NOW I What tremendous issues depend upon this short and familiar word! How many thousands, even in this life, meet with all kinds of difficulties, losses, trials, &c., through failing to apprehend the immense importance of the present moment! How many regrets are daily expressed by men, when they find they have missed some golden opportunity of self-advancement, monetary gain, Sze through indecision “I wish I had decided at once, but it is too late now," says one, as he finds he has lost a first-rate situation by his delay. " I cannot understand how it was I was so blind and foolish not to have seen it at the time,” says another, as he finds he has lost his opportunity to have turned over a large sum of money.
But what will be your cry, poor sinner, should you wake up in hell when it is too late, and find you have let your present golden opportunity of being saved pass away forever? How many undecided procrastinators are there already! Again, and again, and again, it way have been, God's now was sounded in their ears, and yet they put the great question off; and now, and now, it is too late Too late to be saved. There is no salvation in hell, nor in the grave, nor at the great white throne.
After death comes judgment, not salvation (Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)). God's time is now, an ever present now. Not next year, next month, next week, to-morrow, nor even an hour hence, but now; or, it may be, never. One moment's delay may be one moment too many. A full and free salvation is yours the moment you believe; and everything a sinner needs, and love can give, is found therein.
Amongst these blessings, there are five that come out in the epistle to the Romans that I desire to call the reader's attention to, as the portion now of every one that believeth,— justification, reconciliation, freedom, deliverance, and no condemnation.
Firstly, let us see how a sinner is justified.
Now justified by His blood.
Every sinner needs to be justified (or cleared) before God, because he is a sinner. God cannot have to do with sin, except to judge it. Sin surely cannot come into His presence. Therefore you and your sins must part company, if God has to do with you, and you would enjoy His presence. What an awful condition man is in,—a sinner in his sins, without God, or Christ, or hope I (Eph. 2:1212That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (Ephesians 2:12).) Every deed, and word, and thought is defiled, and he is utterly powerless to do one single thing to clear himself. But God has given His Son to die for sinners; and His precious blood, shed upon the cross, cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1).
“There is a stream of precious blood,
Which flowed from Jesus' veins,
And sinners washed in that blest flood
Lose all their guilty stains.”
Own, then, your guilt before God, sinner, and trust in Him who died,—the guiltless for the guilty, — and your sins are gone (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)), and you are justified in His sight (1 Cor. 6:1111And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)). It is utterly vain to seek to put your own sins away, or to justify yourself. It is God that justifieth (Rom. 8:3333Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. (Romans 8:33)). He is just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus (Rom. 3:2626To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)). The self-justified stand self-condemned; the self-judged are justified by God. Art thou self-judged before God, my reader? Hast thou owned the justice of God's verdict—guilty? What is the answer? Yes? Then believe on the Son of God, Jesus, and you are justified. Not by your works, but by His blood. "God contendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Rom. 5:8, 98But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8‑9)). And not only pardoned and justified, but reconciled.
Now we have received the reconciliation.
The very next verse tells us this. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement" (or reconciliation) (Rom. 5:1010For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10)). In our natural state we are not only sinners, but enemies. Sinners need to be justified; enemies to be reconciled. We are enemies to God, but God is not our enemy. He has shown Himself our friend, in the gift of His Son. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Cor. 5:1919To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19)). As enemies, we need to be reconciled to God; not God to us. This makes a vast difference. Thousands pray and work to reconcile God to them; whereas God has wrought one great work for us, and beseeches His enemies to trust in it, and be reconciled to Him. All good works follow after. We must be reconciled first. How can an enemy have peace with God until he is reconciled? He says of all believers, He “hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 5:1818And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (2 Corinthians 5:18)).
“A mind at perfect peace with God,
Oh, what a word is this!
A sinner reconciled through blood, —
This, this indeed is peace.”
When the prodigal in Luke 15, arose and came to his father, the father ran to meet him, to reconcile him to himself. The prodigal, in self-judgment, said, I have sinned, &c. The father, without a word of reproach, covered him with kisses, and gave him all that love could give. He received the reconciliation. And this is the character of welcome, and reconciliation, all receive, who come back now to God. Have you come? But perhaps you say, “Well, I do believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; and the Word of God says that I am justified and reconciled, and therefore I must be. But how is it I still have sin in me? I thought I should get rid of sin altogether when I was saved." This is a mistake.
There is no getting rid of sin altogether, but you can get from under its dominion; as we read—
Now being made free from sin.
That is, set free from sin as my master. Thousands go on in doubt, and fear, and uncertainty, through not understanding this. I will endeavor to explain it simply and briefly.
When we are saved, we receive a new nature from God; it is not an improvement of the old. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:66That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)). An unconverted man has one nature, —fallen and sinful. The believer has two, —the old evil one, and a new one which is sinless. The new is Christ—Christ in us.
Now the old nature received its condemnation at the cross, when Christ died (Rom. 8:33For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (Romans 8:3)). And therefore the Scripture says, " Knowing this; that our old man is (has been) crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed (or discharged) from sin" (Rom. 6:6, 76Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin. (Romans 6:6‑7)).
“For me, Lord Jesus, Thou hast died,
And I have died with Thee;
Thou'rt risen! my bands are all untied,
And now Thou liv'st in me.”
But the mistake that so many make is, that when they find the evil showing itself in them, they try to overcome it and put it down, whereas God says we are to know that our old man has been crucified. And then comes the practical word in verse 11, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Faith reckons with God. It is not a question of realizing, feeling, experiencing, overcoming, conquering, or anything of the kind, but simply the reckoning of faith. God sees the old man crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:66Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)). Faith accepts what God says, and reckons it true; sees self set aside in the cross, and therefore does not recognize it. Then follows the practical exhortation, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof" (Rom. 6:1212Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (Romans 6:12)).
If you fight against your old nature, you are reckoning yourself alive; if you reckon yourself dead, you have nothing to fight. What is the result? In verse 22 The apostle continues, “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Not, now sin being taken out of you; but, being made free from it,—that is, as your master. We change masters. We give up the old one, sin, and serve God and righteousness (Rom. 6:19-2219I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6:19‑22)). Sin will remain in us as long as we are here; but if we reckon ourselves dead, it shall not have dominion over us, for we are not under the law, but under grace. And this brings us to one more difficulty, and that is the law. But we further read.—
Now we are delivered from the law.
Have you laid hold of that? Present deliverance from the law. It is astonishing the amount of legality that clings to souls. It is one of the chief hindrances to getting peace. But Scripture is plain. As long as you are a sinner in your sins, the law condemns you. You may try to meet its claims, but only to discover how short you come, and to be exposed to its curse (Gal. 3:1010For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)). For he who offends in one point is guilty of all (James 2:1010For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10)); and “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Gal. 3:1010For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)). The law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good; but, unfortunately, the sinner is unholy, unjust, and bad (1 Tim. 1:9-119Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. (1 Timothy 1:9‑11)). The law is God's perfect standard for man in the flesh, but no flesh can reach up to it.
By way of illustration, suppose a sergeant went to a village to recruit men of six feet for a certain regiment, but not a single person in the village is so tall. What would be the result? Why, the six-foot measure would show how short every man is who desires to enlist, but it could not add an inch to the height of one of them. One man who stands five feet eleven inches says to the sergeant, "Can't you pass me? I'm at least half an inch taller than the rest." "No, "he replies," it's no good; no one short of six feet will do." As long as the standard is maintained at six feet, a man five feet eleven is as far off enlistment as one that is only four feet six. The standard will not come down to the men neither will it help the men to come up to it.
So is it with the law of God. Everybody comes short that attempts to measure themselves with it. It makes no allowance for shortcoming, neither does it help a sinner to come up to its requirements. Your conduct may be better than others, according to man's standard; but all your morality, and religiousness in the flesh, are nothing worth before God. You may compare favorably with thousands, but yet you come short of God's standard. Therefore, my reader, as long as you are on that ground, there is no salvation for you. But the same blessed God that pardons our sins (as we have seen), reconciles us to Himself, and sets us free from sin, delivers us from the law also. Christ magnified the law and made it honorable, far exceeding its every requirement. Then He went to the cross, the Holy, Just, and Good One, and bore its curse for us. He died under it, was buried, and being raised from the dead, sat down triumphant at God's right hand, His work done (Heb. 1:33Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3)). The moment you confess Him Lord, and believe with the heart, all the benefits of His finished work are put to your account (Rom. 10:9, 109That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9‑10)). He has redeemed us from the curse of the law. God sees the believer identified with His Son. Wondrous grace! The law is not dead, but we have died to it by the body of Christ (Rom. 7:44Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (Romans 7:4)). “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth," (Rom. 10:44For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. (Romans 10:4)).
“Free from the law! oh, happy condition!
Jesus has died, and there is remission;
On Him, on the cross, the curse did once fall,
And He hath redeemed us once for all.”
One might add much more on these subjects, but space will not permit. What is the result? As we have seen, the sinner who believes is now justified, now reconciled, now freed, now delivered. One more passage will further confirm the soul. Thus richly blessed of God, He sees us in Christ, created anew in Him (Eph. 2:1010For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)); and in Rom. 8. we read, " There is therefore Now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”
This is an absolute statement (see revised version). It is true of every believer. Is it true of you? Christ has borne the condemnation on the cross. He is now raised from the dead, and judgment is behind Him. And the believer is in Christ. Are you a believer? And, "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (or there is a new creation) (2 Cor. 5:1717Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)). There is no condemnation to Christ, and therefore no condemnation to all that are in Christ. Not only shall we not come into condemnation, or judgment, which is blessedly true, but there is no condemnation now. Blessed news, joyful news All condemnation is gone, forever passed away.
“No condemnation! oh, my soul,
'Tis God that speaks the word;
Perfect in comeliness art thou,
Through Christ, the risen Lord.”
What peace the blest assurance gives'
“Death and judgment are behind us,
Grace and glory are before;
All the billows rolled o'er Jesus;
There they spent their utmost power.”
And what a string of blessings! Justification, reconciliation, freedom, deliverance, and no condemnation,—all ours by faith in the Christ of God, and that now. You', in this day of grace, or Never. Again I appeal to you, my reader, are these blessings yours? Think of the terrible alternative. To remain unjustified, is to remain under judgment. Unreconciled, you are an enemy to God. Without freedom from the mastery of sin, you continue its wretched slave. Apart from deliverance from sin, its curse must fall upon you. And all who are not in Christ, delivered from all condemnation before leaving this scene, will most surely come into the eternal judgment of the lake of fire (Rev. 20:1515And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)).
Oh sinner, guilty and lost, believe on the Son of God, and thus become His happy freedman. Believe 'now, lest you neve have another opportunity. You will? Yes? Then take heed to this closing word for the children of God: —
E. H. C.