We have frequently bad submitted to us, in substance, the following question and remarks, namely, “Why is it that so many sincere christians never get rid of doubts, fears, and questionings, as to the full assurance of their salvation? Sometimes they seem sure, and are bright and happy, but in a little while they seem depressed, doubt their interest in Christ, and are most unhappy. We know of some who are every now and then on the borders of despair, and even when they do find something like peace, they are in constant terror that it will not last long; that it can never be said of such that they have true peace or rest.”
Such a state of things we know to be very common, and believe it proceeds from different causes in different persons, and in most cases the real cause seems hidden from the person’s own mind. In many cases, perhaps more than we suspect, a dark, fluctuating state of soul is the result of its feint and feeble desires after the knowledge of the Person of Christ. If the soul really desire the knowledge of Jesus, valuing Him above all other things, we may rest assured that He will reveal Himself to that soul. And, as a happy consequence, light, peace, joy, and stability would characterize its condition. Is not the Holy Spirit grieved because we value so little, and breathe so faintly after, the knowledge and fellowship of the Lord Jesus? The grand object of His mission and presence in the Church is to reveal Christ to the soul. “He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:1414He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. (John 16:14).
How often, alas, are some almost entirely occupied with themselves, in one way or another, in place of Christ—their faith, their interest, their feelings, their clouds, of their gleams of sunshine. Still it is all and only self. The Person of the Lord Jesus, and His wondrous love, are but little dwelt upon, either in heart or in conversation; and consequently, He is but little known, loved, and valued. Hence the Spirit is grieved, Christ is not revealed to the soul, and darkness and feebleness necessarily follow. Could self be only set aside as good for nothing, and Christ become all in all to the heart, the soul would rapidly grow, and speedily manifest the features of the Divine nature, and become more like unto Christ Himself. Oh to prize more what He is in Himself, and in all His wondrous love to us; and to pant after a fuller, deeper character of communion with Him, as our living Head in glory! Then would our souls enjoy the happy liberty of His love.
Again, there are others who, though they may not be occupied with self in that particular way, and may even have an assurance that they are saved, still, they know little of the true peace of the gospel, and less of communion with the Person of Christ. They are taken up with something that is lower than Him. Service preoccupies the mind. What we may call the things of Christ, or rather the things of Christianity, occupy them; and though in themselves right and praiseworthy things, they are allowed to come between the heart and the Person of their Lord and Master. This will prove sad work for the soul, and must lead to dryness, leanness, and unfruitfulness in love, joy, and peace. Oh! for more of the spirit of him who said, “For me to live is Christ.” (Phil. 1:21, 2221For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. (Philippians 1:21‑22).) When Christ Himself is the object and center of the heart, its peace and joy will abound, and thereby be strengthened for happy and abundant labors. The third of the Philippians is a practical chapter on this point. The servant need not labor less, but keep it in its own place, that Christ may have fully and entirely His.
But there is another class, and one to which we would more especially direct our attention. We refer to those who may, or may not, have been recently awakened, but who are earnestly seeking peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is now a numerous class, blessed be the name of the Lord. May it be increased a hundredfold. Many are brought into peace, it may be, the same evening that they are awakened, but their enjoyment of it, in some instances, is interrupted at a very early stage of their new course. Here the enemy will seek to persuade the young converts, that what was called conversion is all a delusion, and that they have neither part nor lot in the matter. Such fiery darts can only be quenched by the shield of faith. Not by reasoning, or even by referring to the date of conversion, but only by looking to Jesus, and trusting in Him. When the eye is kept fixed on Christ, Satan’s darts fall powerless to the ground. Others, again, in place of being brought into peace at once, continue for some time in distress, and pass through deep exercise of soul. “But why is this” our enquirer may ask. “Is this experience necessary to genuine conversion?” Certainly not. It may accompany it, but the Scriptures teach us that a soul is converted when it is truly turned to God. The expression of the change may be very feeble, and connected with much that hinders it, but when it is real, conversion has taken place; the soul has a new life and new desires. Acts 11:21; 15:1921And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. (Acts 11:21)
19Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: (Acts 15:19); 1 Thess. 1:99For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
But surely it is no marvelous thing for a soul to be deeply agitated when first it sees its condition under sin, in the light of God’s presence; nor that it should be easily disturbed, until it be more deeply rooted in the truth of God, although it has got a glimpse of the ground of peace. The main source, we believe, of all such distress and changeableness, is the soul looking at things which concern it, from a wrong point of view. The constant tendency of an anxious soul is to judge of God, and what He is to it, from its own feelings. Hence, its conclusions are entirely wrong. In place of thinking of God according to the revelation which He has given us of Himself in Christ, it reasons about Him from what it feels within. This wrong way of looking at divine things must necessarily lead to great misapprehension, confusion, and perplexity. And while the soul continues so to look at things, its distress must remain. No relief can be found until it looks outside of itself. God in Christ, the Saviour God, is the true object of faith. (Isa. 45, John 4) In place of reasoning from its own feelings up to God, it must learn to reason from God down to its feelings. This is the only right point of view for a soul at all times, whether it be in the condition of a babe, a young man, or a father.
The all-important questions for an anxious soul are not what it feels and what it thinks, but, such as the following:
1. What is God to me a guilty sinner?
2. What has God done to save me a lost sinner?
3. What will God do for me an awakened, seeking sinner?
4. What will God be to me a believing sinner?
To some of our readers, and especially our youthful readers, these questions may be subjects of interesting Scriptural inquiry. And when the first is understood, the doubts and fears will be all gone, and the second, third, fend fourth will be quite plain. So we will leave them, and give, in illustration of our subject, the substance of a recent conversation with a young man in deep concern about his soul. He introduced himself by saying, “ I would like to speak to you by yourself. I am very anxious, very unhappy, cannot rest. I cannot see my way clear at all.”
“Well, what a mercy, what a mercy it is to have the conscience touched about sin, and the heart in any measure turned to God. Can you believe that He is doing all this in love? Are you satisfied that God loves you notwithstanding all your sins?”
“That is what I want to feel, but I can’t feel it. I feel that I am a great sinner; you don’t know what I have been, but I can’t feel as if I would be forgiven.”
“Do you really believe that God regards you as a great sinner?”
“Ο yes, indeed I do; I am sure of that.” “But now, tell me, how are you that sure of that?” “Because I know it—I feel it; I have been a very great sinner.”
“But is there no other way that we may know it besides feeling it? Has not God told us in His word that we are all sinners?”
“Yes, I know He has, and I would give the world to know that I am pardoned.” “O, you need not speak about giving; God is not asking anything; neither is he seeking to condemn you because of your sins, but to turn your heart to Jesus. But now, take the ground of faith as a sinner. You can only have to do with God now by faith. Know and believe that you are a sinner, not because you feel it, but because God says it. And then comes the important question, What is God to me a sinner? Now, don’t look within—look to Himself—hear His word. What does it say? ‘But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8).)
Can you receive the truth here so plainly stated, namely, that God is love to you a sinner?”
“The word says it, and we should believe it; I know that.”
“But should not you believe it now? Will it be truer tomorrow? Does not God say He loves the sinner? and you say that’s what you are. Therefore He says plainly that He loves you.”
“That’s what I want to believe, but I can’t feel that He loves me; my sins seem so great.
“Well, that’s true, but in place of looking at your sins, as you know them in yourself, look at them in the light of this verse, and you will see that it is by means of these that you know how much God loves you. It was your sins that drew forth this wondrous love, in the gift of Jesus. God loved us, Christ died for us, ‘while we were yet sinners’—while we were as black and vile as sin could make us. Righteousness judged the sins, and love saves the sinner, through the sufferings and death of the blessed Lord Jesus. O, wondrous, wondrous love! But mark, this is not all. Not only has God manifested His love in giving Jesus to die for you a sinner, but the same love has followed you in all your wanderings, and followed you to this room to night, and now He has laid His hand of love upon you, and is drawing you to His beloved Son. O, yield your heart to the drawings of His love. Look up! only look to Jesus! Hear Him saying to you, ‘Look unto me,.... and be ye saved,’ and ‘Come unto me,.... and I will give you rest.’ Be done, then, with your feelings and reasonings about yourself. Dwell on the love of God as it has been manifested in the death of Christ for you, and let your whole soul rest on the truth of that word, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” The moment you take your place among those who believe, your sins are all cleansed away. The answer of Jesus to your every anxious look and earnest desire, is, ‘Thy sins which were many are all forgiven. Go in peace.’ 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7); 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. (Luke 7:36)
50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (Luke 7:50).”
“Well, I think I believe all that; I see it quite differently now. But I thought that I ought to feel it all in myself, before I could believe it was true to me. I now see I must not look to myself, but only to Jesus.”
“Yes, my dear young man, the only sure way of keeping our eyes off ourselves, is to keep them fixed on Jesus.”
Before closing this paper, we desire to say a plain word on the perplexing subject of “feeling.” We meet with it everywhere. The mistake into which so many fall, is that of confounding the enjoyment of truth, when believed, with the mere feelings or impressions of their own minds. When persons say, “I can’t feel that God loves me—that Christ died for me—that my sins are forgiven,” we believe they simply mean, “I do not enjoy or feel the power of these blessed truths.” But how can these or any other truths be enjoyed, or their power felt, until they are believed? Faith never refers to self, but always to the word of God. We meet with many who want to feel that they are believers, before they have believed the truth, and to feel that they are safe before they trust in Jesus.
Now, this is all confusion. The truth to be believed, mark, is outside of self—the enjoyment of it is within. “The Lord direct your hearts,” says the apostle, “into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.” (2 Thess. 3:55And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:5).) These blessed central truths are ever the same—unchangeable, outside, and independent of the believer; nevertheless, they are to be enjoyed in the heart. But if we at times fail to realize their power, and to enjoy them in our hearts, they remain unchangeably the same. The object of faith is ever outside of self—the enjoyment of it within. Our failing to enjoy the object, can never lessen its value, or change its character.
The truth as to pardon, peace, and acceptance must be received in faith before it can be enjoyed, or its power felt. The same moment that the sinner is brought to Jesus in faith, the whole need of the soul is met—fully, perfectly, and forever met. When this is believed, the soul has rest; not, observe, in its own feelings, but in the word of Christ believed. He never says to one who comes to Him, “I will forgive.” No, blessed be His name; but, in plainest terms, He says, “Son, daughter, thy sins are forgiven, thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” Mark 2:55When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (Mark 2:5).
The only question now is, Can the troubled one receive it as the truth of God? If so, the voice of Jesus has spoken peace to that soul. And if the ear be kept open only for Him, its peace will be as complete and settled as the word of Christ can make it. Did Jesus ever send away a seeking soul from His presence in a state of uncertainty? No! never! and He never will. His word is pledged. “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” When He says, “Thy sins are forgiven,” should the soul have another doubt as to the blessed fact? When He says, “Thy faith hath saved thee,” should the slightest feeling of uncertainty remain? When He says, “Go in peace,” should the soul go in trouble? Assuredly not! And assuredly it will not, if only it looks to Him, and not within—if only it hears His word, and listens not to the voice of its own feelings. Oh! that anxious, troubled souls, would only cease from looking within, and from judging of their state before God from their own feelings. The blessed consequences of faith in Christ are fully and plainly revealed in God’s word. Let the eye of faith rest on it, and let the heart of faith count it most surely, and forever, true, and then peace, like a river, will flow into your soul. The character of your own mind, the nature of your religious education, or your present opportunities, can in nowise affect the heart of God, or the word and work of Christ. Faith’s blessed, and never-ending consequences, the Spirit of truth declares to be, 1. Being justified. 2. Having peace. 3. Standing in favor. 4. Waiting for glory.
Ο eyes that are weary, and hearts that are sore,
Look off unto Jesus, and sorrow no more:
The light of His countenance shineth so bright,
That on earth, as in heaven, there need be no night.
“Looking off unto Jesus,” my eyes cannot see
The troubles and dangers that throng around me:
They cannot be blinded with sorrowful tears,
They cannot be shadowed with unbelief-fears.
“Looking off unto Jesus,” my spirit is blest,—
In the world I have turmoil—in Him I have rest:
The sea of my life all about me may roar, -
When I look unto Jesus, I hear it no more.
“Looking off unto Jesus,” I go not astray;
My eyes are on Him, and He shows me the way;
The path may seem dark, as He leads me along,
But following Jesus, I cannot go wrong.
“Looking off unto Jesus,” my heart cannot fear,—
Its trembling is still, when I see Jesus near
For, “Why are ye troubled?” He saith unto me.
I know that His power my safeguard will be.
“Looking off unto Jesus,” oh! may I be found,
Should the waters of Jordan encompass me round:
Let them bear me away in His presence to be:—
‘Tis but seeing Him nearer, whom always I see.
Then, then I shall know the full beauty and grace
Of Jesus my Lord, when I stand face to face:
I shall know how His love went before me each day,
And wonder that ever my eyes turned away!