The All-Sufficiency of Christ.
by Charles Henry Mackintosh.
FORGIVENESS OF SINS
WHAT IS IT?
Oh, the blessedness! transgression forgiven--sin covered! This truly is blessedness; and without this, blessedness must be unknown. To have the full a.s.surance that my sins are all forgiven is the only foundation of true happiness. To be happy without this is to be happy on the brink of a yawning gulf, into which I may at any moment be dashed forever. It is utterly impossible that any one can enjoy solid happiness until he is possessed of the divine a.s.surance that all his guilt has been canceled by the blood of the cross. Uncertainty as to this must be the fruitful source of mental anguish to any soul who has ever been led to feel the burden of sin. To be in doubt as to whether my guilt was all borne by Jesus, or is yet on my conscience, is to be miserable.
Now, before proceeding to unfold the subject of forgiveness, I should like to ask my reader a very plain, pointed, personal question, namely, Dost thou believe that thou canst have the clear and settled a.s.surance that thy sins are forgiven? I ask this question at the outset, because there are many, now-a-days, who profess to preach the gospel of Christ, and yet deny that any one can be sure that his sins are forgiven. They maintain that it is presumption for any one to believe in the forgiveness of his sins; and, on the other hand, they look upon it as a proof of humility to be always in doubt as to this most momentous point. In other words, it is presumption to believe what G.o.d says, and humility to doubt it. This seems strange in the face of such pa.s.sages as the following: "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke xxiv. 46, 47); "In whom _we have_ redemption through His blood, _the forgiveness of sins_, according to the riches of His grace." (Eph. i. 7; Col. i. 14.)
Here we have remission, or forgiveness, of sins (the word is the same in the three pa.s.sages) preached in the name of Jesus, and possessed by those who believed that preaching. A proclamation was sent to the Ephesians and Colossians, as belonging to the "all nations," telling them of forgiveness of sins, in the name of Jesus. They believed this proclamation, and entered on the possession of the forgiveness of sins. Was this presumption on their part? or would it have been piety and humility to doubt the forgiveness of sins? True, they had been great sinners--"dead in trespa.s.ses and sins," "children of wrath,"
"aliens and foreigners," "enemies by wicked works." Some of them had doubtless bowed the knee to Diana. They had lived in gross idolatry and all manner of wickedness. But then, "forgiveness of sins" had been preached to them in the name of Jesus. Was this preaching true, or was it not? Was it for them, or was it not? Was it all a dream--a shadow--a myth? Did it mean nothing? Was there nothing sure, nothing certain, nothing solid about it?
These are plain questions, demanding a plain answer from those who a.s.sert that no one can know for certain that his sins are forgiven.
If, indeed, no one can know it now, then how could any one have known it in apostolic times? If it could be known in the first century, then why not in the nineteenth? "David describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom G.o.d imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
(Rom. iv. 6-8.) Hezekiah could say, "Thou _hast cast all my sins_ behind Thy back." (Isaiah x.x.xviii. 17.) The Lord Jesus said to one, in His day, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." (Matt.
ix. 2.)
Thus at all times forgiveness of sins was known with all the certainty which the word of G.o.d could give. Any one of the cases aduced above is sufficient to overthrow the teaching of those who a.s.sert that _no one_ can know that his sins are forgiven. If I find from Scripture that any one ever knew this marvelously precious blessing, that is quite enough for me. Now, when I open my Bible, I find persons who had been guilty of all manner of sins brought to the knowledge of forgiveness; and I therefore argue that it is possible for the very vilest sinner to know now, with divine certainty, that his sins are forgiven. Was it presumption in Abraham, in David, in Hezekiah, in the palsied man, and in numbers besides, to believe in the forgiveness of sins? Would it have been a sign of humility and true piety in them to doubt? It will perhaps be argued that these were all special and extraordinary cases. Well, it matters not, so far as our present question is concerned, whether they were ordinary or extraordinary. One thing is plain--they completely disprove the a.s.sertion that _no one_ can know that his sins are forgiven. The word of G.o.d teaches me that numbers, subject to like pa.s.sions, like infirmities, like failures, and like sins as the writer and reader, were brought to know and rejoice in the full forgiveness of sins; and hence those who maintain that no one can be sure on this momentous question have no scriptural foundation for their opinion.
But is it true that the cases recorded in the Holy Scriptures are so special and extraordinary as not to afford any precedent for us? By no means. If any case could be so regarded, it is surely that of Abraham, and yet of him we read that "it was not written for his sake alone, that righteousness was imputed to him: _but for us also_, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Rom. iv. 23-25.) Abraham "believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness." (Gen. xv. 6.) And the Holy Ghost declares that righteousness shall be imputed to us also if we believe,--"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts xiii.
38, 39.); "To Him give _all the prophets_ witness, that through His name _whosoever believeth_ in Him shall receive remission of sins."
(Acts x. 43.)
Now, the question is, What did the apostles Peter and Paul mean when they so unreservedly preached the forgiveness of sins to those who listened to them? Did they really mean to convey to their hearers the idea that no one could be sure that he possessed this forgiveness of sins? When in the synagogue of Antioch, Paul said to his audience, "We declare unto you _glad tidings_," did he entertain the notion that no one could be sure that his sins were forgiven? How could the gospel ever be called "glad tidings" if its only effect were to leave the soul in doubt and anxiety? If indeed it be true that no one can enjoy the a.s.surance of pardon, then the whole style of apostolic preaching should be reversed. We might then expect to find Paul saying to his hearers, Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that no one can ever know, in this life, whether his sins are forgiven or not. Is there aught like this in the entire range of apostolic preaching and teaching? Do not the apostles everywhere set forth, in the fullest and clearest manner, remission of sins as the necessary result of believing in a crucified and risen Saviour? Is there the most remote hint of that which is so much insisted upon by some modern teachers, namely, that it is a dangerous presumption to believe in the full forgiveness of all our sins, and that it argues a pious and humble frame of soul to live in perpetual doubt? Is there no possibility of ever enjoying, in this world, the comfortable certainty of our eternal security in Christ? Can we not rely upon G.o.d"s word, or commit our souls to the sacrifice of Christ? Can it be possible that the only effect of G.o.d"s glad tidings is to leave the soul in hopeless perplexity? Christ has put away sin; but I cannot know it! G.o.d has spoken; but I cannot be sure! The Holy Ghost has come down; but I cannot rely upon His testimony! It is piety and humility to doubt G.o.d"s word, to dishonor the atonement of Christ, and to refuse the faith of the heart to the record of the Holy Ghost! Alas! alas! if this is the gospel, then adieu to peace and joy in believing. If this is Christianity, then in vain has "the dayspring from on high visited us, to give the knowledge of salvation through the remission of our sins." (Luke i.) If no one can have this "knowledge of salvation,"
then to what end has it been given?
And let my reader bear in mind that the question before us is not whether a person may not deceive himself and others. This would be at once conceded. Thousands, alas! have deceived themselves, and thousands more have deceived others; but is that any reason why I cannot possess the absolute certainty that what G.o.d has said is true, and that the work of Christ has availed to put away all my sins?
Men have deceived themselves, and therefore I am afraid to trust Christ! Men have deceived others, and therefore I am afraid that G.o.d"s word will deceive me! This is really what it all amounts to, when put into plain language. And is it not well to have things thus put? Is it not needful, at times, to strip certain propositions of the dress in which legality and fleshly pietism would clothe them, so that we may see what they are? Does it not behove us, when men stand forth as the professed and authorized exponents of a sound and enlightened Christianity, to test what they say by the unerring standard of Holy Scripture? a.s.suredly it does. And if they tell us we can never be sure of salvation; and that it is presumption to think of such a thing; and, further, that the very utmost we can attain to in this life is a faint hope that, through the mercy of G.o.d, we may get to heaven when we die; we must utterly reject such teaching, as being in direct opposition to the Word of G.o.d. False theology tells me I can never be sure, G.o.d"s Word tells me I can. Which am I to believe? The former fills me with gloomy doubts and fears; the latter imparts divine certainty. That casts me upon my own efforts; this, upon a finished work. To which shall I attend? Is there a shadow of foundation, throughout the entire volume of G.o.d, for the notion that no one can be sure of his eternal salvation? I most fearlessly a.s.sert there is not.
So far from this, the Word of G.o.d, in every section of it, sets before us, in the clearest way, the privilege of the believer to enjoy the most unclouded certainty as to his pardon and acceptance in Christ.
And, let me ask, is it not due to G.o.d"s faithful Word and Christ"s finished work, that the soul confiding therein should enjoy the fullest a.s.surance? True, it is by faith that any one can so confide, and this faith is wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost. But all this in nowise affects our present question. What I desire is, that my reader should rise from the study of this paper with a full and firm conviction that it is possible for him to possess the present a.s.surance that he is as safe as Christ can make him. If any sinner ever enjoyed this a.s.surance, then why may not my reader now enjoy it?
Is Christ"s work finished? Is G.o.d"s Word true? Yes, verily. Then, if I simply trust therein, I am pardoned, justified and accepted. All my sins were laid on Jesus when He was nailed to the cursed tree. Jehovah made them all meet on Him. He bore them and put them away, and now He is up in heaven without them. This is enough for me. If the One who stood charged with _all_ my guilt is now at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, then, clearly, there is nothing against me.
All that divine justice had against me was laid on the Sin-bearer, and He endured the wrath of a sin-hating G.o.d that I might be freely and forever pardoned and accepted in a risen and glorified Saviour.
These are glad tidings. Does my reader believe them? Say, beloved, dost thou heartily believe in a dead and risen Christ? Hast thou come to Him as a lost sinner, and put thy heart"s full confidence in Him?
Does thou believe that "He died for our sins according to the Scripture, and that He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures"? If so, thou art saved, justified, accepted, complete in Christ. True, thou art, in thyself, a poor feeble creature, having an evil nature to contend with every moment; but Christ is thy life, and He is thy wisdom, and thy righteousness, thy sanctification, thy redemption, thy all. He ever lives for thee up in heaven. He died to make thee clean. He lives to keep thee clean.
Thou art made as clean as His death can make thee, and thou art kept as clean as His life can keep thee. He made Himself responsible for thee. G.o.d sees thee to be what Christ has made thee to be. He sees thee in Christ and as Christ. Wherefore, then, I pray thee, tread no more those gloomy corridors of legalism, pietism, and false theology, which have resounded for ages with the sighs and groans of poor sin-burdened and misguided souls; but, seeing the fullness of thy portion, and the completeness of thy standing in a risen and victorious Christ, rejoice in Him all thy days upon earth, and live in the hope of being with Him forever in His own mansions of heavenly glory.
Having thus sought to establish the fact that it is possible for one to know, upon divine authority, that his sins are forgiven, we shall now, in dependence upon the teaching of the Spirit of G.o.d, proceed to consider the subject of forgiveness of sins, as unfolded in the Word, and, in doing so, we shall present it under the three following heads; namely,
First, the _ground_ on which G.o.d forgives sins.
Secondly, the _extent_ to which He forgives sins.
Thirdly, the _style_ in which He forgives sins. There is value in this threefold presentation, as it gives clearness, fullness and precision to our apprehension of the subject as a whole. The more clearly we understand the ground of divine forgiveness, the more shall we appreciate the extent, and admire the style thereof.
May G.o.d the Spirit now be our guide while we ponder, for a little,
THE GROUND OF DIVINE FORGIVENESS.
It is of the very last importance that the anxious reader should understand this cardinal point. It is quite impossible that a divinely convicted conscience can enjoy true repose until the ground of forgiveness is clearly seen. There may be certain vague thoughts respecting the mercy and goodness of G.o.d, His readiness to receive sinners and pardon their sins, His unwillingness to enter the place of judgment, and His promptness to enter the place of mercy,--all this there may be; but until the convicted soul is led to see how G.o.d can be just and yet the Justifier--how He can be a just G.o.d and yet a Saviour-G.o.d--how He has been glorified with respect to sin--how all the divine attributes have been harmonized, it must be a stranger to the peace of G.o.d which truly pa.s.seth all understanding. A conscience on which the light of divine truth has poured itself in convicting power, feels and owns that sin can never enter into the presence of G.o.d--that sin, wherever it is found, can only be met by the just judgment of a sin-hating G.o.d. Hence, until the divine method of dealing with sin is understood and believed, there must be intense anxiety. Sin is a reality, G.o.d"s holiness is a reality, conscience is a reality, judgment to come is a reality. All these things must be looked at and duly considered. Justice must be satisfied; conscience, purged; Satan, silenced. How is all this to be done? Only by the cross of Jesus.
Here, then, we have the true ground of divine forgiveness. The precious atonement of Christ forms the base of that platform on which a just G.o.d and a justified sinner meet in sweet communion. In that atonement I see sin condemned, justice satisfied, the law magnified, the sinner saved, the adversary confounded. Creation never exhibited aught like this. There, the creature enjoyed the manifestation of power, wisdom and goodness; but the fairest fields of the old creation presented nothing like "grace reigning through righteousness"--nothing like a glorious combination of "righteousness and peace, mercy and truth." It was reserved for Calvary to display all this. There, that grand and all-important question, How can G.o.d be just and the Justifier? received a glorious reply. The death of Christ furnishes the answer. A just G.o.d dealt with sin at the cross, in order that a justifying G.o.d might deal with the sinner on the new and everlasting ground of resurrection. G.o.d could not tolerate or pa.s.s over a single jot or t.i.ttle of sin; but He could put it away. He has condemned sin.
He has poured out His righteous wrath upon sin, in order that He might pour the everlasting beams of His favor upon the believing sinner.
"On Jesus" cross this record"s graved, Let sin be judged and sinners saved."
Precious record! may every anxious sinner read it with the eye of faith. It is a record which must impart settled peace to the heart.
G.o.d has been satisfied as to sin. This is enough for me. Here my guilty, troubled conscience finds sweet repose. I have seen my sins rising like a dark mountain before me, threatening me with eternal wrath; but the blood of Jesus has blotted them all out from G.o.d"s view. They are gone, and gone forever--sunk as lead into the mighty waters of divine forgetfulness, and I am free--as free as the One who was nailed to the cross for my sins, but who is now on the throne without them.
Such, then, is the ground of divine forgiveness. What a solid ground!
Who or what can touch it? Justice _has_ owned it. The troubled conscience _may_ rest in it. Satan _must_ acknowledge it. G.o.d has revealed Himself as a Justifier, and faith walks in the light and power of that revelation. Nothing can be simpler, nothing clearer, nothing more satisfactory. If G.o.d reveals Himself as a Justifier, then I am justified through faith in the revelation. When the moral glories of the cross shine upon the sinner, he sees and knows, believes and owns, that the One who has judged his sins in death, has justified him in resurrection.
Anxious reader, see, I beseech thee, that thou apprehendest the true ground of the forgiveness of sins. There is no use in our proceeding to consider the _extent_ and _style_ until thy poor troubled conscience has been led to rest upon the imperishable _ground_ of forgiveness. Let me reason with thee. What is to hinder thee, from this very moment, resting on the foundation of accomplished atonement?
Say, does thy conscience need something more to satisfy it than that which satisfied the inflexible justice of G.o.d? Is not the ground on which G.o.d reveals Himself as a righteous Justifier sufficiently strong for thee to stand upon as a justified sinner? What sayest thou, friend? Art thou satisfied? Is Christ sufficient for thee? Art thou still searching for something in thyself, thy ways, thy works, thy thoughts, thy feelings? If so, give up the search as utterly vain.
Thou wilt never find any thing. And even though thou couldst find something, it would only be an enc.u.mbrance, a loss, a hindrance.
Christ is sufficient for G.o.d, let Him be sufficient for thee likewise.
Then--but not until then--wilt thou be truly happy.
May G.o.d the Holy Ghost cause thee to rest, this moment, upon an all-sufficient sacrifice, as the only ground of divine forgiveness, so that thou mayest be able to enter, with real intelligence and interest, upon the examination of the second point in our subject, namely,--
THE EXTENT OF DIVINE FORGIVENESS.
Very many are perplexed as to this. They do not see the fullness of the atonement; they do not grasp the emanc.i.p.ating fact of its application to all their sins; they do not enter into the full force of those lines, which perhaps they often sing,--
"All thine iniquities who doth Most graciously forgive."
They seem to be under the impression that Christ only bore some of their sins, namely, their sins up to the time of their conversion.
They are troubled as to the question of their daily sins, as if these were to be disposed of upon a different ground from their past sins.
Thus they are at times much cast down and sorely beset. Nor could it be otherwise with them until they see that in the death of Christ, provision was made for the full forgiveness of ALL their sins. True it is that the child of G.o.d who commits sin has to go to his Father and confess that sin. But what does the apostle say in reference to one so confessing his sins? "G.o.d is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Now, why does he say, "Faithful and just"? Why does he not say, "Gracious and merciful"?
Because he speaks on the ground that the entire question of sin was gone into and settled by the death of Christ, who is now up in heaven as the righteous Advocate. On no other ground could G.o.d be faithful and just in connection with the forgiveness of sins. The sins of the believer have _all_ been atoned for on the cross. If one had been left out, he should be eternally lost, inasmuch as it is impossible that a single sin, however trifling, can ever enter the precincts of the sanctuary of G.o.d. And, further, let me add, if all the believer"s sins were not atoned for in the death of Christ, then, neither by confession, nor by prayer, nor by fasting, nor by any other means, could they ever be forgiven. The death of Christ is the _only_ ground on which G.o.d could, in faithfulness and justice, forgive sin; and we know He must either do it in faithfulness and justice, or not at all.
This is to His praise and our exceeding comfort.
But I can imagine my reader exclaiming, "What! do you mean to say that my _future_ sins were all atoned for?" To this I reply that all our sins were future when Christ bore them on the accursed tree. The sins of all believers, for the last eighteen centuries, were future when Christ died for them. Hence, if the idea of future sins presents a difficulty in reference to what we may commit, if left here, it presents just as great a difficulty in reference to what we have committed.[1] But, in truth, all this perplexity about future sins arises very much from the habit of looking at the cross from our own point of view instead of G.o.d"s--looking at it from earth instead of from heaven. Scripture never speaks of future sins. Past, present, and future are only human and earthly. All is an eternal now with G.o.d. All our sins were before the eye of infinite Justice at the cross, and all were laid on the head of Jesus, the Sin-bearer, who, by His death, laid the eternal foundation of forgiveness of sins, in order that the believer, at any moment of his life, at any point in his history, at any stage of his career, from the time at which the hallowed tidings of the gospel fall upon the ear of faith, until the moment in which he steps into the glory, may be able to say, with clearness and decision, without reserve, misgiving, or hesitation, "Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back." To say this, is but faith"s response to G.o.d"s own declaration, when He says, "Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more;" "Jehovah hath made to meet on Him the iniquities of us all."
[1] Let it be remembered that all the value of the atoning sufferings of Christ on the cross are ever before G.o.d, and the soul of the believer will there find the unchanging foundation of the blessed words of Rom. viii. 34: "_Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of G.o.d, who also maketh intercession for us._"
Let us, by way of ill.u.s.tration, take the case of the thief on the cross. When he, as a convicted sinner, cast the eye of faith upon that blessed One who hung beside him, was he not, then and there, rendered fit to enter the paradise of G.o.d? Was he not furnished with a divine t.i.tle to pa.s.s from the cross of a malefactor into the presence of G.o.d?
Unquestionably. Did he need anything more to be done for him, in him or with him, in order to fit him for heaven? By no means. Well, then, suppose that, instead of pa.s.sing into heaven, he had been permitted to come down from the cross,--suppose the nails had been extracted and he allowed to go at liberty; he would have had sin in his nature, and, having sin in his nature, he would have been liable to commit sin, in thought, word, and deed. Now, could he ever lose his t.i.tle, his fitness, his meetness? Surely not. His t.i.tle was divine and everlasting. All his sins were borne by Jesus. That which had fitted him to enter heaven at the first, had fitted him once and forever, so that if he had remained on earth for fifty years, he would, at any moment, have been equally fit to enter heaven.
True it is, if the pardoned sinner commits sin, his communion is interrupted, and there must be the hearty confession of that sin ere his communion can be restored. "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." But this is obviously a different point altogether. My communion may be interrupted, but my t.i.tle can never be forfeited. All was accomplished on the cross. Every trace of sin and guilt was atoned for by that peerless, priceless sacrifice. By that sacrifice, the believer is transferred from a position of guilt and condemnation into a position of justification and perfect favor. He is translated from a condition in which he had not a single trace of righteousness, into a condition in which he has not a single trace of guilt, nor ever can have. He stands in grace, he is under grace, he breathes the very atmosphere of grace, and he never can be otherwise, according to G.o.d"s view. If he commits sin (and who does not?) there must be confession. And what then? Forgiveness and cleansing, on the ground of the faithfulness and justice of G.o.d which have had their divine answer in the cross. _All is founded on the cross._ The faithfulness and justice of G.o.d, the advocacy of Christ, our confession, our full forgiveness, our perfect cleansing, the restoration of our communion, all rests upon the solid basis of the precious blood of Christ.