"I HOPE I shall be.”
“Then am I to understand by that answer that you are not saved?”
“Well, I don't think anyone is justified in saying positively that which can only be known at the Day of Judgment.”
“I confess I am at a loss for an answer, and certainly if you make my salvation depend on my knowledge of the absolute possession of eternal life, then I am not saved.”
"I did not by any means intend that you should so understand it. Knowledge of a fact depends upon the previous existence of the fact, not the fact upon the knowledge. In other words, if you are saved, you may expect to know the certainty of it, but the most perfect knowledge would never save you: nothing but faith in the blood of Jesus can do that.”
"Then why did you quote those texts?”
“Because you implied that people could not know they were saved till the Day of Judgment, whereas the apostle affirmed it of people then living on the earth. As Scripture is written for us, as well as for them, it follows that every child of God is open to know now the certainty of his salvation.”
“I can see that this certainty is very desirable, and I am sure it would make me very happy to have it; but tell me, Why do you press me as to my having this certainty?”
“Because I know that until this point is settled, it is a proof that the precious work of Christ has neither been clearly understood nor appropriated by you.”
"But I believe in Christ.”
"Oh yes, so does everybody in Christendom, I suppose, except Unitarians.”
“Well, but I mean, I believe that Christ died for sinners.”
“Precisely; and does not Christendom keep Good Friday?”
“Yes; but of course the greater part of that is mere profession.”
"Well, and what is yours?”
"You pain me: I am really sincere. I know I am a sinner, and need saving; and I know that none but Christ can save me. If I am saved at all, it will be His work, not my own, I am quite sure of that.”
“I did but wound to heal. If I did not believe you were a child of God, I should talk in a very different strain.”
“Then do you think I am saved?”
“Would you believe me if I told you?”
“Well, you are so very strict, and pull people's religion to, pieces in such a way, and bring such unanswerable texts upon one, that I should attach some weight to what you said.”
“I thought so, and therefore I will be very careful that your faith does not rest on my word, but on the word of God. Now listen to the words of Jesus: “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 [judgment]; but is passed from death unto life.' (John 5:2424Verily, 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).) Can anything be plainer than that? ".
“Well, it is so plain that I begin to be ashamed of myself.''
“That is a good sign; and since you have confessed thus much, I will tell you a secret about yourself that you have not yet mentioned to me.”
“What is that?”
"Just this, that you find in yourself much failure, imperfection, inconsistency, and the like, and if you were to say boldly, I am saved,' all this would stare you in the face and condemn you.”
“Really”
“And more, there is a mass of inconsistencies of greater or less degree that you do not quite see your way to get rid of.”
“But—”
“And if you did see your way to get rid of them, you would not mind keeping them a little longer for old acquaintance' sake. Now, what have you to say to this?”
“Simply that you have just laid bare what I have hardly dared to admit to myself, much less to you; but now the secret is out, tell me what I ought to do. I confess that it has been hanging over me for months like a dark cloud. Sometimes I think I am saved, but when I look at my 'ways, even in spite of my wish to act right, then I get all in a tangle; and I am ashamed to say I have sometimes argued with you hoping to find you waver in that certainty which you have, but which I lack; this was wicked, but I may as well confess all while I am about it.”
“Well, there is nothing like confession for lightening the conscience; only it should be to God rather than to man. He says, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'”
“I feel sure all you are saying is right, because you keep throwing me back on God. I feel that He must care for me, or He would not have given His Son for me; but it is my wretched ways that hinder me. I feel as if I should be acting the hypocrite if I were to go on my knees just after I had lost my temper, for instance.”
“I should have thought that was just the time that you needed to go on your knees.”
“Well, so it is, in one sense; but then, if I go on my knees and ask for forgiveness for my temper when I am conscious of having broken my last promise of amendment, and having, moreover, the consciousness that the promise I am making will probably be broken before the day is out (much as I may strive), does it not look like mocking if I do go? and yet, on the other hand, if I do note can I say, with anything like honesty, I am saved?”
“My dear friend, I could even weep for you, because I know, only too well, what a bitter position it used to be; but, thank God, I can tell you the way of deliverance; not for a mere temporal relief, but for complete emancipation. Listen with a subject heart, and I will show you from God's word what a wrong view you have had of Christ's work, and your position; and then I will set forth the truth about, Christ, His work, and the effect of His work.
“First, as to the wrong thoughts you have had of Christ's work, and your consequent position.
You, a sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, have supposed that Christ came and died upon the cross, and became a Saviour, that He might enable you, a sinner, to improve your condition, and to produce righteous acts instead of unrighteous ones. You have supposed that a corrupt tree was to be operated upon in such a way as to produce good fruits. Hence, you have overlooked the fact of the utter ruin of man as a child of the first Adam. You have forgotten that God has declared you must be born again. A new birth necessarily implies something quite distinct from that which is old. In, effect, you have thought, as Nicodemus thought, How can a man be born when he is old? ‘but if God says there must be new birth, it is manifest that improvement of old birth is not contemplated by Him. That which is born of the flesh is flesh.'
It may be improved, cultivated, refined; it may be religious, moral, devoted; it may have adopted Christianity, been baptized, taken the sacrament; each or all of these it may have believed in and supposed, according to its own view of things; but after all it has not advanced a step beyond the flesh; and God says, They that are in the flesh cannot please God.'”
“You alarm me. If this be true (and it really seems to be true), who then can be saved?”
“Why, those who are born again.”
“But I thought I had been born again. I have believed on Jesus, the lifted-up Son of Man, and He says He was lifted up that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now I believe in Him; indeed I do; I have no other refuge, no other hope: may I not then say I am born again?”
“Indeed you may, and I bless God that this conversation is bringing out your faith so distinctly. I rejoice that I have divine ground in your soul to work upon; and if you will only lay aside your old thoughts, and just listen obediently to the word of God, you will soon get a clear view of your true position before God, and then everything else becomes plain and simple.”
“I am all attention; what point will you start from?”
“From the Throne of God.”
“Dear I thought you would have said from the Cross.”
“So I would, if Jesus were still hanging there; but Jesus has done with the cross, blessed as are the effects which spring from it. He settled the question of sin there, a question that can never be re-opened to the believer. He there vindicated the holiness of God's character (which might have appeared to have been sullied) by the fact that none less than the Son of God must become a victim to clear His creation from the loathsome pollution of sin. He there removed the barrier that stemmed the pent-up torrent of God's love and grace, always ready to flow, but kept back because God, perfectly holy, could not thus display Himself without appearing to wink at sin, the exact opposite of all that God is. On the cross Jesus not only undid that which Satan had done, but He did that by which God positively acquired glory, and a glory too that can only be measured by the worth of the illustrious One by whom it was acquired. Throughout eternity the work of the cross will stand prominently forth as the marvel of all created intelligences—the crowning glory of Him who is the God of glory. But my purpose now more especially is to press the resurrection, a truth the lack of the knowledge of which has obscured the glory of the cross, as a cloud obscures the blazing sun. It is in resurrection that all the precious efficacy of the work of Christ becomes available. ‘If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.' (1 Cor. 15:1717And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17).) The dying cry of Jesus on the cross (John 19:3030When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30)) was, It is finished.' Precious for us; still more precious to God. But in resurrection we see Him as the First-born, the Head of the New Creation. (Eph. 1:2222And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, (Ephesians 1:22).) Having passed through death, and completely settled forever the question of sin, He took His place on the throne of God, and that is now the starting-place of every believer. Does this ignore the cross?”
“Oh dear no! I never saw it put in its true place before. This is all new to me.”
“Of course it is; everything is new in the new creation. You have been accustomed to the old creation, and never got beyond the cross. The cross was the last transaction (if I may except the sepulcher) in the old creation; the end of volume one, if I may use a figurative expression.”
“I am getting light already—go on.”
“God be praised. Volume two begins with Jesus risen from the dead on the first day of the week, and saying, Go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.'”
“Where is sin?”
“Gone; canceled; only found in volume one.”
“Where is flesh?”
“In volume one.”
“Where is death?”
“In volume one.”
“Where am I?”
“In volume two.”
“Oh, this is precious! it is quite new to me!
How is it that this is not generally known?”
“The adoption of human thoughts, instead of God's plain word, has led to false, imperfect, and inadequate teaching. At the beginning it was not so.”
“Why, did not the apostles preach the cross?”
“They did more. The cross being an accomplished fact, the resurrection was now their theme.
‘They preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.' (Acts 4:22Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. (Acts 4:2).) With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.' (Acts 4:3333And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33).) ‘Paul seemed to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection.' (Acts 17:1818Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. (Acts 17:18).) ‘And when they heard of the resurrection, Some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again.' (Acts 17:3232And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. (Acts 17:32).) So you see resurrection was the prominent truth they set forth, and so in many other passages.”
“But they did also set forth the crucifixion.”
“Yes, of course; and mark the contrast. Man had slain Him on earth, but God had exalted Him to His right hand in heaven, to be a Prince and a Saviour.”
“Pardon me if I appear too tenacious about the cross. I think you said it closed up the old creation?”
“You cannot possibly be too tenacious about the cross. But for the unspeakably precious work accomplished there, you and I were still dead in trespasses and sins; still under the righteous wrath of God; still awaiting the damnation of hell. But for the cross God had remained dishonored in His creation, but now is immeasurably glorified thereby, a thing of infinitely greater importance than our salvation, although, thanks to His wisdom and His grace, both go together, He having accomplished the one with the other. But when I say the cross closed up the old creation I speak of it as the place where man crucified his Saviour; but you must also bear in mind that the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God had provided against this wickedness; and while man, as man, sealed his own ruin, when he nailed Jesus on the cross, God made the cross the basis on which He could set up the new creation; and the resurrection is the manifest proof and token of all this. A man cannot be risen, except he have first been dead.”
“Oh, I see! Then I was dead?”
"Surely; and by faith in Him whom God raised from the dead you are now risen, as it says, Ye are risen with Him through the faith (or belief) of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead." (Col. 2:1212Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12).)
“Is not this Scripture spoken of in connection with baptism”
“Yes; baptism is a material symbol or picture of an act which is unseen, but quite as real as that which is seen; yea, much more so. The process of sight illustrates the process of faith. The Lord Himself appointed this symbol, therefore it must, of course, be perfect.”
“Say a little more about this; I think I understand it.”
“It is very simple; there is no mystery about it. Suppose I meet with a soul oppressed with a sense of its sins, and desiring deliverance, I say, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Where is He? ‘says the enquirer.
At the right hand of God,' I rejoin. ‘But what about my sins? "Himself bare our sins in His own body on the tree," ' I reply. 'And because He was an adequate sacrifice, God has raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand, and offers Him there as the object of your faith.' I believe,' replies he, in my heart, and I confess with my mouth, that God raised Him from the dead.' Then I take him to the water, and as I plunge him under, I remind him that thus he is buried with Christ; thus he takes leave of the Old Creation; thus are his sins washed away; and as he rises from the water do I remind him that thus he is risen with Christ; thus he is in the New Creation; thus he is alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.'”
“How beautiful the figure becomes when one understands that which it figures!”
“Yes; and how the Lord has, in His tender, gracious care, remembered how feeble is our apprehension of divine things in thus giving us this shadow, that by it we might comprehend the substance!”
“Truly. But how I wish I could stand forever in that resurrection moment!”
“And so you do. God looks at you in Christ, and never sees you otherwise than in that resurrection moment. Once there, you are there for ever. You are passed from death unto life.”
“But what about sins committed after this?”
“They belong to the Old Creation, and become as hateful to you as they are to God.”
“But will not God call me to account for them?”
“Certainly; but it makes all the difference whether He calls you to account as a saint or saved one, or whether He calls you to account as a sinner or lost one.”
“Oh, I see! Then I never come before God again in the character of a sinner?”
“Never. He that is born of God sinneth not.
You are always before God in the character of a saint, a member of Christ, a child of the New Creation; pure, spotless, sinless, holy.”
“Then I appear to have two existences; one that was born of the flesh, impure, defiled, sinful, and that belonged to earth; and one that is born of God, pure, spotless, holy, and that belongs to heaven.”
“Yes; the first belongs to the Old Creation, the last to the New. The first was spoiled by the devil, the last was the result of the work of Christ. The first was marred by disobedience; the last came about through perfect obedience.”
“But how is the New Creation nature sustained?”
“By the Holy Ghost, sent down for the express purpose, consequent upon the resurrection of Christ. He is the living link of connection between Christ at God's right hand, and our new or risen nature down here. Every individual act that we undertake as spiritual people is guided and controlled by the Holy Ghost, who links us with Christ.”
“But is not the old nature a great hindrance? I suppose. Satan influences the old nature as the Holy Ghost does the new!”
“Precisely; I see you are understanding it all now.”
“Yes, and I am so thankful; but please answer one or two questions more, and then I shall go on my way rejoicing. Tell me; when my new nature is disgusted with the acts of my old nature, and which (though I hear some people call it failure) I must call by its right name, sin; tell me what I must do with this hateful sin?”
“Confess it to God. Hide nothing from Him. The blood of Christ, that made you clean at first, has eternal efficacy to keep you clean in your walk and ways. Not that the first work has to be repeated, that was done once and forever on the cross; but upon the ground of that perfect work you shall be kept clean. ‘He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.' Confession keeps the soul in its proper dependent condition before God, and justifies God, as to the failure or sin committed, instead of self. What God looks for from you is your judgment of the sin as sin, and that according to His own judgment of what sin is, He having given you a nature to hate it as He hates it.”
“Once more, and I have done. What you said about volume one and volume two has fixed itself on my mind. I am 'afraid I have hardly read more than the first page of volume two.”
“To him that hath shall be given. Ponder the truths here laid before you, and act upon them fearlessly. Never mind what Satan or Satan's instruments may say about presumption, self-sufficiency, and the like; but press on, forgetting that which is behind (volume one), and reaching forth to that which is before (volume two), press toward the mark (Christ Jesus the Lord) for the prize (Christ Jesus the Lord) of the high (or heavenly) calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
“Thank you very much; you have made me so happy.”
“Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." W. R. H.
It is the fact of God having provided a Saviour for sinners that so richly manifests divine love; and when received into the heart by faith, the ruined and lost become attracted to the bosom of sod. No one ever could have conceived that God had such love for sinful man as. Jesus revealed. To condemn sin in His only begotten Son, that He might bring us to glory, instead of eternally condemning us, as we so justly deserved, was such a deep thought of unutterable love as the cross of Christ alone could fully set forth.