Faith
and Life
January 24th, 1864
by
(1834-1892)
“Simon Peter, a
servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus
Christ; grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God,
and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all
things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that
hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”--2
Peter 1:1-4.
The two most important
things in our holy religion are faith and life. He who shall rightly understand these two
words is not far from being a master in experimental theology. Faith and life! These are vital points to a
Christian. They possess so intimate a
connection with each other that they are by no means to be severed; God hath so
joined them together, let no man seek to put them asunder. You shall never find true faith unattended
by true godliness; on the other hand, you shall never discover a truly holy
life, which has not for its root and foundation a living faith upon the
righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Woe unto those who seek after the one without the other! There be some who cultivate faith and forget
holiness; these may be very high in orthodoxy, but they shall be very deep in
damnation, in that day when God shall condemn those who hold the truth in
unrighteousness, and make the doctrine of Christ to pander to their lusts. There are others who have strained after
holiness of life, but have denied the faith; these are comparable unto the Pharisees
of old, of whom the Master said, they were “whitewashed sepulchers-.” they were
fair to look upon externally, but inwardly, because the living faith was not
there, they were full of dead men's bones and all manner of uncleanness. Ye must have faith, for this is the
foundation; ye must have holiness of life, for this is the superstructure. Of what avail is the mere foundation of a
building to a man in the day of tempest?
Can he hide himself among sunken stones and concrete? He wants a house
to cover him, as well as a foundation upon which that house might have been
built; even so we need the superstructure of spiritual life if we would have
comfort in the day of doubt. But seek
not a holy life without faith, for that would be to erect a house which can
afford no permanent shelter, because it his no foundation on a rock-a house
which must come down with a tremendous crash in the day when the rain descends,
and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon it. Let faith and life be put together, and,
like the two abutments of an arch, they shall make your piety strong. Like the horses of Pharaoh's chariot, they
pull together gloriously. Like light
and beat streaming from the same sum, they are alike full of blessing. Like the two pillars of the temple, they are
for glory and for beauty. They are two
from the fountain of grace; two lamps lit with holy fire; two olive-trees
watered by heavenly care; two stars carried in Jesus' hand. The Lord grant that we may have both of
these to perfection, that his name may be praised.
Now, it will be clear
to all, that in the four verses before us, our apostle has most excellently set
forth the necessity of these two things--twice over he insists upon the faith,
and twice over upon holiness of life.
We will take the first occasion first.
I. Observe, in the first place, what he says
concerning the character and the origin of faith, and then concerning
the character and origin of spiritual life.
“Simon Peter, a
servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” So
far the faith. “Grace and peace
be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto
life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory
and virtue.” These two verses, you see, concern the spiritual life,
which comes with the faith.
Let us begin where
Peter begins, with the FAITH. You have
here a description of true saving faith.
First, you have a
description of its source. He
says, “to them that have obtained like precious faith.” See, then, my
brethren, faith does not grow in man's heart by nature; it is a thing which is obtained. It is not a matter which springs up by a
process of education, or by the example and excellent instruction of our
parents; it is a thing which has to be obtained. Not imitation, but regeneration; not development, but
conversion. All our good things come
from without us, only evil can be educed from within us. Now, that which is obtained by us must be
given to us; and well are we taught in Scripture that “faith is not of
ourselves, it is the gift of God.” Although faith is the act of man, yet it is
the work of God. “With the heart man
believeth unto righteousness;” but that heart must, first of all, have been
renewed by divine grace before it ever can be capable of the act of saving
faith. Faith, we say, is man's act, for
we are commanded to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and we shall be
saved. At the same time, faith is God's
gift, and wherever we find it, we may know that it did not come there from the
force of nature, but from a work of divine grace. How this magnifies the grace of God, my brethren, and how low
this casts human nature! Faith. Is it not one of the simplest things? Merely to depend upon the blood and
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, does it not seem one of the easiest of
virtues? To be nothing, and to let him
be everything--to be still, and to let him work for me, does not this seem to
be the most elementary of all the Christian graces?
Indeed, so it is; and
yet, even to this first principle and rudiment, poor human nature is so fallen
and so utterly undone, that it cannot attain unto! Brethren, the Lord must not only open the gates of heaven to us
at last, but he must open the gates of our heart to faith at the first. It is
not enough for us to know that he must make us perfect in every good
work to do his will, but we must be taught that he must even give us a
desire after Christ; and when this is given, he must enable us to give the grip
of the hand of faith whereby Jesus Christ becomes our Savior and Lord. Now, the question comes (and we will try and
make the text of today, a text of examination all the way through) have we
obtained this faith? Are we conscious
that we have been operated upon by the Holy Spirit? Is there a vital principle in us which was not there
originally? Do we know today the folly
of carnal confidence? Have we a hope
that we have been enabled through divine grace to cast away all our own
righteousness and every dependence, and are we now, whether we sink or swim,
resting entirely upon the person, the righteousness, the blood, the
intercession, the precious merit of our Lord Jesus Christ? If not, we have cause enough to tremble; but
if we have, the while the apostle writes, “Unto them that have obtained like
precious faith,” he writes to us, and across the interval of centuries his
benediction comes as full and fresh as ever, “Grace and peace be multiplied
unto you.”
Peter having described
the origin of this faith, proceeds to describe its object. The word “through” in our translation,
might, quite as correctly, have been rendered “in”--”faith in the righteousness
of our God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”
True faith, then, is a
faith in Jesus Christ, but it is a faith in Jesus Christ as divine. That man who believes in Jesus Christ as
simply a prophet, as only a great teacher, has not the faith which will save
him. Charity would make us hope for
many Unitarians, but honesty compels us to condemn them without exception, so
far as vital godliness is concerned. It
matters not how intelligent may be their conversation, nor how charitable may
be their manners, nor how patriotic may be their spirit, if they reject Jesus
Christ as very God of very God, we believe they shall without doubt perish
everlastingly. Our Lord uttered no
dubious words when he said, “He that believeth not shall be damned,” and we
must not attempt to be more liberal than the Lord himself. Little allowance can I make for one who
receives Jesus the prophet, and rejects him as God. It is an atrocious outrage upon common sense for a man to profess
to be a believer in Christ at all, if he does not receive his divinity. I would undertake, at any time, to prove to
a demonstration, that if Christ were not God, he was the grossest impostor who
ever lived. One of two things, he was
either divine or a villain. There is no
stopping between the two. I cannot
imagine a character more evil than that which would be borne by a man who
should lead his followers to adore him as God, without ever putting in a word
by way of caveat, to stop their idolatry; nay, who should have spoken in terms
so ambiguous, that two thousand years after his death, there should be found
millions of persons resting upon him as God.
I say, if he were not God, the atrocity of his having palmed himself upon
us, his disciples, as God, puts aside altogether from consideration any of the
apparent virtues of his life. He was
the grossest of all deceivers, if he was not “very God of very God.” 0 beloved,
you and I have found no difficulties here; when we have beheld the record of
his miracles, when we have listened to the testimony of his divine Father, when
we have heard the word of the inspired apostles, when we have felt the majesty
of his own divine influence in our own hearts, we have graciously accepted him
as “the Wonderful, the Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father,” and,
as John bear witness of him and said, “The Word was in the beginning with God,
and the Word was God,” even so have we received him; so that at this day, he
that was born of the virgin Mary, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews, is
to us “God over all, blessed for ever.”
Honor
and power divine:
And
blessings more than we can give,
Be
Lord for ever thine.”
Now, beloved friends,
have we heartily and joyfully received Jesus Christ as God? My hearer, if thou hast not, I pray thee
seek of God the faith that saves, for thou hast it not as yet, nor art thou in
the way to it. Who but a God could bear
the weight of sin? Who but a God shall
be the “same yesterday, today, and forever?”
Concerning whom but a God could it be said, “I am the Lord, I change
not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” We have to do with Christ,
and we should be consumed if he changed; inasmuch, then, as he does not change,
and we are not consumed, he must be divine, and our soul rolls the entire
burden of its care and guilt upon the mighty shoulders of the everlasting God,
who--
“Bears
the earth’s huge pillars up,
And
spreads the heavens abroad.”
Remark in
further dwelling upon the text, that the apostle has put in another word beside
“God”, and that is, “of God and our Savior.” As if the glory of the
Godhead might be too bright for us, he has attempted it by gentler words “our
Savior.” Now, to trust Jesus Christ as divine, will save no man, unless there
be added to this a resting in him as the great propitiatory sacrifice. Jesus Christ is our Savior because he
became a substitute for guilty man. He
having taken upon himself the form of manhood by union with our nature, stood
in the room, place, and stead of sinners.
When the whole tempest of divine wrath was about to spend itself on man,
he endured it all for his elect; when the great whip of the law must fall, he
bared his own shoulders to the lash; when the cry was heard, “Awake, 0 sword!”
it was against Christ the Shepherd, against the man who was the fellow to the
eternal God. And because he thus
suffered in the place and stead of man, he received power from on high to
become the Savior of man, and to bring many sons into glory, because he had been
made perfect through suffering. Now,
have we received Jesus Christ as our Savior?
Happy art thou, if thou hast laid thy hand upon the head of him
who was slain for sinners. Be glad, and
rejoice in the Lord without ceasing, if today that blessed Redeemer who has
ascended upon high has become thy Savior, delivered thee from
sin, passing by thy transgressions, and making thee to be accepted in the
beloved. A Savior is he to us when he
delivers us from the curse, punishment, guilt and power of sin, “He shall save
his people from their sins.” 0 thou great God, be thou my Savior, mighty to
save.
But be pleased to
notice the word “righteousness.” It is a faith in the righteousness of
our God and our Savior. In these days,
certain divines have tried to get rid of all idea of atonement; they have
taught that faith in Jesus Christ would save men, apart from any faith in him
as a sacrifice. Ah, brethren, it does
not say, “faith in the teaching of God our Savior;” I do not find here that it
is written, “faith in the character of God our Savior, as our exemplar.” No,
but “faith in the righteousness of God our Savior.” That righteousness, like a
white robe, must be cast around us. I
have not received Jesus Christ at all, but I am an adversary and an enemy to him
unless I have received him as Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our
righteousness. There is his perfect
life; that life was a life for me; it contains all the virtues, in it there is
no spot; it keeps the law of God, and makes it honorable; my faith takes that
righteousness of Jesus Christ, and it is cast about me, and I am then so
beauteously, nay, so perfectly arrayed, that even the eye of God can see
neither spot nor blemish in me. Have
we, then, today a faith in the righteousness of God our Savior? For no faith but this can ever bring the
soul into a condition of acceptance before the Most High. “Why,” saith one, “these are the very
simplicities of the gospel.” Beloved, I know they are, and, therefore, do we
deal them out this morning, for, thanks be to God, it is the simplicities which
lie at the foundation; and it is rather by simplicities than by mysteries that
a Christian is to try himself and to see whether he be in the faith or no. Put the question, brethren, have we, then,
this like precious faith in God and our Savior Jesus Christ?
Our apostle has not
finished the description without saying that it is “like precious faith.” All
faith is the same sort of faith. Our
faith may not be like that of Peter, in degree, but if it be genuine, it is
like it as to its nature, its origin, its objects, and its results. Here is a blessed equality. Speak of “liberty, equality, and fraternity,”
you shall only find these things carried out within the Church of Christ. There is indeed a blessed equality here, for
the poorest little-faith who ever crept into heaven on its hands and knees, has
a like precious faith with the mighty apostle Peter. I say, brethren, if the one be gold, so is
the other; if the one can move mountains, so can the other; for remember, that
the privileges of mountain moving, and of plucking up the trees, and casting
them into the sea, are not given to great faith, but “if ye have faith as a
grain of mustard weed,” it shall be done.
Little faith has a royal decent and is as truly of divine birth as is
the greatest and fullest assurance which ever made glad the heart of man, hence
it ensures the same inheritance at the last, and the same safety by the
way. It is “like precious faith.”
He tells us too, that
faith is “precious,” and is it not precious? for it deals with precious
things, with precious promises, with precious blood, with a precious
redemption, with all the preciousness of the person of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Well may that be a
precious faith which supplies our greatest want, delivers us from our greatest
danger, and admits us to the greatest glory.
Well may that be called “precious faith,” which is the symbol of our
election, the evidence of our calling, the root of all our graces, the channel
of communion, the weapon of prevalence, the shield of safety, the substance of
hope, the evidence of eternity, the guerdon of immortality, and the passport of
glory. O for more of this inestimably precious faith. Precious faith, indeed it is.
When the apostle,
Simon Peter, writes “to them that have obtained like precious faith with us,
through the righteousness of God, and our Savior Jesus Christ,” does he write
to you? does he write to me? If not, if we are not here addressed,
remember that we can never expect to hear the voice which says, “Come ye
blessed of my Father;” but we are today in such a condition, that dying as we
now are, “Depart ye cursed” must be the thunder which shall roll in our ears,
and drive us down to hell. So much,
then, concerning faith.
Now we shall turn to
notice with great brevity, the LIFE. “Grace
and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our
Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue.” Here we have, then, brethren, fountain and source of
our spiritual life, Just as faith is a boon which is to be obtained, so you
will perceive that out spiritual title is a principle which is given. A thing which is given to us, too, by divine
power--” according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that
pertain unto life and godliness.” To give life at all is the essential
attribute of God. This is an attribute
which he will not alienate; to save and to destroy belong unto the Sovereign of
heaven. “He can create, and he destroy,”
is one of the profoundest notes in the ascription of our praise. Suppose a
corpse before us. How great a pretender
would he be who should boast that it was in his power to restore it to
life. Certainly, it would be even a
greater pretense if anyone should say that he could give to himself or to
another the divine life, the spiritual life by which a man is made a Christian. My brethren, you who are partakers of the divine
nature, know that by nature you were dead in trespasses and sins, and would
have continued so until this day if there had not been an interposition of
divine energy on your behalf. There you
lay in the grave of your sin, rotten, corrupt.
The voice of the minister called to you, but you did not hear. You were often bidden to come forth, but ye
did not and could not come. But when
the Lord said, “Lazarus, come forth,” then Lazarus came forth; and when he said
to you, “Live,” then you lived also, and the spiritual life beat within you,
with joy and peace through believing.
This we ought never to forget, because, let us never fail to remember,
that if our religion is a thing which sprang from ourselves, it is of the
flesh, and must die. That which is born
of the flesh in its best and most favorable moments, is flesh, and only that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Ye
must be born again.” If a man's religious life be only a refinement of his
ordinary life, if it be only a high attainment of the natural existence, then
is it not the spiritual life, and does not prepare him for the eternal life
before the throne of God. No, we must
have a supernatural spark of heavenly flame kindled within us. Just as nothing but the soul can quicken the
body and make it live, so the Spirit alone can quicken the soul and make the
soul live. We must have the third
master-principle infused, or else we shall be but natural men, made after the
image of the first Adam. We must have,
I say. the new spirit, or else we shall not be like the second Adam, who was
made a quickening spirit. Only of the
Christian can we say that he is spirit, soul, and body; the ungodly man has
only soul and body, and as to spiritual existence, he is as dead as the body
would be if there were no soul.
Now the implantation
of this new principle, called the spirit, is a work of divine power. Divine power! What stupendous issues are grasped in that
term, divine power! It was this which
digged the deep foundations of the earth and sea! Divine power, it is this
which guides the marches of the stars of heaven! Divine power! it is this which holds up the pillars of the
universe, and which one day shall shake them, and hurry all things back to
their native nothingness. Yet the
selfsame power which is required to create a world and to sustain it, is
required to make man a Christian, and unless that power be put forth, the
spiritual life is not in any one of us.
You will perceive,
dear friends, that the apostle Peter wished to see this divine life in a
healthy and vigorous state, and therefore he prays that grace and peace may
be multiplied, Divine power is the foundation of this life; grace is the
food it feeds upon, and peace is the element in which it lives most
healthily. Give a Christian much grace,
and his spiritual life will be like the life of a man who is well clothed and
nurtured; keep the spiritual life without abundant grace, and it becomes lean,
faint, and ready to die; and though die it cannot, yet will it seem as though
it gave up the ghost, unless fresh grace be bestowed. Peace, I say, is the element in which it flourishes most. Let a
Christian be much disturbed in mind, let earthly cares get into his soul, let
him have doubts and fears as to his eternal safety, let him lose a sense of
reconciliation to God, let his adoption be but dimly before his eyes, and you
will not see much of the divine life within him. But oh! if God shall smile upon the life within you, and you get
much grace from God, and your soul dwells much in the balmy air of heavenly
peace, then shall you be strong to exercise yourself unto godliness, and your
whole life shall adorn the doctrine of God your Savior.
Observe, again, that
in describing this life, he speaks of it as one which was conferred upon us by our
being called. He says, “We were
called unto glory and virtue.” I find translators differ here. Many of them think the word should be “By”--
“We are called by the glory and virtue of God”-that is, there is a
manifestation of all the glorious attributes of God, and of all the efficacious
virtue and energy of his power in the calling of every Christian. Simon Peter himself was at his fishing and
in his boat, but Jesus said to him, “Follow me;” and at once he followed
Christ. He says there was in that calling,
the divine glory and virtue; and, doubtless, when you and I shall get to
heaven, and see things as they are, we shall discover in our effectual calling
of God to grace, a glory as great as in the creation of worlds, and a virtue as
great as in the healing of the sick, when virtue went from the garments of a
Savior. Now, can we say today, that we
have a life within us which is the result of divine power, and have we, upon
searching ourselves, reason to believe, dear friends, that there is that within
us which distinguishes us from other men, because we have been called out by
mankind by the glory and energy of the divine power? I am afraid some of us must say “Nay.” Then the Lord in
his mercy yet bring us into the number of his people. But if we can, however, tremblingly say, “Yes, I trust there is
something of the life in me;” then as Peter did so, do I wish for you that
benediction, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
O brethren, whatever
men may say against the faith of God, there is nothing in the world which
creates virtue like true faith.
Wherever true faith enters, though it be into the heart of a harlot or
of a thief, what a change it makes! See
her there, she has polluted herself many times; she has gone far into sin. Mary has been a sinner, she hears the
preaching of the Savior; standing in the crowd she listens to him one day as be
preaches concerning the prodigal, and how the loving father pressed him to his
bosom; she comes to Jesus and she finds forgiveness. Is she a harlot any longer?
Nay, there she is, washing his feet with her tears, and wiping them with
the hairs of her head. The woman who
was a sinner, hates her evil ways and loves her gracious Lord. We may say of her, “But she is washed, but
she is sanctified, but she is saved.” Take Saul of Tarsus. Foaming with blood, breathing out
threatenings, he is going to Damascus to drag the saints of God to prison. On the road he is struck down; by divine mercy
he is led to put his trust in Jesus. Is
he a persecutor any longer? See that
earnest apostle beaten with rods--shipwrecked--in labors more abundant than all
the rest of them--counting not his life dear unto him, that he may win Christ
and be found in him. Saul of Tarsus
becomes a majestic proof of what the grace of God can do.
See Zaccheus, the
grasping publican, distributing his wealth, the Ephesians burning their magical
books, the jailer washing the apostle's stripes. Take the case of many now present. Let memory refresh itself this morning, with the recollection of
the change which has been wrought in you.
We have nothing to boast of; God forbid that we should glory, save in
the cross of Christ, but yet some of us are wonderful instances of renewing
grace. We were unclean, our mouths
could utter blasphemy; our temper was hot and terrible; our hands were
unrighteous; we were altogether as an unclean thing, but how changed now! Again, I say, we boast of nothing which we
now are, for by the grace of God we are what we are, yet the change is
something to be wondered at. Has divine
grace wrought this change in you? Be
not weary with my reiteration of this question. Let me put it again to you till I get an answer; nay, till I
force you to an answer: Have you this precious faith? Can you not answer the question?
Then, have you not that divine life, that life which is given by divine
calling? If you have the one, you have
the other; and if you have not both, you have neither; for where there is the
one, the other must come, and where the one has come, the other has been there.
II. I have thus fully
but feebly brought the subject before you, allow me to remind you that another
verse remains which handles the same topics.
In the fourth verse, he deals with the privileges of faith, and also
with the privileges of the spiritual life.
Notice the PRIVILEGE
OF FAITH first. “Whereby are given unto
us exceeding great and precious promises”--here is the faith, “That by these ye
might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust.” Here is the life resulting from the faith. Now, the privilege of faith first. The privileges of faith are, that we have
given to us “Exceeding great and precious promises.” “Great and precious”--two
words which do not often come together.
Many things are great which are not precious, such as great rocks, which
are of little value; on the other hand, many things are precious which are not
great--such as diamonds and other jewels, which cannot be very great if they be
very precious. But here we have
promises which are so great, that they are not less than infinite, and so
precious, that they are not less than divine.
I shall not attempt to speak about their greatness or their preciousness,
but just give a catalogue of them, and leave you to guess at both. We have some of them which are like birds in
the hands--we have them already; other promises are like birds in the bush,
only that they are just as valuable and as sure as those which are in the hand.
Note here, then, we
have received by precious faith the promise and pardon. Hark thee, my soul, all thy sins are
forgiven thee. He who hath faith in
Christ hath no sin to curse him, his sins are washed away, they have ceased to
be; they have been carried on the scape-goat's head into the wilderness; they
are drowned in the Red Sea; they are blotted out; they are thrown behind God's
back; they are cast into the depths of the sea. Here is a promise of perfect pardon. Is not this great and precious?--as great as your sins are; and
if your sins demanded a costly ransom, this precious promise is as great as the
demand.
Then comes the
righteousness of Christ: you are not only pardoned, that is, washed and made
clean, but you are dressed, robed in garments such as no man could ever
weave. The vesture is divine. Jehovah himself has wrought out your
righteousness for you; the holy life of Jesus the Son of God, has become your
beauteous dress, and you are covered with it.
Christian, is not this an exceeding great and precious promise? The law was great--this righteousness is as
great as the law. The law asked a
precious revenue from man, more than humanity could pay--the righteousness of
Christ has paid it all. Is it not great
and precious?
Then next comes reconciliation. You were strangers, but you are brought nigh
by the blood of Christ. Once aliens,
but now fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God. Is not this great and precious?
Then comes your adoption. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” “And if children, then
heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ, if so be we suffer with him
that we may be glorified together.” Oh, how glorious is this great and precious
promise of adoption?
Then we have the
promise of providence: “all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them that are called according to his purpose.” “Thy place of
defense shall be the munitions of rocks,” “Thy bread shall be given thee and
thy waters shall be sure.” “As thy days thy strength shall be.” “Fear not, I am
with thee; be not dismayed, I am thy God.” “When thou passest through the
rivers, I will be with thee, the floods shall not overflow thee. When thou goest through the fire, thou shalt
not be burned, neither shall the flames kindle upon thee.” When I think of
providence, the greatness of its daily gifts, and the preciousness of its
hourly boons, I may well say, here is an exceeding great and precious promise.
Then you have the
promise too, that you shall never taste of death but shall only sleep in
Jesus. “Write, blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they cease from their labors; and
their works do follow them.” Nor does the promise cease here, you have the
promise of a resurrection. “For
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Beloved, we
know that if Christ rose from the dead, so also them who sleep in Jesus, will
the Lord bring with him. Nor is this
all, for we shall reign with Jesus; at his coming, we shall be glorified
with him, we shall sit upon his throne, even as he has overcome and sits with
his Father upon his throne. The harps
of heaven, the streets of glory, the trees of paradise, the river of the water
of life, the eternity of immaculate bliss--all these, God hath promised to them
who love him. “Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, but he
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit;” and by our faith we have grasped them,
and we have today “the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of
things not seen.” Now, beloved, see how rich faith makes you?--what
treasure!--what a costly regalia!--what gold mines!--what oceans of
wealth!--what mountains of sparkling treasures has God conferred upon you by
faith!
But we must not forget
the life, and with that we close.
The text says, be has given us this promise, “that”--” in order
that.” What then? What are all these treasures lavished for? For what these pearls? For what these jewels'? For what, I say, these oceans of
treasure? For what? Is the end worthy of the means? Surely God never giveth greater store than
the thing which he would purchase will be worth. We may suppose, then, the end to be very great when such costly
means have been given; and what is the end?
Why, “that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” O, my brethren, if
you have these mercies today by faith, do see to it that the result is
obtained. Be not content to be made
rich in these great and precious promises, without answering God's design in
your being thus enriched. That design,
you perceive, is twofold; it is first that you may be partakers of the divine
nature; and, secondly, that you may escape the corruption which is in the
world.
To be a partaker of
the divine nature is not, of course, to become God. That cannot be. The
essence of Deity is not to be participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the Creator there
must ever be a gulf fixed in respect of essence; but as the first man Adam was
made in the image of God, so we, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a
yet diviner sense made in the image of the Most High, and are partakers of the
divine nature. We are, by grace, made
like God. “God is love;” we become
love--”He that loveth is born of God.” God is truth; we become true, and we
love that which is true, and we hate the darkness and the lie.
God is good, it is his
very name; he makes us good by his grace, so that we become the pure in heart
who shall see God. Nay, I will say
this, that we become partakers of the divine nature in even a higher sense than
this--in fact, in any sense, anything short of our being absolutely divine. Do we not become members of the body of the
divine person of Christ? And what sort
of union is this--” members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones?” The
same blood which flows in the head flows in the hand, and the same life which
quickens Christ, quickens his people; for, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God.” Nay, as if this were not enough, we are married into
Christ. He hath betrothed us unto
himself in righteousness and in faithfulness, and as the spouse must, in the
nature of things, be a partaker of the same nature as the husband, so Jesus
Christ first became partaker of flesh and blood that they twain might be one
flesh; and then he makes his Church partakers of the same spirit, that they
twain may be one spirit; for he who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Oh, marvelous mystery! we look into it, but
who shall understand it? One with
Jesus, by eternal union one, married to him; so one with him that the branch is
not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord, our Savior, and our
Redeemer. Rejoice in this, brethren, ye
are made partakers of the divine nature, and all these promises are given to
you in order that you may show this forth among the sons of men, that ye are
like God, and not like ordinary men; that ye are different now from what flesh
and blood would make you, having been made participators of the nature of God.
Then the other
result which follows from it, was this, “Having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust.” Ah, beloved, it were ill that a man who is alive
should dwell in corruption. “Why seek
ye the living among the dead?” said the angel to Magdalene. Should the living dwell among the dead? Should divine life be found amongst the
corruptions of worldly lusts? The bride
of Christ drunken! Frequenting the alehouse!
A member of Christ's body found intoxicated in the streets, or lying, or
blaspheming, or dishonest! God forbid.
Shall I take the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? How can I drink the cup of the Lord, and
drink the cup of Belial? How can it be
possible that I can have life, and yet dwell in the black, dark, foul, filthy,
pestiferous tomb of the world's lusts?
Surely, brethren, from these open lusts and sins ye have escaped: have
ye also escaped from slothfulness? Have ye clean escaped from carnal
security? Are we seeking day by day to
live above worldliness, and love of the things of the world, and the ensnaring
avarice which they nourish? Remember,
it is for this that you have been enriched with the treasures of God. Do not, oh, I conjure you, do not, chosen of
God and beloved by him, and so graciously enriched, do not suffer all this
lavish treasure to be wasted upon you.
There is
nothing which my heart desires more than to see you, the members of this
Church, distinguished for holiness: it is the Christian's crown and glory. An unholy Church! it is of no use to the
world, and of no esteem among men. Oh!
it is an abomination, hell’s laughter, heaven's abhorrence. And the larger the Church, the more
influential, the worse nuisance does it become, when it becomes dead and
unholy. The worst evils which have ever
come upon the world, have been brought upon her by an unholy Church. Whence came the darkness of the dark
ages? From the Church of Rome. And if we want to see the world again
sitting in Egyptian darkness, bound with fetters of iron, we have only to give
up the faith, and to renounce holiness of life, and we may drag the world down again
to the limbo of superstition, and bind her fast in chains of ignorance and
vice. O Christian, the vows of God are upon you. You are God's priest: act as such. You are God's king: reign over your lusts. You are God's chosen: do not associate with
Belial. Heaven is your portion, live
like a heavenly spirit, so shall you prove that you have the true faith; but
except ye do this, your end shall be to lift up your eyes in hell, and find
yourself mistaken when it will be too late to seek or find a remedy. The Lord give us the faith and the life, for
Jesus' sake. Amen.
Provided by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 314
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986