Without Money and Without Price

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MARCH 8, 1874,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Without money and without price." Isaiah 55:1.

THE spiritual blessings promised and provided in the Gospel comprise
all that man can need. They are described in the chapter before us as
"water" refreshing and cleansing–the "Water of Life," of which if a
man drinks he shall never thirst again. They are next described as
"wine," the wine of joy–exhilarating, comforting, "making good the
heart of man"–a wine in which is no woe, but fullness of holy delight.
These blessings are thirdly represented as "milk," for milk is almost
the only article of diet which contains everything that is necessary
for the support of man, and therefore it is a type of the satisfying
qualities of the Gospel. He who receives the Gospel of Jesus Christ has
all that his soul can possibly need for time and for eternity, so that
water, wine and milk set forth a full supply of life, joy and
satisfaction for our spirits.

According to the text, this provision for our souls in presented to us
free. We are to buy it, that is to say, we are to have it with as good
as a right, and as full an assurance, as if we had purchased it–but
the purchase is to be made "without money," and lest we should make
mistakes and suppose that although money literally might not be
brought, some other recompense must be offered to God, it is added,
"without price." The double expression is most sweeping, clearing away,
once and for all, from the mercies of God, all idea of their being
purchasable by any method whatever. The Gospel is not to be bought with
gold. Vain are your treasures if you should lavish them at the feet of
Christ! What cares He for gold and silver?

Neither are they to be procured by knowledge and wisdom, which are the
mind's wealth, the money of the soul. A man may know much, but his
knowledge may only puff him up, or increase his condemnation. Neither
are the gifts of God's Divine Grace to be obtained by human merit.
Merit, connected with man is out of the question–call it demerit and
you are correct. If we had done all that we ought to have done, still
we ought to have done it, and even in that case we should still be
unprofitable servants. Away with the notion of merit as possible to
fallen man! The day which saw Adam driven out of Paradise blotted the
words "human merit" out of the dictionary of the Truth of God. Every
sort of gift to God with the view of procuring His favor is excluded by
the term, "without price."

Some have dreamed that they might barter if they may not purchase.
They, therefore, bring to God, instead of inward holiness the beauty of
outward ceremonies. And instead of a perfect righteousness they offer a
baptismal regeneration and a sacramental sanctity. If they have not
kept the Law, yet, at any rate, they have observed the rubric. If they
have not loved their God with all their heart, they have at least bowed
the knee during the performance of a priest. Thus would they barter
with the Lord and give Him rites and ceremonies in payment for His
Grace!

They conceive that a kind of witchcraft rests in the use of certain
words and postures–and that God is thereby moved to blot out their
sins! Others, who are not quite so insane, have fallen into the same
error under another form– they fancy that a certain amount offeeling
will procure for them the gifts of Divine Grace–they must be
distressed up to a certain point and made to tremble in a certain
measure. They must become despairing or they can never hope for mercy.
Thus they make unbelief, which is a sin, into a preparation for
Grace–and despair–which is an insult to a merciful God, and magnify
them into a fitness for the reception of His bounty!

Others have dreamed that partial reformation, the saying of prayers,
the leaving of legacies, attendance upon orthodox teaching, or the
performance of benevolent actions will surely procure for them the
gifts of Grace! To one and all of them comes this Gospel
declaration–the gifts of God's love are "without money and without
price." I wish I knew how to put this Truth of God into such words that
everybody could understand me, and that nobody could misunderstand me.
Whenever a man is saved, he is saved because God freely saves him, not
because there was anything in him to deserve salva-

tion, or any particular fitness in him why God should deliver him and
not another. The gifts of God's Grace are absolutely free in the most
unrestricted sense of that term.

Nothing good, whatever, is brought by man, or is expected from man, by
way of recommendation to mercy. Everything is given gratis and is
received by us "without money and without price." Upon that one thought
I shall dwell, hoping that the Spirit of God will make it plain to your
minds.

I. And, first, I shall notice THE SURPRISING NATURE OF THIS FACT, for
it is very surprising to mankind to hear that salvation is "without
money and without price." It is so surprising to them that the most
plain terms cannot make them understand it. And, though you tell them a
thousand times a day, yet they persist in thinking that you mean it
costs something. They cannot be brought to accept it as literally true
that they are to have everything for nothing– salvation gratis–and
eternal life is the pure gift of Heaven's charity.

Why, there are those sitting in this house, this morning, who know the
way of salvation and are saved–and they will tell you that for many
years they heard the Gospel very plainly put–but that until God the
Holy Spirit enlightened them, they did not really understand what was
meant by simple faith in Jesus. They will admit that they could not
bring themselves to the idea that, then and there, just as they were,
they had but to accept the salvation of God and it would be their own!
They were unable to believe that so simple a matter could be the
Gospel! They looked for mystery, difficulty and a complex preparation.
They understood the words, but missed the central sense–the Grace and
the freeness of the Gospel surpassed their thoughts!

It is not an unusual thing to find children of godly parents who have
heard the Gospel from their earliest youth still ignorant of the way of
salvation, having failed to learn this simple Truth of God–that
salvation is the free gift of God and can only be received as such!
Now, why is it that man does not see this? Why is it that when he does
see it he is surprised at it? I think it is, first, because of man's
relation to God and his wrong judgment of Him. Man thinks that God is a
hard master. That expression of the man who hid his talent in a napkin,
"I knew that you was an austere man, gathering where you have not
strewned," is precisely the idea which the mass of mankind have of the
Lord. They Judge Him to be exacting, hard, severe–and that His Law
claims more of man than it should.

They judge that He might have dealt more leniently with a poor, erring,
fallible mortal like man. When the Holy Spirit convinces men of sin
they still retain hard thoughts of God and fear that He cannot be so
gracious as to blot out their sins. Judging the Lord by their own
standard, they cannot think that He will freely forgive. And though
they are reminded of the great Atonement which enables God to be just
and yet the Justifier of the ungodly, they still think that because
they could not readily forgive offenses against themselves, God must be
as slow to pardon as they are. They believe He must be urgently pleaded
with, recompensed with penances, conciliated with promises, or moved by
tears, before He will be brought into a loving state of mind so as to
be willing to bestow His Grace!

Little do they know that mighty heart of love which throbs in Jehovah's
bosom! Little do they understand that His heart yearns to clasp His
Ephraims to His breast and that He has declared, "As I live, says the
Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the
wicked turn from his way and live." Learn, then, you sons of men, that,
"as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are His ways above
your ways, and His thoughts above your thoughts." He waits to be
gracious and is abundantly willing to pardon the ungodly if they do but
turn to Him. No doubt, also, the condition of man under the Fall makes
it more difficult for him to comprehend that the gifts of God are
"without money and without price," for he finds that he is doomed to
toil for almost everything he needs. "In the sweat of your face shall
you eat bread" is the sentence upon our race.

If man wants bread, the earth demands that he dig for it, or use some
other form of labor. Under the artificial conditions of civilization
scarcely anything comes to us of itself, but must be bought with money.
Man finds that he is in a place where, if he buys, it certainly is not
"without money and without price." Money and price must be in his hands
in every market and store or else he must go away empty-handed and,
therefore, he is apt to reckon that as it is so in this sin-blighted
world, it must be the same in the kingdom of Christ. And when he finds
that he is not by works to purchase Divine favor, he counts it strange
and is long in believing that it can be true. He reads the words,
"without money and without price," and thinks that there must be
something written between the lines to modify the sense, for surely
there must be something to do or to feel before a sinner can receive
the gifts of Grace!

Again, man remembers the general rule of men towards each other, for in
this world what is to be had for nothing except that which is worth
nothing? Nothing for nothing is the general system! Nobody in trade
thinks of trading except for profit. And if a man were urged to sell
without a price he would open his eyes wide and declare that he would
soon find himself a bankrupt! Dealing with our fellow men we must
naturally expect, even according to the golden rule, that we should
give them an equivalent for what we receive. Of course the Christian
religion lifts true Believers into a condition in which they are
willing to give, hoping for nothing, again–but the general rule all
round is–you must pay for what you have. Can you clothe yourself? Can
you warm your hands in the winter? Can you find a shelter for your
children? Can you obtain a bed upon which to lay your weary bones
without money? And so "without money and without price" is quite a
novelty–and man is astonished at it and cannot believe it to be true!

Another matter puts man into this difficulty, namely, his natural
pride. He does not like to be a pauper before God. The mass of mankind
have generally some excellency or other which, in their own esteem,
exalts them above others. You shall find a large proportion of the
upper classes perfectly convinced that they are far superior to the
poor–that the working classes are, indeed, an inferior order of beings
compared with themselves. You shall find an equal pride among the
working classes which leads them to think themselves the real backbone
of the country–a sturdy independence, it is sometimes called–but when
it intrudes into religion it is nothing better than evil boasting!
Pride is woven into man's nature.

The prodigal became a prodigal through his love of independence. He
desired his own portion of goods to do with as he liked. After he
became a prodigal his time was occupied with spending–he spent his
money riotously–he loved to play the fine gentleman and spend. Even
when the prodigal came to himself, the old idea of paying was still
with him and he desired to be a hired servant, so that if he could not
pay in money he would pay in labor. We do not like to be saved by
charity–and to have no corner in which to sit and boast. We long to
make provision for a little self-congratulation! You insult a moral man
if you tell him that he must be saved in the same way as a thief or a
murderer–yet this is no more than the Truth of God! For a woman of
purity to be told that the same Divine Grace which saved a Magdalene is
necessary for her salvation is so humbling that her indignation is
roused, and yet it is the fact–for in every case salvation is "without
money and without price."

Once more, all religions that have ever been in the world of manly
making teach that the gifts of God are to be purchased or merited. Draw
a line and you shall find the Gospel on the one side teaches Free
Grace, but the whole ruck of false relig-ions–from heathenism down
through Muslim to Popery–all demand a price for the promise of
salvation! The Pharisee reckons that none can have it unless he shall
wear a broad phylactery and fast twice in the week. The heathen will
swing with a hook in his back, or roll over and over for hundreds of
miles, or torture his body, or make great sacrifices at the altar of
his idol. The Muslim has his pilgrimages and a host of meritorious
prayers. As for the Papist, his religion is merit and payment from
beginning to end–not only for the soul while it is yet in the body,
but when it is departed–for by means of "masses" for the dead a tax is
still exacted!

Man would gladly bargain with God and make God's temple of mercy into
an auction where each man bids as high as he can and procures salvation
if he can reach a certain figure. But here stands the open-handed
Gospel with all the treasures of infinite Grace unlocked, and all the
granaries of Heaven with the doors taken off their hinges–and it
cries–"Whoever will, let him come and take the water of life freely."
It asks neither money nor price, nor anything of man! It magnifies the
infinite Grace of the all-bounteous Father, in that He has mercy on
whom He will have mercy, and reveals His Grace to the undeserving.

Thus I have spoken upon the surprising nature of this fact. But I need
to add that though I have thus shown grounds for our surprise, yet if
men would think a little they might not be quite so unbelievingly
amazed as they are. For, after all, the best blessings we have come to
us freely. What price have you paid for your lives? And yet they are
very precious. Skin for skin, yes, all that you have would you give for
them! What price do you pay for the air you breathe? What price does a
man pay for the blessed sunlight? I wonder they have not a game law to
preserve the sunbeams so that the lords of the land, alone, might enjoy
the genial rays–while the poor should be liable to punishment for
poaching in pursuit of sunshine! No, they cannot pen in the sun's
light! God has given it freely–and to the pauper it is as free as to
the prince!

Life and air and light come to us "without money and without price."
And our faculties, too–who pays for eyesight? The eye which glances
across the landscape and drinks in beauty, what toll does it pay? The
ear which hears the

song of the birds at dawn, what price is given for it? The senses are
freely bestowed to us by God–and so is the sleep which rests them.
Tonight when we lay our heads down upon our pillows the poor man's
sleep shall be as sweet as the sleep of him who reclines on down. Sleep
is the unbought blessing of Heaven, you cannot purchase it! All the
mines of Potosi could not buy a wink–yet God gives it to the sea boy
on the giddy mast.

It is clear, then, that some of the best blessings we possess come to
us by the way of free gift. Yes, and come to the undeserving, too, for
the dew shall sparkle tomorrow upon the grass in the miser's field and
the rain shall fall in due season upon the rising corn of the wretch
who blasphemes his God. The influences which nurture wheat, barley and
other fruits of the earth are given to the farm of the atheist as well
as to the fields of the godly–they fall, alike, for the evil and for
the good–for, "the Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are
over all His works." We ought not, therefore, to be so surprised, after
all, that the gifts of His Divine Grace are free!

II. In the second place, dear Friends, I want to show you THE NECESSITY
OF THE FACT mentioned in our text. There was a necessity that the gifts
of the Gospel should be "without money and without price." A threefold
necessity. First, from the Character of the Donor. It is God that
gives. Oh, Sirs, would you have Him sell His pardons? The King of
Kings–would you have Him vend forgiveness to the sons of men at so
much per head? Would you have Him sell His Holy Spirit? And would you
come like Simon Magus and offer money to Him for it?

Would you have Him give to you as the reward of merit, adoption into
His family, that you might become His sons, and brag, even in the halls
of Heaven, that you climbed to this dignity by your own good works?
Talk not so blasphemously proud! The great King has made a great
supper–would you have Him demand a price for entrance and sit as a
receiver at the gates of mercy–and stop each one who comes to see if
he has brought a price to pay for entrance? No, no, it is not like our
God! He deals not thus. When the prodigal came back, imagine the father
keeping his son in quarantine to see if he had a clean bill of health!
Imagine him saying, "My son, have you brought a gift to reconcile me?"

The parable would be spoiled by the hint of such a thing! Its glory
lies in the freeness of the Father's love which asked no questions, but
pressed the repenting child to His bosom just as he was. God, the great
Father, must not be so dishonored in your thoughts as to be conceived
of as requiring a price of you! You displease Him when you think that
you are to do something or feel something or bring something in your
hands as a recommendation to Him. Can you picture Jesus going about
Palestine selling His cures? Can you imagine Him saying to the blind
beggar, "How much have you left of the alms of the charitable to give
to Me for your eyesight?" Or saying to Martha and Mary, "Bring Me all
you have and I will raise your brother, Lazarus."

Oh, I loathe to speak of it! It makes me sick to imagine such a thing!
How weary must the Lord be with your self-righteousness–with your
attempts to traffic and to bargain with Him! Oh, Sirs, you are not
dealing with your fellow men–you are dealing with the King of Kings,
whose large heart scorns your bribes! Salvation must be given without
price since it is God that gives! Again, it must be for nothing,
because of the value of the blessing. As one has well said, "it is
without price because it is priceless." You could not conceive of a fit
price for the blessing, therefore it must be left without price. I will
suppose, this morning, that I am sent here by high authority to sell a
diamond worth ten thousand times as much as the Queen's crown jewels.

It is a jewel worth a thousand millions of pounds! I am bound to sell
it to you now, but I am sure you cannot purchase it at any price worthy
of it. All you could offer would be so small a portion of its value
that I would sooner give it away than lower the reputation of the jewel
by taking such a trifle for it. The Gospel is so precious a thing that
if it is to be bought, the whole world could not pay for it–and
therefore if bought at all it must be without money and without price.
It cost the Lord Jesus His blood–what have you to offer? What? Do you
imagine that you can buy it with a few paltry works? God Himself must
become a man and bleed, and die to bring pardon and eternal life to
sinners! And do you think that your tears, bending your knees, gifts of
money and emotions of your heart are to purchase this unpurchasable
blessing? Oh, believe, because it is so rich, it must be given away if
it is to belong to us!

And there is another reason arising from the extremity of human
destitution. The blessings of Divine Grace must be given "without money
and without price," for we have no money or price to bring. I was, the
other night, speaking to inquirers, and I put this matter in a very
homely way, as I will again. I said, "I will suppose there is a
terrible famine among you, as there is in India, and that all your
money is gone–and that all of you together have not so much as a
farthing between you. Now, I am sent with bread, and I want to sell it
to you. I begin by saying, 'Well, of course, now that

there is a famine we must make a little profit out of you. You must
expect the price to be raised, but we will be very mod-erate–we will
let you have it for a shilling a quarter loaf.'

"You say, 'We do not find fault with the price, but we have not a
farthing to pay you with. Oh, Sir, we cannot buy from you.' Well, well,
we will reduce the price. You can have it at the ordinary price of
household bread! Come, you cannot ask for anything more reasonable than
this! Will you have it? 'It is not unreasonable,' you say, 'the price
is a very proper one, but still it is useless to us. We would gladly
purchase, but we have not a penny between us. What can we do?' Come,
then, we will reduce the price a great deal more. We will let you have
the best bread at two pence a quartern. Did you ever hear of bread at
that rate? Surely you may fill your children's mouths every day at this
price. 'Alas,' you cry, 'it is of no use! We cannot find even two
pence.'

"Well, now, we will bring the price down to one farthing a loaf–and
who has ever heard of bread at that rate before? Still, with tears in
your eyes, you cry to me, 'Oh, we can no more get it at a farthing than
we could buy it at a shilling, for we have not a single farthing left.'
Come, then, I must come down to you altogether–you shall have it for
nothing. Take it, I say, for nothing and I will give you a piece into
the bargain–I will give you something over and above weight. I see you
wonder what I mean by that. Listen to these words–'Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house.' That is the
piece over and above what you asked or even thought. Is not that good
reasoning that God must give eternal life for nothing, because you have
nothing which you could offer as a price?"

If you are to have eternal life, no terms but those of Divine Grace
will meet your case. Think, dear Friends, when the dying thief was
hanging at the side of Christ–suppose the Lord Jesus Christ had made a
rule that a man should live a holy life for a week and then should have
the blessing. Why, the thief must have died unblest! Suppose that He
had said to all men, it is absolutely essential that you join a Church
and be baptized, or else I cannot save you? Then poor bedridden sinners
must perish hopelessly! A Gospel for nothing suited the dying thief. "I
admit it," says somebody. Ah, my Friend, then surely you cannot be in a
worse condition!

Some years ago I had a very high compliment paid me by a gentleman who
intended an insult. He ridiculed my preaching and remarked that it
would be eminently suited to the lowest class of the American slave.
This I accepted as an honorable admission, for he who could reach and
bless the black man will not preach in vain to white people. I have
heard of a preacher of whom his detractors said that he might do very
well to preach to old women. Ah, then, he will do for anybody! I
suppose he would suit old women because they are on the borders of the
grave and that it is where we all are–for we are all much nearer to
the grave than we imagine. Free salvation suits the vilest of the vile
and it is equally suitable for the most moral. If it is all for
nothing, none can be so poor as to be excluded from hope! If it is to
be had "without money and without price" no soul need be without it!

Surely the price is brought low enough. The difficulty is that the
price is too low for human pride–sinners will not come down to it.
Whereas every other salesman finds that he cannot get his customers up
to his price, my difficulty is that I cannot get my customers down to
mine! They will still higgle and haggle to do something, be something,
or promise something. Whereas here are the terms, and the only terms
upon which Gospel grace is to be had–"without money and without
price." You shall have it freely but God will have none of your
bargaining! Take mercy–take it just as you are–you are welcome to it.
But if you tarry till you are better, your very betterness will make
you worse! If you wait until you are fit, your fancied fitness will be
your unfitness!

Your hunger is your fitness for food. Your nakedness is your fitness
for clothing. Your poverty is your fitness for the riches of mercy.
Your sin, your loathsomeness, your hardness of heart and obduracy do
but make you fit objects for wondrous Divine Grace, and for the amazing
transformation which Divine power can work in men! It is absolutely
necessary that the blessings of Grace should be "without money and
without price," and, glory be to God, they are!

III. My third point is this–THE SALUTARY INFLUENCE OF THIS FACT. If it
is "without money and without price," what then? Well, first, that
enables us to preach the Gospel to every creature. Jesus Christ said,
"Go you into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He
that believes and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believes not
shall be damned." If we had to look for some price in the hands of the
creature, or some fitness in the mind of the creature, or some
excellence in the life of the creature, we could not preach mercy to
every creature–we should have to preach it to prepared creatures–and
then that preparation would be the money and the price.

I am sorry that some of my Brothers entertain the idea that the Gospel
is to be preached only to certain characters. They dare not preach the
Gospel to everybody–they try to preach it only to the elect. Surely,
if the Lord meant them to make the selection He would have set a mark
upon His chosen. As I do not know the elect and have no command to
confine my preaching to them, but am bid to preach the Gospel to every
creature, I am thankful that the Gospel is put in such a way–that no
creature can be too poor, too wicked, or too vile to receive it–for it
is "without money and without price." That is going to the very bottom!

Surely, that takes in the most degraded, debased and despised of our
race–whoever they may be! If before I preach the Gospel I have to look
for a measure of fitness in a man, then I cannot preach the Gospel to
any but those whom I believe to have the fitness. But if the Gospel is
to be preached freely, with no conditions or demands for preparations
or prerequisites–if this is the Gospel, that "whoever believes in
Jesus is not condemned"–then may I go to the most degraded Bushmen, or
savage Ashantees, or untameable Modocs and tell them the Good News! We
may speak of mercy to harlots and thieves–and we may carry the
gladsome message into the Guilt Garden and Hangman's Alley! We may
penetrate the jungles of crime and cry with the same entreaty from
Heaven–"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts, and let him turn unto the Lord, for He will have mercy upon
him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." The fact that the
mercy of God is "without money and without price" enables us, by His
Grace, to preach it to every man, woman and child of woman born!

Now, note secondly, that this fact has the salutary effect of excluding
all pride. If it is "without money and without price," you rich people
have not a half-penny worth of advantage above the poorest of the poor
in this matter! Your station may be very respectable, but God is no
respecter of persons! You may be numbered among the rank and fashion of
society, but in God's esteem, one rank is as evil as another–and the
fashion of all men passes away. Divine Grace comes to the Queen upon
her throne and to the beggar in the street with this same
message–"without money and without price." The pride of wealth is
utterly abolished by the Gospel and so is the pride of merit! You have
been so good and so charitable, and you are so excellent and so
religious–and so everything that you ought to be–and you fancy that
there must be some private entrance, some reserved door, for persons of
your quality.

But, Sirs, the gate is so strait that you must rub shoulders with
thieves, drunkards and murderers if you are to enter eternal life!
There is but one way and that is the way of Grace. "Where is boasting,
then? It is excluded. By the law of works? No, but by the law of
Grace." Those who are saved never sing, "well done," to themselves, but
when they get to Heaven they glorify Grace alone–

"Grace all the work shall crown Through everlasting days, It lays in
Hea ven the topmost stone And well deserves the praise."

What a slap in the face this is for human glorying and how much it
needs it, for it is impudent to the last degree! "Surely, surely you
make some distinction, Sir, between the excellent and the moral, and
those who are openly criminal." Yes, I do make a great distinction when
treating of our relations to one another, but we are now speaking of
GRACE–and from the nature of things these distinctions are not
available where mercy, not merit is the rule! To all men there is but
one rule–"He that believes on Him is not condemned, but he that
believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed on the
Son of God."

Again, another influence of the fact mentioned in our text is that it
forbids despair. Despair, where are you? I have a ten-thonged whip with
which to flog you away! "Without money and without price." Then who can
despair? You are feeling in your pocket and you find nothing there–you
do not need anything–salvation is "without money." You have been
feeling in your heart and you find nothing there! You do not need
anything before coming to Jesus, for His Grace is "without price." You
have been looking back on your past history. It is all blank and black.
That is true, but Jesus Christ came into the world to seek and to save
that which was lost. But you cannot find a redeeming trait in your
character! Ah, but God has found a Redeemer, mighty to save–and if you
rest in Him, He will save you from your sins!

Whoever you may be, if eternal life is to be had for nothing, you are
not too poor to have it! It is impossible that you can have fallen too
low for the Gospel, for "Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost
them that come unto God by Him." I was, for a long while, pestered with
this idea that I must have some extraordinary vision, or remarkable
revelation, or singular experience and have something to tell, such as
I had heard good people tell of. But when the glad tidings

were made plain to me by the Holy Spirit, I was as if I had received a
new revelation. "Look unto Me and be you saved, all the ends of the
earth," sounded like a new song in my ears! My heart leaped for joy at
the news.

Christ was nailed to the Cross and I was to look at Him and be saved!
Just as the serpent of brass was lifted on the pole and whoever looked
was healed of the serpent bites, so was there, for me, eternal life and
blessedness in looking to Jesus on the tree! Why did I not understand
that before? Ah, why!? Why do not some of you understand it? I pray God
the Holy Spirit make you see it this morning, for that is the great
Truth of God which will save your soul! Everything for nothing! Christ
Himself to be had for the asking. Surely this Truth should comfort the
most desponding.

Next it inspires with gratitude and that gratitude becomes the basis of
holiness. Look here. This man is saved for nothing! His sin pardoned
according to the free mercies of God! What do you think he says? "Oh,
my God, my God, how have I belied You! How have I slandered You! As for
You, You have always been merciful to me. You have blotted out my sins.
You have made me Your child. You have given Your Son to be my Redeemer.
My God, I love You! What can I do to show that my heart is wholly
Yours?"–

"Make me to run in Your commands, 'Tis a delightful road! Nor let my
head, nor heart, nor hands Offend against my God."

They say that a free Gospel will make men think lightly of sin. It is
the death of sin! It is the life of virtue! It is the motive power of
holiness and whenever it comes into the soul it begets zeal for the
Lord–

"Speak of morality! You bleeding Lamb, The best morality is love to
You." The best morality springs out of gratitude for pardon, Divine
Grace and lively hope received as the gifts of Heaven.

Then note, again, that the receipt of salvation without money and
without price engenders in the soul the generous virtues. What do I
mean by that? Why, the man who is saved for nothing feels, first, with
regard to his fellow men that he must deal lovingly with them. Has God
forgiven me? Then I can freely forgive those who have trespassed
against me. It is the first impulse of a soul which receives pardon
from God to put away all enmity against his fellow men. I freely
forgive the few pence that my fellow sinner owes me when I remember the
thousand talents which were forgiven me by the infinite mercy of my
God! The man who does not forgive has never been forgiven–but the man
who has been freely forgiven at once forgives others.

No, he goes beyond it–he says, "Now, my God has been so good to me, I
will be good to others. And as God is good to the unthankful and the
evil, even so will I be." When he finds that he has given his alms to
an undeserving person, he does not, therefore, shrivel up within
himself and say, "I will give no more." "Why," he asks, "does not God
give life and light to men who are always cursing Him? Then I will
bless the sons of men even if they curse me in return." This breeds in
him a spirit of benevolence. He longs to see others saved and therefore
he lays himself out to bring them to Jesus Christ. If he had bought his
salvation, I dare say he might be proud of it and wish to keep it to
himself–like a little aristocrat, he would not want every one of the
democracy to intrude into his privileges. But since the Gospel came to
him freely, he hears the Master say–"Freely you have received, freely
give," and he goes forth to distribute the Bread of Life which Jesus
Christ has so liberally put into his hands!

So then, as to our God, the free gifts of Grace, working by the power
and energy of the Holy Spirit, create in us the generous virtues
towards God. Now we can say–

"Loved of my God, for Him again With love intense I burn."

When we know that Jesus has saved us, we feel we could lay down our
lives for Him. Self-denial springs of this. Yes, the death of self
comes out of a rich experience of free and Sovereign Grace Did the Lord
love me when there was nothing to love in me? Did He love me with
spontaneous love before the world began? Did He give His son to die for
me, a guilty sinner, lost and ruined in the Fall? Then I will give all
that I have to God, and feel that–

"If I might make some reserve,

And duty did not call

I love my God with zeal so great

That I would give Him all."

This is the natural outgrowth of the grand doctrine of "without money
and without price."

And, lastly, Beloved, I cannot think of anything that will make more
devout worshippers in Heaven than this. The purpose of God in seeking
His Glory by the way of Redemption was evidently this. There were
spirits in Heaven who could worship Him. There were angels who could
adore Him and remain faithful to Him, but He wished to create beings
who should be nearer to Him than angels, though also in a certain sense
still further off. An angel is pure spirit, man is partly materialism.
God resolved that a creature that should be both spirit and matter
should be lifted up above angels, should come nearer to Himself than
pure spirits have ever come–should, in fact, be related to Himself
through His Son!

Thus His Son became a Man, that God, being All in All, next to God
should stand man, made to have dominion over all the works of His
hands, with all things put under his feet. Now, observe, that unless
there had been some exercise of Omnipotence which would have taken away
the high attribute of free agency from man, we do not know of any other
way in which God could secure the eternal obedience, the reverent love
and the perpetual humility of such creatures as we have spoken of,
except by a remarkable experience of redemption–so that they should
forever know that everything they had was the undeserved gift of
Sovereign Grace.

When they look upon the crown and wave the palm, they remember that
they were once snatched from the horrible pit and the miry clay. When
they gaze upon their robes of splendor and stand before the Throne of
God, peers of the universe, princes of the blood royal of Heaven, no
pride will ever flit across their perfect souls because the memory of
Redeeming Grace, dying love and blessings given without money and
without price will keep them humble before the Lord. Oh, if they had
given something, if they had done something, if they had merited
something, this would have marred the whole, and left a gap whereby
might enter the temptation to self-glory!

Every child of God will know eternally that he is saved by Grace,
Grace, Grace–from first to last–from beginning to end. And so,
without constraint, except that which is found within their own bosoms,
all the redeemed will forever magnify the Lord in such notes as these,
"Worthy are You, O Lamb of God! For You were slain and have redeemed us
unto God by Your blood, and have made us kings and priests unto God."
May the Lord lead you all to receive His Divine salvation "without
money and without price."

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Isaiah 55. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN
HYMN BOOK"–199, 492, 552.
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Saving Faith