DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JANUARY 2, 1870,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep
that which Ihave committed unto Him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12.
IN the style of these Apostolic words there is a positiveness most
refreshing in this age of doubt. In certain circles of society it is
rare nowadays to meet with anybody who believes anything. It is the
philosophical, the right, the fashionable thing, nowadays, to doubt
everything which is generally received. Indeed, those who have any
creed whatever are by the liberal school set down as old-fashioned
dogmatists, persons of shallow minds, deficient in intellect, and far
behind their age. The great men, the men of thought, the men of high
culture and refined taste consider it wisdom to cast suspicion upon
Revelation, and sneer at all definiteness of belief.
"Ifs" and "buts," and "perhaps" are the supreme delight of this period.
What wonder if men find everything uncertain–when they refuse to bow
their intellects to the declarations of the God of Truth? Note then,
with admiration, the refreshing and even startling positiveness of the
Apostle–"I know," says he. And that is not enough–"I am persuaded."
He speaks like one who cannot tolerate a doubt. There is no question
about whether he has believed or not. "I know Whom I have believed."
There is no question as to whether he was right in so believing. "I am
persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him."
There is no suspicion as to the future. He is as positive for years to
come as he is for this present moment. "He is able to keep that which I
have committed to Him against that day."
Now there is a positiveness which is very disgusting–when it is
nothing but the fruit of ignorance and is unattended with anything like
thoughtfulness. But in the Apostle's case, his confidence is founded
not on ignorance, but on knowledge. "I know," says he. There are
certain things which he has clearly ascertained, which he knows to be
fact. And his confidence is grounded on these ascertained Truths of
God. His confidence, moreover, was not the fruit of thoughtlessness,
for he adds, "I am persuaded." As though he had reasoned the matter out
and had been persuaded into it–had meditated long upon it, and turned
it over–and the force of Truth had quite convinced him, so that he
stood persuaded.
Where positiveness is the result of knowledge and of meditation, it
becomes sublime, as it was in the Apostle's case. And being sublime it
becomes influential. In this case it certainly must have been
influential over the heart of Timothy, and over the minds of the tens
of thousands who have, during these nineteen centuries, perused this
Epistle. It encourages the timid when they see others preserved. It
confirms the wavering when they see others steadfast. The great
Apostle's words, ringing out with trumpet tone this morning, "I know,
and I am persuaded," cannot but help to cheer many of us in our
difficulties and anxieties. May the Holy Spirit cause us not only to
admire the faith of Paul, but to imitate it, and to attain to the same
confidence!
Some speak confidently because they are not confident. How often have
we observed that brag and bluster are only the outward manifestations
of inward trembling? They are but concealments adopted to cover
cowardice! As the schoolboy, passing through the Churchyard, whistles
to keep his courage up, so some people talk very positively because
they are not positive. They make a pompous parade of faith because they
desire to sustain the presumption which, as being their only comfort,
is exceedingly dear to them.
Now in the Apostle's case, every syllable he speaks has beneath it a
most real weight of confidence which the strongest expressions could
not exaggerate. Sitting there in the dungeon, a prisoner for Christ,
abhorred by his countrymen, despised by the learned, and ridiculed by
the rude, Paul confronted the whole world with a holy boldness which
knew no quailing. A boldness resulting from the deep conviction of his
spirit. You may take these words and put what emphasis you can upon
each one of them, for they are the truthful utterance of a thoroughly
earnest and brave spirit. May we enjoy
such a confidence ourselves, and then we need not hesitate to declare
it–for our testimony will glorify God and bring consolation to others.
This morning for our instruction, as the Holy Spirit may help us, we
shall first consider the matter in question, that which Paul had
committed to Christ. Secondly, the fact beyond all question, namely,
that Christ was able to keep him. Thirdly, the assurance of that fact,
or how the Apostle was able to say, "I know and am persuaded." And
fourthly, the influence of that assurance when it rules in the heart.
I. First, then, dear Friends, let us speak for a few minutes upon THE
MATTER IN QUESTION.
1. That matter was, first of all, the Apostle's deposit of all his
interests and concerns into the hands of God in Christ. Some have said
that what Paul here speaks of was his ministry. But there are many
reasons for concluding that this is a mistake. A great array of
expositors, at the head of whom we would mention Calvin, think that the
sole treasure which Paul deposited in the hands of God was his eternal
salvation. We do not doubt that this was the grandest portion of the
priceless deposit–but we also think that as the connection does not
limit the sense, it cannot be restricted or confined to any one thing.
It seems to us that all the Apostle's temporal and eternal interests
were, by an act of faith, committed into the hands of God in Christ
Jesus.
To the Lord's gracious keeping the Apostle committed his body. He had
suffered much in that frail tabernacle– shipwrecks, perils, hunger,
cold, nakedness, imprisonments, beatings with rods and stoning had all
spent their fury upon him. He expected before long that his mortal
frame would become the prey of Nero's cruelty. None could tell what
would then happen to him–whether he should be burned alive to light up
Nero's gardens, be torn to pieces by wild beasts to make a Roman
holiday–or become the victim of the headsman's sword. But in whatever
way he might be called to offer up himself a sacrifice to God, he
committed his body to the keeping of Him who is the Resurrection and
the Life.
He was persuaded that in the day of the Lord's appearing he would rise
again, his body having suffered no loss through torture or
dismemberment. He looked for a joyful resurrection and asked no better
embalming for his corpse than the power of Christ would ensure it.
He gave over to Christ at that hour his character and reputation. A
Christian minister must expect to lose his reputation among men. He
must be willing to suffer every reproach for Christ's sake. But he may
rest assured that he will never lose his real honor if it is risked for
the Truth's sake and placed in the Redeemer's hands. The day shall
declare the excellence of the upright, for it will reveal all that was
hidden and bring to light that which was concealed. There will be a
resurrection of characters as well as persons. Every reputation that
has been obscured by clouds of reproach for Christ's sake shall be
rendered glorious when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. Let the wicked say what they will of me,
said the Apostle, I commit my character to the Judge of the quick and
the dead.
So also his whole lifework he delivered into the hands of God. Men
said, no doubt, that Paul had made a great mistake. In the eyes of the
worldly wise he must have seemed altogether mad. What eminence awaited
him had he become a rabbi! He might have lived respected and honored
among his countrymen as a Pharisee. Or if he had preferred to follow
the Grecian philosophies, a man with such strength of mind might have
rivaled Socrates or Plato! But instead, he chose to unite himself with
a band of men commonly reputed to be ignorant fanatics who turned the
world upside down. Ah, well, says Paul, I leave the reward and fruit of
my life entirely with my Lord, for He will at last justify my choice of
service beneath the banner of His Son. And then the assembled universe
shall know that I was no mistaken zealot for a senseless cause.
So did the Apostle resign to the hands of God in Christ his soul,
whatever its jeopardy from surrounding temptations. However great the
corruptions that were within it, and the dangers that were without, he
felt safe in the great Surety's hands. He made over to the Divine
Trustee all his mental powers, faculties, passions, instincts, desires
and ambitions. He gave his whole nature up to the Christ of God to
preserve it in holiness through the whole of life. And right well did
his life-course justify his faith.
He gave that soul up to be kept in the hour of death, then to be
strengthened, sustained, consoled, upheld, and guided through the
tracks unknown–up through the mysterious and unseen–to the Throne of
God, even the Father. He resigned his spirit to Christ, that it might
be presented without spot or wrinkle or any such thing in the Last
Great Day. He did, in fact, make a full deposit of all that he was, and
all that he had, and all that concerned him, into the keep-
ing of God in Christ, to find in his God a faithful Guardian, a sure
Defender and a safe Keeper. This was the matter, then, about which the
Apostle was concerned.
2. But next to this, the matter in question concerned the Lord's
ability to make good this guardianship. The Apostle did not doubt that
Christ had accepted the office of Keeper of that which he had committed
to Him. The question was never about Christ's faithfulness to that
trust. The Apostle does not even say that he was confident that Jesus
would be faithful. He felt that assertion to be superfluous. There was
no question about Christ's willingness to keep the soul committed to
Him–such a statement Paul felt it unnecessary to make. But the
question with many was concerning the power of the once crucified
Redeemer to keep that which was committed to Him.
Oh, said the Apostle, I know and am persuaded that He is able to do
that. Mark, my dear Friends, that the question is not about the
Apostle's power to keep himself. That question he does not raise. Many
of you have been troubled as to whether you are able to endure
temptation. You need not debate the subject. It is clear that apart
from Christ you are quite unable to persevere to the end. Answer that
question with a decided negative at once, and never raise it again. The
enquiry was not whether the Apostle would be found meritorious in his
own righteousness in the Day of Judgment, for he had long ago cast that
righteousness aside.
He does not raise that point. The grand question is this, "Is Jesus
able to keep me?" Stand to that, my Brethren, and your doubts and fears
will soon come to an end. Concerning your own power or merit, write,
"despair," straightway upon its forehead. Let the creature be regarded
as utterly dead and corrupt, and then lean on that arm, the sinews of
which shall never shrink. And cast your full weight upon that
Omnipotence which bears up the pillars of the universe. There is the
point–keep to it, and you will not lose your joy. You have committed
yourself to Christ. The great question now is not about what you can
do, but about what Jesus is able to do. And rest assured that He is
able to keep that which you have committed to Him.
3. The Apostle further carries our thoughts on to a certain set
period–the keeping of the soul unto what he calls "that day." I
suppose he calls it, "that day," because it was the day most ardently
expected and commonly spoken of by Christians. It was so usual a topic
of conversation to speak of Christ's coming and of the results of it,
that the Apostle does not say, "the advent," he simply says, "that
day." That day with which Believers are more familiar than with any
other day beside. That day, the day of death if you will, when the soul
appears before its God. The Day of Judgment, if you please–that day
when the books shall be opened and the record shall be read.
That day, the winding up of all, the sealing of destiny, the
manifestation of the eternal fate of each one of us. That day for which
all other days were made. Christ Jesus is able to keep us against that
day. That is to say, He is able to place us, then, at the right hand of
God, to set our feet upon the Rock when others sink into the pit that
is bottomless. To crown us when others shall be accursed. To bring us
to eternal joy when sinners shall be cast into Hell.
Here was the matter of consideration–can the Great Shepherd of souls
preserve His flock? Ah, Brethren, if you have never searched into that
question, I should not wonder but what you will! When you are very low
and weak, and heart and flesh are failing. When sickness brings you to
the borders of the grave and you gaze into eternity, the enquiry will
come to any thoughtful man–Is this confidence of mine in the Christ of
God warranted? Will He be able in this last article, when my spirit
shivers in its unclothing, will He be able to help me now?
And in the more dreadful hour, when the trumpet peal shall awake the
dead, shall I, indeed, find the Great Sin Bearer able to stand for me?
Having no merit of my own, will His merit suffice? From ten thousand
sins will His blood, alone, cleanse me? Nothing can ever equal this
matter in importance. It is one of most pressing urgency of
consideration.
II. It is a happy circumstance that we can turn from it to our second
point, to dwell for a while upon THE FACT BEYOND ALL QUESTION, namely,
that God in Christ is able to keep that which we have committed to Him.
The Apostle's confidence was that Christ was an able Guardian. So he
meant, first, that Jesus is able to keep the soul from falling into
damning sin. I suppose this is one of the greatest fears that has ever
troubled the true Believer. Have you ever prayed that you might rather
die than turn aside from Christ? I know I have, and I have sung
bitterly in my soul that verse–
"Ah, Lord! With such a heart as mine,
Unless You hold me fast, I feel I must, I shall decline, And turn from
You at last."
Now, troubled Christian, remember that your Lord is able to keep you
under every possible form of temptation. "Ah," you say, "the Apostle
Paul had not the trials I have. I think he had. But if he had not,
Jesus had. And Christ has ability to keep you under them. Do I hear one
say, "I am the only one of my household that has been called by Grace,
and they all oppose me. I am a lonely one in my father's house"? Now,
Paul was precisely in your condition. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews,
and he was regarded by his people with the most extreme hate because he
had come out from among them to follow the Crucified One.
Yet Paul felt that God was able to keep him, and you may depend upon
it–though father and mother forsake, and brothers and sisters
scoff–He whom you trust will keep you also firm in the faith. "Ah,"
says another, "but you do not know what it is to strive with the
prejudices of an education hostile to the faith of Jesus. When I seek
to grow in Grace, the things I learned in my childhood force themselves
upon me and hinder me." And was not the Apostle in this case? As
touching the Law he had been a Pharisee, educated in the strictest
sect, brought up in traditions that were opposed to the faith of
Christ. And yet the Lord kept him faithful even to the end.
None of his old prejudices were able so much as to make him obscure the
simplicity of the Gospel of Christ. God is able to keep you, also,
despite your previous prejudices. "Ah," says one, "but I am the subject
of many skeptical thoughts. I often suffer from doubts of the most
subtle order." Do you think that the Apostle never knew this trial? He
was no stranger to the Greek philosophy, which consisted of a bundle of
questions and skepticisms. He must have experienced those temptations
which are common to thoughtful minds. And yet he said, "I know that He
is able to keep me." Believe me, then, the Lord Jesus is equally able
to keep you.
"Yes," says another, "but I have so many temptations in the world. If I
were not a Christian, I should prosper much better. I have openings now
before me by which I might soon obtain a competence, and perhaps
wealth, if I were not checked by conscience." Do you forget that the
Apostle was in like case? What might he not have had? A man of his
condition in life–his birth and parentage being altogether
advantageous–a man of his powers of mind and of his great energy! He
might have seized upon any attractive position. But those things which
were gain for him, he counted loss for Christ's sake. And he was
willing to be less than nothing, because the power of Divine Grace kept
him true to his profession.
But you tell me you are very poor, and that poverty is a severe trial.
Brothers and Sisters, you are not so poor as Paul. I suppose a few
needles for his tent-making, an old cloak, and a few parchments made up
all his wealth. A man without a home, a man without a single foot of
land to call his own, was this Apostle. But poverty and want could not
subdue him–Christ was able to keep him even then. "Ah," you say, "but
he had not my strong passions and corruptions." Most surely he had them
all, for we hear him cry, "I find, then, a Law, that when I would do
good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the Law of God after
the inward man: but I see another Law in my members, warring against
the Law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin
which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me
from the body of this death?"
He was tempted as you are, yet he knew that Christ was able to keep
him. O trembling Christian, never doubt this soul-cheering fact–that
your loving Savior is able to keep you. But the Apostle did not merely
trust Christ thus to keep him from sin–he relied upon the same arm to
preserve him from despair. He was always battling with the world. There
were times when he had no helper. The Brethren often proved false, and
those that were true were frequently timid. He was left in the world
like a solitary sheep surrounded with wolves. But Paul was not
faint-hearted. He had his fears, for he was mortal–he rose superior to
them, for he was Divinely sustained. What a front he always maintains!
Nero may rise before him–a horrible monster for a man even to dream
of–but Paul's courage does not give way.
A Jewish mob may surround him, they may drag him out of the city–but
Paul's mind is calm and composed. He may be laid in the stocks after
having been scourged, but his heart finds congenial utterance in a song
rather than a groan. He is always brave, always unconquerable,
confident of victory. He believed that God would keep him, and he was
kept. And you, my Brothers and Sisters, though your life may be a very
severe conflict and you sometimes think you will give it up in
despair–you never shall relinquish the sacred conflict. He that has
borne you onward to this day will bear you through, and will make you
more than conqueror, for He is able to keep you from fainting and
despair.
Doubtless, the Apostle meant, too, that Christ was able to keep him
from the power of death. Beloved, this is great comfort to us who so
soon shall die. To the Apostle, death was a very present thing. "I die
daily," said he. Yet was he well
assured that death would be gain rather than loss to him, for he was
certain that Christ would so order all things that death should be but
like an angel to admit him into everlasting life. Be certain of this,
too, for He who is the Resurrection and the Life will not desert you.
Do not, my Brothers and Sisters, fall under bondage through fear of
death, for the living Savior is able to keep you, and He will.
Do not, I pray, look too much at the pains, groans, and dying strife.
Look rather to that kind Friend, who, having endured the agonies of
death before you, can sympathize with your sufferings, and who, as He
ever lives, can render you available assistance. Cast this care on Him,
and fear no more to die than you fear to go to your bed when night
comes.
The Apostle is also certain that Christ is able to preserve his soul in
another world. Little is revealed in Scripture by way of detailed
description of that other world. Imagination may be indulged, but
little can be proved. The spirit returns to God who gave it, this we
know. And in the instant after death the righteous soul is in Paradise
with Christ. This, too, is clear. Yet whether we know the details or
not, we are assured that the soul is safe with Christ. Whatever danger
from evil spirits may await us on our journey from this planet up to
the dwelling place of God. Whatever there may be of conflict in the
last moment, Jesus is able to keep that which we have committed to Him.
If I had to keep myself, I might, indeed, tremble with alarm at the
prospect of the unknown region. But He that is the Lord of death and of
Hell, and has the keys of Heaven, can surely keep my soul on that dread
voyage across a trackless sea. It is all well. It must be well with the
righteous–even in the land of death–for our Lord's dominion reaches
even there–and being in His dominions we are safe. Paul believed,
lastly, that Christ was able to preserve his body. Remember my
statement that Paul committed all that he had, and was, to God in
Christ?
We must not despise this body. It is the germ of the body in which we
are to dwell forever. It shall be raised from corruption into
incorruption, but it is the same body. Developed from weakness into
power, from dishonor into glory, it never loses its identity. The
marvel of the resurrection will not fail of accomplishment. It may seem
an impossibility that the body which has rotted in the tomb, and,
perhaps been scattered in dust over the face of the soil–which has
been absorbed by vegetables, which has been digested by animals, which
has passed through countless circles of change–should be raised again.
Yet impossible as it seems, the Lord Jesus Christ will perform it.
It must be as easy to construct a second time as to create out of
nothing at the first. Look at creation and see that nothing is
impossible with God. Think of the Word, without whom was not anything
made that was made, and straightway you will talk no longer of
difficulties. With man it may be impossible, but with God all things
are possible. In your entirety, my Brethren, in the integrity of your
manhood, spirit, soul, and body–all that is essential to your nature,
to its happiness, to its perfection. Every part of you and every power
of you–you having placed all in the hands of Christ–shall be kept
until that day, when in His image you shall stand, and prove in your
own persons the power which in your faith you do, this day, devoutly
trust.
III. We shall, in the third place, pass on to notice THE ASSURANCE OF
THAT FACT, or how the Apostle Paul attained to it.
"I cannot talk like that," says one. "I cannot say, 'I know, and I am
persuaded,' I am very thankful that I can say, I hope, I trust, I
think." Dear Friends, in order to help you to advance, we will notice
how the Apostle Paul attained to such assurance. One main help to him
was the habit, as seen in this text, of always making faith the most
prominent point of consideration. Faith is twice mentioned in the few
lines before us. "I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He
is able to keep that which I have committed to Him." Paul knew what
faith was, namely, a committal of his precious things into the custody
of Christ.
He does not say, "I have served Christ." No. He does not say, "I am
growing like Christ, therefore I am persuaded I shall be kept." No. He
makes most prominent in his thought the fact that he believed, and so
had committed himself to Christ. I would to God, dear Friends, that you
who are subject to doubts and fears, instead of raking about in your
hearts to find evidences and marks of growth in Grace and likeness to
Christ, and so on, would first make an investigation concerning a point
which is far more vital–namely this–have you believed?
Dear anxious Heart, begin your search on this point. Do you commit
yourself to Christ? If you do, what though marks should be few and
evidences for awhile should be obscure, he that believes on Him has
everlasting life. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. The
evidences will come, the marks will be cleared in due time. But all the
marks and
evidences between here and Heaven are not worth a single farthing to a
soul when it comes to actual conflict with death
and Hell.
Then it must be simple faith that wins the day. Those other things are
good enough in brighter times. But if it is a question whether you are
safe or not, you must come to this, "I have rested with all my heart on
Him that came into the world to save sinners, and though I am the very
chief of sinners, I believe He is able to save me." You will get to
assurance if you keep clear about your faith.
The next help to assurance, as I gather from the text, is this. The
Apostle maintained most clearly his view of a personal Christ. Observe
how three times he mentioned his Lord. "I know Whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to
Him." He does not say, "I know the doctrines I believe." Surely he did,
but this was not the main point. He does not say, "I am certain about
the form of sound Words which I hold." He was certain enough about
that, but it was not his foundation. No mere doctrines can ever be the
stay of the soul. What can a dogma do? What can a creed do?
Brethren, these are like medicines–you need a hand to give them to
you. You want the physician to administer them to you–otherwise you
may die with all these precious medicines close at hand. We want a
person to trust. There is no Christianity to my mind so vital, so
influential, so true, so real, as the Christianity which deals with the
Person of the living Redeemer. I know Him, I know He is God, I know
that He is mine. I trust not merely in His teaching, but in Him. Not on
His laws, rules, or teachings am I depending so much as on Himself, as
a Person. Dear Brothers and Sisters, is that what you are doing now?
Have you put your soul into the keeping of that blessed Man who is also
God? He who sits at the right hand of the Father? Can you come in faith
to His feet and kiss the prints of the nails? Can you look up into His
dear face and say, "Ah, Son of God, I rely upon the power of Your arms,
on the preciousness of Your blood, on the love of Your heart, on the
prevalence of Your plea, on the certainty of Your promises, on the
immutability of Your Character. I rest on You, and on You alone"? You
will get assurance readily enough, now. But if you begin to fritter
away your realization of the Person of Christ and live merely on dogmas
and doctrines, you will be far removed from real assurance.
Brothers and Sisters, the Apostle attained this full assurance through
growing knowledge. He did not say, "I am persuaded that Christ will
save me, apart from anything I know about Him." But he begins by
saying, "I know." Let no Christian among us neglect the means provided
for obtaining a fuller knowledge of the Gospel of Christ. I would that
this age produced more thoughtful and studious Christians. I am afraid
that apart from what many of you gather from the sermon, or from the
reading of the Scriptures in public, you do not learn much from the
Word of God, or from those innumerable instructive books which godly
men have bequeathed to us.
Men are studious in various schools and colleges in order to obtain
knowledge of the classics and mathematics. But should we not be even
more diligent that we may know Christ? That we may study Him, and all
about Him–and no longer be children, but in knowledge may be men? Many
of the fears of Christians would be driven away if they knew more.
Ignorance is not bliss in Christianity, but misery. Knowledge
sanctified and attended by the Presence of the Holy Spirit is as wings
by which we may rise out of the mists and darkness into the light of
fall assurance. The knowledge of Christ is the most excellent of
sciences. Seek to be masters of it, and you are on the road to full
assurance.
Once, again, the Apostle, it appears from the text, gained his
assurance from close consideration as well as from knowledge. "I know
and am persuaded." As I have already said, persuasion is the result of
argument. The Apostle had turned this matter over in his mind. He had
meditated on the pros and cons. He had carefully weighed each
difficulty, and he felt the preponderating force of Truth swept every
difficulty out of the way. O Christian, if you made your mind more
familiar with Divine Truth, you would, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, have much more assurance! I believe it is the doctrine which we
have least studied in the Word which gives us the most trouble in our
minds. Search it out and look.
The divisions among Christians, nowadays, are not so much the result of
real differences of opinion as of want of accurate thought. I believe
we are getting closer and closer in our theology, and that on the
whole, at least among the Nonconforming Churches of England, very much
the same theology is preached by all evangelical ministers. But some
are not careful of their terms and words, and use them incorrectly. And
so they seem to preach wrong doctrines when in their
hearts they mean rightly enough. May we come to be more thoughtful,
each of us, for a thousand benefits would flow from there.
Thinking of the Deity of Christ, considering of the veracity of the
Divine promises, meditating upon the foundations of the Everlasting
Covenant, revolving in our minds what Christ has done for us–we should
come at last, by the Spirit's teaching–to be fully persuaded of the
power of Christ to keep the sacred charge which we have given to Him.
Doubts and fears would vanish like clouds before the wind. How many
Christians are like the miser who never feels sure about the safety of
his money, even though he has locked up the iron safe and secured the
room in which he keeps it–and locked up the house–and bolted and
barred every door?
In the dead of night he thinks he hears a footstep, and tremblingly he
goes down to inspect his strong-room. Having searched the room and
tested all the iron bars in the windows, and discovered no thief, he
fears that the robber may have come and gone, and stolen his precious
charge. So he opens the door of his iron safe. He looks and pries, he
finds his bag of gold all safe, and those deeds, those bonds–they are
safe, too. He puts them away, shuts the door, locks it, bolts and bars
the room in which is the safe and all its contents. But even as he goes
to bed he fancies that a thief has just now broken in! So he scarcely
ever enjoys sound, refreshing sleep.
The safety of the Christian's treasure is of quite another sort. His
soul is not under bolt and bar, or under lock and key of his own
securing. He has transferred his all to the King eternal, immortal,
invisible–the only wise God, our Savior–and such is his security that
he enjoys the sleep of the Beloved, calmly resting, for all is well. If
Jesus could fail us, we might wear sackcloth forever! But while He is
Immutable in His love and Omnipotent in his power, we may put on the
garments of praise. Believing as we do that eternal love neither can,
nor will desert a soul that reposes in its might, we triumph in heart
and find glory begun below.
IV. Now to close. What is THE INFLUENCE OF THIS ASSURANCE when it
penetrates the mind? As time fails me, I shall but say that, as in the
Apostle's case, it enables us to bear all the disgrace which we may
incur in serving the Lord. They said Paul was a fool. "Well," replied
the Apostle, "I am not ashamed, for I know Whom I have believed. I am
willing to be thought a fool." The ungodly may laugh at us now, but
their laughs will soon be over, and he will laugh that wins forever.
Feel perfectly confident that all is safe and you can let the world
grin at you till its face aches. What does it matter what mortals
think? What difference does it make what the whole universe thinks if
our souls are beloved of God? You will, my dear Friends, as you live in
full assurance of God's love, grow quite indifferent to the opinions of
the carnal. You will go about your heavenly service with an eye only to
your Master's will–and the judgment of such as cavil and carp will
seem to you to be too inconsiderable to be worth a thought.
If you doubt and fear, you will be hard put to it. But if you are
serenely confident that He is able to keep you, you will dare the
thickest of the fray–fearless because your armor is of God. Assurance
will give you a serenity within which will qualify you for doing much
service. A man who is always worrying about his own soul's salvation
can have little energy with which to serve his Lord. But when the soul
knows the meaning of Christ's words, "It is finished," it turns all its
strength into the channels of service out of love to such a blessed
Savior.
O you that doubt, and therefore fret and care, and ask the question,
"Do I love the Lord or not? Am I His or am I not?"–how I wish this
suspense were over with you! O you who fear daily, lest, after all, you
will be castaways–you lose your strength for serving your God! When
you are sure that He is able to keep what you have committed to Him,
then your whole manhood, excited by gratitude, spends itself and is
spent in your Master's cause. God make you men to the fullness of vigor
by giving you a fullness of assurance.
Those who are unsaved in this place may well envy those who are. That
which attracted me to Christ–I have not heard of others brought in
this way, but this brought me to Christ mainly–was the doctrine of the
safety of the saints. I fell in love with the Gospel through that
Truth. What, I thought, are those who trust in Jesus safe? Shall they
never perish and shall none pluck them out of Christ's hands? Everybody
esteems safety. One would not insure his life where he thought there
was a doubt as to the safety of the insurance. Feeling that there was
perfect safety if I gave myself up to the Redeemer, I did so. And I
entertain no regrets to this day that I committed my soul to Him.
Young people, you cannot do better than early in life entrust your
future with the Lord Jesus. Many children at home appear to be very
excellent. Many lads, before they leave their father's house, are
amiable and commendable in
character. But this is a rough world–and it soon spoils the Graces
that have been nurtured in the conservatory of the home. Good boys very
often turn out very bad men. And girls who were so lovely and pure at
home have been known to become very wicked women.
O children, your characters will be safe if you trust them with Jesus!
I do not say you will be rich if you trust Christ, nor that you will
prosper after the manner of men. But I do say that you shall be happy
in the best sense of that word, and that your holiness shall be
preserved through trusting yourself with Jesus. I pray that you may be
led to desire this, especially any of you who are leaving your father's
house, or are setting up in business on your own account. Commit
yourselves to God!
This first Sunday of a new year. What time more suitable for beginning
aright? O may the Holy Spirit softly whisper in your ears reasons that
shall persuade you to give yourselves to Christ! I say again, my
testimony is that you cannot do a wiser or a better thing. Oh, the
happiness my soul has known in resting on my Lord! I wish you knew it.
I would not cease to be a Christian if I might be made a king or an
angel. No character can be to me so suitable or so happy as that of a
humble dependant upon the faithful love of my redeeming Lord.
O come and trust Him, dear young Friends! You older ones–do you need
that I should speak to you, when you are getting so near your grave?
You are now out of Christ–how soon may you be in Hell? You younger
ones, I say, embrace this flying hour and let this be the day of which
you shall sing in after years —
"It is done! The great transaction's done!
Iam my Lord's, and He is mine–
He drew me, and by His Grace I followed on,
Charmed to confess the voice Divine.
High Heaven, thatheard the solemn vow,
That vow renewed shall daily hear–
Till in life's latest hour I bow,
And bless in death a bond so dear."
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Voices from the Excellent Glory