But there may be some who do trust in Jesus, and who are yet far from being happy. Why is this? The heart may be really trusting Christ, as every believer does, however feebly; but the full truth of God is not believed. In place of looking to Jesus, and then to the word of God, they look to Jesus and then to themselves. They think that if their prayers were answered, they must have the feelings of peace, assurance, or whatever it may be that they are waiting for. But if these feelings are not experienced, they conclude that the answer has not come— that God is not regarding them, and that peace is further off than ever. This is a snare of Satan.
An interesting circumstance was reported by a missionary years ago, of an old African chief, which illustrates this point. He was converted in his old age, after a life such as heathen chiefs usually live. His desire to learn to read was great, that he might read for himself about Jesus — the Jesus who loved Africans and died for them. He was shown the way, he persevered, and, so far, he succeeded. One day as the missionary was passing along, he saw the aged chief sitting under a palm tree. He paused; he observed a book lying open on his knees. After looking on the book a little, he raised his head, clasped his hands, and looked up, as if conversing with someone in heaven. After a few moments, he turned his eyes again to the book. The scene was too sacred for the missionary to intrude; so he passed on without disturbing him. Sometime after, when he had an opportunity, he reminded him of what he had witnessed, and asked him what he was doing? “O, Massa,” he replied, “when me look down on the book and read, then God talk to me; and when me stop and look up, mc talk to God.” May both, reader and writer profit by the old chiefs example.
This is what we want every anxious soul to do. Look up — look on — never within. In place of locking within, after looking up to Jesus, look on the book, read God’s answer in His own book; His word is definite and never changes. Faith’s object is never within, but always outside of self. And what does the book say to every soul that looks to Jesus? — “saved.” “Look unto me and be ye saved.” And what does it say to those who come to Jesus under a deep sense of their sin and unworthiness, and can only cast themselves on His mercy? The answer is ready, listen, and, O, believe. “ Thy sins are forgiven — thy faith hath saved thee — go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-5036And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 40And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (Luke 7:36‑50).) And so for every case, there is the ready answer in God’s book. An awakened soul, in the depths of heathen darkness, and in a state of despair, through conscious guilt, may cry out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Can there be an answer in God’s book for such an one? Can there be salvation on the spot for such an one? Most assuredly there is! “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” But what could the Philippian jailor know of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of faith in Him? Scarcely anything, we may be sure. Nevertheless the salvation of his soul did not depend on his knowledge, but on Christ. At such a moment there was no time to lose or to explain. Hence, the apostle, with a readiness and an energy suited to the moment, exclaims, “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” As if he had said, “Cast thyself on the Savior of sinners — throw thyself this moment — as thou art — where thou art — on the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe that thou art safe, trusting in Him.” He believed the apostle’s word—was saved — then instructed — then rejoiced, and brought forth abundantly the fruits of faith. His noble example was blest to the saving of his house. Another may come as a prodigal, who has sinned against knowledge, love, and every form of kindness; the answer perfectly suits the condition. He is welcomed with open arms, and with the kiss of perfect reconciliation. Thus every prodigal is welcomed. To say “No,” would be to contradict the word of God; and, worse still; it would be, in effect, to say, that it misleads. But, in “the gospel of God,” He acts from Himself, and of Himself, and for His own glory. The Father goes out to meet the prodigal son. His heart overflows with compassion while the son is yet a great way off, and He must run to meet him. A father’s heart is a father’s heart after all. “God is love;” and will act worthy of Himself in spite of our unbelief.
The prevailing thought in almost all minds that are not at rest about their salvation, is as to what they ought to be for God, in place of what God is for them. This is one of Satan’s most subtle snares. But supposing the Philippian jailor had begun to reason with Paul about what he had been, and how he then felt, in place of simply believing his word, and at once trusting all to Christ; what would have been the result? Only misery in place of joy. And so it must be in every case. This is the grand mistake of multitudes, and one that is the fruitful source of endless troubles, and in a thousand different ways. The former is the principle of law, the latter of grace. The spirit of law, in the nature of things, throws the soul back on itself, to look for something there, that will suit the requirement, so long therefore, as the exercised soul keeps looking within for this something, the principle of law is at work. On the other hand, grace reveals Christ to the soul as its proper object, and not only so, but the believer’s place in Him.
Christ having met all the requirements of God, and all the necessities of the sinner, faith finds perfect rest in His finished work. When Christ is thus known by the believer, He becomes the object of his supreme delight, his refuge in all troubles, and his answer to all questions. He very naturally says, “The One who so loves me as to die for me, is worthy of all my trust!” But in the proportion that a soul is taken up with what it ought to be for God, grace is lost sight of, which, in plain terms, is to lose sight of the work of Christ, our acceptance in Him, and the testimony of God’s word to us as one with Him.
But it may be urged, that God has His claims on man, and that though Israel only, as a nation, was formally and definitely put under the law at Sinai, yet it surely is of universal application. Most true, as to human conduct, but the covenant of Sinai is not the gospel of the grace of God. The former required a righteousness from man, the latter brings a divine righteousness to the sinner; and from the moment he bows to Jesus as his Savior, he stands before God in all its dignity and blessedness. And, further, we must bear in mind, that the believer, however young in the faith, is not on the ground where law applies. His standing is neither that of Jew nor Gentile. “But ye are not in the flesh,” says the apostle, “but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” (Rom. 8:99But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (Romans 8:9).) The law applies to man in the flesh, or in the first Adam. But the Christian is in the Second Adam. The law was made for the unrighteous, but the believer is made the righteousness of God in Christ. Therefore it cannot apply “to them which are in Christ Jesus.” The apostle plainly says, “We are not under the law, but under grace.” Rom. 6:1515What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (Romans 6:15).
When God made known His claims on man, through the law, it was then fully manifested that no one could meet them; and, consequently, all fell under the curse of a broken law. What then was to be done with man — a sinner — a law-breaker? Either he must be hopelessly condemned, or God must find a way, consistently with Himself, to show mercy. This He has done, blessed be His name. Let the cross be witness. He gave His Son.
In due time Christ came. He met God’s claims on man, bore the curse, blotted out sin, died in the sinner’s stead, and opened up the way in righteousness for God’s love and mercy to flow forth. This is the solid foundation of “the gospel of God” — the revelation of His boundless grace to the chief of sinners.
When man’s utterly lost condition is thus seen, nothing good will be expected in the thoughts and feelings, any more than in the actions. The thought of what I ought to be for God will be given up; Christ will be all in all. “ For I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” (Rom. 7:1818For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (Romans 7:18).) What a relief — what a deliverance — to be done with self — to know it, and to treat it, as a good-for-nothing thing! “I am crucified with Christ,” says Paul, “nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” (Gal. 2:2020I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20).) Again, he says, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” (Rom. 6:6, 7, 86Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (Romans 6:6‑8).) Surely these passages, and many others that might be quoted, should teach the anxious, restless soul, to be completely done with self in every form. Why look for anything good in that which God has set aside as utterly bad? Not even one right feeling towards God can ever spring from our first Adam nature. In God’s sight, and according to the whole bearing of the Epistles, it is treated as a crucified, dead, buried, and forgotten thing. Strange that we should still own it as alive, and think it capable of producing some good thing for God! But so long as we do so, we increase our troubles, and get further away from rest and peace. The believer, as a child of the first Adam, came to his end on the cross. Christ is his new eternal life; he is risen from the dead in Christ, and now before God in Him. “Ye in me, and I in you.” This is grace; and, by and by, it will be wondrous glory, And, now, in the view of such scriptures, what ought to be the thoughts, feelings, and language of every believer in Christ? So far as we can answer from the word of God, and from long experience, we should say — Rejoicing in the full liberty and blessing of the gospel before God. The soul is near to God as Christ is near, being in Him, and adorned with His comeliness. Can more be needed? Can more be desired? It is thus as far removed from sin and judgment as Christ Himself. “They are not of the world,” as He says, “even as I am not of the world.” Such truths have only to be received, in order to fill the heart with heavenly joy. “And these things,” says the apostle, “write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” (1 John 1:44And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:4).) Not merely, observe, that they might have joy, but that they might have fullness of joy. And why not? To know that Christ once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, is surely enough; we need nothing more to satisfy the heart.
For a sinner to be brought to God, is to be brought through death and resurrection, in union with Him who died and rose again. “Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” (1 Pet. 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18).) This is the great foundation truth of the soul’s perfect peace in the presence of God. All that belonged to the first Adam is destroyed and left behind, and the believer stands before God in all the blessedness of the risen, exalted, and glorified Man. He is now addressed in Scripture, as a Christian, a king, a priest, a child of God, an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. His citizenship is in heaven, he belongs to the new creation — to God’s new world. There, “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” And to crown the blessedness of the new creation, it is added, “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 5) These scriptures, I need not say, do not apply to the believer’s experience, as many, unhappily, have taught, and many believed. The old nature in the most advanced Christian, is the same as it ever was, it has not “passed away.” The passage refers to the new creation — to our association with Christ in resurrection; and of which He is the center, life, and glory. And there, as we read, “All things are of God.” It is God’s new world. On everything in the old creation we find written, “passeth away.” But everything in the new creation is stamped with God’s own perfectness and unchangeableness. Happy thought! Blessed truth! All is perfect and unchangeable. “I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it.” Eccles. 3:1414I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
(Continued from page 120.)
(To be continued, if the Lord will)