Reflections on and Admirations of God 20

June 11, 2014

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

The heart of the believer is set forth here, that is, a believer on the mountain top and the mature believer who hungers and craves to behold the glory of God whether in the valley or on the mountain. The writer (David) says that he has one thing that he is asking from the Lord and that one thing is what he seeks. This shows a great focus in his prayer and a great focus of his desire. This is what it means to have a pure heart in the Beatitudes. A pure heart is one that is single in focus and single in desire. But of course this is a heart made that way by grace rather than by self-effort and works. It is the Holy Spirit alone who can give the soul such spiritual desires and spiritual longings after God. It is the Holy Spirit who can peel back the lids over the eyes of the heart and give sight to see the glory of God. The soul must have spiritual hunger to hunger after the beauty of the LORD and that can only come from the work of grace in the soul. For those without this spiritual hunger, they need to seek it by grace.

David’s desire is to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life. This was in the days of the tabernacle and David wanted to be near the place where the presence of the LORD was. He wanted to be in that house as much as he could so that he could see the cross of Christ (the Messiah) in types. He wanted to be at this house in order to see the grace of God on display in accepting sacrifices as types of Christ. He wanted to be at this house that he could see the glory of a sacrifice that would take away the wrath of God.

While it is hard to know just how much David knew at that time, we do know that the Messiah was set forth in types of the cross where He was to bear the wrath of God. As the cross is the most grotesque place in history, so it is also the most beautiful place in history. It was the cross of Christ which was the zenith point of glory in all of history. It was at the cross of Christ where the glory of God was put on display and the beauty and wonder of God was set forth and manifested ever so brightly. We can assume that in the sacrifices of the Old Testament that David saw something of this glory and he wanted to be there and see the Messiah who was to come in type.

It was at the house of God that David wanted to behold the beauty of the LORD. He could see this glory of God in the Scriptures, He could see the glory of God in nature. David wrote (Psalm 19) of how the heavens are constantly telling the glory of God. He spoke of the sun as speaking all languages throughout the earth. Despite all the beauty of that, he knew where the real beauty of God was. It was in the setting forth of Christ in the tabernacle. The tabernacle itself was a picture of the flesh of Christ in that the flesh of Christ is said to be the tabernacle of the Word who is the glory of God. It was the tabernacle that held the Ark of the Covenant which housed the Ten Commandments and had the mercy seat over it. Christ Himself is the mercy seat of His people and the end of the law for all who believe.

In all of those things, however, David saw the beauty of the LORD. He saw the beauty of holiness and the beauty of mercy. He saw the beauty of perfect wrath and the beauty of perfect justice. He saw the beauty of perfect love and perfect righteousness. David saw this beauty at various points and his soul was panting after the LORD to behold this beauty and to meditate upon that beauty. The word for beauty, however, also bears the meaning of delightfulness and pleasantness. There is something delightful about the beauty of the LORD and the soul longs to taste more and more of it. There is something so pleasant about this greatness and glory of God. What must be drawn out of this is the David loved God and longed for Him more and more and wanted to taste of this greatness and glory of God. David longed to see the beauty and delightfulness of God because this was the very joy of his soul, but he also wanted to glorify his great and beautiful God.

David sets before us the truth of God. If we don’t know the beauty and delightfulness of God, we should seek Him for this since it only comes by grace alone. Grace is beautiful and delightful to the taste buds of the soul as well. Those who have tasted grace know it as more than a doctrine or as something they assent to in the intellect, but instead it is pure and delightful sweetness to the soul. To those who have really tasted of grace and know the sweetness of its taste in life, they don’t want anything but by this glorious grace. Oh for more and more souls to be awakened to the delightfulness and the glory and sweetness of sovereign grace.

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Gospel of Grace Alone 3

June 10, 2014

Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

Eph 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

In reflecting upon sheer and glorious grace, it is necessary to look at the nature of grace, the source of grace, and the objects of grace. If we are wrong on any of the three parts of grace, we are wrong on all parts. The three parts go together and they fit together, so if one part is wrong the other three will not fit as well. As usual, the human mind will twist things and Scripture in order to get things to fit a wrong notion. But surely it is obvious that if we are wrong about the nature of grace, that would at least have a major influence on the source of grace and the objects of grace. In fact, if we are wrong about the objects of grace we will twist the nature of grace and the source of grace as well in order to allow for people to receive grace (in theory).

The nature of grace cannot really be separated from the source of grace (God as triune), but perhaps a distinction of sorts can be made. Throughout Scripture (and two of the verses above) it is quite plain that justification by grace is not the same thing as salvation by works. However, when one begins to narrow that down to grace alone, we can easily see that this means that no works have any part in the sinners justification. When the effort is given to show sinners just what it means to have no works in justification, they get angry because unregenerate sinners hate real grace. Even more, there are those who have the name of orthodox and have brought the name “grace” into many things that are works but also go under a different name. This is why this is so vital to the Gospel.

Grace is either free of causation or it has some causation. Grace is either free of causation on the part of the receiver or it has some causation on the part of the one receiving. Grace is either free of causation on the part of the giver or it has some causation on the part of the receiver. While these points/questions may seem arbitrary or even silly, they are actually quite vital in understanding the nature of grace. When we speak of grace apart from works, it is not that the intent is that grace is apart from the works of Christ, but instead it is apart from the works of man. This is a huge muddle that we must get clear. For the Gospel of the glory of God in Christ to be totally apart from the works of men, it must then be totally on the works of Christ. The work of Christ in this life, His sufferings on the cross, and His resurrected life as Mediator for His people are the total basis for the Gospel instead of any work of man. Grace is glorious because it has to do with the Person and work of Christ in obtaining salvation for sinners apart from any work they can do.

The moment we make the move at trying to understand the nature of grace, it takes us right into the character of God and the character of man. If grace is nothing more than God being able to overlook sin and save all human beings, then that has a lot to say about the nature and character of God that contradicts Scripture. It is not that there is something called grace out in some corner of the universe that has nothing to do with who God is, but instead the very nature of grace is determined by the giver of grace. If we look at why the Giver of grace gives grace, that is also helpful in determining the nature of grace as well.

For the moment we will take Ephesians 1:5-6 (see at the top of page) and say that God gives grace to the praise of the glory of His name. This is to say that God saves sinners by grace so that He would be manifested and glorified in doing so. Even more, Ephesians 2 says the same thing in a different way. What we must see in this, however, is the God-centeredness of God in showing grace. It is the nature of God that determines the nature of grace.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

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Gospel of Grace Alone 2

June 9, 2014

Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

Eph 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

One of the most insidious ways that the concept of grace is abused and used to distort the truth of the Gospel is to make grace man-centered rather than God-centered. What this does, in effect, is to turn things totally around and put man in charge of his own salvation with God pleading with men to choose Him. In reality, however, God is in charge of all things including salvation and man should seek the Lord pleading with God to regenerate him.

When grace is turned from its thorough God-centeredness and the focus is turned on man, it is no longer a biblical grace that is being spoken of but instead is just another man-centered message. Not only does a man-centered message of salvation leave men in the bondage of self while focused on self, it also gives the appearance of God being focused on man as well. Indeed, this is a travesty when this happens and it seems that this is the majority report in the modern day.

True grace comes to man based on God showing grace because of who God is and despite all that man is and what man does. This is to say that true grace is always found in Christ and because of Christ and what He has done rather than anything that man has done or can do. Grace is not only shown because of God and not because of what man has done, but it is impossible for man to do anything to earn any merit before God because men are totally depraved and as such have a complete inability to please God. Even more, grace is shown by God not because of what men will do or can do, but because they can do nothing. Grace is given to sinners because God saves sinners in spite of who they are rather than because they can do one thing or many to please Him.

A man-centered focus will leave men focused on men and their ability to do something in order to be saved, but a God-centered focus will leave men focused on God and His ability to save. How beautiful and delightful the glory of God in His grace is to those sinners who come to the realization of the truth that they have no ability to save themselves and there is nothing they can do to earn the slightest merit before God. When sinners are awakened to see these things about themselves and of what they so richly deserve in terms of the wrath of God for all eternity, it is a wonderful thing for them to see and understand that grace means that God saves because of God and not because of any merit they can do or any act that they can come up with.

The Scriptures teach us that even sinners love those that love themselves, so what we see is that when it is taught that grace saves sinners if they will just believe or if they will do some duty or duties, they will be deceived into thinking that they love God when in fact any unregenerate person would love God out of a heart that loves self supremely. But true grace teaches us that sinners hate God and are at enmity with Him and that is especially true of very religious sinners who trust in self and their duties. Oh how the glorious doctrine of a God-centered God is abused at precisely the point of grace and the Gospel in our day.

God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace and He does that to the praise of the glory of His grace alone. He does not save sinners because of anything in them or of anything they do or can do, but because of Himself and the glory of His grace. This is so hard for the proud sinner who may be an outwardly wicked man or a very religious man because there is nothing man can do to contribute, but instead the very best a man can do is something else he needs to be saved from. God saves sinners by Himself and for Himself. God saves sinners out of His own self-sufficiency and so we can behold the luster of grace in that. But the proud sinner wants some of the glory and as such demonstrates that s/he does not understand grace because the Gospel of grace alone is where there is no boasting but in the cross of Christ.

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Gospel of Grace Alone 1

June 9, 2014

Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

Eph 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

The Gospel of grace alone has been under attack at all times in the history of the Church. It may shine brightly for a moment, but even while the fire is being lit there is an assault launched in some way. For some the works of man are boldly taught as a way of salvation, but for others the way of works is hidden under the language of grace. The concept of grace is attacked and so many trust in the word grace or a concept of grace that is simply not biblical. It is true that the Gospel of grace alone is not friends at all with the libertines or those who think that grace alone enables them or frees them to sin, but again that is not true grace.

One of the problems with men understanding grace and then bowing to grace is that of the proud and wicked heart of man that is filled with self. In order for men to be converted they must die to self in order that they trust in grace alone, but self is full of pride and pride blinds men to spiritual truth and self and pride always have justifications for self ready to give. Self will not die without a hard fight. One basic principle to keep in mind is that self cannot and will not cast out self, so it must be grace that does the work. As long as men are under the control of self and pride, they will fight grace and hate grace because grace is always the enemy of self and pride.

The fallen heart of man is a perpetual factory of idols and that does not stop when man becomes religious, but instead it just continues on and in many ways it becomes worse. Religion enables the heart of man to be a great idol factory as well. In fact, the great idol of man is self. It is the self that man will do all of his religious acts for. It is for self that man will pray. It is for self that man will seek God, which clearly means that self is trying to use God to do what self cannot do. The great pride of man will always want something to do in order to maintain some element of control in his own salvation, though indeed that control is a figment of his imagination and is itself an idol. True grace which is always sovereign is hated by man who wants to rule over self and be his own sovereign.

It is utterly vital to understand that grace is always opposed to works for salvation in any form and in any way. True grace will work in the soul and the truly converted soul will be one that turns from sin during the life, but at the point of justification it simply must be insisted on that no work at all can stand with this free and sovereign grace. The soul that is saved by grace apart from works is saved by grace alone and without one work. Oh how the moralist hates this and how the proud heart hates that as well, but there is no work and no action regardless of how much sacrifice and how religious it is that can help grace to justify a human soul.

As Romans 11:6 shows us with great clarity, if it is of grace it is not of works. We can go on and say with great joy that if it is of grace apart from works then it is grace apart from one work at all because a pure and undiluted grace cannot have one work or that would mean that it is no longer pure and undiluted. One work would dilute grace (theoretically speaking) to where it was no longer grace alone.

Yet regardless of the power of the Scriptures in setting out grace apart from works, all through history men have tried to bring in a work or works in disguise and in doing so they are teaching a different gospel and that within the realm of orthodoxy. Instead of hating pure grace, the soul should love the glory of God that shines through the Gospel of grace alone. God alone is self-sufficient and the Gospel of grace alone really means that the Gospel is about how God saves sinners through Christ by Himself without the help of man at all. The Gospel of grace alone teaches us that the way people use justification by faith alone is a way of introducing a work and works to the Gospel. As said before, using the terms of orthodoxy people have brought heresy into the Church. The Reformers would not recognize much of what goes under the Gospel of today.

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The Triune God’s Purpose

June 8, 2014

The essential Three, who exist by a necessity of nature in the self existing essence, who are coequally, co-essentially, and co-eternally one in the incomprehensible Godhead, the ever blessed Jehovah; whose life of independent blessedness consists in their mutual inbeing, in-dwelling, communion, and enjoyment of each other in a participation of all the perfections of Godhead ; to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be detracted; were pleased, for the manifestation of the glory of all the divine perfections of their one infinite nature, to create an innumerable quantity of atoms, and out of them to produce and form all things visible and invisible: the heavens, with all their hosts ; the earth, with all that is therein ; angels, and the souls of men; and this was
performed in the space of six days! All which we understand by the revealed account which Moses gives us, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, in the first and second chapters of Genesis. Thus, “through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Heb. XI: 3.

The essential Three in the one Jehovah, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, spake, and all things visible and invisible were produced: and the eternal Spirit gave motion to all ; and thus Time began. The earth, thus created, lay covered over with water ; and there was darkness between the face of the great deep, and the clouds or cataracts of Heaven : and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of. the waters. As time began its round from the moment this motion was given, it is a full proof of the eternity of the Holy Spirit. He it was who gave motion to the Heavens, and thus set the universe a going; so that from thence time went on, and the works of God were brought into order and perfection.        Samuel Pierce

The quotes from Pierce above gives the believer enough meat to worship and adore the living God for all eternity. It removes our minds from the present and lifts us to behold the very glory of God. The eternal triune God who existed and exists in perfect Oneness and nothing can be added to Him created a universe which manifests His glory but adds nothing to Him and does not increase His glory. The Father has an infinite and eternal delight in the Son and out of that delight He created all things through the Son and for the Son. The universe, then, is a display of the love the Father has for the Son.

It was also out of this mutual delight within the Trinity that God created men in His own image. This delight was such that from all eternity God decreed to manifest the glory of His grace in saving sinners. This is to say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is also the Gospel of the glory of God and that in fact apart from the focus of the glory of God in the face of Christ there is no true Gospel being set forth. If we put man at the center of the Gospel or make man the focus of the Gospel, we no longer have a true Gospel. The One who set the heavens in motion is the One that all things were created for and is the One from whom all true glory comes from. It is not wonder, then, that Paul teaches us that whatever we do, we are to do it to the glory of God.

 

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Genuine Christianity Rare 23

June 6, 2014

What pains do many luke-warm professors take to keep themselves fast asleep in carnal security! If they see their wretched case laid open by any Christian writer, or faithful minister, either they are ready to carp or quarrel with such, of to conclude, that they themselves know better, that the man is mistaken, and that there is no need of so much strictness and preciseness, nor of that wonderful change of heart which only a few enthusiasts here and there make so absolutely necessary to salvation; but on the contrary, they hear any formal, daubing, unawakened minister preach, or read any dry lifeless (wrongly called religious) book, how eager are they to catch at whatever may sooth them in their delusion! and are as much pleased with those who help to lull them in their fatal dream, as a child is pleased to be lulled asleep by the fables and tales of its nurse.           Sir Richard Hill.

What pains luke-warm professors take to keep themselves fast in carnal security? Can that be true? Jesus said that men hate the light and flee to darkness. We see very clearly that it seems so natural to man’s fallen condition in his great pride to hide his own heart from himself. We can see that Scripture teaches so clearly the great deception of the heart of men to themselves and others. But with so much at state, that is, eternity in hell, will men really take great pains to keep themselves fast asleep in carnal security?

Jesus taught that many have entered at the wide gate and are on the broad road (Matthew 7). Is that because all of these people are really stupid and just don’t know any better? It is safer to understand the words of Jesus in the context of false prophets and then a few verses later when He told the people (on Judgment Day) that they were very religious and yet did not do the will of the Father. The heart of man is full of pride and self and he wants to think that he can do what needs to be done to be saved, many times in being very religious. But being very religious is not necessarily at variance with being asleep in carnal security. People can give themselves to religion and yet it is a carnal religion in that it is fleshly and is not at variance with killing the pride of man and the basic self-centeredness and self-will of the fallen nature. Here is the real issue. It is not the choices that people make, though indeed those can be very bad and lead to much misery, but it has to do with pride, self-centeredness, and self-will. These are all things of the very self which is at the heart of the fallen nature of man.

Man can be outwardly wicked from a self-centered heart, but man can also be outwardly religious from a self-centered heart. Man can be very wicked in the outward sense or very religious in the outward sense from the very same principle, the fallen nature of self. A man can commit murder out of self-love or a man can refrain from committing murder out of self-love, but the principle is still the same. Neither man acted or was moved from love for God, but instead it was all about self. It is this self that men fight to keep. It is this self-centeredness and self-will that men will seemingly go to hell over in order to keep. Men don’t want the Lord Jesus Christ to rule over them because they would have to die to self and follow Christ rather than have Christ lay down His scepter and follow them.

Men work hard at deceiving themselves and to keep themselves fast asleep. They work hard to stifle convictions that come into their hearts and the rays of truth that come into their eyes. Oh how men love their carnal security because they don’t want to face the truth of their eternal destiny and they don’t want to face the truth of the things they should repent of. It takes many battles and pains for people to keep themselves asleep in their carnal security, but they fight to do so. This is seen in so many professing churches, conservative churches, and “Reformed” churches. Men love the world and will hang onto the world in carnal security until they are jolted awake and lift their eyes in hell.

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Examining the Heart 49

June 5, 2014

The sun may as well be hindered from rising as Christ the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2). Look not a moment off Christ. Look not upon sin, but look upon Christ first. When you mourn for sin, if you see Christ then, away with it (Zech 12:10). In every duty look to Christ; before duty to pardon; in duty to assist; after duty to accept. Without this it is but carnal, careless duty. Do not legalize the gospel, as if part remained for you to do and suffer, and Christ were but half a Mediator and you must bear part of your own sin, and make part satisfaction. Let sin break your heart, but not your hope in the gospel. Thomas Willcox

The glorious doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone (justification by Christ alone) is behind this wonderful statement above. While the Gospel saves sinners, it is also the foundation on which sinners must stand for the rest of their lives and for all eternity. God is on the throne and sinners will never see His face and His glory in a manner or way other than grace and grace alone which only comes by Christ. What the believer must grasp is that there is no other satisfaction and no other righteousness that a person can stand on other than the satisfaction made by Christ and the righteousness of Christ.

While some may argue that the Gospel is what unbelievers need to hear and after people become believers they need to hear other things, that is only partially correct. The believer needs to hear the Gospel often as that is the very basis the believer stands on and what the believer must not be moved from. The Gospel is the basis for Christian works as it is the only way a believer can do anything out of love for God rather than love for self, which obviously is the Great Command. A person does not have to legalize the Gospel as to his or her statement on justification to legalize the Gospel, because we can legalize it by the way we treat the Gospel as to whether we live based on Christ alone or not.

This is such an important point. We cannot claim to know the Gospel in truth if after we claim to be converted we go on living in sin, but neither can we claim to know the Gospel in truth if after we claim to be converted we go on living by the law as if we gained something by keeping the law. The law can only be kept out of love, but the soul can only keep the law out of love if it is been freed from earning something from the law. The Gospel of grace alone teaches us to live based on that grace alone. The Gospel of Christ alone teaches us to live based on Christ alone. Our living cannot be separated from the Gospel we believe deep in our hearts.

There are many within Christendom who seem to believe that they should suffer for their sins as if that satisfied God in some way for their sin. No, Christ alone can do that. There seems to be many that think that their salvation is conditioned on their repentance rather than their repentance is conditioned on their salvation. The Gospel is not conditioned by what we do, but rather we are conditioned by the Gospel of grace alone. If the Gospel is truly by grace alone, then there is no condition that we can meet. It is grace alone that saves by itself and apart from any help that we can give it.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not half Mediator and He is not 99.999 Mediator. He is 100% Mediator at all times in the case of the believer. There is no sin that the believer can bear and to try to suffer to make up for a sin is to try to make satisfaction for sin that Christ alone can make. There is no righteousness that a sinner can earn and trying to do so is to say that the righteousness of Christ is less than perfect and that I can add to the work of Christ. These are ways we legalize the Gospel without realizing it in most cases. The Gospel of grace alone is resisted by all men at virtually all points until grace breaks the heart and makes the person pliable in His presence.

The way believers live is a demonstration of how they believe the Gospel. It is not that they are living the Gospel as such, but their lives demonstrate in some ways of how much they believe that they cannot add to the Gospel in any way, shape, form or fashion. Sinners are saved by grace alone and they are to live by grace alone. Sinners are saved by Christ alone and they are to live by Christ alone. Indeed there are severe trials as to faith, health, and all aspects of life, but we are to live by the life of Christ alone. This should lead us to desire to examine our hearts on a regular basis, though not out of a fleshly duty, but out of love for Christ and His grace. We should long to be like the David who wanted his heart exposed to him. So we should want the Spirit to show us ways that are not pleasing to Him and part of that would be living in ways that are not consistent with the Gospel of grace alone.

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Examining the Heart 48

June 4, 2014

The sun may as well be hindered from rising as Christ the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2). Look not a moment off Christ. Look not upon sin, but look upon Christ first. When you mourn for sin, if you see Christ then, away with it (Zech 12:10). In every duty look to Christ; before duty to pardon; in duty to assist; after duty to accept. Without this it is but carnal, careless duty. Do not legalize the gospel, as if part remained for you to do and suffer, and Christ were but half a Mediator and you must bear part of your own sin, and make part satisfaction. Let sin break your heart, but not your hope in the gospel. Thomas Willcox

There are some profoundly important thoughts in this paragraph. It is a profoundly biblical thought that believers should look to Christ for pardon from sin, for the strength of grace to carry out the duties, and then after the duty is done we must still look to Christ for the person and the duties to be accepted. There is perhaps a fine line that a person must walk here between the need for duties to be done and forms of legalism. But it is Christ Himself who is the line between those things. As one as one walks the line of Christ then one will not fall into a vicious form of antinomianism or some form of legalism. But there are real and present dangers on both sides.

Notice the language that Willcox gives in his relentless pursuit of biblical thinking on the Gospel and the necessity of Christ-centeredness in all things. Without this, that is, without looking to Christ at all points of the duty “it is but carnal, careless duty.” This is not antinomianism, but this is living unto Christ by the strength of grace. This is not legalism, but living by grace alone. One can have a solid creed and one can have a correct doctrine, but the heart must be looking to Christ whether one has a creed or correct doctrine. The creed and the doctrine does not guarantee a person that s/he is looking to Christ and receiving grace from Christ, but this is something that the heart must actually do as opposed to being just something to intellectually hold as factual.

How could anyone argue against looking to Christ alone before all duties, during all duties, and after all duties? We look to Christ as our bearer of wrath and as such the satisfaction for our sins. We look to Christ as our life and as such the strength and life of grace that dwells in us. We look to Christ as our great Mediator who is the only Mediator between God and man and who alone can take our duties that He has worked in us and present them to the Father in His own name and covered by His own blood and in His own righteousness as perfect. Indeed, our duties are nothing else but carnal, careless duties apart from Christ. But they are carnal and careless duties if they don’t have Christ at all points.

Sinners, while under obligation to love God perfectly, must never legalize the Gospel of Christ alone and make it to where they must suffer for their own sins or make up something that is lacking in the righteousness of Christ. We must never look at our duties as if we do them to make up something that is lacking in Christ. We must never do them in our own strength. We must never do a duty as if it earns us some righteousness. We must always know that a duty that is properly done starts with Christ, is all from Christ all through the duty, and ends with Christ. Anything else is less than the Gospel of grace alone or at least takes us into a form of legalism at some point.

It is true that the Gospel is thought of by so many as that little message a person hears when s/he becomes a Christian, but after that it is not thought so highly of. But the reality of the matter is that the Gospel of grace alone and Christ alone has much to do with life and obedience. It is the Gospel of Christ alone that delivers us from the wrath of God and so we should never try to suffer for sin for the rest of our lives and for eternity. It is the Gospel of Christ alone that gives us a perfect righteousness in this life and for all eternity. Each day we are to live in that light which tells us that we are to live out of love for God and His glory rather than trying to suffer for sin or to earn a bit of righteousness. This great and glorious Gospel of grace alone that comes because of Christ and through Christ has everything to do with all that we are to do. How we need to examine our hearts and cry out for grace to cast out all things opposed to Christ and His glorious life of grace in and through His people.

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Examining the Heart 47

June 3, 2014

The sun may as well be hindered from rising as Christ the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2). Look not a moment off Christ. Look not upon sin, but look upon Christ first. When you mourn for sin, if you see Christ then, away with it (Zech 12:10). In every duty look to Christ; before duty to pardon; in duty to assist; after duty to accept. Without this it is but carnal, careless duty. Do not legalize the gospel, as if part remained for you to do and suffer, and Christ were but half a Mediator and you must bear part of your own sin, and make part satisfaction. Let sin break your heart, but not your hope in the gospel. Thomas Willcox

While it is common in modern professing Christianity to think of Christ as a sacrifice for sin, it would be rare to find those who encourage you to look to Christ in every duty. The failure to do this, once again, is an assertion of the ability of self and is the denial of human depravity. Willcox sets out some steps in duty that we need Christ for, which is to say that we must have Christ or our duties are nothing but legalism or outright sin.

Forms of legalism are rampant with the modern version of professing Christianity. No, not all of these are the type of legalism where works are specifically said to contribute to salvation. What is rampant, however, is for people to do externally good works and duties and so think that this proves that they are saved. Every duty that is done apart from Christ and without looking to Christ is but a “carnal, careless duty.” The person must be accepted before God before a duty can possibly please Him, so a person must look to Christ in order for his or her person to be accepted. Looking to Christ and to Christ alone for pardon for sin is necessary if the duty is to be done for a reason other than a works out of self-interest. In the Old Testament the people had to go to the priest and they had to offer sacrifice for their persons, but they were supposed to look to Christ through those sacrifices. Now we are to look directly to Christ who alone can wash our sins away and make our persons acceptable to God.

Where is the strength to come from to do a duty that pleases God? It can only come from Christ. Either the strength of grace and love come from Christ to do the duty and motivate the duty or we have the strength and love of self to do the duty. The latter is completely unacceptable to God, but this seems to be rarely mentioned. It is part of the duty of the believer to do all that s/he does in the strength of grace and love for God. The believer is always completely dependent upon Christ for grace and love and so all duties must be done with a looking to Christ rather than self or simply do them because we see that they are commanded. When the self is the strength and love for duties rather than Christ, it is self that is manifested before God and it is self that is working for the glory. Clearly, then, without a single question this is doing duties out of love for self and that is the spirit of the Pharisees.

The last step, so to speak, is to look to Christ after the duty. The duty done in the strength and love of Christ was done by a human being that is not perfect and will never be perfect until eternity. What this means is that the very best thing that a human being can do is tainted with sinful hands. While it may be true that the person was accepted before God and that the act was done in the strength and love for God given by Christ, it still came through a tainted soul and so is tainted. Even the very best we do must have Christ to make it acceptable to God.

What this should teach the soul is not that it must look to Christ at each step of an event, but that it must look to Christ at all times. God does not shine forth His glory except through Christ and so in order to see His glory and in order for His glory to be manifested through us this means that self must be denied and in every aspect of every step/moment of our duties we must have Christ. The soul should focus on Christ during the duty and love Him in doing it, but it will not be a perfect love and so the soul needs to have the blood of Christ cover its sin even in the very best that it does. As Paul taught us, Christ is our life, our wisdom, and our righteousness. We are to love Him at all times in all we do. It is not the external action that makes it right, but it is Christ and His grace that makes it acceptable to the living God.

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June 1, 2014

Christ Alone Exalted

Question – But some may say, how shall I know that I do {not “I do,” but rather that “he is” – God has} indeed exalt Christ in my soul? Answer – First, Christ is then exalted in the soul, when the Lord brings over the soul to look upon Christ, as its alone justification. O beloved then is the Lord exalted, when the soul comes to see that there is nothing but emptiness in itself, when the soul can through the power of God cast down all at the feet of Christ, and look upon all its own righteousness as dung and dross in comparison of Christ, so the Apostle Paul, {Phil.3:7-9,} the Apostle having in the 5th & 6th verses laid down what he was once in divers particulars in his own righteousness, he amongst all the grounds, {as once he thought them grounds of comfort,} one and the least was, he walked “as touching the Law blameless;” but what things were gain that is, I counted gain, and rested upon them, I now count them loss for Christ’s sake; “yea doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,” and ver.9, “and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” O here is a soul exalting Christ above all, laying all his own righteousness low, even as low as dung and dross in comparison of Christ. What saith thy soul to this, now man, woman, didst ever see thine own righteousness, or at least thine own unrighteousness? Hath the Lord opened thine eyes to see a vanity, emptiness in that you once trusted? Hath the Lord let forth a glimpse of his glory into thy soul, shining down in the face of Jesus Christ? Can you say, “Yea doubtless, I account all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Is thy soul carried forth above, and beyond thy self to the Lord Jesus Christ as thine alone righteousness? “Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” {Is.45:24,25} In the Lord Christ thou seest thy justification, and in him thou dost glory, thou canst say, God forbid, I should glory in anything below Christ. “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” {Jer.23:6} This is his name by which he shall be called, “The Lord our Righteousness,” the Lord our covering, our justification; this is the ground, when thou canst look upon Christ as thy alone righteousness and justification, and so seeing an excellency in the knowledge of Christ in this particular. A soul then exalts Christ, when it looks so upon Christ, as that it is carried with a principle of love after him, and it is by love as it were glued and knit up to him, so the Apostle; “who shall separate us from the love of God?” {Rom.8:35-38} And when love constrains thy soul to follow God, “the love of Christ constrains us,” {II Cor.5:14,} and when love so glues and knits thy soul to Christ; when thou canst follow Christ in all conditions, to trial, prisons, death, nothing severs thee from him, when as with Abraham thou goest forth from thine own Country, thy sins, sinful companions, and followeth Christ, not knowing whether thou goest, whether to liberty or prison, that makes nothing with thee. “By faith Abraham…obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went;” {Heb.11:8;} this flows from faith; “faith which worketh by love.” {Gal.5:6} Thirdly: When the Lord Jesus is the alone delight and joy of thy heart, believe it beloved, if the soul exalt Christ rightly, he will be thy delight and joy, thou wilt be able to sing the song of Mary. “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my Spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour;” {Lk.46:47;} there will be joy and peace come in through believing, “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice.” {Phil.4:4} The soul that truly exalts Jesus, is satisfied in the enjoying of him, and now the soul hath enough, when it hath Christ, let who will have the world, sin, pleasure, “I have Christ,” saith the soul, a goodly portion; now the soul is fitted for any condition, come affliction, persecution, the soul glories in all, because it enjoys God through Christ in all. After the Apostle has mentioned his afflictions, he concludes that he will glory in all. {II Cor.11:30, 12:9} Lastly, when Christ is all in all to the soul, then doth the soul rightly exalt and lift up Christ, when it enjoys a fullness in Christ in the want of all things, and sees an emptiness in all things without Christ; this the Apostle could see and say, “he is all and in all.” {Col.3:11} Christ is all and in all, he is the way, the truth and the life. {Jn.14:6} He is the light and life of men. {Jn.1:4} He is meat, drink and clothing as we use to say, to the Saints, he is their meat and drink. “My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” {Jn.6:55} O beloved, every believer spiritually eats and drinks the flesh and blood of Christ; that is, lives upon Christ, as he doth not build upon ordinary prayers, duties; “No, No, give me Christ,” saith the believing soul, Christ in hearing, Christ in preaching, Christ in the Ordinances of the Lord &c. Believe it, beloved, nothing less than Christ can satisfy the living, the believing soul and likewise in temporal things, the believer sees all purchased for him by the blood of Christ, and so in every situation, he lives upon the flesh and blood of Christ, and believe it beloved, thus every believer lives upon Christ. “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” {Jn.6:53} Hearken ye friends; he that doth not thus spiritually eat and drink the flesh and blood of Christ hath no life in him; a sign of a dead soul that lives upon ordinary creatures without Christ. Christ is clothing and covering also, as he covers the nakedness of men and women that believe. “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed.” {Rev.3:18} What is this clothing? The righteousness of the Saints. “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” {Rev.19:8} The fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints; Christ Jesus is the Saints righteousness. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” {I Cor.1:30} “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS;” {Jer.23:6;} and so the Saints covering. The Saints spiritually enjoy Christ also in their external covering, so that I say, he rightly exalts Christ in his soul, that sees Christ to be all, and in all to him, &c.        Thomas Collier

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