| . |
| . |
Bro. EDITOR -The substance of the following discourse, on the doctrine of Election, was delivered at a Minister's Meeting some time since, in accordance with a previous appointment: as I have been requested at different times to contribute something to the pages of the Index, I have concluded to submit this manuscript to your disposal; the contents of which, if you think proper, you are a liberty to insert in your paper.
Dec. 1, 1842.
C. D. MALLARY
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."
Nothing is more difficult in our investigations of the truth than to
avoid all unreasonable extremes. To
maintain a just balance amidst warmly controverted opinions is one
of the noblest achievements of
the human mind. Many powerful causes combine their influence to betray
men into error upon almost
every subject that engages their inquiry. One cause is to be found
in the limited powers of the human
mind. How difficult, with the feeble and beclouded faculties which
we posses, so to investigate
important and intricate subjects in all their various relations and
tendencies as to defend ourselves
against mistake. With the imbecility of the human mind, how many other
things co-operate.
Indolence checks investigation; early education warps the judgment;
the opinions of revered
associates, public sentiment and the authority of great manes, often
rear their formidable ramparts
against the truth.
And how strong are the manacles which the depraved heart of man rivets
upon his understanding.
Pride dictates opinions with amazing power; prejudice darkens the mental
eye; passion clamors for a
verdict in accordance with its blind impulse; and self-interest seizes
the scales of judgment and casts
in her unequal weights. All these influences have deeply affected the
religious opinions of men, and
given origin and perpetuity to innumerable errors. Where truth has
not been wholly extinguished, how
often it is sadly beclouded; and even when it seems to shine forth
with full-orbed brightness,
prayerful and patient scrutiny may reveal upon the disk many an unseemly
spot. In relation to the
same point, men have entrenched themselves at a distance from each
other almost infinite. Nor is it
certain when we correct ourselves in one extreme, that we shall not
fall into another equally absurd.
How often does the human mind, when routed from one mistake, swing
off like the pendulum to an
opposite position just as distant from the truth, and as dangerous
to the cause of Christ. The
strongest intellects have put forth their might in the defense of error,
and wit and learning have
gathered many costly materials to embalm and consecrate the most futile
delusions. And as error is
often united to great intellectual attainments, so is it sometimes
associated with eminent piety. It is not
strange that considerations like these should suggest discouragement
and fear, and induce the honest
inquirer after truth to exclaim, "who can understand his errors," how
shall I arrive to the right
knowledge of divine things? Can I hope to go right where the wisest
and best have wandered; can I
hope to stand firm, where the mightiest have stumbled? We would say,
let no man's heart fail him for
fear: the views which we have presented should inspire watchfulness
and self-distrust; but they
should not induce despair. We have in our possession, (thanks to the
Great Father of lights,) an
infallible standard of truth; and there is a way in which its most
important instructions may be learned.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the sour; the testimony
of the Lord is sure, making wise
the simple."-And that word which stands before us as the rich storehouse
of eternal truth, reveals
to us in its very portal the sacred key by which we may unlock its
golden gates, and enter in and be
wise. "Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile, and hypocrisies
and envies and all evil
speaking, as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that
ye may grow thereby. If any
man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be
of God, or whether I speak of
myself. The meek will be guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach
His way. Take my yoke
upon you and learn of Me." We cannot mistake the purport of these instructions-it
is plainly this,
that a sincere desire to know the truth, connected with a meek, gentle,
obedient and teachable
temper, will render us successful and profitable students in the Oracles
of God. Such a spirit as this is
always needful, but never more so than when we come to the investigation
of those doctrines which
particularly involve the sovereignty of Jehovah. They are revealed,
and are therefore to be
contemplated and believed; yet they are mysterious and awful, and should
never therefore be
approached in the spirit of caviling, of levity and pride. With what
sacred awe, with what holy
reverence, with what deep humility should we gaze at those grand revelations
which exhibit God in
the sovereignty of His grace and the glory of His dominion, having
mercy on whom he will have
mercy, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among
the inhabitants of the earth.
Without this disposition of soul, we shall be likely to object and
contend and err as thousands have
done; or if we should render a formal assent to the truth, we shall
come short of those inestimable
benefits which a devout, humble and reverential consideration of it
will never fail to impart. In our
investigations upon those subjects we must be carefully guarded against
those two great errors which
in all ages have so much dishonored God, and impede his righteous cause;
-on the one hand, such
views of His character and judgment as would annihilate the obligations
of His creatures and tend to
soothe the sinner in his rebellion and the professed Christian in his
antinomian indolence; and on the
other such, views of the creature's power and worthiness as tend to
encourage his pride and
self-righteous presumption; and by exalting man, to invade the sovereign
prerogatives of Heaven.
In accordance with the appointment of the last Ministers' Meeting, I
propose in this discourse to
present some views in defense and illustration of what is commonly
called the Doctrine of Election,
and have taken for my text the passage there designated, being one
which was supposed to embrace
the doctrine in question.
To elect means to choose: election is the act of choosing. These terms,
or their equivalents, are
variously applied in the Word of God. We some times read of a national
election. Israel were an
elect or chosen people, carefully and solemnly separated from all other
nations; and honored by the
Lord with His peculiar favors. "For thou art an holy people unto the
Lord thy God: the Lord thy God
hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people
that are upon the face of the
earth." Deut. 7: 6. Election sometimes means a designation to office,
either of a civil or sacred
character. Thus Saul was chosen to be King of Israel. "And Samuel said
to all the people, see ye him
whom the Lord hath chosen." 1 Sam. 10: 24. Christ is called God's Elect,
because he was chosen
and set apart to the great work of mediation and redemption. Christ
ways with reference to His
apostles, "have I not chosen, or elected you twelve, and one of you
is a devil." John 6: 70. Election is
sometimes used as equivalent to what is denominated effectual calling,
in which the Lord, by giving
efficacy to His word, separates His people from the world. "Because
ye are not of the world, but I
have chosen, or elected you out of the world, therefore the world hateth
you." John 15: 19.
But election, is the acceptation in which we design at present to consider
it, is God's free, sovereign,
eternal and unchangeable purpose to glorify the perfections of His
character in the salvation of a
definite number of the human family by Jesus Christ, without regard
to any foreseen merit or good
works on their part, as the ground or condition of this choice. This
is the choice to which we
conceive there is reference in the words of our text.
I am aware that to many this is an unpalatable theme. Scarcely any doctrine
has been doomed to
encounter a more general, lasting and determined opposition. Unregenerate
men are almost
invariably found arrayed against it; and many whom, on the whole, we
are constrained to regard as
excellent Christians, have opposed it with great vehemence, and, in
some instances, with a bitterness
wholly unbecoming religious discussion. It would be well to inquire
whether this almost universal
disrelish for the doctrine does not afford some presumptive evidence
of its truth; whether it is the fruit
of a candid and prayerful investigation of the subject, or whether
it may not be traced to some strong
inherent reluctance in our nature to assent to that which robs man
of all his glorying, and resolves his
salvation into the sovereign and unmerited grace of God. That the present
discussion should be
satisfactory to all who may listen to me at this time, might be more
than I could reasonably expect;
yet I may confidently hope that I shall not be denied an attentive
and patient hearing.
Before entering upon the more direct illustration of the subject, I
beg leave to make one or two
remarks, which I desire to be kept distinctly in view during the subsequent
part of the discussion.
1. Whatever God does, is performed in accordance with His own good pleasure,
His own sovereign
will. -God cannot act without volition, without purpose, without plan.
To act without some previous
purpose as the guide and basis of his conduct, would be to act without
wisdom. Is not that individual
the last person whom we honor with the attribute of wisdom, who surrenders
himself up to blind and
uninstructed impulse, and allows himself to be borne on hither and
thither without any definite or
preconcerted arrangement? And if such a course would stigmatize a finite
mortal with folly, would it
greatly exalt the character of Jehovah in the estimation of intelligent
beings? Such a God would be no
God to me. On this point the Scriptures are explicit: "But one God
is in the heavens, He hath done
whatsoever he pleased." Ps. 115: 3. "He doeth according to His will
in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth." Dan. 4: 35. He "worketh all things
after the counsel of His own
will." Eph. 1: 11. These passages, taken in connection, indicate that
what God does in the fruit of His
own counsel; in other words, that whatever God performs, He wills,
counsels, purposes to do; and
also that His purpose is irresistible and almighty, and cannot fail
of its exact and full accomplishment.
But here it is proper to remark that there is a clear and scriptural
distinction between God's will of
purpose and His will of command. The former is the rule by which He
regulates His own conduct;
the latter, is the will which He has revealed in the precepts of His
word for the regulation of the
conduct of His creatures. In His word, He wills or commands men to
repent, believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ and live holy lives. And in a sense, probably somewhat
similar to this, it is said that God
"will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth." God's perceptive will is
most reasonable and excellent; he requires nothing but what is in itself
infinitely proper for his
creatures to perform. This will, however, is resisted by multitudes;
many do not repent and are not
saved; but God's will of sovereign purpose is not suspended upon the
volitions of his creatures; the
universe combined could not frustrate one jot or tittle; and in accordance
with this will does he carry
forward all his divine and glorious operations.
2. God's purposes are eternal. What God purposes now, he purposed yesterday,
he purposed at the
foundation of the world, he purposed from eternity. This is necessarily
involved in his immutability.
An eternal purpose is no more absurd than an eternal God. If every
purpose of God had a beginning,
then there was a time when Jehovah existed without any counsel or design;
nay, without volition,
since his decrees are nothing more than the volitions of his own infinite
and eternal mind. If God has
one single purpose to-day, which he had not from eternity, then has
there been a modification, a
change in the operations of his mind, a circumstance entirely inconsistent
with the declarations of the
Scriptures-"he is in one mind, and who can turn him; -I am the Lord,
I change not; -the same
yesterday, to-day and forever." These things premised, we now proceed
to the more direct
discussion of the subject before us.
I. The doctrine of Election is necessarily involved in the doctrine
of human depravity, as it is taught in
the Word of God. What a melancholy picture is there exhibited of the
moral condition of mankind!
The scriptural doctrine of depravity is not that every man is as bad
as he possibly can be, for there
may be indefinite progression in guilt: -nor that one man is necessarily
as wicked as another-for
there may be many shades of depravity as there are sinners in the universe.
But it teaches us that
man, by nature, is destitute of all holy principles and desires, that
there is nothing in his character
which is pleasing in the sight of God; that being alienated in his
heart from God, corrupt in the very
fountain of action, in the temper and spirit of his mind, all the actions
that he performs, even those
which are in themselves excellent and lovely, are still the service
of an alien and a rebel, and
consequently an abomination in the sight of heaven. Every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart is
only evil continually. The following is an awful, yet inspired declaration
of the native character and
condition of Jews and Gentiles, of the world of mankind: "And you hath
he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in times past ye walked according
to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of
disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times
past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as
others." Eph. 2: 1-3. In Paul's Epistle to the Romans we have this
strong and remarkable
declaration: the "carnal mind," i. e. the mind of the flesh, of unsanctified
human nature "is enmity
against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be." How resistless the
conclusion of the apostle from such a position, that "they that are
in the flesh cannot please God."
Every man that is not regenerated, born of the Spirit of God, is in
the flesh, under the control of a
depraved and rebellious heart, and therefore what thought can he indulge,
what action can he
perform, what sacrifice present which will be acceptable in the sight
of infinite purity? The parable of
the supper, whilst it affords a cheering and glorious illustration
of the excellency and fullness of the
Gospel salvation, presents also a fearful portraiture of the corruption
of the human heart: "and they all
with one consent began to make excuse." What but the most entire, obstinate
and hopeless
depravity, can reject for a single moment the appeals of infinite love
as exhibited in the "glorious
Gospel of the blessed God."-Mark the testimony which the Saviour bears
again to the incurable
obstinacy of the sinner. "No man can come unto me, except the Father
which hath sent me draw
him." John 6: 44. And shortly after, to account for the unbelief of
those who rejected his message, he
repeats, in substance, the same unwelcome sentiment, "therefore said
I unto you, that no man can
come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." v. 65. What
less can the Saviour mean
in such declarations as these than that such is the unrelenting depravity
of sinful man, he will assuredly
wander on in unbelief and rebellion, unless arrested by the special
exercise of efficacious, almighty
grace.
Let me here drop a word of solemn caution to the sinner. Do not for
a moment suppose my friend,
that the inability to which the Saviour refers, involves in it any
thing which furnishes a just excuse for
rejecting him. Its real nature is explained in another declaration,
"Ye will not come unto me that ye
might have life."-Nothing is more common than for men to say that they
cannot do that which they
will not do. The Scriptures no where say that men cannot come to Christ,
if they would; on the
contrary their language is, "whosoever will, let him take the water
of life freely." The want of power is
the want of will. Therefore he is utterly inexcusable. Does any one
think of excusing the violation of
the laws of the land, because the offender has no disposition to obey
them? NO: this very
perverseness is plead as the last possible reason why the culprit should
be brought to justice, and
made to feel the penalty of insulted law. And shall we lay aside this
just principle of reasoning, when
we consider the relations between man and his Maker? Whatever may be
the caviling of the heart, it
still remains an undeniable truth, that the sinner's inability, is
the sinner's crime-and the greater his
inability, the greater his crime; and that he is most justly condemned
for that very disposition which
leads him on to certain ruin, and which renders the interference of
sovereign mercy so absolutely
needful.
But it may be inquired, does not God give to all men a certain measure
of grace, which they may
improve to the salvation of the soul? It is certain that all men possess
those natural faculties, the right
and proper use of which would enable them to walk in the way of God's
commandments: it is very
easy for that person to do right, who is willing to do right. What
additional power of favor may or
may not have been bestowed upon men as sinners, I would not now undertake
to explain; but this
much I will say, that whatever power may be granted, or whatever influence
may be exerted upon
the hearts of men, if it does not rise higher than the rebellion of
the human bosom, and so operate on
the perverse will as to determine it to that which is good, this influence
never will be rightly improved,
nor result in the salvation of one single soul. The man that possesses
this incipient grace is either a
friend or enemy to God: if he is a friend to God, then he is truly
regenerated, then all must be
regenerated; since upon the supposition all men possess it: but if
he is still an enemy to God, he is in
an unconverted state, he is still in the flesh, under the control of
the mind of the flesh; and if the word
of God bears decisive testimony to anything, it is to the doctrine
that such an individual will not of
himself come to the Lord Jesus Christ, that he cannot please God. If
God has suspended the
salvation of the soul upon the volitions of his enemies, or the improvement
which they of themselves
will make of any of his favors, then is it inevitably certain that
all men must perish. They will that
which is sinful. The prevailing and ceaseless tenor of their mind is
enmity. They do not choose to
retain God in their knowledge, they will not have the Lord Jesus Christ
to reign over them. If,
therefore, such a soul ever draws near to God, will it not be because
God wrought in him to will and
to do of his good pleasure. The stronger than the strong man must come;
Jehovah must put forth the
energies of his Spirit, and by giving pungency to truth and force to
the notions of the Gospel, bring
down the rebellious will to sweet and cheerful submission, and plant
in the bosom those pure and
gracious affections which it is the duty of all to possess and exercise,
but from which all alike, if left
to themselves, will remain totally and forever estranged. The substance
of our argument is this: man is
corrupt, fallen, totally depraved: if a sinner ever becomes willing,
it is because he is made willing in
the day of God's power: the Lord of Hosts must save him, and without
reference to any foreseen
good work or holy volition as the cause why he is made the object of
divine favor rather than
another. But if the Lord saves one rebellious sinner, he intended to
do it; if he intended to do it, there
never was a time when he did not purpose thus to do-he intended from
eternity to save him, since
all his purposes as we have seen must necessarily be eternal. Hence,
then, we are driven by the
doctrine of human depravity into the doctrine of sovereign, particular,
unconditional and eternal
election.
(To be continued.)
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX
JANUARY 27, 1843
MR. MALLARY'S SERMON ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION,
Continued.
___
Ephesians 1: 3, 4.
II. The Covenant of Redemption, in some of its glorious features, establishes
the doctrine of Election.
It is not my intention at this time to enter fully into the discussion
of the doctrine of the Covenant, but
that there was some divine agreement or arrangement between the Father
and the Son, in the
execution of which, a portion of the human family are infallibly saved,
is a position which I think
admits of scriptural proof. None can deny that it was the will of the
Father that Jesus Christ should
come into the world to save sinners by the offering of himself a sacrifice
to God. And it is equally
plain that Christ accepted of the appointment of Mediator, for he said,
"Lo I come (in the volume of
the book it is written to me) to do thy will O God."-It is equally
certain also that the Father
promised a glorious reward to the obedience of his Son. "He shall see
of the travail of his soul and
shall be satisfied. -Therefore will I divide him a portion with the
great, and he shall divide the spoil
with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death." Isa.
53: 11, 12. Christ accepted of
the promised reward, and "for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising the
shame." The work of expiation completed, Christ entered into the promised
glory: God "highly
exalted him, and gave him a name which is above every name." In this
manifestation of the Father's
will, and the voluntary obedience of Christ; in the promise so cheerfully
made and so readily
accepted, in part at least already fulfilled in the exaltation of Christ,
who does not see the clear
developments of divine counsel, of covenant purpose.
We think it evident from the scriptures that the Father was pleased
in the exercises of his own right
and sovereign good pleasure, to give to the Son a portion of the human
family, of whom he was to
be the spiritual head, who should share with him his ineffable joy
and glorious exaltation, and who
were to constitute an essential and important part of his divine reward.
"When thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed." Isa. 53. 10. "Ask
of me, and I will give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth
for thy possession." Ps. 2. 8. How
often does the Saviour speak of those whom the Father had given him.
"And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up
again at the last day." John 6. 39. Speaking of his disciples he says,
"my Father which gave them me
is greater than all." 10. 29. And again: "I pray not for the world,
but for those which thou hast given
me." 17. 9. "I will that they also which thou hast given me, be with
me where I am, that they may
behold my glory." v. 24. -Some therefore have absolutely been given
to Christ as his inheritance.
But here an important question arises, the solution of which must determine
the bearing of this
subject upon the doctrine we are considering, nay which must determine
the truth or falsehood of the
doctrine itself. Has God in the grant of immortal souls which he has
made to Christ, given him such
as he foresaw would believe, and upon condition of their faith, holiness
and perseverance; or
foreseeing that all alike would despise and wander and perish, has
he selected a portion of mankind,
who in due time were to be brought to the exercise of faith, and be
infallibly kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. Or in fewer words, did the Father
give certain persons to Christ,
because they would believe; or do certain persons believe because they
are given to Christ? Is faith
the condition, or the consequence of the gift? Let this vital point
be well considered. If Christ's
inheritance is suspended upon the faith of man as the antecedent condition,
a condition that may or
may not be performed as the creature himself may determine, what assurance
could have cheered
the Son of God that he should not labor in vain, and spend his strength
for naught? Can it be, that
when he quit the bosom of his Father to sojourn in this region of sin
and death, here to become a
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, here to make bare his back
to the smiter, and his soul to
the envenomed cruse of sin, a curse that called for blood and agonies
and death, his hope of
compensation was suspended on the contingent faith of those that pierced
him, the uncertain
obedience of his enemies-even bound in the chains of satan and clad
in trespasses and sins? The
tenor of the divine pledge inspired a stronger hope than this. "He
shall see the travail of his soul-he
shall see his seed."
It cannot be denied that believers as such are the property of the Lord
Jesus Christ; but this is not
the whole truth: It is evident, we think, that the Saviour regarded
a certain portion of mankind as his,
in some peculiar sense, antecedent to their faith. "Other sheep," says
the Redeemer, "I have which
are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear my
voice, and there shall be one fold
and one shepherd." John 10.16. These other sheep were of the Gentile
nations to whom the gospel
had not yet been sent, and who were at the time these words were uttered
under the dominion of the
prince of the power of the air, children of wrath even as others. He
called them his sheep, not
because at present he approved their character, but as those in whom
he had a special interest, and
who in due time should gladly hear his voice, and under the influence
of his gracious power be lead
willingly to the fold of salvation. There is still another declaration
of Christ which is of a most decisive
character-"All that the Father giveth to me, shall come unto me, and
him that cometh unto me I will
in no wise cast out." John 6. 37. Will it be said that believers as
such, and none beside, are given to
Christ? Then the meaning of the passage is this, those that believe
on me, shall come unto me. -But
is not coming to Christ believing on Christ? "He that cometh to me,"
says the Son of God, "shall
never hunger;" and he immediately adds an equivalent declaration, "and
he that believeth on me shall
never thirst." If faith then is the condition of the gift, the passage
above quoted (v. 37) is to be
interpreted as follows: all that the Father giveth to me, i.e. all
that believe on me-all that come to
me-shall believe on me-shall come to me. This certainly is a forced
interpretation, confounding
both language and argument. Let us see if we cannot find a more natural
and consistent rendering.
The Father has promised his Son an ample recompense for his sufferings.
A portion of mankind are
included in this inheritance. As yet, multitudes of them are in the
gall of bitterness and bounds of
iniquity; many of them are yet unborn, and when they come into existence,
like all others, they will
delight in sin, and exalt themselves against God. But Christ knows
them all: their names are written in
the Book of Life. But as none, in consequence of the depravity of their
hearts, will come to Christ,
except the Father draw them, God will see to it, that the necessary
means are provided, that they
may all be taught of God in a manner so effectual that they will come
to the Saviour, and coming to
him, in the exercise of faith and godly repentance, they shall not
be cast out. This appears to me to
be the only construction which the passage will bear.
The bearing of all this upon our main subject must now be obvious. God
has promised to his Son a
definite number of mankind. Christ as the suffering, sin-atoning Lamb,
"was foreordained before the
foundation of the world." 1 Pet. 1. 19, 20. Consequently the definite
reward in consideration of
which he was to undertake the stupendous work of magnifying the law
and making it honorable, of
making reconciliation for iniquity, must have been arranged in the
purpose of God before the
foundation of the world-and this is God's eternal purpose of election.
III. The account which the Scriptures give of the manner in which the
work of salvation is
commenced and perfected in the soul, involves necessarily the doctrine
of election. The sum and
substance of the whole is that salvation is entirely of the Lord. It
is not on account of any excellency
in character or conduct that one man is brought into a state of salvation
rather than another. The
door is effectually closed against all human merit; the claims of works
are forever silenced. "By grace
are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift
of God; not of works, lest any man
should boast." Eph. 2. 8, 9. -When men are dead in trespasses and sins,
and there is no holy
movement towards himself, God approaches, draws, vanquishes and gives
life. "But God who is rich
in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ." Eph. 2. 4, 5. In no sense are we our own
workmanship: nor are we God's
workmanship in consequence of any good work previously performed; but
"we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus," not for or subsequent to good
works, but "unto good works
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph. 2.
10. "But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the son's of God, even to them
that believe on his name;
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God." John
1. 12, 13. Those who are recognized as the sons of God are here represented
as having been the
subjects of a spiritual birth: a birth which is not inherited from
parents however pious, from ancestors
however illustrious; that flows not from any effort, desire or volition
of their own carnal mind, nor is it
the product of the will, or effort of any other human being. That sovereign
God who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will, is the sole and undivided
Author of this great work. In perfect
accordance with this is the testimony of James, -"Of his own will begat
he us with the world of
truth." Jas. 1. 18. Equally explicit is the testimony of Paul in his
Epistle to Titus, "For we ourselves
were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts
and pleasures, living in malice
and envy, hateful and hating one another." Gloomy pictures of depraved
man! By what power is
such power is such enmity subdued? In what fountain is such pollution
washed away? "But after that
the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by
works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost." Tit. 3. 3-5. Can clearer testimony be
required that the beginning of
salvation in the soul is the work of God? But that same Divine Agent
who commences the work,
maintains, carries forward and perfects it. Every holy thought, desire
and action are the fruits of
grace. Without me, says the Saviour, ye can do nothing. "Not that we
are sufficient of ourselves to
think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God." We
"are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation."
But is it not affirmed that without faith and repentance we must perish,
and is not salvation promised
to the penitent and believing? Most assuredly: God will not people
his Kingdom with the lovers of
sin, and the despisers of his Son. The immutable demand of the Gospel
is, repent, believe: This
demand is most reasonable, nothing renders obedience difficult by the
guilty enmity of the heart, and
yet the work must be done, and thousands do repent and do believe.
How comes it to pass? The
word of God explains the mystery. -Christ is exalted a Prince and a
Saviour to give repentance.
Acts 5. 31. "If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging
of the truth." 2
Tim. 2. 25. Faith as well as repentance are of divine origin. It is
of the operation of God-Col. 2.
12. It is the fruit of the Spirit-Gal. 5. 22. "For unto you it is given
in the behalf of Christ, not only to
belive [sic] on him, but also to suffer for his sake." Phil. 1. 29.
As we have already seen, coming to
Christ includes believing on him: but says Christ, "no man can come
unto me except it were given him
of my Father." John 6. 65. Faith and repentance are holy principles.
God will not and cannot require
of us any exercise or act which is not holy. But man is wholly defiled,
and who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean? God does not stand back and suspend his efficacious
grace till men exercise
repentance and faith: the existence of these graces in the heart proves
that the work of salvation is
already begun. They do not precede regeneration, but are the fruits
of it. "Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God"-1 John 5.1. To those who believe
on the name of Christ, is
power given to become the sons of God, and these are they who are also
represented as born of
God-John 1. 12, 13. And as Christ is the author, so is he the finisher
of every holy virtue.
And yet faith and repentance are the acts of the creature: it is man
that believes and not God; it is
man that repents and not his Maker. But how can this be reconciled
to the positions already
established. In this way, God gives spiritual strength, and the creature
exercises it: God works in us
to will and to do, and then we work out our own salvation with fear
and trembling. God exerts upon
the powers of the soul a sweet, constraining and effectual influence;
an influence which does no
violence to the will, and in no proper sense annihilates human agency,
and under the guidance and
control of this gracious and almighty influence, the soul freely repents,
believes and obeys.
Thus it appears that salvation is of the Lord from first to last. Our
regeneration, pardon, justification
and adoption; our holiness, faith, repentance and perseverance are
the fruits of the riches of
Jehovah's grace, of the exceeding greatness of his power and love.
In confirmation of all this, my
Christian brother, let me come home to your own experience. Did you
first love God? Did you make
your approach to him before he first smote your flinty heart? And after
some measure of concern
had been awakened in your bosom, if God had left you to yourself, would
you not most certainly
have gone backward to sin and perdition? And if you prove faithful
to the end, and obtain the
promised crown, do you really and in truth believe that this faithfulness
will be the fruit of your own
purpose and strength, and not rather of the continued operation of
the grace of God upon your heart,
nourishing your holy desires, and perpetuating that spiritual conflict
which results in victory? You
answer, "grace, grace, by the grace of God I am what what [sic] I am.
"Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God."
I love him, because he first loved me: He turned me, and I was turned;
he drew me, and I ran after
him; he quickened me, and I called upon his name; and if my feet are
kept from falling and my soul
from death, the power of God must defend me, grace must consummate
the work which it has
begun." Again, we come back to the grand point, that salvation is wholly
of the Lord; and some are
actually saved, and the Lord saves them. A certain, definite number
are saved-no more, no less.
All that finally pass the threshold of heaven, and enter into their
everlasting rest, may be counted one
by one. Then salvation is an individual, personal matter; and God saves
men one by one, individually,
personally. -But as we have already shown, if God saves a soul, he
purposed to do it: and surely if
this work be glorious, the purpose which secured its accomplishment
must be glorious; and does it
detract from the glory of the work, or the glory of the purpose, that
all this has been resolved in the
mind of God from the distant ages of eternity. Here then we cast anchor
once more upon the
doctrine of Election. Election is nothing more nor less than God's
sovereign, eternal purpose to do
the very work in the salvation of souls which the Scriptures and our
own experience declare he does
assuredly and actually perform.
IV. We now invite your attention to some of those passages of the word
of God which afford more
direct testimony in favor of the doctrine of Election. Our text is
unequivocal and explicit. In the
opening of the Epistle, the apostle addresses himself to the saints
which are at Ephesus and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus, and invokes for them the blessings of spiritual
peace from God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. He then rises into a lofty and energetic stain
of thanksgiving to the God and
Father of the Lord Jesus Christ for those rich and abundant blessings
which he had bestowed upon
his people. By substituting the pronoun us in the third verse, for
you in the second, the apostle
evidently associates himself and other believers with the Ephesians
saints; and thus gives a plain
intimation that he is speaking of the privileges of believers generally,
both from amongst the Jews and
Gentiles. The blessings to which he refers are said to be granted in
heavenly places. This expression
may denote that pure and exalted church state which is enjoyed under
the gospel dispensation, or it
may mean, according to the reading in the margin, the heavenly things,
showing that the blessings so
graciously bestowed consist of things most elevated in their character-benefits
precious, spiritual,
heavenly and eternal. The channel through which the blessings of salvation
flow to the children of
God is distinctly noted-they are blessed in Christ. And in accordance
with what rule or principle
are they thus blessed? Evidently, the apostle's words are intelligible,
in accordance with God's
eternal choice. The very persons who are said to be blessed with all
spiritual blessings, are those
who have been chosen or elected in Christ; not only so, they were thus
elected before the foundation
of the world, or in other words, from eternity. And how plainly is
it further unfolded that this choice
was not made in view of any foreseen merit, holiness or obedience on
the part of those who are the
objects of it; but that those who were encompassed in its blessed embrace,
should be holy, and
without blame before God in love. Most clearly holiness is here exhibited
as the end and not the
cause, the consequence and not the condition of Election. And it is
further clear that all this must be a
matter of particular and personal application, for with what propriety
could the language of the text
and context be applied to nations and communities as such? -They are
not in any sense which
accords with the sanctification of the Gospel dispensation, holy and
without blame before God in
love; they as collective bodies do not obtain the adoption of children
by Christ Jesus, (v. 5,) nor the
forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, (v. 7,) nor
the peculiar inheritance of the
redeemed; these are benefits which can only be possessed by men in
their personal character, and
those who secure them have been predestinated to these high honors
"according to the purpose of
him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own willl [sic]."
v. 5. 11.
In Paul's Epistle to the Thesalonians [sic], there is a passage which
runs in delightful parallel with the
words of our text, -"But we are bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation,
through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth." 2 Thes. 2. 13. The whole subject is
here unfolded. The persons
addressed were chosen or elected of God. They were chosen "from the
beginning."-This
expression is equivalent to the one in our text-"from before the foundation
of the world." They were
chosen unto salvation as the glorious end which God in his sovereign
mercy and good pleasure had
proposed. -This choice did not rest on foreseen faith and sanctification
as the antecedent
conditions, but they were chosen to the end, through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth
as the divinely appointed means. The decree which regulates the result
is no more definite and fixed
than that which marks out the way which leads to that result. It is
just as true that he which believeth
not shall be damned, and that without holiness no man shall see God,
as that God's elect shall obtain
everlasting life.
The following declaration of the apostle in one of his Epistles to Timothy,
brings additional support to
our argument: -"Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling,
not according to our works,
but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world
began." 2 Tim. 1. 9. In Romans 8. 29, 30, the arrangements of grace
are conspicuously revealed,
embracing the origin, the issue and the grand intermediate parts of
the soul's salvation. -The apostle
had previously asserted the soul-animating truth that "all things work
together for good to those that
love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." Let it
here be distinctly noticed, that
according to his purpose, are represented as the same, and they can
of course be none other than
regenerated souls, those who have a particular and personal interest
in the Lord Jesus Christ. There
can be no possible reference here to Jews and Gentiles in a collective
or natural sense. But what is
the ground of this blessed assurance that all things work together
for good to those who love God?
In the passage above referred to, the apostle proclaims it-"For whom
he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might
be the first-born among many
brethren; moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called;
and whom he called, them he
also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Nothing
can be more plain than that the
very individuals who are here represented as glorified, i. e. brought
into the full possession of their
heavenly inheritance, were the objects in a peculiar sense of God's
foreknowledge and
predestination. This foreknowledge cannot mean simple prescience; else
all men, as being in this
sense foreknown of God, would be predestinated, and finally called,
justified, and saved. The
original word here rendered fore-know, sometimes means to fore-ordain;
and the term
fore-knowledge is sometimes equivalent to fore-ordination. Thus Christ
was "delivered by the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge, or predetermination of God."
The same expression used by
Paul is used by Peter, 1 Pet. 1. 20, and is very properly rendered
fore-ordained: "Who verily was
fore-ordained before the foundation of the world." The meaning of the
apostle need not therefore be
mistaken. The persons foreknown, are those who are enriched in God's
eternal purpose of love and
mercy. He foreknew them with a determinate and gracious design, whose
salvation should be
rendered infallibly secure, and for whom consequently all things should
work together for good.
-The objects of this foreknowledge were not selected from the great
mass of the human family in
consequence of any foreseen excellence; for it is said that "whom he
did foreknow, them he did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." Does not this
most clearly teach us that
holiness, that conformity to the character of Christ, is the consequence
of predestination, and that of
course it cannot be the condition or the cause. It is observable that
in the passage we are now
considering the past term is used throughout, which may intimate to
us the unshaken confidence with
which faith and hope contemplate the final results of God's purpose
in relation to his people,
regarding that purpose in all its fullness and glory, as it were, already
accomplished. In this
connection it might be proper to adduce the testimony of Peter, which
it would seem most beautifully
harmonizes with that of the apostle Paul-Elect according to the foreknowledge
(or
predetermination, as it might be rendered,) of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit,
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." 1 Pet.
1. 2.
In the 9th chapter of Romans, the apostle most boldly asserts and triumphantly
vindicates the
uncontrolled purpose and sovereignty of God in the bestowments of the
saving benefits of his grace.
He illustrates the method of God's providence by the manner in which
Isaac and his seed, rather than
Ishmael, were brought within the line of promise; and more particularly
by the preference which God
gave to Jacob over Esau, a preference not based upon the foreseen actions
of either, but God's own
good pleasure, that the purpose of God, according to election, might
stand. As a further illustration
of the subject, the case of Pharaoh is introduced: He is specified
as one whom God had raised up
that he might show his power in him, and that his name might be declared
throughout all the earth.
These were marked instances of God's sovereignty in the bestowment
and withholding of his favors,
as in the apostle's judgment afforded appropriate illustrations of
principle upon which some are
arrested by the grace of God, and others permitted to work out their
own destruction.-Hear the
conclusion of his argument: "So then it is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy." v. 16. "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will
have mercy, and upon whom
he will he hardeneth." v. 18. In all this matter God asks not counsel
of his creatures, nor giveth
account to them of his proceedings. He acts like himself-he acts as
an independent and almighty
Sovereign. If any obtain mercy, Jehovah wills it: if any go downward
to ruin and perish, for reasons
infinitely wise and satisfactory to his own mind, he gives them up
to their own willful hardness and
chosen delusions. But these, say many, are hard sayings, who can hear
them. They are nevertheless
the true sayings of the Oracles of God.-Paul anticipates an objection,
the very objection which has
been repeated a thousand times in every successive age; the natural
and spontaneous murmur of the
human heart: "why doth he yet find fault? for who hath resisted his
will?-If Paul did not seem to
vindicate the sovereignty of God in doing as he pleases with his own,
what ground for this objection?
and if he did not in solemn earnest mean what he seemed to say, why
did he not soften down his
expressions, rectify mistakes and thus soothe the mind of the disquieted
objector? Instead of this, he
rebukes the arrogance of the complainer; and in language still more
emphatic and unequivocal,
vindicates the sovereign rights of the Eternal: "Nay, but O man, who
art thou that repliest against
God?-shall the thing formed, say to him that formed it, why hast thou
made me thus? hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto
honor, and another unto
dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power
known, endured with
much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, (not
fitted by God, but by their own
sins,) and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the
vessels of mercy, which he had
afore prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called, not of the
Jews only, but also of the
Gentiles?" v. 20-24.
In the 11th of Romans, the declarations of the apostle are equally decisive.
The Jews as a nation had
been rejected for their unbelief; but in this chapter we are assured
that their rejection was not to be
final; and that at the very time of which he speaks, there were a portion
whom the Lord had not
disowned. The Jews had been a peculiar people to the Lord, and in a
sense as we have seen, an
elect people; yet in this election there was still another election
whom in a more interesting and
peculiar sense were called the people of the Most High. The apostle
himself was one of them. None
of these had been rejected-"God hath not cast away his people which
he foreknew." v. 1, 2. Now,
as in ancient days, (the apostle proceeds to show,) the Lord had reserved
for himself a remnant.
Elias mourned over the sad corruption of Israel, and complained that
he was left alone, to vindicate
the cause of God. But the answer of Jehovah was calculated to soothe
the despairing prophet: "I
have reserved for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the
knee to the image of
Baal.-Even so them," continues the apostle, "at this present time,
also, there is a remnant according
to the election of grace." v. 4, 5. This election, we are informed,
obtained the divine favor, (v. 7,)
whilst the rest who followed after the law of righteousness with blinded
eyes and hardened hearts,
were left by the just judgment of God, and in accordance with ancient
prophecy, to stumble at the
stumbling stone, and perish in their rebellion.
When Paul and Barnabas visited Antioch in Pisidia, they first proclaimed
the gospel to the Jews; but
as they judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, these holy and
indefatigable laborers addressed
their message of love to the listening Gentiles; the result of their
efforts among the Gentiles is stated in
the following words: "and as many as were ordained unto eternal life
believed." Acts 13. 48.
The Scriptures testify that there are those whose names are "written
in heaven-in the book of
life-in the Lamb's book of life." Luke 10. 20; Phil. 4. 8; Rev. 21.
27. There are other scriptures
which inform us that this is a very ancient record, and that those
whose names are not there recorded
will be given up to delusion and ruin. "And all that dwell upon the
earth shall worship him, (the
beast,) whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the
world." Rev. 13.8. "And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder,
whose names are not written in
the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold
the beast that was, and is not,
and yet is." Rev. 17. 8.
Thus we conceive that we have proved the doctrine of particular, personal
and eternal election to be
a scriptural truth; necessarily involved in other important and fundamental
doctrines, and unfolded in
clear, direct and intelligible declarations.
(To be concluded.)
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX
FEBRUARY 3, 1843
MR. MALLARY'S SERMON ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION,
Concluded.
___
Ephesians 1: 3, 4.
In conclusion, I beg leave to notice a few objections to this doctrine.
1. It is said that the execution of God's eternal purpose of election
destroys the free-agency of the
creature and reduces him to a mere machine. This is a great mistake.
We may not be able to
understand the harmony between the sovereign purpose of God and the
free-agency of man; but the
Scriptures that assert the one, maintain also the other. They must,
therefore, in the divine mind,
appear perfectly consistent; and if infinite wisdom perceives their
harmony, it seems rather
presumptive for infinite ignorance to assert that this cannot be. God
in maintaining his government
over matter and mind does no violence to the laws which he has established:
in the former case, he
acts according to the laws of matter; in the latter, according to the
laws ordained for the regulation of
intelligent accountable beings. Cannot God send showers and drought
and tempests at his pleasure,
and yet neither suspend nor violate the established laws of nature?
And dare we assert that he
cannot so operate on the minds and hearts of men as effectually to
incline them to that which is good,
without annihilating the established laws of intellect, conscience
and will? Under the operations of
grace, as we have before intimated, the individual freely repents and
obeys, just as freely as before
he rejected the calls of mercy. The believer is conscious of this-the
Scriptures bear testimony to the
same.-Now if God cannot render certain the faith and holiness of an
individual consistent with his
free-agency, then has he created beings which he cannot govern, then
he cannot render infallibly
certain the salvation of one single soul; nor can he render certain
one single event which depends
upon the faith and sacrifices of his people. And surely if God does
not do violence to the wills of
some in making him penitent, believing and holy, he does no violence
to others in leaving them to
their own perverted choice; nor are they in the least degree removed
from the most powerful
obligations to do right, because God permits them freely to do wrong.-Nor
does it at all encroach
upon their freedom, that he uses as he pleases their own voluntary
rebellion to promote his sovereign
designs, and thus make the wrath of man to praise him. If the above
positions be not true, I do not
see how God can infallibly accomplish one single design which is connected
with the actions of
voluntary agents; the fulfillment of prophecy, the overthrow of Anti-Christ,
the conversion of the
Jews, the universal establishment of the Redeemer's Kingdom on earth
sink down into matters of the
most dark and uncertain contingency;-man is left without a ruler, the
Church without a head, the
universe without a King.
2. But is not God partial and unjust in determining the salvation of
some and leaving others to
perish?-This objection originates in the want of a full and proper
conviction that all men in
consequence of sin deserve the wrath of God. If all merit destruction,
what ground is there for the
objection? If we deny this position, then the doctrine of salvation
by grace is utterly overthrown; for
there can be no grace in saving those whom it would be unjust to destroy.
Let us look once more at
the condition of mankind. They have all sinned, and the just wages
of sin is death. God has found a
ransom equal to human guilt, sufficient as to its own inherent worth
to save any, to save all. On the
ground of the Saviour's merits, the gospel goes forth to dying sinners
as good news;-the sweet and
gracious proclamation is, "come for all things are now ready-he everyone
that
thirsteth-whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely."
God commands with authority,
invites with much long-suffering, entreats with bleeding tenderness.
Nothing hinders a compliance
with the requisitions of the gospel but the sinner's rebellious will.
That will remains inexorable. All
rush madly on to the brink of death. God foresaw that this would be
the character and condition of
his creatures. What was to be done? Must Christ lose the travail of
his soul and die in vain? Having
arranged a glorious plan by which he can be just, and yet the justifier
of the ungodly, is Jehovah
under obligations to let all his revolting subjects move on to the
place of execution? Or, if he resolve
to save one who deserves eternal death, is he thereby brought under
obligation to save the rest,
though thy are deserving of wrath of God? Or, in permitting a part
to sink down to merited wrath, as
the violators of his law, does his justice in punishing them wax into
injury and oppression, because he
does not suffer all to come into this place of torment? Is one man
injured in suffering his just deserts,
because another receives a favor to which he has no claim? Those who
perish, be they few or many,
suffer nothing but merited vengeance; if any are saved, it is infinite,
unmerited, almighty grace that
interposes. And shall any dare to impugn their maker for this? Election
harms no man, Election
damns no man. It does not pursue the criminal and force him down the
precipice of ruin; but it plucks
multitudes from that fatal brink and plants them on the rock of ages.
In the execution of its merciful
and eternal designs, it gathers out from the guilt, polluted, dying
mass, an hundred and forty-four
thousand, nay, a great multitude which no man can number, of all nations,
kindred and people and
tongues, sweetly draws, graciously subdues, washes out their stains
in the blood of the Lamb, guides
them safely through all their perils and conflicts, and with them peoples
the shores and fills the
thrones of the celestial Canaan. If all had been left to perish, God's
throne had been guiltless; that
some are saved, shall redound to the honor of his name, and proclaim
the riches of his grace through
eternal ages. Why quarrel with that purpose which results in blessings
like these?-Why fall out with
that arrangement which unfolds nothing but pure, unmixed and effectual
mercy, and without which
not one ray of saving light had ever pierced the dark night which sin
had rolled upon the prospects of
mortals? Why one culprit should be savingly pitied rather than another,
may never be fully explained
to finite minds; but infinite wisdom has the best of reasons for all
its acts: let mortals bow in holy
adoration, and exclaim, "even so Father, for so it seemeth good in
thy sight."
But still the objector replies, unsatisfied and unsubdued, "it is unreasonable
that God should make
this discrimination, and do for one what he does not for another."
And where, complaining man, will
your contention end? Is not the whole administration of God marked
with inequality of favor? Is it
not thus in heaven, is it not thus on earth? One man is born the heir
of wealth, another of poverty;
one man inherits a vigorous constitution, another imbecility and disease;
one man is blessed with a
lofty intellect, whilst another from the cradle is enveloped in the
mists of metal weakness and
stupidity. And the same inequality is manifest in our religious privileges.
Who separated Israel from
all nations, set up amongst them the worship of the true God, and deposited
in their hands the lively
oracles?-This certainly was Jehovah's work; he did it because he chose
to do so; he did it for his
own glory. And who that believes in the records of God's word and in
the doctrine of a heaven and
hell will deny that in the enjoyment of these religious opportunities
multitudes of the chosen tribes
were eternally saved, whilst the great mass of the nations around were
given up to idolatry and ruin?
Is it not better to live in a Christian than in a heathen land? in
the family of the pious, than in the
habitations of the drunken, the profligate and the blasphemous? And
who hath appointed us our
heritage?-A sovereign God. Man has no more control over his own birth
than he has over
omnipotence. So then it is an indisputable fact that God does actually,
in the exercise of his own
uncontrolled authority, place men under circumstances that variously
affect their eternal interests;
circumstances which he assuredly foreknew would tend in some instances
to ruin, and in others to
everlasting life. Let the objector met these difficulties, and then
he will be able to account for those
which are involved in the doctrine of particular election. Here are
mysteries equally as formidable,
equally as confounding to the speculations of finite minds; and yet
here are facts which none can
deny. The truth is we shall not rise above mystery until we rise to
the possession of omniscience; nor
will the carnal heart rise above all its cavils until Jehovah surrenders
up his throne, and allows his little
creature man to reign supreme. If to avoid the perplexities of Calvanism
[sic], we take shelter in
armenianism [sic], we may have shifted the ground of difficulty but
have not found the relief which the
discontented heart seeks. According to this system it is admitted that
some are eternally saved and
some are actually and eternally lost. The objector may still inquire,
"why should this be so? Why
should God create beings which he foresaw would plunge into sin and
perish forever? Or when they
were actually formed, why did not infinite love and infinite power
throw around them such barriers as
could infallibly prevent their falling?" In further search for satisfaction
he launches into Universalism:
but it is soon evident to him that this system and the Bible cannot
both be true; and Deism is the next
refuge to which he flees. But here all is uncertain, contradictory
and vexatious; and what now
remains for the chafed and indignant fugitive, but to plunge into Atheism,
that last, cold, dreary vortex
of madness and delusion.
3. But does not the doctrine encourage the neglect of our spiritual
interests? If a man is elect he will
be saved do as wickedly as he can; and if he be non-elect, he will
be damned, do as well as he may.
This is a gross perversion. Election does not say that any man will
be saved that lives wickedly, or
that any will be damned that does well. The soul that perishes is destroyed
for his sins. The man that
is saved is delivered from his sins, and proves his election by living
soberly and righteously and godly
in this present evil world. The individual that takes encouragement
to sin from an assurance of his
election, proves that he is the victim of a most dangerous deception.
An important end of election is
that we should be holy and without blame before God in love. How can
that purpose, which, with a
fixed and unwavering aim demands holiness, and in its execution infallibly
secures it, be unfavorable
to piety? As we have seen, men are not chosen to salvation through
carnality, unbelief and rebellion,
but "through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."
How did the apostle know that his
Thessalonian brethren were elected of God? by their work of faith,
and labor of love, and patience
of hope; by the fact that the gospel came to them not in word only,
but also in power and in the Holy
Ghost, and that they were effectually turned from idols to serve the
living and true God. See 1 Thes.
1. 3, 4, 5, 9. Let the wicked tremble: let the professor of religion
that thinketh he standeth take heed
lest he fall. No man has any further evidence of his election of God,
than he mortifies the deeds of the
body, becomes crucified to the world, and possesses the mind that was
in our Lord Jesus Christ.
As it is a doctrine by no means hostile to personal piety, so it does
not discourage efforts for the
conversion of the ungodly. Upon what ground does it discourage effort?
Because God has certain
definite ends to accomplish, and it is absurd to toil for that which
he has made sure? Then how
absurd to eat and drink to preserve life, for nothing is more certain
than that our days are all
numbered. Then it is absurd to plough and sow, for God has determined
whether or not we shall
reap a harvest. Then it was wholly useless for Moses and Aaron to labor
for the deliverance of their
brethren from Egyptian bondage, for God had assured Abraham that at
the end of four hundred
years his posterity should be delivered from their oppressors. Then
were Daniel's fasting & prayers
and tears in behalf of the captive tribes useless, for he had learned
from the infallible word of God
that deliverance was to come at the end of seventy years. Then how
strange was the declaration of
Paul, "except these abide in the ship ye cannot be saved," when he
had already declared his message
from God, that none in the vessel should perish. Election unfavorable
to efforts for the salvation of
men? The farthest from it possible. It lies beneath the eternal rock
of confidence and hope. If it were
not true, we might well despair. But it is true, and therefore our
labor shall not be in vain in the Lord.
The end is certain. God has not suspended the salvation of souls, the
reward promised to his Son,
upon any frail contingency, but he has taken it into his own almighty
hands. His word shall not return
unto him void; vast multitudes are to be rescued from the jaws of the
prowling lion, all Israel shall be
saved. The heathen are to be given to Christ for his inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth
for his possession. But for all these things God will be inquired of:
there must be faith, and prayer,
and preaching, and tears, and toil. Without these things men cannot
be saved, no more than Paul and
his companions in the weather beaten ship could be saved, except the
seamen remained in it. But as
God has fixed upon definite results, and has prescribed the means which
will infallibly conduct to the
certain issue, with what joy may the spiritual husbandman thrust in
his ploughshare and sow seed.
With what immovable confidence may the missionary of the cross, in
obedience to his ascended
Saviour, fly to distant lands, and proclaim in every valley and on
every hill, "O ye dry bones hear ye
the word of the Lord." Victory he knows will sooner or later come;
and the assurance of victory
nerves his arm and gladdens his heart amidst at the terrors of the
battlefield. It is not for God's
ambassador to know who will repent and believe the Gospel: duty is
his; the issue is with heaven. He
is not to preach to men as elect or non-elect, but as needy, guilty,
perishing sinners; he is to warn,
rebuke and exhort them with ceaseless importunity and affection, and
having sowed his seed in love,
and watered it with his tears and prayers, he is to commend his prayers,
his message and his hearers
to that God who alone can give the increase, and who will have mercy
on whom he will have
mercy.-And whilst the doctrine affords such sweet encouragement to
the saints of God to labor for
the salvation of souls, rightly considered it lays the only foundation
of hope to perishing sinners.
Fellow sinner, if God has determined to save none, you are as eternally
ruined as you have a
being:--your heart, your perverse, corrupt and rebellious heart will
destroy you. But if Christ shall
assuredly see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied, if in spite
of sin and earth and devils his
Kingdom shall move on, and many ransomed souls shall return to Zion
with songs and everlasting joy
upon their head, you need not despair. Who can tell but what there
is a blessing for you. Certain it is
that if your come to Christ you will be graciously accepted; and certain
it is that if you keep back
from his arms it is your own deliberate choice; and should God in indignation
withhold from you that
grace which you are too proud and obstinate to seek, though now you
cavil at his truth, and quarrel
with the high prerogatives of his throne, yet in the judgment your
mouth will be stopped, and in hell
you will see his justice, eternal justice mingled with the terrors
which consume you.
But admitting the doctrine to be true, is it important to investigate
it, and to proclaim it? If it is a part
of God's word, it should be diligently studied and properly taught.
Is it a light matter to pass by any
portion of the counsel of God? The doctrine has no doubt been abused.
Incompetent teachers have
torn it from its proper connections, mixed it with much of their own
imaginings, and held it up in a
distorted light, to the injury of the cause of truth. Antinomianism
has been one of the deadly fruits of
this perversion. Now much our own denomination has suffered from this
spiritual malady, I need not
say. The spell I trust has been broken. But are there no other evils
to fear? Happy indeed shall we
be, if in disengaging ourselves from, this dangerous extreme, we do
not hurry on to its opposite fritter
down the doctrines of grace, and give countenance, by our faith and
teaching, to self-righteous
presumption. If I do not mistake, there is a tendency in some portion
of our brethren to this very evil.
Every truth is essential in its place. We need the sanctifying influence
of all which God has revealed
for us to study and believe. "All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works." 2. Tim. 3. 16, 17. A man may believe
the doctrine of this discourse,
and yet be but little profited; or he may in some of its features reject
it, and yet be a good man; but if
it be the truth of God, the cordial belief of it, and the prayerful
improvement of it is necessary to the
formation of a complete Christian Church. It cannot perform the work
of any other doctrine, nor can
any other truth supply the place of this. It must fall upon the mind,
it must touch the heart, it must
form a part of our spiritual nourishment, or there will be a corresponding
deficiency in the spiritual
man. Is it not a doctrine that strikes at human pride, and brings the
creature low at the footstool of
Jehovah? It stripes him of all boasting, nourishes a meek and lowly
sense of dependence, whilst it tills
the soul with adoring thoughts of the matchless, sovereign, eternal
love of God.-when the believer
reflects that he has been blessed with all spiritual blessings according
to God's eternal purpose, with
what holy joy does he repeat the thanksgiving of our text-"blessed
be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ!" With what profound wonder does he exclaim, "O the
depths of the riches both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God: how unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways past
finding out!" Melting into tenderness and grateful affection as he
dwells upon that peculiar mercy
which rescued him from death and gave him a place at the Gospel feast,
he exclaims with the poet,
"Why was I made to hear thy voice
And enter while there's room?
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come.
'Twas the same love that spread the feast,
That sweetly forced us in;
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin."
The holiest men that have ever lived have believed, loved and proclaimed
the doctrine. It was the
doctrine of the Apostle. It was the doctrine of the reformation. It
was the doctrine of Owen, and
Watts, and Whitfield, and Fuller, and Scott. Modern times cannot boast
of a more holy man than
President Edwards, and yet no man more ardently loved, more firmly
believed, more profoundly
investigated the doctrines of sovereign, distinguishing grace.-The
sovereignty of God was to him a
theme unspeakably sweet and awfully glorious; and no doubt his frequent
and profound
contemplation of it contributed much to the amazing depth, the delightful
symmetry and perfection of
his purity.
The doctrine when appropriately unfolded has not only been profitable
to believers, but has been
blessed of God to the conversion of sinners. It has torn away their
pride and fancied strength,
revealed them as naked and undone, at the disposal of their insulted,
yet gracious Sovereign, and
driven them weeping and penitent to the Saviour's feet, there in their
last extremity to cry out, "Lord
save or we perish." It is still a delicate and awful theme: it should
be pondered with much diligence
and proclaimed with prayerful solemnity. It should be exhibited in
its proper perfection, and in its just
connection with the other truths of revelation; and also in it's practical
bearing upon the hopes; the
duties and characters of men.
