Guilt, Grace and Gratitude

George Bethune

FIRST LORD'S DAY.

THE ONLY COMFORT OF BELIEVERS.

LECTURE I.

Ans. That I, with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ, who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation; and, therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto him.

Ans. Three: the first, how great my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.

THE answer to the First Question tells us in a few words, what those great doctrines of the Scriptures are, from which the Christian derives his sure and only comfort.

The answer to the Second Question states the order which will be followed throughout the Catechism, by a division of all Christian knowledge necessary for our salvation into three parts.

The several truths contained in both these answers will be discussed at length as we proceed, step by step, with our study of the book. At present, therefore, we shall only ask you to mark--

First: The comfort, which a Christian has in his religious belief.

Secondly: The method by which he attains a knowledge of this comfort.

My beloved friends, -- the Catechism does not err, but follows the high, infallible, binding example of the Holy Ghost throughout the Scriptures. When the evangelical prophet, moved by divine influence, proclaimed, as the voice of God, the blessings of Christ's approaching kingdom, he commanded the messengers of grace, saying: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." When the angel came to the shepherds with the annunciation of Christ's advent, what were his words? "Fear not; for behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all people." When Jesus himself preached, what was his argument to gain the ears of the people? "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." What is the name given by the blessed Master to his truth but the Gospel, or good news, which he has ordained shall be preached to every creature? Nay, does not the term salvation imply that there is a danger of misery from which we are to be rescued, and is not the hope of safety a comfort? The Catechism is right in bringing religion to us under the name of comfort; nor is the promise of comfort discordant with the inculcation of duty, as the subsequent teachings of the book will show.

The chief end of man, in his salvation, as in his creation, is the glory of God; but the glory of our divine Maker and Redeemer is closely connected with the happiness of all who faithfully obey him. It was that he might have the satisfaction of seeing a family of creatures reflecting in their happiness his own blessedness, that he made our race; it is that he may behold a family of penitent sinners happy again and forever, that he has established the plan of redemption. The holy angels, who advance by their glad service the glory of their Lord, are happy in their ministry; and man, while he continued sinless, was happy in his heavenly Father's approbation. The relation of the creature to the Creator makes it necessary that the happiness and obedience of the subject should be inseparable, and also--his disobedience and misery. It is only when his intelligent creatures break the righteous laws which God has given for their guidance, and thus dash themselves against the immutable principles of his government, that, to manifest the glory of his justice, he makes them miserable in their sins, as the fallen angels are, and as fallen men are, except they be saved through faith in Christ and repentance toward God. The process of the Gospel is the conversion of the sinner from sin to holiness; that through holiness he may be restored to happiness. It is our duty to be happy, because happiness lies in contentment with all the divine will concerning us. Therefore, the Christian is not selfish or blameworthy in seeking his own happiness from that religion, by the avowal and practice of which he endeavors to glorify God on earth and prepare for glorifying him more perfectly beyond the grave. Indeed, it is our enjoyment of the Christian religion, which proves our sincerity, for when we truly love God we must find his service a great delight. Jesus, our divine Master and holy example, served God for the "joy that was set before him," counting it his meat and his drink to do the will of his heavenly Father, and we follow in his steps when we fight the Christian fight, run the Christian race, and keep the Christian faith, cheered by the hope of winning through grace the crown of life, which God for Christ's sake has prepared for all who love him. It is because God would animate our zeal by such motives that he has given us so many exceeding great and precious promises, causing the holy Scriptures to be "written for our learning, that we through faith and comfort in the Scriptures might have hope."

There is much meaning in the use of the word comfort, to express the Christian's enjoyment of religion, as it supposes that the person who is comforted would otherwise be oppressed by trouble. The angels are happy in heaven, but they need no comfort, for they have no sorrow. Our first parents needed no comfort until sin brought trouble upon them; but Lamech called the name of his son Noah (or Rest*), because, said he: "This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed." Religion does not at once deliver us out of trouble; on the contrary, it is good for us to be afflicted; but it comforts us in tribulations, through which we enter the kingdom of God, enabling us to bear with patience our many sorrows, and to resist with courage our many temptations, by the assurance that God loves us now, and has provided for us an eternal rest hereafter. When we reach heaven we shall need no comfort, because our troubles will be over forever.

Hence the Catechism speaks of our "comfort in life and death." While life lasts our troubles will last, and death is a fearful trial to the stoutest heart; but when we have passed through and survived that final agony, our joy will be perfect and secure. Until then we have great need of comfort, and find it in our Christian religion, which, though it does not make our present life perfectly happy (for this is not our rest), is rich in comfort to all that believe. Hence the Holy Ghost, through whose gracious influences we receive the truths of the Gospel, is called the Comforter, and those who enjoy his grace are said to "walk in the comfort of the Holy Ghost." Of this the Apostle Paul, our best example of a Christian, and of a Christian preacher after Christ, had sweet experience, as we know from many texts in his writings, but especially from the preface of his Second Epistle to the Corinthians: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."

This is the believer's "only comfort." They, who have never acquainted themselves with the God of salvation, may find some passing comfort in things of the present world, but at the end will reap shame and eternal disappointment, since things gross and perishable can never satisfy the spiritual and immortal soul; but the Christian looks up to God, saying: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." He is conscious of his spiritual immortality, and knows that God alone can fill his immortality with blessedness. He draws many comforts through the creatures of God, but only through them as the channels in which they flow down to him from God, the overflowing Fountain. Without God, he has nothing; with God, he has all things. It is the truths of religion which assure him of the Divine favor to his soul; and, therefore, in religion he finds his only comfort. The Catechism is right in its first question, for it puts our religion to the closest proof, when it demands: "What is our only comfort in life and in death?"

The believer's answer to this question, states, first, a main fact; then, the particulars contained in the fact.

1. A main fact.

" That I with my body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ."

The natural pride of man's heart resists the thought of subjection to God, and of dependence upon him. This was the essence of man's first sin, when, tempted by the devil, he sought to be a god unto himself. So, every man, unconverted from the iniquity of the fall, loves not to retain the thought of God, but walks after the choice of his own heart. He would, perhaps, shrink from denying the existence or sovereign providence of God; but, practically, every man who does not live in the fear of God, depending gratefully upon divine care and conscious of his responsibility to the Great Judge, is an atheist at heart. The Christian has been changed from this proud temper by faith in the Gospel; and he considers it his happiness that he is not his own but belongs to God in Christ; that he is the Lord's, not only by creation, for surely what is made out of nothing belongs to the Maker, but also by redemption, because having been rescued from eternal ruin, he is the rightful property of his Saviour; that his body is the Lord's, from whom its life with all its faculties is derived, and by whom, when death returns it to the dust, it will be kept for a glorious immortality; that his soul is the Lord's, with all its capacities and affections, to be taught, ruled, sanctified, and employed by him for his glory; that his life is the Lord's, to be spent in his holy, pleasant service; and that his death is the Lord's, because his closing triumph here, and his eternal being after, will praise the mercy of his Redeemer, through whose gracious power he is raised from the depths of sin to the heights of heaven.

He belongs to Christ by a threefold obligation. Christ has bought him. His life and happiness were forfeit to divine justice; but Christ has redeemed him from eternal death by the substitution of himself to bear the wrath of God, and so Christ has acquired a full right over him, as the purchase of his atonement. First, he belonged to God his Creator, then he was in the righteous hands of God his Judge, but now he belongs to God the Saviour. "Thine they were," said the blessed Mediator, speaking of his disciples to the Father, "and thou gavest them me." The Father, as the representative of the Godhead against whom they had sinned, gives them to the incarnate Son as the representative of both the Godhead and the Church in the plan of salvation; but gives them not without a price. They are delivered, transferred, set over to the Saviour by virtue of the eternal covenant. Christ has fulfilled his part in satisfying the honor of the divine law which they had broken, and now the Father fulfils his part in giving them to Christ as his own peculiar property. Wherefore the apostle says: "Ye are not your own, for. ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

Again, we are exhorted to look for the "appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people (or a people of his own) zealous of good works." Yet again: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb (a lamb sacrificed for sin) without blemish and without spot." All the property which God, as Creator and Judge, had in the believer is now transferred to God the Saviour.

This the believer acknowledges when he accepts the atoning work of Christ. He is, therefore, Christ's by his own vow. He gives, surrenders himself to Christ, making a covenant with him, promising on his part to serve the Saviour by divine help all the days of his life, and Christ on his part engaging to save him until the uttermost.

Then, as a gracious consequence, the believer belongs to Christ because he is a member of that spiritual body, whose Head is Christ. There is much meant by the mystery of the believer's union with the body of Christ, which he cannot at present understand; but this we do know, that through faith he lives, because Christ's life is in him, that he is corporated with Christ in the enjoyment of all those blessings which the righteousness of Christ has obtained from the Father; and that he is one with Christ in all the future glory of his Head. It is thus a vital union; the believer is a member of Christ's "body, of his flesh, and of his bones; "it is a fruitful union, Christ animating him to all good works; for, by another figure, he is said to be grafted in Christ as a branch in a vine, which bears fruit from the energy diffused through it by the vigorous stem; it is an indissoluble union, for the body cannot be separated from its immortal Head; "because I live," says the Saviour, "ye shall live also."

Therefore does the Christian rejoice that he is "not his own, but belongs unto his faithful Saviour Jesus Christ." Were he his own, he would be left to the care of himself; but now because he is Christ's, Christ will take care of him as his own, as the purchase of his blood, as a member of his body, as the instrument of his glory, and as a trophy of his triumphant grace. This leads us to consider--

2. The particulars included by the main fact.

1. Pardon.--Christ "hath fully satisfied by his own blood for all his sins." Did he belong to himself, he would be obliged to meet in his own person all the guilty consequences of his many offences against God, and be unavoidably overwhelmed by eternal wrath; but now Christ claims him at the hands of divine justice as his; interposing his atonement between the vengeance of God and his ransomed one, covering the unworthy with his merits, representing the penitent in his ever-prevalent prayers, claiming for him acceptance with himself, in whom the Father is well pleased. Oh, how precious, in this light, is the fact that we belong not to ourselves, but to our faithful Saviour Jesus Christ!
   
2. Deliverance from danger.--"And hath delivered me from all power of the devil." This deliverance is twofold. The devil, full of malice against men, is employed by God as an executioner of divine vengeance; and in this permitted capacity he claims the impenitent for his victims; but our faithful Saviour, stronger than our arch-enemy, and in his right as the Redeemer, rescues the captive out of his cruel hands. So far as sin had given Satan a right over the body and soul of the sinner that calls to Christ for help, he destroys death and him that has the power of death; placing the penitent, now his own, eternally beyond his baffled rage. This deliverance, however, is a part of pardon, which we have already treated of.
   
   But sinners are said by the Scripture to put themselves wilfully under the control of the devil, when they comply with his temptations. They admit his sophisms, by which he leads the godless astray, into their minds, and so their conscience is deadened or perverted; their crimes against God, often repeated, acquire the fettering force of habit; nay, they get a fearful proclivity to evil, accelerating in impulse as they go downward, until, if divine grace do not arrest them, they plunge from the wickedness of this world to the yet more awful wickedness of hell. Hence they are said to be "sold (like slaves) under sin; "to be "led captive of the devil;" to be "in bondage to Satan." Oh, how shall the sinner, if left to himself, break these more than iron chains? How shall he deliver himself from this fatal bondage? How shall he escape from his cunning, cruel master? "Blessed be God!" exclaims the penitent believer, "I belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; he is my master now; he has bought me for his own with his most precious blood; he will not leave me in my helplessness; by his Holy Spirit he will break the fetters from my soul; he will give me liberty; his love will be a refuge where my old master cannot reach me. Stronger is he that is for me, than all that be against me." The deliverance may not be complete at once, for sanctification, in the wise process of grace, is a gradual work; the devil yields not his possession of our hearts easily, and the conflict there of sin with godliness may be sharp; but the deliverance is begun in regeneration; it is carried on by an Almighty Power; its certainty is assured by divine promise. The charm of Satan over the believer is met by a master charm in the name of Jesus, "for he shall save his people from their sins." The Seed of the woman has so bruised the old serpent's head, that the weakest saint shall break him down under foot, and trample over him into life, freedom, and joy eternal. Oh, thanks again to God, that Christ owns us, and we are not our own!
   
3. Preservation.--"And so preserves me, that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things shall be subservient to my salvation." If, instead of belonging to his Saviour, the Christian owned himself, his condition were most miserable, for he would own nothing but himself, while all around him--all that is necessary to his happiness, all present and future events affecting his welfare, are the Lord's, and ordered by the Lord, on whose goodness he has no claim; he would be alone, helpless, utterly destitute and needy. Now, Christ owns him; and as a faithful master cares for his own servant, whom he has bought so dearly; and all things are Christ's, and he turns all things for the good of his own. The God of salvation is the God of adoption. The believer is united to the only-begotten Son of God incarnate, therefore God adopts him as his child; and the heavenly Father will never suffer any real evil to come upon his regenerate children. When the Father gave to Christ the sinners whom he redeems, he gave all things into Christ's hands, that he might be Head over all things to his Church. All power is given unto Christ, and all his sovereign prerogative he employs for the benefit of his own peculiar people. He has made their eternal salvation his glory, and none can pluck those whom he preserves out of his affectionate embrace. Life is the time of the Christian's preparation for eternity; every thing that concerns him here has a bearing upon his state hereafter, therefore does his faithful Saviour take the tenderest care of him now and until he is brought home. He is "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." So nice and intense is this care that the very hairs of his head are numbered. Not one of them falls to the ground without his Father's will. Nay, all things work together for his good. The process is begun, is now carried on, and will be steadily furthered until the design is consummated in the believer's full redemption. Cheerfully, then, does the believer commit his all to Him to whom he has committed himself; his time, to him who takes charge of his eternity, the regulation of his circumstances on earth, to him who has prepared for him a blissful heaven. If he had the care of himself, he might well despair; but now that Christ has the care of him, he knows he is safe, -- his body safe, his soul safe, safe in life, safe in death, safe forever. His griefs may be many, his temptations strong, his infirmity extreme, and therefore he cannot help being troubled; but he has comfort amidst all, because he belongs to his faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, whose grace is sufficient for him.
   
4. Assurance.--"By his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto him." Man, left to his own unassisted reason, could never have ascertained the character or will of God, much less discovered the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ; but the faithful Saviour having undertaken to rescue his own from all the consequences of their sins, makes their instruction sure by the grace of his Holy Spirit. Holy men of old were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the books of the Old and New Testaments, which together constitute the Word of God, our only rule of faith and practice; and therefore all we know of religion we have been taught by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures are, however, by themselves addressed to men or Christians (as the case may be) generally; and experience, nay, the Word itself, shows that no man applies the testimony of the revelation to his own case, until the same divine Agent who inspired the testimony moves the sinner's heart to perceive himself addressed by it; but then discovering his guilt and danger, he also sees the sufficiency of atonement offered on his behalf, and trusts in Christ as his Saviour. Such personal faith--the appropriating of the Gospel to our own souls--is the effect of the Spirit's testimony in our hearts corresponding to his testimony in the Scriptures, and constitutes our assurance of salvation, -- by which salvation we mean, according to Scripture, the full accomplishment of the Saviour's purpose of eternal love toward the sinner that believes on his name. Thus we read: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost;"and again: "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself;"and yet again: "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby ye cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit also beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ." The promise assures complete salvation to all who believe; when, therefore, we believe, God by his own testimony assures complete salvation unto us.
   

But it will be asked, May not a sinner deceive himself in thinking that he believes when he does not? Is there not a counterfeit of true faith? and if so, how may we attain the assurance of our salvation? The Catechism meets the inquiry. There is indeed a counterfeit faith, but it may be detected by its fruitlessness, while on the other hand a true faith shows itself in its sanctifying effect on the life and character. The purpose of the Saviour is to save his people from their sins; perfect salvation, which is perfect holiness, is achieved only in heaven, but it is begun on earth. Repentance is the beginning of salvation, the pulsations of a new life which is eternal. The believer is conscious of this great change. He is yet a sinner, he sees his sinfulness more plainly than ever, he feels his weakness and utter inability to contend with the temptations that beset him; but he no longer delights in sin; his desire is to do the will of God, and, by divine help, to resist all evil. Amidst all his failures and imperfections he discovers a new principle at work in his soul which can have been engendered there only by divine power. This is the testimony of the Spirit. The same Holy One who testifies in the Scriptures and in the hearts of sinners, testifies in the believer's life, making him who was once a rebel now "sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto Christ." Oh what a happiness, what a comfort it is, that we belong unto Christ, who not only has died for us, but by his Spirit lives in us, -- working through us his holy purpose! When we can claim this comfort, "Christ is formed in us the hope of glory."

This is not the time to dwell upon the answer to the Second Question, as it only sets forth in brief what will be shown more fully hereafter. The order given is, however, most natural, and according to the doctrine of the Scriptures.

1. He must know how great his sins and miseries are. Unless he knows himself to be a sinner, he will not feel his need of pardon; unless he sees his miseries, he will not see his need of a Saviour; unless he feels that his sins and miseries are great, he will not be zealous in escaping from them to the great salvation provided for him. None but those who are conscious of being lost can discover that Jesus is the Saviour they need. This is set forth in the second, third, and fourth Lord's days.
   
   
2. He must know how he may be delivered from all his sins and miseries. This includes a knowledge of the whole Gospel, -- the purpose of God, the mediation of Christ, and the grace of the Holy Ghost, which is taught from the fifth to the thirty-second Lord's days.
   
   
3. He must know how to express his gratitude for such deliverance to God his Saviour. This includes all his duty, to which the Catechism gives the yet higher name of gratitude; the true Christian being moved to render it with a cheerful zeal, not only because God has a right in him, but also because he delights in recognizing and meeting the claims of a Benefactor so gracious, upon all his heart and mind and life. This is treated of from the thirty-second to the last Lord's day.
   
   

May God assist our farther studies by his Holy Spirit, that we, being convinced of sin and made to know the preciousness of Christ, may find our only comfort in his choice of us, and our choice of him as our Saviour, Master, and eternal Friend. Amen.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!