(Continued from page 404.)
IN the preceding issue we called attention to the wide gulf between the Bible view of sin and the view of it entertained by multitudes who, though recognising that there is such a thing as sin, do not look at it in the light of Scripture. It was pointed out that to have a right view of sin we must be convinced by the Holy Spirit. It is only then we have a correct view of the guilt and corruption of sin.
In God’s gracious act of justification the believer is not only pardoned all his sins but is accepted as righteous only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to him and received by faith alone. There is no increase or diminution of this righteousness for it is the imputation of Christ’s righteousness which is eternally perfect.
In regard to the corruption of the believer’s nature God has not seen meet that it should be removed in a day. If He had so purposed it for His people He could have removed it as easily and as quickly as He did the dying thief’s. But this is a prolonged work which happily for the believer is carried on not by angels in heaven or saints on earth but by the Holy Ghost Himself and where this good work is begun it is to be carried on to perfection. The Divine Worker will drive out all enemies however strongly entrenched they may be and however powerful until the whole of the heart be given to Christ forever.
The Scriptures speak of this work as a crucifixion— a slow, painful but certain process working towards death. This mortification is something far beyond the power of man and when it is going on the believer is not finding his spiritual condition improving day by day but like Christian in the Pilgrim’s Progress he is getting worse and worse, i.e., at least as far as his feelings are concerned. In reality he is making progress but the shining in of the heavenly light is showing him more and more how desperately wicked his heart is. No light but the true light from heaven can show him the loathsome nature of sin. Bright though the electric light is it cannot show us the minute particles of dust in a room but when a beam of light of the sun shines in then thousands of tiny specks of dust are seen dancing in the air. So is it with sin, no light of reason, education or training can reveal it to us until the true light shines from heaven. It is a humbling experience to feel after long years of profession that things are as they are with us—a ceaseless pouring forth from our corrupt hearts of streams of evil imaginations, wicked thoughts, unholy desires, rebellious plans and Satanic schemings. But let the believer rest assured that disconcerting and humbling though the experience be he is to be delivered from all these yet. It was not a cry with a note of despair that went up from the troubled heart of the Apostle when he said: “O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” For following up as quickly as it was uttered there was the expression of the triumphant confidence: “I thank God through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Roms. vii. 24, 25).
It is a pleasant theme on which to exercise the believer’s thoughts that notwithstanding all the corruption of sin which is within that through the mercy of our God and His infinite wisdom they shall one day be presented before the Father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing and that they shall be before Him holy and without blemish. How this can be they do not know but faithful is He who has promised. They have a long distance yet to travel but the work to be done is entrusted to no human hands and the purposes that are working for this end and which are the plans of that God whose counsels stand fast forever will be accomplished in His own good time. Towards that day God’s people may with hope turn their waiting eyes and with confidence say: “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him.” That great hope is not resting on a baseless foundation but has behind it the eternal purpose of Jehovah in the predestination of His people when He decreed that they should be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. viii. 29).
We must turn now to another aspect of our subject. In the foregoing remarks it has been pointed out that it is only by the work of the Holy Spirit that men can be convinced of sin. Now, while this holds true it does not keep men from classifying some of their fellows as sinners. Most men will readily consign to this category—murderers, idolaters, adulterers, fornicators, thieves, etc., but the man who lives uprightly and morally, is not a trouble to his neighbours, pays his way and does not take liberty with his neighbour’s belongings, is reckoned a righteous man. We find this classification in vogue in the days of our Saviour. The Pharisees were righteous in their own eyes but others, such as the publicans or tax-gatherers, were reckoned by them as sinners. This mode of classification is still resorted to and when one asks himself on what grounds is the classification made and why it differs from God’s classification the answer is at hand. Man has set up a standard by which he is measuring himself and in accordance with this standard he classifies his fellows. With some it is higher than with others, but it has one fatal defect, it is not God’s standard. Saul of Tarsus measured himself by it until God’s high standard was presented to him and from that day all hope of getting to heaven by the works of the Law was gone forever. God’s standard is exceeding high and exceeding broad—”to love the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind and our neighbour as ourselves.” In the presence of that standard who can tell what high hopes and vain imaginings have come tumbling down.
This is God’s standard and well it is for multitudes of our race that there was One who met it to the fullest or the sinner when confronted with it might say there and then: “There is no hope for ever.” But the infinite wisdom and mercy of God opened a door wide enough through which a countless number who were given to Christ have already entered and shall enter into life everlasting—”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. iii. 4, 5).
Now, it is because of man’s totally inadequate standard that his views differ so materially from what Scripture says about sin. Of course, there is also the darkness of his mind and the moral twist that the fall has given so that he often calls good evil and evil good, light darkness and darkness light. Then this condition explains further why some sins great and heinous in God’s eyes are not regarded by the world as sins at all.
For instance (1) it is a great sin that we as creatures of God should not glorify Him or feel within us an overwhelming desire to seek His glory. How many regard this as a sin? yet God is a jealous God and He is jealous for the glory of His name. Hence Scripture regards it as a monstrous sin that His glory should be given to graven images or that His name should be blasphemed.
(2) It is a great sin that we believe not in Jesus Christ. God gave abundant testimony that His Son was coming into the world, by promises, types and prophecies, yet men will not receive this message. When He appeared among them God testified on more than one occasion that this was His beloved Son. His presence was confirmed by mighty signs and many infallible proofs yet men reject all this as if they were not committing an exceeding great sin. Charge a man with being a thief or a liar and however true the charge is he is up in arms in self defence. But charge him with being an unbeliever and the charge is treated with unconcern and indifference. Yet, who can measure the enormity of the sin that calls in question the testimony of the God who cannot lie and rejects Him who is the eternal truth?
(3) The rejection of God’s righteousness as set forth in the gospel is not considered a sin, yet it has shut the door of heaven in the face of thousands upon thousands of the human race. This was the rock on which the Jews were wrecked—they went about to establish their own righteousness and did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God. This is the rock on which millions in the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches are suffering shipwreck and yet how lightly this sin is regarded.
(4) How many again treat secret sins as not worthy of notice. If sinners are not exposed and found out that is all they seek and their resorting to many devices to cover up their sin and the pleasure they have if successful all go to show that fear of man is more in their eyes than the fear of God against whom the sin is committed.
(5) Heart sins, in a sense, are secret sins also but they do not trouble the sinner as they ought to do. Man is not our judge and in some ways this is a mercy for the blunders that even good men make ought to make us thankful they are not our judges but we have a Judge who judges not according to outward appearance but according to the thoughts of the heart and that will make His judgment unspeakably solemn to some one day. As a man thinks in his heart so is he. In the day when He will lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet how many refuges of lies will be exposed and swept away (Is. xxviii. 17). When God will begin to enquire how we ordered our thoughts before Him most of us will feel ill at ease—all of us should. In leaving this subject we would desire to remind our readers that terrible and subtle though sin be yet “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I. John i. 7).
Assurance saith, I believe my sins are pardoned through Christ; faith’s language is, I believe on Christ for the pardon of them.—William Gurnall.