Consider David. He knew God, possessed Him and enjoyed Him as his God, his light, his salvation, his deliverer, his strong tower, his rock, his shepherd. Yet at times he missed God: 'How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?'(Psa 13.1). The true believer may miss God even in prayer. Consider too the Church in the Song of Solomon: 'I sought Him whom my soul loveth; I sought Him, but I found Him not', and again: 'I opened to my Beloved; but my Beloved had withdrawn Himself, and was gone' (Song 3.1; 5.6). Even when our heart is open to Christ, and we are willing for Him to come to us, we may not find Him. Then we will miss Him.
Consider Job again. God loved him, cherished him and protected him from all spiritual harm; yet for a prolonged period all he could cry was: 'Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; on the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him; He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him'(Job 23.8-9). Perhaps we miss God most during such times of soul-trouble.
Yes, dear struggling saint, you will miss your God. You will miss Him in the very Word where you first met Him. You will miss Him in the ministry where you often communed with Him. You will miss Him in the company of His people where you used to speak of Him. You will miss Him in the very places, both public and private, where you became most acquainted with Him.
Dear reader, do you miss God? Our nation does not miss Him, because it does not know Him. By and large, the Church does not miss Him, because it is so pre-occupied with itself and its own doings, experiences and interests. Many professing Christians, even of the Reformed persuasion, do not miss Him, because of their arid intellectualism.
I once heard an old believer exclaim at the dinner-table: 'All our religion is contained in one word: O!' What do we know experientially of Job's anguished cry: 'O that I knew where I might find Him!'?
Now while salvation is revealed in Scripture, are we to say that
all men desire to be saved? No! All may desire to be happy, but
not to be saved from their sins. 'The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God.' The lack of a true sense of
sin is still the most perilous omen of our day. This fatal lack
is approved and fostered by those whose solemn endeavour it
should be to condemn sin. If a true sense of sin is absent, how
can men cry for mercy? If men make themselves saviours, how can
they look away from themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ? We are
so ruined by sin that we cannot attain a true conception of sin
without being saved from sin. But we must overcome its power as
well as escape its penalty. Fallen man tries, by penitence,
reformation and precise performances of external duties, but
righteousness is essential. Shall this righteousness be
home-made or of God? Shall I establish my own righteousness or
receive God's righteousness? Is salvation by works or grace? Is
Christ the Substitute for the sinner or is the sinner the
substitute for the Saviour, to bring us to heaven at last?
Salvation by works is the choice of the Pharisee, but salvation
by grace is the hope of the publican.
Which is your own today? It must be one or the other. These two
principles cannot be combined. They are distinct. They are
opposed. And a blend is impossible. 'If it is of works, then it
is no more grace.' None can merit mercy. The ox of mercy and the
ass of merit cannot be yoked together at the plough of
salvation. You cannot weave linen and wool together into the
garment of salvation. The great question still is: How can man
be just with God? He must be perfectly holy or acquire a
righteousness that will bear the awesome scrutiny of the eye of
omniscience and be passed in the high court of heaven.
What then has God's infallible Word to say about this
all-important matter? How can man be just before God? 'All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God.' There is no
exception in the whole human race. Also, sin is exceedingly
sinful. Also, retribution follows iniquity as the cart follows
the horse that draws it. Also, none can make his hands clean or
renew his own heart.
But God in infinite mercy has devised a way of salvation. 'When
there was no eye to pity and no arm to save, his eye pitied and
his arm brought salvation.' The Word of God declares very
plainly that none but Christ can save sinners. The sacrifices of
the Old Testament dispensation speak of sin that needed to be
put away. They typified the one great sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ and his blood as the only remedy for sin and for
lost and perishing sinners. The Church says, 'Enter not into
judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight no man living can be
justified.' The prophets say the same thing. Think of Isaiah 53:
'By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for
he shall bear their iniquities.' The words that broke the
fetters binding Luther's soul as he climbed the staircase in
Rome on his knees were, 'The just shall live by faith.' 'Neither
is there salvation in any other, for there is only one name
given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved.' 'By the
deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight.' 'Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.' 'By grace are ye saved
through faith.' There are many more such portions. 'This is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners.' O what a wonderful
declaration! How dead we are if we are not affected by these
words! if they fall on our hearts like water on a stone!
This is the witness of the Word of God to us. What do we see
from this witness? The way of works to heaven is closed. The
broken tables of the law of God lie across it. Cherubim and the
flaming sword of God's justice bar the way. God has fixed a
large and legible notice in his Word, that he who reads may run
to the only way to heaven that is open. That notice reads: 'NO
ENTRY.' The seal of the Great King is attached to it. Therefore
it stands fast for ever. If a motorist turns into a 'No Entry'
street, he does so at his own peril. Yet that is nothing
compared with the voice of the Lord declaring that salvation is
by grace alone. 'Except your righteousness exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise
enter the kingdom of heaven.' The Pharisee is travelling First
Class on an express train. But it is the wrong train, on the
wrong track! Thus it was with Paul till he was savingly changed
on his way to Damascus. O what a blessed junction for Paul!
'What things were gain I count but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.' O have we been brought
to this junction ourselves? If so, we shall be assuredly
confident that it was not of ourselves but of the Lord. There is
no substitute for the grace of God.
We have seen a man trying to lift himself while standing on the
ground. Impossible! Just as impossible is it to reach heaven by
our own efforts. Our sins have made us incapable of keeping the
holy law of God. When a sinner is brought to acknowledge this,
it may be the dawn of better days for him. But 'the heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know
it?' Righteousness cannot be extracted from a depraved heart.
'They that are in the flesh cannot please God.' The sinner will
never, never, never get true peace till he is brought to give up
looking to himself for righteousness, and to look to the Saviour
for all. The black devil of unrighteousness has slain his
thousands, but the white devil of self-righteousness his ten
thousands. Salvation is by grace alone. The modern gospel, which
is not a gospel, is 'Believe in Yourself.' Yet it is not really
modern after all. That is what Cain had with the fruit of the
ground. But Abel came with the blood of sacrifice. Cain was
rejected, but God had respect to Abel and to his offering. Some
have seen themselves in some measure as God sees them. They can
by no means lift themselves up out of sin.
But the gospel is indeed good news. If salvation is by grace,
then the graceless may be saved, the prodigal venture home, and
the vilest be cleansed from all his iniquities. If salvation is
by works, then none can be saved.
O sinner, come you to Christ. Come, poor sinner, and taste the
truth of this for yourself to the full. 'O taste and see that
God is good; who trusts in him is blessed.' 'Prove me now
herewith.' A notice was once displayed: 'No article can be
broken beyond repair. The more it is smashed, the better we like
it.' 'The whole have no need of a physician, but the sick.' 'I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'
The witness of the cross of Christ is the same. Grace and
atonement go hand in hand. Grace manifests itself in
righteousness. Grace has a righteousness based on atonement or
substitution. So the golden thread of grace and the scarlet
thread of atonement are found running through all Scripture.
This righteousness is from heaven. Christ died a sacrifice for
sin. This shows that salvation is by grace alone, for if
righteousness come by the law, Christ is dead in vain. If man
can save himself, he makes void the grace of God. Calvary
declares more plainly than anything that salvation is of the
Lord. Penances and performances are vanity in view of the
sufferings, known and unknown, of the Son of God on Calvary's
cross. When a poor sinner looks to Christ his self-righteousness
begins to die. Salvation of necessity is all of grace. The Fall
is so complete, God's justice is so inexorable, God is so holy,
that nothing short of almighty love working through the
atonement can save. Grace alone can magnify the law that is holy
and make sinners perfectly holy in soul and body. That is God's
salvation.
The thought of saving sinners is all of God. It was born in the
secret place of his infinitely great and loving heart. Grace
first contrived a way to save rebellious man. The accomplishment
also reveals God's grace throughout. 'God set forth his own Son
to be the Saviour of the world.' 'He delivered him up for us
all.' He is the Beloved, but God forsook him for a time on the
cross because he was made sin for us. Therefore God brought him
again from the dead and enthroned him at the right hand of the
majesty on high. Then followed the great outpouring of the Holy
Spirit to 'convince of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.'
It is grace all the way.
To exclude all boasting, salvation and faith are both the gift
of God. Salvation is a gift: 'the gift of God is eternal life.'
It is a gift of God, a free gift, the gift of righteousness. All
these Scripture expressions show that salvation is a divine
present to perishing mankind sinners. Spurgeon said, 'Salvation
is everything for nothing.' Christ is free, pardon is free,
heaven is free. Thanks be unto God for salvation, salvation all
of free covenanted grace.
Faith also is a gift. 'What hast thou that thou hast not
received?' God shows the soul something of its condition --
lost, ruined, utterly corrupt -- and its spiritual need. He then
shows the soul his own glory and the glory of Christ, and brings
him to trust in Christ. There is a natural trust. But to trust
in Christ rather than in self or our works and duties is not
natural but supernatural. It is the gift of God. Saving faith
has a wet eye, because the Holy Spirit melts the heart of the
believer in uniting the sinner to the Saviour. Effectual calling
is the beginning of good things for the Lord's people. Grace
will keep them to the end. Grace will not lose its grip of them.
Grace is the morning and evening star of Christian experience.
Grace puts them on the way to heaven, helps them in the way and
keeps them in the way. 'So they from strength unwearied go still
forward unto strength, Until in Zion they appear before the Lord
at length.' May we by grace be of that blessed number. God's
grace is sufficient, all-sufficient.
But when the Holy Spirit saves a sinner, he brings him down in
conviction of sin and evangelical repentance. He never prompts a
sinner to self-righteousness and pride, but turns his eyes to
Jesus and his blood. For 'as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.' If salvation was by works, then man would
boast in his own progress. The smallest achievement would elate
him and blow him up. He would have no need of dependence on God
or indebtedness to God. He would have no need of the New Birth,
the cleansing of the blood of Christ and the converting grace of
the Holy Spirit. Man would worship himself and praise himself.
So the Pharisee boasts of what he does and what he is not, but
the publican confesses what he is. Because his heart smites him,
he smites his breast. He cannot look up because he has looked
within. How then was he justified? Because his only plea was for
God's mercy in Christ. 'God be merciful to me, the sinner.' His
eye was on the blood of the Saviour, the God-Man Mediator, for
salvation.
This is how God would have it. 'My glory will I not give to
another.' If salvation were by works, man would boast in heaven
itself, supposing he were to get there. But heaven is full of
perfect praise to God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 'Unto him
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his blood.' The
song of the redeemed in heaven is, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain.' If salvation were by works, these songs would be in
praise of men. Each would praise himself or his fellow creature!
What awful employment for eternity! But the employment of saved
sinners is praise for the Lord alone. In heaven there is no
self-praise. Consequently there are no comparisons and no strife
as to who is greatest! 'He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.' M'Cheyne tells us that God's children are dressed in
beauty not their own. The perfect robe of Christ's righteousness
is wrought by the needle of divine justice and the thread of
divine love. So salvation is by grace alone. God will have no
man boasting. But boast man assuredly would if he could be saved
even in part by the work of his own hands.
Salvation by grace alone is a very humbling doctrine. Therefore
it is not popular. Truth, especially divine truth, is never
popular. The Bible condemns any doctrine which makes God small
and which magnifies man. The sinner plucked out of the fire is
constantly looking back to the pit from which he was taken and
the rock from which he was hewn. A good soldier never looks
behind, but a good scout does. So the believer fights, but in
spying out the land of promise he is often looking back.
Divine grace makes good men and women. Good works are the
products of salvation. By grace they are evidences of saving
faith and acknowledgments of saving mercy. The sinner works out
these acknowledgments.
Once more the good ship of free grace is anchored off the
harbour of your soul. Time and time again it comes into harbour.
Its bulwarks are marked. Its crimson flag shows 'Christ died for
the ungodly,' and 'the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from
all sin.' The white flag of peace is blowing beside it. 'Through
him we have access to the Father by the Spirit.' In the control
room is the great wheel of God's sovereignty, by which the ship
is turned wherever the governor listeth. From the bow hangs the
sinner's sheet-anchor, faith in Christ. On the bridge is the
chart, the Word of God, and by it lies the compass, the Holy
Spirit. Its stores are full of every good thing. There are big,
spacious saloons and precious chambers in which the Lord gives
his beloved sleep. The captain is Christ. O come aboard, sinner,
at his invitation, and the ship of free grace will take you to
glory at last.
The preceding context shows the miserable state of the
Ephesians and all men by nature. They are 'dead in trespasses
and sins' and 'children of disobedience' and therefore 'children
of wrath.'(verses 1-3). This is made plain before mention is
made of the great grace of God in verses 4-7 and especially in
our text. We cannot hear the doctrines expounded by these words
too often. There are three matters that call for our attention:
first, that salvation is by grace; second, that salvation is
through faith; third, that salvation excludes boasting.
1. Salvation Is By
Grace.
Sinners are saved by the grace of God. This grace is in the
Godhead. The grace of the Father consists in planning salvation,
the grace of the Son in procuring salvation, and the grace of
the Spirit in applying salvation to poor perishing sinners.
Grace means love, mercy, favour, pardon, to such as deserve
nothing but wrath for their sins in time and eternity. Grace and
love are the same in essence, but grace is love manifest and
operating in certain conditions and adapting itself to certain
cases. Grace is love to creatures who do not deserve love, but
wrath. Therefore all that God has done is called by this
wonderful word 'grace.' When all is said that we can say, we
must confess that not one half has been told us. The 'exceeding
riches of his grace'; the 'unsearchable riches of grace.' God's
grace and mercy cannot be adequately defined by us, because
God's grace is divine grace. Man fails to describe them fully.
Who can tell fully what God is and has? 'Canst thou by searching
find out God?'
2. Salvation Is Through
Faith.
If it is by grace, then it is also through faith. 'By grace
are ye saved through faith.' Christ died and rose again
according to the Scriptures. This does not mean that all men are
saved, or that all who hear the gospel are saved. But grace must
be appropriated by faith. 'He that believeth shall be saved.'
'God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.' Grace is the lifeline. Faith is the hand that
grasps the lifeline.
3. Salvation Excludes
Boasting.
If salvation is by grace through faith, then it is 'not of
works, lest any man should boast.' Salvation by grace through
faith alone is consistent with the glory and honour of God.
Suppose salvation by works was possible. Boasting would be
invited instead of excluded. Man would boast in the prospect of
attaining it by his own efforts. How proud would man be of his
purposes and hopes!
'Praise God, for he is good, for still
We preach man's guilt and ruination by sin. If men do not like
this doctrine then they are to be given more of it. We must not
give men what they want. The gospel pulpit must never give this
unbelieving, pleasure-loving, self-satisfied generation in which
we live what it wants. The more it clamours for what it wants,
the more need it has of faithful testimonies to God's attitude
to sin, and the terms on which he proclaims salvation. Arouse
sinners, and invite them to Christ! The gospel treats of
abounding sin, but much more of abounding grace.
his mercies lasting be.
Let God's redeemed say so, whom he
from th'enemy's hand did free.''Then are they glad, because at rest
See to it that you are on board. Bless the good ship of free
grace and praise him who owns and navigates her.
and quiet now they be;
So to the haven he them brings
which they desired to see.'
On the other hand, in two fascinating sentences, Paul commands
young Christians to 'stand fast, and hold the traditions' they
had been taught, 'whether by word or by' his letter to them.
Indeed, he urges church members to withdraw from every brother
who lived contrary to 'the tradition' he had received from Paul
(2 Thess 2.15; 3.6). Here the term 'tradition' is identical with
apostolic teaching. By 'tradition', says Calvin, Paul means 'the
rule that he had laid down', chiefly for doctrine, but also for
ordinances. Here Scripture and Tradition co-alesce and are in no
way opposed.
From such as these latter texts, Rome argues that 'the unwritten
traditions ... received by the apostles from the mouth of Christ
Himself' are to be venerated as of equal authority in both their
'saving truth and moral discipline' as 'the written books' of
Holy Scripture. (Schaff: Creeds of Christendom. 1993
reprint. II. 79-80. Catechism of the Catholic Church.
1994. 25. J.Hardon. S.J.: The Faith.1994. 29.)
Similarly Anglicanism, from Hooker to Carey, makes Scripture,
Tradition and Reason the three conjoint sources of church
authority.
The Reformed, by contrast, claim to be regulated by Scripture
alone. (A.Cochrane: Reformed Confessions of the 16th
Century. 1966. pp 145, 177, 190-2, 224-7. Westminster
Confession of Faith. I.) Indeed, both the Westminster Confession
(I. vi.) and especially the Second Helvetic Confession (II. 4.)
expressly repudiate unwritten traditions as contrary to the
Scriptures.
What are we to make of all this? Is Rome warranted in elevating
Tradition to the level of Scripture? Or is Anglicanism correct
in making Scripture, Tradition and Reason of equal authority? Or
is the Reformed battle-cry 'Scripture Alone' the only tenable
position?
While in the wise providence of God both the inscripturation and
canonization of the Word of God remain a mystery, the following
factors may help us to a solution:
All Christians agree that God first spoke His revelation by
inspiration through Moses, the Psalmists and the Prophets (Luke
24.44). Then He spoke through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both
the Word of God Incarnate and the personal manifestation of God
in our nature (John 1.14; Heb 1.1-3). Finally He spoke through
the Apostles, who were eye-witnesses of Christ's majesty, words
and works (2 Pet 1.16; 1 John 1.1-4). These in turn passed on
the Faith to the Church. Hence Paul's reminder that the Church
is 'built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone' (Eph 2.20).
Consequently, when asked where the True Faith of Christ was to
be found, Christians who lived before the completion of the New
Testament canon replied that it was in the Old Testament
Scriptures (which foretold the coming of Christ, the purpose of
His mission and the nature of His kingdom), in the traditional
teaching of Christ and His apostles, and in such apostolic
documents as were in circulation throughout the Church (2 Pet
1.19-21; 1.16-18; 3.15-16; Col 4.16.) These were the triple
sources of revelation and so of authority to which they
submitted their faith and lives.
Accordingly we find Polycarp, the immediate disciple of the
apostle John, summoning the Philippians to receive as their
standard of faith and life the teaching of Christ, along with
that of 'the apostles who preached the gospel to us, and the
prophets who announced our Lord's coming in advance' (Phil 6.3).
At this stage these three authorities were accepted as normal
and exclusive. Let us briefly consider each one.
The authority ascribed to Old Testament Scripture was based on
the assumption that it was a Christian book, for its main
purpose is to reveal the sufferings and glory of Christ (1 Pet
1.9-12). Justin Martyr's insistence that the Old Testament
belonged to Christians rather than to the Jews was universally
shared by the Early Church. Indeed, we actually find New
Testament believers reading Old Testament Scripture with eyes
enlightened to its specifically Christian contents, as the
incident between Philip and the Ethiopian demonstrates (Acts 8.
26-35).
The testimony of our Lord and His apostles was accepted on the
ground explained by Clement: 'The apostles received the gospel
for us from the Lord Jesus Christ ... Armed therefore with their
charge, and having been fully assured through the resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in the Word of God with
full conviction of the Holy Spirit, they went forth with the
glad tidings' (42). This record fully accords with the narrative
in Acts of the spread of the Gospel and with Paul's assurance
that the Thessalonian believers became followers of the apostles
and of the Lord (1 Thess 1.6).
Significantly, every belief and practice approved by the Early
Church is sanctioned by New Testament Scripture itself. Clearly
the 'oral traditions' of our Lord and His apostles were being
incorporated into the New Testament documents as their
recognition as canonical proceeded during the 1st century. So
Luke records a previously-unwritten saying of Christ which Paul
conveyed to the Ephesian elders: 'It is more blessed to give
than to receive' (Acts 20.35). On the other side of the coin,
John expressly tells us of 'many other signs' or miracles
performed by our Lord which were deliberately excluded from the
canon of Scripture (John 20.30; 21.25).
The claim that such 'summaries of the faith' or 'oral formulae'
as Romans 1.1-4, Philippians 2.5-11, 1 Thessalonians 4.14-17 and
1 Timothy 3.16 existed in unwritten form before they appear in
the New Testament itself has no evidence to support it. The
suggestion is merely a reading back into pre-canonical church
history the kind of formal creed that developed later. Paul's
'form of sound words' and 'form of doctrine which was delivered
you' (2 Tim 1.13; Rom 6.17) and Jude's 'faith once delivered to
the saints' (Jude 3) do not refer to catechetical or liturgical
formulae, but to their own oral teaching later embodied in the
very Scriptures they penned. So also Paul enjoins believers to
keep the Tradition he had received from our Lord concerning
Church Ordinances and His Supper (1 Cor 11.2,23), especially
since it enshrines the heart of the Gospel (1 Cor 15.1-9). Such
incorporation of oral tradition into Holy Scripture took far
less time than many imagine. (See Luke 1.1-4 with Acts 1.1ff.)
The truth is: there is no Unwritten Tradition transmitted from
Christ through the apostles into either the Roman communion or
the Catholic Church that is not also engrossed in New Testament
Scripture or deliberately excluded from Scripture. The whole
thing is a cunningly-devised fable, invented to bolster Rome's
spurious claims to infallibility. Its very non-existence
disproves these claims.
With his customary acuteness, Calvin strikes at the heart of the
whole fraud: even though Paul passed on certain precepts
concerning the government of the Church, he reminds us, these
were 'not contrived by him, but divinely communicated'; whereas
Romanists pass off 'the abominable sink of their own
superstitions as though they were the traditions of Paul. But
farewell to these trifles', he concludes, 'when we are in
possession of Paul's true meaning' (Comm on 2 Thess
2.15). Newman's re-stating of the Roman case in terms of
Living Tradition (which grows over the centuries rather than
being an original deposit of faith) has merely aggravated the
problem for Rome. For it has spawned such monstrous and
arbitrary fallacies as the Immaculate Conception and Assumption
of Mary and Papal Infallibility, which can never acquire
Scriptural warrant by any stretch of imagination or tortuous
exegesis and reasoning.
But is there no true Apostolic Tradition? Indeed there is.
Athanasius, that intrepid defender of the True Faith, spoke of
it as 'the original tradition, teaching and faith of the
Catholic Church, which the Lord bestowed, the apostles
proclaimed, and the fathers safe-guarded' (Ad Serap.
1.28). A good example is the setting apart of 'Sunday, or the
Lord's Day, which' says an 18th century writer, 'we observe by
Apostolical Tradition instead of the Sabbath' (S.O.E.D.
Tradition. IV. 2225.) Need we add that Lord's Day Observance is
based exclusively on Scriptural authority? (Rev 1.10)
In conclusion, we find that while Scripture and Tradition
(properly understood) were for a time independent of each other,
their contents were precisely identical, and they were viewed by
the Early Church as regulative. What the prophets testified
beforehand, our Lord fulfilled, His apostles proclaimed and the
Church received. The strands were already bound together in the
hearts of God's people by the Holy Spirit. It only required
their formal binding in the finished canon of Scripture for the
ground of their faith to be complete.
But what has happened to our Reformed claim of 'Scripture
Alone'? Has there not grown up with the years an appalling mass
of Protestant Tradition which finds no warrant whatever in Holy
Scripture? By what authority do certain churches appoint deacons
as spiritual rulers? With what warrant does a certain
denomination refuse the Right of Protest to its ministers on
pain of suspension? From which Scripture does a certain
Independent church make the exclusive use of one version of the
Bible (in private as well as in public) a condition of church
membership? With what Scriptural sanction do so many Christians
participate in the abominable worldliness associated with
'Christmas'? By what Biblical authority does the Anglican
clerical hierarchy of archbishops, bishops, vicars, curates,
archdeacons and deacons, etc exist? The fact is, as Calvin says,
man's mind is a veritable factory of evil, and though God
originally made him upright, he has sought out many inventions
(Eccles 7.29). We fear that the defiant spirit of independence
shown originally by Adam is far too prevalent among us. When
shall we learn that nothing should be required for church
membership but what Christ requires, and that man-made
traditions neutralize the very Word of God by which alone we
live?
Scripture or Tradition?
A very real problem exists over the relationship between
Scripture and Tradition. On the one hand, the two are absolutely
opposed. 'Ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by
your tradition,' and 'Full well ye reject the commandment of
God, that ye may keep your own tradition,' our Lord told the
scribes and Pharisees (Matt 15.6; Mk 7.9). He is referring to
the Mishnah, which both distorts and contradicts God's holy law.
Peter too opposes a Jewish life-style received by tradition to a
life of Scriptural faith and obedience (1 Pet 1.18; 2 Pet 1.19;
1 Pet 1.25). Similarly Paul warns his Gentile readers against
destructive philosophic tradition as opposed to letting the Word
of Christ, or Holy Scripture, dwell richly in them (Col 2.8;
3.16). Elsewhere he movingly records his deliverance from
extra-ordinary zeal for tradition by the Word of God's grace
(Gal 1.14-15). In all these passages the opposition between
Scripture and Tradition is absolute.
In view of Calvin's extreme reticence about all matters of a
personal nature, a magnificent Augustine-like reference to his
conversion in a letter to Sadoleto is as precious as it is rare.
'Every time that I looked within myself,' he recalls, 'or raised
my heart to Thee, so violent a horror overtook me that there
were neither purifications nor satisfactions which could in any
way cure me. The more I gazed at myself the sharper were the
pricks which pressed my conscience, to such a point that there
remained no other solace or comfort than to deceive myself by
forgetting myself. But because nothing better was offered me, I
continued on the course that I had begun. Then, however, there
arose a quite different form of doctrine, not to turn us away
from our Christian profession but rather to bring it back to its
proper source and to restore it in its purity, cleansed, as it
were, from all filth. But I, offended by the newness of it, was
scarcely willing to listen to a word of it and I admit that at
the beginning I valiantly and courageously resisted it. For, as
men are naturally obstinate and stubborn in maintaining the
system that they have once received, I had to confess that all
my life I had been nourished in error and ignorance. And there
was one thing especially which kept me from believing these
people, that was reverence for the Church. But after I had
sometimes listened and suffered being taught, I realized that
any such fear that the majesty of the Church might be diminished
was vain and superfluous. And when my mind had been made ready
to be truly attentive I began to understand, as if someone had
brought me a light, in what a mire of error I had wallowed, and
had become filthy, and with how much mud and dirt I had been
defiled. Being then grievously troubled and distracted, as was
my duty, on account of the knowledge of the eternal death which
hung over me, I judged nothing more necessary to me after having
condemned with groaning and tears my past manner of life, than
to give myself up and to betake myself to Thy
way...'l
Here is an account of a wrestling with God every whit as intense
as that of Luther. Calvin's sheer horror at the sight of his own
depravity, his agitated despair at the impotence of all
church-prescribed cures, his initial resistance to the
newly-encountered evangelical doctrine, his tormented attempts
to tear himself from the grip of the church of his childhood,
his gradual subdual by the light and power of the truth, his
broken-hearted repentance and final submission to God, form a
masterly piece of self-disclosure concerning the great change.
A further recollection yields a less intense account of the same
momentous experience. 'God in his secret providence finally
curbed and turned me in another direction. At first, although I
was so obstinately given to the superstitions of the papacy,
that it was extremely difficult to drag me from the depths of
the mire, yet by a sudden conversion He tamed my heart and made
it teachable, this heart which for its age was excessively
hardened in such matters.'2
Here again, the terms 'curbed' and 'turned' and 'tamed' suggest
an inward struggle of immense proportions. Nevertheless, it left
the subdued disciple with a certainty of having been laid hold
of by God that was to dominate the rest of his life. Strohl,
therefore, is perfectly correct in diverting our attention from
Reformation protests against long-standing Romish abuses to the
Reformers' 'discovery of the living God, author of all grace.
None of those,' he continues, 'who were blessed with the
privilege of being gripped by God ever attributed the least
merit to himself on this account. It was for them all a mystery
of divine mercy... for grace, by its own sovereign initiative
alone, takes hold of those whom it has chosen.' 3 Of
no-one was this truer than of Calvin.
Precisely when Calvin's conversion took place cannot now be
ascertained. The energy that has been spent and the ingenuity
exercised on this point have been more or less fruitless,
because the events of his life between 1528 and 1533, the period
of his first Christian activity, have never been precisely
recorded. Calvin himself mentions no particular calendar month
or year, and we must resist the temptation to play the game of
date-fixing. Yet if the time is uncertain, the fruits are not.
Nevertheless, of some circumstances surrounding his conversion
we may be sure.
Unquestionably, the first seeds of saving truth were sown in
Calvin's mind during his first stay in Paris. At the College
Montaigue, where he was studying for the priesthood, Calvin was
strongly protected against Biblical religion by the blind
intolerance of popery, the daily diet of scholastic philosophy
and his rigid observance of church ritual. Yet reform was in the
air, and the purpose of God was not to be thwarted. This
three-layered suit of armour in which the brilliant young novice
encased himself was pierced by the testimony of his cousin
Robert Olivetan. Beza, Calvin's first biographer and successor
at Geneva, speaks of Calvin 'having tasted something of pure
religion' through Olivetan's zeal, as a result of which he began
'to see his way out of papal superstitions.' More particularly,
'he began to devote himself to reading the Bible, to abhor
superstitions, and so to separate himself from these rites.'
4
Here we have a definite influence and an initial change of
direction. Calvin's faith in an infallible church was being
shaken and replaced by attention to an infallible book. The
Bible to which Beza refers was the French New Testament of
Lefevre d'Etaples, published in 1524 and circulated among his
disciples, one of whom was Olivetan. In its pages Calvin
discovered evangelical truth set out with divine authority and
clarity. Under the grip of God, he could not mistake its
message: Christ died for the ungodly, who are justified solely
by faith in Him. 'Like a flash of light,' he informs Sadoleto,
'I realized in what an abyss of errors, in what chaos, I
was.'5 Thus Luther's great discovery of Justification
by Faith Alone 'was early pointed out' to Calvin also as the
only solution to the problem of his sin. Divine light showed him
the solution, and divine power applied it to him. 'It was on
this ground that the conflict took place.'6 Whether
or not he was awakened by the dark teaching of popery to a sense
of his guilt and vileness before a holy God we shall never
know.7 What we do know, however, is that all its
mediators of intercession could not release him from his
dreadful bondage, and that, as in the case of Augustine, who
tried the same escape route, God would not let him deceive
himself by hiding from himself.
Such a decisive awakening, neither sought nor anticipated by
Calvin himself, was never that of an intellectual, trying to
choose between competing religious systems. It was the struggle
of a blind and wilful rebel finding himself in the grip of an
angry God. That God, however, had loved him with an everlasting
love; and now that the 'time of love' had arrived, the rebel
must be changed and subdued. In this connection Wylie is correct
to stress that the 'severity of Calvin's struggle was in
proportion to the strength of his self-righteousness,' for this
aspect of his character had been nourished in him by popery from
childhood.8 The very blamelessness of his outward
life, the whole bent of his earnest and virtuous mind, and his
devout commitment to every prescribed church ritual all
contributed to the agonizing intensity of his encounter with
God. Humanly speaking, his defences had been impregnable, and
every drug from the church's spiritual pharmacy had rendered him
insensible to mere evangelical persuasion. But God applied His
saving truth to the perplexed novice's conscience, and the work
of conversion was begun.
In recalling Calvin's Paris experience, we must not
underestimate his presence at the martyrdom of several Lutheran
believers whose brutal death the bells of Notre Dame summoned
every citizen to witness. The horrendous spectacle of
defence-less Christians being burnt to ashes in the Place de
Grave could not have left the sensitive and impressionable young
Calvin unmoved. As he found himself among the crowd of priests,
citizens and soldiers gathered round the stake, he observed the
peace and courage these martyrs displayed in death, a peace and
courage he himself confessedly lacked.
Sometime in 1528, Calvin renounced his novitiate in favour of
the study of law. Why he did so may not have been wholly
connected with his father's ambitions for him. Probably that
'strict conscientiousness' which characterized his entire life
made it impossible for him to proceed to the priesthood, now
that he had begun to emerge 'from the darkness of popery' and
had 'acquired some little taste for sound doctrine.'9
Whatever the reason, his transfer to Orleans with its famous law
faculty was a major step in his spiritual journey.
It was at Orleans that a learned Wurtemberger, Melchior Wolmar,
became the second human agent in Calvin's conversion. Wolmar
'ostensibly taught the Greek of Homer, Demosthenes or Sophocles'
in the university, 'but less publicly, though with small
attempts at concealment, the Greek of another book, far mightier
and more important. He had known this book in Germany, and in
Luther's hands he had seen it change the face of that country.
There, he said, was the answer to every problem, the remedy for
every abuse, and the rest for every heavy-laden
soul.'10 The book was, of course, Erasmus's Greek
Testament.
Wolmar's teaching of Greek aroused suspicion of his links with
the Lutheran 'heresy'. 'We are finding now a new language,'
wrote a benighted contemporary. 'We must avoid it at all costs,
for this language gives birth to heresies. Especially beware of
the New Testament in Greek; it is a book full of thorns and
prickles.'11 Significantly, 'Wolmar had already, at
Orleans, moved beyond the Reformism of his master Jacques
Lefevre into a commitment to the Reformation.'12 The
home of the accomplished linguist, therefore, became a centre of
private Lutheran studies in the city. Among Wolmar's disciples
were Theodore Beza, Francois Daniel and Nicolas Duchemin, all of
whom were to become Calvin's life-long friends. It was into this
circle that the new law student was introduced, and it was
during their meetings that Wolmar recognized both Calvin's
outstanding mental abilities and his potential for the public
service of God. 'While walking with him one day and reasoning
with him on the direction of his future career, he advised him
to devote himself to theology, the queen of all the sciences,
and to leave the Code of Justinian for the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.'13 Here, then, was the second decisive
influence on Calvin's spiritual life.
If Calvin's first encounter with divine truth produced the
turbulent upheaval he described, this second episode proved that
he could not be thoroughly won over to the Reformation without a
complete intellectual re-adjustment. Urged on by that burning
hunger for truth which characterized his whole life, he now
sought a way to replace his former Romanism with a complete
system of Biblical doctrine. To this end he searched the
Scriptures, ransacked the 'Fathers', applied his grasp of law
and philosophy to the issues at stake, clarified the salient
points in the Reformation debate and pursued his vision of a
new, Reformed church.
His immersion in Scripture, especially the four Gospels and the
epistles of Paul, convinced Calvin that salvation was entirely
by the free and sovereign grace of God, conveyed through faith
alone in Jesus Christ alone. His study of the 'Fathers'
convinced him that they stood on the side of reform rather than
with the apostate church. His review of contemporary Romanism
convinced him that compromise with it was impossible. Yet Calvin
could not acquiesce in the overthrow of Romanism before he felt
himself in possession of a complete doctrinal system, ready to
replace the other.14 This fact alone is sufficient to
account for the long silence between 1529 and the first edition
of the Institutes (1536), where he summarizes his new-found
Reformed faith. Calvin himself hints as to how he spent these
years when he recalled that from the time when 'he began to love
and revere God as his Father' he was 'set on fire with a desire
to increase in the knowledge and love of God.'15
Accordingly, even while he continued to pursue his studies in
law he 'diligently cultivated the study of sacred literature'
and 'made such progress that all in that city (Orleans) who had
any desire to become acquainted with a purer religion often
called to consult him, and were greatly struck both with his
learning and with his zeal.' Calvin himself modestly records
that, even within a year of his conversion, 'all who had any
desire for purer doctrine kept coming to me to learn, although I
was still a novice and a tyro.'16
Sometime in 1529 a new stage in Calvin's spiritual development
began. Along with a few friends in the law faculty, he moved to
Bourges, where the famous Italian jurist Alciati had recently
been appointed to a chair in jurisprudence. His stay there
lasted about 18 months, during which period he continued his
study of Greek. Yet clearly 'Law and Greek did not consume all
his days' at Bourges.17 He delivered lectures on
rhetoric at the local Augustinian convent where the future
Reformer Marlorat was prior. More important still, he began to
preach.
This fact is of immense importance. Despite both his natural
diffidence and his desire to find a lonely retreat for study,
the same hand that dragged him out of the ditch of popery 'led
him and whirled him about', giving him no rest till 'He had
brought him to the light and to action.' 18
Parker attributes Calvin's preaching to his new-found
Evangelical zeal. 'No doubt,' he remarks, 'he could have
preached had he been still a Roman Catholic, or...a humanist,'
but if 'one of the marks of an Evangelical Christian is the urge
to bear witness to his faith, to lead others to a like knowledge
of the Redeemer...then it is perfectly consistent that we should
hear of him preaching while at Bourges.'19 But we
cannot think of Calvin preaching without a call. From the very
outset, he was a docile disciple, not a zealous enthusiast. Even
his burning ardour for God's glory and the salvation of others
would never have made him run where he was not sent. The only
consistent explanation is that, like the apostle Paul, Calvin
was divinely set apart for the ministry almost immediately after
he became savingly enlightened in the knowledge of Christ.
More by demand than personal choice, therefore, Calvin entered
this new sphere. At first he preached 'in the stone pulpit' of
the 'ancient church' of the Augustinians, then in the nearby
villages of Asmieres, 'where his word sowed seeds which' had
'never been stifled' as late as 1844, and Linieres, 'in a barn
near the river.'20
In 1531 the death of his father finally opened the door for
Calvin to devote himself fully to the work of the ministry. This
event released him from the filial obligation to pursue a legal
career and left him free to follow the course set for him by his
heavenly Father.
The publication a year later of his Commentary on the heathen
Seneca's treatise on Clemency has puzzled many Calvin scholars.
Talk of his 'lingering humanism' abounds in their writings. Some
suggest that the timid young convert was now wavering in view of
the immense dangers that faced a minister of Christ in the
France of Francis I. A different explanation is more likely.
Just as Seneca pled with the Roman tyrant Nero for clemency
towards persecuted minorities, so Calvin would plead with
Francis for clemency towards his persecuted Huguenot subjects.
As Francis was still ordering the burning of believers while
welcoming the new literature on the classics, the publication of
an old classic with Calvin's own persuasive comments might yet
restrain the tyrant and bring him to grant toleration.
The sketchy record of the events bound up with Calvin's
conversion finally takes us back to Paris, where it began. By
1533 Calvin had thrown in his lot with the persecuted church in
the very shadow of the throne and the stake. At the home of the
future martyr Etienne de la Forge he began to conduct private
services to which hearers of all ranks of society were drawn.
'That Calvin's conversion...was sincere and fundamental is
proved not only by his state of mind and by his preaching the
Gospel in France at a period of such danger, but also by his
works, in which such an invincible firmness and such deep
convictions of the truth as it is in Jesus are
manifested.'21
The works to which Henry refers are his tireless activities in
and around the capital on behalf of the Gospel and reform. An
enemy bears him witness: 'We have seen our prisons gorged with
poor mistaken wretches whom without ceasing he exhorted,
consoled or confirmed by letters.' No jailer could prevent
willing messengers from endangering their lives to convey these
letters to the persecuted. So rapid was the spread of truth
under his efforts that the same enemy lamented that 'part of our
France' had been won over to the Reformation, while more and
more preachers were being sent by Calvin to spread the Gospel
everywhere, 'in holes and corners...even in Paris itself, where
the fires were lit to consume them.'22 Significantly,
Calvin is said to have concluded every sermon he preached at the
home of Etienne de la Forge with the ringing assurance, "If God
be for us, who can be against us?"(Rom 8.31). Not only had the
'power of the Spirit gained a speedy and a final victory in the
heart of Calvin'23, it began to pull down strongholds
erected against God throughout the entire land.
The chequered narrative of Calvin's conversion and its first
fruits reaches its climax in the public but veiled profession of
his faith that took place in extremely dangerous circumstances
in 1533. According to custom, Calvin's friend Nicolas Cop, the
newly-elected Rector of the Sorbonne, was to deliver an oration
on the 'Feast of All Saints', 1st November. Unknown to the
electors, who had raised him to the very pinnacle of popish
heterodoxy, Cop had imbibed the doctrines of grace and accepted
Calvin's offer to compose the oration for him. Calvin
'framed...an oration very different from what was customary',
Beza informs us. 'Very different indeed,' adds Bungener, 'for
the merit of works was roughly handled and justification by
faith was distinctly preached.'24 The oration was
indeed a manifesto of Reformed doctrine. Its closing reference
to the Gospel as the sole standard of 'Christian philosophy'
brought both Calvin and Cop into the open as avowed enemies of
benighted Mediaevalism, and marked a turning-point in Calvin's
public confession of Christ. From then on, Calvin was the
sharpest arrow in the Almighty's quiver in the Reformation
conflict.
'Thus was fought', comments Wylie aptly, 'one of the great
battles of the world', the battle for Calvin's
soul.25 The precise date of his conversion is
immaterial. Whether Robert Olivetan or Melchior Wolmar were the
chief human agents is irrelevant. Calvin himself placed little
importance on mere human instruments. His confrontation with the
holy majesty of God was too all-consuming for him to focus
attention on his spiritual midwives. But the fruit of his
conversion remains to this day.26
References
1 Quoted in J.Cadier: The Man God Mastered .
IVF. 1960. 40-I.
2 Op cit.59. See Calvin's Preface to the
Psalms. C.T.S. 4. 40.
3 H.Strohl: La Pensee de la Reforme. 1951.
22.
4 Beza: Life of Calvin. Op. Calv. 21.
29,54,121. Quoted in T.H.L.Parker: Calvin. London. 1975.
18.
5 Calvin Tracts. C.T.S. 1.64, with
different wording.
6 F.Bungener: Calvin. Edinburgh. 1865. 21-2.
7 J.A.Wylie: History of Protestantism.
London. 1899. 2. 152.
8 Wylie: op.cit.2. 153.
9 P.Henry: Life and Times of John Calvin.
London. 1849. I. 29.
10 F.Bungener: Op cit. 19.
11 Cuissard: L 'Etude du Grec a Orleans.
1883. 93.
12 Parker ibid.
13 Florimond de Raemond: Histoire de la
Naissance, Progres et Decadence de l'Heresie de ce Siecle.
1623. 7. 882.
14 Bungener: Op cit. 16.
15 Parker: Op cit. 25.
16 Beza: Life of Calvin. Banner of Truth.
1982. 12.
17 Parker: Op cit. 21.
18 Bungener: Op cit. 23.
19 Parker: Op cit. 22.
20 Raynal: Histoire du Berry. 1844. 5. 508.
21 Henry: Op cit. I. 50.
22 Pasquier: Recherches de la France. 8.
769.
23 Henry: Op cit. I. 52.
24 Bungener: Op cit. 27.
25 Wylie: Op cit. 2.
26 The foregoing account is substantially confirmed
by Alexandre Ganoczy in The Young Calvin. T & T Clark.
1987.
One of the most momentous events in the history of grace was
the conversion of John Calvin. In the kindness of God to His
Church and to the world, it produced a theologian of outstanding
systematic ability, a Biblical commentator unsurpassed in
spiritual penetration, an organizer who shaped both the civil
laws of Geneva and the future course of its university, and a
Reformer who moulded the tiny city state into 'the most perfect
school of Christ since the days of the apostles'(Knox) and whose
vast correspondence and generous hospitality to foreign exiles
was of international significance. The very existence of the
term 'Calvinism', signifying his distinctive teachings, a
doctrinal system professed by many churches, and a world view
embracing theology, morals, politics, philosophy, science and
culture, is sufficient testimony to the momentousness of his
conversion.
The mind naturally shrinks from the thought of endless
punishment, and it is to this feeling that the deniers of this
doctrine make an easy appeal. But in this matter, as in others,
our feelings are not the judge of what is true and what is not.
We carry our appeal to the One to whom all judgment has been
committed by the Father, and would with reverence and a mind
sobered by the solemnity of the subject listen to what He says
on the matter. The perusal of the Redeemer's words should
convince any candid mind that He taught that for impenitent men
and devils there is endless punishment.
We adduce the following words in proof of this:
'And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out; it is better for
thee to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two
eyes to enter into hell fire, where their worm dieth not,
and the fire is not quenched.' (Mark 9.47-48).
'The rich man died and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his
eyes, being in torments.' Luke 16.22-23).
'The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall
gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.' (Matt
13.41-42).
'Many will cry to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? Then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.'
(Matt 7.22-23).
'At the end of the world, the angels shall come forth and sever
the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into
the furnace of fire.' (Matt 13.49-50).
'The hour is coming in which all that are in their graves shall
hear my voice, and shall come forth; they that have
done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done
evil unto the resurrection of damnation.' (John
5.28-29).
To these may be added the references to the shut door in the
Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matt 25.10) and to the
casting of the unprofitable servant into outer darkness where
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth in the Parable of
the Talents (Matt 25.19-20).
Do these words leave the impression on the mind of the reader
that the future punishment of sin is temporary? Hesitation to
proclaim these awful truths on the plea of revulsion to our
feelings brings us into the dangerous position of asserting that
we are more compassionate than the Son of God, while the daring
attempt to minimize or deny the meaning is open and undisguised
rebellion against the Lord. The inexpressible solemnity of the
subject ought to be felt by every true servant of Christ who
knows that unless his hearers are regenerated, Christ's
warnings, so solemnly spoken, were not uttered in vain. And
believing what the Master said, they too shall warn with all
tenderness, and direct the attention of their hearers to the Son
of God who delivers from the wrath to come.
Adapted
by Donald Beaton
[Apparently under the influence of the idea that God is too
loving to condemn anyone to hell, and by considerable juggling
with the Biblical terms used to describe it, several prominent
'evangelicals' have recently disowned the doctrine of eternal
punishment. The following article serves to remind us that
though men's notions of truth may change, that truth, as
enshrined in the Word of God, can never change. Ed.]
'When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, ... before Him
shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one
from another... And He shall set the sheep on His right hand,
but the goats on the left. Then shall He say unto them on the
left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and these
shall go away into everlasting punishment.' (Matt
25.31-33, 41, 46).
Nicodemus was both a Pharisee and a ruler: he knew the law above
many in Israel, yet he was ignorant of both the true Messiah and
the mystery of the new birth. A man may be excellent in the
grammar of Scripture yet not understand its spiritual sense.
So we may be able to speak of God and His perfections without a
true sense of their spirituality and holiness. Though such
knowledge is a good preparation for spiritual knowledge, it is
insufficient of itself to bring us to know God. It does not heal
the soul's blindness, nor chase away spiritual darkness.
The highest rational knowledge of God cannot profit us without
the knowledge that faith gives. Said Augustine: 'I believe, that
I may understand.' The general and common knowledge of Christ is
only a knowing after the flesh, not in the power of His Spirit.
It can be of no more advantage to us than it was to the Jews' or
than Judas's knowledge of Him.
In the Scriptures Christians are not called knowers, but
believers.
Adapted from Stephen Charnock
A man may be theologically knowing yet spiritually ignorant.
'Next to redemption by Christ, labour for the Spirit of
Christ.'
'The greatest and sweetest liberty is when we have no liberty to
sin.'
'We live by grace, ... we must die by grace and stand at the Day
of Judgment by grace.'
'God has ordained that we should be like Him [Christ] ... in
suffering, in grace and in glory.'
'There is an instinct in all men to glory in something.'
'If Christ gave Himself for me, shall not I give myself to
Christ?'
(Richard Sibbes)
'It is not good to believe in our own faith, still less in our
own doubts, as some seem to do, making the best doubter to be
the best believer.'
'The outer life of a man is not the man... . It is the bearing
of the soul toward God that is the true state of the man.'
'Conviction of sin is just the sinner seeing himself as he is,
and as God has all along seen him.'
'In all false religion, the worshipper rests his hope of divine
favour upon something in his own character or life or religious
duties... . In all this, the attempted resting-place is self,
that self which God has condemned.'
'Never can the great truths of divine sovereignty and the
Spirit's work land us, as some seem to think they may do, in ...
a conflict between a willing sinner and an unwilling God.'
'Grace is the grace of a righteous God... God's grace is
righteous grace... His love is holy love.'
'Faith does not spring out of feeling, but feeling out of faith.
The less you feel, the more you should trust.'
'All true repentance has its root in faith.'
(Horatius Bonar)
'What is the scope of all the Scriptures but Christ? ...
What are all the Scriptures without Christ?'
'Acceptance with God lies at the foundation of all religion: for
there must be an accepted worshipper before there can be
acceptable worship.'
The writings of this godly descendant of a great Pilgrim Father
have long been one of my bedside companions. An old edition of
the present title is no exception. For spirituality,
Scripturalness and pastoral sensitivity it is worth its weight
in gold. The print size, layout and strong binding of the
present re-issue are superior to those of many paperbacks
produced today. An unqualified recommendation.
Better known for his series of studies
on Christ in the Pentateuch, Henry Law (not to be confused with
the mystic William Law) here expounds and applies the Psalms in
his customary crisp and searching manner. Arranged for daily
private and/or family use, these further studies elicit
something of the depth and spirituality of these songs of Zion.
Its arrangement reminds us that the Psalms were composed for
private devotion before being handed to 'the chief musician' of
the temple worship for public use.
This moving biography of another descendant of
Puritan emigrants is lovingly and faithfully woven around the
life and ministry of Daniel Baker by his youngest son. It tells
of an orphaned 'Shorter Catechism boy' whose conversion to
Christ and subsequent ministry exemplifies the Scripture: "How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings." (Isa 52.7.)
This beautifully-produced modernization of the immortal tinker's
spiritual autobiography deserves to be included in a series of
Living Classic For Today. Should it please God to use it to lead
only one sinner out of the legalistic thickets that entangled
its lovable author, its publishers will be well rewarded.
A first glance at this attractively produced booklet prompted
the question; "Is a title so similar in content and format to
John Blanchard's 'Ultimate Questions' needed today. But a
reading of it dispelled any doubts. Its contemporary, concise,
challenging and faithful presentation of the true Gospel is just
what is needed to hand to people of our rootless, restless and
godless generation.
It is difficult to understand why so many believers today avoid
Apologetics. From the dawn of Christianity, champions of the
faith once delivered to the saints have laboured in its proof
and defence, besides launching an offensive against its enemies,
whether within or outside the pale of the Church. A pietistic
ghetto mentality accounts for much neglect. A 'take it or leave
it' attitude is also present in many. Scorn for the use of the
mind, under the influence of either the Romantic 'feeling'
movement headed by Schleiermacher or the sheer dread of
intellectualism, has also contributed its share. Yet both the
Saviour and His apostles, to say nothing of Isaiah 1.18,
repeatedly engage in confrontational dialogue with those who
desired none of God's ways.
Approaching today's materialistic society from a thoroughly
Biblical viewpoint and with a good grasp of contemporary issues,
Edgar Powell here overthrows many fondly-held anti-Christian
views, from those of Philo (at least) to those of Richard
Dawkins. In so doing he never loses sight of the sheer
evidential weight and strength of the Christian position, nor of
the absolute necessity of the sovereign grace of God to bring
sinners under His benign rule. Two valuable appendices and a
necessary glossary (not every-one knows the difference between
Science and Scientism, or Reason and Rationalism) enhance the
value of this concise apologetic tool. Warmly recommended.
Books
Help Heavenwards, by Octavius Winslow. 195 pp.
Pbk. £4.25. Banner of Truth. 3 Murrayfield Road,
Edinburgh. EH12 6EL
Daily Prayer and Praise, by Henry Law Vol 1. Psalms 1-75.
368 pp. Pbk. £3.95. Banner of Truth. 3 Murrayfield Road,
Edinburgh. EH12 6EL.
Making Many Glad, by William Baker 560 pp. Pbk.
£5.50. Banner of Truth. 3 Murrayfield Road, Edinburgh.
EH12 6EL.
Grace Abounding, by John Bunyan. 160 pp. Hdbk.
£6.95. Evangelical Press. Grange Close, Faverdale North
Industrial Estate, Darlington. DL3 0PH
Which Way to God? by Peter Jeffrey. Pbk. £7.00
for a pack of ten. Evangelical Press. Grange Close, Faverdale
North Industrial Estate, Darlington. DL3 0PH
On Giants' Shoulders, by Edgar Powell. 262 pp. Pbk.
£8.99. Day One Publications. 3 Epsom Business Park, Kiln
Lane, Epsom. Surrey. KT17 1JF.
If I had the tongue of the eloquent and the pen of a ready
writer my desire would be to employ both in praise of the Great
King. O! Who is like Him, glorious in holiness, fearful in
praises, doing wonders! We are rebels and outlaws, lost and
undone; but He has made a covenant with us and given Himself a
ransom. This covenant is everlasting, ordered in all things and
sure. It has all fullness in it for the matter, all wisdom for
the manner, all condescension in the terms. It is most engaging
in its end, being made to bring about the peace and salvation of
sinners; and it is most necessary, for there is no journeying to
heaven without it. This then is the chariot that will carry us
into the joy and rest of our Lord. This is the chariot wherein
His glory and our good ride triumphantly together, for it is
made for Himself and the daughters of Jerusalem. This is the
chariot that has the pillars of silver, the bottom of gold, the
covering of purple and the midst of it paved with love. O what a
pavement is there! What lining and stuffing are there! O happy
are they who are taken up into this chariot! They stand upon
love, they sit upon love, they lie upon love, and if they fall
they fall upon love. Those who are outside may see something of
its glitter and beauty, yet no-one can know the heart of it and
the love that is there but those who are within. O Sir, can you
not say that you have been taken in with the King into this
glorious piece of His workmanship? Then why should you fear?
Though Satan and his instruments compass you about and shoot at
you from all sides, yet you are well guarded. You are not only
riding with the King in His chariot, you have round about you
three-score valiant men, standing ready for your defence. The
angels and attributes of God are a good and sure defence.
However you may be surrounded with the world's malice and
hatred, His love is still about you and always next to you. Then
advance with that princely disposition and carriage that suits
one of so royal a descent, being a son of the Great King, the
Almighty Lord God, by your adoption and regeneration. Fear not
what the worms of the earth can do unto you; they are His poor,
chained, weak creatures. Let them be counted as ashes under the
soles of your feet. Your cause is glorious, your Leader
gracious, your victory certain, your reward sure and your
triumph everlasting. O let all your care be to choose and do in
everything what may please Him; and encourage yourself in Him,
for He will not leave you nor forsake you.
James Renwick
(Adapted)
Letter
Right Honourable and Dear Sir,
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