Untitled Sermon
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, AUGUST 21, 1887,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in
Christ. In whom you also trusted, after you heard the Word of truth,
the Gospel of your salvation." Ephesians 1:12,13.
IT appears from the preceding verse that the predestinating purpose of
God deals not only with salvation as a whole, but with the details of
it–it includes faith as well as salvation which comes of faith. "Being
predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things
after the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of
His glory, who first trusted in Christ." The trust is appointed as well
as the justification–the means as well as the end. We are not ordained
to be saved apart from faith, but those who are predestinated to
eternal life are ordained to receive it through faith in Christ Jesus.
What God has joined together let no man put asunder.
Beloved Friends, I would have you notice in this verse the remarkable
object which is set before us as the grand design of predestinating
Grace. Observe the singular expression of the Apostle–"That we should
be to the praise of His glory." Observe that He does not say, that we
should sing to the praise of our glorious God, though we will do that.
Nor that we should suffer to His praise, though we would not refuse to
do that. Nor that we should work to His praise, though by Grace we will
do that–but–"that we should be to the praise of His glory." The very
being of a Believer is to the praise and glory of God! It is written,
"Whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God." But this is still more comprehensive–you are to be to His
glory–your very existence is to praise Him. Your being, which is now
turned into well-being, is to glorify the God of Grace! When in the
quiet of the garden I have looked upon the lilies standing erect in
their marvelous beauty and I have realized our Master's words, that
Solomon in all His glory was not arrayed like one of these, shall I
have said to myself, "What do these do to the glory of God?" Quickly my
heart has answered, "They exist to show forth the glory of their
Creator!" By merely standing where they are, they yield praise to the
Lord–their very being is worship! Even those flowers which are born to
blush unseen of men do not bloom in vain. They do not waste their
sweetness, though they pour it on the desert air, for God is in the
lone places and beholds with joy His own handiwork. God is glorified by
the being of that which He makes and especially by the being of that
which He has a second time created by the power of His Grace, according
to His purpose through faith! Is it not enough result of being if we
are to His praise?
Beloved, see the importance of that trust which is so constant an item
in the purpose of God when He causes us to be to the praise of His
glory. Unless we have trusted in Christ, we are not living to the
praise of God. But when we have come, by faith, into the place wherein
we ought to stand, then is our very being unto the praise of His glory!
In Christ our very existence glorifies God and it is faith which
consciously places us in Christ. Concerning that trust, or, if you
will, for the original bears that translation–that hope which is so
essential to the fulfillment of the purpose of God– concerning that
trust I am about to speak this morning. May the praise of His glory be
promoted by what I am enabled to say!
I. Our first point will be THAT TRUST IN CHRIST IS THE CONSTANT MARK OF
THE SAVED. "That we should be to the praise of His glory who first
trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted." I care not whether you
read it, "trusted," or, "hoped," the idea will still be the same. Trust
in Christ, or hope in Christ, is the distinguishing token of God's
people.
It was the mark of the Apostles. It was necessary to an Apostle that he
should have seen the Lord, for he was to bear personal witness to that
which he had seen with his eyes and looked upon and handled. But this
alone was not sufficient,
for many saw the Lord and remained in unbelief, enemies of the Cross of
Christ. These could not have been Apostles since they did not trust in
Jesus. The Apostles were those who, with an inner as well as an outer
eye, had seen the Lord and had trusted themselves wholly to Him as
their Leader, Master, Teacher and Savior. There were no Apostles worthy
to be called Apostles who did not trust in Christ. Truly Judas bore the
name, but his Lord said of him, "One of you is a devil." He who is sent
of Christ as His witness, first trusts in Christ.
This was also the mark of the first converts, the chosen from among the
Jews. These had the honor to be the elder born–these who first trusted
in Christ. Some of them had the advantage of having trusted in Him
before His actual advent, for they were looking for the hope of Israel
and earnestly expecting the coming of the Messiah. Before our Lord
appeared at the waters of Jordan and was pointed out by John the
Baptist as, "the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world,"
there were hearts that believed in Him and eyes that looked for Him.
Still, whether they were Jewish Believers, looking for His advent, or
not, this was the mark of their being truly saved–that they trusted in
Jesus when He was revealed as the Anointed of the Lord. The best
instructed Jew could not find eternal salvation apart from his putting
his trust in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Now, dear Friends, this was the mark of those who were first saved by
the great Redeemer and I want you to notice how the Holy Spirit sets
them in a class by themselves. He makes a distinction between those who
first trusted and those who trusted afterwards because it is a
noteworthy honor to have been among the first that trusted Christ. It
is a privilege to be led by Jesus, to trust Him first in order of time
by beginning in your earliest youth. Happy are those who enter the
Lord's vineyard amid the dews of the morning, for these redeem years of
time from the bitter servitude of sin and turn them to blessed account
in the delightful service of the Lord Jesus. Such are usually
distinguished in the Church–early piety makes eminent piety–early
consecration often leads to abounding usefulness. The Lord evidently
delights to be found in a high degree of those who seek Him early. They
come to Him, first, and He remembers the kindness of their youth and
the promptness with which they obeyed His call.
It is also a great privilege to be called first out of a family or a
neighborhood. Perhaps some of you live where there are none who believe
in Christ. May the Lord grant you this high favor to be the leader of
your household and your district as a Believer! May the shower of Grace
fall first on you and then bless all those who are round about you!
Possibly in your family you do not know of one who has passed from
death to life–may you be the first fruits out of spiritual death! I
have often observed that where God begins with a family, He goes on
with a family. He makes one or two to be the first fruits and then He
considers the lump as also holy and goes on to bless the rest of the
household. Even in nations I scarcely remember a nation or people that
has ever received Christ which has been quite left without His blessing
throughout after centuries–the fire which the first live coals had
kindled has never absolutely been quenched. Therefore, I admire the
gray fathers of the past, the pioneers of the army of the Lord.
Paul mentions with respect those who were in Christ before he was and
so should we honor those who led the way for us by first trusting in
Christ. I greatly esteem in my own mind those first Believers who were
not borne in by the throng of others, but went forward alone. I compare
them to the first navigators upon an untried sea–the men who first
sailed out of sight of shore, greatly venturing. To be first in
perceiving that Jesus of Nazareth was the Anointed of the Lord was no
mean thing, for none of the princes of this world had any idea of that
great fact. These were, in truth, the "men of light and leading," the
foremost minds of their age, though they were peasants and fishermen!
These were the first swallows heralding a glorious summer tide. These
were the first songbirds waking the morning to behold the newly-risen
sun. It is a patent of nobility to be numbered with these!
I would put a holy ambition into the hearts of those who are young and
others who belong to ungodly families, suggesting to them that they
should be among their households those "who first trust in Christ." In
the history of your tribe you will have an honored place as the first
who brought salvation to your house. But, whether you are first or
last, if you are saved at all it will be through trust in Christ! Come
young, come old, you will still be saved only by trusting Christ. Come
as the leader of your family, or come as the last left out in the
cold–you will still have to come by a simple trust and reliance upon
the Lord Jesus Christ! This is the one and only way of salvation.
Now, as this was the mark of the elder born, the text goes on to tell
us that it was the mark of the younger born–"In whom you also trusted,
after that you heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation."
The Ephesians did not see the Christ, they never listened to the
melodious tones of His voice, nor looked into His beloved
Countenance–they were
converted by hearing the report of Him. They were brought into
salvation afterwards, but still it came to the same thing–they
received the same precious faith with those who, in former days, had
obtained eternal life. Those to whom I now speak trusted in Christ
after they had heard the Word of truth. Note the expression. It is the
Word of the truth–the most important and vital of all truths–the
Truth of God. Nothing but the Truth of God can truly renew the heart.
Falsehood works to evil–only the Truth of God works towards
righteousness. We heard the Word of the God of Truth and it came to us
as the Word of God–it came with the force of truth, carrying
conviction with it–and it came as the Word of God, exercising a Divine
power over our nature and, hence it was that we came to trust in
Christ. My unconverted Hearer, if you desire to have faith in Christ,
listen to the Truth of God and to the Truth of God, only! Shut your
ears to error and hold yourselves only ready to hear the glorious
Gospel of the blessed God. "Faith comes by hearing," but that hearing
must be the hearing of the Word of God. It is by the hearing of the
Word of the Truth of God that men come to trust in Christ, but trust in
Christ they must, or they will perish! He is the sole Rock on which we
must rest–the one Foundation laid for us to build upon.
The Apostle also says to these Ephesians, "You heard the Gospel of your
salvation." O delightful word! The Gospel, the glad tidings! The glad
tidings of salvation! Yes, more, the glad tidings of your salvation!
The Gospel brings to us a personal deliverance. We heard Christ
preached and we saw that He had salvation for us. Another man's Savior
brings us little joy, but salvation for ourselves is good news, indeed!
Joyful was the day when my heart said, "Blessed be God, I need
salvation and it is joyful tidings to me that there is an atoning
Sacrifice by which my sin is put away! I can be reconciled to God
through the death of His Son and in Christ Jesus I can be accepted and
beloved of the Lord." By such reflections we were led to a simple and
hearty trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. That trust is the broad arrow of
the King, set upon all His royal possessions. Where that trust is
found, that soul is God's possession! Where it is lacking, that soul
still lies in the arms of the Wicked One. This trust, of which some
make so little, is, nevertheless, the distinguishing and the
discriminating mark by which we must discern between him that fears God
and him that fears Him not.
Note, before I leave this portion of the subject, that trust in Christ
is of the same nature in all Believers. It is not the same in degree,
nor in constancy, nor in energy, but it is the same faith. "You
received like precious faith," said Peter. Paul's faith and your faith
are the same faith if your faith is true faith. The faith of Abraham
and the faith of a little child who has newly believed in Jesus are the
same faith. A diamond is a diamond whatever its size may be and so,
little faith and great faith are of the same essence! Whether it is a
grain of mustard seed or a mountain-moving faith, it is still faith of
the operation of God, faith in the same Object and faith working to the
same end. Therefore John, speaking to his converts, prays, "That you
may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the
Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." If you are a Believer, you have
a right to the same fellowship with God as the Apostle had. You have
the same perfect cleansing by the precious blood. You have the same
adoption, the same regeneration, you stand in the same place of love
and acceptance–you shall be blessed with the same blessings on
earth–and you shall enter into the same joy at the right hand of God.
See, then, dear Friends, that trust in Christ is the invariable and the
Infallible mark of the saved ones!
II. Secondly, THIS TRUST IS NO EMPTY NOTION. The trust in Christ which
saves the soul is no idle sentiment,
but a strong, vital, active principle, having a diving and conquering
power within it. It is of the operation of the Spirit of God and,
therefore, it is a living and incorruptible seed which lives and abides
forever.
True trust in Christ is an entire reliance upon Him. This day, if you
trust Christ, you rest the whole weight and stress of your soul's
affairs upon Him. Looking at your sin and your sinfulness; looking at
the past, the present and the future; looking at death and at judgment,
you deliberately believe that Christ is equal to every emergency and
you cast yourself entirely and without reserve upon Him to save
you–and to keep you saved forever! No other trust is worth a pin
except this! It must be an absolute severance from all reliance upon
your past merit, or upon your present resolutions, or upon your future
expectations of what you shall be or shall do. You must have done with
all other trust if Christ is your confidence. Your motto must be,
"Jesus only." In this lifeboat you must swim to Glory, but all others
you must cast away. Another reliance would be as a weight about your
loins to sink you in the sea of despair. O my Hearer, have you such a
simple, unadulterated trust as this?
A saving trust leads us to accept Christ in all His offices. He is to
us not only Priest to put away our sin, but Prophet to remove our
ignorance and King to subdue our rebellions. If as Priest He purges the
conscience, as Prophet He must
direct the intellect and as King He must rule the life. We must yield
our will to Christ's will that henceforth every thought may be brought
into captivity to His holy sway. There is no whole-hearted trust in
Christ unless Christ is taken as a whole! You cannot have half a Christ
and be saved, for half Christ is no Christ! You must take Him as He is
revealed in Scripture–Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Savior of men,
very God of very God, the faithful and true Witness, your Guide, your
Lord, your Husband, your everything! Do you trust Him so? If not, you
have not trusted Him at all! This is the trust which brings salvation
with it–an entire reliance upon an entire Savior so far as you know
Him.
This trust includes obedience to Him–we have not trusted Him at all
unless we are prepared to accept His commands as the rule of our lives.
The ship is on fire; the bales of cotton are pouring forth a black,
horrible smoke; passengers and crew are in extreme danger, but a
capable captain is in command and he says to those around him, "If you
will behave yourselves, I think I shall be able to effect the escape of
you all." Now, if they trust in the captain they will do precisely as
he orders. No sailor or engineer will refuse to work the pumps, or to
prepare the boats. Neither will any passenger disobey a rule. In
proportion to their confidence in their leader will be the alacrity
with which they obey him at once. They believe his orders to be wise
and so they keep to then. Neither their fear, nor their rashness will
lead them to rush to and fro contrary to his bidding if they have a
firm trust in him. When the boats are lowered and are bought, one by
one, to the ship's side, those who are to fill them wait till their
turns come–in firm reliance upon the captain's impartiality and
prudence they will get into the boats or they will wait on board–for
they consider that his orders are dictated by a better judgment than
their own. So far as each man and each woman firmly believes in the
superior officer, discipline will be maintained. Do you not see this?
Obedience is the necessary outcome of true and real faith and there is
no trust where there is no obedience. Some of you fancy that you are to
trust Christ and then do what you like! You believe a lie, for such is
not the teaching of God's Word! The faith which saves is a faith which
obeys. Learn this from the sermon of last Sabbath morning [The Blind
Beggar of the Temple and His Wonderful Cure–Sermon #1977.] Jesus
becomes the Physician of the blind man and puts clay on his eyes. And
then He bids him go and wash in the pool of Siloam and he shall see. If
he had refused to go and wash, he would not have received sight. Do not
tell me you have trusted for sight–you cannot have done so unless you
go and wash in the appointed pool. We must follow Christ's directions
if we would receive Christ's promises. Trust in Christ implies a
yielding up of all that we have and all that we are into Christ's
hands. We must be to Him as the wax to the seal, or the clay to the
potter. There must be an unreserved submission to His supremacy. O you
seeking Sinner, will you submit to this? Are you full of self-will and
pride? Then these must be taken from you! If you heartily accept the
Lord Jesus as your Lord and King, you have the faith which saves. But
if not, what faith have you that is worth having?
Trust in Christ leads to an open following of Him. Trust is not lame,
but it walks in the footsteps of him it relies upon. If the Lord's way
is the way of the Cross, you will, nevertheless, follow it because you
will know it to be the right way, since He leads therein. He that is
ashamed to confess Christ has good reason to fear that he is not
trusting Him. How can I be trusting Him of whom I am ashamed? If I am
not on His side in the great battle of life, how can I say that He is
my confidence? He declares that he that is not with Him is against Him.
How can I trust Him and yet be against Him? If I refuse to have my name
recorded on the muster-roll of His army below, how dare I hope that it
is written in the Lamb's Book of Life above? If I refuse to accept
Jesus as my Captain, how can I claim Him as my Savior? A hearty trust
in Christ involves an honest confession of Him. "He that believes and
is baptized shall be saved." "He that with his heart believes, and with
his mouth makes confession of Him, shall be saved." Thus the matter is
put in Scripture. Will you come out, then? Will you come out on His
side? If you will, then you have saving trust. If you will truly, fully
and wholly decide for Christ and live for Christ, then you have the
trust which is the mark of His elect!
This trust will lead a man to labor to suffer for Christ as need
occurs. The true truster considers it to be real gain to lose for
Jesus. He reckons that toil unrewarded of men is the best rewarded form
of labor when it is accepted of the Lord. It is enough wage to be
permitted to serve the Lord Christ! This is faith–this which counts
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus. Faith is that which has respect unto a future recompense when
the Lord shall come in His Kingdom, but looks not for honor among men
or any other form of reward here below. True trust cleaves to Christ
when the many turn aside, for it knows that He has the Living Word and
none upon earth beside. My Hearer, if you have a real trust in Christ,
you will follow His teachings though all the world should run madly
after new opinions! You will stand by His Truth though you are called a
fool for your steadfastness and you will not be ashamed though no
one should keep you in countenance. If you are trusting in Christ, you
will spend your life for Him and reckon it to be the best way of using
your existence. God grant us to have more and more of this trust!
That trust which lives on men's lips and never affects their hearts is
a deadly delusion. He that says, "I believe," and then never lives
according to that belief, is a deceiver and will find himself deceived
if he looks for salvation in such a faith. That presumptuous trust
which indulges in sin and boasts of forgiveness in Christ is, in
itself, an aggravation of a sinful life and will involve its possessor
in increased condemnation. Hang up on the gallows of infamy that evil
confidence which is in league with unholiness! The conceit of safety
while we love sin is a mockery of God's salvation–the base counterfeit
of the coin of Heaven! Only God gives the faith which works by love and
purifies the soul–all other faith is spurious and ruinous.
True trust rejoices in the hope which Christ inspires. It looks for His
coming and His Glory, His reign and His Heaven. It is full of
hope–that living, lively, life-giving hope which sustains the heart!
This trust has a window of hope through which light comes into the
heart in the darkest hours. It lives and triumphs in the future through
trusting the promise of Christ Jesus.
If we have such trust as this, we shall constantly meet with something
whereon to exercise it. God never leaves true trust without work to do.
It is not a presentation sword to be worn only on high days and
holidays, neither is it like the old armor in the Tower of London, hung
up to be looked at. No, true trust is for everyday wear and use–and
between here and Heaven it will be tested in every conceivable way!
That sword will snap if it is not a true Jerusalem blade and that armor
will be pierced if it is not of proof, able to endure the battleaxe of
fierce temptation. In a thousand fields our trust will be tried before
we shall be able to sheathe the sword and enjoy the triumph! It is in
this way that trust in Christ is made by our God to work to the praise
of the glory of His Grace. Trust in Christ brings to God greater glory
than anything else we can produce.
"What shall we do," said one, "that we may work the work of God?"
Meaning thereby a God-like work, a work so great as to bear a heavenly
name. Jesus answered, "This is the work of God, that you believe on
Jesus Christ whom He has sent." Dear Friend over yonder, you cannot
build a row of almshouses to the glory of God, but you can trust Christ
with all your heart to the Glory of God! You cannot stand up and
deliver an eloquent oration to God's praise, but you can, by Divine
Grace, pursue a life of faith and thus praise Him! You cannot be a hero
in fight and turn to flight the armies of the alien, but by trust in
Jesus, exercised in prevailing prayer, you can win great victories to
the praise of His glory! Walk humbly with your God! In patience possess
your souls and with an unstaggering faith embrace the promises–and you
shall be found in that cloud of witnesses who are ennobled of God Most
High! The Lord grant us, then, to have this trust which is more than
mere notion or sentiment–but a Divine principle created by the Holy
Spirit.
III. Thirdly, THIS TRUST IN CHRIST IS HIS DUE. There came to me the
other day a young man who wished to
speak with me about his soul troubles and he began thus, "Dear Sir, I
cannot trust Christ." To which I answered, "Have you found out
something new in His Character? Has He ceased to be trustworthy? Pray
let me know all about it, for it is a serious matter to me. I have
trusted Him with everything I have for time and for eternity–and if He
is not fit to be trusted, I am in terrible shape." He looked at me and
he said, "I will not say that again, Sir, I see I have made a mistake.
Truly the Lord Jesus is in every way trustworthy." "Well, then," I
said, "Why cannot you trust Him?" I left Him with that unanswerable
question. A man is certainly able to trust one whom he regards as
trustworthy! My young friend saw that at once and asked me further.
"But may I trust Christ to save me? Am I permitted to trust my soul
with Him?" I said to him, "Is not this the command of the
Gospel–Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved? And
are you not warned that if you do not believe in Him you will be
damned? How can we doubt that we are permitted to do that which is
commanded us of the Lord? I am to preach the Gospel to every
creature–and this is the Gospel–'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you shall be saved!"'
He said, "So, then, if I trust Christ, He will save me?" And I replied,
"Certainly He will! He is the Savior of all them that put their trust
in Him. He says, 'Him that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast out.' It
is written, 'He that believes on Him has everlasting life.' He that
trusts in Jesus is saved." He thanked me and, saying that he had found
out the secret, he went on his way rejoicing! I told Him the Gospel; he
received it and he entered into rest. I hope I may be equally
successful with my Hearers at this time. May the Holy Spirit work with
me in this case, also! I have been talking about faith and I trust I
have not darkened counsel by words without knowledge. It is simplicity,
itself, but we are exceedingly apt to
becloud it. To trust Christ is to find salvation! He that sincerely
relies upon Jesus is saved! Now, concerning this trust, I say that this
is our Lord's due.
Observe, first, that we are bound to trust Him from His very name. His
name is, "Christ," that is, the "Anointed." God has sent Him. God has
commissioned Him. God has equipped Him. He is the Anointed of God–dare
I distrust Him? An Ambassador from Heaven, with the Divine warrant at
His back, known to speak in the name of the Lord God, how dare I say I
have no confidence in Him? By the glorious name of Christ I claim for
Him that you who seek salvation should trust Him implicitly and trust
Him at once!
Remember, next, His glorious Person. He who is set forth as the Object
of saving trust is none other than the Son of God! In His Godhead and
in His Humanity, yes, in His undivided Person, He claims your trust.
Can you not trust Him that made Heaven and earth, without whom was not
anything made that was made? Can His power fail you? Can His wisdom
mislead you? Can His mind change toward you? Can He be unfaithful? The
Son of the Highest–can you not trust Him? Away with the impertinence
of mistrust! Can you doubt the Holy and the True? Dare you doubt the
Lamb of God? Be not so foolhardy as thus to defy the Incarnate Son of
God and treat Him as though He could deceive you!
Next, trust Him because of His matchless Character. Have you ever heard
of such another as the Christ of God? Among the sons, no one is like
He–
"All hail, Emmanuel, all Divine, In You, Your Father's glories shine!
You brightest, sweetest, fairest One That eyes have seen or angels
known."
He is all goodness, the fullness of love and the pattern of tenderness.
He is always true and always faithful. By that blessed Character which
He bears, which I am sure you would not, for a moment, question–a
Character which even infidels have been forced to admire–I pray you
trust Him! Let it not be a question with you, "How can I trust Him?"
Say, rather, "How can I distrust Him?" What reason can you have for
doubt? What excuse for mistrust?
Remember next, His work and especially His death. Here is immovable
ground for my claim that you should trust Him. Jesus loved men so as to
die for them–how can we doubt His love? I do not know how it is with
you, but I lose the power to doubt when I realize Christ Crucified.
That crown of thorns hedges my mind around and shuts out mistrust. His
five wounds kill my suspicions and my fears. A crucified Savior is the
life of faith and the death of unbelief. Can you stand and view the
flowing of the Savior's precious blood upon the tree of doom and not
trust Him? What more can He do to prove His sincerity than to die for
us? His life is the mirror of love, but in His death the sun shines on
it with a blaze of Glory so that we cannot steadily look into its
brightness! Behold how He loved us! Oh, believe in the Crucified
Christ, for this is no more than His right and due!
Besides, He lives and He has gone up into Glory with the same purpose
of Grace upon His heart. When men change their places, they often
change their minds. But He that loved us when He was despised and
rejected, loves us now that He is highly exalted. He is not like the
chief butler who forgot in the palace the promise which he made in the
prison. The love of Calvary is with the Lamb in the midst of the Throne
of God! On earth He bleeds, in Heaven He pleads. You Sinners, come and
trust the ever-living Christ, for He makes intercession for
transgressors! I stand here this morning and I say to all of you in
this house, that I claim your confidence in the Lord Jesus! I do not
humbly ask for it as a beggar asks for alms–I demand, for the Christ
of God–that you put your trust in Him! God has set Him forth to be a
Propitiation for sin, that through faith in His blood everyone that
believes in Him should be saved. I demand your trust in the name of
God! Christ deserves it at your hands and you cannot refuse it without
doing Him a gross injustice!
I beseech you, do not make God a liar, yet, according to the Apostle
John, "He that believes not has made Him a liar because he believes not
in the Son of God." If Christ were here this morning, standing on this
platform, and you saw His pierced hands and the wound in His side, you
would be ready to fall down and worship Him! You can worship Him
better, still, by trusting Him in His absence! "Blessed are they which
have not seen and yet have believed." Trust is among the most sublime
forms of adoration. A childlike, tearful, broken-hearted, sincere trust
in Christ is a hallelujah unto His name. If you would crown Him, you
need not go far for a coronet–your trust is the best diadem you can
bring Him!
Trust Him, then, at this moment, and thus bow at His feet with cherubim
and seraphim. But again I say, do not insult Him by saying that you
cannot trust Him. I should think it hard if any of my acquaintances
said to me, "Sir, I cannot trust you." It would be a cruel cut. I would
enquire of him, "What have I done to merit this? When have I been
untrue?"
It would be too unkind a stab if it came from one whom I had aimed to
benefit. Do not crucify the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open
shame!
O my Hearers, I have chosen an old theme this morning and I have been
studiously simple in my style, for my heart longs to bring you to trust
in Jesus! I have no desire to be thought a fine preacher–I want to
save your souls! This trust is the vital point–do not slight it. Oh
that you would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ! If you believe in your
heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved! This
is the way of salvation and it is very plain. God help you to run in
it! Lay aside pride and self-confidence–and trust wholly in Jesus–and
this will be better than all tears, despairs, resolves and efforts!
Fall back into the arms of redeeming love. Lean your whole weight on
Jesus. Take your soul to Christ as you take your money to your
banker–and leave it in His hands. He will keep it until that day when,
at His appearing, you shall appear with Him in Glory!
IV. I close by noticing, in the fourth place, what I have already
insisted upon, that THIS TRUST IS, IN EVERY CASE, THE INSTRUMENT OF
SALVATION.
Trust is selected by God as the instrument of salvation and it is not
selected arbitrarily, but with great wisdom and prudence. When a man
trusts Christ, by his trust he is brought into mental and spiritual
contact with Christ–and there is a more hopeful influence about that
contact than in anything which a man will resolve to do or ever perform
in his own strength. It is a grand thing for a man to be elevated above
self-confidence and brought to rely upon such an One as the Son of God.
Thus he is made to feel that he must look to such an One greater and
better than himself–and he is brought to acknowledge that he is a
feeble and dependent creature. I think I see in this consideration an
adaptation in faith to be the means chosen of God in the matter of
salvation.
Moreover, faith is no doubt selected by God to be the means of
salvation because it never robs God of His Glory. If you and I are to
be saved, we shall be saved by God and by His Grace, alone! Now, if the
appointed way of salvation leaves something for us to do in order that
we may be saved by God, we shall, in all probability, attribute our
salvation to that something and forget the Lord. If we are bid to
trust, there will be no temptation in that direction, for we cannot
rely upon our trust since its very essence lies in depending upon
Christ, alone. Trust ascribes salvation to Him who saves. Faith never
seeks honor for herself–she is a self-denying Grace. Christ says,
"Your faith has saved you; go in peace." And by this saying, He crowns
faith and He does so because faith crowns Him.
Trust, again, is selected as the instrument of salvation because it has
wonderful power over the heart of God. Marvelous is the influence of
trust. I have in the past illustrated this to you by the power which
faith has over us mortal men. I will venture to tell you an old story
which you have heard from me before. I cannot remember anything better
and you must bear with the repetition. I once lived where my neighbor's
garden was only divided from me by a very imperfect hedge. He kept a
dog, and his dog was a shockingly bad gardener and did not improve my
beds. So one evening, while I walking alone, I saw this dog doing
mischief and, being a long way off, I threw a stick at him, with some
earnest advice as to his going home. This dog, instead of going home,
picked up my stick and came to me with it in is mouth, wagging his
tail. He dropped the stick at my feet and looked up at me most kindly.
What could I do but pat him and call him a good dog–and regret that I
had ever spoken roughly to him? Why, it brings tears into my eyes as I
talk about it! The dog mastered me by his trust in me! The illustration
is to the point. If you will trust God as that dog trusted me, you will
overcome! God will be held by your trust in such a way that He could
not smite you, but must accept you for Jesus' sake! If you do trust
Him, you have the key of His heart, the key of His house, the key of
His Heaven! If you can trust your God in Jesus Christ, you have become
a son of God! I see a philosophy in the choice of faith–do not you?
But then faith operates, also, to salvation by the effect it has on the
character. When I doubt God, then I follow my own judgment and do what
I please. But when I trust Him wholly and know Him to be my Father and
my Friend, then I naturally yield my will to Him–not as a matter of
constraint, but with great joy! And is it not a wonderful thing that
this simple trust turns the whole current of our life and changes the
entire color and complexion of our thought? Wisely is it ordained to be
the instrument of salvation, since it touches the mainspring of our
being and makes that which was erratic and rebellious become orderly
and obedient!
Moreover, Brothers and Sisters, trust saves us, because it grasps the
promises of God and pleads them. It says to God, "You have promised
this, therefore I pray You do as You have said." The God of Truth
cannot lie and, therefore, He must keep His Word. Trust pleads the
Sacrifice of Jesus and says–"Lord, the blood of Your Son was shed for
the remis-
sion of sins, therefore, I pray You let my sins be remitted. You have
said that You have laid on Him the iniquity of us all. I pray You let
me be unburdened of my load because You have laid it on Him." Trust
must save, for it has all the promises of the Covenant at its back and
the Christ of the Covenant at its side, exhibiting His own precious
blood! How can trust but save the soul when God declares it shall do
so?
In our most honest hours we are driven to faith for our comfort. If in
our prosperity our eyes wander to other confi-dences–in our distress
they come back to Christ and His Cross. When the head is aching, the
heart is throbbing and the death-sweat lies on the brow, none of us
dare look to works, or feelings, or sacraments! We cry–
"Hold You Your Cross before my failing eyes." The wounds of Jesus are
the ultimate hope of the forlorn! When the soul is about to quit the
body, the most eminent preacher, the most earnest worker, the most
devout thinker asks that he may see Jesus and be washed in His blood
and covered with His righteousness. I dare not trust all the heaped up
merits of all the saints, but I dare trust the Lord Jesus Christ!
Sinner as I am, I am assured of salvation through the sinner's Savior.
If I had as many souls in this one body as there are souls in this
House of Prayer, I dare trust them all with Christ! If all the sins
ever committed by all the men that ever lived since time began were all
heaped upon my one guilty head–I dare trust Jesus Christ to cleanse me
from them
all!
O come, dear Hearts, and trust my Lord! He cannot fail you! According
to your faith be it unto you. You shall be able to live graciously and
to die calmly if your trust settles itself upon Jesus, the Christ, the
Anointed of the Lord! Before the harvest is past and the summer is
ended, trust Christ and live! O Holy Spirit, by Your secret workings
upon the heart, lead all these thousands to trust in the Lord Jesus!
Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him!