SPURGEON A CAUTION TO THE PRESUMPTUOUS
“Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” Corinthians 10:12
IT is a singular fact, but nevertheless most certain, that the vices are the
counterfeits of virtues. Whenever God sends from the mint of heaven a
precious coin of genuine metal, Satan will imitate the impress, and utter a
vile production of no value. God gives love, it is his nature and his essence.
Satan also fashioneth a thing which he calls love, but it is lust. God
bestows courage; and it is a good thing to be able to look one’s fellow in
the face, fearless of all men in doing our duty. Satan inspires foolhardiness,
styles it courage, and bids the man rush to the cannon’s mouth
for “bubble reputation.” God creates in man holy fear. Satan gives him
unbelief, and we often mistake the one for the other. So with the best of
virtues, the saving grace of faith, when it comes to its perfection it ripen
into confidence, and there is nothing so comfortable and so desirable to the
Christian, as the full assurance of faith. Hence, we find Satan, when he sees
this good coin, at once takes the metal of the bottomless pit, imitates the
heavenly image and superscription of assurance, and palms upon us the
vice of presumption.
We are astonished, perhaps, as Calvinistic Christians, to find Paul saying,
“Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall;” but we need not
be astonished for though we have a great right to believe that we stand, if
we think we stand through the power of God – though we cannot be too
confident of the might of the Most High, there is a thing so near akin to
true confidence, that unless you use the greatest discernment you cannot
tell the difference. Unholy presumption – it is against that which I am to
speak this morning. Let me not be misunderstood. I shall not utter one
word against the strongest faith. I wish all Little-Faiths were Strong-Faiths,
that all Fearings were made Valiants-for-Truth, and the Ready-to-Halts
Asahel’s Nimble-of-Foot, that they might all run in their Master’s work. I
speak not against strong faith or full assurance; God giveth it to us, it is the
holiest happiest thing that a Christian can have, and there is no state so
desirable as that of being able to say, “I know whom I have believed, and
am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto
him.” It is not against that I speak, but I warn you against that evil thing, a
false confidence and presumption which creepeth over a Christian, like the
cold death-sleep on the mountain-top, from which, if he is not awakened,
as God will see that he shall be, death will be the inevitable consequence.
“Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall “
I shall this morning attempt first, to find out the character; secondly, to
show the danger, and thirdly to give the counsel. The character is the man
who thinks he stands, the danger is, that he may fall; and the counsel is, “let
him take heed.”
I. My first business shall be to FIND OUT THE CHARACTER intended by the
presumptuous man, the man who thinks he stands. I could find a multitude
of such if I might search the wide world o’er. I could find men in business
filled with an arrogant hardihood, who, because they have in one
speculation been successful will wade far out into the stormy sea of this
contending life, risk their all – and lose it too. I might mention others who,
presuming upon their health, are spending their years in sin and their lives
in iniquity, because they think their bones iron and their nerves steel, and
“all men mortal but themselves.” I might speak of men who will venture
into the midst of temptation, confident in their boasted power, exclaiming
with self-complacency, “Do you think I am so weak as to sin? Oh! no, I
shall stand. Give me the glass; I shall never be a drunkard. Give me the
song; you will not find me a midnight reveller. I can drink a little and then I
can stop.” Such are presumptuous men. But I am not about to find them
there, my business this morning is with God’s church. The fanning must
begin with the floor, the winnowing must try the wheat. So we are to
winnow the church this morning to discover the presumptuous. We need
not go far to find them. There are in every Christian church men who think
they stand, men who vaunt themselves in fancied might and power,
children of nature finely dressed, but not the living children of the living
God; they have not been humbled or broken in spirit, or if they have they
have fostered carnal security until it has grown to a giant and trampled the
sweet flower of humility under its foot. They think they stand. I speak now
of real Christians, who, notwithstanding, have grown presumptuous, and
indulge in a fleshly security. May my Master arouse such, while in
preaching I endeavor to go to the core and root of the matter. For a little
while I will expatiate upon the frequent causes of presumption in a
Christian.
1. And first a very common cause, is continued worldly prosperity. Moab
is settled on his lees, he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel. Give a
man wealth; let his ships bring home continually rich freights; let the winds
and waves appear to be his servants to bear his vessels across the bosom of
the mighty deep; let his lands yield abundantly; let the weather be
propitious to his crops, and the skies smile pleasantly upon his enterprise,
let the bands of Orion be loosed for him; let the sweet influence of the
Pleiades descend upon him; let uninterrupted success attend him; let him
stand among men as a successful merchant, as a princely Dives, as a man
who is heaping up riches to a large extent, who is always prospering: or, if
not wealth, let him enjoy continued health; let him know no sickness; allow
him with braced nerve and brilliant eye, to march through the world, and
live happily; give him the buoyant spirit; let him have the song perpetually
on his lips, and his eye be ever sparkling with joy: – the happy, happy man
who laughs at care, and cries, “Begone, dull care, I prithee begone from
me.” I say the consequence of such a state to a man, let him be the best
Christian who ever breathed, will be presumption; and he will say, “I
stand.” “In my prosperity,” says David, “I said, I shall never be more!.”
And we are not much better than David, nor half as good. If God should
always rock us in the cradle of prosperity – if we were always candled on the
knees of fortune – if we had not some stain on the alabaster pillar, if there
were not a few clouds in the sky, some specks in our sunshine – if we had
not some bitter drops in the wine of this life, we should become intoxicated
with pleasure, we should dream “we stand;” and stand we should, but it
would be upon a pinnacle; stand we might, but like the man asleep upon
the mast, each moment we should be in jeopardy. We bless God, then, for
our afflictions; we thank him for our depressions of spirit; we extol his
name for the losses of our property; for we feel that had it not so happened
to us, had he not chastened us every morning and vexed us every evening,
we might have become too secure. Continued worldly prosperity is a fiery
trial. If it be so with any of you, apply this proverb to your own state, “As
the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold: so is a man to his praise.”
2. Again, light thoughts of sin will engender presumption. When we are
first converted, our conscience is so very tender, that we are afraid of the
slightest sin. I have known young converts almost afraid to proceed a step,
lest they should put their feet in the wrong direction. They will ask advice
of their minister, and difficult cases of moral casuistry will they bring
before us, such as we hardly know how to answer. They have a holy
timidity, a godly fear, lest they should offend against God. But alas; very
soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough
handling of the surrounding world. The sensitive plant of young piety turns
into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that
even a Christian will grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once
startled him and made his blood run cold, does not alarm him in the least. I
can speak from my own experience. When first I heard an oath, I stood
aghast, and knew not where to hide myself; yet now I can hear an
imprecation or blasphemy against God, and though a shudder still runs
through my veins, there is not that solemn feeling, that intense anguish,
which I felt when first I heard such evil utterances. By degrees we get
familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not
notice slight sounds. The men who work in those huge vessels, the
hammering of which causes immense noise, cannot at first sleep, for the
continual din in their ears, but by-and-by, they, when they are used to it,
think nothing of it. So with sin. First, a little sin doth startle us. Soon we
say, “Is it not a little one?” like Lot did of Zoar. Then there comes another,
larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard it as but a
little ill; and then you know, there comes an unholy presumption, and we
think we stand. “We have not fallen “say we, “we only did such a little
thing; we have not gone astray. True, we tripped a little, but we stood
upright in the main. We might have uttered one unholy word, but as for the
most of our conversation, it was consistent.” So we palliate sin; we throw
a gloss over it, we try to hide it.
Christian, beware I when thou thinkest
lightly of sin then thou hast become presumptuous. Take heed, lest thou
shouldst fall. Sin-a little thing! Is it not a poison! Who knows its
deadliness? Sin-a little thing! Do not the little foxes spoil the vines? Sin-a
little thing! Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock that wrecks a navy?
Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear
away stones? Sin-a little thing! It girded his head with thorns that now is
crowned with glory. Sin-a little thing! It made him suffer anguish,
bitterness, and woe, till he endured “All that incarnate God could bear,
with strength enough, and none to spare.”
It is not a little thing, sirs. Could you weigh it in the scales of eternity, you
would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil.
But alas I loose thoughts of sin often beget a presumptuous spirit, and we
think we stand.
3. A third reason often is, low thoughts of the value of religion. We none
of us value religion enough. Religious furor, as it is called, is laughed at
everywhere; but I do not believe there is such a thing as religious furor at
all. If a man could be so enthusiastic as to give his body to be burned at the
stake, could he pour out his drops of blood and turn each drop into a life,
and then let that life be slaughtered in perpetual martyrdom, he would not
love his God too much. Oh, no! when we think that this world is but a
narrow space; that time will soon be gone, and we shall be in the forever
of eternity, when we consider we must be either in hell or in heaven
throughout a never-ending state of immortality, how sirs, can we love too
much? how can we set too high a value on the immortal soul? Can we ask
too great a price for heaven? Can we think we do too much to serve that
God who gave himself for our sins? Ah! no; and yet my friends, most of us
do not sufficiently regard the value of religion. We cannot any of us
estimate the soul rightly; we have nothing with which to compare it. Gold
is sordid dust, diamonds are but small lumps of congealed air that can be
made to melt away. We have nought with which to compare the soul;
therefore we cannot tell its value. It is because we do not know this, that
we presume. Doth the miser who loves his gold let it be scattered on the
floor that his servant may steal it? Doth he not hide it in some secret place
where no eye shall behold it? Day after day, night after night, he counteth
out his treasure because he loves it. Doth the mother trust her bade by the
river-side? Doth she not in her sleep think of it? and when it is sick, will
she leave it to the care of some poor nurse, who may suffer it to die? Oh!
no; what we love, we will not wantonly throw away; what we esteem most
precious, we will guard with the most anxious care. So, if Christians knew
the value of their souls, if they estimated religion at its proper rate, they
never would presume; but low thoughts of Christ, low thoughts of God,
mean thoughts of our souls’ eternal state – these things tend to make us
carelessly secure. Take heed, therefore, of low ideas of the gospel, lest ye
be overtaken by the evil one.
4. But again, this presumption often springs from ignorance of what we
are, and where we stand. Many Christians have not yet learned what they
are. It is true, the first teaching of God is to show us our own state, but we
do not know that thoroughly till many year after we have known Jesus
Christ. The fountains of the great deep within our hearts are not broken up
all at once; the corruption of our soul is not developed in an hour. “Son of
man,” said the angel of Ezekiel, “I will show thee the abominations of
Israel.” He then took him in at one door, where he saw abominable things,
and stood aghast. “Son of man, I will show thee greater abominations than
these,” then he takes him into another chamber, and Ezekiel says, “Surely I
have now seen the worst.” “No,” says the angel, “I will show thee greater
things than these.” So, all our life long the Holy Spirit reveals to us the
horrid abomination of our hearts. I know there are some here who do not
think anything about it – they think they are good-hearted creatures. Good
hearts, have you? Good hearts! Jeremiah had a better heart than you, yet he
said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who
can know it?” No, the black lesson cannot be learned in a night. God alone
knows the evil of the heart; and Young says, “God spares all eyes but his
own that awful sight-the vision of a human heart.” If we could but see it,
we should stand aghast. Well, it is ignorance of this that makes us presume.
We say, “I have a good nature, I have a good disposition; I have none of
those hot and angry passions that some have, I can stand secure; I have not
that dry, tindery heart that is on fire in a moment; my passions are
weakened; my powers for evil are somewhat taken down, and I may stand
safely.” Ah! ye little know that it is when ye talk like this, that ye presume
O worm of the dust, thou art not yet free from an evil nature, for sin and
corruption remain in the heart even of the regenerate; and it is strangely
true, though it appears a paradox, as Ralph Erskine said, that a Christian
sometimes thinks himself
“To good and evil bent
And both a devil and a saint.”
There is such corruption in a Christian, that while he is a saint in his life,
and justified through Christ, he seems a devil sometimes in imagination,
and a demon in the wishes and corruptions of his soul. Take heed,
Christian, thou hast need to be upon the watch tower; thou hast a heart of
unbelief; therefore watch thou both night and day.
5. But to finish this delineation of a presumptuous man – Pride is the most
pregnant cause of presumption. In all its various shapes it is the fountain of
carnal security. Sometimes it is pride of talent. God has endowed a man
with gifts; he is able to stand before the multitude, or to write for the many;
he has a discerning mind, he has a judgment, and such like things. Then
says he, “As for the ignorant, those who have no talent, they may fall; my
brother ought to take care: but look at me. How am I wrapped in
grandeur!” And thus in his self-complacency he thinks he stands. Ah! those
are the men that fall. How many that flamed like comets in the sky of the
religious world have rushed into space and been quenched in darkness!
How many a man who has stood like a prophet before his fellows, and who
would exclaim as he wrapped himself in his conceit, “I, only I am alive; I
am the only prophet of God;” and yet that only prophet fell; his lamp was
quenched, and his light put out in darkness. How many have boasted of
their might and dignity, and have said, “I have built this mighty Babylon,”
but then they thought they stood, and they fell at once. “Let him that
thinketh he standeth,” with the proudest talents, “take heed lest he fall.”
Others have the pride of grace. That is a curious fact; but there is such a
thing as being proud of grace. A man says, “I have great faith, I shall not
fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall.” “I have fervent love,” says
another man, “I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray, as for my
brother over there, he is so cold and slow, he will fall, I dare say.” Says
another, “I have a most burning hope of heaven, and that hope will
triumph; it will purge my soul from sense and sin, as Christ the Lord is
pure. I am safe.” He who boasts of grace, has little grace to boast of. But
there are some who do that, who think their graces call keep them,
knowing not that the stream must flow constantly From the fountain head,
else the bed of the brook shall soon be dry, and ye shall see the pebbles at
the bottom. If a continuous stream of oil come not to the lamp, though it
burn brightly today, it shall smoke tomorrow, and noxous will be the
scent thereof: Take heed that thou neither gloriest in thy talents nor in thy
graces.
Many are worse still; they think they shall not fall because of their
privileges. “I take the sacrament, I have been baptized in an orthodox
manner, as written in God’s word; I attend such and such a ministry; I am
well fed. I am fat and flourishing in the courts of my God. If I were one of
those starved creatures who hear a false gospel, possibly I might sin; but
oh; our minister is the model of perfection; we are constantly fed and made
fat; surely we shall stand.” Thus in the complacency of their privileges they
run down others, exclaiming, “My mountain standeth firm, I shall never be
moved.” Take heed, presumption, take heed. Pride cometh before a fall;
and a haughty spirit is the usher of destruction. Take heed; watch thy
footsteps, for where pride creepeth in, it is the worm at the root of the
gourd, causing it to wither and die. “Let him that thinketh he standeth,”
because of pride of talent, or grace, or privilege, “take heed lest he fall.”
I hope I have touched some here; I trust the lancet has been sharp, I have
taken the scalpel, and I hope I have discovered something. O ye
presumptuous ones, I speak to you and I shall do so while next I warn you
of your danger.
II. I shall be more brief on the second point – The DANGER. He who thinks
he stands is in danger of a fall. The true Christian cannot possibly suffer a
final fall but he is very much disposed to a foul fall. Though the Christian
shall not stumble so as to destroy his life, he may break his limb. Though
God has given his angels charge over him, to keep him in all his ways, yet
there is no commission to keep him when he goes astray; and when he is
astray he may thrust himself through with many sorrows.
1. I must now try and give you the reason why a man who thinks he stands
is more exposed to the danger of falling than any other. First, because such
a man in the midst of temptation will be sure to be more or less careless.
Make a man believe he is very strong, and what will he do? The fight is
thickening around him; yet he has his sword in his scabbard. “Oh,” saith he,
“my arm is nimble and strong; I can draw it out and strike home.” So
perhaps he lies down in the field, or slothfully sleeps in his tent; “for,” saith
he, “when I hear enemies approaching, such is my prowess and such my
might, that I can mow them down by thousands. Ye sentinels watch the
weak; go to the Ready-to-halts and the Fearings, and arouse them. But I
am a giant; and let me once get this old Toledo blade in my hand, it will cut
through body and soul. Whenever I meet my enemies I shall be more than
conqueror.” The man is careless in battle. He lifteth up his helmet, as it is
said Goliath did, and then a stone pierceth his forehead; he throws away his
shield, and then an arrow penetrateth his flesh; he will put his sword into
his scabbard, then the enemy smiteth him, and he is ill prepared to resist.
The man who thinks he is strong, is off his guard; he is not ready to parry
the stroke of the evil one, and then the poignard entereth his soul.
2. Again, the man who thinks he stands will not be careful to keep out of
the way of temptation, but rather will run into it. I remember seeing a man
who was going to a place of worldly amusement – he was a professor of
religion – and I called to him, “What doest thou there, Elijah?” “Why do you
ask me such a question as that?” said he. I said, “What doest thou here,
Elijah? Thou art going there.” “Yes,” he replied, with some sort of blush,
“but I can do that with impunity.” “I could not,” said I; “if I were there I
know I should commit sin. I should not care what people said about it; I
always do as I like, so far as I believe it to be right; I leave the saying to
anybody who likes to talk about me. But it is a place of danger, and I could
not go therewith impunity.” “Ah!” said he, “I could; I have been before,
and I have had some sweet thoughts there. I find it enlarges the intellect.
You are narrow-minded; you do not get these good things. It is a rich treat
I assure you. I would go if I were you.” “No,” I said, “it would be
dangerous for me: from what I hear, the name of Jesus is profaned there;
and there is much said that is altogether contrary to the religion we believe.
The persons who attend there are none of the best, and it will surely be said
that birds of a feather flock together.” “Ah, well,” he replied, “perhaps you
young men had better keep away; I am a strong man, I can go;” and off he
went to the place of amusement. That man, sirs, was an apple of Sodom.
He was a professor of religion. I guessed there was something rotten at the
core from that very fact; and I found it so by experience, for the man was a
downright sensualist even then. He wore a mask, he was a hypocrite, and
had none of the grace of God in his heart. Presumptuous men will say they
can go into sin, they are so full of moral strength; but when a man tells you
he is so good, always read his words backwards, and understand him to
mean that he is as bad as he can be. The self-confident man is in danger of
falling because he will even run into temptation in the confidence that he is
strong, and able to make his escape.
3. Another reason is, that these strong men sometimes will not use the
means of grace, and therefore they fall. There are some persons here, who
never attend a place of worship very likely; they do not profess to be
religious, but I am sure they would be astonished if I were to tell them, that
I know some professedly religious people who are accepted in some
churches as being true children of God, who yet make it a habit of stopping
away from the house of God, because they conceive they are so advanced
that they do not want it. You smile at such a thing as that. They boast such
deep experience within; they have a volume of sweet sermons at home, and
they will stop and read them; they need not go to the house of God, for
they are fat and flourishing. They conceit themselves that they have
received food enough seven years ago to last them the next ten years. They
imagine that old food will feed their souls now. These are your
presumptuous men. They are not to be found at the Lord’s table, eating the
body and drinking the blood of Christ, in the holy emblems of bread and
wine. You do not see them in their closets; you do not find them searching
the Scriptures with holy curiosity. They think they stand-they shall never be
moved, they fancy that means are intended for weaker Christians; and
leaving those means, they fall. They will not have the shoe to put upon the
foot, and therefore the flint cutteth them; they will not put on the armor,
and therefore the enemy wounds them – sometimes well-nigh unto death. In
this deep quagmire of neglect of the means, many a haughty professor has
been smothered.
4. Once more, the man who is self-confident runs a fearful hazard, because
God’s Spirit always leaves the proud. The gracious Spirit delights to dwell
in the low places. The holy dove came to Jordan; we read not that it ever
rested on Bashan. The man upon the white horse rode among the myrtle
trees, not among the cedars. The myrtle trees grew at the foot of the
mountains; the cedars on the summit thereof. God loves humility. He who
walks with fear and trembling, fearing lest he should go astray, that man
the Spirit loves; but when once pride creeps in, and the man declares,
“Now I am in no danger,” away goes the dove, it flies to heaven and will
have nought to do with him. Proud souls, ye quench the Spirit. Ye arrogant
men, ye grieve the Holy Ghost. He leaves every heart where pride
dwelleth; that evil spirit of Lucifer he abhors; he will not rest with it; he
will not tarry in its company. Here is your greatest danger, ye proud ones that the Spirit leaves those who deny their entire dependence on him.
III. The third point is THE COUNSEL. I have been expounding the text,
now I want to enforce it. I would, if my Lord would allow me, speak home
to your souls, and so picture the danger of a presumptuous man, that I
would make you all cry out to heaven that sooner might you die than
presume; that sooner might you be found amongst those who lie prostrate
at the foot of Christ, trembling all their lives, than amongst those who think
they stand, and therefore fall. Christian men, the counsel of Scripture is-
Take heed.”
1. First, take heed, because so many have fallen. My brother, could I take
thee into the wards of that hospital where lie sick and wounded Christians,
I could make you tremble. I would show you one, who, by a sin that
occupied him not a single moment, is so sore broken, that his life is one
continued scene of misery. I could show you another one, a brilliant genius,
who served his God with energy who is now – not a priest of the devil it is
true, but almost that – sitting down in despair, because of his sin. I could
point you to another person, who once stood in the church, pious and
consistent, but who now comes up to the same house of prayer as if he
were ashamed of himself, sits in some remote corner, and is no longer
treated with the kindness he formerly received, the brethren themselves
being suspicious because he so greatly deceived them, and brought such
dishonor upon the cause of Christ. Oh! did ye know the sad pain which
those endure who fall. Could ye tell how many have fallen, (and have not
perished, it is true,) but still have dragged themselves along, in misery,
throughout their entire existence, I am sure ye would take heed. Come
with me to the foot of the mountain of presumption. See there the maimed
and writhing forms of many who once soared with Icarian wings in the airy
regions of self-confidence, yet there they lie with their bones broken, and
their peace destroyed. There lies one who had immortal life within him; see
how full of pain he appears; and he looks a mass of helpless matter. He is
alive, it is true, but just alive. Ye know not how some of those enter
heaven who are saved, “so as by fire.” One man walks to heaven; he keeps
consistent; God is with him, and he is happy all his journey through.
Another says, “I am strong, I shall not fall.” He runs aside to pluck a
flower; he sees something which the devil has laid in his way; he is caught
first in this gin, and then in that trap; and when he comes near the river,
instead of finding before him that stream of nectar of which the dying
Christian drinks, he sees fire through which he has to pass, blazing upon
the surface of the water. The river is on fire, and as he enters it he is
scorched and burned. The hand of God is lifted up saying, “Come on, come
on;” but as he dips his foot in the stream, he finds the fire kindling around
him, and though the hand clutches him by the hair of the head, and drags
him through, he stands upon the shore of heaven, and cries, “I am a
monument of divine mercy, for I have been saved so as by fire.” Oh! do
you want to be saved by fire, Christians? Would ye not rather enter heaven,
singing songs of praises? Would ye not glorify him on earth, and then give
your last testimony with, “Victory, victory, victory, unto him that loved
us,” then shut your eyes on earth, and open them in heaven? If you would
do so, presume not. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he
fall.”
2. Once more, my brother take heed, because a fall will so much damage
the cause of Christ. Nothing has hurt religion one-half, or one thousandth
part, so much as the fall of God’s people. Ah! when a true believer sins,
how will the world point at him. “That man was a deacon, but he knows
how to charge exorbitantly. That man was a professor, but he can cheat as
well as his neighbors. That man is a minister, and he lives in sin.” Oh I
when the mighty fall – it is rejoice fir tree, for the cedar has fallen – how does
the world exult! They chuckle over our sin, they rejoice over our faults;
they fly around us, and if they can see one point where we are vulnerable,
how will they say, “See these holy people are no better than they should
be.” Because there is one hypocrite, men set down all the rest the same. I
heard one man say, a little while ago, that he did not believe there was a
true Christian living, because he had found out so many hypocrites. Be
reminded him that there could be no hypocrites if there were no genuine
ones. No one would try to forge bank notes if there were no genuine ones.
No one would think of passing a bad sovereign if there were no sterling
coin. So the fact of their being some hypocrites proves that there are some
genuine characters. But let those who are so, take heed; let them always, in
their conduct, have the ring of true gold. Let your conversation be such as
to become the gospel of Christ, lest by any means the enemy get the
advantage over us, and slander the name of Jesus.
And especially is this incumbent upon the members of our own
denomination, for it is often said that the doctrines we believe have a
tendency to lead us to sin. I have heard it asserted most positively, that
those high doctrines which we love and which we find in the Scriptures,
are licentious ones. I do not know who has the hardihood to make that
assertion, when they consider that the holiest of men have been believers in
them. I ask the man who dares to say that Calvinism is a licentious religion,
what he thinks of the character of Augustine, or Calvin, or Whitfield, who
in successive ages were the great exponents of the system of grace; or
what will he say of those Puritans, whose works are full of them? Had a
man been an Arminian in those days, he would have been accounted the
vilest heretic breathing; but now we are looked upon as the heretics, and
they the orthodox. We have gone back to the old school, we can trace our
descent from the Apostles. It is that vein of free grace running through the
sermonising of Baptists, which has saved us as a denomination. Were it not
for that, we should not stand where we are. We can run a golden link from
hence up to Jesus Christ himself, through a holy succession of mighty
fathers, who all held these glorious truths; and we can say to them, where
will you find holier and better men in the world? We are not ashamed to
say of ourselves, that however much we may be maligned and slandered, ye
will not find a people who will live closer to God than those who believe
that they are saved not by their works, but by free grace alone. But, oh! ye
believers in free grace, be careful. Our enemies hate the doctrine; and if one
falls, “Ah there,” say they “see the tendency of your principles.” Nay, we
might reply, see what is the tendency of your doctrine. The exception in
our case proves the rule is true, that after all, our gospel does lead us to
holiness. Of all men, those have the most disinterested piety, the sublimest
reverence, the most ardent devotion, who believe that they are saved by
grace, without works, through faith, and that not of themselves, it is the
gift of God. Christian take heed, lest by any means Christ should be
crucified afresh, and should be put unto an open shame.
And now what more can I say? Oh ye, my beloved, ye my brethren, think
not that ye stand, lest ye should fall. Oh ye fellow heirs of everlasting life
and glory we are marching along through this weary pilgrimage; and I,
whom God hath called to preach to you, would turn affectionately to you
little ones, and say, take heed lest ye fall. My brother, stumble not. There
lieth the gin, there the snare. I am come to gather the stones out of the
road, and take away the stumbling blocks. But what can I do unless, with
due care and caution, ye yourselves walk guardedly. Oh, my brethren; be
much more in prayer than ever. Spend more time in pious adoration. Read
the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more
carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let
your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with
affection for men’s souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that
you have been with Jesus, and have learned of him; and when that happy
day shall come when he whom you love shall say, “Come up higher,” let it
be your happiness to hear him say, “Come my beloved thou hast fought a
good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for
thee a crown of righteousness that fadeth not away”. On, Christian, with
care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On yet, with faith and
confidence, for thou shalt not fall. Read the next verse of this very chapter:
“He will not suffer you to be tempted above that which ye are able to bear,
but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape.”
But I have some here, perhaps, who may never hear my voice again; and I
will not let my congregation go, God helping me, without telling them the
way of salvation. Sirs, there are some of you who know ye have not
believed in Christ. If ye were to die where ye now sit ye have no hope that
ye would rise amongst the glorified in bliss. How many are there here who
if their hearts could speak, must testify that they are without God, without
Christ, and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel. Oh, let me tell you
then, what ye must do to be saved. Does your heart beat high? Do ye
grieve over your sins? Do ye repent of your iniquities? Will ye turn unto
the living God? If so this is the way of salvation: “Whosoever believeth and
is baptised shall be saved.” I cannot reverse my Master’s order-he says,
“believeth,” and then “baptised;” and he tells me that “he that believeth not
shall be damned.” Oh, my hearers, your works cannot save you. Though I
have spoken to Christians, and exhorted them to live in good works, I talk
not so to you. I ask ye not to get the flower before ye have the seed. I will
not bid you get the roof of your house before ye lay the foundation.
Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved.
Whosoever here will now cast himself as a guilty worm flat on Jesuswhoever
will throw himself into the arms of everlasting love, that man shall
be accepted; he shall go from that door justified and forgiven, with his soul
as sate as if he were in heaven, without the danger of its ever being lost. All
this is through belief in Christ.
Surely ye need no argument. If I thought ye did I would use it. I would
stand and weep till ye came to Christ. If I thought I was strong enough to
fetch a soul to Jesus, if I thought that moral suasion could win you, I
would go round to each of your seats and beg of you in God’s name to
repent. But since I cannot do that, I have done my duty when I have
prophesied to the dry bones. Remember we shall meet again. I boast of
neither eloquence nor talent, and I cannot understand why ye come here; I
only speak right on, and tell you what I feel; but mark me, when we meet
before God’s bar, however ill I may have spoken, I shall be able to say, that
I said to you, “Believe on the name of Jesus, and ye shall be saved.” Why
will ye die, O house of Israel? Is hell so sweet, is everlasting torment so
much to be desired, that therefore ye can let go the glories of heaven, the
bliss of eternity? Men are ye to live for ever? or, are ye to die like brutes?
“Live!” say you, Well, then, are you not desirous to live in a state of bliss?
Oh may God grant you grace to turn to him with full purpose of heart!
Come, guilty sinner, come! God help you to come, and I shall be well
repaid, if but one soul be added to the visible fold of Jesus, through aught I
may have said.