“WHAT a magnificent sight,” I exclaimed, as I observed a young man sitting on a wagon in the open street of one of the largest manufacturing cities in England, reading his Bible. I was at once attracted by such a sight, and stopped to inquire what he had found in the Bible to make him pore over its pages, when others were hurrying to and fro after the busy concerns of life.
“Do you know your sins forgiven, and are you saved by the One of whom your Bible speaks?” were the pointed questions I addressed to him.
“I am,” he replied, “if I continue in the faith, and hold on to the end.”
“On what ground are you saved, or on what ground do you hope to be saved, might I ask? Is it on the ground of your own works, or the finished work of Christ?”
“Of course it is on the ground of the finished work of Christ,” he said, “but must we not hold on to the end?”
“It is time enough for you to talk about holding on to the end, and continuing in the faith, when you know that you are in the faith, and that you are resting on the solid rock―Christ and His finished work, and when you know that the whole question of your sins has been settled with God. It would help you greatly if you saw the force of those words in Romans 5:9, 109Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For 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 5:9‑10)― ‘Much more, then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 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.’ It is plain from those verses that the believer in Christ is already justified―cleared from all charge of guilt by the blood of Christ, and that he is also reconciled to God―brought into a place of nearness in which formerly he was not.
“The argument of the apostle is, If all this has taken place, that is, that we have been perfectly justified and brought near to God, is there any danger of our being lost after all? Clearly not. As to the future we shall be saved from wrath by the very One through whose blood we have been now justified, and through whose death we have been reconciled; and as to the present, we are being saved by His life. ‘Because I live, ye shall live also.’ ‘He ever liveth to make intercession for us.’ And because He ever lives with God for us as our great high priest, and as our unfailing advocate with the Father, He is able to save unto the uttermost―on to the very end of our pilgrimage-pathway―all that come unto God by Him. But to be explicit with you, turn over in your Bible to Hebrews 10:9, 10,9Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:9‑10) and read: ‘Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.’
“You know the meaning of sanctified―it simply means being set apart. Well, is it not clear to you from the verses you have read, that the believer in Christ is set apart to God, by God’s will having been accomplished through the work of Christ done once for all?
“Yes, it does seem clear that we are absolutely sanctified by the work of Christ done once for all, which certainly needs none of our doings appended.
“He was a perfect Saviour. He offered Himself a perfect sacrifice according to the will of God, and God has accepted the work done. It needs no repetition, and indeed never will be repeated. Well now, read verses 14-17: ‘For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant 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 iniquities I will remember no more. Now where remission of these is there is no more offering for sin.’
“Could anything be plainer than these verses as to the entire satisfaction or setting apart to God of all true believers in the full value of the work of Christ? And, moreover, those who are thus sanctified, are said to be perfected forever, which simply means in perpetuity, like a lease which never runs out. And the Holy Ghost testifies to us (not in us yet, though He dwells in every saved person) by the written Word, that our sins and iniquities God in His marvelous grace remembers no more. All are forgotten, thank God. How gloriously grand is such a salvation, and how worthy of the God of all grace.”
Having said these few words as a passing stranger, I left my friend to ponder them, in the hope that his soul might be established in the true grace of God.
That salvation is entirely of grace, and not of works or merit on our part, Scripture over and over again asserts. Paul says, “And if it be grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then grace is no more grace: otherwise work is no more Work” (Rom. 11:66And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. (Romans 11:6)).
I shall never forget once conversing with a lady upon these matters. Our conversation turned upon a deceased gentleman, whom she had rightly held in high esteem. She wound up the conversation by saying, “If there be one man in heaven that man is sure to be there, for he was such a good man.” To her great surprise I said, “Well, ma’am, if that man be in heaven he could not be there but on the same ground as the dying robber―as a sinner saved by the matchless grace of God.” “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:99Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:9)).
For nearly six thousand years the minds of men have been filled with DOING. Cain tried it, when he brought of the fruit of the ground, that God had cursed, to atone for his guilt, and to find acceptance with God; but God rejected him and his bloodless offering. Abel, on the contrary, came on the ground of simple faith. Disclaiming any and all merit on his part, “he brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” (type of the Lamb of God who was to come), and offered his sacrifice to God, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, and stood before God an accepted worshipper.
The great, honorable, mighty, valiant, but leprous Naaman, the proud captain of Syria’s hosts, thought that he would get cured of his leprosy when he brought with him ten talents of silver, also six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment to present to the prophet of Israel. But no, the prophet quickly let him know, to the wounding of his pride, and the grief of his heart, that the cure could not be obtained for money.
“What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” was the question addressed to the Lord by the motley crowd of John 6. He answered, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (vs. 29).
“What must I do to be saved?” was the all-important and most momentous inquiry made by the awakened jailor, of the servants of Christ he had so unjustly beaten. The answer was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” When the sense of guilt is felt when the sinner is aroused to a true sense of his awful condition in God’s sight, then distress about the past, and solemn dread of the future bring such soul agony that the awakened man seems almost to skirt the very abyss of despair. What a critical moment this is in the soul’s history, and one not by any means to be trifled with. Better to be awakened on earth where God’s mercy is shown, than to wake up in hell, where one drop of water (the smallest conceivable mercy) was denied the man who fared sumptuously every day while here upon earth.
But a person may say, Are we not told in James that Abraham was justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac upon the altar? And does Paul not also say, “By which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain?”
Both statements are quite true, and though they may at first seem difficult to reconcile, do not in reality clash with what has been said in the beginning of this paper.
We must ever remember that Scripture never contradicts itself. There may be, and doubtless there are, difficulties, but we may rest assured the ignorance is in us, and the Holy Spirit, who indited the word, is the One who alone can make it plain, and will to those who in simplicity and lowliness desire to learn.
It is important to see that James takes a man on the profession of his faith, and asks him to show his faith by his works. He rightly says, “What doth it profit, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?” He is not content with the mere saying or confession of a man’s lips, he says, “Show me thy faith without thy works,” and I “will show thee my faith by my works.” As much as to say, I cannot read your heart to see whether you have faith, but I can see your conduct; and he brings Abraham forward to prove his point.
The apparent conflict between Paul and James vanishes when we see that Paul speaks of our justification before God alone, which is by faith only, while James speaks of our justification not before God but before men. Paul speaks of Abraham’s justification before Isaac was born, when God promised him a son, from whom a seed should spring which would be more numerous than the stars of the sky and the sand by the sea shore. He believed God, and was thus accounted righteous.
When Isaac was not only born, but had grown up to manhood, God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to offer up his only son, from whom all this seed was to spring. God had no need of any proof of Abraham’s faith. He knew it was there already, but men cannot see where God’s eye sees, and hence they look for us to prove our faith by a consistent life of true godliness and good works. All works to be acceptable to God must have faith as their spring, else they would be what Scripture calls “dead works.” For “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:66But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)). And though faith could not be called a work, yet “it worketh by love.”
As to “believing in vain,” a reference to the context will show at once what the apostle meant. Paul devotes nearly all 1 Corinthians 15, in which this statement occurs, to prove what some amongst the Corinthians were boldly denying, viz., the resurrection of the dead. He refreshes their minds with the gospel he preached when he was among them, which was that “Christ died for our sins, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures,” and divinely assures them, “By which also ye are saved, unless ye have believed in vain.” He then brings forth evidence to prove that Christ was raised. There were those who saw Him after His resurrection. And so strongly does he speak on the subject (thus showing its great importance) that in the 14th verse he says, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith (or believing) is also vain.” And again he asserts in the 17th verse, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” But, thank God, Christ is risen, having died for our sins and having borne the judgment of them. He settled the whole question of them with God, and eternally vindicated God’s righteousness in doing so; and as the righteous answer to His finished work, God raised Him from the dead, and enthroned Him in the highest glory, where Paul saw Him, and from whence he was converted through Him. So then the believer is no longer in his sins, nor has he believed in vain.
What a glorious triumph was the resurrection of Christ. It was the fullest vindication of Him and His finished work that God could possibly have shown. And He being raised as “the first-fruits,” the harvest is sure to follow. All who are Christ’s will be raised like Him, as Romans 8:11There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)1 Says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
As to continuing in the faith, we ought to do so, and will, if we are truly saved, as Peter says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” And Paul said to the Hebrews, “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak” (Heb. 6:99But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. (Hebrews 6:9)).
“Far as is east from west, are sundered wide
Thou and thy sins: no whirling tide
Of righteous condemnation e’er shall roll
O’er thee, believing sinner—Christ has died
To save thy soul.
Has died and lives, to show the work complete:
Kneel, kneel, adoring, at the feet
Of Him, Jehovah―Jesus, Christ, the Word
That was―is―shall be. With hosannas greet
Our coming Lord.
Coming to judge the earth and all therein
With us―the Bride He died to win,
Caught up, in mid-air, to His loving breast;
No more vain longings―ah, and no more sin;
‘Tis peace and rest.”
P. W.