The Justification of the Ungodly by Pastor E. J. Knight.
Obtainable from the Author at 1710 Richmond, N.W., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504, U.S.A., price $1.00 post free, and also from Mrs V. Greenman, Westmorland, Hullavington, Chippenham, Wilts., England, price 6/6d post free.
The Author explains that the above booklet has been compiled “as an open reply to many professing Christians in this locality (Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A., where Mr Knight is a Strict Baptist pastor), who do say that men may believe in Christ for salvation, and yet not be justified.” He further explains that those to whom the treatise is particularly addressed “take the believer’s justification away from his salvation, and regard it as an attainment entirely outside the general scope of salvation; in other words, a person can exist in a saved but unjustified state.” “They recognise,” he further states, “no justification, effectual to salvation, until it is received in the conscience, and certain steps of experience (albeit, undefined) have been reached.”
To refute this error, Pastor Knight has culled a selection of quotations from the writings of eminent and godly divines of the past which lay special emphasis on the clear teaching of Scripture that the sinner is completely justified the very moment he is united by faith to Christ. He also gives a salutary warning against the detrimental effects arising, either directly or indirectly, from the error he is exposing. These effects we will quote largely as we deem them to be dangers to be guarded against even in circles where the above error may have no place whatsoever. They are as follows:—
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A work of grace in true seekers is not encouraged. Better, say they, to test it by trying to extinguish it — if it survives their efforts, they will have the satisfaction of knowing that the work may be real! Such characters appeared to exist in Alexander Comrie’s day, for in his writings, he sought to “dash to the ground the unwise manner in which some treat poor souls, in that they recognise nothing as true grace until a person has surrendered himself to Christ with full realisation and assurance, and until his heart is so enlarged that he has not the least doubt as to his new birth in that moment.” And is it not said of our gracious Lord, “A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking (margin: dimly burning) flax shall He not quench”? (Isa. 42 : 3).
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Many true believers live in perpetual bondage; their religion is one of fear “which hath torment.” They are taught to believe that they are not justified, are still under the condemnation of the law, and there they must remain. Gospel liberty is frowned upon; doubts and fears are a necessary preservative: joy and peace in believing an Arminian tenet. I have heard some speak as if unbelief were a virtue rather than a damning sin.
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They fail to distinguish between that which constitutes their security and that which constitutes their comfort. They rest upon their frames and feelings instead of upon Christ, and when their comfortable feelings go, their religion seems to go with it! They fail to realise that it is the assurance of faith which comforts, but the reliance of faith which saves.
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Still under the bondage of the law, they know but little of the Scriptural experience, “The just shall live by (his) faith.” Faith has been defined as “the venture of a perishing soul upon Christ,” but this venture of faith they regard as presumption, especially in the absence of certain prerequisite qualifications. Bunyan’s “Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ” must surely be strange music to their ears, and they would certainly find considerable difficulty in agreeing with Hugh Binning: “To believe in Christ is simply this: I, whatsoever I be, ungodly, wretched, polluted, desperate, am willing to have Jesus Christ for my Saviour, I have no other help or hope, if it be not in Him. It is, I say, to lean the weight of thy soul on this Foundation-stone, laid in Zion, to embrace the promises of the Gospel albeit general, as worthy of all acceptance, and wait upon the performance of them. It is no other thing but to make Christ welcome, to say, ‘Even so, Lord Jesus, I am content in my soul that Thou be my Saviour, to be found in Thee, not having my own righteousness; I am well pleased to cast away my own as dung and find myself no other than an ungodly man.’ Now it is certain that many souls are still questioning whether they have faith, yet do find this in their soul, but because they know not that it is faith which they find, they go about to seek that which is not faith, and where it is not to be found, and so disquiet themselves in vain, and hinder fruitfulness.”
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They are generally sceptical of a work of grace in others. The principle of “not deceiving ourselves” is so akin to their unbelief, that they will even argue against their own happiness and refuse to believe the very word of God.
The above will sufficiently indicate the need and value of Pastor Knight’s short treatise. May the booklet be instrumental in bringing many to acknowledge the true Scriptural doctrine of justification and to abandon this particular error. As a booklet which gathers together in small compass a variety of testimonies from eminent divines on the doctrine of justification it should be useful to a wider circle of readers than those for whom it is primarily intended.
D. B. M.
The Loveliest Story Ever Told by Rev. Murdo Campbell, M.A.
John G. Eccles, Printers, Inverness. Obtainable from the Church Bookroom or other religious booksellers, price 5/6d.
This is a reprint of a paperback first published in 1962. The following review appeared in the December 1962 issue of the Magazine :
This booklet is based upon the remarkable story regarding Abraham sending his servant for a wife for his son Isaac and his success in bringing back Rebecca in the providence of God. The author writes: “Indeed the whole story is deeply symbolic and instructive; for it illustrates in a wonderful way the mysterious love of God, who from all eternity decreed that His Son also should have a Bride . . . It is under the guise of a lovely type, the story of the heavenly marriage of Christ and His Bride.” There are fifteen chapters covering the whole story, and the author has succeeded in weaving into the whole story all the fundamental doctrines of the faith, from election to the eternal blessedness of believers in heaven and the eternal punishment of the wicked in hell. Anecdotes and stories are employed throughout the book and altogether it is most suitable and readable for young people — this the author states he has in view. But the book is for older readers as well. The print is large, clear type and the book is light to hold, with an attractive paper jacket. It will make a most suitable present for young friends from, say, sixteen or seventeen years upwards.
Leading little ones to God by Marian M. Schoolland.
Banner of Truth Trust, Price 21/-.
This is quite a large book of nearly 300 pages and is intended to be read by parents to their small children whom they wish to teach about God and the Christian faith. It is divided into 14 sections and 86 chapters. The first section is entitled, ‘Looking for God’, the next, ‘God is very great’, followed by ‘Sin spoiled the world’ and so on to a chapter on the last things called, ‘Things that are to happen’. Each chapter is of a length suitable for daily reading and contains a short lesson, some points for talking about, a text bearing on the subject, a short Bible-reading, a verse to be sung and a brief prayer. Simple language is used throughout.
The plan is good, and a book of this kind is greatly needed. The range of subjects is wide and suitable for the purpose of teaching small children a lot of Bible doctrine which could result, by God’s blessing, in their coming to God in repentance and faith. Yet, this reviewer, who has the utmost sympathy with projects of this sort, and some understanding of the difficulties involved, feel very disappointed with this book and wonders if the Trust have been wise in reproducing the American edition exactly, because it contains features which are not likely to commend it to many Christian parents. It has been printed by the photo-litho process which means that it is an exact copy, page by page, of the original book as printed in the U.S.A. This is a cheaper method than that of setting up type, but as it prevents alterations being made to the original text, it makes editing impossible. And I would say that editing was very necessary.
One very objectionable feature of the book is the occasional use of ‘You’ and ‘Your’ when God is being addressed instead of ‘Thou’ and ‘Thy’, etc., which is both accurate and reverent. Then, some of the presentations of Scripture doctrine are inaccurate. It is not easy to impart correct knowledge of Bible doctrine, or some of it anyway, to young children, and in some places the authoress has not been too successful in her way of putting things. For instance, in Chapter One she says, “A baby needs its mother. It wants Mother’s love. It needs Mother’s care. So our hearts reach out to God. We want Him to love us, etc.” Augustine spoke truly of man’s heart being restless until it finds rest in God, but that is not the same as saying that we in our natural sinful state want God to love us. How can a heart which is enmity against God desire to be loved by such a being as God? Again, in the chapter, ‘God is everywhere’, the question is asked, “Doesn’t it make you happy to know He is everywhere?” Can, however, a guilty sinner be happy to think that he is always in the presence and view of God? And, to give another example, to define God’s being all glorious as, “very holy and shiny bright”, seems quite inadequate even when confined to the use of language which little ones understand. Better not to attempt a definition than this!
The book is intended to lead little ones to God, this assuming that by nature they are away from God, guilty, corrupt and lost. Yet, long before it reaches at Chapter 27 the lesson, ‘God gave his Son for us’, many of the prayers employ the language of adoption — “Father; our Father” — and lessons assume, judging from the language they use, that the children being taught are God’s children. This seems to me one of the main faults of the book. Similarly, we find it repeatedly said that Christ died “for us”, the word quoted being emphasised. “What does it mean, to believe on Jesus as a Saviour? It means that we must be sure, deep down in our hearts, that He died for us, and that the Father has forgiven all our sins.” But what the Bible teaches is that if we as ungodly sinners believe that Christ died for such, we shall be saved. The following quotation could easily be taken to teach a universal redemption. “Because all people sin against the great and holy God, they should be punished forever. But God made a plan to send Jesus, His Son, to take the punishment in their place. So God made Jesus the way of salvation.” Miss Schoolland says that the place of all people was taken by Jesus. Nowhere does the book stress that Christ died only for some men, and it says scarcely anything about the final destination of Christless sinners while devoting a chapter to the subject of heaven.
There is a section on prayer which says nothing about confession of sin. It does teach that all prayer should be offered in Jesus’ name, but this teaching is not followed in the prayers which conclude the lessons. Many of them contain no mention of the Saviour at all, and they are variously addressed to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. How much better if they had all been addressed to God the Father in some aspect of his holy and majestic character, and invariably ended with a plea for forgiveness of sins and the grant of all petitions for Christ’s sake!
There are, of course, references to Christmas and Easter, and a few of the illustrations could well have been omitted. When there is so much in this book that is in accord with Bible truth, and so much suitable teaching well illustrated from the characters and events of God’s Word, it is all the more regrettable that the defects indicated above forbid a wholehearted recommendation. The truth seems to be that ‘Leading little ones to God’ is not up to Banner of Truth standards. Neither in its general tone, nor in many of its particular statements is it as thoroughly Biblical and Reformed as one might look for.
A.McP.