The Christian's Service and Honor
(No. 2651)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S DAY, DECEMBER 3, 1899.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK, ON A LORD'S-DAY EVENING IN THE
AUTUMN OF 1857.
"If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor." John 12:26.
FEW men love service. Man prefers to be his own master, to do as he
pleases according to "his own sweet will" and, like the winds, to be
under no control whatever. But he who spurns the counsel of God,
despises His Law and tramples on His commands, commits an act of
suicide to his own liberty! Those who act thus, while they seek to be
free, become the truest slaves, for, when they give a loose rein to
their lusts, they find them like wild horses dragging them irresistibly
along. Passions indulged turn into habits–and those habits hold them
fast in their iron grip and they cease to be free any longer. He is the
freeman who serves God and not the man who scorns the yoke of Jesus. He
is the freeman whose shoulders bear the yoke of Christ. But he who
refuses to serve Him is a slave. He who will not obey Jesus, obeys a
tyrant master called Satan, or worse still, himself, for, after all,
the greatest tyrant to a man is his own sinful self! There is no
slavery harder to endure than the despotism of evil habits when they
have grown strong upon a man and fixed their chains upon his neck. The
service of Jesus is perfect liberty–those who wear the collar of Jesus
find it to be a royal badge which makes them far more honorable than
would the Order of the Garter, or the Bath. There is nothing that can
so exalt a man as to make him a servant of Jesus! And the man who bends
his neck willingly to serve Him, manifests the greatest wisdom.
What is it to serve Jesus? The text says, "If anyone serve Me, him My
Father will honor." Well, we can serve Him in the faith that we hold,
in the sufferings we endure and very much in the acts we perform.
First, we can serve Him in the faith that we hold. This is true
service. I believe certain Doctrines of God because God says they are
true–and the only authority I have for their truth is the Word of God.
I receive such-and-such Doctrines, not because I can prove them to be
compatible with reason–not because my judgment accepts them–but
because God says they are true! Now this is one of the best services we
can render to God–to submit ourselves to Him in our belief of what He
has revealed and ask Him to fix His Truths in our hearts and make us
obey them. There are some who have an idea that doctrinal belief is
nothing, but I tell you again, one of the highest services we can
render to God is to fully believe in the Doctrines of His Word. So far
from doctrinal error being a thing of no moment, it is a great sin
because the Word of God is plain–and he who does not, by searching,
discover the Truth–sins against God in the proportion in which he errs
from His Word. But he who manfully proclaims the whole Truth of God and
he who heartily receives it, alike, obey God and perform one of the
highest services that can be rendered to the Most High!
Secondly, we honor Him, also, when we suffer for His name's sake. When,
with patience, we bear the fires of persecution. When, with calmness
and resignation, we listen to the lies and calumnies that fly abroad.
When we continue in welldoing though all manner of evil is said against
us on account of our devotion to Jesus, then we serve Him and God is
thereby honored and glorified. Our Lord Jesus bids us, in that day,
rejoice and leap for joy, for great is our reward in Heaven, for so
persecuted they the Prophets who were before us. And, moreover, when
our suffering does not spring from our enemies, but when God, Himself,
lays us on the bed of affliction, we honor Him when, worn with pain and
tossed from side to side, we are calm and patient under the sickness
and say–
"Father, I wait Your daily will–
You shall divide my portion still.
Grant me on earth what seems to You best,
Till death and Heaven reveal the rest"
The patient bearing of poverty is a service to God. The calm endurance
of pain is honoring the Father–submission to His will in all the
proceedings of His Providence is the very essence of devotion.
Thirdly, we can serve God in the outward acts we perform. And that is
the highest form of service. Indeed, if we do not serve God thus, we do
not really serve Him at all. "If anyone serve Me, him My Father will
honor," says Christ. And, in proportion as a Christian man serves God
in his outward life and conversation, shall he receive honor of God.
There are two or three ways of doing that. Some may serve God by the
performance of ecclesiastical duties, as they are called. Others, by
the more private duties of religion. But others, and more frequently,
by the acts of daily life. Those who preach the Gospel from love to God
and for His Glory, serve Him, and shall be honored in their labor. The
deacon who toils for the Church of God is serving Him, and shall be
blessed in what he does. The Sunday school teacher serves God. And each
of you who have been preaching in the open air, or have, in smaller
places of worship, been testifying to the Truth of God and now have
come here to take the rest which all tired soldiers need–each of you
who have been engaged in humbler work, teaching a little class, or
giving away a tract–you have each and all, in some measure, served
God!
But if you have not served God in this way, today, you can serve God
tomorrow in your shop, or in your family. The servant can honor God
even when she sets the things out for the daily meal and when she
clears them away. The nurse can serve God when, with tender hands, she
binds up the wounds of the distressed and suffering. And the merchant,
also, when he makes honesty the law of his dealings and afterwards,
with a liberal hand, dispenses some of his goods to feed the poor. Do
not think it is necessary to be a clergyman and wear a gown in order to
serve God–you may serve Him behind the counter, at the plow, or
driving your horses! Whatever your hand finds to do may be done to the
Glory of God! Common actions reveal the essence of true piety. Those
things which we call common, God does not think so. When they are done
with a right motive and in a right spirit, they become as great, in
God's sight, as the sermons of the minister who preaches to the largest
audience! And I take it that there will be people before the Throne of
God, who, for acts which they have done in private, will be stationed
nearer to the Savior than some of those who occupied very high
positions in the Church! They went foremost in the day of battle and
received great applause from men, yet, God knows that they were not
one-half so faithful to their Savior as the poorest cottager, or the
meanest peasant who, for the good of souls, and the Glory of God, bent
his knees before the Lord in earnest and believing supplication.
I cannot enlarge upon these points. You must think over them when you
get home. You may serve God in the belief of His Doctrines, in
suffering the dispensations of His Providence and in obeying all His
Commandments, not forgetting the Commandment concerning Believers'
Baptism. Now I come to the subject of my discourse, in our Savior's
declaration–"If anyone serve Me, him My Father will honor," from which
I learn that God will honor him in this world, in the future and
intermediate state, at the Day of Judgment and throughout eternity!
I. GOD THE FATHER WILL, EVEN IN THIS WORLD, HONOR THE MAN WHO SERVES
THE SAVIOR!
Some of you look at me with astonishment and are ready to say, "That is
not true! God does not, as a rule, honor His servants in this world. It
is a notorious fact that those who serve God best receive the most
dishonor in this world, that those who are the most valiant for the
Truth of God are called upon to endure the largest share of ignominy!
Instead of the greatest honor, they have the most of the world's
hisses, derision and scorn." Yes, I know that "the friendship of the
world is enmity with God" and that if any man will be a friend of God,
he will generally be an enemy to this world. But yet, for all that, the
servants of Christ do receive respect and reverence even in this
time-state.
I remark, first, that Christ's servants receive honor in the Church.
Any man who serves God faithfully will be sure to be honored by the
Lord's true servants. Let him preach the Truth fearlessly, fully,
earnestly and heartily, and he need not be afraid that he shall not be
honored by his Brothers of the Church, for the good will assuredly
rally round him and not be backward in showing respect to him. Nor, if
he toils in the Sunday school, shall he be without honor. Nor will he
lack it, if he is but a humble member of the Church, if he is only
seeking to glorify his Lord. Just in proportion as each one serves God
will he be honored!
I deny the statement which is made, sometimes, that honor is not given
to those members of Churches who do not happen to occupy what is called
a "respectable position in society." I believe that if an examination
were to be made into the conduct of the affairs of this Church, for
example, it would be proved that the greatest honor is given to those
who work most for God. There are, I am sure, some of our members to
whom we all look up with respect and reverence, though they are not men
of position or wealth. But they have something more and something
better–they have the love of God in their hearts and they manifest the
effect of that love in their lives–and that makes them most honorable!
And putting this Church as the representative of all Christian Churches
in this matter, I may say that the poor man, in his efforts to do good,
will be honored equally with the rich! No distinction is made by God on
account of rank or estate, but each one is honored according as he
loves and serves the Savior. If respect is shown to the rich as well as
to the poor– and why should the poor be honored and the rich
despised?–it is not because of his worldly wealth, but because he is
also rich in faith! A rich man's soul is as good as the poor man's, and
the poor man's soul is as good as that of the rich– and when the poor
man labors for Jesus as well as the rich man, they will alike receive
honor!
I believe it is so among us here and trust that it will continue to be
so in all time to come. At any rate, as long as this arm can strike a
blow against the spirit of social bigotry, it shall be driven from our
midst! We do not admit any thought of caste among us and I am
constrained to believe that the general practice, in all our Churches,
is to reverence men according to their usefulness. Do not imagine,
then, that you are debarred from any position in the Church, or from
any of the honors of your Brethren because you do not happen to be
rich. The Church will honor those who serve the Lord and so will God,
Himself, for Jesus said, "If anyone serve Me, him My Father will
honor."
But, next, those who serve Christ will also receive honor from the
world. The world itself honors the Christian. You say, "How can that
be? I am the subject of the laughs, the jeers and the ridicule from
morning to night! I am called 'a canting Methodist,' or something of
that sort. And I can't think, therefore, that I am honored by the
world! I feel rather that I am dishonored." But you are honored, after
all, though it may be you do not know it. You are honored in the
consciences of those very men who thus speak evil of you. Whatever they
may say, in their hearts they reverence you. They may call you evil
names, but they know they do not belong to you. They may call you a
dog, but they believe you an angel. They may call you black, but they
believe you white. Here is a proof of it–if they were to see you fall
into sin, they would say directly, "He is one of your members!" Why
would they say that? Because they really expect you to be holy and
consistent! And it is not till they have proof of the fact that you are
not so, that they can deny the respect and honor of their own
consciences. An ungodly man is not to be found whose conscience would
not force him, inwardly, to do you honor. Even Satan himself was
obliged to admit the majesty of holiness, if, as Milton tells us–
"Abashed the devil stood, And felt how amazing goodness is." Goodness
is an amazing thing to a wicked man! He sees you bear with patience
what he says against you–it surprises him that you forgive injuries
and it vexes his heart–he cannot understand it. There is a power about
Christianity which makes the enemy fall back, and a majesty in
righteousness before which he must tremble. You need not concern
yourselves about taking care of your own character before the eyes of
men, but you must see that it is right before the eyes of God–if you
serve Him, He will honor you!
Again, the most wicked men will honor the Christian when they come to
die. I have known some few hardened wretches who passed out of the
world as they had lived–in open rebellion against God and who, to the
last, therefore, despised religion. But, generally, I have found that
the scoffer changes his tone when death approaches. "Send for someone
to visit me," is his cry then! "For whom shall we send? Shall it be
John, the swearer?" "Oh, no, send for John, the praying man. I should
like him to pray over me. Or send for the minister." "But why don't you
ask for your old companions? You used to say that they were the
jolliest fellows, they were the merriest men you ever met? You know
there is no such place as Heaven or Hell, for you often said so when in
their company. Many a glass have you drunk with them–why not have
another before you die?" Ah, such companions as these will not do for
him now! And that fact proves the honor which such a man, at last, puts
upon the Christian. His language then is, "Let me die the death of the
righteous, and let my last end be like his." The ungodly scorn their
own comrades' society and run to our camp then! They think there is
something in religion when they come to die! The voice of the last
enemy speaks with a tongue of iron and a sound of thunder–and makes
even the most hardened conscience honor the Christian.
Once more, the Christian man is honored after he is dead. If you want
to be thought well of and spoken of with high honor, you must die. All
of us who are alive must be slandered and criticized. But when we have
been a while in our graves, it may be that we shall, in our turn, be
the masters! Many men are stars to the world now who were but glowworms
when they were alive! While playing their part among men, they were run
down, scoffed at and spoken of as everything that was bad. But they
descended to the grave, a few years passed away and now, looked at from
a distance, they bear a very different aspect to the general eye!
Looking upon them now is like gazing at the sun–you see their
brightness far more than their spots! The world misses the Christian
when he is gone. Perhaps one member of a family is godly and the rest
are not, and they say, "Oh, we don't care for him, he is too religious
for us!" But they will feel a sad gap when he is gone–and one which
they will not be able to fill. The neighborhood, too, in which he
lived, will miss him because his words of kindness and deeds of mercy
will be seen no more. They will say, "Well, after all, he was a good
fellow." How often have I heard that, "Ah, well, he was not so bad,
after all. There are not many left so good as he was." You don't know
why this change has been worked in people's minds, but so it often is.
Death embalms the poorest Believer and lays him in the sepulcher of the
kings! He who was but a common Christian becomes a brilliant light when
God hangs him up, like a lamp with a silver chain, to glitter from the
skies!
II. GOD WILL HONOR HIM IN THE INTERMEDIATE STATE.
When a Christian dies, his soul at once ascends to Heaven. Not so his
body–that continues in the grave until the Resurrection morning and,
sometimes, we are anxious to know what will be our lot while our souls
are separated from our bodies. Let me say then, for a certainty,
according to God's Word, that before our bodies rise, we shall be in
Paradise, for Jesus said to the penitent thief, "Today shall you be
with Me in Paradise." There is no "purgatory" into which souls are
dragged in order to be prepared and made fit for Heaven! But although
they go at once to the Heaven of God, and rest in His Presence, it is
not the full consummation of their bliss. They will not be satisfied
till they wake up in the likeness of Christ–when body and soul will be
reunited.
What are the honors which the pure spirit will receive when, freed from
this tabernacle of clay, it comes before its God? The Almighty will
then say, "I see My son," or, "I behold My daughter. Your spirit I
loved with an everlasting love. Your name I wrote in the Covenant of
Election. I sent My Son to die for you. I called you by My Grace. I led
you through all the desert. I fed you by My hand. I guided you through
dangers and snares into the right way and I will keep you forever.
Thrice-honored servant, you have done well–enter and take your place
among the spirits of the redeemed." Angels, too, are ready to attend
upon the saints. A saint in Heaven will receive all the service which
an angel can perform. If the archangel Michael, himself, could do the
meanest service for a child of God, he would consider himself thrice
honored! "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" We cannot tell what glory
the saints have, even now, while their bodies are yet in the house of
death and under the cold slab. Yet we know that their souls are more
glorious than the angels–and more honored than the cherubim that sing
incessantly before the Throne of Jehovah!
III. If any man serves the Lord Jesus Christ, HE SHALL BE HONORED IN
THE GREAT DAY OF JUDGMENT. That day is approaching. I will not attempt
to describe the scene which shall be witnessed when the heavens and the
earth shall flee away–and when the quick and the dead, the righteous
and the ungodly shall stand before God. In the Day of Judgment, God
will honor His servants from the mouths of the wicked, from the mouths
of devils, from the lips of angels and from His own lips!
At the Day of Judgment, God will honor the righteous before even the
wicked themselves. You proud monarchs, who put to death the servant of
God, sending him in a fiery chariot to Heaven, how confounded will you
be when the lowly martyr, on whom you wreaked your vengeance, shall
stand before you and say, "Tyrant, I suffered for the Truth's sake at
your hands." And what shall the lordly cardinal say, then, and the
wicked priest who put to death, when they had the power, the men who
would not forsake the Truth of God and do violence to their
consciences, even though fire and torture had to be endured in
consequence of their loyalty to their Savior? And how will the ungodly
look the righteous in the face? How will the hardened sinner feel when
he has to confront that man of God whom he stretched upon the rack? How
will he tremble who was the unjust judge who signed his death warrant?
The Christian will then be able to point out his persecutors and the
entire universe will regard them with disdain. "That is the man," he
will say, "who stretched me on the rack! That is the man who cast me
into prison! Yon wretched men chained me to the stake and that man
brought forth the fire and firewood which consumed me."
But how honored is the martyr now! He is arrayed in robes more
glorious, though not more white, than others can wear–garments more
studded with jewels, though not more the workmanship of the Savior–and
on his head is a crown heavy with brilliance! While the monarch who
persecuted him and all who aided him shall be cowed into silence and
shrink away in despair, calling upon the mountains and the hills to
cover them, how will the Prophets be honored? I think I see Jeremiah
standing before those kings who laughed at his predictions and with his
fellow heroes exclaiming, in triumph, "O king, was not my prophecy
fulfilled? Is not Babylon cast down? Is not Nineveh become as a heap?
Where is Petra, the city of Edom? Where are the houses of Baal and the
temples of the gods? Are they not fallen, fallen, fallen, even as I
prophesied?" How great will be the triumphs of those grand old Prophets
when they stand before those who scoffed at and ridiculed them–who
then shall be obliged to confess that not one of their words has
failed, but that every threat that came from the mouth of God has been
fulfilled!
And I think there will also be great honor put upon the ministers of
the Gospel, the men whom God has, Himself, chosen. The men who, by a
sacred impulse within their souls, were forced to speak–not the
man-made minister, made so by the imposition of the hands of the
bishop, or of the presbyters–who shall then be confronted with those
who despised their message. Unto such will Jehovah say, in the presence
of the men whom He chose to proclaim His Gospel, "Inasmuch as you
scoffed at the words of these, My servants, you did it unto Me. It
would have been better for you that a millstone had been hanged about
your neck and that you had been cast into the midst of the sea! Depart,
you cursed, into everlasting fire."
And every member of Christ's Church shall receive honor in that day. I
am sometimes doubtful whether the sins of the elect will be read out
before the world, but, if so, I am certain it will not be for the
purpose of casting upon them any reproach, but only to make the
judgment an impartial one. But of this I am sure, that their righteous
acts will beproclaimed. This man was called a liar and he shall be
proved to be truthful. Another was styled a hypocrite, but it shall be
found that he was perfectly sincere and his false accusers shall be
confounded. The biographies of the saints, written with the pen of God,
shall be read out from the lips of the Eternal, that the universe may
confer honor upon them! And, wicked men, whatever you have done in
darkness, shall be declared in the light! Your midnight sins shall be
exposed before the sun. Your most private acts shall be exhibited to
the gaze of the entire universe and all your petty acts of cheating and
fraud shall be read out to the world so that men and angels shall hear!
And while you are dishonored, the righteous shall be honored, even from
your lips. They shall be honored by words that shall be forced from you
in that day, when God shall make His people stand forth clear as the
sun, fair as the moon and terrible as an army with banners!
Again, the saints shall be honored even from the devil himself. Do you
not know that the saints are to judge the world? Nor are they to judge
only men, for the great foe of God and man, Satan, himself, shall lift
his brazen front, scarred with thunder, and receive his final sentence
and begin his Hell anew! I think I hear God asking His saints, "Will
you ratify the sentence that I have pronounced upon Satan?" I hear one
loud, "Amen!" proceed from the entire host of the redeemed and I, for
one, will say, "Amen," with all the voice I have, in favor of his
condemnation! Full often have I fought with him and sometimes he has
seemed as if about to triumph over me. And hurling his fiery darts, he
has cried, "Now I will make a full end of you." But again and again
have I been able to return to the attack and to exclaim, "Rejoice not
against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall rise!" And soon he has
been once more put to flight.
And I believe, in that Last Great Day, the Lord will allow His saints
to put their feet upon the neck of this Agag and I think I see the
feeblest saint–Little-Faith himself–putting his foot upon the neck of
the devil. And I know that if I may but once get my foot upon him, he
shall not receive a heartier crush from anyone than he shall receive
from me! I owe him no thanks, I can assure you. Full often has he cast
me down, but, then, I will tread upon him–that will be a day of
triumph, indeed, when the old dragon shall be laid prostrate, to be
assaulted by every child of God, and to be the scoff and jeer of the
universe! And thus–
"The weakest saint shall win the day, Though death and Hell obstruct
the way!"
So the saints shall be honored by the wicked and even by the old
serpent himself. But angels, also, will mention your names in their
songs. Angels are the poets of Heaven and do you think that the heroes
of earth shall have their praise sung in this world and that your deeds
will not be sung in Glory? In the battle odes of the angels, there are
names more celebrated than Alexander, or Hannibal, or Napoleon, and
songs more melodious and seraphic than were uttered in honor of the
battlefields of Blenheim and Waterloo! No praise shall be so great as
that which angels shall give to the saints, except that which they
ascribe to the Savior!
The Church of Christ shall be honored then. Many a time has she had to
sit as an outcast amid the ruins of the Temple, with locks broken and
tears trickling down her cheeks, enduring the disdain of the world.
With the voice of lamentation, we have heard her cry, "My Lord is
gone," and we have seen her tear her garments in grief and woe. But the
heart of the Church is still true to her Lord, whom, seeing not, she
loves and, at times, notwithstanding her desolation, she is the
possessor of unspeakable joy and full of glory! As the proud ones of
the earth pass her by, they call her hypocrite and laugh at her
pretensions to be the Bride of King Jesus, saying, "Her Husband has
cast her off and will not acknowledge her! Is she not a despised
woman?" Thus the poor Church sits and exclaims, "Behold, and see if
there are any sorrow like unto my sorrow." But, in due time comes the
Day of Judgment! Jesus steps from His Throne and, like Ahasuerus of
old, stretches out the scepter and says, "My queen, my spouse, touch
this emblem of mercy and live." Leading her up the steps of His high
Throne, He places her beside Him and shows her to the assembled
universe as the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. Then he will take the crown of
universal sovereignty and will place it upon His own head, none other
being worthy of the honor, while another regal diadem shall be placed
by Him on the head of His elect Queen. Then, turning to the Church, He
will say, "I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with
loving kindness have I drawn you." Her mourning shall then be turned
into singing and she shall be clothed with the garments of
praise–instead of the spirit of heaviness–while all her enemies shall
be covered with confusion of face and be ashamed.
IV. Lastly, GOD WILL HONOR THE RIGHTEOUS THROUGHOUT ETERNITY.
The honors of the godly are not fleeting things–not the gewgaws of an
hour that shall pass away. Last Thursday, when I was at Windsor Castle,
I saw a man who was painting up the escutcheon of the last new-made
knight, to be added to a long series of similar emblems which had their
places in the hall. I said to him, "Are the escutcheons of all the
knights here?" And I think he replied that they could be traced back to
the very origin of the order. I thought to myself, "A fine honor this,
to have conferred upon one a few stripes and stars, representations of
rampant lions, beasts, tigers with two heads and such like! Wonderfully
glorious these things make a man, to be sure!" A little paint can make
it all, and the painter's brush can erase it! Yet there are men who
will face death upon the battlefield to be thus honored, or to have
their image cut in stone and placed upon a pedestal for men to gaze at!
Wonderful glory is it not for a man to die for? It is such an honor, I
imagine, as very few of us would care for, for this sort of glory will
pass away.
But the honor which the Christian shall receive will never fade! When a
million years shall have elapsed, it shall be as fresh as ever, for
Christ's promise shall always stand, "If anyone serve Me, him My Father
will honor." Christian, the hour of your honor is coming, when your
name shall be pronounced by the great Judge and Arbiter of all, and you
shall be acknowledged by Him as one among the followers of the Lamb!
You shall receive more enduring honors than the men of this world can
bestow! You may not receive the reward of an earthly coronet, but you
shall be a priest and a king unto God, and shall reign with Christ
forever and ever! Blush not, Christian, to look the whole world in the
face, for in God's sight you are a king! Walk, therefore, with humility
before God, and wait patiently till the Master shall remove you to your
kingdom–there you shall be clothed with glory and become the possessor
of everything which the heart can wish–honor, wealth, happiness,
dignity and unspeakable joy shall be yours, and that forever. "If
anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."
Now, what shall I say, in conclusion, to those who do not serve God?
Well, I have but little to say to you tonight. I have often found that
when preaching on these subjects, I have said little to sinners. God
has said a great deal more to them than I have, for all that has been
spoken respecting the bliss of the righteous has set them wishing it
were their lot! It is not infrequently the case that sermons which seem
to be more especially adapted to comfort saints, prove especially
powerful to the conversion of sinners because they have been led to say
to themselves, "All these promises are not intended for us." Let me ask
you, then, my Brother and my Sister, if this is the case at present
with you–when will you appropriate these things to yourself ? I have
told you that the righteous shall be honored. Now, what were the
righteous more than you are? You are ungodly, but the righteous would
have continued the same had not Divine Grace interposed and made them
new creatures in Christ Jesus. You are a great sinner, but such were
some of us. Whatever may have been the form of your iniquity, there are
those now among the family of God who were as bad as yourselves.
I will ask you a question. Can you find, anywhere in the Bible, the
declaration that you cannot be saved? Is it anywhere stated that it is
possible for the man who comes to Jesus Christ to be lost? If you find
that, then you may despair, but till then, you need never do so. But
perhaps you say, "I know not how to come to Christ aright." I will tell
you– coming to Christ at all is coming aright, for He has said, "Him
that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." It matters not whether a
man comes running, limping, or creeping–so long as he gets to Christ,
he has come the right way! You must not say, "I am too bad to be
saved." That, in the hymn we sang just now, we are taught that nothing
so much grieves the heart of Jesus–
"As that unkind, injurious thought That He's unwilling to forgive."
I do think, poor Sinner, He would forgive you anything sooner than this
wicked unbelief! If Christ were once more upon this earth and could
suffer again in the flesh as He did 1,800 years ago, I believe that you
might spit upon Him, buffet Him, and crucify Him again, and yet not see
a single frown upon His face. But when you stand up and say, "I do not
believe that Christ has love enough to forgive me. I do not think He is
willing to pardon mysins." I see the heart of the blessed Lord almost
broken by such cruel words! "What? Poor Sinner," Christ might well
exclaim, "have I not love enough to remove your guilt when I purchased
you with My blood? Look at My hands and My feet and see the wounds
which were inflicted for you." I think I see Him looking you in the
face and saying, in words of the utmost tenderness and compassion,
"Poor Soul, speak not so, nothing grieves My heart like that–not to be
trusted by one I love is the most harrowing thing I can experience. I
could almost as soon drink some drops of the cup of bitterness which I
tasted in the Garden, as to hear you say that I cannot forgive you. I
can, I WILL, I DO! This very hour I say unto you, 'I, even I, am He
that blots out your transgressions for My own sake!'" Remember that,
Sinner–not for your sake, not to glorify you, but to honor Jesus
Christ–"'and will not remember your sins.'" Take heart, therefore,
poor Soul! If you will go to Him, there is Grace for you, and you shall
be saved.
But know, you Pharisees, that He came not to call the righteous!
Sinners, only, Jesus came to save! And now, saints of God, let me urge
you to despise the scorn and the contempt of men. Think of the glories
you shall soon inherit and the honors that your soul and body shall
receive at the Judgment Day. By filling our minds with thoughts of the
glories of Heaven, the Word of God, the blessings that are eternal and
full of glory, the love of Jesus and the mercies of Jehovah, we shall
be graciously strengthened and enabled to conquer in the fight and keep
the road to Heaven. In the strength of the Lord we cry, "Nil
desperandum!" We still believe that Christ is our Shield, and Christ
our Sun, and doubt not that we shall hear it said at the last, "Well
done, good and faithful servant, enter you into the joy of your Lord."
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: JOHN15:9-27.
This chapter contains some of the choicest of the utterances of the
Lord Jesus to His disciples. On His way from the upper room in
Jerusalem, where He had instituted the Supper, to the Garden of
Gethsemane, where He was about to be betrayed, He spoke these wondrous
words of cheer and counsel. He had been speaking to His followers
concerning fruit-bearing. Now He turns to another subject.
Verse 9. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you: continue in
My love. Oh, what love for Christ's disciples to continue in–a love
which finds no parallel except the love of the Father to His
well-beloved Son! A love, therefore, without beginning, without end,
without measure, without limit, without change! Oh, to be fully
possessed by this love! I will read this verse again. It is such s
sweet silver bell that we cannot hear it ring too often. "As the Father
has loved Me, so have I loved you: continue you in My love." That is,
live in it, abide in it, make it your home and your continual dwelling
place.
10. If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love. Obedience
will enable you to live in this love as the fish live in the sea. You
shall always enjoy it if, by Grace, you are enabled always to be
obedient to your Lord's commands.
10-12. Even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His
love. These things have I spoken onto you, that My joy might remain in
you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, That you
love one another, as I have loved you. Oh, you who profess to be the
disciples of Christ, take heed to this new commandment which He has
given and do not violate it! Let your very nature be love. Let your
very spirit be love and then let your whole life be transmuted into the
pure gold of love!
13, 14. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends. You are My friend if you do whatever I command you.
Obedience to Christ's commands leads us into the banqueting house of
friendship. We never understand how friendly Christ is to us, nor do we
become His familiar companions until we are obedient to Him.
15. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what
his lord does. Things that he is told to do are not explained to him.
It is enough for him to obey the orders that are given to him by his
master.
15. But I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of
My Father I have made known unto you. Christ has told all to His own
chosen ones. There are no secrets which we would keep from Him, or
which He keeps from us. Oh, what hallowed communion! This blessed
result comes of obedience to our Lord. May God enable us to enjoy it
richly!
16. You have not chosen Me, but Ihave chosen you, and ordainedyou,
thatyou shouldgo and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain: that whatever you shall ask of the Father in My name He may
give it to you. God's servants are all ordained. I sometimes hear
remarks which remind me that there still lingers among as the
superstition about ordained ministers. There is no ordination of a
minister except the descent of the Spirit of God upon him, and the
choice of the Church which calls him to his special sphere of work. All
the saints are partakers of the Divine Ordination–they are all
ordained to minister before the Lord. "I have chosen you and ordained
you." For what purpose? "That you should go and bring forth fruit." Oh,
that we may prove the reality of our ordination to this blessed work by
bringing forth fruit–fruit that shall remain!
17-27. These things I command you, that you love one another If the
world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hatedyou. Ifyou
were of the world, the world wouldlove its own: but because you are not
of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hates you. Remember the words that I said to you, The servant is
not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you; if they have kept My sayings, they will keep yours also.
But all these things will they do unto you for My name's sake, because
they know not Him that sent Me. If Ihad'not come and spoken onto them,
they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that
hates Me hates My Father also. If Ihad'not done among them the works
which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now they have both
seen and hated both Me and My Father But this came to pass that the
Word might be fulfilled that is written in their Law, They hated Me
without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto
you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the
Father, He shall testify of Me, and you also shall bear witness,
because you have been with Me from the beginning.