwelling upon the doctrine of Christian
perfection. It is not in this manner, it is said, that the Christian makes
progress in holiness; but by turning his contemplation directly upon the Divine
glory, and thus being changed into the same image from glory to glory, “even
as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The question is, Does not the doctrine of
Christian perfection present one of the essential features of this very glory,
upon which we are required to turn our contemplation? What is implied in the
general and devout meditation upon this doctrine? It implies three things: 1. Deep and profound meditation upon
the pure and perfect law of God, and upon the action of all the powers of our
being, in all the circumstances and relations in life, in conformity with that
law. By thus meditating upon the Divine statutes, the Psalmist declares that he
had become “wiser than his teachers.” Who will dare affirm, that such
meditations are not in a high degree favourable to holiness? Who will affirm
that, in thus meditating upon God’s pure and perfect law, we shall see no
bright reflections of that glory, in the beholding of which the Christian is
changed into the same image? 2. In another view of the subject,
dwelling upon the doctrine of Christian perfection implies a devout
contemplation of the character of Christ, as a full and perfect Saviour—a
Saviour able and willing to meet all our real necessities. By such
contemplations, contemplations in which we are brought to “know and believe
the love which God hath to us,” we are informed, 3. In yet another view of the subject,
dwelling upon the doctrine under consideration implies a frequent and devout
contemplation of the provisions of Divine grace for the entire sanctification of
believers, and of the designs of God to raise them to this state, whenever they
look to him, by faith to do it for them. Such meditations upon God’s
“thoughts of good, and not of evil,” towards his people, tends, in the most
powerful manner conceivable, to melt our hearts in love and tenderness towards
God, and to induce in us the most vigorous efforts after that holiness which we
are required to perfect. In whatever point of light the doctrine under
consideration is contemplated, dwelling upon it has one tendency, and only
one,—the assimilation of our entire character to that of Christ. Finally, brethren, seeing we have such a full and perfect redemption in Christ, “what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” For remaining under the power of sin in any form we have no excuse. To “rejoice in the Lord always” we are under obligation infinite. “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” To be free from all care; to be perpetually peaceful and blessed in Christ; to “show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light;” to breathe his spirit, walk in his steps, exemplify his virtues, and have his “joy fulfilled in us,”—is our high privilege and sacred duty. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man will hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.”
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