Part 104 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 105 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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[4.] Fourthly, Those who have more grace and holiness than others, they are more like God than others. They bear his glorious image in a greater print, they have a brighter character of God upon them, and they are the most lively picture of God in all the world.
Now we know, though parents love their children well, and wish all their children well, and provide for all their children well—yet commonly they love them most, and provide for them best, who resemble them most. Parents cannot but love those children most, and lay up for them most, who have most of themselves in them; and I cannot see how God can do otherwise than love them most, and provide for them best, who most resemble him to the life. The nature of God is a holy nature, and so there lies a holy necessity on his nature to love them most, who have most grace and holiness in them, Psalm 45:7.
Look! as it is natural to God to hate wickedness—just so, it is natural to God to love holiness; and as the higher men rise in wickedness, the more a holy God hates them—just so, the higher men rise in holiness, the more a holy God loves them. Now the more any are like God, and the more they are beloved by God, the higher doubtless in glory shall they be advanced by God. The best and the largest portion is laid up for that child that is most like his father. The more any man in holiness resembles God on earth, the greater and the larger portion of glory that man shall have when he comes to heaven. But,
[5.] Fifthly and lastly, To deny degrees of glory in heaven, and to say that God will not suit men's wages to their works, nor their rewards to their services, nor crown the highest improvements of grace with the highest degrees of glory, is to render useless many glorious exhortations which are scattered up and down in the Scripture.1 Cor. 15:58, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." If this were not a truth that I have been all this while asserting, why then, when men meet with this exhortation, they may say, "Why, it is no great matter whether we aresteadfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord or not; for if we are, we shall never advance our reward in heaven, we shall never add pearls to our glorious crown, we shall never add one mite to our happiness and blessedness; and if we are not, we shall be as high in heaven, and our reward as great, and our crown as weighty, as theirs shall be who are steadfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord." [2 Cor. 7:1, and 9:6; 2 Pet. 3:18; John 15:8; 2 Pet. 1:5-7.]
And so the denial of degrees of glory in heaven will take off also the edge of all those other exhortations of perfecting holiness, of sowing liberally, of growing in grace, of bringing forth much fruit, and of adding virtue to virtue, etc. Yes, this will cut the throat of all divine endeavors; for who will labor to be rich in grace, and to be much in service, and to abound in all the fruits of righteousness and holiness, when none of all this will turn to a man's advantage in the eternal world? If he who sows little shall have as great a harvest as he who sows much; if he who is dull and negligent in the work of the Lord shall have as great a reward as he who is active and abundant in the work of the Lord; if those trees of righteousness which bring forth much fruit shall have no greater a recompense than those trees of righteousness which bring forth many leaves of profession but little fruit, etc., who would sow much, and who would be active and abundant in the work of the Lord, and who would bring forth much fruit? truly but few, if any.
The truth that I have been laboring to make good, namely, that there shall be different degrees of glory in heaven, and that God will proportion men's reward to their work, and that he will measure out happiness and blessedness to them at last, according to the different measures of grace bestowed upon his people, and according to the work, service, and faithfulness of his people in this world; this truth, I say, held forth in its luster and glory, is a marvelous encouragement, and a mighty provocation to all sincere Christians—to labor after the highest pitches in Christianity, and to be very eminent in grace and holiness; for what man is there, who will not reason thus, "the more grace the more glory; the more holiness the more happiness; the more work the more wages; and the greater my service shall be here, the greater shall be my reward hereafter. Therefore, O my soul! grow in grace, perfect holiness, and abound in the work and service of the Lord, knowing that your labor shall not be in vain in the Lord." And thus I have given you the reasons that prove that there shall be degrees of glory in heaven.
Now I have nothing further to do upon this point—but to give a few brief answers to such OBJECTIONS as are commonly raised against this truth, that I have asserted and proved.
Objection 1. First, Some object and say, That one Christ bought us all, and that all our portions are bought by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that therefore all believers shall share alike in the inheritance of the saints in light. Now to this objection I shall answer,
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