Part 38 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 39 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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I come now, in the next place, to answer those OBJECTIONS which usually are made against men's pursuing after holiness. As,
Objection 1. First, We have no power to make ourselves holy. We are as well able to make a world, to command the winds, and to raise the dead—as we are able to cleanse our own hearts, or change our own natures, or sanctify our own souls. Therefore, to what purpose should we be so strongly pressed to do that which we have no power to do? Now to this objection I shall give these following answers:
1. First, That you have no power to perform any supernatural act—such as to believe or love God, or repent, or to change your own heart, or to sanctify or make yourself holy—must be granted. That by nature you are dead in trespasses and sins, and have lost all your spiritual senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, and feeling—can't be denied, Eph. 2:1. It is certain that your nature is so corrupted that you can not think a good thought, nor speak a good word, nor do a good work; you are not sick—but dead, God-wards, and Christ-wards, and heaven-wards, and holiness-wards, etc. [2 Cor. 3:5; Mat 12:34; John 6:44; 1 Cor. 2:14.]
I have read of the lioness—that she brings forth her whelps dead, and so they remain, until, by her roaring loudly over them, they come to live. Certainly all unholy hearts are spiritually dead, and until Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah, comes to roar over them, by uttering his voice in the gospel, they cannot live, John 5:25. Since the creation of the world, no dead man ever made himself alive. It is God alone, who can quicken the dead. Sin in dominion is the plague of the heart, 1 Kings 8:38. Now as there is no disease so deadly as the plague, so there is no plague so deadly as the plague of the heart. Oh, this is a disease that none can cure but he who is the physician of souls. An unsanctified person is not half-dead, as the Pelagians, Arminians, and Papists say; but as to spirituals he is stark dead, Col. 2:13.
An unsanctified soul is dead.
[1.] In respect of working, and therefore his works are called dead works, Heb. 9:14. There is death written upon all he does.
[2.] He is dead in respect of honor; he is dead to all privileges, he is not fit to inherit mercy. Who will set the crown of life upon a dead man's head? The crown of life is for the holy Christian, and the holy Christian is for the crown of life, Rev. 2:10; 2 Tim. 4:8. When he in Plutarch, had tried all manner of ways to raise a dead man, and to make him stand upon his feet, and saw he could not do it, then he cried out, "There must be something within, there must be something within!" Just so, when men have said and done all they can—there must be something within, there must be something of the power and spirit of Christ within—which must raise up spiritual life in those who are spiritually dead. But,
2. Secondly, I answer, That God gave you ability and power in Adam to obey him in all his commands, and though by Adam's fall you have lost your power to obey—yet God has not lost his right and power to command you to obey. [Gen. 1:26; Eccles. 7:29; Psalm 8:4, seq.] Suppose a father should furnish a child with moneys and all other necessaries to go a journey, and he should be drawn in by some strong temptation to spend his money, his time, and his strength, so as that now he is not able to go his journey; whose fault is this? Will you now say that the father has lost his power to command, because his son has lost his power to obey? Surely not! It is no iniquity in God to require that of us—which once he gave unto us. It is no injustice in the creditor to call for his debt, when the debtor is fallen into extreme poverty through his own default. But,
3. Thirdly, I answer, Though an unsanctified person is not able to perform any holy or spiritual action—such as to believe or repent, etc.—yet he is able to perform all natural actions—such as to eat, drink, work, walk, etc., and he is able to perform all social actions also—such as to trade, bargain, buy, sell, plant, and build, etc. The soul even in an unsanctified person is not dead—but a living principle; and therefore it is able to understand, will, desire, discourse, reason, and to attend the means of grace. Though he is not able to work grace in his own heart—yet he is able to attend on the means of grace. An unsanctified person may as well go to a sermon—as to a tavern; he may as well read the Scriptures—as readnovels and newspapers; he may as well associate himself with those who fear an oath—as he does with those who delight to blaspheme that name that all should tremble at, etc. Man's spiritual impotency lies in his obstinacy. Man pretends he cannot believe, nor come to Christ, nor repent, etc., when he is resolved that he will not believe, nor come to Christ, nor repent, etc. [Mat. 23:37; Luke 13:34; John 5:40; Acts 7:5.]
Christ in the gospel comes and offers pardon and peace and reconciliation—but you turn your back upon him. He woos and entreats and beseeches you by his ambassadors—but you will not hear, etc. He sets life and death, heaven and hell, mercy and misery before you—but you slight all, 2 Cor. 5:18-20. Christ brings a cordial in one hand to strengthen you, and a remedy in the other hand to cure you—but you despise both. Christ offers tried gold to enrich you, and white raiment to clothe you, and precious eye-salve to enlighten you, Rev. 3:18—but you shut up your heart against all his offers! Well, sirs! remember this, in the great day of judgement, all unsanctified people will be damned, not for cannots but for will-nots! It is neither men nor devils—it is neither the greatness of your sins, nor the numberless number of your sins, which can damn you, were it not for your wilfulness in sin, Hosea 13:9.
O sinners, sinners, if you are but heartily willing to forsake your sins, and to accept of Christ as your Lord and King, and to resign up yourselves to him to be really his, to be wholly his, to be only his, and to be eternally his—he will certainly change you, and sanctify you, and save you! But if you will not be holy, if you will not be happy, if you will not be sanctified, if you will not be saved, if you will not go to heaven—but are resolved upon going to hell, what can be more just with God than that you should be Satan's bond-slaves, and firebrands of hell, and vessels of wrath to all eternity? [Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9; Luke 19:41-42.] But,
4. Fourthly, I answer, If you do but stir up yourself to obey the command as well as you can—you do not know but that a power may go forth with the command, that may enable you to act suitable to the command. In that Mat. 9:1-9, Christ bid the palsied man "rise and walk, take up your bed, and go unto your house." The palsied man might have objected, "Alas! I am carried by four strong men! I am not able to stir a limb, much less to rise—but least of all to take up my bed and walk!" etc. Oh! but he puts forth himself as well as he could, and a power went forth with the command, which enabled him to do what was commanded.
Just so, in Matthew 12:10-14, there was a poor man who had a withered hand, and Christ commands him to stretch forth his hand. He might have objected, "My hand is withered, and if I might have a thousand worlds to stretch it forth, I could not stretch it forth! Yes, if my life, if my salvation did lie upon stretching forth my withered arm, I could not stretch it forth!" Oh but he throws by all objections, and complies as well as he could, and a power went forth and healed his hand.
God commanded Moses to go and deliver his people out of Egypt. Moses might have objected his old age, the great power of Pharaoh, and his lack of an army to force their way, etc. But he turns his back upon these objections, and addresses himself to the work, and such a mighty power went along with him, as did effect it.
God commanded the Israelites to take rams' horns, and with them to go and blow down the walls of Jericho, Joshua 6. They might have said, "Lord, these are weak and contemptible means, yes, Lord, if we may speak after the manner of men, they are such ridiculous means as will expose us to scorn and laughter!" But they pass over these things, and apply themselves to those weak and despicable means which God had appointed, and such a divine and glorious power went along with the means as made the walls of Jericho not only totremble—but to tumble down before them!
Christ commanded Lazarus to come out of the grave, and there went divine power and virtue with that call of Christ, which made him to rise!
The means are the Spirit's triumphing chariot, in which he pleases to ride conquering and to conquer the souls of men, 2 Cor. 2:14. "While Peter yet spoke, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word," Acts 10:44. O man, you can not tell but that while you are in the use of divine helps, a secret power of the Spirit may break in upon you, and make the means effectual to your conversion and salvation. Many thousands have found it so—therefore address yourself to the use of the means, and wait at the pool; you cannot tell how soon the Spirit may come and move upon your soul; it may be this day, this hour, yes, this very moment wherein am thus speaking to you! But,
5. Fifthly, I answer, That the sense of your own inability, insufficiency, and impotency, should provoke you to run to Christ, and to lay hold on his everlasting strength, and to storm the throne of grace, and to give God no rest—until he has renewed and sanctified your soul, until he has effectually turned you from "darkness to light," Acts 26:18, until he has bespangled your soul with grace, and filled you with his Spirit, and made you partakers of his holiness, Heb. 12:10. It was a good saying of Augustine, "Give what you command, and command what you will."
Oh, go to God, and tell him that what he has commanded in some scriptures, he has promised to give in other scriptures. Therefore press him to make good his promises, so that you may obey his precepts. Oh, tell him that if he will but "sprinkle clean water upon you, and put his Spirit within you, and give a new heart unto you," according to his promise, that then "you will walk in his statutes, and keep his judgments, and do them," Ezek. 36:25-28. Oh, tell him that if he will but "put his fear into your heart," according to his promise, that then "you will never depart from him," Jer. 32:40. Oh, tell him that he has commanded you to "believe," and that he has also promised to give you faith, and therefore if he will but make good his promise, you shall be sure to obey his precepts, Phil. 1:29; James 5:17. Oh, tell him that he has frequently commanded you to "repent," Acts 5:31, and that he has also graciously promised to give "repentance," 2 Tim. 2:25, and therefore if he will but perform his promise, you shall not fail to obey his precepts, etc.
Oh, tell him that you have no mind to be damned! Tell him that you tremble at the thoughts of hell! Tell him that you are horrified think of "dwelling with a devouring fire, of dwelling with everlasting burnings!" Isaiah 33:14; 2 Thes. 7-10. Oh, tell him that you dread an eternal separation from him—and therefore earnestly beseech him, for his Son's sake, and for his glorysake, and his promise sake, and your soul's sake—that he would renew your nature, and sanctify your soul, so that you may not perish to all eternity. But,
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