And here it may be well to a.s.sert, in the clearest and strongest manner possible, that it is the sweet privilege of every believer not to commit sin. There is no necessity whatever why he should. "My little children," says the apostle, "these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." This is a most precious truth for every lover of holiness. _We need not sin._ Let us remember this. "Whosoever is born of G.o.d doth not commit [or, _practice_] sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of G.o.d" (1 John iii. 9).
This is the divine idea of a Christian. Alas, we do not always realize it! but that does not, and cannot, touch the precious truth. The divine nature, the new man, the life of Christ in the believer, cannot possibly sin, and it is the privilege of every believer so to walk as that nothing but the life of Christ may be seen. The Holy Ghost dwells in the believer on the ground of redemption, in order to give effect to the desires of the new nature, so that the flesh may be as though it did not exist, and nothing but Christ be seen in the believer"s life.
It is of the utmost importance that this divine idea of Christian life should be seized and maintained. People sometimes ask the question, Is it possible for a Christian to live without committing sin? We reply in the language of the inspired apostle, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not" (1 John ii. 1). And again, quoting the language of another inspired apostle, "How shall we, that are dead to sin, _live_ any longer therein?" (Rom. vi. 2.) The Christian is viewed by G.o.d as "dead to sin"; and hence, if he yields to it he is practically denying his standing in a risen Christ. Alas, alas, we do sin, and hence the apostle adds, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world."
This gives wonderful completeness to the work on which our souls repose. Such is the perfect efficacy of the atonement of Christ that we have one Advocate with us in order that we may not sin, and another Advocate with the Father if we do sin. The word rendered "Comforter"
in John xiv. 16 is rendered "advocate" in 1 John iii. 1. We have one divine Person caring for us here, and we have another divine Person caring for us in heaven, and all this on the ground of the atoning death of Christ.
Will it be said that in writing thus we furnish a license for committing sin? G.o.d forbid! We have already declared, and would insist upon, the blessed possibility of living in such unbroken communion with G.o.d--of walking so in the Spirit--of being so filled and occupied with Christ--as that the flesh, or the old nature, may not appear.
This we know is not always the case. "In many things we all offend,"
as James tells us. But no right-minded person, no lover of holiness, no spiritual Christian, could have any sympathy with those who say we _must_ commit sin. Thank G.o.d, it is not so. But what a mercy it is, beloved Christian reader, to know that when we do fail there is One at the right hand of G.o.d to restore the broken link of communion! This He does by producing in our souls, by His Spirit who dwells in us--that "other Advocate"--the sense of failure, and leading us into self-judgment and true confession of the wrong, whatever it be.
We say "_true_ confession," for it must be this if it be the fruit of the Spirit"s work in the heart. It is not lightly and flippantly saying we have sinned, and then as lightly and flippantly sinning again. This is most sorrowful and most dangerous. We know nothing more hardening and demoralizing than this sort of thing. It is sure to lead to the most disastrous consequences. We have known cases of persons living in sin and satisfying themselves by a mere lip confession of their sin, and then going and committing the sin again and again; and this has gone on for months and years, until G.o.d in His faithfulness caused the whole thing to come out openly before others.
All this is most dreadful. It is Satan"s way of hardening and deceiving the heart. Oh that we may watch against it, and ever keep a tender conscience! We may rest a.s.sured that when a true-hearted child of G.o.d is betrayed into sin the Holy Ghost will produce in him such a sense of it--will lead him into such intense self-loathing, such an abhorrence of the evil, such thorough self-judgment in the presence of G.o.d--as that he cannot lightly go and commit the sin again. This we may learn from the words of the apostle when he says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and"--mark this weighty clause--"_to cleanse us from all unrighteousness_." Here we have the precious fruit of the double advocacy. It is all presented in its fulness in this part of the first epistle of John. If any man sin, the blessed Paraclete on high intercedes with the Father, pleads the full merits of His atoning work, prays for the erring one on the ground of His having borne the judgment of that very sin. Then the other Paraclete acts in the conscience, produces repentance and confession, and brings the soul back into the light in the sweet sense that the sin is forgiven, the unrighteousness cleansed, and the communion perfectly restored. "He restoreth my soul: _He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness_ for His name"s sake" (Ps. xxiii. 3).
We trust the reader will be enabled to understand this great fundamental truth. Many, we are aware, find it difficult to reconcile the idea of intercession with the truth of a perfect atonement. If, say they, the atonement is perfect, what need is there of intercession? If the believer is made as white as snow by the blood of Christ--so white that the Spirit of G.o.d can dwell in his heart--then what does he want of a priest? If by one offering Christ has perfected for ever all them that are sanctified, then what need have these perfected and sanctified ones of an advocate? Surely we must either admit the thought of an imperfect atonement or deny the need of advocacy?
Such is the reasoning of the human mind, but such is not the faith of Christians. Scripture does most surely teach us that the believer is washed as white as snow; that he is accepted in the Beloved--complete in Christ--perfectly forgiven and perfectly justified through the death and resurrection of Christ; that he can never come into judgment, but is pa.s.sed from death unto life; that he is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit--not in the old creation, but in the new--not a member of the first Adam, but of the last; that he is dead to sin, dead to the world, dead to the law, because Christ has died, and the believer has died in Him. All this is largely unfolded and constantly insisted upon by the inspired writers. Scores of pa.s.sages might easily be quoted in proof, were it needful.
But then there is another aspect of the Christian which must be taken into account. He is not in the flesh as to the ground of his standing, but he is in the body as to the fact of his condition. He is in Christ as to his standing, but he is also in the world as to the fact of his existence. He is surrounded by all sorts of temptations and difficulties, and he is in himself a poor feeble creature full of infirmities, not sufficient even to think anything as of himself. Nor is this all. Each true Christian is ever ready to acknowledge that in him, that is, in his flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. He is saved, thank G.o.d, and all is eternally settled; but then he has, _as a saved one_, to get through the wilderness; he has to labor to enter into G.o.d"s rest, and here it is that priesthood comes in. The object of priesthood is not to complete the work of atonement, inasmuch as that work is as perfect as the One who accomplished it. But we have to be carried through the wilderness and brought into the rest that remains for the people of G.o.d, and for this end we have a great High Priest who is pa.s.sed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of G.o.d. His sympathy and succor are ours, and we could not get on for one moment without them.
He ever liveth to make intercession for us, and by His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary He sustains us day by day in the full credit and value of His atoning work. He lifts us up when we fall, restores us when we wander, repairs the link of communion when snapped by our carelessness. In a word, He appears in the presence of G.o.d for us, and there carries on an uninterrupted service on our behalf, in virtue of which we are maintained in the integrity of the relationship into which His atoning death has introduced us.
Thus much as to the atonement and advocacy. It only remains for us to treat of the advent. We wish specially to remind the reader that in treating of the death of Christ we have left wholly untouched one grand point therein, namely, our death in Him.[3] This we may, if G.o.d permit, go into on another occasion. It is immensely important as the power of deliverance from indwelling sin as well as from this present evil world and from the law. There are many who merely look to the death of Christ for pardon and justification, but they do not see the precious and emanc.i.p.ating truth of their having died in Him and their deliverance in consequence from the power of sin in them. This latter is the secret of victory over self and the world, and of deliverance from every form of legality and mere fleshly pietism.
[3] This has been touched upon in "Sin in the flesh, and sin on the conscience"--a short paper in Miscel. Writings, Vol. ii. [Ed.]
Thus we have glanced at two of the weighty subjects presented to us in the closing verses of Heb. ix., namely, first, the precious atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ in its two aspects; and secondly, His all-prevailing advocacy at G.o.d"s right hand for us. It only remains for us to consider in the third place
HIS ADVENT,
which is here presented to us in immediate connection with those great foundation truths which have already engaged our attention, and which, moreover, are held and prized by all true Christians. Is it true that Christ hath appeared in this world to put away _sin_ by the sacrifice of Himself? and to bear the _sins_ of the many who through grace put their trust in Him? Is it true that He has pa.s.sed into the heavens and taken His seat on the throne of G.o.d, there to appear for us? Yes, blessed be G.o.d, these are grand, vital and fundamental verities of the Christian faith. Well, then, it is equally true that He shall appear again, apart from the question of sin, unto salvation. "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time apart from sin unto salvation."
Here, then, we have the matter most definitely stated. _As_ truly as Christ hath appeared on this earth--as truly as He lay in the manger of Bethlehem--was baptized in the waters of Jordan--was anointed with the Holy Ghost--was tempted of the devil in the wilderness--went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil--groaned, and wept, and prayed in Gethsemane--hung upon Calvary"s accursed tree, and died, the Just for the unjust--was laid in the dark, silent tomb--rose victorious on the third day--ascended into the heavens, there to appear in the presence of G.o.d for His people--_so_ truly shall He appear ere long in the clouds of heaven to receive His people to Himself. If we refuse one we must refuse all. If we question one we must question all. If we are unsettled as to one we must be unsettled as to all, inasmuch as all rest upon precisely the same basis, namely, the Holy Scriptures. How do I know that Jesus _hath_ appeared? Because Scripture tells me so. How do I know that He _doth_ appear? Because Scripture tells me so. How do I know that He _shall_ appear? Because Scripture tells me so.
In a word, then, the doctrine of the atonement, the doctrine of the advocacy, and the doctrine of the advent all rest on one and the same irrefragible foundation, namely, the simple declaration of the word of G.o.d, so that if we receive one we must receive all.
How is it then that while the Church of G.o.d in all ages has held and prized the doctrines of atonement and advocacy, she has practically lost sight of the doctrine of the advent? How comes it to pa.s.s that while the first two are regarded as essential, the last is deemed non-essential? Nay, we may go further and say, how is it that while a man who does not hold the first two is regarded as a heretic, and justly so, yet the man who holds the last is by many regarded as hardly sound in the faith or bringing in strange doctrine?
What answer can we give to these questions? Alas! alas! the Church has ceased to look for her Lord. Atonement and advocacy are held because they concern us; but the advent has been virtually let slip, although it so deeply concerns Him. It is due to the One who suffered and died on this earth that He should reign; to the One who wore a crown of thorns that He should wear a crown of glory; to the One who humbled Himself to the very dust of death that He should be exalted and that every knee should yet bow before Him.
Most surely this is so; and the G.o.d and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will see to it and bring it to pa.s.s in His own appointed time.
"Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool"
(Ps. cx; Heb. i). The moment is rapidly approaching when that blessed One who is now hidden from the eyes of men shall appear in glory.
Every eye shall see Him. As surely as He hung upon the cross and is now seated on the throne, so surely shall He appear in glory.
Reader, seeing these things are so, art thou among the number of "those that look for Him?" This is a solemn question. There are those who look for Him and there are those who do not. Now it is to the former that He shall appear unto salvation. He will come and receive His people unto Himself, that where He is, there they may be also (John xiv). These are His own loving words, spoken at the moment of His departure for the solace and comfort of His sorrowing disciples.
He counted on their being troubled at the thought of His leaving them, and He seeks to comfort them by the a.s.surance of His coming back. He does not say, Let not your hearts be troubled, for you shall soon follow Me. No; but "I will come again."
This is the proper hope of the Christian. Christ is coming. Are we ready? Are we looking for Him? Do we miss Him? Do we mourn His absence? It is impossible that we can be in the true att.i.tude of waiting for Him if we do not feel His absence. He is coming. He may be here to-night. Ere another sun arises the voice of the archangel and the blast of the trumpet may be heard in the air. And what then? Why then the sleeping saints--all who have departed in the faith of Christ--all the redeemed of the Lord whose ashes repose in the graveyards and cemeteries around us or in the mighty depths of the ocean--all these shall rise. The living saints shall be changed in a moment, and all shall ascend up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Cor.
xv. 51-54; 1 Thess. iv. 13-v. 11).
But what of the unconverted--the unbelieving--the unrepentant--the unprepared? What of all such? Ah! this is a question of awful solemnity. It makes the heart sink to reflect upon the case of those who are still in their sins--of those who have turned a deaf ear to all the entreaties and all the warnings which G.o.d in His long-suffering mercy has sent to them from week to week and year to year--of those who have sat under the sound of the gospel from their earliest days, and who have become, as we say, gospel-hardened. How dreadful will be the condition of all such when the Lord comes to receive His own! They shall be left behind to fall under the deep and dark delusion which G.o.d will a.s.suredly send upon all who have heard and rejected the gospel. And what then? What is to follow this deep and dark delusion? The deeper and darker d.a.m.nation of the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.
Oh! shall we not sound a note of alarm in the ears of our fellow-sinners? Shall we not more earnestly and solemnly warn them to flee from the wrath to come? Shall we not seek by word and deed--by the double testimony of the lips and the life--to set before them the weighty fact that "the Lord is at hand"? May we feel it more deeply, and then we shall exhibit it more faithfully. There is immense moral power in the truth of the Lord"s coming if it be really held in the heart and not merely in the head. If Christians only lived in the habitual expectation of the advent it would tell amazingly upon the unconverted around them.
May the Holy Ghost revive in the hearts of all G.o.d"s people the blessed hope of their Lord"s return, that they may be as men that wait for their Lord, that when He cometh and knocketh they may open unto Him immediately!
"THE TWO MUSTS."
In our Lord"s discourse with Nicodemus He twice makes use of the word "must"--a word of immense depth and moral power in both cases. Let us ponder it for a few moments; for, though but a word of one syllable, it contains a volume of most precious evangelical truth in whichever light we view it.
I. And first, then, we read, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." Here we have the total setting aside of man in his very best estate. If I must be born again, if I must have a new life, a new nature, then it matters not in the smallest degree what I can or cannot boast of. Man, as born of a woman, enters this world with the image of his fallen parent stamped upon him. Man, as he came from the hand of his Creator, was made in the "image of G.o.d." Man, as he issues from the womb of his mother, bears the image and likeness of a fallen creature. Hence the force of our Lord"s expression, "Ye must be born again." It is not said, Ye _must_ mend, ye must try and be better, ye must alter your mode of living, ye must turn over a new leaf. Had it been thus, Nicodemus would never have asked, "How can these things be?" A man of the Pharisees would have understood any or all of these things. A change of conduct, a change of character, any moral reform, any self-improvement, is perfectly intelligible to a Pharisee of every age; but to be told "Ye _must_ be _born_ again" can only be understood by one who has reached the end of himself and his doings; who has been brought to see that in him, that is in his flesh, dwelleth no good thing; who sees himself as a thorough bankrupt without a certificate, who can never again set up on his own account.
He must get a new life to which the verdict of bankruptcy cannot apply, and he must trade in the wealth of another, on which creditors have no possible claim.
There is immense power in this little word "_must_." It bears upon all alike. It speaks to the drunkard, and says, "You must be born again."
It addresses the most rigid teetotaler, and says, "You must be born again." It speaks to every cla.s.s, to every condition, to every grade and shade of character, to man in every rank and every clime, to every creed and every denomination, in its own clear, emphatic, sweeping style, and says, "You _must_ be born again." It bears down with far more weight upon the conscience than any appeal that could be made on the ground of moral conduct. It does not interfere in the least with the question of moral reform, in any one of its many phases. It allows as broad a margin as any philanthropist or moral reformer may desire.
It does not disturb the various distinctions which society, public opinion, law or equity has established. It leaves all these things perfectly untouched, but it raises its clear and commanding voice above them all, and says to the sinner--to man as born of a woman--to the worst and to the best of men, "You _must_ be born again." It demands not reformation, but regeneration; not amendment, but a new life.
II. What then, it may be asked, are we to do? Whither are we to turn?
How are we to get this new life? Our Lord"s second "must" furnishes the reply. "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 eternal life." This makes all plain. A second Man has entered the scene. There are two _men_ and two _musts_.
As to the first man, he must be born again, and as to the second Man, He must be lifted up. In a word, the Cross is the grand solution of the difficulty, the divine answer to the "How?" Am I completely struck down by the first "must"? Am I overwhelmed by the insuperable difficulty which it proposes to me? Am I on the very verge of despair as I contemplate the apparent impossibility of what, nevertheless, _must_ be? Oh then, with what power does the second "must" fall on my heart! "The Son of man must be lifted up." Why must He? Because I must have new life, and this life is in the Son, but it could only be mine through His death. The death of the second Man is the only ground of life to the first--life to _me_. One look at Christ, is lifted up for me, is life eternal. The soul that simply believes on the Son of G.o.d, as dead and risen, is "born of water and of the Spirit;" he _hath_ everlasting life--he _is_ pa.s.sed from death unto life, from the old creation into the new, from the first man to the Second, from guilt to righteousness, from condemnation to favor, from darkness to light, from Satan to G.o.d. May G.o.d the Spirit unfold to the reader"s heart the beauty and power, the depth, the comprehensiveness, and moral glory of the two "musts."
"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; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (t.i.tus 3: 5-7).
THE THRONE AND THE ALTAR.
(Isa. vi. 1-8).
In this sublime pa.s.sage of Scripture we notice two prominent objects, namely, the throne and the altar; and, moreover, we perceive the action of these two objects upon the soul of the prophet. The entire scene is full of interest and instruction. May we gaze upon it aright!
"In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon _a throne_, _high_ and _lifted up_, and His train filled the temple."
This was a solemn and soul-subduing sight. It is ever a serious matter for a sinner to find himself standing before the throne of G.o.d with the unanswered claims of that throne bearing down upon his conscience.
Isaiah found it to be so. The light of the throne revealed to him his true condition. And what was that light? It was the moral glory of Christ, as we read in the Gospel of John, "These things said Esaias, when he saw His glory, and spake of Him" (Chap. xii. 41). Christ is the perfect standard by which every one must be measured. It matters not what I may think of myself, nor yet what others may think about me: the question is, What am I as viewed in the presence of Christ?
The law may tell me what I ought to be; conscience may tell me I am not that; but it is only when the bright beams of Christ"s moral glory pour themselves around me that I am enabled to form a just estimate of what I am. Then it is that the hidden chambers of my heart are laid open, the secret springs of action are revealed, the real condition is laid bare.
But perhaps my reader may ask, What do you mean by the moral glory of Christ? I mean the light which shone forth from Him in all His ways when He was down here in this dark world. It was this light that detected _man_, that disclosed what he was, that brought to light _all_ that was in him. It was impossible for any one to escape the action of that light. It was a perfect blaze of divine purity, in view of which the seraphim could only cry out, "Holy, holy, holy!"
Need we marvel then if when Isaiah saw himself in the light of that glory he cried out, "Woe is me! for I am undone"? Nay; this was the proper utterance of one whose heart had been penetrated to its very centre by a light which makes all things perfectly manifest.