Grace Abounding
(No. 3304)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1912.
DELIVERED BY C H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, APRIL
15, 1866,
"But where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound." Romans 5:20.
[Other Sermons by Mr. Spurgeon upon the whole verse are #37, Volume 1
–LAW AND GRACE and #2012, Volume 34– GRACE ABOUNDING OVER ABOUNDING
SIN.]
THERE has been a long battle in this world between man's sin and God's
Grace. If it had been a fight between man's sin and God's Justice, it
would soon have come to an end. Picture to yourself the flames of Hell
and see there what God's Justice can do when it comes into conflict
with human guilt. When God goes forth to war against the ungodly, His
might is indeed terrible. Divine Justice makes short work of sin–it
treads it under foot and stamps it out–even as men do with sparks of
fire, for God hates sin with a perfect hatred. And when His anger is
aroused against it, He tears it in pieces as the lion tears his prey in
his fury. But, happily for us, the conflict with which we are just now
concerned is not that between Justice and sin but that between Grace
and sin! God's milder attribute of Mercy has entered the field and in
our text Paul tells us the result of the battle. It looked for a time
as if sin would gain the victory, for it abounded more and more, but at
the last the banner of Grace waved triumphantly over the battlefield,
for "where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound."
I. Without any further preface I am going to give you several
illustrations of the Truth of our text, beginning with those we find in
the Chapter itself. Paul has been writing concerning the principle of
representation–THE FEDERAL HEADSHIP, FIRST OF ADAM AND THEN OF OUR
LORD JESUS CHRIST. He has been telling us about our fall in the first
man and our salvation in the second Man, the Lord from Heaven. He has
been describing our ruin under our first federal head and our
Redemption by our second Covenant Head, the Lord Jesus Christ–and in
both cases, our text is clearly illustrated. It does seem at first
sight as if the setting up of Adam as the representative man had been
the means of making sin to abound because as soon as sin overcame Adam,
it overcame the whole race of mankind! It appears as if it would have
been better to have put every man on probation on his own account and
to have let him stand or fall according to his own good or ill
behavior. It seems as if it must have been a comparatively easy victory
for sin to overthrow the whole race by a single blow. Certainly, sin
did gain a great victory in the Garden of Eden and therein it abounded.
But Paul shows that it was by this very principle of representation
that "Grace did much more abound," for it is through the death of One,
even Jesus Christ, our Lord, that all Believers live! It is the
righteousness of this One that a multitude whom no man can number shall
attain unto everlasting life!
Now it appears to me that if the other system had been adopted, the
plan of each one standing or falling by himself, there would have been
no hope of salvation for any one of the whole race of mankind! We
believe that the angels did so stand or fall, each on his own account.
Satan was not the federal head of all the angels and consequently, when
he fell, they did not all fall, but a considerable number of them
did–and no hope of their restoration to the favor of God is given, but
we are told that, "the angels which kept not their first estate, but
left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the Great Day." I think it is more than
probable that, had you and I been left to stand or fall on our own
account, we would all have fallen–and then we would have fallen to
rise no more. But now, as we fell in the person of one representative,
it has become possible for us to rise through another
Repre-sentative–and as many of us as have believed in Jesus, have
risen from the fall of Adam–and are delivered from the death which was
the consequence of Adam's sin and are made alive in Christ Jesus by a
new spiritual life in virtue of our
union with our risen Lord! By the federal headship of Adam, sin did
indeed abound–the floodgates were pulled up and torrents of iniquity
inundated the whole human race! But by the federal headship of Christ,
Divine Grace does much more abound, so that all who believe in Him
shall be eternally saved! I think this was the meaning of the Apostle
when he wrote the words of our text. And this is one illustration of
the general Truth of God that "where sin abounded, Grace did much more
abound."
II. A second illustration of this Truth of God can be found in the
first part of the verse from which our text is taken. "The Law entered,
that the offense might abound." Through no fault in itself, but through
our depravity, THE LAW INCREASES THE GRAVITY OF OUR OFFENSES.
You know that if you give your child no commands, he cannot disobey
you. But the moment you give a command, the natural inclination of the
child to disobedience turns the command into an occasion for sin. The
more commands God gives, the more possible it is for man to sin. When
water is cast upon lime there follows great heat and smoke. Yet the
water was not hot. Put your lips to it and you will find that it is a
sweet and cooling draught, but it produced heat when mixed with the
lime because of the inherent heat in the lime. So, when God's
commandment is cast upon a man and he kicks against it, the fault is
not in the commandment, but in the man's wicked heart which rebels
against it. Paul says, "I had not known sin, but by the Law." He would
have been just as truly a sinner in himself, but the sinfulness would
not have come out if it had not been for the Law's prohibitions and
restrictions against which he rebelled. The Law of God is something
like the medicine which a doctor gives to a patient who has some
internal disease, but the medicine throws it out upon the skin–yet it
is far better that it should be thus thrown out than that it should lie
hidden in the system and lead to the patient's death. The Law acts like
this, especially upon those who are under conviction–it throws out the
sin that is within them and lets them see it in its true character. The
Law comes like a policeman with a search warrant, and says, "There is a
criminal concealed here, and I have come to discover him." Perhaps you
say, "There is no criminal here, I never harbor thieves or other bad
characters." But the officer produces his warrant and searches you
through and through and at last you have to admit that he is right even
though you did not suspect the true state of affairs.
It seems a very dreadful thing that the effect of the Law should be to
make the sinner worse than he was before–"the Law entered that the
offense might abound." But that is just where our text comes in–"where
sin abounded, Grace did much more abound." The more necessary the Law's
exposure of sin is, the more glorious is the Grace that cleanses from
the sin! The Law, like a candle, shows me my blackness, but that same
Revelation, of which the Law is only a part, also shows me the precious
blood of Jesus which takes all my blackness away and makes me whiter
than snow! As I hear the thunders of Sinai and am full of terror as the
lightning sets the sky ablaze, I turn to the dear, patient Lamb of God,
and as I see Him suffering for me, I say to Him, "Oh, what wondrous
Grace it must have been by which You did deliver me from all this
terrible wrath! Blessed Lamb of God, how much I owe to You, for You
have hushed the Law's loud thunder and given my soul a quiet and safe
hiding place!" The work of the Law upon the enlightened conscience is a
very healthy operation–it is like a sharp needle that goes through the
soul, but it draws the golden thread of Mercy after it–or like the
sharp plow which breaks up the ground and prepares it for the seed
which in due time shall bring forth the harvest to God's praise and
Glory! Whenever the entrance of the Law makes the offense to abound,
may God grant us Grace to receive the Gospel so that Grace shall much
more abound!
III. Now follow me in thought while I conduct you to a spot where we
shall find a third illustration of the Truth of our text, that is, THIS
PLACE CALLED CALVARY. Surely that is the spot where sin did most
abound, yet where Grace abounded even more!
Look in at the council chamber of the Sanhedrim and hear them charge
the Son at God with blasphemy, and say if sin did not abound there! See
Him hurried away to Pilate's Hall and to Herod's judgment seat,
"despised and rejected of men." Behold how they set Him at nothing and
mocked Him–how they plucked out His hair, defiled His blessed visage
with their accursed spit, crowned Him with thorns and assailed Him with
insult upon insult and cruelty upon cruelty– and then say if sin did
not, indeed, abound there! See Him toiling painfully through the
crowded streets, scoffed at by the ribald multitude, but mourned by the
daughters of Jerusalem. Watch Him as at last He ascends the hill of
doom. See Him hanging on the Cross in indescribable agony while the
heartless spectators jeer and scoff and make a jest even of His dying
cries, and then say if sin did not abound there! What foaming billows
of iniquity rolled up around that accursed tree, swelling and rising
until they completely immersed the Lord of Life and Glory in their
horrible depths! Yes, verily sin
abounded there–surely it was the darkest day in human history! Wicked
men had killed kings before, but that day they killed the King of
kings! They had been regicides before, but now they became Deicides!
They killed the Son of God and cast Him out of the vineyard, saying,
"This is the Heir, and now that we have killed Him, the inheritance
shall be ours." Sin abounded so much that it put out the light of the
sun! So heavy was it that it cracked the solid earth and tore the rocks
asunder and caused graves to open, while the great veil of the Temple
was torn in two from the top to the bottom!
Yet "where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound." Oh, for an
angel's tongue to tell out the wondrous mystery! My poor lips are quite
unequal to this tremendous task–it is vain for me to attempt to
describe the Grace that so gloriously abounded in our Lord upon the
Cross–the Grace that flashed benignantly from those languid eyes! The
Grace that fell in cleansing drops from those opened veins! The Grace
that poured in torrents from that pierced side! The Grace that heaved,
tossed and struggled convulsively in those tortured limbs! The Grace
that fought and wrestled and, at last, conquered in that anguished
spirit–the Grace that even then began interceding for the
transgressors as Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do"–the Grace that cried with a mighty voice, "It is
finished," before the Savior bowed His head and gave up the ghost. The
Grace that ascended up on high, leading captivity captive and giving
gifts unto men. Of this Grace I will not dare to speak further than to
say–may it be your happy lot to sail upon that sea of Grace, for
fathom it you never can! May you drink from that fountain of Divine
Grace, for you shall never be able to drink it dry! May God give you
the bliss of knowing in your own experience how much Grace abounds
through the atoning Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross!
Oh, that I had the tears of Baxter and that my soul were all aglow as
the soul of Whitefield used to be, while I plead my Master's cause! O
my Hearers, nothing so clearly shows the terrible depravity of human
nature as this–that man has become so utterly wicked and debased as to
believe that Christ is not still "mighty to save"! What a vile wretch
man must be and what a base thing human nature must be when any can
deliberately doubt the power of Christ to save the lost! The Inspired
declaration is that "He is able to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by Him seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them."
Yet this wicked heart of ours finds it impossible to believe this until
the Holy Spirit comes and with supernatural energy enlightens the
understanding, sways the will, controls the judgment and brings the
soul to rest in Jesus Christ! Oh, how guilty we must be that we will
not believe that what God says it true, that we will not believe though
millions of witnesses before the Throne of God attest the Truth of God
that "where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound."
IV. Thus we have had three illustrations of the Truth of our text. And
we may find a fourth IN MAN'S NATURE, for there, also, "where sin
abounded, Grace did much more abound."
Look at Adam in the Garden of Eden, a noble being, supreme among all
the creatures around him. The lion crouches at his feet, the leopard
sports about him, the dove nestles in his bosom and all birds and
beasts come at his call and yield obedience to his command. But do you
see that serpent coiled around a tree? That is the brute embodiment of
sin and it has come there to do incalculable mischief! Wait a little
while and you may see Adam and Eve driven out of the Garden where they
were once so happy–for the sin to which they so readily yielded has
brought a heavy curse upon them and upon all their descendants. As you
read the stern sentences pronounced upon each of them by the lips of
Jehovah, Himself, you realize that in their case sin has indeed
abounded! Then remembering what I have already said to you about the
principle of representation, you will realize that Adam's fall involved
the fall of everyone of us! What Mark Anthony is supposed to have said
concerning the death of Julius Caesar might well be said with regard to
the effect of Adam's fall upon us–
"Oh, what a fall was there, my countrymen Then I, and you, and all of
us fell down."
If you want to see how sin has abounded, go down the street and look
upon some of those who have been drinking what has been truly called
"liquid damnation." I need not describe the sight, for all of us are,
alas, more or less familiar with it. Nor need I picture other fallen
creatures in whom sin is to be seen in some of its most repulsive
aspects. We will not think of them in the self-righteous spirit of the
Pharisee who thanked God that he was not as other men, but we will
sorrowfully confess that what they now are, any of us might have been
had Providence and Grace not prevented it!
If you want to see further what ruin sin has worked, I would take you
to the graveyard. We will not ask the sexton to open the graves–the
sight and smell would be more than we could endure–but he could tell
us some strange tales of
the remains of the noble being whom God made to have dominion over all
the works of His hands. This is what he has come to now–an empty skull
and a few dry bones! This is what sin has brought him down to–to be
food for worms!
But I will not linger over that dark part of the subject. Think how
Grace has much more abounded even where sin did most abound. Grace
comes in and finds man under sentence of death–hopeless and polluted
and full of everything that is obnoxious in God's sight! What does
Grace do in such a case at that? I answer by pointing you to that
wondrous vision that John had in Patmos when he saw, "One like unto the
Son of Man. . .His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as
snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine
brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of
many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His
mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His Countenance was as the sun
shines in his strength." Who is this for whom all Heaven rings with
hallelujahs, while Hell trembles at His word, and millions upon earth
own allegiance to Him? Who is this? Why, 'tis the Man, Christ Jesus,
who once slept as a helpless Babe in His mother's arms, who afterwards
toiled at the carpenter's bench at Nazareth and who breathed out His
earthly life amid the untold agonies of Calvary–but who is now exalted
at His Father's right hand, "far above all principality, and power, and
might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come." "Ah," you say, "that is all
true concerning Hm, but we are not up there with Him." But faith says
that we are if we are truly trusting in Jesus, for "God, who is rich in
mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead
in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, (by Grace you are
saved) and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show
the exceeding riches of His Grace in His kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus." Now you see how gloriously true our text is! Sin did us
untold damage, but Grace has given us more than sin ever took away! Sin
robbed us of silver, but Grace has given us gold! Sin slew this body of
flesh, but Grace has given us a spiritual body which shall live
forever! Sin threw us down among the masses of this fallen race, but
Grace has lifted us up and set us among the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus! Yes, Beloved, "now are we the sons of God, and it does
not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear,
we shall be like He, for we shall see Him as He is." Verily, "where sin
abounded, Grace did much more abound."
V. There is a further illustration of the Truth of our text in some WHO
ARE NOW PRESENT WITH US.
There are some now in this house in whom sin abounded in certain
special ways at which I shall only just hint. They were drunks,
swearers, unchaste. They dishonored their father and mother, they
sinned against light and knowledge, they disregarded God's Word, they
stifled the rebukes of conscience. In brief, "sin abounded" in them.
But now, through Grace, a great change has come over them and they have
been made new creatures in Christ Jesus! And among us all there are
none who love Christ more than they do–and none who serve Him more
zealously than they do! You know that it is very often the case that
those who have been the greatest sinners became the greatest saints.
Those who were the devil's corporals and sergeants, no–his captains
and generals–when they are truly converted, become the boldest and
bravest soldiers of the Cross! It is hardly necessary to remind you of
John Bunyan, once a very notable sinner, who became a very prince in
our Israel and who felt that, in his case, Grace had indeed abounded to
the chief of sinners! Many of us ought, indeed, to love much, as I
trust we do, because we have been forgiven much. Divine Mercy has
covered and blotted out a vast mass of sin that we had committed and
now, remembering with humility and shame all our past offenses, we pray
that we may prove in all our future lives what holy and useful men and
women God's Grace can make of us. Surely, dear Friends, you will not
serve God worse than you served the devil! When you had a bad master,
you were a good servant to him–but now that you have a good Master,
the best Master you can ever have–do not be a bad servant to Him! May
the Lord grant that great Grace may abound in all who have been great
sinners!
But as there are exceptional cases, I will come to something that will
include us all. Kindly turn to the little book that records your life
history written out upon the pages of memory. As you look over those
pages, you who have known the Lord for some years, what do you think of
yourselves? The men who think much of themselves must surely be those
who do not think at all! But those who really do think must see very
much in their past lives which causes them to blush. Looking back upon
the years since we first came to Christ, what a multitude of sins we
have committed! If our own children had treated us as badly as we have
treated our heavenly Father, what would we have done with them? What a
marvel of patience our heavenly Father has been in His dealings with
us! I look at my pulpit work and I have to confess that sin has
abounded there. I look at my private life and I have to acknowledge
that sin has abounded there. As you look at your
Sunday school class, my Brothers and Sisters, I think that you, too,
must admit that sin has abounded there. As a husband, as a wife, as a
child, as a master, as a servant, as a tradesman, as a
statesman–whatever may be your position in society, do you not have to
say with sorrow that sin has abounded there? But, dear Friends, has not
Grace also abounded? Yes, that it has, for "where sin abounded, Grace
did much more abound." Do not ever got into such a state of heart as to
groan over yourselves so that you cannot praise the Lord for His
abounding Grace! Oh, do praise Him, do bless Him, for He well deserves
to be praised! Sin abounds, so be humble. But Grace much more abounds,
therefore be thankful! Sin abounds, so be watchful. But Grace does much
more abound, therefore be confident that God will give you the victory
through Him who has loved you!
VI. Now lastly, IN THIS WORLD SIN ABOUNDS ON A VERY LARGE SCALE.
Stand on your watchtower, Christian, and look over the world as far as
you can. A great proportion of it is still shrouded in the dense
darkness of heathenism and uncounted millions are bowing down before
blocks of wood and stone. Think, too, of the vast multitudes who put
their trust in the false Prophet, Mohammed, and are quite content with
the parody of Christianity that they find in the Koran. Then remember
with sorrow how large a proportion of those who are called Christians
are simply worshippers of Mary instead of Believers in Jesus, or who
bow down before images, icons, relics, crosses, and I know not what! If
we turn to Protestant Christianity, what a vast mass of hypocrisy,
formality, inconsistency and everything else that is evil is mixed with
that which is genuine and true! All over the world sin abounds. See how
many lands are still cursed by war. What infamies are perpetuated in
all our great cities! Yes, and in many of our little country villages,
too! God must have been amazingly patient to have borne so long with
our wicked race. As the flood in Noah's day was universal, so does sin
cover the earth today–it prevails over the tops of the mountains, it
abounds in all the valleys and plains.
This prospect is very alarming and for missionaries it would be very
depressing if they did not believe that where sin abounds, Grace shall
much more abound. But the day is coming oh, hasten, you wheels of time,
and bring the happy hour!–when suddenly the pedestal upon which any
false god is seated shall shake and totter to its fall! When the
crescent of Mohammed shall wane forever! When the harlot of the seven
hills shall cease to corrupt the earth with her fornication and when
the beast, and the false prophet, and the devil and all his hosts shall
be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone to be tormented day and
night forever and ever. Yes, the day is coming–God speed it!–when the
people on every island and of every continent shall hear the joyful
sound of the Gospel of God's Grace! The day is coming when Ethiopia
shall stretch out her hands unto God, when India's many millions and
the far-off Chinamen and Japanese and other children of the East shall
no longer sound the praises of any false god, but shall delight in
confessing that Jesus Christ, the Son of David, is also the Son of God,
King of kings, and Lord of lords, and their own and only Savior! The
little spring that burst up like a rippling rivulet from the foot of
Calvary's Cross has swollen into a mighty river even now–its tides are
increasing, its floods are swelling, its depth is growing and the day
is coming when, like a mighty ocean, it shall cover the whole earth as
the waters cover the deep! And floating across that Sea of Glory shall
be heard the millennial anthem, "The kingdoms of this world have become
the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever
and ever. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
Then, at the last, so many of us as have believed in Jesus shall be
gathered with Him in that great city, the New Jerusalem, whose twelve
gates are twelve pearls, whose walls are jasper, and whose street is of
"pure gold, as it were transparent glass"–that city of which John
says, "I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of
the moon, to shine in it: for the Glory of God did lighten it, and the
Lamb is the light thereof." Well may we sing–
"Jerusalem! My happy home! Name ever dear to me– When shall my labors
have an end, In joy, and peace, and thee? Oh when, you city of my God,
Shall I your courts ascend, Where congregations ne'er break up, And
Sabbaths have no end?''
Ah, well, in due time we shall get there and then, when looking down
from our serene abode, we shall be able to read the whole drama of
human history, from the Creation to the Fall of Adam, from the Fall to
the Cross of Christ, and then to the final consummation of all
things–this will be the summary of it all, at least as far as we are
concerned–"Where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound!" If it
should be my happy privilege up there, upon some sunny mount, to
descant upon this theme in more flaming words than I can use tonight,
and of you who are of a kindred spirit with me will help to tell the
story to the principalities and power in heavenly places, and the
harpers standing on the sea of glass will strike their harps afresh and
sing again the Song of Moses the servant of God, and the Song of the
Lamb–their songs will be in harmony with our theme tonight–"Where sin
abounded, Grace did much more abound." So let us go forth to our
various occupations on the morrow believing that, though sin abounds,
Grace shall yet more abound! Let us live so that all may see how Grace
abounds in us and let us help to spread the wondrous story of what this
Grace has done for us, that others may seek that Grace for
themselves–that Grace which abounds to the chief of sinners, that
Grace which is the portion of all who believe in Jesus, that Grace
which shall in God's good time be crowned with Glory, that "Grace
wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved!" Oh, that all here
might share in that Grace! God grant it for Jesus' sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ROMANS 5:1-11.
Verse 1. Therefore being justified by faith–But why, "therefore"?
Because of the verse preceding it–"Who was delivered for our offenses,
and was raised again for our justification." Christ died to atone for
our sins, Christ rose again to secure our justification, "Therefore
being justified by faith"– We have peace with God through our lord
Jesus Christ
[See Sermon #1456, Volume 25–PEACE–A FACT AND A FEELING.] We have
peace, we know that we have. We enjoy it. It is not a thing of the
future. We have peace, a deep calm like that which came to the
disciples when Christ hushed the winds and waves to sleep. "We have
peace with God." His peace has entered into us, we possess it now, but
it is all "through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is all war apart from
Him, but all peace through Him. We poor sinners, being justified by
faith, have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
2. By whom also we have access by faith–That is to say, we come near
to God. We have the entry of the King's pa-lace–"we have access by
faith"–
2. Into this Grace wherein we stand. With firm foot and confident
heart, we stand in God's Presence. Happy people!
2. And rejoice in hope of the Glory of God. What a window hope is! It
looks toward Heaven–we have only to look out that way and then we can
"rejoice in hope of the Glory of God."
3. And not only so, but we glory–We hope for Glory–"the Glory of
God," and we already, "glory." But in what do we glory? "We glory"–
3. In tribulations also That is the blackest thing a Christian has–his
tribulations. So if we can glory in them, surely we can glory in
anything! "We glory in tribulations also"–
3. Knowing that tribulation works patience. A man cannot prove that he
has patience if he has never been tried. Christian patience is not a
weed–it is a cultivated plant. We only get patience through our
trials.
4. And patience, experience; and experience, hope. You cannot make an
experienced Christian without trouble. You cannot make an old sailor on
shore, nor make a good soldier without fighting. Here is that window of
hope, again. Sanding at the back of our experience, we look out the
window and what God has done for us is a token of what God will do for
us!
5. And hope makes us not ashamed.Peace gives us courage, hope takes the
blush out of the cheek when we confess Christ, for we remember the
Glory that is to be revealed in Him and in us, so how can shame come
in?
5. Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit which is given unto us. [See Sermons #829, Volume 14–THE
PERFUMING OF THE HEART and #1904, Volume 32–THE PERSONAL PENTECOST AND
THE GLORIOUS HOPE.] God's love is like sweet per: me in an alabaster
box–the Holy Spirit breaks that box,
pours out the love of God into our souls and the perfume fills our
entire nature!
6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for
the ungodly. [See Sermons #1191, Volume 20–for whom
DID CHRIST DIE? and #1345, Volume 23–FOR WHOM IS THE GOSPEL MEANT?.]
When we had no power to do anything that was good, when we were weak
and hopeless, then Christ died for us! This is a wonderful Gospel
expression which ought to bring comfort to those here who have no
pretense of godliness, "Christ died for the ungodly."
7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. However upright and
just a man may be, nobody thinks of dying for
him.
7. Yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die.That is to
say, for a generous, kind, noble-hearted man, some might dare to die.
8. But God commends His love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. [See Sermon #104, Volume
2–LOVE'S COMMENDATION–Read/download the entire sermon, free of
charge, at http://www.spurgeongems.org.] We were neither righteous nor
yet
good, yet Christ died for us. "Oh," said a little boy once to his
mother, "I do not think so much of Christ dying for men. I think I
would be willing to die if I could save a hundred men by dying." But
his mother said," Suppose it was a hundred mosquitoes–would you die
for them?" "Oh, no!" he said, "I would let the whole lot of them die."
Well, we were much less in comparison with Christ than mosquitoes are
in relation to men, yet He died for us–good-for-nothing creatures that
we are! Well does one say, "God shows part of His love to us in many
different ways, but He shows the whole of His love in giving Christ to
die for us." Here you see His heart laid bare, the very heart of God
laid open for the inspection of every believing soul! To die for saints
would be great love, but to die for sinners, while they are yet
sinners, and regarding them as sinners–this is love with emphasis–the
very highest commendation that even Divine Love can have!
9. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through Him. See, it is a less thing for God to preserve us
when we are justified than it is for Him to justify us while we are yet
sinners! The final perseverance of the saints may well be argued from
their conversion–their entrance into Glory is guaranteed by the ransom
price that Christ has paid for their Redemption. He died to save
sinners, so how is it possible that He should let saints perish? Oh no,
that can never be! "Much more then, being now justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
10. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of His Son, much more, being reconciled,
Notice that while we were His enemies, He blessed us. So now that we
are reconciled to Him, will He not still bless us? If He reconciled us
to Him by the death of His son, will He not save us by His life, now
that we are reconciled to Him? Does He make us His Friends, intending
afterwards to destroy us? Perish such a thought! This verse is like a
trident, it is a three-pronged argument for our eternal safety! I will
read it again. "For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved
by His life."
11. And not only so–Surely we have got high enough when we have
reached an absolute certainty of our eternal salvation! Yet we are to
go still higher! "And not only so"–
11. But we also joy in God—Even now we joy in God, "although the fig
tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor
of the olives shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat; the flock
shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the
stalls," yet do "we joy in God"–
11. Through our Lord Jesus Christ–Every blessing comes to us through
Him! How Paul delights to harp upon that string! He says continually,
"through our Lord Jesus Christ"–
JOY IN GOD–Read/download both sermons, free of charge, at
http://www.spurgeongems.org.] Through our Lord Jesus Christ we are at
one with
God! We are reconciled to Him by the death of His Son. All our sin is
forever put away. We have received the Atonement and we rejoice in the
God of our salvation. Glory be to His holy name forever and ever!
we shall be saved by His life. [See Sermon #2587, Volume –"MUCH
MORE".]