"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." -- Rom. 10:10.
Mark. It is with he mouth that confession is made. Keep up the confession until you reach eternal salvation.
The word "sanctify" is one of the words of
Christ. It will not do to be ashamed of it. Christ prayed for His disciples,
"Sanctify them through thy truth." -- John 17:17.
If the prayer is fully answered, you dishonor Christ by confessing that it is answered in part. That is not the way men do in business. When a request is fully met they acknowledge it fully. If Christ not only forgives you, but sanctifies you, then it is not enough to say that you are forgiven. That is not the whole truth.
An indefinite profession will lead to an
indefinite experience. The eye that is not used grows dim. The faith that is
not professed, for fear of giving offense, vanishes.
"From him that hath not," so surely that he cannot profess it, "shall be taken away even that which he hath." -- Matt. 25:29
Profess out clearly and definitely all that God does for you. Only see to it,
as an old writer says, "That the bottom of your life is on a level with the top
of your profession." Let the most objectionable things that you do be perfectly
consistent with the highest profession that you
make.
If you enjoy it, and live it, by all means
profess it. If God sets this great light in the soul no one has a right to
cover it up. Let it shine. Confess all that Divine grace does for you. No
one can long retain this great blessing without letting it be known that God
bestows it upon him. He would have others encouraged to come to Him for the
fullness of grace, and so He would have those upon whom He bestows it declare
His faithfulness.
"All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom." -- Ps. 145:10-12
A holy heart is pre-eminently the work of the Lord. It is a creation which His power alone can effect. It is the glory of His kingdom. Nothing demands a greater exercise of Omnipotence than to make a depraved human heart holy. Wherever this mighty act has been performed, the saints of God should make it known. They should freely and explicitly confess it, to the glory of His name.
But professions, of themselves, amount to
nothing. Unfounded professions are common. They are probably not made, in
many cases, willfully; but in general, once had a good foundation, and are kept
up from habit, and from the vain hope that the blessing is not lost, but only
the witness of it. These professors are aware that their strength is gone; but
they still think it best to make as strong a show of resistance as possible; as
Lee kept McClellan at bay by pointing long wooden cannon toward his camp. That
there are those who really enjoy the blessing of holiness we have no doubt.
Precious humble souls, they are walking in all lowliness before the Lord. May
your numbers be multiplied, and your graces be strengthened and increased!
There are others whose professions are not well
founded. This is evident from their fruits. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit.
Some are wanting in temperance. Their appetites
have the ascendency over them. They do not keep their bodies under. Deprive
them of their tobacco for a single day and they are miserable. It does not
seem to me that we have a right to profess holiness if the deprivation, in the
providence of God, of any particular thing to eat or drink makes us wretched.
If the Lord gives us enough to keep soul and body together, we should accept it
with thankfulness, and go on our way rejoicing.
Temperance -- in the original "egkrateia" -- signifies self control, having the mastery
over one's appetites, and if you have not this mastery, do not profess holiness
until you obtain it. God can give it to you. Seek it earnestly. It may cost
you a conflict, but the victory will be worth resistance even unto blood.
Some are wanting in self-denial. They profess to
have renounced themselves -- their own righteousness and ease, and interests,
and yet they seem to forget that this renunciation amounts to nothing, unless
it embraces particulars. It would puzzle them to tell wherein they deny
themselves of any coveted gratification for Christ's sake. We heard recently
of some precious saints in affluent circumstances, who, after giving all they
could for the relief of the starving Lancashire sufferers, deprived themselves
of the use of butter, that they might have more to give. In some form or
other, self-denial must be practiced daily if the blessing of holiness would be
retained.
Some are wanting in non-conformity to the world.
Satan has convinced them, and alas! they were but too easily convinced, that to
gain an influence over worldly, gay professors, and lead them into the blessing
of holiness, they must not be too strict, but must conform to worldly fashions
to a degree that the Spirit of God would not allow, if they listened to His
dictates. O, what a fearful mistake is this! To have God receive us we must
come out and be separate. There is but one mediator between God and man, and
none, that we read of, between the church and the world; and he who assumes to
occupy that dubious position will, at the last day, notwithstanding all the
wonderful works that he has done, hear Christ say, "Depart from me, I know you
not." The heaviest blows that have been ever inflicted upon Christianity, have
been given by this class of persons. Without designing it perhaps, they have,
by little and little, lowered the standard of the Gospel, until the church has
become deluged with a tide of worldliness that threatens to sweep away the last
vestige of spiritual life. The Church grew strong and multiplied under the
cruelties of Nero and Domitian; but from the effects of the patronage of
Constantine it has never recovered unto this day.
It is distressing to hear persons professing
holiness when decked out in "gold and pearls and costly array," and to hear
them say with a show of great self-complacency when their inconsistency is
hinted at, "O my conscience does not condemn me," just as if their conscience
were a substitute for the explicit word of God.
Some are wanting in humility. They may be plain
in their apparel, but there is about them an appearance of pride and
self-conceit. They are forward and positive in expressing their opinions, and
seem to think that nothing is done right in which they do not participate. Let
us remember, beloved, that perfect love is never found only in connection with
the deepest humility. Do not take up more time in meetings than belongs to
you. If you are a minister, and occupy your hour in preaching, do give the
people an opportunity to witness in the social meetings, and do not yourself
occupy half the time. Such a course does not savor of humility. There may be
others who have not the gift of utterance that you have, who have yet a much
richer experience in the things of God; it would do you and others good to
listen to them. If you have true humility, one effect will be to make you
"swift to hear and slow to speak."
Others are wanting in love. They may be rooted
and grounded in doctrine, but not in love. They cannot bear much. They are
quick and sensitive. In their intercourse with their families there is what
sounds and looks very much like fretfulness. Little things chafe, annoy and
irritate. This cannot be where true holiness is enjoyed. It produces a calm
quiet and evenness of temper that makes itself felt everywhere, and especially
in the family circle. We may be firm and decided with our children without
being cross. Anything like scolding will not only hurt us but hurt them. If
necessary to use the rod of correction, do not spare to use it, but let it be
in love.
Let us, beloved, search ourselves. We may be
right. Whatever our trials, God is willing and desirous to give all needed
grace. "Hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering," and then
live up to your profession.
It is of no use to profess holiness unless you
enjoy it in your life. That you had it once, is no evidence that you have it
now. You may still be orthodox in your doctrines, strictly moral in your life,
faithful in the performance of all the common, outward duties of religion, --
nay, you may even be devoted to the advocacy of holiness, without truly
possessing this grace. "Were a man," says Wesley, "as harmless as a post, he
might be as far from holiness as heaven from earth." Holiness is our complete
renewal in the image of God, -- the perfect love of God shed abroad in the
heart by the Holy Ghost given unto us, so that we love God with all our heart,
and mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourself.
It is not merely victory over sin, -- this is
given to every pardoned soul, -- but it is deliverance from sinful tempers
themselves. The old man is not simply bound, -- he is cast out with all his
goods. There is not merely a calm, emotionless surrender of ourselves, -- a
"laying of our all upon the altar," but there is a dying out of self which can
no more take place without deep emotion, than can natural death come upon a
strong man without painful struggles. The animal life does not contend more
stoutly with the king of terrors, than does the sinful life with the King of
grace. The old man does not die until compelled to. The death struggles,
whether more or less protracted, are real, and not imaginary or figurative.
Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ;" and so does every one say, who has
experienced inward holiness. But crucifixion is death, and a painful death.
No one can give up all his cherished plans, and dearest associations, to follow
Christ fully in the path of humility, reproaches, persecutions and afflictions,
without a pang. When he makes this surrender, he will know it. But it must be
made, if the joys of full salvation would be experienced. When sinful self
ceases to live, then Christ comes in and takes possession. The heart emptied
of sin, is filled with the Spirit. A peace, which passeth all understanding,
continually reigns. The ransomed believer now rejoices in Christ with "joy
unspeakable, and full of glory." No words can express the rapture of his soul.
Standing upon the tops of the mountains, where he is fanned by the breezes of
Paradise, and ravished by a sight of the celestial city, he shouts aloud the
praises of God; or, lying low in the valley of humility, he feels "A sacred awe
that does not move, And all the silent heaven of love."
His heart is full of gratitude and praise, and
out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaketh.
There is, we are aware, an experience called
holiness, very different from this. The professor, in nine cases out of ten,
one who has lost his first love, and who, therefore, needs to repent like any
other sinner, is persuaded that he needs the blessing of holiness. He is told
to deliberately consecrate himself to the Lord, -- to "lay all upon the altar."
When this is done, he is taught that he must believe, upon the authority of
God's word, that the sacrifice is now accepted; that "the altar sanctifies the
gift," and that he now enjoys the blessing of holiness. If he urges that he
does not feel any different, -- that he has not experienced any change, he is
assured that he must live by faith and not by feeling, that he must honor God
by believing His word. The next and last step is to make a profession of
holiness, and this must be kept up henceforth. Such a process, involving no
mortification of pride, but rather gratifying it by giving one a reputation for
piety, becomes popular wherever presented. Many pass through it, profess
holiness, and deceive themselves to their soul's undoing. They say they are
"rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; " when, in reality,
they are "poor and miserable, and blind and naked." They are as full of self
as ever, conformed to the world, willing to receive honor of men, and ready to
compromise whenever fashion demands it. They wink at popular sins, or boldly
apologize for them. We have seen such men, with their golden spectacles, and
gold or silver beaded canes, shutting out of meetings for holiness all
testimony against slavery in the church, -- and women adorned in "gold, or
pearls, or costly array," pleading for worldly conformity, because their hearts
are set upon these things!
Such persons enjoy holiness? Why, according to
the Methodist standard, -- and such are found among Methodists, they are not
scripturally awakened, much less converted or sanctified! The "General Rules"
of Methodism say that "we know that God's Spirit writes on truly awakened
hearts," the necessity of avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is
most generally practiced, such as "Laying up treasure on earth," -- but these
would make gain of godliness; "Softness and needless self-indulgence," -- but
these indulge self, in eating, drinking, dress, and conversation; "Reading
those books that do not tend to the knowledge or love of God," such as novels,
and the light literature of the day; "The putting on of gold and costly
apparel," but these say their "conscience does not condemn them" for doing so.
Yet, you profess holiness! Why, according to the standard of your own church,
you are yet an unawakened sinner? You may occupy a high official or social
position, may have written a book on the subject of holiness you may be justly
entitled to the gratitude and respect of the church but all this does not prove
that you are now in a state of salvation. If you do not "deny yourself and
take up your cross daily, submitting to bear the reproach of Christ, to be as
the filth and offscouring of the world, and looking that men should say all
manner of evil of you falsely, for the Lord's sake," you have not, the
Methodist Discipline says, "really fixed in your soul," even "a desire to flee
from the wrath to come, and to be saved from your sins!" This is the decision
which Methodism pronounces upon your condition. And is it not the Bible view
of the ease? Has not the light that was in thee become darkness? O, be honest
with yourself! You confess to a loss of power. This is so striking that,
blinded as you are, you cannot fail to perceive it. But if the power is gone,
the purity is gone, the Holy Ghost, the sanctifier, is gone! Rouse from this
state of stupid insensibility. Bewail your loss. Humble yourself deeply
before God. Obtain pardon while you may. Then press on to full salvation.
Remember that, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Resolve to have
the real thing if it takes your life. There is an awful warning to those who
have been living in the way of salvation, and have enjoyed many works of the
Divine favor, and are full of honors, in the record that is given of one, once
a favorite of heaven.
"It came to pass, that when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God." -- I Kings 11:4.