We want the reader to take his Bible and devote a few minutes to a passage in the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews (ver. 7-15). We would ask him to read it carefully and earnestly; for we are persuaded that, if he is really anxious about his soul’s salvation, he will find in this scripture the true ground of peace—divinely safe anchorage. We are not going to offer any lengthened exposition of the passage, but merely a very brief statement of its contents. We believe the reader will find three great subjects or branches of truth presented; namely, 1. The will of God; 2. The work of Christ; 3. The witness of the Holy Ghost. In other words, we have the source, the channel, and the authority of the soul’s full and everlasting salvation. We have the eternal Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—engaged in the great work of laying the foundation of our peace. This, surely, is something worthy of serious thought.
1. And first, then, as to the source of salvation. It is of all-importance to the anxious soul to lay hold, with clearness and power, of the fact that the glorious plan of redemption had its origin in the will of God. Redemption was no after-thought with God. He, blessed be His name! was not taken by surprise when man fell. He had not then to sit down and devise what He would do. The plan had been drawn long before. Far back in the eternal counsels of His infinite mind, the whole matter was weighed and settled. Such is the evident force of Heb. 10:77Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. (Hebrews 10:7): “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, Ο God.” From before all worlds—before the entrance of sin, it was ordained that Christ should come and do the will of God, and that will had respect to man’s salvation.
This is an immense fact for the heart to seize. It proves so blessedly the love of God to the sinner. He might have left us to perish, as we justly deserved because of our sins; but instead of that, no sooner had sin entered than forth came the glorious plan of redemption through the bruised seed of the woman—a plan laid in the mind of God from all eternity, and written down in the volume of the book.
2. To carry out this marvelous plan, the eternal Son came forth from the bosom of the Father—the dwelling-place of ineffable love. He came to do the will of God, cost what it might. It was His meat and His drink to do it. He came down from heaven, not to do His own will, but the will of His Father; and—all praise to His name!—He has done it. He has perfectly accomplished the will of God. He has finished the work, and thus laid the solid foundation of our peace. What all the sacrifices under the law could not do, Jesus, by His one offering, did. “Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offering and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, Ο God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified [set apart], through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Verses 8-14.
Here we have the channel through which redemption flows to us, namely, “The offering of the body of Jesus Christ once.” It is not through the Church—not through the sacraments—not through rites and ceremonies—not through the ordinances and offices of religion—not through works of righteousness of any sort whatever, prayers, fastings, alms, or aught else of man’s doing or devising, but “through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once.” Mark the force and import of the word “once.” There can be no repetition of the sacrifice. To think of a continual sacrifice for sins is to deny the plain statement of the Holy Ghost in Heb. 10. If we are to be guided by God’s word, then is it most plain that sin has been put away by the one perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The proof of this is seen in the fact that Jesus is seated on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. The daily standing of the Jewish priests has been displaced by the eternal session of the Son of God—the many sacrifices of the Levitical ceremonial, by the one offering of Jesus Christ. The priests under the law could never sit down, because their work was never done. Jesus, having finished His work, has sat down forever. Here lies the true secret of rest for the conscience. Christ is seated. He will never again rise to address Himself to the work of sin-bearing. When He rises, it will be to receive His people to Himself, and then to execute judgment upon His foes.
3. And now one word as to the authority on which we receive this perfect redemption—this full salvation. It is the witness of the Holy Ghost, which, be it carefully noted, is the word of God, the holy scripture. “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”
Hence, then, if it be asked, “How do you know that your sins and iniquities are all put away?” We reply, “By the witness of the Holy Ghost—the testimony of holy scripture.” This is a point of cardinal importance. The authority on which I rest for the salvation of my soul is as truly and as absolutely divine as the channel through which that salvation flows, or the source from whence emanates. It is not the voice of the Church—the decrees of general councils—the dogmas of the schools—the opinions of the Fathers—the commandments, the doctrines, or the traditions of men; neither is it the frames, feelings, or imaginations of our own minds. It is not any of these things nor all of them put together which constitutes the ground of our belief in the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation; it is the testimony of holy scripture. True, it is by the grace of the Holy Spirit we receive and rest in that testimony; but it is God’s word we believe, else it would not be divine and saving faith at all. A faith that does not rest simply on the word of God, is a spurious, worthless, delusive faith. True faith is that which believes God, and rests in what He says because He says it. If I want something of man to accredit God’s word—to assure me that God has spoken—then I am not a believer at all. Saving faith—the faith of a christian man—is built upon God’s word and nothing else.
Beloved reader, we beseech thee to weigh the foregoing remarks. There is nothing novel or striking in them; but there is that which is able to save thy precious soul, and to give thee a peace which not all the craft of Satan, or all the sophistry of men can ever disturb. May God bless His own word!