THE outward cross is not always a burden alike heavy. God gives his children a little respite. After they have been long tried, he sometimes removes their trouble, and gives them ease and outward prosperity. Their sun arises as it does in nature. After many cold and dark days, a fine season comes–finer for coming after them. The sky grows clear and serene, the air is soft and refreshing, the sun shines with warm and enlivening rays. Everything looks pleasant and smiles around you. So it is in the kingdom of grace. The believer may not be always in heaviness through manifold afflictions: he has his times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. He prospers, and is in health. The blessing of God is upon his substance: everything that he takes in hand succeeds, he is happy in his circumstances, and happy in his family. He sees the goodness of God in these mercies, and he is thankful. But in the heavenly Father sometimes indulge his children with the removal of the outward cross, yet he never does with the inward. They carry it all their days; and a heavy burden it is. So long as they are in this body, while they are in this tabernacle, they do groan, being burdened: for,
The INWARD CROSS is the fault and corruption of sinful nature, which doth remain in the regenerate, and is their continual grief and plague; because it is always opposing their holy and happy walk with God. It is called in Scripture,
THE FLESH, the whole man being carnal and full of lusting against the Spirit.
The OLD MAN, being the first in us before the new man is created by the Spirit of regeneration.
A BODY OF SIN, made up completely of members and appetites, in which there is not only an absence of all good, but also a propensity to all evil, insomuch that nothing can move or stir in this body but what is sinful.
THE LAW OF SIN, because sin rules and governs the natural man.
INDWELLING SIN, because it dwells in the whole man, both in soul and body.
CONCUPISCENCE, or LUST, which the apostle says he should not have known to be sin, unless the law had said, Thou shalt not covet, or lust.
This fallen nature is also said to be corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; to be contrary to the Spirit; to rebel against the law of God; and not to be subject to it, neither indeed can be. This corruption of nature doth remain, according to our reformers, Art. 9: "Yea, in them that are regenerated, whereby the lust of the flesh, called in the Greek phronema sarkos, which some do expound, the wisdom; some, sensuality; some, the affection; some, the desire of the flesh, is not, subject to the law of God; and although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized, yet the apostle doth confess that concupiscence anti lust hath of itself the nature of sin." And in the 15th Art.–" Of Christ alone without sin," they say, "that all we, the rest, although baptized and born again in Christ, yet offend m many things; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
The compilers of our Articles were holy men, and taught of God. They spake his mind and will according to the oracles of truth. And it will be a great comfort to a poor soldier, wearied with fighting against those lusts which war against the soul, to find that the best Christians, in every age, have been engaged in the same holy war. This will mightily encourage him to take to him the whole armour of God, that he may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.
Attend, then, O my soul, to the law and to the testimony. Pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Desire grace to submit to the truth of God, that whatever he teaches plainly and expressly in his word, thou mayest believe it and abide by it. Read and pray till thou art satisfied, and the conviction of thy mind influence thy heart and walk. Art thou to carry the inward cross all the way to heaven? Is there no discharge in this war? No truce to be made, not even a cessation of arms? But art thou to be fighting on the good fight of faith, till the Captain of thy salvation take thee out of the field of battle?
O hard service! To be night and day, at home and abroad, in the closet and in the church, at hearing the word and meditating upon it, fasting and praying, at the shop and at the exchange, everywhere and at all times forced to be in arms against the assaults of indwelling sin: this is a warfare terrible indeed to flesh and blood. The length of it–never ended so long as breath is in the body. The painfulness of it–consisting in being, at war with a man's self; and in resisting his bosom sins and strongest appetites.–What discouragements are these from entering into, and from continuing in, this battle! Why should it be wondered, then, that some persons, who only follow the camp, and are not of it, should repent when they see this war, and return to Egypt? Or that others, pretending to be on Christ's side, but never one with him, should dream of shaking off this cross, and of sitting down here in a land of perfect peace? This is the coward's paradise. They want to rest quiet on this side of Jordan, and would not go over with Jesus to fight for the promised land.
O, dear Saviour, keep thy noble army from this delusion of Satan; so long as they are in the body of sin and death, make them good soldiers of Christ Jesus, resisting unto blood, striving against sin. For so long must we be in this hot battle. It is decreed by the sovereign will of God, and he is always of one mind. He has revealed it in his word of truth, that the corruption of nature doth remain in his regenerate children; they have an old man and a new, they have flesh and spirit, they have nature and grace, and he has described the combat, which is to last through life between these two. The beloved apostle bears a clear testimony. He is speaking of those whom the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin, and who had fellowship with the Father and with the Son, and who proved the truth of this by their walking in the light; he puts himself among them, and declares–"If we say that we have no sin now, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
If WE say: he saith not if thou say, as if he spake of some particular person; nor if ye say, as if he intended ordinary Christians alone. But if WE, apostles, or whatever we be, say so; if any of us–if I, for instance, should think I had no sin now, who am a saint of a hundred years old; because I was a great favourite of the Lord Christ, and have been a great sufferer for him; or because I have lived blameless before men, and have been a witness for the truth in my writings, and am ready to seal it with my blood; if upon account of anything done by me, or in me, of any real excellency or attainment, I should fancy myself in a state of sinless perfection, the Holy Ghost charges me with self-deceit, is dreadful delusion, arising from the pride of my heart, and its rebellion against God, and discovering the most gross ignorance of God's righteousness in the holy law, and of Christ's righteousness in the glorious gospel: but if I was to say as well as to think it; if I should tell any-body–Now I have no sin, I am perfect; now, at this time, I have received perfect purity of heart: for ever since I received it I have had nothing stirring in me for one year, for two, twenty, forty years, but love, pure love to God; God is in all my thoughts, and nothing but God–I do his will on earth as it is done in heaven: if I should say so, I should tell a great lie–for I should deceive myself and the truth would not be in me.
Are these indeed the very words of the apostle: "If we say that we have no sin now, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us?" (Jan no other sense be fairly put upon them, but that the holy John had sin in him at every given moment of his life? Is this the plain literal meaning of the passage? As it certainly is, observe, then, O my soul, the decisive evidence given here by the Holy Ghost concerning the inward cross. Pray for his teaching, that thou mayest understand, and pray for his grace, that thou mayest profit from this scripture. Here is his infallible record concerning St. John, and all highly-favoured believers; he asserts that there was no time of their lives in which they were free from indwelling sin: God forbid, then, that I should think I have no sin. He avers, that if they should say they had none, they were deceived; and that if they should stand to it, as Popish mystics and Protestant perfectionists do, the searcher of hearts declares that they lie, and do not the truth–the truth is net in them; for the father of lies has flattered them, and drawn them into self-idolatry, with a wicked design to corrupt their minds from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Beware, O my soul, of this deceit: the Holy Ghost has warned thee of it. He foresaw how the first sin would break out in after-times, and pride would persuade men that they were perfect in the flesh; he, therefore, so guarded this scripture that none can mistake it but such as turn away their ears from the truth. He put, all the words in the present tense, lest any should think he was speaking of time past, or of what men were before the blood of Christ had cleansed them. If we NOW SAY–WE, who now have fellowship with the blessed Trinity, and are walking in the light of their countenance–say that WE HAVE NO SIN, nor had none formerly; he is not speaking of that: if he was–the Holy Ghost understands grammar; and can make no mistake in expressing himself–he would certainly have used the past tense; but he uses the present,–NOW HAVE NO SIN, so as not to want the cleansing blood of Jesus this moment as much as ever: if we have any such thoughts, WE NOW DECEIVE OURSELVES, AND THE TRUTH IS NOT NOW IN US.
How forcible and strong is this testimony from the mouth of John; and the sense, as well as the grammar, shows that he is speaking of believers, and that there is sin in them: for throughout the chapter he treats of the very same persons, and describes, not what they were before, but what they are since they received the grace of God. They were cleansed from all sin by the blood of the Lamb; were admitted into communion with the Father and the Son by the Spirit; and they enjoyed this communion, walking in the light, as God is in the light–these are the persons here mentioned–of whom God says they had sin still in them, indwelling sin–the fault and corruption of nature still remained in them; and if they fancied it did not, they would be sadly deceived–they would entirely mistake the covenant of grace, which was to bring sinners sensible of their wants and miseries, to live out of themselves upon the fulness of the God-man–they would forget their own character, under which alone they can be saved, salvation being only for sinners–they would fall into the crime of the devil, by pride exalting themselves against the person and work of the incarnate God–and they would quite pervert the law and the gospel; for, in order to maintain their inherent perfection, they are forced to legalize the gospel, and to make it consist of certain terms and conditions, upon the performance of which sinners shall be saved; and then in order to comfort themselves with their having performed these terms and conditions, they are forced to turn rank Antinomians: they lessen the evil of sin, they excuse it in themselves, and maim just nothing of it. They call it by several pretty soft names, such as infirmity, frailty, excrescence, and at last they get quite rid of it, by laying it upon the devil, and by terming it an injection of old Satan. And thus they deceive themselves into perfection, and insist upon it that they have no sin, although they have enough in them to damn the whole World O God, open the eyes of these self-deceivers, and bring them into the way of truth.
Such is the clear evidence of the Holy Spirit: he asserts that the greatest believers, while in the body, have sin in them. Dost thou yield, O my soul, to his testimony? Art thou fully convinced of it from the work of his grace, as well as from the word of his truth? Dost thou feel indwelling sin? Is it the plague of thy heart, and the burden of thy life? When thou art willing to walk humbly with thy God, is it continually in thy way, raising objections, putting difficulties, and suggesting hinderance? Is it like a heavy weight pressing thee down in thy race, that thou canst not run so long or so fast as thou couldst wish? Since this is indeed thy daily cross, and the bearing of it the hardest pare of thy wartime, O read with diligence the Scripture account of it. Take notice of the Lord's champions, how they felt under this burden, from whence they derived strength to bear it, and had comfort under it. Hear the man after God's own heart crying out–"Mine iniquities are gone over my head as a heavy burden; they are too heavy for me." David had a heavy load: he was ready to sink, and he could not cast it off. He could not go into his closet, or to the house of God; he could not sit upon his throne, or go in and out before his family, but this grievous cross so bowed him down greatly, that he went mourning all the day long. The burden of it was intolerable, and would have crushed him under it, if he had not learned how to cast it on the Lord. "Make haste," says he, "to help me, O Lord God of my salvation." Here he found relief. The prayer of faith was heard, and God was the strength of his salvation.
Under the same burden a New Testament saint went; groaning all his days. He had a hard conflict between the flesh and the spirit, and he has left the account of it upon record. Blessed be God for the seventh chapter of the Romans. We there read of the inward cross, with which all the children of God are exercised. In the very same Paul there was delight in the law of God after the inward man; but he found another law in his members, rebelling against the law of God–-the flesh, in which dwelleth no good thing, never ceased to assault the spirit with its vile thoughts, legal workings, and rebellious inclinations; when he had a will to do good, he could not do it so perfectly as he desired–his best moments were never free from the inroads of indwelling sin: therefore, in the bitterness of his soul, he cried out–"O wretched man that I am!" O! that high came from the bottom of his heart. I know what he felt–he groaned, being burdened; weary and tired with this continual conflict, he looked out for deliverance: "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" He saw, by faith, his Almighty Saviour, and in him expected everlasting victory: "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." He rested upon Christ in the battle, and through him waited for deliverance, knowing that one day he should be made more than conqueror.
Well, then, O my soul, here is comfort. If the corruption of nature be thy cross, so it was to David, and so it was to Paul. Thy case is not singular. It is common to every soldier who is fighting under the banner of Christ. This cross is unavoidable, because it is in thy bosom. It is thine inmost self–thy whole nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. Thou hast not an atom of thy body, nor the least motion or stirring of any faculty in thy soul, but sin is in it; and therefore it is capable of being a plague to the new man. The Holy Ghost speaks thus of the inward warfare:–" This I say, then; walk iii the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh: for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." These words are addressed to the Galatians, who were believers, and called into the liberty of the gospel, but by false teaching they were under a great temptation. They had begun in the spirit, but they thought of being perfected in the flesh. They set out with salvation by faith, but expected salvation, at last, by works. Among other arguments to convince them of their mistake, here is one unanswerable, namely: No works of ours can save a sinner, but such as are perfect; no works of ours are perfect: therefore they cannot save a sinner. And that none of them are perfect is certain, because in every one of them there is something of the flesh, of corrupt nature, as well as something of the spirit and of a spiritual nature. These two are contrary as life and death, and they are always in action, every moment the one lusting against the other: so that no believer can do the things which he would, so perfectly as the holy law requires. How grievous must this inward cross be to a real believer! For it consists in the opposition which he finds within him, to God and to the things of God. The flesh ever lusteth against the spirit–the old man against the new. There is a continual war between these contrary powers. The flesh is a complete body of sin, armed with every member and instrument of rebellion that can resist the motions and actions of the new man. There is darkness in the understanding always, clouding the light of the glorious gospel; and therefore we know but in part. The will of the flesh always opposes the holy will of God. There is enmity in the heart, working against the love of God and of his will. There is pride to weaken humility, anger to oppose meekness, the carnal mind to fight against; spiritual-mindedness. When the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. When you draw near to God in prayer, the imagination will not be confined: it will wander after a thousand vain objects. When you are hearing the word, it will disturb your attention with is unaccountable excursions. It is so sportive and flighty that you cannot; keep it within any bounds.
Is it not so, O my soul? Art thou not sensible of this heavy cross? Dost thou not find something in thee always resisting and weakening the exercise of thy graces?–and is not this the great plague of thy life? Can there be a greater, than to carry about with thee a sinful nature, daily trying to hinder thee in thy holy walk and happy communion with God? O how much does it concern thee, then, to be well skilled in bearing this cross, and in behaving under it as a good soldier of Christ Jesus! And to this end the principles before laid down are absolutely necessary. Without them thou canst not rightly understand the nature of indwelling sin, and canst not possibly gain victory over it. Only the doctrines of grace received into thy heart can enable thee to walk with God under this cress.
Call to mind, then, what was agreed upon in the covenant of the Trinity, and was fulfilled in the person and work of Immanuel, for thy peace with the Father, and for thy returning to him in love, and has been applied to thee by the Holy Spirit, who has given thee faith in Jesus, and has manifested the love of the Father in him: thou art therefore now one with thy covenant-head–in him complete and perfect, although thou art in thyself still a sinner. Thou hast a body of sin, through the lusting of which thou art not able to keep the holy law according to its full demands, in any one instance. But thou art before the Father what thy surety is. He sees thee in him, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing –accepted as he is–beloved with the same love–looked upon with the same joy, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in him. Thy surety lived for thee; thou hast the righteousness of God for thy justification. Thy surety died for thee; in him thou art as truly dead unto sin, as Christ himself is. Thy surety rose again, and took possession of spiritual and eternal life for thee. He was delivered for thine offences, and raised again for thy justification. Thou shalt reign with him, as certainly as he has now the crown upon his own head. Such is the perfect salvation which is for thee, although thou art still the subject of sin; for thy pardon is without exception or reserve–all trespasses are freely forgiven. Thy justification to life is absolute; for it is God himself that justifieth. He chose thee in Jesus, that thou shouldst be holy and without blame before him; and so thou art. As a member of his body, thou art without blemish.
Here is thy relief under the inward cross. The Father chose thee in his Son, looks upon thee in him, and deals with thee according to covenant love; there is, therefore, now no condemnation to thee, who art in Christ Jesus. With the sweet sense of this upon thy conscience, persuaded that God is at peace with thee, take up the inward cross. In this delightful view see the curse removed. Thou hast no reason to fear wrath, or death, or hell. Victory over all sins and enemies is certain. Daily, eternal victory is promised. In tiffs faith follow the noble army who carried this cross to their graves. Fight; as they did, looking unto Jesus. Sin is in thee; it was in them; but they looked upon it as a vanquished foe, slain and put to death, when Jesus died for sin once. Likewise reckon thou also thyself to be in him dead unto sin–freed from the condemning sentence of the law–freed from the dreadful stroke of justice by his death–freed as truly as he is–and, therefore, thou art no more liable than he is to be condemned and punished. And for the strengthening of this faith, seek for fellowship with him in his death. It is thy privilege, as thou art planted in the likeness of his death, to derive power and efficacy from it daily to put sin to death. The more steadfastly thou believest that thou art one with him in his death, the more wilt thou find thy sinful nature crucified with him. Communion is always according to the faith of union with Christ. The strongest faith must have the strongest hold of him, and thereby draw the most virtue from him.
It is true, as our faith increases we become more spiritual; and we see corruption more, as we see motes in the sunbeams. The senses of the new man, by exercise, gain a quicker perception of sin; we become all over tender as the eye, jealous of the motions, yea, of the appearance of evil. This is real growth. Sin is more felt, in order that the power of Jesus may be put forth to make ns hate it, resist it, and overcome it more As believers are more sensible of their sinfulness in the first Adam, so they grow up into the second Adam, the Lord from heaven; they bear the cross of the corruption of the first, which leads them to constant fellowship with the second–in his death, for the pardon of their corruption–in the power of his death, to mortify sin, that it may not have dominion over them.
Corruption is in thee, and it will strive for dominion. Thy sins will sometimes fiercely assault Their allies, the world mad the devil, will join them with stratagems and force; when the battle is hot, and thou art weak, then it behoves thee to live by faith upon Jesus as thy surety, now acting for thee in heaven, as he acted for thee upon earth. He is gone up, as thy high priest, to carry thy name within the yeti. He bears it upon the ephod on his shoulders, and upon the breast-plate on his heart; his power and his love are engaged for thee, now he is in glory, he stands in the presence of God, as thy representative. The Father sees thee in him, and thou art in his sight what thy forerunner is. As he stands there, so dost thou stand, righteous as he is righteous, holy as he is holy, beloved as he is beloved, and shalt be blessed as he is blessed. View, by faith, thy nature in him, exalted and glorified, and for the joy set before thee in hint take up thy cross.
It is a heavy burden; it is a hard warfare. True: but consider, who shall lay anything to thy charge for indwelling sin? It is God that justifieth time from it. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died; yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for time. He appears in the presence of God for thee, as thine intercessor. He is always in court to represent thy person, and to carry thy cause, especially as to what concerns sin: "If any of us sin," says the beloved disciple, "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins." In this office he is skilful, and faithful, and compassionate. He has thine interest at heart–thy safety, thy comfort, under this cross, and thy victory over it. His very glory is so interwoven with thine, that they are one; yea, the advocate and his clients form but one spiritual body, of which every member is what the head is.
O my God and Saviour, I bless thee and worship thee, for acting for me as mine advocate and intercessor in heaven. Increase, I beseech thee, my faith, that I may see more of the glory of thine office, and make more use of it in the hearing of mine inward cross. O let thy faithful witness abide with me, to enable me, without doubt or wavering, to trust in what thou hast done for me upon earth, and to draw comfort from what thou art now doing for me in heaven. Into thy hands I desire to commit my cause. Lord, undertake for me; be surety for thy servant for good, and guide me with thy counsel, till thou bring me to thy glory. I ask this for thy mercies' sake. Amen. Is this the true state of the case? Is it certain from the word of God? Is it confirmed from matter of fact? Did the highest believer upon earth experience this inward cross? When his conscience summoned him to the bar of God, and put him upon inquiring what he would plead there for his justification, had he anything to urge but the sacrifice and righteousness of the ever-blessed Immanuel?
And is not this thy plea, O my soul? Dost not thou find so much weakness and infirmity in thy holy things, that thou wouldst seek atonement for the iniquity of them, through the intercession of the great High Priest? And thou wouldst not think of standing before the throne, to claim eternal life as the reward due to thine own holiness. Is not this thine experience? If it be, then take up thy cross in this FAITH. It is thy grief that sin is in thee. The motions and lustings of it are thy burden. The resisting and opposing them is thy continual warfare; and thou hast no prospect before thee of enjoying perfect deliverance from this heavy cross until death release thee. Blessed be God for the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. There is a provision made in the covenant of grace for the pardon of indwelling sin, for victory over it daily, and for the eternal destruction of the whole body of sin: it shall have no existence in the members, any more than it has in their glorified head. Here is a comfort for thee, O my soul, of God's own providing, and of God's own applying. When it is applied to thy heart, the cross will be easy. Observe carefully what is revealed concerning the being of sin in the best Christians, and concerning the pardon of it. The Holy Ghost declares it dwells in them, but they are forgiven all trespasses; they are in Christ without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. In the first Adam they are heirs of sin, death, and hell; in the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, they are heirs of righteousness, life, and glory, he is their covenant-head, and they are before God what he is. This is the record of truth–YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM. Abide by it, O my soul; give it full credit, and boldly plead it against all the charges of guilt, and fears of wrath.
"It is true, I have sin in me, but it is pardoned. God has forgiven me ALL trespasses. I stand before him in my surety, who undertook for me, and I am perfect in him. The Father chose me in his Son: he looks upon the face of his beloved, and sees me in him. In him he is well pleased, so he is with me. As he loves him, so he loves me. This is the glorious privilege which by faith I now enjoy. I deny sight and sense, and I stick to the word of God. I adhere strictly to its testimony concerning me, believing myself to be dead indeed unto sin in Christ, and in him absolutely freed from guilt and condemnation. The Father is at peace with me, and he loves me in his Son, and with the same love with which he loves him–his Father and my Father. With this persuasion I go to war with my corruptions. I see their traitorous designs. They are fighting against everything that is dear and precious to my soul. But having the promised grace of the almighty Saviour for my help, I desire to set upon them in his name. I know he has them among mine other enemies under his feet, and I have his word for it that he will put them under mine. Yea, Lord, I believe, and on thy faithful promise I trust this day. Although I must carry my cross, yet I bless thee and worship thee for removing curse and wrath from it. I can now take it up as thy soldier, and fight against it in thy strength, expecting victory from thee, and to thy glory. O my God, save me from indwelling sin. Let me feel it my burden. Glorify thy grace in me, and by me, that being endued with power from on high, I may hold out, resisting and conquering it fill thou give me everlasting victory."
If this, O my soul, be thy constant dependence, then the cross will become light. Guilt makes it heavy: the curse in it makes it intolerable: but if by faith thou canst see guilt and curse removed, then it will be no hinderance to thee in thy heavenly walk, but will daily call forth into use and exercise those graces which will help thee forward; and especially
PATIENCE. Here is great need of patience–a continual war–and within thee–thine own bosom the seat of it–and thine own lusts carrying it on, and maintaining it. The more spiritual thou art, the more wilt thou feel this inward conflict. The more thou growest into Christ, the more will thy corruptions stir and move–they will be thy continual plague, so that thou will not be able to draw any comfort from what thou art in thyself. Here is exercise for patience. Everywhere indwelling sin is present with thee; upon every temptation ready with its flatteries to entice, and with its power to break out into act and deed. The opposing it is like cutting off a right hand, and plucking out a right eye–as contrary to nature, and as painful. The hand and the eye cannot be destroyed twice; but inbred lusts, overcome a thousand times, are not in the least discouraged from warring against the soul. Like the troubled sea, never at rest, they are always casting up some sinful mire and dirt. What canst thou do without faith in the Redeemer's blood, without patience to wait for the Redeemer's strength? Every moment there is need of faith and patience; and every moment, if these graces be exercised, they will be improved. The bearing of the cross continually, and fighting under it on the side of God, will also be the means of teaching thee
THE TRUE SPIRITUAL MORTIFICATION, which does not consist in sin not being in thee, nor in its being put upon the cross daily, nor yet in its being kept upon it. There must be something more to establish perfect peace in thy conscience; and that is the testimony of God concerning the body of sin. He has provided for thy per-feet deliverance from it in Christ. Everything needful for this purpose was finished by him upon the cross. He was thy surety, He suffered for thee. Thy sins were crucified with him, and nailed to his cross. They were put to death when he died: for he was thy covenant-head, and thou, as a member of his body, wast legally represented by him, and art indeed dead to sin by his dying to sin once. The law has now no more right to condemn thee, a believer, than it has to condemn him. Justice is bound to deal with thee as it has with thy risen and ascended Saviour. If thou dost not thus see thy complete mortification in him, sin will reign in thee. No sin can be crucified either in heart or life, unless it be first pardoned in conscience: because there wilt be want of faith to receive the strength of Jesus, by whom alone it can be crucified. If it be not mortified in its guilt, it cannot be subdued in its power. If the believer docs not see his perfect deadness to sin in Jesus, he will open a wide door to unbelief: and if he be not persuaded of his completeness in Christ, he gives room for the attacks of self-righteous and legal tempers. If Christ be not all in all, self must still be looked upon as something great; and there will be food left for the pride of self-importance and self-sufficiency. So that he cannot grow into the death of Christ, in sensible experience, farther than he believes himself to be dead to sin in Christ. The more clearly and steadfastly he believes this, as the apostle did–
I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST in proportion will he cleave to Christ, and receive from him greater power to crucify sin. This believing view of his absolute mortification in Christ is the true gospel method of mortifying sin in our own persons.
Examine then, O nay soul, the mistakes which thou hast made, and the temptations which thou art under, concerning this leading truth in thy walk. Pray to thy God for his wisdom to guide thee. Without; it thou wilt be afraid where no fear is. Thou wilt be inclined to think this doctrine rather encouraging to sin: because it seems, to carnal reason, to take off thy mind from watchfulness against it, and from praying for victory over it. But be assured this is a great error. If thou art not complete in Christ, thou never canst be complete. Seek for the death of sin where thou wilt, it is not to be found but in his death. Try to conquer it upon any other principle than faith in his death, the very attempt is sinful, and proves thee to be under the law. Unless thou art one with him in his death, there can be no pardon of sin, and consequently no victory over it. O fear not then to lay the whole weight of thy salvation upon Jesus. Depend on him, as dying to sin for thee, and look at thyself dead to sin in him–as completely dead to it as he is. Read the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Study the infinite, the everlasting sufficiency of his death for thine absolute freedom from guilt and condemnation. Trust without wavering: be not afraid to view the everlasting perfection of thy deliverance in Jesus, and this will weaken the tyranny, and will crucify the power of sin. This will, and nothing else can. Read the sixth of the Romans, and pray for the Spirit of revelation to open it to thee. There thou wilt discover the true way to mortify sin. It is by believing that thou art planted together with Christ in his death: from thence only thy pardon flows, from thence thy daily victory is received, and from thence thy eternal victory will be perfected. Fight on; soon thou shall be what Christ now is. The member shall be perfectly like the head.
O glorious prospect! Thou shall be with him, and like him–spotless and fair as Jesus, righteous and holy, happy in body and soul. Thou shall see him as he is, and awaking after Iris likeness, thou shall be satisfied with it. Take up thy cross for the joy here set before thee. Bear it in faith. It will be light and easy to thy pardoned conscience: yea, the carrying of it in patience will bring forth many peaceable fruits of righteousness: among the rest there is one which, in the sight of God, is of great price, and which is daily improved by the inward cross; namely,
HUMILITY, which consists in the right knowledge of ourselves, not only of what we have been, but also of what we now are. The best and holiest man upon earth has a corrupt fallen nature: he has flesh still which is always lusting against the spirit. While he is alive to God, he feels it. He is sensible of the inward conflict. Dead men, indeed, feel nothing. A dead corpse has no sense of the worms that are eating it up He that has these lusts in him, and warring against his soul, and yet does not feel them, cannot be spiritually alive. A natural man has no sense of them, because they are in him as worms in a dead body: just so it is with the perfectionist. But so soon, and so long, as he lives to God, he will perceive them. If he be in happy communion with God, indwelling sin is present; to interrupt the enjoyment. If he exercise any grace, this besetting sin tries to weaken its actings. If he set about any duty, it will hinder him. from doing it so perfectly as God requires, and as he could wish.
The abiding sense of these truths will keep down pride. The believer will see nothing of his own to trust in; no faith, or hope, or love, no faithfulness to grace, no holy obedience; all is stained and polluted, he is forced to cry out of his best duties–unclean–unclean. In this school the disciple learns to walk humbly with his God. The more he knows of himself the more humble he becomes. And he grows in this heavenly grace, the more he is acquainted with the mercy of God in Jesus. This learning by divine teaching keeps the believer meek and lowly in his own eyes. Nothing softens and melts the soul into holy tenderness like the sense of God's mercy. A man who feels the plague of his own heart is never truly humbled until he be pardoned. But when he is justified from all things in Christ, in him a partaker of all spiritual blessings in earth and heaven, when he sees all his salvation of grace, of free sovereign grace, flowing from the absolute favour of electing love, and bestowed upon him, as unworthy an object as ever did or can partake of it, then he becomes truly broken-hearted.
These truths, taught of God, bring every high thought into subjection to Christ Jesus. The soul bows before him, lies low at his feet; prostrates itself before the throne of his brace, and desires to be kept willing to take all its blessings out of his hands, and to use them to his glory. This is gospel humility, the true abasement of spirit, with which a man, sensible that he is saved by mere mercy, loathes himself. And while the experience of indwelling sin humbles him down to the dust, it produces, through God's grace, the happiest effects: for it keeps him in his strong tower and sanctuary, in which alone he is
SAFE. It is ever reminding him of his need of the blood of sprinkling–ever showing him his want of a perfect righteousness–and ever preaching to him the necessity of his being kept by the power of God. And while he hearkens to these lessons, trusting to Jesus, he will stand fast, and be established. The arm off the Lord God Almighty will hold him up, and he shall be safe. While he liven thus out of himself, the sense of indwelling sin will lead him to his true
HAPPINESS, which is all in the fulness of the God-man. He will enjoy the more of this, the less he finds in himself. When he cannot draw comfort from anything of his own, he will seek it more in God. When all the streams are dried up, he will get nearer to the fountain-head, and live more upon it. This is the portion of the Lord's people, and the inheritance of all his saints. And in this view indwelling sin is made the means of promoting their
HOLINESS. They see their continual need of Christ. They can do nothing without him; but believing their oneness with him, they desire to improve it in experience. Everything they do keeps them sensible of their sins and wants, and shows them the necessity of living by the faith of the Son of God. This is true humility. The more they are humbled, the more they receive out of the fulness of Jesus: for he giveth more grace–more, to produce nearer fellowship with him in his death, whereby sin will be more dead, and in his resurrection, whereby the soul will be more alive to God. So that the humblest believer is the nearest to God, and is the safest, happiest, and holiest of all the men upon earth: because he has most fellowship with God. He dwells in God, and God in him.
Meditate, O my soul, upon this use of the cross. Is sin in thee? Dost thou feel it, and art thou fighting against it? And does not this humble thee? Art thou freely forgiven all trespasses, indwelling sin among the rest? Dost thou know that thou art a saved sinner–a brand plucked out of hell? And docs not this humble thee? I see reason enough to be humbled, but I feel pride in me lusting against humility. O my precious Jesus, humble mo under thy mighty hand. To thee I look for all my salvation. Lord, save me from pride. Thou hast made me willing to be taught of thee to be meek and lowly, and I come to thee praying that the disciple may boas his Master. O let me drink deep into thy Spirit. In every day's warfare against my corruptions, enable me to renounce myself that I may find thou art carrying both me and my cross. Keep me humbled at thy feet, that thou mayest exalt me in due time. I pray to thee, my precious Saviour, for this grace, to mine eternal humbling, anti to thine eternal exaltation. In life and death, and for evermore, I hope to glory only in the Lord, and to triumph in the God of my salvation.
Thus the believer learns to walk humbly under the inward cross. He is brought to trust all in the Saviour's hand. Daily he discovers more of the ruins of the fall, which leads him to fresh discoveries of the perfect salvation in Jesus. If he attend to what is passing in his own breast, he finds his need of a Saviour, every moment, and for everything: by which means he grows in grace, and in the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. He learns to put no confidence in the flesh, but to rejoice only in his completeness in Jesus, from whom all his comforts and victories are received. Thus, while self is laid low, the Saviour is exalted, and his perfect work is more depended on. The believer, by hope and love, attains more delightful communion with his God.
Indwelling sin is his cross, but he bears it, looking unto Jesus; from whom he receives strength to go on, yea, to run the race set, before him. By faith he sees in Jesus the corruption of his nature condemned and dead in the law: he beholds himself freed from this, as well as from his other sins. Guilt is the most galling part of this cross; but when guilt is thus removed from the conscience, then the cross grows light. When taken up in faith, and carried in love to the almighty Saviour, then it does not stop the believer in his fellowship with Jesus, or in his happy walk with him.
Glory be to thee, my Lord, of this I have some experience. Yes, precious Jesus, I know the infinite value of that sacrifice which put away sin. I bless thee for that offering which perfects for ever. Interested in it, I would not distrust my completeness in thee. Through thy holy nature I expect to be renewed after thy likeness. The fountain for cleansing from the filth of sin stands open: in it I daily wash nay spotted soul. In thy divine righteousness I see the law and justice of the Father, infinitely honoured by justifying me, and dealing with me as perfectly righteous. Complete in thee I am. In thy work finished upon earth I am perfect, and am represented as such by thee in heaven. I believe thou appearest there as my divine intercessor, bearing my name upon thy shoulders, and upon thy breast, with a glory beyond all the precious stones in the world.
O my blessed Jesus, increase this faith. Lead me from faith to faith, that, while I am travelling heavenwards, mine eye and my heart may be more simply fixed upon thee. Come, thou glorifier of the Saviour, and discover to me more of the sinfulness of sin, and of my need of his salvation. Holy Spirit, teach me in the deepest; sense of indwelling sin, to trust wholly to the offering of the body of Jesus. O lead me to his cross, there to see all my sins nailed, crucified with him, dead in his death, buried in his grave; in this faith strengthen me mightily to resist and to conquer my corruptions. Enable me to experience the power of his cross, that I may feel sin weakened in the love and in the practice of it.
Almighty Spirit, in my daily warfare I find no strength less than thine can make me conqueror; and therein thou hast caused me to put my trust. Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that cut the pride of nature to pieces, and wounded the old dragon? O my God, magnify thine arm in subduing every sin. Thou seest my naked heart, and its sighings are not hid from thee. My corruptions are indeed my cross; and they would have been a sore burden, too heavy for me to bear, if the curse had not been taken out of them. But still, pardoned as they are, yet in this tabernacle I do groan, being burthened. I believe the day is coming when I shah have perfect and eternal freedom from sin and sorrow. The first fruits of this only make me long the mere for the blessed harvest. But I desire to wait in hope, bearing my cross, till thy will be done. O Lord, make me willing to resist, give me power to overcome indwelling sin, till the day of redemption, and mortality be swallowed up of life. Hear me, my good God, and answer me, for thy name's sake, to the glory of Father, Son, and Spirit, the three in one Jehovah, to whom my heart now bows in worship, and my soul hopes soon to join the song of never-ceasing praise. Amen, and Amen.