DEAR E.—
Thank you very much for your letter and especially for opening your heart and telling me a little about your state of soul before God, which interests me more than I can tell you. You mourn over constant failure and over coldness, forgetfulness, and indifference towards our blessed Lord Jesus, and call this a trouble-some world.
Dear —, I thank God for all this, as it shows me that you are not dead to God and the SOD of His love, as so many are, though professing to be and calling themselves christians; but I long for you to go a step farther, and I know God would have it so too, and that is, that you should know and enjoy "peace with God;" assurance of acceptance without a doubt, for to doubt is to be miserable, besides most dishonoring to God [and to Christ] who has written things in His word " to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know ye have Eternal Life." 5th chap. John's 1st epistle, 13th verse.
And now that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, has come, after that Jesus was glorified at the Father's right hand, we are living in "that day" when the Lord says in John 14th and verse 20, " Ye shall know, that I am in my Father, and ye in me, [what a safe place] and I in you." " Ye shall know," mark.
But, dear -, having been through all you now experience, as deeply, perhaps more so; and God having in His grace shown me by His Word in the Gospel the way out of this slough of despond, by showing me what He is towards and for a poor sinner who really honestly endeavors himself or herself, having nothing good to say for self at all; I trust He will help me to show you why you are so often backsliding into wrong things, and feel so little love towards our blessed Lord Jesus whom you trust in.
It is this, you are looking at, or for your love towards Him, instead of at His love towards you, shown in His dying for your sins. You are looking at your feelings towards Him, instead of His feelings towards you. You look at your doings for Him (poor miserable filthy rags to look at) instead of His finished doing and perfect work for you, and how that work has satisfied God; and so you have no rest, or only at times. You must remember that He never loved us because we had, or ever will have anything worthy or deserving His love, in us. "In me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing." " God commendeth His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 5th Romans. " Herein is love, not that we loved God (though we all ought to have done so) but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins," and not past sins only either, but present also, thank God, see 2nd chapter let John, 1st and 2nd verses. " He is (not merely He was) the propitiation for our sins," and He is our advocate with the Father, blessed be His name.
It is in His love and His finished work then, which has satisfied and glorified God, that I find rest; if I found rest in my love or my works, I should be satisfied with myself, which is self-righteousness, like the Pharisee in Luke 18th, and I should not be resting in, or satisfied with Christ. Again it is only in proportion as you or I believe in and thus know God's wonderful love and grace towards us, who, like the Prodigal, have sinned and are not worthy to be called His sons or daughters, that we can or do love Him at all. "We love Him, (not because we ought to love Him, though we ought surely) but because He first loved us." let John 4:10,1910Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. (John 4:10)
19The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. (John 4:19).
Do you, dear -, believe He first loved you? Now do not look in, to see His love, but look out, at that Cross, and see Jesus there in your place, there bearing all your sins in His own body on the tree. Made sin for you, He who knew no sin, and had no sins of His own. Forsaken of God, listen! "My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me? What is the answer? He was forsaken of God, that you and I might never be forsaken in Hell. His disciples forsook Him because they were afraid of men. All the world was against Him, when on that Cross, but worst of all, God forsook Him, for God was judging, condemning sin in the flesh, (ours, mind) in the person of that spotless One, made sin for us; and now can you not see how God loved you, and gave His only begotten Son for you? He could not do more. And how Christ loved you, and gave Himself for you, for your sins. There is love, there on that cross, love for poor guilty unworthy sinners, who did not love Him, or one another as they ought to have done, and as the law told them to do. And think too of this blessed fact, that love shown out on that cross, is the same love that beams down from the glory in the face of Jesus Christ, unchangeable, and eternal, upon you, and me, and all that trust Christ; the weakest as well as the strongest. " He ever lives to make intercession for us," not for the world. He says " I pray not for the world," 17th John, but for us who trust in Him, in His precious blood, in His love, whom the Father has given to Him.
Dear E-, in proportion as you, or I, realize this love, we shall not only love Him, but have power to walk in separation from evil, and above the world and its ways, and pleasures, and fashions, etc. For once lose the sense of His love to me, and I have no proper spring, or motive for pleasing Him, or serving Him, nor power, either for I have nothing in myself but weakness and sin. It is in Christ I have everything. Listen to Paul. " For the love of Christ constraineth us." (2 Cor. 5:1414For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: (2 Corinthians 5:14).) Christ's love to us, mind.
Now dear E-, you have been practically under law, like the wretched man in the 7th Romans, and though the law is holy, just and good, you have been finding out, that you are unholy, unjust and bad-just what the law was given for-to stop every man's mouth, that sin might appear sin, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Rom. 3:19,2019Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19‑20).) " And also that sin might become exceedingly sinful." (7th Rom. 13.) The law tells us what we ought to be for God, and demands righteousness, and the awakened soul under law finds out it can't give what the law demands; but grace, which is the opposite of law, and came by Jesus Christ-" Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ," 1st John, instead of demanding righteousness, gives it to us who have none, just as the father gives the best robe to the returned prodigal. Yes, Grace comes down to me where I am, in the person of Christ, like the good Samaritan coming where the man was in the ditch and in his helplessness. See 33rd verse of 10th of Luke. Redeems me from the curse of the law, "being made a curse for us." Delivers me from law altogether, which condemned me to death, by my` dying with Him so that I am counted dead. See Rom. 7:44Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (Romans 7:4), and Gal. 2:19,2019For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20I 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 2:19‑20). Puts away all my sins, " When He had by Himself purged our sins sat down," etc., 3rd verse of 1st Hebrews; and us too, as to the old man, " Knowing this that our old man was crucified with Him, etc. 6th of Romans 6th verse„; and gives me righteousness and life in Him who is risen from the dead, who is " our life," and who is " made unto us righteousness." See 3rd Col. 3;4, and 1st of 1st Cor. 30th verse. Yes, I thank God, as the man in 7th of Romans 25th verse did, as I look at the cross, and then up into the glory at the risen Christ, and see all that I am in my sinful self, and all that I have done, met and settled with by a Holy, Righteous God, and put away in the death of Christ, which covers all, sin and sins; and see all that He is up there in the glory. of God, and made unto me, righteousness. I am made " the righteousness of God in Him." 5th of 2nd Cor. A new standing altogether out of Adam, or self, in Christ, where there "is therefore now no condemnation."
" If He is free then I am free from all unrighteousness.
If He is just then I am just, for He is my righteousness."
" Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace (not doubts and fears) with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." No fear of wrath, for the 9th verse of this 5th of Romans tells us, that " being now justified by His Blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him," and instead of running away like Adam and hiding from God, or rather trying to hide from Him in the pleasant things, or business, or anything of this world, we run into the Father's arms, and hide ourselves in God. "We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation." Yes, we joy in God. "Accepted in the beloved." "Complete in Him." "Made nigh by the Blood of Christ," loved by the Father as He loves His Son, 17th John 23, and knowing God as sons, 1st John 3rd chap. 2nd verse, we are brought into fellowship with the Father and the Son, and this is what produces holiness. It is the grace of God (not the law of Moses) that bringeth Salvation to me first, then teaches, having saved me, to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, and to look for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, etc. See 2nd Titus.
Now I would again earnestly press upon you dear -, that not only your sins, but your old self-called, "our old man" in 6th of Romans, "is crucified with Christ," is gone, not out of your body, but out of God's sight, as a Holy, Righteous Judge, by and in the death of Christ, and you stand as a believer in Christ, in a new man or life, even in Christ risen. " For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God, when Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." 3rd Col. All is certainty, and because it is so, that is why we are to, and can, set our affections on things above. Being certain of the better world is what enables me to willingly turn my back on this world, which turned the One who loved me and gave Himself for me out, and hates His precious name. "Christ gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, etc." 1st chap. Gal. 4.
It is quite right E-, to find fault with ourselves; if we ever get pleased with ourselves, we are self-righteous. It is also quite right to wish to be holy, and serve God perfectly, "without holiness no man shall see the Lord; " if these desires are not there, there surely is no true life in the soul. There is perhaps the mere fear of Hell-not the fear of God. But His way of salvation and holiness, is by grace, that first brings salvation, and then teaches holiness, as we already noticed: and the Spirit always points outside to Christ, never inside to ourselves for anything good.
May God bless these few lines to you dear E-, and lead you to rest in His love, in Christ's work, and God's satisfaction in that work, not in your love or your work. J. D.