48. “W. L.,” Paddington. The inspired apostle James tells us that “Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” Does not this answer the question as to faith? Some may, perhaps, have a difficulty as to Eph. 2:88For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)—“By grace are ye saved, through faith, and this (τοῦτο) not of yourselves, the gift of God;” but to us it is perfectly clear that “ faith,” like every other good and perfect gift, is from God. “All men have not faith,” or, as it should be read, “Faith is not of all.” If faith be not the gift of God, it is only an exercise of the human mind, and, as such, perfectly worthless. Faith is a divine reality wrought in the soul by the Holy Ghost. It grasps the revelation of God, and thus links the heart with Him in a divine way. It is all of God, from first to last. “All things are of God” in the new creation. Blessed be His holy name for the assurance! Were it not so—were there the weight of a feather, or the movement of an eyelash, of ours in the whole matter, it would spoil all.
49. “A Reader of Things New and Old,” Jersey. We have not seen the book to which you refer; and, judging from the extract which you have sent us, we have no desire to see it. We heartily and reverently believe in the plenary inspiration of the holy scriptures, given of God in the Hebrew and Greek languages. No doubt errors are found in various versions, copies, and translations. We speak only of the scriptures as given of God. Oh, dear friend, what an unspeakable comfort to have a divine revelation! What should we do, whither should we turn, if we were left to men’s thoughts on the subject? What a poor affair it would be for us if we had to look to men to accredit the word of God! They would very soon rob us of its authority and value. What impudent presumption for poor worms of the earth to dare to sit in judgment upon the word of God! —to pronounce upon what is and what is not worthy of God! If God cannot make us understand His word, if He cannot give us the assurance that it is He Himself who speaks to us in holy scripture, what are we to do? Can man manage the matter better? He seems to think so; but we have very grave doubts on the subject. If God cannot make us understand His word, no man can; if He does, no man need. “We should earnestly counsel you, dear friend, to fling aside all such books, however highly commended. Alas! alas! it seems to be the fashion now-a-days, in quarters where we should least expect it, to commend in most glowing terms all sorts of infidel books, and blasphemous attacks upon the word of God and the Person of Christ. We cannot but judge it to be a very great mistake indeed for Christians to read such books, unless they are called and fitted of God to expose them. Would you read a book entitled, “A treatise wherein it is sought to be proved that two and three do not make five?” We hardly think you would. If God has graciously given you to rest by faith upon His eternal word, what more do you want? Assuredly, infidel books cannot help you. God is His own interpreter in scripture as well as in providence. Would you think of turning to some skeptical or rationalistic book to help you in the solution of the mysteries of God’s government? We trust not. Then why turn to such for a judgment as to inspiration? We cannot refrain from quoting for you that magnificent passage in 2 Tim. 3: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect (ἄρτιος), thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” We greatly fear, dear friend, you were not under the cover of the shield of faith while perusing this book of which you speak; but we earnestly pray that your precious soul may be enabled to fling off, with calm decision, any dark and skeptical suggestions which maybe troubling you, and to return to its sacred rest in the eternal stability of divine revelation. God grant it, in His infinite mercy!
50. “Η. Β. K.,” Kingstown. Your difficulty as to Luke 12:35, 3635Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. (Luke 12:35‑36) arises from introducing into it a line of thought which does not belong to it. There is nothing about the church in the passage. Disciples are exhorted to be like unto men that wait for their Lord. This should be our attitude. The passage applies to Christians now. Returning from the wedding, or, as in another place, returning from a far country, presents no difficulty whatever if you only see the true bearing of the exhortation.
51. “J. Ο. K.,” New York. There is a short tract, entitled, “Prayer in its Proper Place,” which may perhaps meet the need. It can be had of our publisher.
52. “A Sister in Christ.” There is surely a difference between “failure” in laying hold of a divine privilege, and “sin” against a positive command of God. The two things are plainly distinguishable, though in many cases they are one and the same.
53. “J. B.,” Kingstown. Repentance involves the moral judgment of ourselves under the action of the word of God, by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is the discovery of our utter sinfulness, guilt, and ruin, our hopeless bankruptcy, our undone condition. It expresses itself in these glowing words of Isaiah—“Woe is me; I am undone;” and in that touching utterance of Peter—“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Repentance is an abiding necessity for the sinner, and the deeper it is the better. It is the plowshare entering the soul, and turning up the fallow ground. The plowshare is not the seed, but the deeper the furrow, the stronger the root. We delight in a deep work of repentance in the soul. We fear there is far too little of it in what is called revival work. Men are so anxious to simplify the gospel, and make salvation easy, that they fail to press upon the sinner’s conscience the claims of truth and righteousness. No doubt salvation is as free as the grace of God can make it. Moreover, it is all of God, from first to last. God is its source, Christ its channel, the Holy Ghost its power of application and enjoyment. All this is blessedly true; but we must never forget that man is a responsible being—a guilty sinner—imperatively called upon to repent and turn to God. It is not that repentance has any saving virtue in it. As well might we assert that the feelings of a drowning man could save him from drowning; or that a man could make a fortune by a deed of bankruptcy filed against him. Salvation is wholly of grace; it is of the Lord in its every stage and every aspect. We cannot be too emphatic in the statement of all this; but at the same time we must remember that our blessed Lord and His apostles did constantly urge upon men, both Jews and Gentiles, the solemn duty of repentance. No doubt there is a vast amount of bad teaching on the subject, a great deal of legality and cloudiness, whereby the blessed gospel of the grace of God is sadly obscured. The soul is led to build upon its own exercises instead of on the finished work of Christ—to be occupied with a certain process, on the depth of which depends its title to come to Jesus. In short, repentance is viewed as a sort of good work, instead of its being the painful discovery that all our works are bad, and our nature incorrigible. Still, we must be careful in guarding the truth of God; and, while utterly repudiating Christendom’s false teaching on the important subject of repentance, we must not run into the mischievous extreme of denying its abiding and universal necessity.
54. “H. R.,” Faversham. We may be able to notice your communication in our next. Our friends must not always expect replies. We do not hold ourselves at all responsible to answer all the questions that are sent us.