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A Lecture, " The Bereafls were mere nohle ihan those m ThtsgalonJca, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and starch- ed the ScJptures dttity, whether these things were so."— Acts xvn. ti. !^$ a«r ' vj I J^NKAPOLIS, J^. ^ W. H. Banks, Book and Job Printer, 1884. ■tMaoaiiiiai •N (>; ORGIVENESS OF ^INS ; A LECTUI^E. (Read Acts x. 34-43.) HAT God forgives sins is a truth generally admitted ; although it may not be equally clear to individuals how they can avail them- selves of this disposition in God, desirable and necessary though they may feel it to be, that, in some way or other, they be cleared of the penalty attached to their sinful deeds. Manifestly then, what the sinner needs is to obtain forgiveness ; that is, to have God blot out all his sins ; and then to know for a certainty that He has done so. Clearly, if it can ever be known at all, it can only be from a testimony , not from experience ; and that by such an authority that the soul can trust it when all else fails. But it must be remembered that Gk)d always speaks to faith or to the conscience ; and " whatever is not of faith is sin." Well, it is our intention this evening to search the Scriptures a little — the Lord enabling us — for the purpose of satisfying ourselves whether or not God hap communicated to us in such a way that we can apprehend it positively, all that we need to put our souls at rest as to this all-important subject, one "\ 4 rORGIVENESa OF SIN'S affecting, as it docs, our eternel welfare. For, de- pend upon it, dear friends, that if we are to be cast upon any but (jod Himself for light : if we are to refer in any way to man, as an authority ; or even to the secret counsels of our own hearts, we shall soon find ourselves in a hopeless sea of peqilexity and doubt. Thanks be to God, we are neither left to the workings of our own minds, or to those of our fellow men in our search after truth ; for it is our humble belief that God has t< 'Id out the whole truth, and that so simply that " the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein." All one needs is a " single eye " and an upright con- science. There never was a time when the truth of God needed to be more earnestly contended for than in this our day ! Never were the enemies to the trut h so bold in promulgating their doctrines ; not perhaps enforcing them by persecution, but by subtlety — by clothing falsehood in such specious garb as to deceive the eye of the unwary, and to attract it by a false light only the more fatal because it pretends to give what God in his infinite grace freely and perfectly gives of His own free will to the humblest believer in His Son Jesus Christ. I am thankful for this precious opportunity af- forded us of withdrawing a little from the haunts of men, where we can in quietness have our ears tuned with the " still small voice " that speaks so clearly, and with no uncertain sound, amidst the moral gloom and darkness of this our day. *' To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this wordj it is because there is no light in them." \v FORGIVENESS OF SINS. It is my humble belief, dear friends, that the sooner we divest ourselves of all our own thoughts — all our old prejudices, be they ever so hallowed to memory by their associations ; and the sooner we close our ears save to One only who can teach man Bin way and His truth, the better it will be for our souls, and the sooner we shall come into pos- session of that which will be an everlasting theme of delight and praise. It may cost an effort, be attained only by a hard fought battle against the self-will that is ever, and must be opposed to God and His loord ; it may cause sleepless nights and troubled dreams — but, O what of all that compared with the eternal joy and peace that will foll(»w ! Well then, I shall take for gi*anted that you have not come here to listen to " my opinion,^' " my in- (nfrelalion of Scripture, ^^ nor to hear an eloquent discourse merely that your ear may be treated with a false pleasure ; but rather that it may Le edified, yea, brought to bow to the absolute declarations of Scripture as to a subject wliich, as I have already remarked, concerns the eternel welfare of the soul, and upon which we cannot afford to have trifling or indifferent thoughts. Truth is homely, and is designed for the conscience in which it is intended to produce its best results. Clearly, to begin with, it must be established upon incontostible grounds that man U a sinner : ihat is to say, that he has committed sins which render him liable to God's wrathy and which, there- fore, need to be forgiven in order that his eternal salvation may be secured. And having established this point, we shall be all the more prepared to ap- \y O FORGIVENES.^ OF 8IVS. predate the simple, yet most important scriptural trutli— " The forgiv -ness opsins !" No one will deny that he is a sinner. Scripture says "sold under sin." Yet how loose our expres- sions are with regard to this ; how often we say, ** Yes, of course, we are all sinners ;" and that little word ** all " makes all the difference ; for if some were sinners, and some not, then, I think, we should not always meet with so open a confession ; W3 should not be so free to admit the fact as to ourselves ; but alas, by its generality it has ceased to be a disgrace among men. Our notions of sin are but vague at best ; how varied are man's ideas in regard to it, — mostly measured by the variously developed natural conscience in man, and that with reference only to relationships or dealings between man and man, seldom, if ever, ascending to those between himself and God. It would never do for us to rest merely upon our own apprehension of what sin is, or of what constitutes an act as sin. Let God bj thanked, we are not left without a clear and positive evidence, triced down through the ages of man's history by tlie Holy Spirit Himself ; by which to prove that man is a sinner, and that to such a degree that he has forfeited all claim upon God and exposed himself to eternal judgment. Conscience, wrapt in nature's darkness, would be a most uncertain standard surely, by which to determine the (|uality or degree of sin ; nor can reason fathom its consequences That there are punishments in store for the wicked proportioned to the measure of thpir offences, may be granted ; but whether there will be few stripes or many, there will certainly be no stripes in heaven ; when given. FORGIVENESS OF SINS. ' 7 it will be in quite aiioth* r place than tin abode of the blest^ct), a place iii which, I trust, no one here presei.t may ever find hims( If. Now, I want, dear friends, before we shall enter upon the question of how our ^ins may be forgiven, to get your consciences fairly in the iiqht to make you see, if possible, the enonnity of sin, and the tremendous doom that awaits the unfor- given sinner. A great deal depends uj.on the ;>//- sition we take in reference to an object as to the view we shall get of tliat object ; accordingly, then, our consciences should be fairly and openly brought into the hghf, for " light makes manifest," and light judges darkness ; we must look at sin, then, from Infht as our point of view : light being most opposed to darkness, that is, siv ;— and I think we shall shortly fiiid that this point of view is lot less than God Himself. And let us not shr nk from this ordeal : it is wholesome for us to be thus treat- ed, and to get rid of a fabe sentimentality that would keep us from viewing the matter squarely in thf face, and seeing the vx^r.^f^ though tiue, phase of the case ; especially so, while we have to do with a throne of (/jwr, noijufigmeiil, and *'G( d in Christ Jesus reconciling the world unto Himself — not imputing their t;espas8es unto them." Let us be honest with ourselves, then, and above all with God, seeing that just in proportion as we real- ize our degradation on account of sin, we shall then the more perfectly enjoy the liberty that awaits the soul that will simply take the words of our blessed Jesus, " Jf the Son shall make you free ye shall be free indeed." But the efiect of sin is to make God a Judge ; ■■: A ■ ts / 8 FORGIVENESS OF SllfS. hence, "for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judg- ment " and *' it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this tlie judgment,'* words, these, that should ^et men a-thiiiking, and urge them to flee from the wrath to orne, seeking refuge within the smitten Rock, while the invitation has not ceased to be to all the world. And now, just a word as to the character or nature of the God with whom we have to do ; and I tliin'x Scripture will give us a word which will search us as to this. You will observe I want every word that we get from Scrip- ture to strike home to the heart, not to linger merely within the cold region of the intellect ;— in these days, we are too apt to be occupied with, or to take for granted as truth, what men think on this or that subject in Scripture, and men's definitions of things, without having the bare ^oord itself applied by the power of God — as the Sword of the Spirit, to our own hearts and ways. " God is Light, and in Him is no darknem^ at all." • I John i. 5. Here we have, dear friends, a definition that is worth infinitely more to our souls than all other definitions put together that men have ever given of the God witli whom we have to do. Ood in Light I Let us consider this a mo- ment and see how it comports with the state of those who have to do with such a God — " in Him is no darkness at all.'* Can you mix light and darkness ? and " what communion hath light with darkness ?" Yet I want to know if man in his sins, departed from the God of light, doing his own will, is not in the most hopeless darkness, if in- deed one can say any case is hopeless in this blessed '■WV«iyi"«IMf»"'-"V F^f. a ■1 POMIVBNKSS OF 8IM8. 9 day of g^race in which the true light shineth? Jesu8 said—** I am the light of the world: he that folio weth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Bles.«eiiiUnnal blessing we now have to do with, and God taking up man on his own thoughts about himself — perhaps a thought, too, that some here are still honestly cherishing in their bosom ; if so, may they in grace take a lesson from others who tried it with a far bettar prospect 19 FOROmKEfW OF 8IK8. of success and everything pasbible to encourage them in their efforts ; but yet who miserably failed notwithstanding all their advantages, as indeed they might have anticipated from all the former evidences they had had of man's comphtc weak- ness when left to himself. How t low we are in learning ourselves properly ! I puss by Abraham's history as told from Gene- sis xii. and onward, that bein,' marked ;i>: a ralf and promise^ therefore purely of graiye^ and bjin-( of God and by God, are iminutable, a shadow of the blessing now characteristic of the Chiir. h of God. I pass this }^y, I say, as it was and is inde- pendent of man alto^^ether, and bf^ and f(p do something tor Go«i. ^ » ; a '^ '*And he gave unto Moses, wh(^n He h\d made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testiniony, tibles of ston-s written with the finger of gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own he:irts, to dishonour their own bodies ])etween tliemselves : who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the crea- ture rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." So then to these poor heathen who did not like to retain God in their knowledge, He says, " they A ^^^ , in and death in the 8th chapter, issuing in the | erfect liberty of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Your ''vil denti will prcdu* e (juilt in the consciencr ; your • vil na- ture never < an ma' e you guilty, because it is some- tiiing you have inherited — something >ou are n» t individually responsible foi ; but not so as to the deeds of the body, for those you are resiM)n8ible, it is for tliosc you must 'render account tt> Ood, hence the need of forgiveness and the blessedness to the believer of the precious llool of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot. Sin it- self can only meet with the judgment ancl wrath of God, which have been met to the fullest extent in Christ upon the cross ^le, tlough holy, being ** made ' sin" and then forsaken of God. Heb. ix. 14. But it appears to me there is yet a difficulty to be cleared up owing to the fact of Christendom being neither Jewish nor heathen, nor yet in the true sense — Christian. How then are we to apply those blessed truths we liave just been dwelling upon ; how meet individuals in this st ate, how force conviction on their conscience as to their need of Christ as their Saviour, and their responsibility to own Him as their rejected Lord ; that they may render complete submission of soul to that Blessed One who so loved them that He gave Himself for them — died for all, shed His blood for all? They cannot, it may be, say that they know the Lord ; they have a vague sense as to sin, and a dim notion that God will not be " hard on them." 'w^ F011CIVENE88 OF 81N8» 31 liy to ndom n the pply Iling force ed of to may essed ■ for t} Dear friemU, thi« is but indifference, coldnewa, carelessness as to the rights and the glory vi' that Holy One rejected of men — whom you are still re- jecting, Imt before whom every I nee must bow — who will yet execute judgment upon those who will not and care not l<> know him now. But God, as ever, has given us a word for such a case, and we have it in I he 2nd Kpistle to the Thessalonians, 1st chapter, 7th and 8th verses, "And you who are troubled, rest w.th us ; when the Lord shall be re- vealed from heavt n with His migl.ty angels, in ♦Gaining fire, taking \engeance on them that know not Oodf^ and that (bey not the «,ospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.'* We have here too classes distinctly marked off for judgment **Tljey that know not God " being those of the first class— the poor hea then, doubtless. ** They that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," tliose of the second class. How searching, how perfect the Word of <'od, disceri;ing tlie thoughts and intents of the heart, dividing usunder soul and spirit 1 How many dear souIp around us have heard the gospel, the glad tidings of God's free grace ; purchased at no less a cost than the t^ufferings and death '^f the Lord Jesus Christ, upA yet they have never ren- dered obedience; to its call, never opened their hearts to its sweet and blej^sed influence and been filled with love to that Divine person who humbled Him- self and Lecame obedient unto death even the death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly ex- alted Him and gi\'en Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth." Beloved friends, 22 FOKGIVEXESH OF SIXS. let rae as'c, have you learns I to delight in that name now : have yo ir hearts already bowed to the name •)f Jesus? If not, let me urg^i you in all lov^e, de- lay no longer, for He is worthy of all your heart's homage. Ood delights \n Him, () Nvill not ytni f Now, dear friend-!, I trust the <,'n>und has been sufficiently cleared to leavo no further question in the mind of any, but that, under the testimony of Scripture, man as a child of nature, man under a " sciiool master," man under the gospel, or mere profession, needs something jtill to fit him for God ; something not. inherited ; something he cannot reach by attainment ; somethin,' his reason cannot ;^^rasp J yet it is something he knows he must have ; down in his inmost soul he feels it ; a hidden dread at times disturbing him ; conscience working, it may be ; he cannot deny, and if honest will own that he is a sinner ; he has committed deeds, has harbored thoughts which no amount of reform can atone for ; and that were he to be judged accord- ing to his deserts, hell would be his portion ! O, have you not felt it — the Spirit of God forcing upon your soul the conviction that you are Lost ! The very thing that God would have us to learn ; for Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lo^. And then He tells the sinner '* Ye must be born again." Our stale is — lost, *' dead in trespasses and sins." Our need is — Life^ forgiveness, and justification. The word and the spiiit of God point the believing, earnest soul to the One who can perfectly meet his every need ; and has met all that God requires from man. And now, dear friends, we have come to the turn- ing point of our discourse ; the point where God I I i : FOBOIVFNirSS OP SINS. 23 it name e name >v^e, de- heart's fni ? IS been tion in lony of mder a r mere ►r God; cannot cannot ; have ; 1 dread ing, it U own is, has :m. can iccord- ! O, 'X, upon The ; for IS lo9,t. born passes and God who et all turn- God and Tnaii meet togetl.er. Man as lod—Go(\ as a Savintir ! They attract eacli otl cr. Man's tiee*i pressing him confidently yet witli fear and awe toward One whom he knmvs can save him ; Ciod's hijf! going out to meet th^ penitent, sorrow- ing soul ; iiee^i craves love : there must be need for ihe lo\e, and there must be love for the need Though (lod, bccauj-e He is G(d, would create the vffd that He himself can alone supply ; yet it is here that God and mau meet on mutual terms ; and the ^ erj' means that G(>d in his faithfulness would employ to make man .^f? his state as lost - condemn- ed alreatly - tl;at very means, the Cross of Jesus Christ, niaKes the quickened soul, in spite of itself, trust God, for he sees /ove there, because he knows that the Son of God need not have suffered thus had he not chosen to do so. ** Therefore doth my Father love me, 1 ecause I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, hut I lay it down of myself." John x. 17-18. But " God so hved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoioeix'r believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'" flohn iii. 16. Surely this is the only ground on which God and man can meet, that man may be blessed ; the ground of the Cioss which brings to naught the things that are and >'^hews man in his true state < f alienation from God ; brings him to see his noth- ingness and powerlessness before the weakness (i Cor. i. 25) of God, but who, by his mighty power, hath rai ed up Jesus to give repentance of Israel and forgiveness of sins. It is at the Ci'oss we dis- cover our need, and it is at the croas we discover the loie in God that aiiswers perfectly to that need. 24 TORGlVEyEJSfi or SIN9. The honest so il w.ll find his way there and accept what it teaches, and from thence will pass on through t'le veil that wis rent there into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. The despiser will see in the cross his own condemnation —for ** he that be- lieveth not is con lemned already/' TTie love tia'. attracts and ho'ds the broken hearted sinner, will to the despiser be unreco<;fn:zed -he is convicted, con- demned already ! How wonderful inde?;] is the wisdom and the power and the love of God ! We shall now proceed with our subject, huvinj^ got clear of man altogether ap so much worthless rubbish, unfit and powerless to do or to be anythinj^ for God. Let us now see how God can take up sue' I vessels and glorify Himself in them. We have seen that our date, being dead and wrf, need- ed life ; and that our conscience needed, in order to be clear, the forgivenesx of sins. That is, two things are brought together, namely, life and for- giveneH<. Now let us follow these up a little. God is not goiuLr to forgave you all your sins and It^ave you still in the same state you were in by na- ture—a child of wrath— shapen in iniquity ; such a thou<,'ht is unworthy a moment's consideration. God forgiving your sins, and yet allowing you to perish after all ; how unlike God ! Nor will He forgive you par of your sins and leave the re>'t to be answered for ; nor does He see, as we se<\ past, present and future ; all is one with God ; and all an eternal noiv. The ivhole or none must go ; fu- ture sins, as well as pre-ent and past ; to be other- wise would not be like God. Trust God, thht with forgiveness, goes also that other essential thing - eternal life ! Nor is He going to quicken a soul. u FOBGIVENES8 OF SINS, 25 make him a partaker of the divine nature, and still leave him in his sins. No, depend upon it, the IWO tl ings are inseparable ; tl at is, divine life and forgiveness. One is as important as the other ; bQ.th are ueedeii^ and both are given^ at the same instant. F( r<^iveness is the simplest act of God's favour ; the simpl st of all the blessed truths we have revealed to us in the Word ; and yet see 1 ow men wrestle over it Perhaps they would have forgiveness with- u will not believe G>1, for that would ha miking Gad a liar ; and yet you cannot say that you do believe. Well, then, i^ou dn nnt h^ieue God at alf ; yoti miky Goi a liar f Do you se 5 your position ? There is no middle ground, and that is the real point at issu(3 between your soul and God — and while it remains unsettled you Vkvbr can have peace, and if you die an unbeliever your eternal doom is fixed — you have not believed God, you have made Him a liar. Your portion will be with the unbelievers ! Sol(?mn, but impressive, needful truth. Well, then, if you do not believe, and you see that it is S) very essential that you shoul I believe, you will likely try to believe, if you are honest. But you will find you cannot believe ; your case is getting critical ; you own that it is necessary you should believe ; you have tried —you find you cannot ! what will you do next? You will say, if you have really bjen sincere, as every soul ought to be, " I am sick of doing. I'll give i^^ all up. Lord help me r * Now I believe that that is aSout the character of the experience that every Christian has passed FOKGIVENES8 OF SINS. 27 \ci/t you do not I >8e tes- min's, ? thea } Most V is not •^at you inikin>r you do nt all ; •sition ? be real 1 — and 1 have eternal you with Well, t is s > will it you netting should niiot ! [ have (( help ter of assed througli, with more or less intei sity, who has ever found peace in believing. And it is a right exper- ience ; it is accoixling to truth. The reid root of the matter is tinheliefy t nd it must 1 e reached in this way, through experic nee ; though of course it is the Spirit of Gcd acting on the soul I0 shew where the weak spot is ; but it 's not until the drowning man gi\es up struggling, trying to save himset/., and is ready to sink, that he can be 1 elped nnd mved. So it is with the soul, it cannot believe save through tl e grace of God. Failhy as every- thing else in the salvation of a soul, is the gift of God. (Eph. ii. 8.) But God veier^ never fails to succour the perishing soul that hiis reached tins point— that of casting itself wholly upon God ; and it is where the soul mvfit le brought if it is to be saved. Now, that question Fettled as to bete/, and as to tvhom and what you are to believe, let us pass on to God's u'ord-^ God's testimony. Peace is in know- ing, not doubting, and I am sure God would have us to kncw^ sijce He has spoken so positively. I said, It is all by faith in Jesus ; by Him I have life. ** He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life." i John v. 12. ** These things have I written unto you that be- leve on the name of the Son of God ; that ye may know that ye have eternal life." " In Him v\as life, and the life was the light of men." John i. 4. ** He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." iii. 36. *' Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that helieveth on Me hath everlasting life." vi. 47. In fact John's gospel and his epistles are full of such statements, and you observe how absolute ihey are ; FOKGIVKN'ESS OF SllfS. M **btilievt*h *' and *'hath'' are the two words which cannot help arrestia-r our attention. May it be with power ! But just here I am f^ii^ to notice an empty cavil of infidels, who would, if possible, destroy the faith of some who are simply resting on what faith ^'iVes them. They say the devils balieve. But are the devils saved ? For my part I do not believe they are; the Bible do^s not tell u-j that they are saved ; and m)reover, t le Son of God did not die f )r eith *r angels or devils. He died for tnen^ and devils are noi. men ; and it is men, iK>t devils, who are exhorted to believe. Bit this cavil has su^gest- e 1 another thought, which is not my own either, but I give it out as it furnishes a point of practical importaniie to us. The belief of devils is j^ew^ra', like that Oi" some men now a- days ; but the belief the Bible calls for is a personal belief. Each one is responsi])le to '^now and to confess the Lord Jesus for himself. Merely believing ahovU the Lord in a historical way will never s ive one ; you must be- lieve on Him ; identify yourself with Kim, bearing His reproach. There is a vast difference in the two ways — a general and a personal belief. Moreover, it i< the broken hearted ones that possess the latter ; they have been healed by the Blessed Jesus. It is not the **■ pride of life" coming to Jesus to see the works that He did, and to pass criticism on His ways and His [)er8on. This is Satan's way, not the Holy Spirit's drawing the soul to Jesus for salva- tion. And the word says, '* But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the Having of the sonV Heb. x. 39. The devils, the unbelievers, never can say that ; io i^k^" FORGIVENESS OF SINS. 29 39. is only by the grace of ( lod that any can ! " But when; sin abounded, grace did much morft abound." Now we shall pursue our subject as to forgive- ness ; and as I said, this also is found in Jesus and made known to us through the testimony of the Word. ** Be it known unto you therefore, men and broth ven, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiiynesA of sxhh : and by Him all that believe are just Jisd fro:ii all tilings, from which you could not be justified in the law of Mores." Acts xiii. 38-39. ** . . . to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto (iod, that (hey inay receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanclified by faith that is in me." xxvi. 16-18. A very striking passage this, shewing the perfect identity which exists between the believer and C.irist ; the believer participating through faith in all that Christ his wrought for his soul and that t'lrough death and in resurrection glory ; for it is from this source that the above message proceeds. Christ in glory speakini:^ to Paul. (Sec^ the connection Acts xxvi.) So also we find the Lorl Himself forgiving sins, and thit through faith in tlie subject; taon» God hatli sent forth the Spirit into your hearts." I j-ay, in possession of eternal life, indwelt by the Holy Spi- rit, and therefore an heir of glory, joint heirs with Christ, it munt inevitably follow, seeing that no sin- ner, as such, can enter heaven, that (lod has forgiv- en all his sins. Accordingly we read ** J write unto you, little children, because your sins ake forgi\en you for His name's sake (i John ii. 12.) Can any- thing be simpler, more blessed ! O that your hearts at this moment may bow to it — for witli the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation. This is the sort of confession we want to hear more about. And now that we have mentioned the fjimily of God, that is, those who have been saved from wrath to come, who have eterr.al life, and forgiveness of sins — knowing it and rejoicing in it ; knowing too, as children, God as their Father. I will mention another blessed truth revealed to us in the word, and it is God's thought about us, not ours about Him, and we shall get it in Eph. i. 9, 10. " Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, ac- cording to his good pleasure which he hath purpos- ed in himself: that in the dispensation of the ful- ness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are in earth ; even in Him." FORGIVENESS OP 8IN8. 31 Gather together in ojie all things in Christ, even in Him acc;)rding to the good pie isure of Hi* wilL This, dear friends, is that Mystery which, from the beginning of the world, hath been hid in Qody but is now made manifest to His nainta. (Col. i. 26.) Dare 1 call it by that (»ther name, so frequently used in the Scriptures of New Testament, so often spoken of and written about in our day ; yet, Hlas 1 I fear so little realized in the soul according to God's — to Christ's thought about it ? But let us listen for a moment to the sweetest words that ever fell on the hearing ear of a believing sinner. ** Even 18 Christ l)ved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sancfify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word^ that he might pre- sent it to himself a gloriouH Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Eph. v. 25- 27; This, beloved friends, is the language that God t'je Holy Gliost employs in setting forth the glory of the Bride, the Lamb's wife, composed of vile sinners washed in His blood, and made memhern of his body, of his flesh and his bones. O think, in contrast to that, of what is presented to us now-a- days as the '* Churcli !" Truly God sees not as man sees, and it verily would require divine eyes to see beauty or holiness in what is passing around us. But surely it ought not to be so, and may our brethren in Christ be moVvid by a holy zeal for the honour an- 1 glory of Him who so loved them that he Lave himself for them ! But, you may say, that is what the Church will be by-and-by in heaven. Quite so. But let me 3» FOROIVKNKSS OF HIXS. liiii urg6 upon believers, are we not washed miw ; are we not sanctified wow, nre we npt justified now in the name of the Lord Jesus, rnd by the Spirit of our God? (i Cor. v. ii.) Should not, then, all the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ be manifesting' that blessed unity non\ nnd lovivy one another even as He jijave us commandment ? Think for a mo- ment of a Father telling his children to love one another— and such a Father as we have — the Fa- ther of our Lord Jesus CI rist ! What shall we think thei), of the family divided among themselves, each having different and rival thoughts and pur- poses — racked to the heart with party stri^'e and party interests — does no^ that kill love f Assuiedly it does, it vmst. O, is it not a shame ! How often the apostle tells the saints to be of *' one mind,'* ** to mind the .^ame thing," " perfectly joined toge- ther,*" etc. But the Lord spoke Himself of this love and this unity, in the most bleised way when He said, *' But this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" John xiii. 35 ; and again — **The glory which thou gavest me I have given them ; that thty may be one, even as V)e are one. I in them, and they in me, that they may be made perf( c t in one ; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved theniy as thou hast loved me." John xvii. 22, 23. You fhall see that this unity was to be kept, and that on earth, in order that the world might believe that God sent Jesus ; the unity has not been i ept, consequently the world laughs at the Church ! Well, dear friends, it is not our intention now to dwell on Church truth, further than that we shall see how it bears upon the subject in hand— that is, FOROIYENEliiS OF 8INH. 33 the forgivenesi of ^in■ ; and how God has revealed to the Church as such .specially, being the body of Christ, composed of many mtnibeis, (i Cor. xii.) i'oine blessed truths coi.ceri ing our suhject. And it lipppens in this W4.y : ('od sees a body of | eople gathered doMn here on earth (of course it Is all His own work) to the name of Jesus Christ His Son, owning Him also as the true rallying point of sill believcis, that is, ts their centre now, as He will l)e throughoi ' all eternity ; He is also Lord. Now it is the Father's vish to impart some fresh proof of His love to them, not to the world ; j-ometliing that is true about them, which thev have not vet learn- cd, nor can learn except He tells them ; but which, as theybelicAe in Jtsus, His Son, He would have ihem know, and would tell it them Himself. Ac- (Ordingly then, the holy Spirit is employed to con vey the happy message to thefr hearts, so they can recei\e it, and thus be brought into deeper com- munio: with Himself, and that thfir joy may be perfect. And now ^^hat is this message He has to give .? Let us bend our ear while He speaks to us from his word, telling us truths that make our hearts leap with joy. Eph. i. 4. " He hath cho- sen us in Him lefore the foundation of the world, that we hhould be 1 oly and without blame before Him in love: Laving predestinated us ui.to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, ac- cording to the good pleasure of Bis uifl, to the praise of the glory of Bin graven wherein He hath made vs accepted iv the Beloved: in whom we HAVE redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Again in Col. i. 13, 14, '' Who hath delivered us 34 FOROITENESS OF «IKff. from the powr of dircn'^ss, and halh translated uh into the kingd)m of His dear Son, in whom we ha\)e redemption through His blood, the forgiv**- n(*.H9 of nins. ii. 13. **F*m l)eing dead in your sin^ and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Hun hiving ftp^gi^yen ytu all treApatsi'H. Eph. iv. 32. "Be ye kind one to another, tender hearted." Are Christians always that among themselves? "forgiving one an »ther, even as God for Christ's sa e hath forgiven you !" Truly Heaven sent m 'stages these ; and what further testimony do we need to prove that God hcdh forgiven us— thit is, if we arr indeed believ- ers on the Lor I Jesus Christ ? If we are Twrf that, God has not forgiven us, nor will He ever do so if we remain in that state ; and we mu»t start right or we shall be wrong all the way through. The first question to be settled is really this— Have you be- lieved on the L)rd Jesus Christ? If you can say Yes, then God's answer is ** I have blotted out all your transgressions." God himself give* the abso- lution through His word ; and any person, no mat- ter who he is, may be used of God in shewing it to another. You will hav^! seen that thus far we have merely consi lered the subject from ths point of view of simple faith in the Lord Jesus, as the ground t'^ which God could forgive the sinner, connecting it with eternal life, since life comes by faith in Hi» Person and the knowledge of forgiveness by a tes- timony — a testimony declared to us from God by his word and Spirit. There yet remains another point of view from which we get a still more blessed glimpse of this FOBOTTENE88 OP SINH. 35 wonderful tiuth— the forgiveness of ^in8 ; — that point of view being the work oi the Lord Jesun Christ Ujton th^ Cross! that work b( i: g, in connec- tion witli CI rist himself, the foundation on which the Church is built. You hce, dear friends, it would never do for G< d to forgive sins } urely from love ; God is Love— blessed triith for our souls, — yet He is a just^ a holy God, {jnd in viewing his character we must not forget this, for th.;t would dishonour Him, and lead us, perhaps, far astray. We have then to considc r how God can be j\(U and a just'Jier of the ww«.odly, so that our conscience may have perfect rest when the thought of God's righteovsnesfi comes before us. It is blessed to know that while God has freely ai:d fully forgiven me, yet in doir.g so He has not departed one iota from His inherent holiness and justice, and I can meet Him as safely on thut ground as on the for- mer, which was that of simple faith in tiie Person (►f the Lord Jesus. We have now to see in what way God has main- triiied his character of rij^hteousness in thus plac- ing sinners before Him, and what the Cross has to do with tie matter ; also. Low the sinner is made to parlici{;ate in that same righteousness ; for we must meet God according to what He is ; anything different can only meet with judgment. Accord- ingly then, we have to see how God has perfectly accomplished this to bis own glory, and how he has employed the Cross of Jesus Christ for the pur- pose. The Scripture we shall look at first in this con- nection as the one that seems to bear most directly upon it. W^e shall find in 2 Cor. v. 21, ** For He 36 FORGIVENESS OF SINS. H iiii hath made Him to be nin for us, wh) knew no sin ; that we might be made the righteousness of Go 1 i i Him." Christ is made sin for us ; He was the sacrifice for sin which God accepts for the believer ; and being made sin God forsook Him ; but then he raisad him from t\e dead. '* He wa« delivered for our offjncas, and was raised a^ain for our justifica- tion." " if? diet for our i^inn. H^ bare our sins in His oWii body on the tree.'* " Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, thit he mig.it bring us to God." ** He spared not his own Son, but delivered liim up for us all." " By the w.iich will we are sanctifiel, through t le offer- ing of the body of Christ once for afl.'^ " Christ hath red32med us from the curse of the law, being male a curse for us." Gal. iii. 13. Now, I think it mast be evident that, if Go I hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all, (Is. Iiii.) Christ thus laden enduring the rightsous judgment of God against sin. even to God's forsadng Him, that GdI has thus form 3d a basis on which he can justly, righteously receive the vilest sinner; simply besauss Christ himself his suffered the full p3n<y, paid the whole debt, and cleared the guilty but be- lieving si mer. Faith appropriates it, God sees the faith, reieives the sinner, and now who shall lay anything to th3 charge of God's elest? It is God that justifiath ! who is he that condem 'eth ? It is Chrict ih\t died, yea, rather that is ris3n ag=>,in, who is ever at the right hand of Gji, who also ma'«eth interces.^ioa for us." Biliever in Jesus, you stand b3fore Goi complete in Him ; nothing is wanting to parfeet that standing ; judgin?nt his b3en satisfied. ** Msrcy and truth arar mjt t),'e- tL FOBOIVENESS OF 8IN8. 37 V no sin ; fGol i, Wds the believer ; then he ered for iustifica- >iir sins so hath St, thit not his "By le ofFer- ' Christ bai mg if Go I s. liii.) gment Bfim, e can mply tialty, it he- 3 the lay Goi It is in, also you is his /a. ther ; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." The blood upon the mercy i^eat is your title to the glory ; the accuser cannot hurt you ; you have not to ])leare er them that are ?ancti6ed ;" we aie still subject to failure ; liable to commit sins, as before mentioned. That is, our state on earth does not correspond with our position in heaven, and to meet the discrepancy, Jesus becomes our High Priest. And instead of our sins (if we should commit any), exposing us to eternal judgment, what have we here ? '* He \%ahle to save them to the uttermost that comfi unto God by Him st eing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." But I must here i.ote a dls- tincti(.n that the word makes between the salvation of our souls, which is a present thing, and the final salvation of our bodies at the end of our career, or at the resurrection ; it is the latter which is meant in the above passage, and is made ai certain as the former, being ** heft by the power of Ood through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time," (i Peter 15,) at well as by inter- cession. So then our High Priesrt iniercedes for us with God (not the Father here, that lelonged to advoca- cy) when we fall into sin, and we are to go direct to God by Him, not to the Priest, and the Priest 44 FOROIVSNE88 OF 8INS. g02B, or has goas t > God for us» as in Peter's case, before he fell. Tiiis is bjcause the salvation of our souls is already settle I by having eternal life ; if that (eternal life) \v?.re in question, then we should have to go to Chriaf, Himself, but not as Priest, but to Christ ** lifted up." John iii. Truly a beautiful distinction, proving still more conclusively the pre- sent eternal salvation of the soul. I thinlc His being " able " to save is in contrast to the old priesthood, who were never able to save hut need ft I to be saved themselvefi ; however, you cannot but admit the ahilty of our High Priest to save ; neither can you dou')t his willingness. These admitted, you get next the means used, *' He ever liveth to make intercesnion. (The ground or title by which He intercedes has already beim dwelt on, that is. His work.) Now I want to know what reason yo'i have for doubting your salvation every time you fail in your walk and get desponlent ; since it was for that very reason — because you would fail sometimes an I he unhappy on account of sin, that the Intercessor has been provided ; what would be the use of an inter- cessor, unless tliere were something to intercede about? Your failures (if you are careless enough to have any) only set the Intercessor at work to bring you back into comman.oa and joy ; and the Spirit of Holinest will operate for self- judgment upon your heart until you are compelled to confess to God your whole trouble, when He tells you " He is faithful and just to forgive.'* Thus we regain our happiness and go on— but honestly endeavoring to keep the Spirit ungrieved *' by the which we are sealed unto the day of redemption *' How wonder- F0R6IYEIfB88 OF 81X8. 45 fill and i)erfcct are the ways of Ood, and the word of His grace all-sufficient for our guide and com- fort I But we must remember that Jesus is not Inter- cessor or Priest for unbelievers ; mark that ; it is only for His own blood-washed ones that He thui intercedes. ** I pray for them ; I pray not for the worlds but for them which thou hast given me ; for they are thint^." John xvii. 9. Yet how often there appears to be little difference, if any, between the Christian and the man of the world. See how Peter failed, but it broke his heart when the Lord looked on him. O that Christians now-a-days were more constantly broken down in the presence of that holy yet compassionate One ; then there would be far less dishonor cast upon that holy name by which we are called ! But as I was saying for the truth must be told, — it is not for unbelievers— the ?tMforgiven sinners that Jesus intercedes, though I need not say how His heart loiigs to have all Ruch where He can in- tercede for them. It is their own fault if they do not take that place ; He has accomplished forever the work required to bring them to God. ** It i» Jinished" he said, and that which shut them ovt was rent in twain from top to bottom. Dear friends, a *' rent veil " means a great deal ; it means either in6nite blessing and a place inside, or it means, " wrath revealed " upon them outside, for there is nothijig now between your soul and God. It makes one tremble to tliink of the awful doom of the des- l Kstr of (iod's mercy. '* The wrath of God abideth on him '* John iii. 36. That the rent veil brings out. Rom. i. 17, 18. 46 FORGIVENESS OF SINS. Well then, the sinner's first step is to accept the Cross of Jesus Christ, and once he has done that (through God's grace) he enters within the veil. He does not cling !o the crod^. Christ is not there now, and you must go where He is, (Heb. vi. 19, 20), and having entered there, pprinkled by His blood once — you do not need it often — once sprinkled for- ever sprinkled — Christ'* tvork for you is never done. Certainly not until you are glorilied like himself ; and I doubt not He will still have a service by which He will delight himself when *' lie shnll make them to sit down to meat and will come forlh and serve them." Blessed Tesus ! the ever faithful Servant ; may thy followers be more like thee ! We get what I have stated as to the limits of Christ's Priesthood in the 26th verse : *' Such an High Priest became w« /" *' Us" does not mean believers and unbelievers mixed up together ; and then how blessedly the verse turns to the perfection of the believer in Jesus—'* Holy, harmless,, unde- filed, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." That is what and where Christ is ; but he must he that and have that place in order to become ut / He hath raised us up together and made Ui sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Eph. ii. 6. And now, from being a servile sinner, "far off" from God, in bondage to Satan, we have a wornhip- per drawing nigh within the holiest of the blood of Jesus j worshippers in spirit and in tnith, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Wherever there is faith this can be enjoyed ; ** Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. •^'.\ POROIVENESfl OF 8IN8. ^y ;»n(l our bodies washed with pure water " See Heb X. 16-22. What wonderful disclosures God's wcrd makei to the humble believer! We ha ve- thus ascended, as It were, step by step, as the Spirit and the Word ied us, to the very highest truth of Christianity O may cur hearts be enlarged in order to receive it and hoe it ! Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate irom sinners. Brethren in Christ, are we always or ever like that practically ? Surely it is our standard : equal- ly sure IS It that God sees us to be jud that in Christ, or He would not have said *' such an Hiirh Pnest becah.e us.'' * Lord grant the hearing ear and the understandiiiK heart I Amen. '^ . I