Part 39 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 40 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
Back to HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
6. Sixthly and lastly, What insincerity, yes, what injustice and unrighteousness is this—that you should lie complaining of the lack of power, when you do not use and improve the power you have. Without the power and assistance of special grace—you have power to attend Christian duties and services; you have power to turn your back upon the infectious and dangerous society of wicked and ungodly men; you have power to keep at a distance from the "harlot's door;" you have power to keep your mouth of blasphemy shut; you have power to keep your hands from stealing, and your feet "from being swift to shed innocent blood;" you have power to bring your body to Christian duties, though you have not power to bring your soul to Christian duties. [James 3:10; Eph. 4:28; Romans 3:15.]
The noble Bereans brought their bodies to the sermon, and they took the heads of the apostle's sermon, and compared Paul's teachings with the Scripture—and yet they were in an unrenewed and unsanctified estate, Acts 17:11-12. O sirs, you have power to come to Christian duties, and to set yourselves under the droppings of a gospel powerful ministry; you have power to lie at the pool of Bethesda, and there to wait until the cure is wrought. But where is the unsanctified soul who improves the power he has? Tell me, O vain man—why should God trust you with a greater power, when you make no conscience of improving that power you have? Why should God trust you with ten talents—when you have no heart to improve the two which he has already trusted you with? What wise father or master will trust that child or servant with thousands, who makes no conscience of improving far lesser sums to the honor and advantage of the father or the master?
How do you know, O man—but that upon the faithful improvement of that power which you have, God may add a greater power to you? If you will but go those two steps which you can—God may strike in with you, and enable you to go ten. It is a dangerous thing to neglect the doing of that which you can do, because that you cannot do everything that you should do. Suppose a father or a master should say to his son or servant, "Take such and such wares, and carry them to such and such places." And the son or servant should say, "Well, though there be some small light burdens that I can well enough carry—yet there are many heavy burdens that I cannot carry, and therefore I will carry none at all." May not the father of such a son, or the master of such a servant, in much justice and righteousness severely punish such a son or servant? Doubtless yes.
Why, this is the very case of all unsanctified souls. God commands them to believe and repent, and to love him with all their hearts, and to set him up as the object of their fear, and to give him the pre-eminence in all things, etc.—but these are supernatural acts, beyond their power. But he also commands them to attend on the means of grace, and to wait at wisdom's door, and to apply themselves to public ordinances, and to keep up pious duties, and to turn their backs upon such and such wicked societies, etc.—and these are things they can do. And yet because they cannot do the former—they willfully and wickedly refuse to do the latter; because they cannot bear the heaviest burden—they are resolved they will bear noneat all; and because they cannot do everything they should—they will do nothing at all—except it be to complain that God is a hard master, and expects to reap where he does not sow. Now how just and righteous a thing it is with God to deal severely with such, I will leave you to judge. And let this suffice for answer to the first objection.