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ENGLAND HAMILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY JUN15I964 ^/ HAMILTON PUBLIC L '■I'irt/iS^ '■**■■ "^jf^- PREFACE in a look ! How wondrous ! Not life as the reward of weary toil ; the result of agonizing efforts ; the purchase of money, of tears, or of prayers, but Life — eternal, blessed life, as the result of a believing look to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Redeemer of the world. The agony of the lost will ha the terrible reflection that they might have had life if they had only looked, but they would not. He that was poor on earth is not now able to say, I had no money, and therefore I could not buy it ; nor he that was always busy, I had no time to attend to it. Life was offered them as a gift, if they would only look to Jesus Christ, and by 5 PREFACE Him be saved ; but even this was rejected. And now, confounded by the sense of their own guilt, they must admit the awful justice of His dread judgment. They are without excuse. Reader, this life is now offered you on the same terms : life in a look. If some one showed you how, by a bold adventure, you would secure untold wealth, would you not at least look into his scheme ? To- day God says : ** Come now, and let us reason together,'* and as you listen. He says : '' Behold the Larnb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." ** He that believeth on Him hath everlasting life." Such are God's conditions to-day. To- morrow, you may be in eternity, where the salvation of Christ may be beyond your reach for ever. Some men have amassed enormous wealth — some soldiers have gained decisive victories— by seizing the critical moment, 6 PREFACE when everything depended on immediate action. Whilst others were deliberating, they had executed their design : the opportunity was grasped, the prize secured. TO-DAY may be the critical moment with you. It may be the very last day when life may be obtained by a believing look at Christ— the last day when the Son of God will turn to you, and ask you to repent, believe, and live. Delay not, lest the opportunity, being neglected, may never return. When the steamship London, some years ago, was endeavouring to cross the , Bay of Biscay, she sank with nearly all her crew. The reason of her loss was, neglect of the critical moment when she might have turned back. On she went, neglecting every warning ; until, at last, advance and retreat were alike impossible, and then, with one terrible plunge, she sank for ever. MAURICE S. BALDWIN. 7 CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAOE THE NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH . ii CHAPTER II THE NATURE OF THE NEW BIRTH . 27 CHAPTER III REGENERATION IN ITS CONNECTION WITH CHRIST ON THE CROSS . . 61 CONCLUSION LOOKING UNTO JESUS ; OR, GROWTH IN GRACE 103 9 .1 liiiMiiiii CHAPTER I THE NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH" M I wrong in supposing you wish "ow^to be to know HOW TO BE SAVED ? If I am, and you really care nothing for the subject, please, nevertheless, read on. In these pages, you will find nothing but that which really concerns YOURSELF ; and that which concerns ourselves, demands at least our careful attention. If, on the contrary, you really wish for this knowledge, then the very first truth you have to learn is : THE VITAL NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH. This was the first doctrine our blessed Lord taught Nicodemus, and this is the first, I am sure. He would teach YOU. In the third chapter of St. John*s Gospel we read that Nicodemus, a learned ruler II LIFE IN A LOOK Teacliei' from God of the Jews, came to Jesus by night, ap- parently to inquire of Him the way of salvation. ** Rabbi y** said Nicodemus, " we know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.** There is much to admire in Nicodemus. He evidently had far higher views of the Lord Jesus, than many of his own nation. The Pharisees said of Christ : " He casteth out devils by Beelze- bub, the chief of the devils.^* Others were heard to say : ** He deceiveth the people V But Nicodemus uttered no such blasphemy ; on the contrary, he thought the Saviour was a true Prophet. He comes to Him and says : ** Rabbi, we know that Thou art a TEACHER COME FROM GOD." It was a great truth to know, even though he knew no more than this ; for certainly Christ was a teacher and much more than a teacher ; He was what no prophet ever was — not even such men as Isaiah or 12 ■.w^ttmy-mi' LIFE IN A LOOK Daniel— **THE LIGHTOF THE WORLD/' l^^^Y'^^' Thousands in our day go as far as this, ^"^'^^'^ and here halt, Jews, who reject Christ as their Redeemer, but yet in some sense consider Him a great Reformer — Sceptics who would subvert, if possible, half the Bible — Professing Christians, ignorant of the life that is in Christ — all may be heard to-day addressing the Lord Jesus in the exact words of Nicodemus : " Rabbi, we know Thou art a teacher come from God." Nothing more ; simply one of the many teachers come from God, to enlighten and to bless the world. What Nicodemus had to learn — what thousands of professing Christians need to know — what indeed the whole world shall yet be made to see — is, that Christ is more than a teacher come from God ; He is THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. Eternal life dwells in Him, " for as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself." 13 LIFE IN A LOOK Eternal Life Therefore, until we know Christ as our LIFE, we know Him . not. ** He that hath the Son, hath LIFE ; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath NOT life/' ** God hath given to us eternal life ; and this life is in His Son." And now, I will ask you carefully to weigh our Lord's answer to Nicodemus. Its striking peculiarity is, that it seems to have no apparent connection with the words of Nicodemus ; and yet, doubtless, it was the exact answer he needed. The learned Jew had begun the interview by saying : ** Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God.'* This remark the Saviour passes by ; and, addressing Himself to the great truth of which Nicodemus was most profoundly ignorant, namely, his need of a new birth, He utters these memorable words : " VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO THEE, EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD." 14 LIFE IN A LOOK These words of the Lord Jesus are as spiritual directly addressed to YOU, reader, as ^'^^ they were to Nicodemus ; that is, if you have not yet experienced this new birth. Seeing they are for your everlasting life, and that the speaker is none other than Jesus Christ Himself, I implore you, both earnestly and prayerfully, to weigh them. Observe, first, Christ goes to the very root of things. He says spiritual LIFE begins with spiritual BIRTH. Men see physical activity all about them, and they know that in each case this activity had its origin in birth. There was first birth, then development, then manhood, and with manhood, ceaseless industry of mind and body. In spiritual matters, however, thousands who fully admit the above, will persist in reversing this well-known law. The idea to which they most tenaciously cling is, that if they can only DO these things which are 15 LIFE IN A LOOK Living' Members pleasing in God's sight, then God will grant them life. But in spiritual matters, as in physical, life is first, activity after- wards. You meet a man anxiously pressing toward the cemetery, and, stopping him, ask the cause. " I have just obtained," he says, ** a large contract, and want men to enable me to fulfil it.'* ** But why go, of all places, to the cemetery ? " you again ask — ** none are there, but the dead." ** The very reason why I do go," he replies — ** unemployed hands there, sir ! unemployed hands ! I have something for them to do." " The man's mad," you say. No doubt he is, but not more so, in a spiritual sense, than he who addresses a whole congregation, dead in trespasses and sins, as if they were all LIVING members of Jesus Christ ; and, taking all the precepts of the Christian life, asks i6 ■ LIFE IN A LOOK the are those who have not yet been born, nor Breath begun to BREATHE, to carry them out in their daily lives. How often, for instance, do we hear this text given out ; ** So run that ye may obtain y'^ and then the glorious and com- pleted salvation of the Son of God is described as a race in which the swiftest runner alone obtains eternal life. The congregation, largely composed of people absolutely dead before God, are then exhorted by all means to run this race and by all means to obtain this life. It is just this outrageous perversion of the Word of God, which utterly misleads thousands ; it bolsters them up with the false idea that they are the children of God, v/hen they are not ; it is a going to the DEAD to give them employment ; assigning labour to those who have no life ; and the result is utter and hopeless failure. Spiritual life only begins with spiritual birth : and as those to whom I B 17 LIFE IN A LOOK Hiitnan Effort allude, have not been horn of the Spirit, they can no more fulfil the precepts of the Christian life than you, friend, can fly with the eagle, or race with the lightning of heaven. Secondly : These words of Christ clearly prove the UTTER HELPLESSNESS OF ALL HUMAN EFFORT. One thing may safely be said of Nico- demus, and that is, he was thoroughly in earnest. There was, therefore, nothing within the range of human possibility he would not gladly have done at the sug- gestion of our Lord. Had Christ told him his sorrow for his past sins was not deep enough, he would have humbled himself profoundly. Had Christ commanded the immediate surrender of all his goods to feed the poor, doubtless he would have hasted to obey ; — but our Lord says none of these things. He gives him, in fact, NOTHING TO DO. He prescribes i8 LIFE IN A LOOK no fasts, no tears, no human effort ; Bom only utters these words — so dark and inexplicable to the mind of Nicodemus — ** Except a man he horn again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'^ As long as a man thinks there is some- thing to do, and by the doing of which he can procure' his salvation — no matter what that something may be — he will never despair. If he fail in his effort to-day, he will only try the more to- morrow ; but when at last the conviction is forced upon him that he is absolutely helpless, lost, and dead, and that he must be BORN AGAIN— then he sees, for the first time, that God requires something utterly BEYOND his power. Now a man may make the most costly sacrifices, he may even go as far as laying down his life in the fond hope of pleasing God thereby, but there is one thing he can not do, and that is, effect his own new birth. Yet our Lord says positively, 19 aK»in LIFE IN A LOOK Cannot See ** Exccpt a man bc ho-n again, he CANNOT SEE the kingdom of God." It follows, therefore, that the unsaved sinner is thrown back on the power and grace of God. His own ^.fforts in this matter are utterly unavailing. This only can he do : speechless, lay his hand upon his mouth ; humbled, bend down his face to the dust ; and thus, in silence, listen^ saying : ** I will hear what God the Lord will speak.'* But many people say : ** Does not St. Paul command, * Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ' ? and does not this precept teach us that sal- vation is the result of a life-long struggle ? " By no means. To whom did the Apostle utter this command ? Was it to the Court of Nero ? — to the gladiators of the circus ? — to men dead in trespasses and sins ? No, it was to the Philippian Christians — to men and women rejoicing in the truth. His very letter is thus addressed : ** To all the SAINTS in Christ Jesus which are 20 LIFE IN A LOOK at Philippi." Now, no man can be a Saivat saint while the wrath of God abides on him, and the wrath of God abides on all who are not ** justified by faith " : it abides, in other words, on all who are unsaved ; but the Philippians were ** justi- fied by faith f^^ and as such, were saved - -BORN AGAIN. What, then, does the Apostle mean when he says, ** Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling " ? Undoubtedly he means the salvation you haue already received — not the salvation you are to obtain — and we are to do so ** with fear and trembling,*' lest we should dishonour our Lord, and lose the recom- pense of the reward.* (See i Cor. 3. 14.) * This idea is well expressed by the Church of England in her Tenth Article : " Wherefore we have no power to do goods work pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing (going before) us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will." 21 lun 'n HAMILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY LIFE IN A LOOK Its Vital Necessity No, there is nothing you can DO, but, as LOST and HELPLESS, listen to the words of Christ. Again : Our Lord^s xvords teach the vital NECESSITY of the new birth. Whatever opinions we may hold about the new birth, there is one point on which all must be agreed, and that is, ITS VITAL NECESSITY. Our Lord does not say : ** Except a man be born again, it will be ages of time before he enters the kingdom of God ; " no — nor, ** Except a man be born again, he will never enjoy the same degree of glory ; " but, ** Except a ihan be born again, he cannot SEE," that is, comprehend, ** the kingdom of God." You will therefore see the absolute necessity of your obtaining this new birth. Whatever its meaning — whatever event it points to — its vital importance is awfully evident. Our Lord says : ** Without it, no man can ever SEE the kingdom of God." 22 HAMILTON PUBLIC LiuHARV tfaHW W w q WI LIFE IN A LOOK Further : Our Lord's words teach us H^avmiy Dirtli that the birth He refers to is a HEAVENLY hirth. Literally, the word '' again " is, '' FROM ABOVE." Now, we have all had one birth from beneath ; that is, our natural, physical birth, when we came into the world ; but Christ says we need another — one from above. When^ therefore, we have this birth from above, we are, in our Lord's language, born of the Spirit ; we have experienced this wondrous birth, without which no man can see the king- dom of God. I would have you also notice that the two births, the physical and the spiritual, NEVER OCCUR TO- GETHER. Man was altogether " born in sins," with a ** heart deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Indeed, so strongly is this pointed out, that St. Paul tells us, in the 8th chapter of Romans, ** The mind of the flesh (* the carnal mind,' in our version) is ENMITY AGAINST 23 .'( LIFE IN A LOOK Emnily God GOD.'* It is not merely at enmity, but the very principle — it is enmity itself. St. Paul further affirms two other truths, of this natural heart of ours : fir sty ** that it is not subject to the law of God ; " and second y ** neither indeed CAN be." ' Born, therefore, with such a heart as this, do you not indeed need to be BORN AGAIN ? And surely it is apparent to you, that no one receives these two births, that is, the physical and the spiritual, at one and the same time ; for then, our spiritual birth could no more be a matter of injunction or command, than our physical ; we should ALL be regenerated people from our very entrance into the world, and no one would need to be saved, since all would be saved already. With this subject, I wish to draw your attention to an expression, very common, but one thoroughly unscriptural. I refer to the oft-used phrase, ** a change of 24 I-IFE IN A LOOK heart/* It does not occur in the whole Good Heart range of Scripture. We find in Daniel that a watcher said, concerning Nebuchad- nezzar, ** Let his heart he changed from mart's, and let a heasVs heart he given unto him ; " but from Genesis to Revela- tion there is no passage which teaches that God CHANGES the natural evil heart into a GOOD HEART. We find such expressions as a ** new heart/' ** another heart," a ** new spirit," but never a changed heart. The truth is, that God never mends, renews, or changes the natural heart. What He says, is — " A NEW heart also will I give you, and a NEW spirit will I put within you." Our Lord, therefore, in speaking to Nicodemus, did not say : ** Except a man's heart be renewed or changed, he shall not see the kingdom of God ; " but, — ** Except a man be BORN AGAIN." 25 LIFE IN A LOOK Trusting: Jesus ii' TRUSTING JESUS I am trusting Thee* Lord Jesus, Trusting only Thee ! Trusting Thee for full salvation, Great and free. I am trusting Thee for pardon, At Thy feet I bow j For Thy grace and tender mercy Trusting now. I am trusting Thee for cleansing, In the crimson flood ; Trusting Thee to make me holy, By Thy blood. I am trusting Thee to guide me, Thou alone shalt lead. Every day and hour supplying All my need. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, Never let me fall ! I am trusting Thee for ever. And for all. 26 it • CHAPTER II THE NATURE OF THE NEW BIRTH J THE Saviour's words fell on heavy ^^^^ Spirit ears. Not the faintest idea of the truth He uttered passed through the mind of Nicodemus ; for, supposing our Lord to be speaking of a physical birth, he asks with astonishment : ** How can a man be born when he is old ? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born ? " To this the Redeemer makes the memorable reply, ** Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of WATER and of THE SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Our first inquiry therefore must be. What did our Lord mean by the expression "BORN OF WATER"? 27 », « LIFE IN A LOOK Born of Water 1^/ Water is used in Scripture to signify the perfect cleansing which Christ effects in His people^ including not only His purging of our sins by His most precious blood, but also His cleansing us from our own carnal and deceitful hearts. We find the word ** water " repeatedly occurring in Scripture, as a striking and beautiful type of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For instance : ** Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wme and milk without money and without price ** (Isa. 55. i). Here we have an invitation for all who are in want, to come and partake of the rich bounty of the Gospel feast — the unsearchable riches of Christ, made known to us in that Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth. When our Lord was upon earth, men had manifest proofs of His power ; they 28 m \fy the effects His icious from ien ley LIFE IN A LOOK saw for themselves His astounding mir- Christ acles ; they had the evidence of His actual being before their eyes ; and therefore, in many cases, their faith was the result of sight. Now, all this is changed, and men are asked to believe, not on the evidence of that which they see, but on the testimony of that which they hear. Even when our Lord was on earth. He asserted the superior blessedness of that faith which arose from hearing, without actual sight. ** Thomas," said He, ** because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Christ is now on high, seated in glory, but before He ascended. He assured His disciples that it was expedient for them that He should go away and leave them ; and the reason He assigns for so great a change, is, that the Dispensation which was immediately to follow was to be the Dispensation of the Spirit. He was 29 l^ LIFE IN A LOOK Holy Spirit HO longcf visibly to tread the earth ; men were no longer with their own eyes to see Him raising the dead^ healing the sick, calming the sea, feeding the hungry, or casting out unclean spirits with His word. In His room He would send the Holy Spirit, not to work on the external organs, but to convince the understanding, and to win the heart. And this the Spirit now does, not drawing sinners to Himself, but to the Lord Jesus Christ ; for, speak- ing of the Spirit, our Lord says : ** He shall TESTIFY OF ME " (John 15. 26). His work, therefore, is to uplift the person, the work, and the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. He brings home to the soul of the sinner, God's record concerning His Son ; He convinces him of his unutter- able need of that salvation which the Father has provided in Christ ; and He it is who enables the sinner to accept the eternal gift — to believe and live for ever. 30 LIFE IN A LOOK But how can the Spirit testify without a The Bii)ie testimony ? How can He speak to the heart of the sinner, unless He have a message from the Father to convey to him ? A testimony, a message, He must have ; and that testimony — that message He has in the BIBLE, the Word of the eternal God. The Holy Spirit therefore, in leading a lost one to Christ, does not bring before his eyes physical miracles ; nor does He scare him with dreams, or overcome his judgment with appeals to the sensuous and emotional. On the contrary. He speaks to the conscience through the testimony of God*s Word. A person knows not how — but suddenly, and with great power, a passage of Scripture is brought home to him. It is no new revelation, but a well-known verse he has read and heard a thousand times before ; now it comes down into his soul, with a reality 31 HI t 'i-Q\ LIFE IN A LOOK 9 >^ The Word and conviction unfelt before. He wonders what it all means. It is the Holy Ghost applying God^s written Word to his con- science ; opening his eyes, and arousing his mind to hear the eternal truths which make for everlasting life. Such, then, is the way in which the Spirit acts ; His message is the Word of God ; and His work is to apply this Word to the consciences of those who either read it themselves or have it through others. Thus we see clearly the way in which people are saved. First, the Word of God, declaring the way in which alone God will justify sinners, namely, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And secondly — the Holy Spirit applying that Word with saving power to the heart of man. The WORD and the HOLY SPIRIT are, therefore, God's two great agents in the salvation of men. If the Holy Spirit were 32 LIFE IN A LOOK alone on earth, without the Word of God, b He could not bear testimony to the truth concerning Jesus Christ ; and if, on the other hand, the Bible were by itself on earth, without the presence of the Spirit, no one would be saved, ** for the natural man (that is, the unrenewed heart) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : tor they are FOOLISH- NESS unto him ; and he CANNOT know them, because they are spiritually dis- cerned *' (i Cor. 2. 14). Such being the case, we might expect our Lord to declare that : ** Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit^ he cannot enter into the kingdom of God/' St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says : ** In Christ Jesus I have BEGOT- TEN YOU THROUGH THE GOSPEL'' (i Cor. 4. 15). So also St. James : ** Of His own will BEGAT HE US WITH THE WORD OF TRUTH" (J as. i. 18). St. Peter's testimony is also to the same c 33 e>;;utteii You * '3 I '. LIFE IN A LOOK it God s Word m i effect : '' Being BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever " (i Pet. i. 23). To be born, therefore, of WATER, is to be born by the agency of GOD* S WORD ; and to be born of the Spirit y is to be born through the Holy Ghost using that Word. Now, there are many who believe that by this word ** water '* we are to under- stand baptism. I wish therefore to say on what grounds I utterly dissent from such an interpretation. First : // water he explained here as being the literal water of baptism y all mention of the Redeemer^ work in the regeneration of man is excluded from a sentence in which Christ is teaching what is the VERY NATURE of regeneration. Our Lord is speaking of the regeneration of man ; He mentions two agents, water and the Spirit. Of these, the latter we know to be the Holy Ghost, without whom 34 V«il LIFE IN A LOOK man cannot possibly be regenerated ; »J"'y^i>"^i the other is ** water." Now, if this be interpreted as literal water, it would teach that man is regenerated by the Holy Ghost and the simple element of water — without any mention of the work of Christ. This is irreconcilable with the fact, that the Bible teems with statements to the effect, that we have life only from the Lord Jesus Christ. He Himself says : " I am the life." St. John adds : " He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life.** For this reason, as well as that already adduced, namely, that Christians are directly stated to be begotten through the Gospel, I deem it wholly improbable that our Lord ascribes regeneration here to the Holy Ghost and literal water. Secondly : // is according to analogy, or what we know of other parts of Scripture y to believe that water is here mentioned as a TYPE of something deeper^ and therefore 35 M if 1 f! LIFE IN A LOOK Watci .,i, t .» not to he taken in its literal significa- tion. In explaining the words, ** Except a man be born of water," many urge that the word ** water " must be understood in its literal sense, and affirm that no other interpretation is reasonable. In reply, I may say, there is no word of more varied significance in the whole Bible than this word ** water." For example, in this same Gospel, we have no less than three distinct occurrences of the word water, and in each place a totally different signification is evidently demanded. The passages are : Chap. 3. 5 ; Chap. 4. 13, 14 ; and Chap. 7. 37, 38, 39. Now let it be granted for argument's sake, that when our Lord spoke to Nico- demus. He meant literal water ; it follows, then, that when He addressed the woman at the well. He meant literal water a/sOy and would have her understand that, instead of water from that well. He would 36 LIFE IN A LOOK give her the water of Baptism, and Baptism o.rt of cod would be in her a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. Now, no one seriously believes such to be the inter- pretation of the passage, as it is evident that our Lord designed to impress upon her mind a deep, life-giving truth, which she utterly failed to comprehend. By water, our Lord means here ** eternal life.*' The '' gift of God," says the Apostle Paul, ** is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord " (Rom. 6. 23). In the seventh chapter of St. John, we find our Lord again speaking of water — " living water." Here, however, we have positive inspiration to tell us what He meant : ** But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive." Thus water here means the Holy Ghost. It follows, therefore, that we have the word water used in three different mean- ings in the third, fourth, and seventh chapters of St. John. That water is thus 37 • « I *4 * )i • ll I, LIFE IN A LOOK Baptism variously to be explained, admits of no doubt, and therefore we may the more readily see its force in the passage before us (John 3. 5), as indicating that great element by which God quickens the spiritually dead, namely. His Word. Thirdly : // by water were meant Christian Baptism, the Old Testament saints lacked the main element in regenera- tion, for they were never baptized. Baptism is essentially a New Testament ordinance, and therefore, if our Lord were stating something absolutely new, we can hardly understand His surprise at the ignorance of Nicodemus. ** An thou," He said, *^ a master of Israel, and knowest not these things ? " Nicodemus may have seen proselytes baptized, but neither he nor his fathers had ever seen that ordinance administered to one born in the faith of Israel. Indeed, if we insist that watsr here can only mean Christian baptism, we must exclude apparently from regenera- 3« LIFE IN A LOOK tion, and therefore from salvation, all Preach the ' Gospel those Old Testament saints whose rest, we know, is secured ; all children dying unbaptized ; all who at their last moments may be utterly unable to obtain baptism ; even the very thief to whom our Lord on the Cross said : ** This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise," besides hosts of others who, for doctrinal reasons, have not received this rite. Fourthly : If Baptism he God^s great way of regenerating men, it is utterly beyond the power of any one to explain certain passages and facts of Scripture, St. Paul, for instance, says : ** I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius ; . . . for Christ sent me NOT TO BAPTIZE, but to PREACH THE* GOSPEL" (i Cor. i. 17). Now such language is utterly inexplicable if the water of baptism be the great means of regenerating men ; for surely, the great Apostle would hardly thank God 39 • r -2 * 1 1 ; ;'l i't t' m k 1 Born of Spirit LIFE IN A LOOK he had had no part in the work of saving the Corinthians, and surely Christ Himself would not have sent His servant to do the less and omit the greater work. We now come to 4 i y ■* *. "BORN OF THE SPIRIT." In nothing is Scripture clearer than in its testimony concerning the lost condition of him who is yet in his sins, that is, the unregenerate man. SucTi an one, it de- clares, is a criminal. Having refused the salvation which is in Christ, and the blood which cleanseth from sin, his guilt is ever before God ; it rises up like a cloud, calling for judgment, and there- fore, while he is in this state — separate from Christ through unbelief — emphatic- ally it declares he shall not SEE life, but that the wrath of God abideCi on him. Far otherwise, however, is it with him who has fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us in the Gospel ; 40 LIFE IN A LOOK nesj he stands justified from all things. HisRi^ glorious Substitute, the Lamb of God, has borne his sins and taken his place in wrath ; the penalty of death, justly due to his guilt, has been endured by Christ ; and this sacrifice of the Son of God having been accepted by the Father as the full and eternal satisfaction for all his sins, he stands absolutely FREE, UNCHARGED WITH FAULT BEFORE GOD. But this is not all. Not only is the believer for ever delivered from death by virtue of the sacrifice of his chosen Sub- stitute, but this same Substitute, even Jesus Christ, is made unto him an ever- lasting RIGHTEOUSNESS. As, there- fore, the righteousness of Christ is of infinite merit, it follows, that as Christ is precious, so is the believer precious to the Father. Thus, accepted in the Be- loved, he stands wholly in the righteous- ness of Another. Such then — the infinite merit of Christ hteous t i IS j: .i * 1, 41 Heir of Glory I fe n 4 t > t i *. LIFE IN A LOOK —constitutes the ONLY RIGHT of the believer to stand before God and say : ** I know Thou hast for ever saved me. This is my only plea, as a child of God, and an heir of glory." So much then for his right to call God his Father in Christ, and to rest in that peace which comes from being justified by faith. His acceptance, his whole standing, rests entirely on the Lord Jesus Christ. We now proceed to another and equally momentous question, namely. What DISPOSITION is that, in the believer, by which, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, he is enabled to serve God ? Certainly he has none in his own natural heart, that being '' deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." *< It is not subject to the law of God, NEITHER INDEED CAN BE." In the emphatic 42 LIFE IN A LOOK language of St. Paul, the mind of the Death flesh, that is, the natural heart, is DEATH. Now, can the reader for one moment imagine, that with such a heart, any man can serve God ? Sooner will water help fire to burn brighter, than our natural heart minister to the service of God. Observe, it is not inability to keep abreast of God's law, to which I allude. It is not as if T said : As well might an eagle race with the lightning as our natural heart keep up to the perfect law of God ; for in that case, the eagle might fly very swiftly, though unsuccessfully. There would be failure y but not antagonism. With our natural heart it is far otherwise, ** it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." To trust in this heart — to believe that it either can or will serve God — is like letting loose a wild zebra of the desert, in the fond hope that afterwards it will return at your call. It cannot possibly do so ; its whole nature 43 1' I I: i i I i i'M LIFE IN A LOOK Creates Anew i ^t revolts against the yoke ; it hates all restraint, and like the winds, it must be free. Two mistakes in connection with this truth are very common ; they are the following : — First : Many imagine that on their believing, God will change this natural, evil heart, and make it holy and good ; while, secondly, others suppose the natural heart will he wholly done away with, so that it will not even exist. Now, with regard to the first of these errors, nothing is clearer than that God does not CHANGE the natural heart into that which is good and holy. God does no mending, no refurbishing ; He CREATES ANEW. What, therefore, we do find in the Word of God is, the doctrine of a new creation. St. Paul says : ** Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE " (2 Cor. 5. 17). And again : ** For in Christ Jesus neither 44 LIFE IN A LOOK circumcision availeth anything, nor un- created circumcision, but a NEW CREATURE - (Gal. 6. 15). '' For we,'* that is, believers, ** are His workmanship, CREATED m Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2. 10). The old heart, therefore, will not be remade, or changed ; on the contrary, it will con- tinue to the end the same utterly hostile and corrupt nature that it was at first. The second error is refuted by the constant statement of the Apostles, as well as by the bitter experience of God's people in all ages, and in all lands. Who can read the Epistles of St. Paul, without seeing how terribly he had to struggle with an evil heart within ? '' I know," he says, ** that in me (that is, in my fiesh) dwelleth NO GOOD THING" (Rom. 7. 18). ** I find," he adds, - a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see 45 1 1-1 lliil LIFE IN A LOOK it Law of Sin another law IN MY MEMBERS, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the LAW OF SIN which is in my members. wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." In a remarkable passage in Galatians, the same Apostle declares : ** The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other " (Gal. 5. 17). These texts I quote, to show how desperately opposed to God's grace the natural heart is. It is true, we shall be wholly free from its contaminating presence when with Christ in glory ; true, that even here, by virtue of our union with the risen Redeemer, we are legally free from its DOMINION, and may actually be so from its BONDAGE ; but we are in this life never free from its conscious presence ; never free from the absolute necessity 46 c t LIFE IN A LOOK of watching and praying, lest the flesh momi. betray us into sin. And now, by way of illustration, let us suppose the case of a man, who, through grace, has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. What is his position ? The blood of Christ has availed to wash his sins for ever away. But is this all ? Suppose God were now to leave him, would he not soon be as deep in the mire as ever ? Certainly, only lower down still. You want a servant ; under the hope of reward, a savage offers himself ; you accept his terms, and he enters your service. In an unguarded moment he attacks you, and having robbed you of all your effects, leaves you for dead. On your recovery, you send for him, pardon ail his brutality, and inform him you freely forgive his outrage. What have you done ? Have you bettered the savage ? 47 )f LIFE IN A LOOK A New Heart 41 No, not in the least. He was a savage before you forgave him, and he is a savage after you have forgiven him. He needs more than forgiveness ; he needs to be made NEW ; he needs A NEW HEART. Now Scripture discloses the great truth that God not only forgives sins ; He CREATES a NEW NATURE, that is. He will absolutely call into existence that which before was not in him, and this He will do by the operation of the Holy Spirit. I wish now to call your attention to two truths which should ever be kept clear and distinct in our minds : — First, our RIGHT to stand before God as accepted, lies wholly in the infinite merit of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and secondly, our ABILITY to render God service, lies in the creation within us of the ** new man,'* through the power of the Holy Ghost. 48 i ! LIFE IN A LOOK THE NEW MAN Writing to the Romans, the Apostle ^^"' o'' Man refers to this great truth as follows : ** Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer serve sin *' (Rom. 6. 6, Alford translation). ** OUR OLD MAN." To whom does he refer ? In his Epistle to the Galatians, he says : ** I have been crucified with Christ (co-crucified) ; it is, however, no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me*' (Chap. 2. 20, Ellicott). In comparing these two passages, we find that the " I '* of Galatians stands for the '' old man " of Romans ; this <* I "— this ** old man " was crucified with Christ ; that is, in the death of Christ, not only did God provide a full satisfaction for the actual sins of His believing people, but He then and there condemned sin in the flesh, that is to say, God at that i> 49 LIFE IN A LOOK I r 4 I Crucified time passed judicial sentence of death upon ** our corrupt and fallen nature/* so that it is NOW, like a man who has been tried, found guilty, and condemned to die ; and is therefore, legally, though not actually, DEAD. What was true in the case of St. Paul is af^irmable of all believers, for of the whole family of faith it is said : ** But they who are of Christ Jesus CRUCIFIED the flesh, with its passions and with its desires" (Gal. 5. 24, Alford). They all died with Christ ; hey all had the sin which is in their fiw»,*i, that is, their ** old man," condemned ; they all have been set free in the liberty which is in Christ Jesus. We now come to the *' NEW MAN," who, by the Holy Ghost, has been CREATED in the believer. St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, tells them that when they believed on the Lord, they did, at that moment, put off the old 50 LIFE IN A LOOK Lth . »» << n II man and put on the •' new. " in pressing this vital truth upon them, his language is strong, as he is most anxious they should walk worthy of their risen Lord. ** But YE did not so learn Christ ; if indeed ye heard Him, and were taught in Him, as is truth in Jesus, namely, that ye put off as concerns the former con- versation the old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of deceit, and that ye are renewed in the spirit of your minds, and that ye put on THE NEW MAN, WHICH WAS CREATED AFTER GOD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS" (Eph. 4. 20-24). Exactly similar to this is the statement in Colos- sians : ** Do not lie one to another, seeing that ye have PUT OFF from you THE OLD MAN with his deeds ; and have PUT ON THE NEW MAN, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of HIM THAT CREATED HIM " (Chap. 3. 9, 10). So, too, in another passage. The New Mail 51 LIFE IN A LOOK A New Creatine where the Apostle is showing how Christ had made both Jewish and Gentile be- lievers new creatures in Himself, he says : ** For He (Christ) is our peace, who hath made both one (Jew and Gentile), and hath broken down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of command- ments contained in ordinances ; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace** (Eph. 2. 14, 15). The ** new man *' Jiere is not merely one who does not stand on national privileges, but one who has spiritually been made new by the Holy Ghost having created in him THE NEW MAN. In writing to the Corinthians, the same inspired writer says : ** Wherefore if any man be in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATURE*' (2 Cor. 5. 17). Not a reformed man, but a new man, ** God*s workmanship, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS unto good works '* (Eph. 2. 10). And he is this 52 ' LIFE IN A LOOK ** new creature " by virtue of God having ^he spirit created in him that which before he possessed not, and thus enabling the believer, through the mighty and ever present help of the Holy Ghost, to walk in the light as Christ is in the light. And this walking in the light is no mere mechanical imitation of Christ, but the result of the Holy Ghost having begotten us anew in Christ Jesus. In order to make this subject of the New Man clearer, I will ask you to observe three points : First, the origin of its existence ; Secondly, the time when it occurs ; Thirdly, the result of its being within us. As regards the first, I have already shown it is of God. The Holy Ghost is that Person of the Trinity by whom this is effected, for our Lord distinctly states : ** It is the Spirit that quickeneth " (John 6. 63), and that His people are all 53 LIFE IN A LOOK The Fountain <: ft I' 4 \ ■ * t 1 BORN OF THE SPIRIT. Life dwells in Christ. He is the life-giving one, and therefore he that hath the Son hath life ; but this quickening power Christ has equally with the Father, for, ** as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He wiW Christ, therefore, the fountain, pre- server, and fullness of life, is the Author of our life. By His Holy Spirit He has quickened us, having created within us THE NEW MAN. As, therefore, we have before seen that our RIGHT to stand before God in peace, rests on the merit of ANOTHER, even on THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST, so now we see that our ABILITY to serve Him, rests on the fact of there having been created within us a new nature, in union with the will of God, through life, and in which the Holy Ghost lives to strengthen and guide. 54 t LIFE IN A LOOK Secondly, the time when this new Ti^e i creation takes place is that moment when the sinner first, with the heart, believes in Jesus Christ as his Saviour. As I shall treat of this subject in my third chapter, I must refer the reader to it for a full and definite declaration concerning that life which, by faith, is instantaneously com- municated to the soul. Thirdly y the results of the '' new man '' being within us are, that we are enabled, through the Holy Ghost assisting us, to walk with God and do His holy will. There is now within the believer that which really does love God so that he can say with the Apostle Paul : ** I delight in the law of God after the inward man.*' He has indeed become a son, and as a son can glorify the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. Ignorance of this truth leads to the most deplorable results, for it induces people to make a fond effort to try and serve God with an unrenewed 55 . award LIFE IN A LOOK Utter Failure it i . i t * I 1 i: « '! .1, i mind. Not having received Christ by faith into their hearts, they have only within them a principle which is in direct antagonism to God. Consequently, the effort to ** please Him ** can only have one result, and that is, utter failure. How often, for instance, have poor drun- kards come to the writer, burning with indignation against themselves on account of the degradation into which their own sins and follies had involved them ! They have vowed and vowed again to leave all the past behind them, and to give up sin in every form. Their abhorrence of sin has been real ; their intention to reform sincere ; their prayers earnest, sometimes agonizing ; but within a month they have gone back like a dog to its vomit, and a sow that was washed to its wallowing in the mire. People have been in despair at the spectacle, but no other result could be looked for. Vehemency of desire and earnestness in vows will not take the 56 : I' I* ' li ! I LIFE IN A LOOK place of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there- ^^ _ ^^^^^ fore, however much a poor drunkard may desire to reform, until he receives Christ by faith into his heart, he is on the sand, and the house of fond expectations and visionary delights built thereon must inevitably fall. It is true indeed, men may sometimes give up drinking without becoming true Christians, but this is only reform, not salvation ; and it is of salva- tion that I speak. No, the drunkard, as well as every other unsaved sinner, needs to be CREATED ANEW in Christ Jesus, and until he is, he must of necessity be the sport and prey of his own passions. Even an external reformation is often futile ; and this, because these victims of passion trust in a heart which is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be ; they trust in their indignation against sin ; in their vehement desires ; in the vows they are taking ; in the strength which they imagine they possess ; 57 LIFE IN A LOOK ill ' II: I' ■- 1' God s Woiknian ship in everything, in fact, except in that which alone would save them, namely, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In- stead of trusting in Him who is mighty to save, they trust in their own hearts ; and ** he that trusteth in his heart," Solomon says, ** is a fool." No, God's plan is wholly different : it is for the lost sinner to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, believe and live for ever ; then, at this moment of his believing, there is created within him a new nature, that DELIGHTS in the law of God; and though it has still to wrestle with the old and carnal nature, yet being ever aided by the Holy Ghost, it continually presses towards the mark for the prize of its high calling in Christ Jesus. It hates sin and loathes the garments spotted by the flesh ; and, being GOD'S WORK- MANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, it knows God and is known of Him. 58 LIFE IN A LOOK There is life in a look at the Crucified One, There is life at this moment for thee ; Then look, sinner— look unto Him and be saved— Unto Him who was nailed to the tree. Oh ! why was He there as the bearer of sin. If on Jesus thy sins were not laid ? Oh I why from His side flowed the sin-cleansing blood. If His dying thy debt has not paid ? it is not thy tears of repentance or prayers. But the blood, that atones for the iioul ; On Him. then, who shed it, thou mayest at once Thy weight of iniquities roll. His anguish of soul on the cross hast thou seen ? His cry of distress hast thou heard ? Then why, if the terrors of wrath He endured. Should pardon to thee be deferred ? We are healed by His stripes ; wouldst thou add to the word ? And He is our righteousness made ; The best robe of heaven He bids thee put on. Oh I couldst thou be better arrayed ? 59 Paid Thy Debt Look, Sinnei LIFE IN A LOOK Then doubt not thy welcome, since God hath declared There remainetii no more to be done, That once in the end of the world He appeared, And completed the work He begun. ill'' But take, with rejoicing, from Jesus at once, The life everlasting He g^ves ; And know, with assurance, thou never canst die, Since Jesus, thy righteousness, lives. There is life in a look at the Crucified Doe, There is life at this moment for thee ; Then look, sinner— look unto Him, and be saved, And know thyself spotless as He ! 60 ■« CHAPTER III REGENERATION IN ITS CON- NECTION WITH CHRIST ON THE CROSS Lord said to NiCO- W«ter and the Spirit demus : " Except a man be HEN our born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," the learned Jew was still as utterly unable to comprehend His meaning as before, and could only, in his astonish- ment, exclaim : ** How can these things be ? »' On this Christ said : ** Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things ? '' Evidently our Lord considered Nicodemus ought to have known these truths, and proceeds to show Nicodemus that this great doctrine of the new birth was typically made known to Israel as far back as the days of Moses. This He does by referring him to the twenty-first chapter 6i LIFE IN A LOOK Fiery Serpents If t*, I: J » 5> of the Book of Numbers, where ** the people spake against God, and against Moses. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. . . . Therefore the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, . . . pray unto the Lord, that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a serpent of brass, and set it upon a pole : and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, WHEN HE BEHELD the serpent of brass, HE LIVED.** This was a scene in the history of Israel with which Nicodemus could not but be familiar, and therefore, pointing him to that scene, Christ says : " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilder- ness, EVEN SO must the Son of Man be 62 LIFE IN A LOOK lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in E'^e an *^ ' Perfect Him should not perish, but have eternal life/' Here our Lord states two most important facts ; firsts that the uplifting of the brazen serpent was a type of Himself upon the Cross ; and, secondly, that the physical results flowing to the bitten Israelites from a look at that serpent of brass, were typical of the spiritual results which flow to our souls from a believing look at Him as the Bearer on the Cross of our appointed doom. The even so marks the exactness of the similitude. It follows, therefore, that any preaching which makes salvation less FREE, less EASY, less PERFECT, or less IMMEDI- ATE than the healing effected by the type, is not the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 What Nicodemus was anxious to know was, how a man could be born when he 63 LIFE IN A LOOK A So'ii of God •J .1' *> ' was old ? Our Lord said it was by faith in Himself as uplifted on the Cross. Standing before this tremendous sacrifice, and believing on Christ thus offered, the sinner not only obtains the full and eternal pardon of his sins, but also full spiritual health, that is, he is BORN AGAIN. Thus we see Christ has for ever connected regeneration with faith in Himself as God's appointed sacrifice for sin ; and so close and so real is this connection, that when- ever a sinner believes in Jesus Christ as the bearer away of his sins on the Cross, at that moment is he also born again : at that moment he receives power to become ** a son of God " (John i. 12). As our Lord presses upon us the exact- ness of the similitude between the healing by the brazen serpent, and regeneration through faith in Himself as offered upon the Cross, I shall now endeavour to point out some striking features in this resem- blance. 64 LIFE IN A LOOK First : The people for whom the brazen The Lost serpent was uplifted in the wilderness were those dying absolutely without hope ; and those for whom Christ died were the L OS T, The Israelites who had been bitten had to die ; no physician could heal them ; the bite was certain death. For such the serpent of brass was lifted up, and for such alone. So Christ was lifted up— TO SAVE THE LOST. If, therefore, there are any people in this world who are not lost, then Christ did not die for them, for they need no Saviour ; but as the Scripture says no such people exist, for all have sinned, it follows there is no man who may not be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as all come under the title of THE LOST. And now, do you know what Christ means when He says you are lost ? If you are not yet " in Him,'* and therefore free from condemnation, I am very E 65 LIFE IN A LOOK All Have Certain you do not ; for no one grasps Sinned ^j^.^ ^^£yj fg^^,^ |jy jntuition, no one learns it by mere feeling, it can only come to our mind by the revelation of God's Word, I will not therefore ask you whether you feel you are lost, or whether you think you are lost, but reverently anu prayerfully to consider the fact that man's utterly LOST condition does not rest on theory, but on three startling and plainly revealed truths : — (i) On the imputation of Adam's sin, by which DEATH passed through unto ALL MEN, on the ground that ALL SINNED ; (2) On the consequent depravity of our nature, which we inherit, as springing from Adam ; (3) On the ground of our daily wilful and repeated transgressions, by which we are continually increasing our guilt. And as regards the first of these, the imputation of Adam's sin, let us see on 66 LIFE IN A LOOK ' 3 what ground it rests. This is most emphatically laid down in the fifth chapter of Romans^ where the following declara- • tion is made on the subject : " For this cause, as by ONE MAN sin entered into the world, and by sin, death, so DEATH PASSED THROUGH UNTO ALL MEN, for that ALL SINNED/' (Ellicott.) Now, here is a very forcible statement to the effect that Adam was our representative, and the t WE SINNED in HIS SIN. Paul says : "By one man sin entered into the world." This is conceded by all. He affirms in the next place, ** and by sin, death." This we know to be in accord with the terms of the original judgment : ** In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou Shalt surely die." His third state- ment is a deduction or inference from the above : " And so death passed through (permeated) unto all men, on the ground that all sinned ; " not ** have sinned," but sinnedy that is, in the act of Adam. Sin and Death LIFE IN A LOOK lil .,; ^^ Death to Death is here represented as radiating or All Spreading out from a certain event, and that event was Adam's sin. But the question arises, Why was it thus ? The answer is : On the ground that ALL SINNED. The awful sentence of death was passed upon all who should be born of Adam, ON THE GROUND that all sinned in him. The Apostle next pro- ceeds to enlarge upon this truth, and adds : ** For up to the time of the law, there was sin in the world, but sin is not reckoned where the law is not. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who sinned not according to the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure (type) of the future (Adam)." The argument of the Apostle is as follows : He had just stated that death extended to all men on the ground that ail sinned in Adam. He then goes on to say that, up to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, sin was in the world ; 68 I LIFE IN A LOOK that is, there were bad passions every- Death where showing themselves in evil acts ; but sin, he affirms, is not reckoned (set down as transgression) where there is no law. Notwithstanding all this—notwith- standing that God does not reckon that as sin which is done without the protest of His law — yet, nevertheless, DEATH REIGNED from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. Now those who lived from Adam to Moses did not sin after the similitude of Adam's transgressions. Adam had a well-known and fixed law to live by. So also had Moses. Those who intervened had not ; they had no revealed, declared law ; they were, many of them, very grievous sinners, but they did not sin as Adam >inned ; that is, they did not transgress a known law ; they followed the wild bent of their own vicious dispositions, and knew no ruler but themselves. God does 69 LIFE IN A LOOK I Adam's not rcckoii as sin that which is done Guilt without the protest of law. Why, then, did death reign over them, if sin was not reckoned to them ? The answer is : BECAUSE THEY ALL SINNED IN ADAM. It is the same now ; we have among us those who do not sin after the simihtude of Adam's transgression, namely, infants and idiots ; these do not, and cannot sin after the manner of Adam — that is, consciously, against a known law — yet death reigns over them. They sicken, suffer, die ; and people often ask. Why is this ? — why do these poor un- conscious ones, who have never committed actual sin, thus suffer ? The answer is : Because they are resting under the impu- tation of Adam's guilt. They were born into the world with his sin upon them, and, as a consequence, with his judgment, which is death. We know indeed from Scripture that such as die before they have become conscious agents, will be saved 70 LIFE IN A LOOK through the merits of the Lord Jesus F'^st Ada Christ ; but then this does not alter the fact concerning the imputation of Adam's sin. The Holy Ghost, in the Word of God, always places man under one or other of the following heads : The first man, Adam, or the second Adam — Christ. These constitute the only two camps in the world. All who have lived, or do live, or shall live, will be found in either one or other of these. Of those under the first Adam, Scripture affirms that they all die. Of those under the second Adam, Christ, Scripture affirms that they have LIFE — life eternal ; for though they, too, may die temporally, yet in Christ they shall all be made alive. The passage I have quoted from Romans distinctly states three solemn facts : fir sty that sin entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam ; secondly, that death was the consequence of that sin ; 71 m :*■ LIFE IN A LOOK Second Aciani fi • i ( < i , . * 1 thirdly y that all the human race is charged by God as having sinned in ADAM, and consequently, the judgment of death which was pronounced on him, was pro- nounced upon the whole race as being in HIM. Reader, should you be in this great camp of sin, condemnation, and death, your duty is to flee for your life from it, for surely God has written it : " All in Adam die." Should any say, ** How is this ? ** I answer, *' God is infinitely holy, infinitely just ; what He ordained must be just." And let it be remembered that if God has ordained that Adam's guilt should be imputed to the human race. He has also ordained that Christ's righteous- ness shall be imputed to all who flee to His dear Son, though their sins be as red as scarlet and as deep as crimson. Of the depravity of our natural heart, and its utter inability to serve God, I will now only add that this natural heart is 72 LIFE IN A LOOK the RESULT of our being born under Result condemnation and comes to us by inheri- tance from Adam, in whom we have sinned. In other words, it is one of the terrible results which flow to us from that ONE SIN. Should we, however, fly to Christ, being then FREED from a slate of condemnation, a new heart is given us, even one created in righteousness and holiness. A few words concerning God's holy law. Firsts it is ** holy and just and good ; " so searching and penetrating in its demands, that it requires, and will receive, no other obedience than that which is absolutely faultless. It not only says, **Thou shall NOT DO," but it states, *'This SHALT THOU BE." It not only utters the commandment, ** Thou shall NOT steal," but it says, "Thou SHALT love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." Secondly^ such obedience as the Law requires, no one has ever ren- 73 LIFE IN A LOOK i'ly No, not dered, except the Lord Jesus Christ, the ** sinless one,'* in whom God was well pleased. Thirdly y the Law was not given to man as a means whereby he might obtain justification and pardon, but to reveal to him the heinousness of sin, and to show to him, at all times, what is God's standard of infinite holiness and right. St. Paul says distinctly : ** By the Law is the KNOWLEDGE of sin " (Rom. 3. 20). The Law is God's great measure for sin. Testing man by this holy and perfect standard, the reading is : ** There is none righteous, NO, NOT ONE " (Rom. 3. 10). For these reasons, therefore, an unpar- doned sinner must say : ** I am lost — firsty by the imputation of Adam's sin I am involved in the judgment of death ; secondly y my own natural heart is enmity to God, and utterly incapable of reforma- tion ; thirdly y every day I am increasing my guilt by wilful transgression, that is, by sin against light and truth. Being 74 LIFE IN A LOOK therefore CONDEMNED, INCAPABLE of i am Lost REFORMATION — at least by any powers inherent in myself— and DAILY SINKING DEEPER INTO GUILT, I may well say I AM LOST." . Terrible, however, as is the condition of the sinner by nature, yet grace has pro- vided salvation. Just because man is by nature losty therefore God has given His Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Truly, if sin has abounded, grace has much more abounded ! — so that the imputation of Adam's guilt, with its consequent judgment of death, or the oft- recurring sins of daily life, are more than met jy the priestly work of the Son of God. The imputation of Adam's guilt is cancelled by the imputation of Christ's righteousness ; the depraved heart, by the creation of a new heart ; and the recurring sins of daily life, by grace sufficient to overcome. As God has thus made pro- -7f' %- - ■ ■ LIFE IN A LOOK v\ ? «». i That u^ht vision in Jesus Christ for the salvation of all, the sinner is without excuse. Down through all centuries of time come these glorious words, ** And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life : and I will raise him up at the last day *' (John 6. 40). After such words, joy is for all who will accept the salvation of God. But hence arises a new condemnation, a con- demnt .ion revealed only by the Gospel, and expressed by Christ thus : "He that believeth filOT is condemned already, BECAUSE he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." And this is the condemnation y ** that LIGHT is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light " (John 3. 18, 19). There is, in other words, no excuse ; all MAY be saved who WILL. A man who will not receive Christ into his 76 LIFE IN A LOOK heart is like a patient in the hospital save the who refuses to take the physician's^"'^ remedy. The physician says : " Your malady, if left to itself, will kill you, but take this, and you will undoubtedly recover." If he refuses, his death is his own fault : so is it with the sinner. It is true that he is in himself utterly lost, but Christ hastens to him, saying : I am come to SAVE THE LOST. If, therefore, the sinner rejects Christ, his doom is for ever sealed, there remains no other sacrifice for sin. Not all the blood of beasts, On Jewish altars slain, Could give the guilty consciencje peace, Or wash away the stain. But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, Takes all our sins away ; A sacrifice of nobler name. And richer blood than they. 77 LIFE IN A LOOK Salvation by Faith »• i I,' t \i^' My soul looks back to see The burden Thou didst bear, When hanging on the cursed tree, And knows her guilt was there. Remember : That which cured the Israelite'^ was something OUTS IDE of themselves : they were to look A WA Y from themselves at the brazen serpent ; so, too, the sinner is not commanded to look at himself for healing, hut to Christ on the Cross. Most people look to the wrong place for salvation — to themselves rather than to Christ. I would class error here under two heads : fir sty those who cannot believe that Christ's death now avails for them, because they do not immediately see in themselves a holy and renewed life. Such people ignore the fact that this holy and renewed life can only be the RESULT of salvation by faith ; it does not go before y it follows after. St. Paul says : "In whom also, after that ye believed y ye were 78 LIFE IN A LOOK sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." Aftn Belief The Holy Spirit came permanently to dwell in them AFTER they had believed in Christ. Let this be clearly borne in mind, for when men seek for rectitude of life they are only seeking that which in itself is most commendable. But the question is — How is it to be obtained ? Let us suppose you have taken part in an unsuccessful rebellion. As a necessary result of your conduct, your life is for- feit to the Crown ; to save yourself, you fly to a foreign country, and there remain. At last, growing weary of exile, you say : ** I would like to go back and live as a peaceable subject in my own land,*' but your friends warn you that it will be death for you to return, until you can first have the ban removed. The Crown has condemned you to death, and until that sentence has been revoked, you cannot possibly return. First have the ban cancelled, and then return. So 79 lei > •» .J i 41' LIFE IN A LOOK Wrath of it is with the soul. "He that believeth God not the Son shall not see life ; but the WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM " (John 3. 36). This is God's sentence on all out of Christ. You ask for rectitude of life ; this is well, but before you can obtain grace to walk acceptably with God, you must first have this awful sentence of wrath removed, and this most certainly will be the case when, as an utterly lost sinner, you look away to Christ, and believe on Him as God's propitiation for your sins. Secondly , those who say that, because they cannot feel the truth of the Gospel in their heart, therefore they cannot accept it. This is like a man with small-pox saying he does not feel strong and well, and there- fore refuses to take the doctor's medicine. The man is sick, and cannot possibly feel anything else than sick ; and the soul which is under the wrath of God cannot possibly feel the peace of pardon, when 80 LIFE IN A LOOK that peace has not yet been secured. Therefore, God does not ask you to look in for feeling, but out — to Christ for salvation. Salvation in Scripture is never once made to rest on feeling, but on the finished work of Christ alone ; and that this glorious work of Christ saves us, we KNOW from God's written Word. Christ says to you : '* Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me HATH everlasting life." When, therefore, you believe on Him as one who died in your stead, or as St. Paul says, ** Gave Himself for me," then you clearly know you are saved, simply because His Word says so. There may be at first but little joy, or there may be much joy.. A great deal will depend both on temperament and on the appreciation which a man has of the gift he has just obtained. But what is PROMISED to every soul who believes in Jesus Christ, is everlasting life. When F 8l F'eace of God LIFE IN A LOOK Brazen Serpent '•r 1 rt I ^i' 1 ■1 i n '■ -A- 1 1 1, once he is saved, he is COMMANDED to rejoice. As there was life in a look at the brazen serpent y there is ETERNAL life in looking unto Christ. The bitten Israelite lay dying in the dust ; his flesh swollen^ his skin turned black ; tongue parched with thirst ; life fast ebbing from him. Suddenly the cry is heard, " Look, and live.'* ** Where ? *' he asks, '* where ? " They point him to the brazen serpent, as it glitters in the sunlight, and say, *' There I" His fading sight is turned toward it, — in an instant rush, the warm, healthy life-blood comes to his cheek, the poison vanishes, he knows not where, and to his feet he springs, rescued from the very jaws of death. So is it with the lost soul who looks to Christ ; salvation comes to him in the look. The bitten Israelite could not 82 I LIFE IN A LOOK possibly help himself, every moment the cross of poison spread further, and death came nearer. The physician could not heal him ; no medicine, no burning, no ampu- tation could arrest its terrible progress, or keep back the approach of death. God alone could help him ; and God did help him, and by this typical serpent saved him. NC J our Lord says this brazen serpent was an exact representation of the way in which He saves and regenerates the soul. If YOU^ reader, be one who has not yet been saved, you need the pardon of your sins — eternal hit. ** new birth," in fact, everything. Like the dying Israelite, you are utterly unable to save yourself, and therefore, just because of this helplessness, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to give you salvation, and to place you as an heir in the kingdom of His glory. Pointing you, therefore, to CHRIST ON THE CROSS as His eternal satisfaction for sin, and 83 LIFE IN A LOOK » r Look of knowing all your need, He says : ** Be- hold the Lamb of God," LOOK unto Him AND LIVE. Complete and immediate healing came to the Israelite from looking to the serpent : salvation will come to you from looking to Christ. By this I mean that look of faith, which sees in Christ on the Cross satisfaction for all your sins — is instantaneous life for your soul. And now, just to make this glorious truth clearer to you, I will state two things of great importance : Why you should look to Christ, and how you should look. First, because, in the death of our Lord, an infinite satisfaction was made for all your sins. Sin demands punishment. The law of God justly cries out tor ven- geance on all who break its precepts. You have broken them, and therefore your life is forfeited to the law. How, then, will you be freed from your sins ? The 84 LIFE IN A LOOK Scripture says: ** Without shedding of^tm''" blood is NO REIv^SSIGN" (Heb. 9. 22) ; and the blood which alone remits is the BLOOD OF CHRIST. Here then, on the Cross, Christ bore to the full all the sins of those who HAD believed or SHOULD believe on Him. Here, too, for their healing was He wounded. Isaiah sums it all up in one verse : ** All we, like sheep, have gone astray ; we have turntd every one to his own way ; and the Lord hath LAID ON HIM the iniquity of us all." It was therefore God who laid our sins on Christ, and burdened Him with the weight of our iniquities. In the fifth vei se we have given us the reason of Christ's death on the Cross : " He was wounded for OUR transgressions. He was bruised for OUR iniquities, the chastise- ment of OUR peace was upon Him ; and WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED" (Isa. 53. 5, 6). On the Cross, therefore, our glorious 85 wr I n Through Faith » , LIFE IN A LOOK Redeemer prest/ited His own righteousness for acceptance, and our sins for punish- ment ; and God the Father accepted this awful death as the eternal propitiation, or satisfaction for the sins of THE WHOLE WORLD (I John 2. 2). " Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man '' (Heb. 2. 9), and therefore there was no one who ever did live, or no one who ever shall live, for whom Christ did not die. Look, then, reader, to Him. Here, in Chri'-'j's death, is God's satisfaction for all your sins. He will, according to His own Word, accept this death as the full remis- sion of all your guilt, as your title to sonship, and inheritance to glory, PRO- VIDED ONLY you now thus accept Him by faith. Secondly, how you are to accept Him. By simple faith, ** For by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH," nothing more. You wish to draw nigh to God. Scripture 86 LIFE IN A LOOK says you may assuredly do so through saved from Jesus Christ. Before you now He stands, the Lamb of God for sinners slain. God asks you simply to believe on Him, and live for ever. Can you not therefore say : Lord, I do from my heart believe that Thou, by this Thine awful death, dost NOW SAVE ME FROM DEATH, and that Thy perfect righteousness is accepted by the Father for me ; and with my mouth I do confess that Thou art my Saviour, who hast redeemed me with Thy precious blood, whereof the Father hath given proof in that He raised Thee from the dead ? This is Scriptural faith, and this is all God asks of you in order to be saved. It is not therefore faith in yourselff faith in your resolutions of amendment, faith in any effort you may make, but faith in Christ — in His work — in His Word. God will not save you for what you are, but for what Christ is, and therefore the Holy Ghost asks you to ^7 ^Ili LIFE IN A LOOK Bread of Life look with faith to Christ on the Cross, and with the whole heart believe that there Christ tasted death FOR YOU. And when you do so look, you will not only be eternally saved, but BORN AGAIN, that is, the Blood of the Lord Jesus will not only wash away your sins, and His righteousness be made the ground of your justification, but your soul will then be QUICKENED by the power of the Holy Ghost working in you through Jesus Christ. Nicodemus wished to know how a man could be born again. Our Lord brings back to hir mind the grand old historical scene of the brazen serpent, and then tells him: "EVEN SO must the Son of Man be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Now Christ has not only life in Himself, but He has power to quicken or give life to all who believe on Him. He is the " BREAD THAT GIV- ETH LIFE," and therefore, whosoever 88 i LIFE IN A LOOK believingly looks to Him, is at that instant, Pard by Him, quickened into spiritual life ; in other words, he is born again y and has undergone that great change without which no man can see the kingdom of God. Understand, therefore, that salvation is not merely the pardon of our sins, and the promise of infinite blessings in the future. It is far more : it is at once the eternal remission of our sins by virtue of the laci ilice of Christ — the being formally pionour ced righteous by reason of the perfect obedience of Christ reckoned to us, and, at the same time, the creaticn within us of a new heart in righteousness and true holiness. This new and God- loving heart comes to us from Christ, through the power of the Holy Ghost, and takes place whenever the sinner flies to Christ and believes on Him. And now, in conclusion — this salvation is INSTANTANEOUS. The instant the dying Israelite looked to the brazen ser- 89 on LIFE IN A LOOK » , 11' i f 1 I 1 1 • Mind^* ®^ pent, he was made well ; and the instant a sinner from the heart believes in Christ, he is eternally saved. But many say : How is this possible ? — Has not repentance to come in first, and is not repentance deep and prolonged sorrow for sin ? — if it be such, how can salvation by any possibility be instantaneous ? In reply I must say, that, certainly, if by repentance were meant ** deep and prolonged sorrow for sin,'* then the state- ment that salvation is a gift instantane- ously conferred, could not be maintained ; but that life IS so conferred is the em- phatic teaching of our Lord in His con- versation with Nicodemus, as well as in His repeated statements throughout the whole Gospel of St. John. What is meant by repentance ? ** Repentance " in Scripture means an after mind or thought ; a CHANGE OF MIND. Thus Esau found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully 9^ LIFE IN A LOOK with tears. His anxiety was to induce Isaacs Blessing his father to give him the blessing he had already bestowed on Jacob. This Isaac would not do, and Esau could not make him repent or change his mind. So, too, in the case of the two sons (Matt. 21. 28-32). One son said I will not, but afterward he repented (changed his mind) and went — that is, he saw he had done wrongly, and this change of mind led him to change of conduct. Repentance is therefore a change of mind, leading to a change of conduct. Now the point I wish you especially to observe is this : Re- pentance does not of itself and by itself mean sorrow. There may, or there may not be deep grief connected with repent- ance ; all depends on God*s individual dealing with the soul. In some instances there may be nothing experienced save /oy, and in such cases the repentance is just as real, as true, as in those instances where there is nothing but the deepest 91 ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 Hi m ■ 22 14.0 2.0 ^1^ 6" HiotDgraphic Sciences Corporalion ^^ m ■o^ ■<" V" 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSM (716) 872-4S03 4^ \ i i\ 1 ^ LIFE IN A LOOK Man's Needs J ir- .Ij'r "> i 'I fl" i 1 ! ' ' I .ii •'•i n 1 «( i 1 ; t ; ^ ,-i" 'M ' 1 ■■"■ 1 ■ , 1 1 ' 'i i i k 1 grief. All I wish you to notice is — repentance does not of itself mean sorrow on the one hand, nor joy on the other, but a CHANGE OF MIND, which leads to a total change of conduct. This will be seen more clearly, if we consider the following facts : — First, man's mind needs to be entirely changed. Man is by nature radically wrong in all his ideas about God, about Satan, about the world, and even about himself. This is the result of the fall, by which his mind has been made not only dark, but very darkness itself. ** Ye were sometimes darkness y** says St. Paul, ** but now are ye light in the Lord." The result of ail ignorance is, that people believe the suggestions of Satan and the promptings of their own heart, and thus entertain a thousand wrong ideas about God and the way of salvation. What people therefore need is, to have God's glorious Gospel preached to them, in 92 LIFE IN A LOOK in order that they may see how wrong their Repent- 3.riC6 ideas are. When, then, a man " changes his mind " about God and His Son Jesus Christ, this is repentance toward God. Take, for instance, the case of St. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. When the Apostle had proved to them that they had been guilty of crucifying the Lord of life and glory, they were overwhelmed with grief ; they cried out, ** What must we do to be saved ? " Now this deep sorrow and unfeigned remorse is just what many would call repentance ; but the Apostle, so far from calling it repent- ance, says: ** Repent, and be baptized every one of you." What he meant to convey was that inasmuch as these people knew nothing of God as reconciled in Jesus Christ — nothing about salvation being completed on the Cross — nothing, in fact, about God or about themselves— therefore they should immediately repent, that is, not give way to wild despair, or 93 LIFE IN A LOOK •*. if i^l Faith go about seeking to establish their own righteousness, but, on the representation of the Gospel, change their minds, and see God as willing to receive them into favour, through the merits of His dear Son. Secondly, repentance is always in close connection with faith ; that is, repentance towards God always occurs at the same time as faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, Repentance is not always ac- companied by sorrow. People say : Does not the Scripture affirm that ** godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of " ? Certainly it does ; and wherever God works deep grief in a man's soul for his sins, it is a blessed thing, for it will surely lead him to Christ. But God's ways are not uniform in dealing with the soul. On some minds the light gradually arises as a glorious truth, filling the soul with joy unspeakable, and in this instance the repentance is just as deep, just as real, as in the case 94 I ' I ( : FAl LIFE IN A LOOK where there is the most unfeigned sorrow. SaWation Repentance is not joy or sorrow, it is that change of mind which leads to the ac- knowledgment of the truth. The Ethio- pian did not understand the Prophet Isaiah ; but Philip, having been taken up into his chariot, explains to him the sal- vation of Christ. On this the eunuch repents, that is, acknowledges to the full the truth he has heard, and joyfully be- lieving in Christ, is immediately baptized. This is true repentance. It took place at the same time as when by faith he grasped Christ ; for there can be no repentance towards God, separate from faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. How different is all this from what is generally advanced concerning '' repent- ance." According to the popular idea, repentance is a period of intense suffering on account of sin, through which a man must pass before he can be saved ; and furthermore, that this intense sorrow 95 LIFE IN A LOOK Ik. iii'i Gods causes God's favour to shine upon us, and is in itself one of the main reasons why God pardons us. Now nothing could be more thoroughly destructive of the Gospel than this impression. It leads people to look into themselves for feelings, rather than up to Christ for salvation ; it drives them to despair on the one hand, or to utter indifference on the other ; for, after seeking in vain for feelings which never can be in the fallen heart, unless God especially put them there, they give up all for lost. Others put off coming to Christ Until some time when they hope to feel SL sorrow for sin which they do not at the present. It inverts the whole order of God's truth as illustrated by the brazen serpent, for it makes a man to a very large extent his own 'healer, rather than Christ. Understand, I do not depreciate sorrow for sin ; on the contrary, whenever it comes from God, it works repentance into sal- vation. Repentance, therefore, toward 96 if . I •' v\ * LIFE IN A LOOK God is that change of mind which is in- ]f^f^^'^'^ separably connected with FAITH IN CHRIST, and is always followed by a change of life. What is the practical effect of all this ? It is that the poor sinner can be saved — and God means that he should be saved — directly and instan- taneously by the Saviour. God points you, reader, to the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, and says : LOOK, BELIEVE, AND LIVE. Should you ask : What am I to believe ? I answer — That all that was necessary for your eternal redemption was FINISHED there ; that there you see CHRIST TASTING DEATH FOR YOU, so that nothing remains but for you to receive salvation as a gift. Can you not NOW look, and live for ever ? Hesitate not. Look not to your feelings, but up alone to this glorious Redeemer, and if this day you set to your seal that God is true, by accepting Christ as THE ONE whose death and righteousness have pro- o 97 Vi LIFE IN A LOOK '► . ■,h, f!l 1^ Tiiis Day cufcd youf salvation, this dayy God's Word declares, will you pass from death unto . life, and this day be written in the Book of I ife. I sometimes wonder how people can entertain doubts as to the ability of Christ to save them. It is like a man coming to a dead halt before London Bridge : hundreds of heavy waggons and foot passengers are hurrying over, as they have for years gone by, and yet he stands afraid to trust himself upon the bridge. The policeman asks him to ** move on,'* but he still hesitates, and tells him he fears the bridge will not bear him. ** The man's mad," mutters the policeman, and leaves him to himself. And can you doubt, reader, the power of Christ's death to save you to the uttermost ? Has not that blood saved Paul, the chief est of sinners ? Has it not washed away the defilement of thousands ? And are YOU afraid to cast your weary heart upon 98 r: II LIFE IN A LOOK Him, and believe that NOW His mighty wiute as sacrifice avails for your instantaneous salvation ? Have you discovered faults in Him whom God has pronounced fault- less ? Or, does not that satisfy YOU which satisfied GOD ? No, hesitate not. Do not look into the futurCy and sadly hope that in some as yet unreached time God will make with you a treaty of peace ; but, standing before the awful sacrifice of the deatli of Christ, believe that HERE thy soul finds life ; that here CHRIST, by this tremendous death, FOR EVER PUTS AWAY THY SINS. " Come now, and let us reason to- gether, saith the Lord : though your sins be as SCARLET, they shall be as WHITE AS SNOW ; though they be RED LIKE CRIMSON, THEY shall be as WOOL" (Isa. i. i8). O Christ, what burdens bowed Thy head I Our load was laid on Thee ; !' 1 ' 1 i r ■i i ! > ! .^ ; \ 1*' -r ;*' ; iN, "^^ ,(•• ■in »*» \'h |4 ' 1: Death LIFE IN A LOOK Thou stoodest in the sinner's stead, Didst bear all ill for me : A Victim led, Thy blood was shed : Now there's no load for me. Death and the curse were in our cup — O Christ, 'twas full for Thee 1 But Thou hast drained the last dark drop, 'Tis empty now for me : That bitter cup, love drank it up. Now blessing's draught for me. Jehovah lifted up His rod ; O Christ, it fell on Thee 1 Thou wast sore stricken of Thy God ; There's not one stroke for me. Thy tears. Thy blood, beneath it flowed ; Thy bruising healeth me. The tempest's awful voice was heard ; O Christ, it broke on Thee I Thy open bosom was my ward. It braved the storm for me. Thy form was scarred. Thy visage marred ; Now cloudless peace for me. lOO LIFE IN A LOOK Jehovah bade His sword awake ; O Christ, it woke 'gainst Thee : Thy blood the flaming blade must slake, Thy heart its sheath must be ; All for my sake, my peace to make ; Now sleeps that sword for me. For me, Lord Jesus, Thou hast died, And I have died in Thee : Thou'rt risen — my bands are all untied ; And now Thou liv'st in me : When purified, made white and tried. Thy GLORY then for me I " The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it " (Isa. i. 5, 6). ** There is none righteous, no, not one " (Rom. 3. 10). ** Without shedding of blood is no remission " (Heb. 9. 22). ** Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth" (Jas. i. 18). "Not by works . . . which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the wash- ing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost " (Titus 3. 5). lOI Not by Works LIFE IN A LOOK if It is finished " The Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord " (Rom. 6. 23). " Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11. 28). " Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out " (John 6. 37). '* I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me" (John 12. 32). " Jesus said. It is finished " (John 19. 30). 102 ;l i' CONCLUSION LOOKING UNTO JESUS; OR, GROWTH IN GRACE OR the comfort of those who haveu already looked believingly to Christ, I will now subjoin a few reflections on the mode in which we are to grow in grace. First, by duly appreciating the sanctifi- cation ALREADY obtained for us, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. The believer is the subject of two sanc- tifications ; one, already and absolutely perfect ; the other, progressive. The first is that sanctification which all believers have in virtue of their union with Christ, by which they are eternally set free from the dominion of sin, and made holy in Him. The second is that progressive 103 nior. with litist F LIFE IN A LOOK I b r •7 «*■ , . 4 ■■;i m 11 hi All of ono work of the Holy Ghost in the heart, by which the believer is daily brought into closer subjection to the will of God. Let us now hriaiiy consider the first. In the Epistle to the Hebrews there are three remarkable statements made about sanctification : first, that ** both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all OF ONE " (Heb. 2. ii). This implies the perfect and eternal union which exists between Christ and His people, as is clearly seen by referring to verse 14, which de- clares that as the children are partakers of flesh and blood. He also Himself took part of the same. Secondly, that the sanctification of the believer was the result of the will of the Father, that is, according to His purposes in grace, and, furthermore, that this sanctification was effected through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. The words of the text are as follows : ** In which will we HAVE BEEN SANCTIFIED through 104 LIFE IN A LOOK the offering of the body of Jesus Christ washed once for all" (Heb. lo. lo, Alford). Be- lievers, being one with Christ, rest for ever in the blessed and abiding conse- quences of that eternal offering by which He both washed away their sins, and consecrated them to the service of God. By that offering they have been sanctified, that 13, they have beeUy once and for ever, WASHED ; once and for ever SEPAR- ATED ; once and for ever CONSE- CRATED ; and once and for ever MADE HOLY by the sprinkling of Christ s blood. By the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, the sanctification of the believer is abso- lutely complete, in that he occupies a place of holy separation from the service of sin, and stands now, as he shall always stand, perfect in the righteousness of Christ, separated unto God by the blood with which he is sprinkled. This truth is forcibly brought out in verse 14 : ** For by one offering He hath PERFECTED 105 II 1 ' i ; '■ LIFE IN A LOOK 'r r •■ T' t , u'. "i v t t r t 1 1 1 4 (■ , > ( ', % . t ., 4 ! « ; 1 ■] ■'i ! ^ ' ■ ^' , : ! ^ i ' I 1 ;■ His Blood FOR EVER them who are sanctified.** However poor and unworthy a believer may be in himself, yet, as sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, he is both beautiful and precious in the Father *s sight. The third statement in Hebrews con- cerning sanctification by Christ is as follows : ** For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the campy bearing His reproach *' (Heb. 13. 11-13). That is, Christ voluntarily took the place of shame and reproach by dying, as one utterly rejected and cast out, both by Israel and the Gentile world. He did it that He might sanctify His people with His own blood. The great lesson inculcated by this passage is the 106 LIFE IN A LOOK fifed." liever :tified Jesus lecious con- is as beasts :tuary urned 5 also, i with 3 gate, nthout eb. 13. r took :h by d cast world, y His great is the necessity of our suffering with Christ, injust separation from the world and in union with Him, for if vf^ suffer with Him, we shall be also glorified together. What, then, is meant by sanctification through the blood of Christ ? First, it means our title and right to stand evermore before God as worshippers in His spiritual temple. Sanctification is a word which belongs to temple service ^ in the same way that justification is a judicial word, belonging to a court or judgment seat. Secondly, it means that which was effected for us through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. Thirdly, the time when we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, is that moment when we are justified by faith that is in Him. When, therefore, the Father pronounced a sinner JUST,, by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, reckoned to him. He also, at the same 107 ice LIFE IN A LOOK V ■•r. 3 ir •*» ,1. li I '. HI li "A « . »( : ; * Sanctified time, acccpts him as once and for ever SANCTIFIED by the offering of the same Saviour. Fourthly, the sanctification of which I speak, is one which is absolutely complete. St. Paul says : ** In which will we have been sanctified," implying that this is not a sanctification which is in process of completion, but one which, inasmuch as jt rests on the absolutely complete work of Christ, is in itself for ever perfect. So, too, in Acts, St. Paul calls believers the ** sanctified " (Chap. 20. 32), where the word implies those who have been sancti- fied. Our Lord also, in sending the Apostle to the Gentiles, says : ** That they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which ar^' sancti- fied by faith that is in Me " (Chap. 26. 18). Furthermore, this sanctification is not only perfect, it is FOR EVER. The ancient temple service was one unending series of sacrifices and cleansing processes, 108 LIFE IN A LOOK for no sooner was a man legally cleansed, ^''''^*' "°'y than through some inadvertence he again incurred guilt, and therefore again needed ceremonial cleansing ; but Christ being come, an high priest of good things to come, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, entered once into the holy place, and therefore, because that precious blood was all- availing — because nothing further re- mained to be done — the Apostle states that ** by one offering He hath perfected FOR EVER them that are sanctified." Fifthly, this sanctification by the blood of Christ implies our being MADE HOLY with that holiness wherewith Christ is holy. It may not be possible to grasp all that this sanctification means, but we know what it includes. It includes our everlasting SEPARATION, as a royal priesthood and a peculiar people, from the unholy dominion of the world, of Satan, and of the flesh ; our perpetual CON- 109 i < 1 1 1 \ • 1 f ;> I » I LIFE IN A LOOK tion consecra- SECRATION in thought, word, and act, to the service of God and of His Christ ; our indivisible and glorious UNION with Him who is the Resurrection and the Life ; and finally, our ADMISSION, as those made holy by the sprinkled blood, into that spiritual, but still real temple, in which God's people for ever celebrate His praise. Seeing, therefore, that in the will of the Father, and through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, we have been once and for ever sanctified ; seeing that by God's own hand we have been separated as an holy nation and consecrated as a royal priesthood to His service, how earn- estly should we endeavour to illustrate by our daily walk and conversation the reality of this separation and the power of this consecration to God ! Ignorance of God's will and of Christ's work must of necessity produce in us laxity in life, and therefore a deep and sanctified knowledge •no LIFE IN A LOOK of this most glorious truth is not only Resried ...,..,-- , , from Death important, it is vitally necessary for the development and perfection of the inner man ; and, above all, for enabling us to fulfil the high and holy position we occupy as chosen witnesses of God. As there is a completed sanctification effected for us through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all, so, also, is ther^ a progressive sanctification wrought in us by the operation of the Holy Ghost. In considering this latter, I think it all- important to note that whether we are considering justification or sanctification, God, in both cases, is always the giver, and we only the receivers of blessing. When a sinner is rescued from death, the salvation by which God effects that deliverance is repeatedly de- clared to be God's GIFT : ** The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.*' This truth, however, is most I. IT 1 1 1 1 ; r -! F f a;' f7 * i f. 'n f , Renuncia- tion LIFE IN A LOOK freely admitted by all who know the Gospel of God*s grace, and therefore I need not further dwell on the subject ; but the point I wish to enforce is this, that when we come to consider the great theme of our practical sanctification, we must remember that in this, as well as in justi- fication, God is the bountiful giver, and we only the receivers of blessing. The popular idea of sanctification is RENUN- CIATION ; in other words, that it consists in those acts of renunciation by which we GIVE UP anything which ministers to the flesh, rather than to godly edifying. Now in this lies the mistake, for renun- ciation is the RESULT, not the principle of sanctiflcation. The last invitation of the Bible to weary sinners is : " And whosoever will, let him TAKE the water of life freely." It is not earn or purchase, but take, as a free and royal gift from God. So, toOy in practical sanctification, growth in grace is in proportion as we 112 ospel i not t the when ne of must justi- f and The NUN- )nsists ch we srs to ifying. enun- inciple ion of " And water chase, from lation, as we appropriate Christ to ourselves by faith sancufica- and renunciation is the result of this reception of Him into our hearts. The great principle in justification is Believe and live ; in sanctification, Believe and grow. In justification the sinner receives Christ into his heart as his life ; in sanctifi- cation the saint receive the same Saviour as the mighty Conqueror, who is able to subdue all things to Himself. Christ is the portion of His people, and it is the exalted office of the Holy Spirit to make this glorious truth more clear and con- vincing to our minds. We see how nature acts. When winter reigns in all its icy power in our land, how can we escape its rigour ? Can we, with our own voice and will, renounce it ? Shall we break off the crisp icicles, cart away the snow, and call it summer ? No, for it would be winter still. The sun — nothing but the sun — will make the summer, and so is it with the soul. If H 113 I' • ff LIFE 'IN A LOOK li t.|r lit: w .4 ■ ; ■ ir *' 1 ' i >; i ; ;' ■ A Christ at the Christian has grown cold^ smr* spiritual the Door . . . . . . j • j j Winter reigns within him^ he needs indeed to renounce all the besetting sins and unholy influences which have impeded his course and checked the development of grace ; but the only way in which this blessed result can be effected is by Christ afresh coming in as the Sun of righteous- ness, and making summer in his soul. Not to heathen, dead in trespasses and sins, but to lapsed and lukewarm Chris- tians, did Christ utter these words : ** Behold, I stand at the door and knock : if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me *' (Rev. 3. 20). You pray, and no doubt very earnestly, that you may be delivered from self ; but self cannot cast out self. We must arise and open the door, and let Christ in, and He will crowd out self. And here comes in the work of the Holy Spirit. How earnestly do we often pray that we 114 LIFE IN A LOOK ritual deed and peded ment h this Christ teous- souL is and Chris- vords : mock : ►en the /ill sup 3. 20). rnestly, I self ; e must Christ . And Spirit. hat we may be filled with the Spirit, and when Testify of Me that prayer is being answered, we realise it by His lifting up Christ within us — by Christ's increasing f and our decreasing. The Spirit does not speak of Himself but of Christ. " He shall testify of Me," were the words by which our Lord de- clared to His disciples the office of the Holy Ghost, and therefore we are ever to understand that the more we have of the Spirit, the more we realise that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. Three facts I would have the reader especially notice : Firstf In the economy of grace God designed that each one of His children should come into all the fulness of blessing in Christ Jesus. As God did not leave Israel after He had overthrown Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, but bade the t^ation rather press on and occupy the land of promise, so now, in dealing with us. He does not rest content with merely 115 m . LIFE IN A LOOK Riches in Glory if" ^1= saving us from wrath, but urges us to go up at once and possess all the riches of that inheritance of glory we have in Jesus Christ. There are no poor in heaven, and God would have none in grace. Christ said to the wretched and miserable in Laodicea : ** I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou may est be RICH ; '' and St. Paul, in comforting the Philippians, says : ** My God shall supply all your need according to His RICHES IN GLORY by Christ Jesus." So, also, in praying for the Ephesians, he says : ** For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehe.id with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and ii6 i LIFE IN A LOOK us to riches ave in »or in me in id and il thee if that Paul, says : need LORY ng for cause of our grant glory, y His >t may lat ye, , may saints i, and depth, and height ; and to know the love Fniii.-ss of of Christ, which passeth knowledge, THAT YE MIGHT BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD/' Poverty, there- fore, in grace is most inexcusable ; it not only implies spiritual sloth on our part, but also contempt for the glorious and perfect inheritance we have in Christ. Secondly y All the riches of grace are summed up in Christ. ** He is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and SANCTIFICATION, and redemption" (i Cor. I. 31), ** for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." And ** we are complete in Him which is the Head of all principality and power." Thirdly y Begin the day by giving thanks to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ Jesus. Let the first word your voice utters be thanksgiving — thanksgiving for future but still certain victory. Jacob feared his brother Esau, but his real wrestle was with the angel 117 i «p LIFE IN A LOOK J! •? It i"' t*'' I3'' I; '1 11* il*: \t I ^ (, Victory of the covcnant. The battle was fought and the victory gained before he even saw his brother ; and so with us in the spiritual contest, faith gains the victory before the battle of the day is fought. Before us is the world which lieth in wickedness ; the devil going about as a roaring lion ; and our own hearts, deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. These three, with the principalities and powers which come and go at the bidding of Satan, we have to meet. There is no possible escape, and therefore battle with them we must ; the only question being, when the day with its fighting is over, shall we be lamenting a defeat suffered, or rejoicing in a victory gained ? Surely we need not wait long for an answer ; greater is He who is for us than all who are against us, and because this is the case, the victory may be fully decided before we, so to speak, meet our enemies face to face. Our greatest trouble is ii8 Jil LIFE IN A LOOK ought n saw iritual )efore ore us ness ; lion ; ve all These |)owers ng of is no B with being, over, ffered, Surely swer ; 1 who is the scided emies >le is always with our own evil heart, for when ^'"^* we go to God in prayer, we too often stagger through unbelief, and fail to grasp the victory of faith. And here I wish to press upon the reader that the real contest is with unbelief ; for when in prayer we have gained strength, simply to trust Christ, then are we more than conquerors — then can we rest in peace. Now what is this trusting ? It is believing that our prayer is heard ; that Christ will dwell in our hearts ; that His strength will be made perfect in our weakness, and that He Himself will subdue our enemies on every side. The prophet says : ** Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee ; because he TRUSTETH in Thee." And the child of God who has learned wholly to trust Christ, will not only grow like a cedar in Lebanon, but will rest in perfect peace when the whole world rocks beneath his feet. If any should ask 119 1 i r C :, J LIFE IN A LOOK ■S- t! /^ I Believe how wc are to obtain this faith, I answer^ fir sty by a reverent and prayerful study of God's holy Word ; and secondly y by earnest continuance in prayer. The study of the Bible is absolutely necessary for our spiritual growth. It is the witness of the Holy Spirit to the truth as it is in Jesus, and therefore, as one has well said : ** To desire to know more than is written is presumption ; to be contented with knowing lesSy is contemptuous ; it is being satisfied that darkness should occupy a place only to be filled by light." The following are three conditions of successful nrayer : (i) Abiding in Christ and His Word abiding in us (John 15. 7). (2) The work of the two Intercessors, the Holy Ghost here on earth interceding in us, and Christ the Advocate on high inter- ceding for us (Rom. 8. 26, John 14. 14). (3) Faith : ** What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive 120 LIFE IN A LOOK it them, and YE SHALL HAVE THEM" (Mark ii. 24). Finally, I only wish to add, that pro- gress is the great law in God's kingdom of grace. Nicodemus, when he came to Christ, was surely but a bruised reed and smoking flax. There was indeed no strength in him, but the day came when this same man openly avowed his love for Christ, and confessed Him, when Israel had crucified, and His own disciples had deserted Him. Peter, in his weakness, trembled at the voice of a maid, but the day came when he was willing to stretch out his hands and die a martyr for the faith. Paul too grew in grace, and this is apparent especially in the deepening of his humility, for, as Vaughan has pointed out, we* finr^. the Apostle in A.D. 58 writing to the Corinthians that he ** was not meet to be called an Apostle, ''^ In 62 he tells the Ephesians, he is ** less than the least of all saints y^^ and finally, a year Result of Belief 121 4 ' ! i. 5 .' ii i ■* . F .r <;■;■ ■ill. I* My Saviour LIFE IN A LOOK before his death , we find him describing himself to Timothy as the '* chief of sinners.** This was real progress, and such as we ought all to make. If, how- ever, we do desire to grow in grace, l^ke those I have just mentioned, let us all remember that the one great principle of spiritual progression is, ever to keep the eye fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Author and Finisher of our faith. -■H'¥ ••■»[ ,t: 1 122 1! ■>. LIFE IN A LOOK scribing :hief of ss, and [f, how- Lce, like t us all )nnciple to keep s Christ r faith. I once was a strang^er to grace and to God, 1 knew not my danger, and felt not my load ; Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree. "JEHOVAH TSIDKENU " was nothing to me. Like tears from the daughter of Zion that roll, I wept when the waters went over His soul ; Yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree JEHOVAH TSIDKENU " : 'twas nothing to me. Jehovah <( When free grace awoke me, by light from on high. Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die ; No refuge, no safety in self could I see — " JEHOVAH TSIDKENU " my Saviour must be. My terrors all vanished before that sweet name. My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came To drink of the fountain, life-giving and free ; " JEHOVAH TSIDKENU " is all things to me. E'en treading the valley, the shadow of death. This "watchword" shall rally my faltering breath. For while from life's fever my God sets me free, " JEHOVAH TSIDKENU " my death-song shall be. 123 LIFE IN A LOOK r •t fii i r. 1(1- ^'; .*, I'^l ^■:i' "e w- 1 Ml. Christ hatii " There is none righteous, no, not one ; for all Us have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3. ID, 23). " When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly " (Rom. 5. 6). '' The wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord " (Rom. 6. 23). *' Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us " (Gal 3. 13). *' He loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2. 20). ' ■• " The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all " (Isa. 53. 6). ** Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins : and by Him all that believe are justified from all things " (Acts 13. 38, 39). ; for all )f God " LIFE IN A LOOK "There is therefore now no condemnation toBeiievest them which are in Christ Jesus " (Rom. 8. i). ^''''" in due 6). " For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world ; but that the world through Him might be saved " (John 3. 17). of God " (Rom. ** Believest thou this ? " (John 11. 26). I of the " (Gal. )■ 7 of us ^ou the ieve are 12 ilM ; ^. t* (hi 1 >f !,' ll 'I Ui\t .•,., 4 ■ f^ PRINTED BY HAZELI., WATSON AND VINKY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY, ENGLAND.