We have from time to time dwelt a good deal, in the pages of “Things New and Old,” upon the work of God for us, and, most surely, no theme could possibly be more important or interesting. God’s work for us lies at the very foundation of all true practical Christianity and personal religion. The knowledge of what has been accomplished by the atoning death of Christ is essential to the soul’s peace and liberty. We cannot too frequently reiterate, or too strongly insist upon the fundamental truth that, “It is the work wrought for us, and not the work wrought in us, that saves us.” Nor should we ever forget that, “Faith is the soul’s outward, not its inward look.”
All this is of the very deepest moment; and the reader may rest assured that nothing is further from our thoughts than to pen a single line which might even tend to lessen its importance. But, as we have observed, this grand and interesting line of truth has been largely unfolded, in all the volumes of this publication; and, therefore, we feel the more free to enter, in this article, upon a subject which ought ever to hold a prominent place in our minds; namely, The work of God in us. May God’s Spirit guide our thoughts, as we dwell, for a little, upon this theme!
In tracing the work of the Holy Ghost in the soul of a sinner, there are three distinct things to be noticed. In the first place, He creates a need. In the second place, He reveals an object to meet that need. And, in the third place, He enables the soul to lay hold on that object. These are the three stages of the Spirit’s work in the soul and nothing can be more interesting than to trace them. No doubt, there are various other branches of the work of the Holy Ghost, but we now confine ourselves to that special branch which bears upon the individual soul in its passage from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; and here the first thing we have to notice is
THE NEED CREATED.
This need may develop itself in three ways. In some cases, it takes the form of a deep sense of guilt; in others, a sense of danger; and, in others, a sense of the utter vanity and emptiness of all beneath the sun. Doubtless, in many instances, we may find all three operating.
Let us take an example or two from the pages of inspiration. Look at Peter, by the lake of Gennesaret. (Luke 5) No sooner had a ray of divine light entered his soul, in convicting power, than he exclaims, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, Ο Lord.” Here we have a sense of guilt—a deep, keen sense of personal sinfulness and unworthiness, the result of a divine operation in the soul of Peter. This is very important. It is well to remember that the question of sin must be raised and settled in the human conscience. Sin is a serious thing in God’s judgment, and it must be felt as such in the soul of the sinner. Peter felt he had no right or title to be in the presence of that blessed One whose glory had just shone upon him. He felt himself utterly unfit to be there. He felt that sin and holiness could not be together, any more than light and darkness.
This was a right feeling in Peter; and it is a right feeling in every case. It is always a very good thing to begin with a profound sense of personal guilt. It is well to have the arrow of conviction piercing to the very center of the soul—well to have the plowshare breaking up the fallow ground and making a deep furrow in the heart. We invariably find that the steadiest and most solid Christians are those who have, at the first, gone through the deepest waters, and endured the keenest exercises.
We do not, of course, mean to say that the soul’s exercises have anything to do with the ground of the soul’s salvation, any more than the feelings of a man in a house on fire have to do with the fire escape by which he descends from the burning pile. But still we believe it is a good thing for the soul to begin with a very clear and full sense of its guilt and ruin—a just apprehension of the judgment of God against sin. The more keenly a man has felt his awful position in the burning house, the more thoroughly will he appreciate the fire escape—the mind that planned it, and the hand that provided it. And so in the case of the sinner; the more he feels his guilt and unworthiness, the more will he prize the precious blood that cancels his guilt, and brings him without spot into the immediate presence of a holy, sin-hating God.
It is to be feared that, in many cases, the work of conviction or repentance is very superficial. It strikes us, too, that at times, in our great anxiety to bring the soul into peace, we interfere with the work of conviction. We go before, in place of following after the Holy Ghost. This is very serious. It is a perilous thing to tamper with God’s work in the soul. It is most marvelous grace that deigns to use us; but let us beware of how we run before the Holy Ghost. It is our place to male His operations, not to mar them. If, for example, we meet a soul under conviction of sin, it may be that the work is not yet complete; it may be only in progress. What should we do? Seek to hasten the individual into a confession of faith in Christ—to extract from him an acknowledgment of peace with God? By no means; to do so would be to damage the precious work of God in the soul. What then should we do? Seek to follow in the wake of the Holy Ghost—to be His instrument in carrying on the work which He has in hand. He will assuredly perfect His own work; and if we are waiting on Him, He will teach us what to do, and how to do it; what to say, and when to say it. If Ananias had gone to Saul one hour before the close of the “three days,” he would have gone too soon. Those days, we may rest assured, were serious days—days which left their impress on the whole of the apostle’s after history—days never to be forgotten. We doubt not they were days during which his eyes—closed upon the external world—were turned inward upon himself, and backward upon his ways. And are we not warranted in asserting that it would have been an injudicious, if not an unallowed intrusion, had Ananias gone to interfere with the deep and holy work which was going on in the soul of that remarkable man? Unquestionably; and so it is in every case. We may depend upon it, that we only injure souls if we attempt to urge them, by our work, one hair’s breadth beyond the actual point to which the work of God has conducted them.
All true spiritual ministry will tend to deepen in the soul that special character of work which the Holy Ghost is carrying on at the moment. Hence, if we come in contact with one in whom the work of conviction or repentance is in progress, we should not seek, too hastily, to urge the soul into a confession of having found peace. If we aim at being co-workers with God, it will be our place to watch, with earnest prayer and holy diligence, the progress of the divine work—to wait much on God that He may be pleased to use us as His instruments in carrying out the purposes of His grace. This is most blessed work; but it is most solemn, and demands much spirituality, much nearness to Christ, much self-denial. The most serious mistakes are committed by unskillful hands undertaking to deal with cases in which the work of God’s Spirit is going on. We must remember that God’s work is sometimes very slow; hut it is always very sure. We, on the contrary, are often impetuous; and, in our desire to reach speedy results, we may often unduly hasten on the soul to a professed position far beyond its actual practical state—often urge from the lips more than the Holy Ghost has wrought in the heart. This is very serious for all who have to deal with souls, but then the grace of God is all-sufficient for every case; and nothing can be more profoundly interesting than to watch the unfoldings of the Spirit’s work in the soul—to mark the stages of God’s new creation—the establishment and progress of His kingdom in the heart. Far be it from us to inculcate or encourage cold heartless indifference as to precious souls, in their deep and varied spiritual exercises—a species of most miserable fatalism, which, under the plea of leaving souls entirely in the bands of the Holy Ghost, in reality throws off all sense of responsibility. God, in His mercy, forbid that we should lend the smallest countenance to aught of this kind. We deeply feel ourselves responsible to care for souls—we believe all Christians are responsible; and hence arises the need of skill and spiritual tact in dealing with souls, so that we may not, in any wise, retard, but by all means further the blessed work of God’s Spirit in them.
But we have been rather digressing from our immediate line, to which we shall now return.
We have stated that the Spirit of God sometimes produces in the soul a sense of danger. He presses upon the heart and conscience the awful reality of the lake of fire, and the worm that never dies. He at times sees fit to draw aside the curtain and reveal what awaits all those who die in their sins. No doubt, the sense of guilt and the sense of danger very frequently go together; but they are distinct exercises, and in very many cases the latter is the more prominent of the two. The soul is filled with horror at the thought of burning forever and ever in the flames of hell. The Holy Ghost uses this horror in order to make the heart feel its need of Christ.
Many, we are aware, object to the preaching of everlasting punishment, as a means of leading souls to Christ. Not that they deny the truth on this subject; but they question the propriety or usefulness of it. They deem it wiser to dwell only upon the love of God in giving His Son; and the love of Christ in giving Himself. They judge it better and more effectual to dwell upon the joys and glories of heaven than the woes and horrors of hell. Well, we do not mean, for a moment, to compare the two themes; no intelligent person could think of so doing. But then we must bear in mind that our blessed Lord again and again addressed His hearers on the awful subject of hell fire. Bead Matt. 5:22-3022But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:22‑30). Three times in this brief passage He warns His hearers against the danger of hell.
So also in that most solemn passage at the close of Luke 16 Who can read this without feeling pressed with the weight and seriousness of the parable? What a presentation of the past, the present, and the future! “Son, remember.” Here memory is flung back upon the past. And what a past! Memory will be terribly active in hell. “But now thou art tormented.” Here the lost soul is called to contemplate the present. And what a present! Tormented in the flames of hell! But is there no end—no faint hope of cessation? None whatever. “There is a great gulf fixed.” Here is the future. And what a future! Hell is an eternal reality—a fixture. If hell fire be not everlasting, what would be the force of the word “fixed?”
Now, are not the above scriptures quite sufficient to prove that the Holy Ghost uses the truth of everlasting punishment to create a need in the immortal soul? Most surely. And if He does so, should not we? Did not the Apostle Paul reason before Felix, on the subject of judgment to come; and that, too, in such a manner as to make the voluptuary tremble on his throne? Ah! yes; it is a wholesome thing for the soul of a sinner to be impressed with a deep sense of Ids danger of hell. And when we find a soul so impressed what should we do? Should we not seek to deepen the impression? Would it not be our wisdom to follow up what the Holy Ghost is manifestly doing? Truly so. To act otherwise would be to hinder instead of furthering the work of God in the soul. The blessed Spirit will teach us the proper moment in the which to present the divine object to meet the need of the exercised soul. The Master will at the right moment issue the command, “Loose him and let him go.” God will do His work, and use us therein, if we wait on Him. All we desire, in penning these lines, is to press upon the reader the reality of God’s work in the soul, and the necessity of guarding against anything like undue haste in urging souls beyond, the measure of the Spirit’s operation. We should beware of healing the wound slightly, and of crying Peace, where there is no peace, yea, where there is not even true preparedness for that blessed peace which Jesus has made by the blood of His cross, which God proclaims in His word, and which the heart enjoys by faith, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
(To be continued, if the Lord will.)