P. S.--It is of the utmost importance for the Christian reader to bear in mind that, whatever be the condition of the professing Church, it is his privilege to enjoy as high communion and to tread as high a path of individual devotedness as ever was known in the very brightest days of the Church"s history. We must never draw a plea from the condition of things around us for lowering the standard of individual holiness and devotedness. _There is no excuse for continuing a single hour in connection with anything that will not stand the test of Holy Scripture._
True, we feel the condition of things--cannot but feel it: would we felt it more! But it is one thing to feel it, and go through it with Christ, and another thing to sink under it and go on with the evil, or give up in despair.
May the Lord, in His infinite grace, produce in the hearts of all His people a more profound and influential sense of their privileges and responsibilities, both individually and collectively, that thus there may be a truer and brighter testimony for His name, and a devoted band of worshipers, workers and witnesses, gathered out to wait for His coming!
What raised the wondrous thought?
Or who did it suggest?
"That we, the Church, to glory brought, Should WITH the Son be blest."
O G.o.d, the thought was Thine!
(Thine only it could be,) Fruit of the wisdom, love divine, Peculiar unto Thee.
For, sure, no other mind, For thoughts so bold, so free, Greatness or strength, could ever find; Thine only it could be.
The motives, too, Thine own, The plan, the counsel, Thine!-- Made for Thy Son, bone of His bone In glory bright to shine.
O G.o.d, with great delight Thy wondrous thought we see, Upon _His_ throne, in glory bright, The bride of Christ shall be.
Sealed with the Holy Ghost, We triumph in that love, Thy wondrous thought has made our boast, "Glory WITH Christ above."
THE THREE APPEARINGS.
(Heb. ix. 24-28.)
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, _now to appear_ in the presence of G.o.d for us: nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; for then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the ages _hath He appeared_ to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And 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."[2]
[2] The English reader should be informed that the three words which are rendered in the above pa.s.sage, "appear," are not the same in the original Greek; but our object is to deal with the facts set forth, rather than with the words employed.
The foregoing pa.s.sage sets before us three great facts in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. It speaks of what we may venture to call three distinct appearings, namely, an appearing in the past; an appearing in the present; and an appearing in the future. He _hath_ appeared in this world to do a certain work; He _doth_ appear in heaven to carry on a certain ministry; and He _shall_ appear in glory. The first is Atonement; the second is Advocacy; the third is the Advent. And first, then, let us dwell for a few moments on
THE ATONEMENT,
which is here presented in its two grand aspects, first, G.o.dward; and secondly, usward. The apostle declares that Christ hath appeared "to put away _sin_;" and also "to bear the sins of many." This is a distinction of the utmost importance, and one not sufficiently understood or attended to, Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He has glorified G.o.d in reference to the question of sin in its very broadest aspect. This He has done altogether irrespective of the question of persons or the forgiveness of the _sins_ of individuals. Even though every soul, from the days of Adam down to the very last generation, were to reject the proffered mercy of G.o.d, yet would it hold good that the atoning death of Christ had put away sin--had destroyed the power of Satan--had perfectly glorified G.o.d, and laid the deep and solid foundation on which all the divine counsels and purposes can rest for ever.
It is to this fact that the Baptist refers in these memorable words, "Behold the Lamb of G.o.d, which taketh away the _sin_ of the world"
(John i. 29). The Lamb of G.o.d has wrought a work in virtue of which every trace of sin shall be obliterated from the creation of G.o.d. He has perfectly vindicated G.o.d in the very midst of a scene in which He had been so grossly dishonored, in which His character had been traduced and His majesty insulted. He came to do this at all cost, even at the sacrifice of Himself. He sacrificed Himself in order to maintain, in view of heaven, earth and h.e.l.l, the glory of G.o.d. He has wrought a work by the which G.o.d is infinitely more glorified than if sin had not entered at all. G.o.d shall reap a richer harvest by far in the fields of redemption than ever He could have reaped in the fields of an unfallen creation.
It is well that the reader should deeply ponder this glorious aspect of the atoning death of Christ. We are apt to think that the very highest view we can take of the cross is that which involves the question of our forgiveness and salvation. This is a grave mistake.
That question is divinely settled, as we shall seek to show; for the less is always included in the greater. But let us remember that our side of the atonement is the less, G.o.d"s side of it the greater. It was infinitely more important that G.o.d should be glorified than that we should be saved. Both ends have been gained, blessed be G.o.d, and gained by one and the same work, the precious atonement of Christ; but we must never forget that the glory of G.o.d is of far greater moment than the salvation of men; and further, that we never can have so clear a sense of the latter as when we see it flowing from the former. It is when we see that G.o.d has been perfectly and for ever glorified in the death of Christ, that we can really enter into the divine perfectness of our salvation. In point of fact, both are so intimately bound up together that they cannot be separated; but still G.o.d"s part in the Cross of Christ must ever get its own proper preeminence. The glory of G.o.d was ever uppermost in the devoted heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. For this He lived, for this He died. He came into this world for the express purpose of glorifying G.o.d, and from this great and holy object He never swerved a moment from the manger to the cross. True it is--blessedly true--that in carrying out this object He has perfectly met our case; but the divine glory ruled Him in life and in death.
Now it is on the ground of atonement, looked at in this its higher aspect, that G.o.d has been dealing with the world in patient grace, mercy and forbearance for well nigh six thousand years. He sends His rain and His sunbeams upon the evil and upon the good, upon the just and the unjust. It is in virtue of the atonement of Christ--though despised and rejected--that the infidel and the atheist live, and enjoy G.o.d"s daily mercies; yea, the very breath that they spend in opposing the revelation and denying the existence of G.o.d they owe to Him in whom they live, move and have their being. We speak not here, by any means, of the forgiveness of _sins_, or of the soul"s salvation. This is another question altogether, and to it we shall refer presently. But, looking at man in reference to his life in this world, and looking at the world in which he lives, it is the Cross which forms the basis of G.o.d"s merciful dealing with both the one and the other.
Furthermore, it is on the ground of the atonement of Christ, in this same aspect of it, that the evangelist can go forth "into _all the world_, and preach glad tidings to _every creature_." He can declare the blessed truth that G.o.d has been glorified as to sin--His claims satisfied--His majesty vindicated--His law magnified--His attributes harmonized. He can proclaim the precious message that G.o.d can now be just and yet the justifier of any poor unG.o.dly sinner that believes in Jesus. There is no hindrance, no barrier of any kind whatsoever. The preacher of the gospel is not to be cramped by any dogmas of theology.
He has to do with the large, loving heart of G.o.d, which, in virtue of atonement, can flow forth to every creature beneath the canopy of heaven. He can say to each and to all--and say it without reserve--"COME!" Nay, more, he is bound to "_beseech_" them to come.
"We _pray_ you in Christ"s stead, be ye reconciled to G.o.d." Such is the proper language of the evangelist, the herald of the cross, the amba.s.sador of Christ. He knows no less a range than the wide, wide world; and he is called to drop his message into the ear of every creature under heaven.
And why? Because "Christ hath put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." He has, by His most precious death, changed completely the ground of G.o.d"s dealings with man and with the world, so that, instead of having to deal with them on the ground of sin, He can deal on the ground of atonement.
Finally, it is in virtue of the atonement, in this broad and lofty aspect, that every vestige of sin, and every trace of the serpent shall be obliterated from the wide universe of G.o.d. Then shall be seen the full force of that pa.s.sage above referred to, "The Lamb of G.o.d, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Thus much as to what we may call the primary aspect of the atoning death of Christ--an aspect which cannot be too thoughtfully studied. A clear understanding of this weighty point would tend to remove a great deal of difficulty and misunderstanding in reference to the full and free preaching of the gospel. Many of the Lord"s honored servants find themselves hindered in the presentation of the glad tidings of salvation, simply because they do not see this wide aspect of the atonement. They confine the death of Christ merely to its bearing upon the sins of G.o.d"s elect; and they therefore deem it wrong to preach the gospel to all, or to invite, yea to beseech and entreat, all to come.
Now, that Christ did die for the elect, Scripture distinctly teaches in manifold places. He died for the elect nation of Israel, and for the elect Church of G.o.d--the bride of Christ. But Scripture teaches more than this. It declares that "He died for _all_" (2 Cor. v. 14); that "He tasted death for _every man_" (Heb. ii. 9). There is no need whatever for seeking to avoid the plain force and meaning of these and kindred statements of inspiration. And further, we believe it to be quite wrong to add our own words to G.o.d"s words in order to reconcile them with any particular system of doctrine. When Scripture affirms that Christ died for all, we have no right to add the words, "the elect." And when Scripture states that Christ "tasted death for every man," we have no right to say, "every elect man." It is our place to take G.o.d"s word as it stands, and reverently bow to its authoritative teaching in all things. We can no more systematize G.o.d"s word than we can systematize G.o.d Himself. His word, His heart and His nature, are quite too deep and comprehensive to be included within the limits of the very broadest and best constructed human system of theology that was ever framed. We shall, ever and anon, be discovering pa.s.sages of Scripture which will not fall in with our system. We must remember that G.o.d is love, and this love will tell itself out to all without limit. True, G.o.d has His counsels, His purposes and His decrees; but it is not these He presents to the poor lost sinner. He will instruct and interest His saints about such things; but to the guilty, heavy-laden sinner, He presents His love, His grace, His mercy, His readiness to save, to pardon and to bless.
And let it be well remembered that the sinner"s responsibility flows out of what is _revealed_, and not out of what is _secret_. G.o.d"s decrees are secret; His nature, His character, Himself is revealed.
The sinner will not be judged for rejecting what he had no means of knowing. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John iii. 19).
We are not writing a theological treatise; but we do feel it to be a matter of the gravest moment to press upon the reader that his responsibility, as a sinner, is based upon the fact that the aspect of the salvation of G.o.d, and of the atonement of Christ, is most distinctly and decidedly "unto all," and not merely to a certain number of the human family. The glorious message is sent forth into all the world. Every one who hears it is invited to come. This is grounded upon the fact that Christ has put away sin--that the blood of atonement has been carried into the presence of G.o.d--that the barrier which sin presented has been flung down and abolished, and now the mighty tide of divine love can flow freely forth to the very vilest of the sons of men.
Such is the message; and when any one through grace believes it he can be further told that not only has Christ put away _sin_, but that also He has borne his _sins_--the actual sins of all His people--of all who believe in His name. The evangelist can stand up in the midst of a.s.sembled thousands, and declare that Christ has put away sin--that G.o.d is satisfied--that the way is open for all; and he can whisper the same in the ear of each and every sinner under heaven. Then, when any one has bowed down to this testimony--when the repentant, broken-hearted, self-judged sinner receives the blessed record--he can be further taught that his _sins_ were all laid on Jesus, all borne and for ever put away by Him when He died on the cross.
This is the plain doctrine of Hebrews ix. 26, 28; and we have a striking type of it in the two goats of Leviticus xvi. If the reader will just turn to the pa.s.sage he will find there, first, the _slain_ goat; and secondly, the _scape_-goat. The blood of the slain goat was brought into the sanctuary and sprinkled there. This was a type of Christ putting away _sin_. Then the high priest, on behalf of the congregation, confessed all their _sins_ upon the head of the scape-goat, and they were borne away into a land not inhabited. This was a type of Christ bearing the sins of His people. The two goats, taken together, give us a full view of the atonement of Christ, which, like the righteousness of G.o.d in Romans iii., is "unto all, and upon all them that believe."
All this is most simple. It removes many difficulties out of the way of the earnest seeker after peace. These difficulties arise in many cases from the conflicting dogmas of theological systems, and have no foundation whatever in Holy Scripture. There, all is as plain and as clear as G.o.d can make it. Each one who hears the message of G.o.d"s free love is bound, not to say invited, to receive it; and judgment will, most a.s.suredly, fall upon each and all who refuse or neglect the proffered mercy. It is utterly impossible for any one who has ever heard the gospel, or ever had the New Testament in his hand, to get rid of the awful responsibility that rests upon him to accept G.o.d"s salvation. Not a single soul will have to say, I could not believe, because I was not one of the elect, and did not get power to believe.
No one will ever dare to say or even to think this. If any could take such ground, then where were the force or the meaning of the following burning words?--"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with the angels of His power, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not G.o.d, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(2 Thess. i. 7, 8). Will any one ever be punished for not obeying the gospel if he is not responsible to yield that obedience? Most a.s.suredly not. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
But does G.o.d send His gospel to people merely to place them under responsibility and increase their guilt? Far be the monstrous thought!
He sends His gospel to the lost sinner in order that he may be _saved_, for G.o.d is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. All, therefore, who perish shall have none but themselves to blame.
It is of the very last importance that the reader should be established in the knowledge and practical sense of what the atonement of Christ has accomplished for all who simply trust in Him. It is, we need hardly say, the only basis of peace. He has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself; and He has borne our sins in His own body on the tree. It is, therefore, impossible that any question as to sin or guilt can ever arise. All has been "once and for ever" settled by the atoning death of the Lamb of G.o.d. True it is--alas, how true!--we all have sin in us; and we have, daily and hourly, to judge ourselves and judge our ways. It will ever hold good of us, so long as we are in a body of sin and death, that "in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." But then nothing can ever touch the question of our soul"s perfect and eternal acceptance. The conscience of the believer is as completely purged from every soil and stain as will be the whole creation by-and-by. If it were not so, Christ could not be where He now is. He has entered into the presence of G.o.d, there to appear for us. This leads us in the second place to consider.
THE ADVOCACY.
Very many souls are apt to confound two things which, though inseparably connected, are perfectly distinct, namely, advocacy and atonement. Not seeing the divine completeness of the atonement, they are in a certain way looking to the advocacy to do for them what the atonement has done. We must remember that though as to our standing we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, yet as to the actual fact of our condition we are in the body. We are in spirit and by faith seated in heavenly places in Christ; but yet we are actually in the wilderness, subject to all sorts of infirmities, liable to fail and err in a thousand ways.
Now it is to meet our present actual state and wants that the advocacy, or priesthood, of Christ is designed. G.o.d be praised for the blessed provision! As those who are in the body pa.s.sing through the wilderness, we need a great High Priest to maintain the link of communion, or to restore it when broken. Such a One we have, ever living to make intercession for us; nor could we get on for a single moment without Him. The work of atonement is never repeated; the work of the Advocate is never interrupted. When once the blood of Christ is applied to the soul by the power of the Holy Ghost, the application is never repeated. To think of a repet.i.tion is to deny its efficacy and to reduce it to the level of the blood of bulls and goats. No doubt people do not see this, and most a.s.suredly they do not mean it; but such is the real tendency of the thought of a fresh application of the blood of sprinkling. It may be that persons who speak in this way really mean to put honor upon the blood of Christ, and to give expression to their own felt unworthiness; but, in truth, the best way to put honor upon the blood of Christ is to rejoice in what it has done for our souls; and the best way to set forth our own unworthiness is to feel and remember that we were so vile that nothing but the death of Christ could avail to meet our case. So vile were we that nothing but His blood could cleanse us. So precious is His blood that not a trace of our guilt remains. "The blood of Jesus Christ, G.o.d"s Son, cleanseth us from all sin."
Thus it stands in reference to the very feeblest child of G.o.d whose eye scans these lines. "All sins forgiven." Not a trace of guilt remains. Jesus is in the presence of G.o.d for us. He is there as a High Priest before G.o.d--as an Advocate with the Father. He has by His atoning death rent the veil--put away sin--brought us nigh to G.o.d in all the credit and virtue of His sacrifice, and now He lives to maintain us by His advocacy in the enjoyment of the place and privileges into which His blood has introduced us.
Hence the apostle says, "If any man sin, we have"--what? The blood?
Nay, but "an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
The blood has done its work, and is ever before G.o.d according to its full value in His sight. Its efficacy is ever the same. But we have sinned; it may be only in thought; but even that thought is quite enough to interrupt our communion. Here is where advocacy comes in. If it were not that Jesus Christ is ever acting for us in the sanctuary above, our faith would most a.s.suredly fail in moments in the which we have in any measure yielded to the voice of our sinful nature. Thus it was with Peter in that terrible hour of his temptation and fall: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted (or restored), strengthen thy brethren" (Luke xxii. 21, 32).
Let the reader note this. "I have prayed for thee, that"--What? Was it that he might not fail? Nay, but that, having failed, his faith might not give way. Had Christ not prayed for his poor, feeble servant, he would have gone from bad to worse, and from worse to worst. But the intercession of Christ procured for Peter the grace of true repentance, self-judgment and bitter sorrow for his sin, and finally complete restoration of his heart and conscience, so that the current of his communion--interrupted by sin, but restored by advocacy--might flow on as before.
Thus it is with us when, through lack of that holy vigilance which we should ever exercise, we commit sin: Jesus goes to the Father for us.
He prays for us; and it is through the efficacy of His priestly intercession that we are convicted and brought to self-judgment, confession, and restoration. All is founded on the advocacy, and the advocacy is founded on the atonement.