Part 37

There is an awful and solemn motive derived from the great judgment-day to maintain the profession of this glorious gospel; for our Lord himself has pronounced this threatening, and he will fulfil it, _Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words amongst a sinful generation of men, I will also be ashamed of him before my Father and his holy angels_. But this text shall be the subject of some future discourses.

HYMN FOR SERMONS XVI. and XVII. _The Gospel the power of God to Salvation._

What shall the dying sinner do, That seeks relief for all his woe? Where shall the guilty conscience find Ease for the torment of the mind?

How shall we get our crimes forgiven, Or form our natures fit for heaven; Can souls all o’er defil’d with sin; Make their own powers and passions clean?

In vain we search, in vain we try, Till Jesus brings his gospel nigh: ’Tis there such power and glory dwell, As saves rebellious souls from hell.

This is the pillar of our hope, That bears our fainting spirits up: We read the grace, we trust the word, And find salvation in the Lord.

Let men or angels dig the mines, Where nature’s golden treasure shines; Brought near the doctrine of the cross, All nature’s gold appears but dross.

Should vile blasphemers with disdain Pronounce the truths of Jesus vain, I’ll meet the scandal and the shame, And sing and triumph in his name.

SERMON XVIII. _Faith the Way to Salvation._ ROM. i. 16.——The gospel of Christ,—it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Salvation is a frequent and familiar word in the mouth of all who call themselves christians. It is a sort of asseveration or oath among the looser and meaner part of mankind: As I hope to be saved. But little do they know what salvation means. All the notion they have of it is this, that they would be saved from going down to hell, a place of fire and torment, and that they would go up to heaven when they die, to some unknown shining place above the skies, where they shall be free from all pain and uneasiness. This is the utmost point to which their idea reaches, and I think I have hit their sense exactly in this description. Alas! poor ignorant creatures! They have no thought of being saved from sin, of having their hearts made holy, their sinful inclinations rectified, their passions subdued or refined, their love turned toward God and things spiritual, and their desire and delight fixed upon things divine and holy, instead of their sensual entertainments of flesh and blood. They have no concern about the pardon of the guilt of sin, and restoration to the favour or image of God, and not so much as a wish for the joys that arise from his love, or from the blessed presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the world to come.

I have shewn you therefore in the foregoing discourse what this salvation is, and made it appear that the gospel is the power of God to salvation, that is, it is a powerful means in the hand of the Spirit of God to save us from the guilt of sin, and to give us a right to heaven; to save us from the power of sin, to fit us for the business and the joys of heaven, and ensure to us the actual possession of it.

There are two things yet remain to be considered in discoursing on this subject:

I. The place or influence that faith, or believing, hath in this salvation; for the gospel provides this blessing only for believers. It is called the power of God to salvation to every one who believes.—II. The wide extent of this glorious benefit: It belongs to every one that believes, whether Greek, or Jew.

I shall treat of each of these particularly:

_First_, Since the gospel is the power of God to the salvation of them that believe, let us enquire, what place or influence has our faith in this concernment?

To answer this, we may consider faith in its various acts or degrees of exercise as it begins in assent, as it proceeds to affiance, and as it is completed in assurance; and shew what influence each of them hath in the work of salvation.

1. An assent to the truths of the gospel must begin the work of salvation in us: There must be a belief and inward conviction of our sinful and dangerous state, which is more clearly revealed under the gospel, and that there is an atonement made for sin by the blood of Christ: We must believe, that there is forgiveness to be found with God, for the sake of this atonement; and that there is grace enough in our Lord Jesus Christ, to renew our sinful natures, and to fit us for heaven. This usually begets in the sinner, who is truly awakened, some desire toward this salvation, and some distant hope of obtaining it. When the poor perishing creature believes and beholds the glorious influence of the death and righteousness of Christ to justify a sinner in the sight of God; when he surveys the love, the wisdom, the grace, and the power of Christ, answerable to all his wants, he then comes to determine thus with himself, “This salvation is glorious and desirable; the methods proposed, even for my own attainment of it are practicable and sufficient, and why should not I apply myself to this Saviour, and seek this unspeakable happiness?”

2. Affiance or trust in Jesus Christ the Saviour is the next degree of faith. When we are willing to be delivered from the condemning guilt of sin, and from the defiling power of it, and have seen an all-sufficiency of atonement, grace, and power in Christ, then we commit our souls into the hands of Jesus, the Mediator for this blessed purpose, and make a solemn surrender of our whole selves into his charge and care, that we may be pardoned for the sake of his death, that we may be accepted of God through his righteousness, that we may be sanctified and made holy by his grace and Spirit, and that we may be fitted for and preserved to his kingdom. We reflect upon our past iniquities, and mourn to think that we have been rebels so long; we are ashamed and grieved for our rebellions, and we now most earnestly desire to be made willing subjects to his holy government; and therefore we entrust our souls with him, and beg that he would take us under his care for this end, and bring us into the Father’s presence with comfort and joy. This is the soul’s coming to God by Jesus Christ.

Now such an act of faith as this is, has some sensible tendency to promote the peace of a distressed conscience, the sanctification of a sinful nature, the solid hope of heaven, and a preparation for it. But still it must be acknowledged, that its original and chief influence arises from divine appointment. The gospel is the power of God to salvation, and it is by divine promise and power that faith saves the soul. Such a faith, or trust in Christ, has all the promises of gospel-blessings belonging to it. God has appointed in his word, and it is the standing rule of the gospel, _He that believeth shall be saved_; Mark xvi. 15, 16.

All the parts of salvation come by faith: Justification, and favour in the sight of God; Rom. v. 1. _Being justified by faith, we have peace with God._ Adoption comes also by faith; Gal. iii. 26. _Ye are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus._ Sanctification is ascribed to the same principle: Acts xv. 19. The Gentiles had their _hearts purified_ from sin _by faith_. Joy and hope come in this way also; Rom. xv. 13. _The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost._ And you may read several of these benefits of the gospel, these divine ingredients of our salvation put together, and all attributed to faith; Acts xxvi. 18. I send thee now to the Gentiles, saith the Lord Jesus to St. Paul, _to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified, by faith that is in me_.

Faith, or affiance in Jesus Christ, is an acceptance of this salvation, it is a trust in the offered grace, it is a dependance on the promises of the gospel confirmed by Christ, it is the surrender of a sinful soul to Jesus the Saviour to perform his whole work of grace for him and to him; and thereby the believing sinner, according to the appointment of God in his gospel, partakes of all the benefits that are treasured up in Christ.

Faith in the gospel relieves the distressed soul under a sense of the guilt of sin, and the humble weary sinner finds mercy to forgive, and strength to subdue it. Faith appropriates and applies the blood of Christ, that sovereign medicine, to the wounds of a guilty conscience, and the conscience finds ease and refreshment. It applies the grace of Christ, that powerful antidote, to expel the venom of in-dwelling sin, and the soul is healed in some measure, and the poison is expelled. It lays hold on the power of Christ to assist in the performance of every duty, and it obtains divine assistance. Every true believer has experienced something of these benefits by a sincere surrender of himself to Christ in such a way of trust and holy dependance.

Can the thirsty soul taste of the running water, and not find refreshment, since God, who created water, has ordained it to refresh the thirsty? Can weary limbs lie down on a bed, and not find ease, since a bed is made to give ease and rest to the weary? Can a fainting creature drink a divine cordial appointed to give life, and yet feel no revival? No more can a guilty, distressed, and penitent sinner believe the truths of the gospel, and trust in Jesus the Saviour, and yet find no relief: for this is the will and settled law of the God of heaven, that peace and holiness shall be obtained this way.

3. When faith grows up to assurance, it approaches towards complete salvation. Then the christian can say, _I know I have believed on the Son of God_, I know I enjoy his favour. Then the holiness and the joy increase, for the salvation enters into the soul in fuller measures: The nearer faith arises to assurance of our own interest in the grace of Christ, the more it supports the soul, the more it comforts, the more it sanctifies, and the more evidently doth the gospel appear to be divinely powerful to save us from sin and hell.

“Can I believe God has pardoned me, so vile a rebel, and forgiven me so many and aggravated offences, and yet is it possible I should not love him, and rejoice? Can I be assured he loves me, and not make him a return of my highest and warmest love? Can I believe that Christ the Son of God died for me, and shall I not consecrate myself and all the powers of my nature to him, that I may live devoted to his service? He has bought me with a price, a dear and valuable price, that of his own blood, and I must _glorify him with my body and with my soul, which are his_; 1 Cor. vi. 20. Can I believe that I am redeemed from hell and destruction, and shall I dare to walk in the road that leads to it? And not rather _run with patience_ and joy _the race that is set before me_, till I arrive at the gates of heaven? Am I not assured that Jesus the beloved of God suffered death for my sins, and shall not I hate sin, which caused his suffering? Sin, which was the occasion of his agonies, and the very sting of his sorrows! _I am crucified_ and dead to sin, and to this world, by my union with a crucified Saviour, _yet I live_, saith the divine apostle, _and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who hath loved me, and given himself for me_; Gal. ii. 20. How is it possible that I should hope to be made like Christ in glory, with a full assurance of arriving thither, and not _purify myself as he is pure_; 1 John iii. 2, 3. While I believe and am persuaded that the promise of the joys of heaven shall be fulfilled to me, I would awaken myself hourly to the joyful prospect, and be ever preparing for the possession of that blessedness.”

Thus when faith arises to a sublime and eminent degree in this world, the believer may be said to _rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, and to receive the end of his faith, even the salvation of his soul_; 1 Pet. i. 8, 9.

Before I pass to the second head, I desire leave to make these few remarks.

Remark I. Though the first degree of faith or assent to the gospel be necessary to salvation, yet it is not of itself sufficient; and though the last degree of faith or assurance be gloriously useful in this work, yet it is not absolutely necessary.

A mere assent to the truths of the gospel is not sufficient to save; for there are many who by the force of education, or by the force of argument, yield their assent to the doctrine, and believe it to be true, yet it is a cold, feeble, languid assent; it begins and ends in the head, and never reaches the heart; it does not awaken them thoroughly, nor make them long after the pardon and the grace promised: They seem to sit still contented with the forms of their catechism, and a general belief of the christian religion, so far as they know it; but are under no painful solicitude, or concern of soul, about the forgiveness of their sins, the sanctification of their natures, their interest in the favour of God and eternal happiness; and therefore they proceed no farther, they never heartily apply themselves to Jesus Christ the only Saviour, and they fall short of the blessing. The devils believe as much as they do, but are in a state of damnation still.

Again, consider that a full assurance of our own interest in the favour of God through Jesus Christ, is the highest degree of attainment on earth; but it is not necessary to the being of christianity, nor doth it belong to every christian. It is true indeed, that every one ought to seek after it by the frequent exercise of faith and love, and every grace, thus brightening the evidences of his saving interest in the blessings of the gospel daily; and where assurance is obtained upon solid grounds, holiness and joy will rise by swift degrees, and the soul will make glorious advances towards the heavenly state and complete salvation: But some christians scarce ever arrive at this attainment all their days.

Since therefore a mere assent to the gospel in general is not sufficient for salvation, and a full assurance of our own interest is not necessary, it follows, that an affiance or trust in Christ as a Saviour is the most essential and important act of faith. This is that sacred and appointed duty of a convinced soul, whereby it is made partaker of the blessings of salvation according to the gospel, if it be practised in the way which I have just before described.

II. Take notice here of the difference between the law and the gospel, between the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace. The one gives us life upon our working, the other saves us from death, and gives us a right to heaven upon our believing, therefore one is called _the law of works_, and the other _the law of faith_; Rom. iii. 27,

It is proper here to observe, that the scripture sometimes speaks of two covenants; the old and the new: and means chiefly the œconomy or dispensation of the Jews under Moses, and the œconomy of Christ, or the dispensation of the gospel since the Messiah came. But by the two covenants I now speak of, I would be understood to mean the law or constitution of innocency, and the constitution of grace.

By the constitution, or law of innocency, man was to have obtained eternal life before his fall; and as this law or covenant was given to Adam as the head and representative of all mankind, so every son and daughter of Adam continues under it till they accept of the covenant of grace, or the offers of the gospel, either in the darker or brighter discoveries of it: And therefore all mankind, Jews and Gentiles, are laid under condemnation by it in the writings of St. Paul, in the second and third chapters to the Romans. By this law of works, _every mouth is stopped, and the whole world is become guilty before God_; Rom. iii. 19. Though the nations of the Jews and christians, and perhaps the greatest part of the heathen world, have had some revelations of the gospel or covenant of grace, and have been under the outward offers of it; yet Jews, heathens, and national christians, are all under the sentence of the covenant of the law of works, till they enter into the covenant of grace by repentance and faith in the mercy of God.

But the covenant of grace, or the gospel is a new constitution, which God hath ordained for the relief of poor fallen miserable man, condemned and perishing under the curse of the law of works. It is a constitution of grace, whereby alone fallen sinners can obtain salvation.

The law of works demands universal obedience to all the commands of God, obedience perfect and persevering; for this is the language of it; _the man that doth them shall live in them_; Rom. x. 5. and it curses every sinner without hope or remedy; _cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them_; Gal. iii. 10, 12. But the voice of the gospel, the righteousness of faith, or the way of justification by Christ, speaketh on this wise, _With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation; for the just shall live by faith_; Rom. x. 10. Gal. iii. 11. The one proclaims eternal life to all that perfectly obey, the other publishes salvation to all that believe, though their obedience be very imperfect.

I grant indeed, that the apostle cites these descriptions of the law of works out of the books of Moses, and therefore some persons would suppose him only to mean the particular law given to the Jews at mount Sinai, and not the general covenant of works made with Adam, and with all mankind in him.

But to this I give these two answers:

1. The laws of works, which the apostle speaks of in the epistle to the Romans, particularly in the second and third chapters, cannot signify merely the Jewish law; for it is such a law as includes all the heathen world, as appears plain; Rom. ii. 14, 15. and by which the heathens as well as the Jews were condemned, and could never be justified; Rom. iii. 20. _By the deeds of the law shall no flesh he justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin_; therefore this must be a law that extended to all mankind, since it stops every mouth, and proclaims the whole world guilty before God.

2. The law given to the Jews, or the covenant of Sinai, so far as it is purely political, was indeed a covenant of works; and their continuance in, or rejection out of the land of Canaan, depended upon their own works, their obedience or disobedience to this law, as it is often expressed in the writings of Moses: And upon this account it is used sometimes by the apostles as a very proper emblem or representative of the covenant of works made with our first father Adam, who was to have enjoyed or forfeited some earthly or heavenly paradise, according to his obedience or disobedience. It is plain then, that though St. Paul may cite the law of Moses to shew the nature of a law of works in general, yet it does not follow that he means only the law or covenant of Sinai; and it is as plain, by his including the Gentiles under it, that he does not mean the law of Sinai, but the original law or covenant of works made with all mankind in Adam their father and their head, and of which the law of Sinai was a proper emblem or figure.

All laws of works therefore are insufficient for the salvation of sinful man, and his restoration to God’s favour and image, and eternal life. The law of Sinai was a law of works, promising an earthly Canaan to the obedient Jews. The law of innocency in Eden was a law of works, promising life and immortality to obedient mankind. But they have been both wretchedly broken; man was turned out of paradise, and the Jews out of Canaan, because of disobedience. But now the gospel whereby the Jews or Gentiles are to be saved, or to obtain eternal life, requires faith in the mercy and promises of God in and through Jesus Christ; and by this means it saves us, though our obedience be far short of perfection: This was the way whereby the Jews themselves were saved under the Old Testament: for the _gospel was preached to them as well as unto us_; Heb. iv. 2. though it was in darker hints, and types and figures. And in this way were Abraham and David justified as the apostle teaches; Rom. iv. 3, 4, 5, 6.

Though the Jews’ enjoyment of the land of Canaan depended on their good works and obedience to the law of Moses, yet their hope and enjoyment of heaven depended on their faith or trust in the mercy of God, which was to be farther revealed in the days of the Messiah. And it is the same gospel by which we are to obtain salvation, since Christ is come in the flesh; but with this difference, that we are now more expressly required to make Jesus Christ the object of our faith, and we have a thousand clearer discoveries of his righteousness and grace than ever the Jews were favoured with.

Happy mankind! though fallen and ruined in Adam, yet recovered and raised to righteousness, grace, and glory by Jesus Christ. How dreadful is that law which pronounces a curse and death upon every transgressor! _Tribulation and wrath, indignation and anguish upon every soul that doth evil, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile_; Rom. ii. 9. But how sweet and reviving is the grace of that gospel, which becomes the power of God to the salvation of every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek!